wednesday, june 24, 1942

dearest kitty,

it's sweltering. everyone is huffing and puffing, and in this heat i have to walk everywhere. only now do i realize how pleasant a streetcar is, but we jews are no longer allowed to make use of this luxury; our own two feet are good enough for us. yesterday at lunchtime i had an appointment with the dentist on jan luykenstraat. it's a long way from our school on stadstimmertuinen. that afternoon i nearly fell asleep at my desk. fortunately, people automatically offer you something to drink. the dental assistant is really kind.

the only mode of transportation left to us is the ferry. the ferryman at josef israelkade took us across when we asked him to. it's not the fault of the dutch that we jews are having such a bad time.

i wish i didn't have to go to school. my bike was stolen during easter vacation, and father gave mother's bike to some christian friends for safekeeping. thank goodness summer vacation is almost here; one more week and our torment will be over.

something unexpected happened yesterday morning. as i was passing the bicycle racks, i heard my name being called. i turned around and there was the nice boy i'd met the evening before at my friend wilma's. he's wilma's second cousin. i used to think wilma was nice, which she is, but all she ever talks about is boys, and that gets to be a bore. he came toward me, somewhat shyly, and introduced himself as hello silberberg. i was a little surprised and wasn't sure what he wanted, but it didn't take me long to find out. he asked if i would allow him to accompany me to school. "as long as you're headed that way, i'll go with you," i said. and so we walked together. hello is sixteen and good at telling all kinds of funny stories.

he was waiting for me again this morning, and i expect he will be from now on.

anne