by Coco Simon
“A year?” I knew I was loud, but I didn’t care. I was totally freaking out. Mom put her hand on my arm.
“Mia, it’s going to be okay,” she said. “Let’s let Dr. Payne explain things to us.”
Dr. Payne started going on and on about where the braces would go and something about a retainer, but I wasn’t really listening. She took out a model of teeth with silver braces on them. Then I remembered something.
“Can’t I get the clear ones at least?” I blurted out.
“Well, there are pros and cons,” Dr. Payne said. “The pro is that they’re not as noticeable. The cons are that they can take longer to work than the metal braces, and they can be more expensive, too. They don’t work for everyone, but I think you’d be a good candidate.”
“Please, Mom? Please?” I begged.
Mom looked flustered. “I need to talk this over with your father.” She looked at Dr. Payne. “Do you need a decision right away?”
“There’s no real rush,” the doctor replied. “I’ll give you the literature for both, and you can call me anytime if you have questions.”
When I walked back into the waiting room, Eddie knew just by looking at me what had happened.
“Bad news, huh?” he asked, and all I could do was nod.
Mom took care of the paperwork, and then we all piled into Eddie’s car. Nobody said anything for a few minutes, and then Mom said, “Hon, where are we going?”
Eddie just smiled, and a minute later we pulled into the parking lot of King Cone, the ice-cream place in our town. There’s no inside; just a window where you get your ice cream and then picnic benches where you can sit and eat outside. It’s open every year from St. Patrick’s Day until Halloween. My favorite part is the giant plastic ice-cream cone with a crown and a smiling face that’s out front.
“It’s a perfect day for ice cream,” Eddie said, and I knew he meant more than it was just nice out. He was trying to cheer me up. Eddie’s really good with stuff like that.
I was acting like I was still miserable, but deep down I was happy about getting ice cream.
“Mia, what do you want?” Eddie asked.
“Vanilla ice cream with hot fudge,” I mumbled.
Eddie grinned at the woman at the counter. “One small vanilla cone for my lovely lady here; one small hot fudge sundae for this other lovely lady; and for me, a cup of chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles, chocolate syrup, and gummy bears.”
I smiled for the first time since I got the news about my braces.
“Seriously?” I asked him.
“It’s an excellent combination,” Eddie assured me. “I’ll let you try some.”
“No, thanks,” I said, shaking my head.
Soon we were all seated around a red plastic picnic table, eating our ice cream. The sky was bright blue with perfect cotton-ball clouds floating around in it. My hot fudge sundae was delicious, and the fudge was nice and warm while the ice cream was supercold. Yum!
“Oh man, this is delicious!” Eddie said, smiling. Then Mom and I started cracking up. He had gummy bears stuck all over his teeth!
“What’s so funny?” Eddie asked, and that made us laugh even harder.
Finally, Mom was able to speak. “Sweetie, you’ve got gummy bears stuck in your teeth.”
Eddie ran his tongue across his teeth. “Oh man. See? I don’t even have braces and I’ve got stuff stuck in my teeth!”
“They look like rainbow braces,” I said, giggling. “I bet Katie would like those.”
Eddie took another bite, shaking his head. “I’m going to have to think of another combination.”
So Eddie being funny wasn’t annoying anymore. I felt a little bit better—just a teeny, tiny, little bit.
CHAPTER 6
Sooooo Embarrassing!
So it’s official. I have to get braces,” I announced at lunch the next day.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Mia,” Emma said sympathetically.
“Mom’s going to talk to Dad about getting me the clear ones,” I said. “So keep your fingers crossed for me.”
“But don’t you have to keep those on longer?” Katie asked. “I’d rather just get the metal and get it over with.”
“It all depends,” I replied. “But, anyway, I’d rather look normal but be uncomfortable for years than look like a metal mouth for one day.”
“The metal ones really aren’t that bad,” Alexis said. “I remember when Emma’s brother had his. After a while, I didn’t even notice them on Sam.”
Emma nodded. “True. And it didn’t stop girls from walking by our house to look at him, either, like they always do. Gross.”
“Well, I’d be happier with the clear,” I said, starting to feel slightly annoyed.
“Of course!” Katie said quickly. She held up both hands. “See? I’m crossing all my fingers.”
Then George Martinez walked up to our table. He’s in our grade, and he and Katie have been friends for a long time. His dark hair is short and kind of curly, and he has really nice brown eyes.
“Katie, are you having finger issues?” he asked.
Katie laughed and quickly lowered her hands. “No. Just wishing for something, that’s all.”
“So, do you guys want to go to the park after school?” he asked. I know he said “you guys,” but we all knew he mostly wanted Katie to be there. They both like each other, and sometimes I wonder if they’re boyfriend and girlfriend, but Katie always says no, they’re just friends.
Katie looked around the table. “Are you guys busy?”
“I’ve got a Future Business Leaders of America meeting,” Alexis said.
“And I’ve got some dog walking to do,” Emma answered. “But I guess I could walk them in the park and come by and hang out with you guys for a while.”
“I can go,” I told Katie.
She nodded to George. “See you there.”
George left, and Alexis leaned in.
“Wow, Katie. He practically asked you out on a date!” she said.
Katie blushed. “Hanging out at the park isn’t a date. Besides, he asked all of us.”
“That reminds me,” I said. “This carnival coming up. Do you have to, like, go with ‘somebody,’ or can you just go with friends?”
“I think you can just go with friends,” Emma replied. “That’s what Matt did last year.”
I felt relieved. The only boy in school I’m interested in is Chris Howard. He’s tall, handsome, and kind of quiet, and nice. We went to the pep rally parade together. You had to wear costumes, so I dressed up like a witch, and he dressed up like a warlock. We even held hands.
That was a while ago. After the pep rally, Chris asked me to go to the movies and I said no. Not because I don’t like him, but because it just felt too much like a real date, you know? And, honestly, I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet. Going to school together is nice enough for now. But ever since I turned him down, Chris doesn’t talk to me as much. I think maybe I hurt his feelings, and I feel kind of bad about that, because that’s not what I meant to do.
“We still need a cupcake idea for the carnival,” Alexis reminded us.
Katie frowned. “I am having a hard time thinking of something! But I’ll keep trying.”
“And we’ve got one job this weekend,” Alexis added. “Two dozen lemon cupcakes for a baby shower. We’re baking at my house on Friday night. Emma and Mia have a soccer game Saturday morning so, Katie, can you deliver with me?”
Katie nodded. “Sure. Only, my mom’s working, so can yours drive?”
Alexis quickly typed into her smartphone. “I’ll make a note, but I think she can. Or my dad will.”
We finished up our cupcake business before it was time to go to our next classes. When the final bell of the day rang, I met Katie at her locker, and we headed outside to the park.
“Who else do you think is going to be there?” I asked, and Katie shrugged.
“I’m not sure. George has a lot of friends,” she r
eplied, and it was true. George is one of those kids who isn’t just friends with people in one group. He gets along with everybody.
When we got to the park, we saw George over by the swings with Ken Watanabe, his best friend, and another boy named Chau Tran, who Katie says is funny and nice. Our friends Sophie and Lucy were on the steps by the slide. I was secretly hoping Chris would be there, but I didn’t see him.
“Yo!” George called out, waving when he saw us, and we walked over. I noticed that Ken was lying on his back on the bottom of the slide, and he looked kind of pale.
“Is he okay?” I asked.
“He was trying to break the land speed record on the merry-go-round,” Chau reported. “It didn’t go well.”
Katie shuddered. “I can’t go on that thing. It makes me too dizzy! The swings are much better.”
She sat down in one, and George got behind her and gave her a push.
“Awww, how sweet!” Sophie teased, and Katie blushed a little.
I got on the swing next to Katie and started to swing too. We all started talking about school, and then George did this impression of Ms. Chen, our gym teacher, that had us cracking up.
I was still swinging when I noticed two boys playing basketball in the court on the opposite side of the park. I put my hand over my eyes and squinted. One of them was Chris Howard!
I guess I was feeling kind of giddy from being on the swings and laughing and everything, so I started waving my arms and yelling, “Yo, Chris! Over here! Hey!”
“Mia, what are you doing?” Katie asked.
Chris tossed the ball to his friend and started walking over to the swings.
“That’s not Chris,” Katie said. “That’s Eddie Rossi.”
I squinted and realized she was right. Eddie is tall, like Chris, and he’s nice and everything, but he mostly hangs out with the girls in the Best Friends Club.
“Oh no!” I wailed. “What do I do?”
“I have no idea,” Katie replied.
Eddie walked up to me with a big grin on his face. “Hi, Mia. What’s up?”
“Um, hi, I mean, nothing,” I said, and I felt my face getting red. Did Eddie think I liked him? I should have told him I thought he was Chris, but I was too embarrassed. Luckily, Ken saved me. He sat up and walked over to Eddie.
“Dude, push me on that thing,” he said, nodding toward the merry-go-round. “I think I can go faster.”
Chau shook his head. “Some people never learn,” he said, but he and George ran to watch.
I was off the hook. Then Emma came up to us, walking a big, yellow lab on a leash.
“Hey,” she said. “What’s happening?”
“Only the most embarrassing moment of my life!” I replied dramatically.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Katie said. “She just thought Eddie Rossi was Chris Howard, that’s all.”
“That’s not bad at all,” Emma agreed. “They’re both tall.”
“I guess,” I replied, but inside I still felt like a big dork. It’s like I wasn’t feeling like myself lately. I blamed it on the braces. But what I didn’t realize was that things were going to get even worse!
CHAPTER 7
More Bad News
On Friday I had to go back to Dr. Payne’s to get a mold made of my mouth. My dad was away on a business trip, so there was no decision yet about what kind of braces I was getting. When he called to see how the visit went, he said, “We’ll discuss it when I get back, honey.” Sometimes I just wish Mom or Dad would make a decision without the other. Anyway, Mom said that since we definitely decided I needed braces, I should get the mold made.
Mom had to work, so Eddie took me. Getting the mold didn’t hurt or anything, but it was still pretty horrible. I had to stick my teeth into this disgusting cement stuff that tasted like minty putty. Gross! And I had to do it twice—once for my top teeth, and once for my bottom teeth. When I was done, I rinsed my mouth a million times, but I could still taste the cement.
Luckily, Eddie didn’t make any jokes. He stopped and got me a smoothie, so I could try to get the taste out of my mouth, and it helped a little.
Thankfully, the next few days were normal. Nothing exciting happened except for a pop quiz in my science class on Monday. Oh, and Chris Howard talked to me a couple of times in social studies, which was kind of nice. I was hoping maybe things would get back to normal between us.
But then things got weird again on Tuesday, in Mr. K.’s math class. Instead of working in our books like we had been doing, he’d written more equations on the board. I found myself squinting again, but I didn’t say anything this time, because I didn’t want him to move my seat.
When class started, Mr. K. began talking about equivalent fractions and calling on people in the class. I slumped down in my seat, hoping he wouldn’t notice me. But of course he called on me.
“Mia? Can you tell me if these two fractions are equivalent?”
I did my best to squint, but I really couldn’t make out the numbers. Instead of giving the wrong answer again, I was just honest. “I can’t read the numbers,” I said.
A flicker of recognition crossed Mr. K.’s face. “Right! I meant to follow up on this. Randall, please switch places with Mia again. And, Mia, please come talk to me after class.”
I moved my seat, and I could see a lot better. I answered the question correctly, and the rest of the class went smoothly. When the bell rang, Katie gave me a sad wave good-bye as she left the room.
I slowly approached Mr. K.’s desk.
“So, Mia, it seems like you’re having trouble seeing the board,” he said. “Have you been having trouble seeing things far away?”
I hadn’t really thought about it until he asked me. But then I remembered that day at the movies with Katie. And how I had mistaken Eddie Rossi for Chris Howard.
“Well, yeah, sometimes,” I admitted.
Mr. K. nodded and tapped the wire frame of his eyeglasses. “I was about your age when I got these. It happened the same way. I couldn’t see anything written on the blackboard. I kept striking out in baseball. I’m going to shoot your mom an e-mail, recommending that you go see an eye doctor.”
Oh great! Another doctor! I thought. Not only that, but Mr. K. was suggesting I needed glasses. Glasses! It was too cruel to be true. How could I need glasses and braces at the same time?
I didn’t want Mr. K. to see that I was upset.
“Okay. Thanks,” I said quietly, and then I quickly left the classroom.
A few periods later, at lunch, Katie and I sat down and opened up our lunch bags. Mom had packed me a container of spicy Japanese noodles, one of my favorite lunches. I could tell she was feeling bad for me about the braces.
Wait till she hears about the glasses, I thought. She’ll have to send a personal sushi chef to school with me to make me feel better.
Alexis and Emma sat down with their hot lunch trays, and that’s when Katie asked me, “So, what did Mr. K. want to talk to you about?”
I put down my chopsticks, frowning. “He thinks I need glasses,” I said. “Can you believe it? Glasses and braces? I might as well forget about my social life.”
“First of all, we’re your social life, and we don’t care what you look like,” Alexis said. “Second of all, you might be panicking for nothing. Whatever happened to the clear braces?”
“Mom’s going to talk to Dad about it when he drops me off this weekend,” I said. “But I don’t know what he’s going to say.”
“Don’t leave it up to her,” Alexis advised. “You need to work on him. Present your case.”
“How?” I asked.
“I’m thinking a PowerPoint presentation,” she said. “I can help. Maybe Thursday after school?”
“Oh, definitely,” I said gratefully. “Thanks!”
Knowing I had Alexis backing me up on the clear braces made me feel a little better. But that night at dinner, everything fell apart again.
“So, I got an e-mail from Mr. K.,” Mom said as
we sat around the table eating salmon and broccoli. Dan was at track practice, so it was just Mom and Eddie and me.
“Yeah, I know,” I said.
“I’ve made an appointment with an eye doctor for Monday,” Mom told me. She glanced at Eddie. “I’m just surprised I had to hear this from a teacher. Why didn’t you tell us you were having trouble seeing the board?”
I honestly didn’t know how to answer that. “I don’t know. It didn’t seem like a big deal.”
“It’s definitely a big deal, Mia,” Mom said. “Your eyesight is very important.”
“So how far away can you see?” Eddie asked. He was sitting across the table from me, and he held up a piece of broccoli. “Can you see this? Is it blurry?”
“Of course I can see it,” I snapped.
“Mia, watch your tone,” Mom warned.
I sighed. “Sorry,” I said, and then I finished my dinner without talking much at all.
But Eddie was still on my case after we finished. I was in the dining room, doing homework, when he appeared in the doorway holding a piece of paper with some letters written on it.
“Can you read these?” he asked.
“Yes!” I said, not looking up from my homework.
“How about from here?” he asked, stepping back into the kitchen.
I was frustrated now. “Are you seriously doing this?”
Mom appeared and placed her hand on Eddie’s arm. “Let’s leave this up to the eye doctor, okay?”
Eddie nodded. “Sorry, Mia. I’m just worried about you. That’s all.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I snapped. “I’m just fine.”
But of course I wasn’t! I wasn’t fine at all.
CHAPTER 8
Enhancing My Well-Being
I was glad when the weekend came and I could get away to Manhattan and to my dad. He met me at the train like usual, and that night he surprised me by taking me to see a Broadway show. We had a quick dinner of burgers at a diner first, so we didn’t do our usual sushi-restaurant thing we do on Friday nights. I didn’t mind, because the show was good, and I had a fun night—with just Dad and me.
