Cary Academy
Mariah
by: Victoria Jones
I have been called many names. S-cute, Toni, Maggie, Maggs, Toria, V-Oreo, and other variations of these. My real name is Victoria Margaret Jones. When I say Victoria it tastes of snow, slow, pure beautiful and deep. It makes me think of a Russian classroom. It is organized and official. This name has never fit me. I have usually been called Maggie or Toni.
When I was in elementary school I started to go by Toni. I came home one day and refused to answer to anything but Toni. I don’t see how I ever liked this name. It sounds like the name of a board game, “Sorry”, “Life” and “Toni.” The letters run out of your mouth too fast and you don’t even know what you are saying.
When I started middle school I went by Maggie. I don’t know how it
happened. I never asked anyone to call me that or told people that I liked
the name. One day someone said “you should go by your middle name,
Margaret.” I hate the name Margaret. It sounds like a yogurt company.
Finally, Allison started calling me Maggie, and the name stuck. I guess it
just fits me so much better than Victoria or Toni. Maggie is running
outside in autumn on a windy day when the
leaves are falling and trying
hopelessly to catch them as they climb their way in spirals through the air,
barely escaping your wild snatch every time. It tastes like the bite
from the first ripe peach of the season. The juice spills from the
corners of your lips.
Some people still call me Victoria. When someone says it, I think they must be talking to someone else someone orderly and sophisticated. When a child calls me Victoria, they say it as if they can't pronounce the letter V. They will call me Bictoria or Toria. I am glad to be Maggie for now. Who knows, in college I might change it to something more grown-up. No one wants to be Maggie Jones on a job application. So I will probably become Tori, Vicky, or Mariah. Yes, Mariah sounds nice, like a warm spring afternoon outside on a swing letting the cool breeze rush over your face, fun, but thoughtful. Mariah.