Mia's Golden Bird

by Lisa Schroeder

  “Say’s phoebes,” Gail replied. “They’re quite common here in California. They catch insects midair.”

  Lacy made a mark in her notebook, and then they continued walking.

  “So, are you from Mexico?” Lacy asked Mia.

  Mia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “No.”

  “But you are Mexican, right?”

  “I’m a lot of things,” Mia said. “Mexican, Guatemalan, white. I have a white grandfather.”

  “So if you’re not Mexican, what are you?”

  Mia wanted to say human. Instead, she simply replied, “Latina.”

  “Is it just you and your mom?” Lacy asked.

  This interrogation about Mia’s life was kind of irritating, but she didn’t know how to tell a big movie star that she was being rude. Mia decided to change the subject. “Shouldn’t we be quiet so we have a better chance of seeing more birds?”

  “Sorry,” Lacy said. “I’m just curious about you, that’s all.”

  Before Mia could figure out how to respond to that, Gail pointed to a spot in the distance where two little birds pranced around on the ground. Lacy grabbed her binoculars while Mia went to work trying to get a picture.

  Hopefully, there would be a lot more birds that would keep Lacy’s attention, because Mia found it very strange to have a movie star so curious about the life of an ordinary sixth-grade girl.

  Back in the limo a couple of hours later, Gail and Lacy were discussing some of the birds they had seen. Unfortunately, the light-footed clapper rail was not on the list of birds they’d found that morning.

  “Hope is the thing with feathers,” Gail said, her brown eyes practically twinkling as she said it. “We must remember, there’s always next time. What was your favorite, Mia? If you don’t mind my asking.”

  “I loved seeing that flock of white pelicans,” Mia told her. And she meant it. Bird watching had ended up being a lot more fun than she’d thought it would be. “Oh, and the osprey was pretty cool too. I got some really nice shots that I think you’ll like a lot.”

  “Wonderful,” Gail replied with the same easygoing smile she wore most of the time. She seemed like a genuinely nice person. “Fantastic. Makes me happy as a lark. What about you, Lacy?”

  “I’m so excited to see the photos,” Lacy replied. “How long will it take you to get them developed, Mia?”

  “If I take the memory card to the drugstore tomorrow after school, I should have them back by Wednesday.”

  Lacy nodded but didn’t reply, like she was thinking about something. Mia decided it was her turn to ask some questions. “So, do you go to, like, a regular school?”

  “No,” Lacy said. “I wish, but no. Because of my work schedule, I have tutors. They come to the set with me, and we’ll do work during the downtimes.”

  “Sounds pretty good to me,” Mia said. “No boring classes that way. Or teachers who talk about anything, whether it’s important or not, because they have an automatic audience.”

  “But school is about so much more than classes, you know?” Lacy asked, playing with the pretty gold-and-diamond ring in the shape of a bow that she wore on her right hand. “It’s about friends and cute boys and making fun plans for the weekend. I don’t get any of that. Sometimes I think about missing prom in a few years, and I get so sad.”

  “How old are you?”

  “My mother likes to say thirteen going on twenty-three. I guess that means I’m mature for my age. All I know is it feels like I’m missing out on everything that’s fun about being a teenager.”

  Mia didn’t know what to say. Finally, she said, “I’m pretty sure there are a lot of people who would love to trade places with you.”

  “Oh, I know. It probably sounds like I’m complaining, and I don’t mean to, it’s just …”

  “The grass is always greener on the other side, isn’t it?” Gail said. “I do believe it’s quite normal to long for things we don’t have.”

  Was Mia supposed to feel sorry for Lacy? Is that what she wanted? Because there was no way that would ever happen. Mia thought of her mom, struggling all of these years to make sure they had food and clothes and a roof over their heads. It seemed like the only thing Lacy had to worry about was whether she should take the town car or the limousine if she wanted to go somewhere.

  What a problem to have, Mia thought.

  The girls were silent the rest of the way back. Mia was glad. It was pretty obvious the two girls didn’t have much in common, so it was better this way. Easier.

  When they finally pulled up in front of the café, Mia said, “When do you want to come and pick up the pictures?”

  Lacy reached into her cute designer purse, pulled out a wallet, and opened it up. What happened next about knocked Mia over.

  The actress held out a hundred-dollar bill. “Is this a fair amount?”

  “But, you haven’t even seen the pictures yet,” Mia said. “What if they’re terrible?”

  Lacy laughed. “Ohmygosh, they’re not going to be terrible. I’m sure they’re wonderful. Look, I saw the ones you took at your camp, and if they’re anything like that, I know I’m going to love them. Besides, your time is worth something, right? Go on, take it.”

  Mia reached out and took the money. Was this really happening? A hundred dollars, for just a few hours of her time?

  “I really appreciate you coming along with us,” Lacy said. “And if you’re up for it, I’d love for you to join us next Sunday too. That way, I can just pick up the pictures then.”

  “Next Sunday?” Mia asked. “You mean, you want to do this again? With me?”

  “Yes,” Lacy said with a smile. “Why wouldn’t we? Right, Grandma?”

  “Most certainly. Definitely. Absolutely,” Gail replied. “We’ll be proud as peacocks to have you accompany us as our photographer, young lady.”

  Mia looked down at the money she now held in her hand. She’d never even seen a hundred-dollar bill before, let alone held one. It was nice and crisp. New-looking. As if Lacy had recently gotten it from the bank, fresh out of the vault, or wherever it was that money came from.

  Maybe Lacy had been kind of nosy at first, and a bit insensitive about the questions she asked. And maybe she was clueless about how good she really had it. But she wasn’t a horrible person. And her grandma was very sweet.

  Besides all of that, it was a dream job for Mia. Ten times easier than playing with little kids. No gross little noses to wipe, no messes to clean up, and no whining to deal with. Sure, Lacy had complained a little bit. But she hadn’t whined for hours on end, which had happened a few times with Mrs. McNair’s kids. And the benches at the lagoon made it an ideal place to sit and watch for birds, so she didn’t have to be on her feet very much at all.

  “Okay,” Mia said. “I’ll go with you next week. Will you pick me up at the same time? Here, at the café?”

  “Yep,” Gail said. “Because you know what they say.”

  “The early bird gets the worm?” Mia said.

  Gail smiled. “Actually, I was going to say, ‘Without coffee, life’s not worth living,’ which is why we’ll happily pick you up at the café again.”

  Just when she thought she had Gail all figured out, Mia thought, smiling back at the older woman. Apparently, Lacy’s grandmother did think about other things besides birds once in a while.

  “Okay,” Mia said. “I guess I’ll be going now. See you next week.”

  “Grandma, don’t forget your wallet,” Lacy said.

  “Oh, yes, of course,” she said. “I’ll escort you inside, Mia.”

  “ ’Bye,” Lacy said. “And thank you so much. Really and truly.”

  When Mia and Gail stepped inside the café, Mia’s mom was at the counter. She greeted them with a smile and said, “Oh, good. You’re back. Did you have fun?”

  “We sure did,” Gail said. “Absolutely terrific. Your daughter is a true delight.”

  Mia’s mom handed Gail the wallet. “I think so too,” she said.r />
  “I’m going again next Sunday morning,” Mia told her mother. “I hope that’s okay?”

  “More birds to see?” Mia’s mom asked Gail.

  “Always,” she said. “And more fun to be had with my granddaughter.”

  Mia had to admit, the love Gail showed for her granddaughter was pretty wonderful. Gail was one unique bird. The thought tickled Mia. All that bird talk had obviously rubbed off on her.

  At school on Monday, Mia wasn’t sure whether to tell people about her adventure with the famous actress. What would her friends think about that? Would they be impressed, or would they think it was ridiculous? She couldn’t be sure, since some of them thought Lacy herself was kind of ridiculous. Which, now that Mia thought about it, didn’t really seem fair. They didn’t even know her.

  Mia found Salina, her locker partner, at their locker, talking to Josie along with her locker partner, Polly.

  “So what time should we meet up?” Salina was asking.

  “The waves are best in the morning,” Polly said. “That’s what my dad says anyway. And he said Sunday morning is best for him. And since we need to have an adult with us …”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Mia asked as she took off her backpack and unzipped it to get to the books inside.

  “Surfing,” Josie replied. “This coming Sunday. My dad surprised me with a new board yesterday. He found it at a garage sale super cheap, and it’s in really good condition. Can you believe that?”

  “You’re so lucky,” Polly said, reaching back and pulling her blond ponytail tight.

  “I wonder if someone died and that’s why it was for sale,” Josie said. “And what if he haunts me while I’m out on the waves? Like that weird story a while back about the surfers who said they saw a girl’s face a few feet below the water as they surfed? One girl even said a hand reached up and grabbed her ankle. It tried to pull her into the water, but luckily, she shook it loose.” Josie held up her hands and wiggled her fingers and said, “Ooooh,” in a spooky voice. “Surfing ghosts are so scary.”

  Salina laughed. “Was that in one of those weird newspaper magazines they have at the grocery store checkout stand? You know, the ones where everything inside is basically made up?”

  “What?” Josie said. “No way. Surfing ghosts are totally real. Right, Mia? Back me up on this one.”

  Mia had moved over to the open locker, where she quietly put her books away and gathered the items she needed for first period.

  “I’ve never seen one,” Mia said, the heaviness in her chest returning as she thought of her friends, off having fun without her. Again. “But then, I also haven’t been surfing in a while.”

  “Maybe that’s a good thing,” Josie teased. “No surfing ghosts are gonna get you.”

  Mia turned around, trying to smile. “I guess so.”

  Salina put her arm around Mia. “Sorry you can’t surf with us. You can come and watch us if you want.”

  “Bring along some garlic,” Josie said. “Chase those ghosts away for us.”

  “That’s for vampires, silly, not ghosts,” Polly said, laughing. “And stop it with the ghost thing. There are no surfing ghosts. Nothing but little, harmless fish out in that ocean with us, right, Mia? And yes, you can come and watch us if you want to. We’ll try to give you a good show.”

  “I can’t,” Mia said. “I already have plans. I mean, I have a new job.”

  Everyone’s eyes got big and round as they turned and stared at Mia. “What kind of job?” Salina asked. “And how come you’re just now telling us?”

  “Maybe because you were too busy talking about scary surfing ghosts,” Mia replied.

  “So spill,” Josie said. “What are you doing?”

  Mia held her books to her chest as she said, “I’m working for Lacy Bell. She came into the café yesterday and she asked me to help her with something. She said she’d pay me. And so I said yes. And I’m doing it again next Sunday too.”

  The girls looked at Mia as if she had just told them surfing ghosts were about to invade the school.

  “Lacy Bell?” Salina said. “As in, the actress Lacy Bell?”

  “Yes,” Mia said. “The one and only.”

  “What exactly are you doing for her?” Polly asked.

  “Well, I’m taking photos. I’m, like, her personal photographer for the day.”

  “You’re kidding,” Josie said, crossing her arms across her chest. “Right? This is some kind of joke, isn’t it?”

  Mia shook her head. “No. It really happened. Honest.”

  “What do you take pictures of?” Polly asked.

  Mia hesitated. She didn’t want to tell them about the bird watching. It might sound kind of strange to them. They probably would doubt her even more if she gave that as her answer.

  “She wants to make a scrapbook of the time she spends with her grandmother, so we just go out and walk around, and I take pictures.”

  “That’s it?” Josie asked. “Just … take random pictures? Like she couldn’t do that herself with her camera phone?”

  “Not if she wants really good, quality photos,” Mia explained, trying not to get upset. Why couldn’t they just be happy for her?

  “Huh,” Salina said. “So, what’s she like?”

  Mia shrugged. “She’s okay. Kind of … clueless about some things. But that makes sense, you know? She lives such a different life compared to most girls. Like, she doesn’t go to school. Tutors go to the set with her.”

  “Well, that sounds rough,” Josie said. “Poor little rich girl.”

  Before Mia could respond, the bell rang. The girls finished gathering their things for class and then took off together, down the hall. Once again, Mia trailed behind everyone, as she shuffled along because of her cast.

  “You’ll have to get some good gossip on her, Mia,” Polly said, turning around as she said it. “Then report back. Maybe we can sell a story to a magazine and get a lot of money.”

  “Yeah,” Josie said. “Maybe the magazine that reported on the surfer ghosts would be interested.”

  The three girls laughed. Mia kind of felt sick to her stomach. She never should have told them about Lacy Bell. To them, it was all a joke.

  To Mia, it was a real job. A way to get to camp. And that wasn’t funny at all.

  After school, Mia went to her room with a couple of Caitlin’s cookies and a glass of milk. She sat down at her little desk and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.

  DEAR CAITLIN,

  THANKS FOR YOUR LETTER AND FOR THE DELICIOUS COOKIES. I’M EATING THE COOKIES RIGHT NOW, SO IF THERE ARE A FEW CRUMBS IN THE ENVELOPE, YOU’LL KNOW WHY. I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU FIGURED OUT HOW TO MAKE A FRUIT PIZZA. DID IT TASTE JUST LIKE THE ONE WE HAD AT CAMP? WHERE’D YOU FIND A RECIPE, ON THE INTERNET OR SOMETHING? YOUR SISTER IS SO LUCKY!

  ALSO, THANK YOU FOR SENDING ME THE BRACELET TO WEAR NEXT!! I LOVE THE CHARM YOU PICKED OUT.

  I’M HAPPY YOU’VE MADE SOME FRIENDS AT YOUR NEW SCHOOL AND THINGS ARE BETTER FOR YOU NOW. THINGS ARE ABOUT THE SAME HERE, WHICH MEANS MY FRIENDS ARE STILL OFF HAVING FUN WITHOUT ME AND I’M STILL FEELING JEALOUS. I’M TRYING SO HARD NOT TO LET IT BOTHER ME, BUT IT DOES. THEY ACT LIKE THEY DON’T EVEN CARE IF I’M WITH THEM OR NOT. IT’S ABOUT THE WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD, FEELING LIKE I COULD JUST DISAPPEAR FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH AND NONE OF THEM WOULD HARDLY NOTICE.

  SOMETHING KIND OF INTERESTING HAPPENED YESTERDAY THOUGH. DO YOU KNOW LACY BELL, THE ACTRESS? WELL, SHE CAME INTO MY MOM’S CAFÉ AND ASKED ME TO GO BIRD-WATCHING WITH HER AND HER GRANDMA AND TAKE PHOTOS FOR THEM. SHE SAID SHE WOULD PAY ME TO GO WITH THEM. SO I SAID YES. WE SAW SOME AMAZING BIRDS.

  DO YOU THINK BIRD WATCHING IS WEIRD? I WASN’T SURE WHAT I THOUGHT, BUT IT ENDED UP BEING KIND OF COOL. THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF BIRDS. I DON’T THINK I EVEN REALIZED HOW MANY. I PROBABLY STILL DON’T REALIZE HOW MANY. ANYWAY, I’M DOING IT AGAIN NEXT SUNDAY. BUT I’M AFRAID TO TELL MY FRIENDS ALL OF THIS. THEY KNOW THE PART ABOUT LACY BELL BUT NOT
ABOUT THE BIRDS — THEY THINK LACY IS RIDICULOUS, SO I DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’D SAY ABOUT THE REST OF IT!

  WELL, I GUESS I SHOULD FINISH THIS UP AND GET GOING ON MY HOMEWORK. GOOD LUCK WITH THE PLAY. OH, WAIT. THAT SHOULD BE BREAK A LEG. THEATER TALK FOR GOOD LUCK, RIGHT?

  I MISS YOU!

  YOUR CABIN 7 BFF,

  MIA

  She found Caitlin’s address in her camp journal, put the letter into an envelope, and sealed it up. If only she could deliver it in person, she thought. Wouldn’t that be awesome, if she could just teleport to Connecticut really fast, give Caitlin a hug along with the letter, and then come back home? Of course, it wouldn’t be so easy to leave once she was there. She’d probably end up staying and sleeping on Caitlin’s couch forever, so they could make fruit pizza together every night.

  When Mia got up to grab her books out of her backpack, she glanced at her surfboard, sitting in the corner. She went over to it and ran her hand down the smooth fiberglass. No one knew it, but she had a nickname for her board. She called it Nemo, because the orange and yellow colors reminded her of the fish in one her favorite movies.

  “Do you miss the water as much as I do?” she asked Nemo.

  She shook her head as she plopped down on the floor. “Great,” she whispered. “This cast is making me so crazy, I’m now talking to my board like it’s a person.”

  In her mind, she could see herself out on the ocean, paddling on her board toward the waves. She could almost feel the sun on her face and the cold water running through her hands. But most of all, she could feel her legs, free and light, with no cast to weigh her down.

  She put her head in her hands and groaned. Why did this have to be so hard? Mia wondered. She decided she needed to keep her mind off surfing. Most likely, her friends would be talking about their upcoming fun day of surfing all week long. She had to find something that she could be excited about. And what was the one and only thing she had coming up that was something other than school, homework, and sleeping?

  Bird watching.

  She needed to get excited about bird watching. How she might do that, she wasn’t sure. But she decided maybe a good place to start would be the library. So tomorrow at lunch, while her friends talked nonstop about hitting the waves on Sunday, Mia would go and check out some books.