by Lisa Yee
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Pleeeeease tell me!”
“Well, I know I’ve said this before, but I’m not sure why you never talk to your mom. I think she’s really lonely.”
“She told you that?”
“No, but I can tell. She turned down a really great assignment in Paris so she could be with you this summer.”
“She did? How do you know?”
Millie was silent.
“How do you know?” I pressed.
“Sometimes when she’s not around, I look at things in her office,” Millicent mumbled.
“You snoop?”
“That’s not important. The important thing is that Alice misses you.” Millie looked guilty. “You’re not going to tell her I went through her things, are you?”
“No, I’m not going to say anything.”
“Phew! For a moment I thought you were mad at me.”
“It’s not you I’m mad at.”
“Don’t tell me you’re mad at Alice again. It’s a little superfluous.”
“Well, she can be so pushy. Like insisting that we talk all the time. And she was always forcing my dad to take me places, then she’d pretend it was his idea.”
“So, you’re mad at her because she cares about you and wanted your father to be a bigger part of your life? Oh yeah. I can see why you hate her.”
“I never said I hated her. I don’t hate her….”
“Listen, Emily, we never know how long we have with a person. Your grandpa could die, your grandmother could leave, your mom could be hiding a major medical condition —”
“What? Are you trying to tell me something?” Millicent wouldn’t look at me. “Ohmygosh! You found something when you were snooping, didn’t you? Something’s wrong with Alice!”
Millie scrunched up her face. “Nothing’s the matter with her,” she said unconvincingly.
All of a sudden I had to talk to Alice. It was as if my emotions were suffocating me and the only person who could save me was my mother. I couldn’t breathe.
“Hey, where are you going?” Millicent called after me.
“There’s someone I need to talk to,” I yelled back.
Even though volleyball hadn’t turned me into Olympic material, it had gotten me into better shape. I ran home. When I turned the corner, my heart stopped. A police car was parked in our driveway. I raced inside to find Alice sprawled out on the couch, her eyes closed.
Just then, Officer Ramsey walked in from the kitchen with a glass of water. I grabbed it and threw the water at Alice.
“AWAKEN!!!” I ordered.
Alice bolted upright and screamed.
“Um, Alice, do you still want the aspirin?” Officer Ramsey asked.
“Emily?” she sputtered.
I burst out crying. “I thought … I thought you …”
“Oh, honey,” Alice said, “it’s just a small headache, certainly not enough to kill me. I think it’s my sinuses again. Officer Ramsey was kind enough to give me a ride home from the library.”
When I didn’t stop crying, she reached out to me and I met her halfway. At first it was awkward, but soon I relaxed, and it felt good to lean on her. Every time I hugged Alice just a little tighter, she returned the hug. It was like we were in our own world, and it wasn’t until Officer Ramsey spoke that I remembered someone else was in the house with us.
“Alice, is this you in the bat mitzvah photo?” Officer Ramsey was pretending to be interested in the photo on our fireplace mantel. “I can’t remember anything about my bar mitzvah, except at one point I fainted.”
By then Alice and I were both weeping. Officer Ramsey coughed and said, “Well, I guess I’ll just show myself out. Er, hope you feel better soon, Alice. Good-bye, Emily.”
“I’m so sorry,” I sobbed when the door shut. I grabbed a cushion to blot my tears.
“It’s okay, my clothes will dry. It was just water.”
“No, I mean about this summer and life and everything. I’ve been so mean to you,” I blubbered.
“That’s true,” she said.
“Well, you were pretty much a basket case, you know.”
“That’s true too!”
Alice put her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “Listen, Emily, I have some things to tell you. And I’m not giving you a choice this time. You’re going to listen to me, okay?”
I nodded.
Alice took a deep breath. “No more lies. You’re old enough to know the truth. Your father and I did you a real disservice by thinking you couldn’t handle knowing the divorce was coming, when really it was us who couldn’t handle it. Believe it or not, parents don’t always know the right thing to do.”
“Ooooh, I believe it!”
Alice smiled for a moment. “Things are going to change around here, for the better.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve started seeing someone….”
“I know. Officer Ramsey.”
She blushed. “No, I’ve started seeing a psychologist and she’s been really helpful. I think it’s time for me to move forward with the rest of my life.”
“Can I go with you?”
Alice squeezed my hand. “I would love that. But first, I think I’d better change out of these wet clothes!”
It wasn’t our night for Neighborhood Watch, but we went for a walk anyway — just a regular walk, no flashlights, though out of habit, we kept peering into our neighbors’ houses.
“Emily, are you angry that I made you move?”
“I was. Sometimes I still am. But I’m getting used to the idea. I’m a little worried about school starting.”
Alice nodded. “New situations can be scary. They can also be invigorating. Emily, I have always admired the way you tackle life.”
“The way I tackle life? What, like I’m a football player?”
“No,” she laughed. “You’ve always had such a great sense of who you are. Like when you got the title role of Annie, and Nicole was your understudy. But you insisted you’d rather play an orphan, so Nicole got the lead.”
“Well, I knew how much she wanted that part.”
“That’s what I mean. You stepped aside so that someone else could be in the spotlight. You didn’t need the lead role in a play to feel important.”
We walked in silence for a while. “Why didn’t you go to Paris?” I asked.
“You knew about that?”
I nodded. “You could have gone, you know. I heard it was a really big assignment.”
“It was. A cover story. But I’d much rather be with you. What’s Paris, when I could spend a summer with my daughter?”
Just then Officer Ramsey pulled up alongside us. “Hello again!”
“Hello!” we both said as we kept walking.
“Beautiful evening, isn’t it?” He drove the car slowly to keep pace with us.
“It really is,” Alice agreed. “More than I could ever wish for.”
“How’s your headache?”
“It’s gone now.”
Officer Ramsey just gazed at her for a long time, and then said, “Okay, well, I’d better go make sure Rancho Rosetta is safe. Take care, both of you!”
“He’s not bad,” I said as his car turned the corner.
“Not bad at all,” Alice said.
We didn’t say much after that. We didn’t need to. The fact that we were walking arm in arm said it all.
AUGUST 31
Dear Diary,
This afternoon I called Julie. She sounded sleepy even though it was after 2 p.m. “Sure, come on over,” she yawned. “I’m glad you called, I want to show you some things.”
A few days ago I would have been thrilled to hear her say she was glad to hear from me. Today it meant nothing. I may have been slow, but I finally figured out what a true friend is, and Julie never was one.
Julie’s mom answered the door. She was wearing high heels. Julie says sh
e always wears high heels, even to the grocery store. “You’re looking good,” she said. “It must be that diet!”
“I’m not dieting anymore,” I told her. “Ever.”
Julie was in her room, sprawled in a beanbag chair. The Triple A’s floated in and out of the room, carrying diet sodas and laughing at their own jokes. Wendy was on the floor studying a photo album. Everyone ignored her.
“Hi Emily!” Wendy said, grinning.
Julie held up a catalog. “Look! These necklaces are so cute! I think we ought to consider getting them. What do you think, Emily? They’re so much cuter than those plastic beads you’re wearing.”
“You’re wrong, these beads are beautiful. And as for the necklaces in the catalog, I think they’re great. Only you’re going to have to get someone else to pay for them.”
Julie’s smile never wavered. “Is there something you’re trying to tell me?”
Wendy’s eyes darted from me, to Julie, then back to me.
“I’m just saying that it’s not nice to take advantage of someone.”
“Who’s doing that?” asked Julie.
“You know who.”
“Emily …” Wendy began.
“Stay out of this,” Julie ordered. “Look, Emily, if you’re talking about the purses, big deal. It wasn’t even your money, it was your dad’s. He won’t care.”
“How do you know?”
“I know how dads are.”
“Then why don’t you get your dad to buy your things?”
For a split second, Julie’s smile turned into a frown. “Listen, Emily. You seem to have forgotten everything that I am doing for you. Not just anyone can get into my group. That I took you on is a miracle. Betina even asked why I was letting you hang around since you’re so fat.”
I flinched. “I am not fat,” I growled. “I am within the healthy guidelines for my weight! Just ask any doctor.”
Wendy stood up. “She’s not fat!” When Julie shot her a glare, Wendy sat back down and added meekly, “Well, she’s not.”
Julie cupped her ear. “What? Is the mouse saying something?” She faced me. “Because I am a generous person, I will give you a chance to apologize.”
Silence.
“I’m waiting …”
“I’m sorry,” I finally said.
“I thought so!” Julie winked at me. “Now, about those necklaces …”
“No!” I cut her off. “I’m sorry you’re the way you are. I think it’s you who owes Wendy and me an apology. And while you’re at it, you ought to apologize to Millicent Min too, for all the mean things you’ve said to her this summer.”
Julie rose from the beanbag and stretched to her full height. “Excuse me?”
“You know, Julie,” I said. “It’s not that hard to be nice. I’ve even seen you do it, like when you showed me around school. You should do it more often. You might even like it.”
The Triple A’s were as stiff as mannequins. Julie shook her head. “I tried to help you, Emily. And this is how you thank me?”
“Thanks, Julie,” I said. “I appreciate the makeover, but I’ve decided to go back to being plain old me.”
As I headed to the door, Wendy called out, “Emily, wait for me!” She was quiet as we walked away from Julie’s house.
“Well, that was sort of fun in a weird way,” I said.
“We’re dead,” Wendy lamented. “Julie’s going to kill us when school starts. We might as well drop out right now.”
“We’ll protect each other,” I told her. “Julie’s not scary, unless you let her get to you.”
“It was fun being in the popular group while it lasted,” Wendy sighed. “But you know, hanging around with Julie was nothing like I thought it would be. She was actually sort of dull. And they call my friends boring!”
“You’re not boring,” I said to Wendy as we parted.
“You know what?” she replied. “I’d pick you for a friend over Julie any day.”
When I got home I was happy to find Millie with Alice at the dining room table. They were eating sandwiches and there was a place set for me. I was starving.
“We were just talking about the Fiesta,” Alice said.
I bit into my sandwich. It was delicious — roast beef, avocado, cheese, onions.
“The whole town turns out for the end-of-summer Fiesta at Wild Acres Theme Park,” Millicent explained. “Which is why we shouldn’t go. It will be too crowded.”
“Are you kidding me? We’ve got to go!” I told her. I took another bite. “Where’d you get the sandwiches?” I asked Alice.
“I made them,” she said.
I smiled. “They taste great. Hey, why don’t you come to Wild Acres with us?”
“I would love to, but I’m on a deadline. But Emily,” she said, “please ride a roller coaster for me, okay?”
“Okay!”
As I neared Wild Acres with the Mins, I could hear the music and the screams and the laughter blending together.
“C’mon, what are we waiting for?” I shouted. I raced to get in line at Monstroso, the giant roller coaster. “Millie, hurry!”
As we boarded the coaster, my stomach was all butterfly-ish. Millie looked terrified and kept testing her seat belt. Mr. Min kept practicing raising his hands high in the air. It looked like he was doing arm exercises.
“Good luck,” the roller coaster man growled. “Hope I see you when it’s over. The last time around we lost four riders.”
“Really?” I squealed.
“That didn’t happen,” Millicent started to say, but she choked on her sentence as Monstroso started chugging up the track. I loved the view from the top. For the first time I could see all of Rancho Rosetta. Everything looked different, better, more beautiful from a distance —
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!”
Millie and I screamed our heads off. When Monstroso finally slowed to a stop, Mr. Min and Millicent hugged and we all agreed it was the best ride ever. Then Millie and I took off on our own.
It had occurred to me that Stanford Wong might be at Wild Acres. I was wearing my good-luck jeans and my new Jodi Jodi purple top. I even used my White Lightning perfume, but just a dab like they say in Gamma Girl. And I held on to my friendship necklace.
“Let me know if you see him, okay?”
“Emily, he’s a doofus of the highest order. I can’t believe you still like Stanford, knowing that he’s just a stupid boy,” Millicent said as we pushed our way through the crowd.
“I still liked you when I thought you were a stupid girl. Besides, I don’t think he’s stupid. You can’t be stupid and play basketball as well as he does,” I told her. “What I don’t understand is why he never apologized. I thought he liked me.”
Millie gave me a stern look. She’ll make a really good mom someday. “Excuse me, but haven’t we been over this a billion times? He does like you, he likes you a lot. Okay???!! Now can we please change the subject? Sheesh.”
As we neared the stage, I could hear music. A group of old guys was playing. They were good, but not nearly as good as the Talky Boys. As I scanned the audience for Stanford, I spotted the Roadrunners. Stretch, the drop-dead-gorgeous-movie-star-hunk, towered over the rest of them. Gus, the curly-haired boy, played the air guitar like he was on fast-forward. The shorter boy with the big smile accompanied him on the trash can as the redheaded boy looked on. Stanford was not among them. Stretch nudged Gus.
“Millie,” I whispered. “I think those boys are looking at us. Aren’t they Stanford Wong’s friends?”
“He has friends?”
I smiled and waved. They huddled, then one of them came toward us. The one Wendy told me to watch out for.
“Hello, ladies,” he said. A smile crept across his face. “Let me introduce myself. Digger Ronster, head of the Roadrunners.”
“Hi,” I said cautiously.
Millie kept her mouth shut.
> “Nice song, isn’t it?” He motioned toward the couples slowly making their way around the dance floor.
Digger was better-looking up close than from a distance. Handsome, in a weird way. Even though his hair was bright red and his face was covered with freckles, his blue eyes stood out. They were hypnotizing.
He turned to Millicent and I saw her stiffen.
“May I have this dance?” When she hesitated, he murmured, “Come on, let’s dance.” His voice was smooth.
“No, really …” Millicent stepped backward and bumped into me. I held on to her to keep her from falling.
“Let’s dance,” Digger said, reaching for her hand.
Millie had an odd look on her face that I couldn’t read. Digger turned to his friends and gave them a thumbs-up.
“You don’t have to go,” I whispered, but she was already gone.
As I watched from the sidelines, someone came and stood next to me. It was Stanford Wong! I was afraid that if I looked directly at him I might pass out or, at the very least, hyperventilate. So I tried to look straight ahead. But from the corner of my eye, Stanford looked even better than I remembered. He smelled good too. And his hair! It was a new style and he had the coolest purple highlights. Just to be standing next to Stanford was enough to make me feel like my heart was about to burst from happiness. Nothing could interrupt this moment.
“Get away from me!” Millie yelled as she shoved Digger.
“You’re still just a little nerd,” he shouted back even louder. “You lost me ten bucks!”
Millie shrank. I started toward her, but Stanford handed me his basketball. He looked angry. “I’ll handle this,” he said. I moved closer to the dance floor as he made his way to Millicent.
Digger held up his hand to high-five, but Stanford just glared at him.
“Just lost me ten big bucks because this geek-a-zoid here can’t dance,” Digger complained. “I bet the guys I could get through a whole dance with Miss Smarty-pants.”
By now Millicent had covered her face with her hands. I could see Mr. and Mrs. Min through the crowd. They were frozen. So was I. Then Stanford raised his arm and I thought he was going to hit Digger. Instead, he reached out to Millie and offered her his hand.
She just stared at it as if she had never seen a hand before.
