by Chudney Ross
“Rose wants to be alone with her friends tonight, and it’s almost bedtime anyway.”
“Fine.” I marched right by Rose and all her friends, who were still giggling about Marcus and how cute he is.
What a mess! I had forgotten about the flattened fort all over the floor.
I spent what felt like hours trying to make the beds and folding the sheets, which was hard to do by myself. When I was all finished, I plopped down on my bed without even brushing my teeth or washing my face. I know it’s important to wash up before bedtime, but I was exhausted. I was fast asleep even before Mom came to tuck me in and turn out the lights.
School wasn’t so bad now that I had a few friends. Me and Gabrielle sat together every day at lunch and—guess what? She likes Cheetos and Jell-O and snickerdoodles just as much as I do now. She had never had them before, but I was teaching her all about good food. She shared her apple slices too, and even though they are healthy, I thought they were yummy.
Sam and I were friends too, even though it made Carla m-a-d MAD! Life is so much better when you don’t have to eat all by yourself or stand alone in line and when you have people to play with at recess.
One afternoon, a big kid named Donald suggested we play freeze tag. I like tag because I can run pretty fast and no one is throwing things at you.
“You’re It!” yelled Sam as she tapped my shoulder.
The whole group scattered. Jerry ran behind the tree. Donald ran to the fence and Sam took off toward the jungle gym, followed by Carla. I ran as fast as I could. I chased Sam around the jungle gym but missed her. Then I followed Jerry to the tree.
“Gotcha!” I yelled. I tagged him and he froze like a statue.
I caught everyone except Carla, because I was too scared to get close to her. Next, Donald was It. I ran as fast as my legs would go to the fence. He’s big and kinda chubby, so he was really slow. When he got close, I took off and ran around the jungle gym.
“You can’t catch me!” I teased.
I waited till he got close and then I bolted again. I ran circles around him, which made Sam laugh. I was having so much fun that I didn’t pay attention to how angry Donald was getting.
“You’re a slowpoke! Slowpoke!” I sang.
I guess my joking around made my feet slow down so much that Donald caught up. He shoved me with all his might.
I flew forward, tumbled like a rag doll, and skidded across the cement. Everything hurt, but I couldn’t see the damage because my glasses had fallen off. I scrambled to find them, and as I slid them back on my nose, I saw that I had scraped my knees so bad that the knee parts of my jeans had ripped. There were bloody scratches underneath, and my palms were all cut up too.
I’ve gotten pretty tough, so I could take all of that, but my finger really, really hurt. It was throbbing and getting swollen like a balloon. It wouldn’t even move or bend.
“Are you okay, Bean?” asked Sam.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. I didn’t want her to think I was a crybaby.
“Sorry,” said Donald. “I didn’t mean to push you so hard.”
“It’s okay,” I said.
“Come on,” said Jerry. “Let’s go play basketball.”
And just like that, the boys marched off toward the hoop at the other side of the playground.
“You guys go ahead without me,” I called after them with a wave of my bloody hand.
“You sure you’re okay?” Sam asked again.
“Yeah. Sure. I’ll be over in a second,” I said, trying to keep the tears from filling my eyes.
“Okay,” she said, but when she left, I started to cry. And not a little-drippy-tear-down-your-cheek kinda cry. I let out huge sobs with buckets of tears. I dropped to my knees and curled up into a little ball and kept crying and crying.
“Are you okay?” a voice asked.
I looked up and it was Carla.
“No, I think I’m really hurt,” I said through my tears and runny nose and bloody knees and hands.
“Come on,” she said, and she helped me up.
We walked to the nurse’s office without saying even a word.
“Bean, what happened?” asked Nurse Beth.
“I fell and skinned my knees and my hands and my finger hurts bad.”
She cleaned off my knees and hands with hydrogen peroxide. It stung a little, but it looked cool when it bubbled up all white and frothy. Next, she looked closely at my finger.
“I think we’d better call your parents so they can have a doctor check it out,” she said.
Now I started to worry. I must have really hurt it if my parents were being called in. I slumped over in my chair as Nurse Beth left the room to use the phone. Carla came and sat next to me.
“Remember when we were playing hide-and-seek and your sister pushed me and then you pushed her back?”
“Yeah! Gardenia got so mad.”
“Yeah, and then we made up that song while we sat on your back stoop.”
“Oh, yeah!” I said with a smile. “Do you remember the words?”
“I sure do,” she said.
We both started singing. “Friends forever. La-di-da-di-dee. Fighting never. La-di-da-di-do. We are so clever. La-di-da-di-dee.”
“I’m so sorry, Carla,” I said. My tears started to fall again. “I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch over the summer.”
“I’m sorry too. I was really mean,” Carla said. She gave me a big hug.
Everything still hurt, but right at that moment I felt just fine.
Chapter 14
Worse Than Ever
I swung my feet back and forth as I sat next to Carla in the office. Sam and Gabrielle came to check on me too.
“Do you think it’s broken?” asked Carla.
“Once I broke my arm. I went to the hospital and they x-rayed it,” Sam said. “I could see all my bones.”
“Oh, dear,” Gabrielle gasped. “Luckily, I have never broken anything,”
Just then, Mom came flying through the door and I waved with my cut-up hand.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said with a smile.
“Hello, everyone,” said Mom. “It’s so nice to see you, Carla.”
“You too, Mrs. Gibson.”
“Now, let’s check you out, Bean,” Mom said as she looked closely at my finger and moved it around gently. Ouch!
“It does look broken, honey.”
“Really?” I said. Then I added, “Can I get it x-rayed, so I can see all my bones?”
“You don’t usually need an X-ray for a finger, but I guess we could stop by the hospital on the way home. We can also pick up a splint while we’re there.”
“Hello, Mrs. Gibson. My name is Gabrielle.” Gabrielle gave Mom’s hand a polite shake. “I was wondering if you might tell me what a splint is?”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Gabrielle,” Mom said. Then she explained, “A splint is something that will hold the finger still, so it doesn’t move around.”
“I had a cast on my arm once and everyone signed it and drew pictures,” Sam said.
“Well, Sam, it’s kind of like that, but much smaller, just for your finger.” Mom headed toward the door. “Come on, Bean. Let’s go.”
“Feel better,” Carla said.
“Thanks, Carla,” I said.
“Bye, Bean,” Sam and Gabrielle called before the door closed behind us.
“Looks like Carla and you have worked things out,” Mom said as we headed to the car. “And Gabrielle seems nice too.”
“Yep, things are getting much better.” I hopped in and buckled up.
It was pretty cool to have some alone time with Mom. I didn’t have to fight for a seat, I could talk about whatever I wanted, and I even got to pick the radio station.
Mom parked the car in the employee parking garage at the hospital. We headed right in through the sliding doors. I think it’s supercool how the doors know when you’re coming and open up all by th
emselves. I walked in and out and in and out. Open. Close. Op—
“Okay Bean, that’s enough. Let’s go.”
I walked through one more time and then followed Mom up the stairs to the second floor. She waved at a man with a shiny bald head standing by the desk in the middle of the room. He was wearing blue scrubs just like hers.
“Hey, Jason, could you do me a favor and x-ray my daughter’s hand?”
“All righty,” said Jason with a warm smile.
He led me into a room with a big cameralike machine. He told me to put my hand flat on the cold surface and then he covered me with a thick bluish-silver blanket. It was heavy and not soft at all. He said it was to protect my insides. I wondered why my hand didn’t need protection too.
“I’ll be right behind that wall,” he said. “Stay very still.”
I sat like a statue and held my breath while Jason slid behind the wall. I could see him pull a lever, which made the lights flash and a buzzer ring. He came inside and gently flipped my hand over and did it all again, then led me back out into the hall where Mom was waiting.
“She did really well,” Jason told Mom.
Mom and I waited in the hallway while the X-rays developed like film from one of those disposable cameras. The hall was bright white and clean and it smelled like medicine. A guy rolled by in a wheelchair. He was all bandaged up, and he moaned like he hurt all over. Poor thing! Boy, was I glad I only hurt my finger and not my whole body.
Jason finally returned with two big pictures of the bones in my hand, only they didn’t look like my hand at all. They looked like a spooky skeleton hand.
“Look”—Mom pointed to one of the fingers on the X-ray—“see how it’s broken right there?”
I got really close and squinted, but it was hard to tell. I believed her, though, because she’s a nurse and also because my finger was killing me.
“Thanks, Jason,” Mom said. We headed back down the stairs and into the waiting room. “Sit here, Bean. I’m going to get a splint from the supply room.”
Mom disappeared down the hall. I thought about Carla and smiled to myself, but then my happy thoughts were interrupted. The man sitting next to me was as big as a bear and coughing like he was about to throw up his insides. Yuck! I covered my face with my sleeve, so I wouldn’t breathe his nasty germs.
I looked around, and everyone in the waiting room looked s-i-c-k SICK! I could feel the germs like cooties all over my body. I wiggled in my seat and covered my whole head with my sweatshirt, but I couldn’t take it anymore! No open, close, open, close of the door this time. I jumped up and rushed right through the hospital door.
Right as I stepped outside, an ambulance pulled up. It screeched to a stop and the doors flew open. I rushed to the side to get out of the way of the EMTs. That means ambulance drivers, you know. They worked fast as they pulled a lady lying flat on a board from the ambulance. She was tied down with red straps and had all sorts of tubes sticking out of her.
I hoped and hoped that she was going to be okay as they swooped past me and disappeared into the hospital. Right then and there, I decided that maybe I want to be an EMT when I grow up, so I can save people when they are in really bad shape.
“Oh, my goodness, Bean,” said Mom as she came through the door. “I was looking for you everywhere. I told you to stay put.”
“I know, but there were so many germs and coughing and sick people. I had to leave,” I said.
I don’t know how Mom deals with all that yucky sickness every day.
“Okay,” Mom said. “Let’s get this splint on your finger and go home.”
Mom knelt down in front of me and bent the metal splint around my palm. Then she strapped my finger down tight with two white strips of tape. It hurt at first, but then it just felt kinda funny. Usually, my finger moves all around, but now it was stuck pointing straight up.
“Look over there.” I pointed my splinted finger toward the street.
“What is it?” Mom asked.
“Nothing—it’s just that my finger is always pointing to something now.”
As we drove back home, we laughed over and over again as I kept pointing at things I didn’t mean to.
“Maybe I’ll have everyone sign my splint,” I said as we pulled into the driveway.
“Don’t you think it’s too small for everyone’s names?”
“Yeah, but maybe everyone can put their initials on the tape,” I said. “C for Carla, then S for Sam and G for Gabrielle.”
When we got home, my sisters were already back from school.
“What happened?” asked Rose as she rushed over and gave me a hug.
“I fell during recess and broke my finger. Look!” I said as I held up my hand.
“Does it hurt?” Gardenia asked, leaning in to get a better look.
“It did, but it’s not so bad anymore.”
“I’m glad you are all right,” Dad said as he gave me a good, long I’m-happy-you-are-okay kinda squeeze.
Mom got started on dinner. Dad, Rose, and Gardenia went into the living room to practice their instruments, and I started my homework at the kitchen table.
All I had was cursive homework, which usually takes no time at all. This time, when I tried to write with my pencil, my finger just stuck straight out. It was hard to grab the pencil without a pointer finger to hold it. I struggled to trace the M’s and N’s, and then with no dots to follow, it was a mess. Even though it took like what seemed like forever, I finally finished and had time to check my email before dinner, and—guess what? There was an email from Tanya!
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Miss u!
Hey B.
Sorry Ive been so MIA. Computer broke and lotsa work at school. Hope things get better 4 u. How r things w/Carla? You makin new friends? I have a friend named Donna. Shes soooo funny. Ud love her!
Hope 2 see u soon.
T
I was so happy to hear from her. I missed her a whole bunch and I had so much to tell her. Typing wasn’t too bad with a broken finger because I only use two fingers anyway, so I emailed her right back.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Miss u!
Guess what? I broke my finger 2day and went 2 hospital and got 2 c my bones in an xray. Carla and me r friends again and now I have other friends 2. Im learnin violin and gettin kinda good, u no. Im gonna be in a perfomenc soon.
TTYL
Bean
“Dinnertime,” Mom called just as I logged off.
I skipped into the kitchen feeling g-o-o-d GOOD. I hopped right into my seat, flipped my napkin in my lap, and swung my legs to the tune I was humming. Mom scooped some chicken and potatoes and peas onto my plate and boy, did it smell yummy. But, when it was time to dig in, my happy mood turned m-a-d MAD. It was so hard to hold that stinkin’ fork!
Gardenia kept laughing like a hyena every time peas dropped all over my lap. Rose laughed when my chicken fell off my plate, and Mom and Dad laughed too. I didn’t think it was very funny at all. . . . Okay, maybe just a little.
After dinner, the worst thing of all happened. I pulled out my violin to practice, but I couldn’t even hold the stupid bow with my dumb, broken finger. It hurt really bad when I pushed down on the strings with the bow, so all I could make was sick-cat, screechy sounds, instead of the good “Twinkle Twinkle” sounds that I had learned. Just when I thought I was starting to sound pretty good, I was worse than ever.
Chapter 15
No Practice Makes Not Perfect
Before I knew it, Thanksgiving was here. I love Thanksgiving because I love turkey and stuffing and sweet potato pie and I love, love, love that I don’t have to go to school.
My finger still had the splint on, so luckily, my sweet potatoes stuck to the fork and no one yelled at me when I ate my turkey with my fingers. I left my greens and cranberries right on my plate because I knew they were gonna be sl
ippery. Well, also because cranberries are icky and greens are yucky.
On Friday, Dad wanted me to practice, but it was too hard to hold the bow with the splint on my finger. I didn’t care though, because someone was knocking at the door—and I knew just who it was.
“Carla!”
“Hey, Bean.” Carla greeted me with a big, warm best-friend kinda hug. “How was Thanksgiving dinner?”
“Delicious!” I licked my lips.
Sam was at the door too. Did you know that having lots of friends is even better than just having one best friend? When Carla can’t talk on the phone because she has to finish her homework, I have a whole bunch of other friends I can call. And when I need help climbing the fence on the playground, I have more hands to give me a boost.
“Wanna go to 7-Eleven and share a Slurpee? I’ve got two dollars,” Sam suggested, and you know, I love Slurpees. I grabbed my jacket and we marched right out the back door and down the stairs.
We passed by Rose and Gardenia, who were playing hopscotch outside.
“Where are you guys going?” Gardenia yelled in my direction. I just ignored her, like she always does to me. I have my own friends now.
We walked past the line of garbage cans. Black is for trash, blue for things that can be recycled, like Coke cans and cardboard boxes, and green is for . . .
“What’s the green garbage can for?” I asked.
“Boogers!” Carla laughed as she grabbed me with tickling fingers.
“Ha-ha!” I broke free, and we ran down the block, around the corner, and all the way to 7-Eleven.
We pushed through the door, and I said hi to Darnell, who is big and wide and shaped like an Easter egg. He smiled at us, showing his teeth that look like marshmallows, big and white against his dark skin.
“Hey, there, kids,” he said with a wave. The skin on his arm wiggled and jiggled back and forth. I had never even seen him leave that seat behind the counter. I wondered if it was hard for Darnell to move around.
“What flavor should we get?” Sam asked. We stared at all the different-color nozzles.
“Blue raspberry is our favorite,” I said quickly, but then remembered that Carla had changed her mind. “I mean it’s my favorite.”
