What Are You Hiding, Tory? (9781771275347)
Page 10
“Don’t stay up too late,” Mom warned us when she finally left my room.
“We won’t. Goodnight, Mom.”
“’Night, Mrs. Richards,” Kelly said.
“Goodnight girls, sleep well.”
“I thought she would never leave!” Kelly said in a loud whisper when Mom closed the door.
“You know how long it takes,” I said.
“Oh, I know, I know! I just have something to tell you!”
I knew it! I unrolled my sleeping bag next to Kelly’s. There’s a big picture of a puppy snuggled with a kitten on my sleeping bag, which I’ve had since I was in first grade. I was thinking maybe I would ask for a new one for my birthday. I pulled two pillows from my bed and tossed one at Kelly. After I turned out the light and my room was dark, I asked, “What do want to tell me?”
“About Jimmy,” Kelly grinned, “He kissed me!”
“He did? Where?”
“On the lips!”
“No, I mean, where were you when he kissed you?” I asked, ignoring Kelly’s tone of voice.
“Behind the Christmas tree! It was so romantic!” I wondered what Kelly knew about romance. Maybe she read something in one of those books her parents keep on the top shelf of the bookcase in their bedroom.
My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I could see Kelly smiling. “He kissed me about four times!” Kelly looked proud of herself or something.
“Four times?” Potter only kissed me once.
“Okay, twice,” Kelly admitted. “Did Potter kiss you?”
I didn’t answer right away,
“He did kiss you! I knew it! He did, didn’t he?”
“Yep.”
“Where?”
“On the lips,” I teased.
“Tory!”
“Outside, after the dance. In the snow,” I said, then added, “It was so romantic....” just for good measure.
Kelly sighed.
“You know, when Potter found out I have CF, well, I was kind of afraid he wouldn’t want to take me to the dance. And when I started coughing before we left, I thought for sure it was over.”
“Tory?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I ask you something?” Kelly’s voice was sounding sleepy. “And you won’t get mad?”
“Okay.” Maybe she wants to trade Jimmy for Potter, I thought, but not seriously.
“Okay, well,” Kelly began, “so why don’t you tell people you have CF? I mean, when your secret was spilled at my Halloween party, I felt terrible. But then nothing bad happened. None of the kids treated you differently, except for Isabella and Sara telling some of the kids that you were in the hospital. But even then nothing happened. I mean, Zoe and Shayna were the ones who organized our visit to the hospital when you were there.”
Nobody had told me that. I had assumed it was Kelly’s idea.
“Zoe and Shayna planned that?”
“Yeah, they did. When I told them I was going to visit you, they felt left out. They wanted to see you, too. I’ve always known you have CF, and it doesn’t make any difference to me. You’re my best friend. And tonight Potter saw you coughing and it didn’t change the way he felt about you. So why are you so afraid to tell people?”
I rolled over on my side and faced Kelly. I was quiet for a few minutes.
“Are you still awake?”
“Yes,” I said quietly.
“Are you mad at me?”
“No, I’m not mad at all. I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Well...I was thinking maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s dumb to keep CF a secret. You know what Kelly?”
“What?”
“Now I can’t even remember why I kept it a secret in the first place.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
It was snowing when I woke up the morning after Christmas. In a few hours, I would be going over to Shayna Gutmann’s house. She had invited me the night of the Winter Dance. I was finally going to see her house. But that wasn’t until lunchtime, and I had lots of time to enjoy the Christmas tree and my gifts before then.
Nobody else was awake, so I put on my new purple robe and matching fuzzy slippers and went downstairs quietly. Our Christmas tree still looked beautiful even after all the presents beneath it had been unwrapped. I plugged in the string of little white lights, and the tree sparkled in the darkness of the morning. I looked at the presents I had received the morning before. There were three sweaters, a new pair of jeans, a necklace with a little charm in the shape of a ‘T’, and books from my parents. Alec gave me lip gloss, a headband, and a pair of earrings, which I suspect Jenny picked out. From her I had a CD that I wanted, a set of colored pens, a bracelet, and a sweatshirt that she had painted flowers on in her art class at school. My grandparents sent me money, and there were a few other small gifts for me under the tree. Kelly gave me a scarf that she crocheted herself. But the gift I was looking for was the one from Liza. The journal. I found it under a heap of tissue paper. My Christmas stocking was still hanging from the mantel, and I pulled it down and emptied it onto the floor. Among the lip gloss, bubble gum, hair clips, and bubble bath, there was a pen with ‘Victoria’ on it. I took the new pen and the journal over to the sofa.
Wrapping the big sofa blanket around myself, I got comfortable and opened my new journal to the first blank page (after my entry about the dance and my kiss with Potter!). Through the living room window, I could see the snow, and I knew that later Alec would want to have a snowball fight. Maybe he would help me build a snowman, too.
I uncapped my pen. One interesting thing about myself, Mrs. Jason had said. I started writing.
My name is Victoria Kathleen Richards, but I like to be called Tory. One interesting thing about me is that I have cystic fibrosis….
There were seven days left before the end of winter vacation. In seven days school would start again and Mrs. Jason would ask us to read our reports. I was going to tell the rest of the sixth grade the truth about me. I could hardly wait!
A Message from the Author
Cystic Fibrosis is the number one fatal genetic disease in the United States. More than 30,000 children and young adults in this country have CF. It is inherited by children whose parents both carry the recessive CF gene. One in twenty adults carries this gene, often without even knowing it. There is still no cure, but researchers are making new discoveries all the time. Scientists hope to find a cure soon. Meanwhile, steady, new advances in the treatment of cystic fibrosis are extending and improving the lives of those who have CF.
If you would like to learn more about cystic fibrosis, you may contact the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at www.cff.org or call 1-800-Fight CF.
About the Author
Melanie Ann Apel began her writing career improbably as a volunteer at an overnight camp for children who were afflicted with cystic fibrosis. Her experience with the children led not only to a writing career, but to everything that she holds dear. Her book Cystic Fibrosis: The Ultimate Teen Guide (Scarecrow Press, 2005) chronicles her camp experience while also laying out the truths about cystic fibrosis. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts from Bradley University, Melanie returned to school to earn a subsequent degree in Respiratory Care, following which she worked at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago for six years. The time she spent with the CF kids changed her life immeasurably and for that she will always be grateful. She holds the CF kids (past and present) and their families dear to her heart. In addition to her writing career, Melanie is a full-time at-home single mom to two magnificent boys (who LOVE to read!), owner of an art studio for kids, called The Paintbrush, PTA VP, lead room parent for 4th grade, and so much more. Melanie and her boys live in Chicago.
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