After that ride, the ideas poured out of her. It wasn’t long before the tiny models spread out over June’s dresser and nightstand and then over the rug in the middle of her floor. But she kept creating anyway, so Wonderland grew even bigger. Soon the miniature rides and signs were all over the living room and dining room, too. Kids in the neighborhood stopped by every afternoon to see the latest models June had built.
June was so happy building Wonderland she didn’t really notice at first when her mom started to feel sick. She told herself everything would be fine, and that as long as her mom smiled when she saw June’s newest model ride, there really was nothing to worry about. Yes, she thought one night, when she heard her parents whispering behind their bedroom door. It’s nothing. Everything will be okay.
When her parents got a call from the doctor one afternoon, June did not believe the news. It was only when she saw her mother’s face, and the tears pooling in her eyes, that she got scared.
June kept working on Wonderland, even when her mom couldn’t build it with her anymore. She was creating a huge slide with different twists and turns in it. She had used a whole box of bendy straws, taping them all together, trying to see how high it could go. When she finally got to a stopping point, she knocked on her mom’s bedroom door.
“Bendy Straw Slide is almost done,” she said, holding it in the air.
Her mom was lying in bed. Her dad was with her.
“Look at you.…” Her mom offered her a small smile as she sat up in bed. “Come here, baby girl. I want to talk to you for a minute.”
June sat next to her mom and leaned on her shoulder. She stared up at her mom with big, hopeful eyes, wondering if this was it. Maybe this was the good news they’d all wished for. Maybe her mom was getting better.
“You know Mommy’s sick. There are some special doctors who might be able to help me,” she said. “But I may have to go away for a while to see them.”
“How long are you going away?” June asked, her voice cracking.
“That just depends,” her mom said. “But believe me, I am going to do everything I can to try and get better. Model patient.”
“We’ll go visit, honey.…” Her dad put his hand on June’s arm.
June could feel a lump in the back of her throat. What was she going to do without her mom? She needed her. To build Wonderland and to make jokes and to just… be her mom. This wasn’t fair.
“Hey, I know this is scary,” her mom said, “but you keep that little light in you shining bright.”
“I don’t know if I can.…” As soon as she said it, June knew it was true. How was she supposed to go on pretending as if everything were normal? As if she were happy?
Tears slipped down her cheeks. She didn’t want her mom to leave. Not now, not ever.
“Well, I do,” her mom said. “Because you are the wonder in Wonderland.”
Her mom leaned in, brushing her nose against June’s. Her dad kept his hand on June’s shoulder, trying to comfort her, but she felt as if her whole world were falling apart.
Her mother went to the hospital the following week. June watched her drive away. She tried to be brave and strong, but the house felt so much emptier without her mom in it. Even worse, June started worrying about her dad. What if something happened to him?
She sat in her bedroom, staring at the blueprint she and her mom had made together. They’d drawn a picture of themselves and written their names inside a heart in the corner. It didn’t feel right working on Wonderland now that her mom was away. Her dad kept coming up with ideas for it, but it wasn’t the same. And when June talked to her mom on the phone, her voice sounded strange and far off. How could June tell her about all her different dreams and creations when her mom was so sick?
Keep that little light in you shining bright, June thought, remembering her mother’s words.
But as she looked at Clockwork Swings and the Skyflinger and all the other things they’d built together, she couldn’t bring herself to keep creating. It just made her miss her mom more.
So she went through the house, packing up all the tiny models in a cardboard box. She plucked the mascots off her dresser one by one and put them on top. Peanut was last, and as she closed the lid, she felt an immediate sense of relief.
Maybe it was better not to think of all the good times they’d shared.
Maybe it was better to forget.
If only June’s friends could forget, too…
Her mom had been gone a few weeks when Banky showed up at her door, holding a giant box. A bunch of neighborhood kids were behind him, and he was smiling his biggest we-came-to-cheer-you-up smile.
It wasn’t working.
“Hey, June!” he said. “My parents got me this drone kit, and we could really use your help putting it together. Thought we could use it for Wonderland.”
June could feel her dad watching her from the living room.
“Go on, June,” he called out. “That’ll be fun.”
“Uhhhh…” June stalled. “Is that FAA certified for use in a residential area? Those things can be insanely hazardous.”
“Well, we’re insanely bored,” Banky said. “And, dare I say, desperate. We’ve stooped to repeatedly rolling each other down a hill for fun, and I don’t think Raj can handle it anymore.”
Behind him, his little brother walked around in circles dizzily.
“It was great seeing you, Banky, but maybe tomorrow,” June said as she closed the door on her friend.
June tried to walk past her dad into the kitchen, but he was staring at her intently. “Junie,” he started, “can we talk about what’s going on with you?”
“All they want to do is play Wonderland,” June said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Well, you know—”
“Don’t make this a thing,” she said. “It’s not a thing. It’s just—”
Before she could finish her thought, the doorbell rang again. She yanked the door open, expecting to see Banky still standing there, but, instead, it was her aunt Albertine and her uncle Tony. They both had loud voices and big, baritone laughs.
“Surprise!” they yelled in unison.
“Heard you wanted to see your favorite aunt and uncle,” Aunt Albertine started, “but they sent us instead.”
“HEY-O!” Uncle Tony chuckled. “That’s why I married her. Now, bring it in for the good stuff, kiddo.”
Both Uncle Tony and Aunt Albertine embraced her in one of their bone-crushing hugs. June could barely breathe. Then they smushed her cheeks together, which was one of their signature moves.
“It’s good to see you,” June said, talking through the squish. “Even though you always do this to my cheeks.”
June’s dad dragged a few giant suitcases in from the porch. “Jeez!” he said, laughing. “What did you pack—the whole house? I thought you guys were only coming for two nights.”
“Yes, well, it’s just the essentials,” Aunt Albertine said. “And, anyway, we bought a luggage set and we wanted to use all the bags.”
“Oh!” Uncle Tony shouted suddenly. “Get the present!”
“Right!” Aunt Albertine said, searching through her bag. She pulled out a box with a Ferris wheel on the front. “We have a present for you, June! It’s a Ferris wheel! I thought it would be just perfect for your whole Wonderland model.”
June stared down at the box in her aunt’s hand. “Oh… uh…”
Aunt Albertine glanced around the living room, noticing that the floor and dining room table weren’t covered with miniatures anymore. A fire was going in the fireplace, and all the rides that had been lined up on the mantle had disappeared. She looked thoroughly confused.
“Where’d that all go?” she asked.
“We… we put Wonderland away,” June’s dad answered.
“That’s a shame,” Aunt Albertine said. “I told your mom just yesterday that we’d help you build it.”
“What do you say?” Uncle Tony cried. “Let’s rebuild Wond
erland!”
Before June could say another word, Aunt Albertine started digging through the hall closet, where she’d put her coat. She dragged out a few boxes that contained the Wonderland models from the living room.
“Hey, hey,” June’s dad tried. “Why don’t we talk about something else? Weather? Tax returns? Literally anything else?”
But Aunt Albertine and Uncle Tony could not be stopped. June’s aunt grabbed the blueprint off the top of the box and unfolded it, revealing the picture of the park and all its attractions: the Skyflinger and Zero G Land and the row of trees her mom had planted by the north gate. June could feel the lump rising in the back of her throat. She didn’t need to talk about her mom or Wonderland. She didn’t want to see any of this.
“It’s the blueprint for Wonderland,” Aunt Albertine said, as if it weren’t obvious already.
“I don’t play with that anymore.” There was an edge to June’s words. “Please—put that away.”
“But this is a beautiful thing you and your mom did together, darling,” Aunt Albertine went on, softening her voice more than she ever had before. “To create something so real! You can remem—”
“Wonderland isn’t real!” June snapped, unable to stand it anymore. “It never could be real! And even if it was, it’s the last place in the world I’d wanna visit!”
June snatched the blueprint from Aunt Albertine, ran to the fireplace, and tossed it onto the logs. She watched as the flames engulfed it. One side curled up and turned black, breaking into ash as the fire spread over it.
“Oh no!” Aunt Albertine ran to her, horrified at what had happened. “Oh, Junie!”
June watched as the fire consumed the rest of the blueprint. Just before the last piece burned, she spotted the drawing she and her mother had made of themselves. They’d signed the top of it and made a heart around their picture.
Without thinking, June reached into the flames and tried to grab that piece before it was destroyed, but her father ran to her and held her back. She struggled and broke free of him, darting toward the stairs. Tears welled in her eyes. She knew her aunt and uncle meant well; she knew Banky meant well, too. But she couldn’t deal with all those good intentions anymore.
Why couldn’t everyone just let her be?
“I’m sorry,” June muttered as she ran up the stairs. She didn’t stop until she got to her room. Then she threw herself down on her bed and broke into sobs.
June spent the next few days busying herself with household chores. She’d never realized how much time school took up. Now that it was summer, and she was home all day, it was much harder to distract herself. She’d already read a hundred books and played on the computer and organized the refrigerator and medicine cabinet and every closet in the house. She was vacuuming the rug in the living room when her dad came in.
“Great news!” he said as the vacuum stopped. “Tomorrow is math camp! And I know it’s important to clean an already-clean house, but why don’t you channel some of this nervous energy into packing?”
June folded the blanket on the couch. Then she noticed something horrible. One of her dad’s golf balls was on the floor.
“This is dangerous!” she said, picking it up. “And I’m not going to math camp. They’re just going to give me sad eyes. Besides, I have a lot to do around here!”
She sat down at the computer. “Is that a three-month or six-month renewal on your wheatgrass deliveries?” she asked, pulling up a spreadsheet of different things to do around the house. “I’ll put in six.”
“June, all I’m saying is—”
“Your triglycerides are still on the high end,” she went on, ignoring him. “I’m not taking any chances with your health.”
“June…” her dad tried. “You can’t stay in here forever.…”
“I just know I need to be home this summer to take care of you.”
“June, today I got dressed and I made breakfast all by myself,” he said. “As I have been doing for the last forty-one years. The first seven, I needed a little help, but since then I’ve been okay.”
Just then the toaster started smoking. Her dad had set the dial too high, and now the toast was burning. The smoke alarm started wailing. June was sure it was a sign.
“I’m not going to math camp,” she said firmly, looking her dad directly in the eye. He needed her here, at home. Maybe even more than he realized.
But June was going to math camp. No matter how much she refused, her dad wouldn’t budge. The next morning they met the bus in the mall parking lot. Dozens of kids were saying good-bye to their parents.
“Don’t put the avocados next to the bananas,” June warned, trying to remember all the little mistakes her dad might make. “They ripen too fast. And please leave the toaster set to three—you know you don’t like it when the edges are too crispy.”
“My morning toast will be fine,” her dad said.
“Oh, and the milk in the fridge… it could be out of date so make sure you check it—”
“Junie, Junie,” he said, “I’m going to be okay. I know this is a big step. Mom and I are both so proud of you for going. We’ll both call you, and as soon as you come home, we’ll go visit her together. Now, get out there on the Abacus Obstacle Course and skin a knee!”
“Okay.”
“Promise?” her dad said, hugging her.
“Promise.”
June knew there was no point in arguing anymore. Her dad kissed her on the head, and she walked to the bus with the others. When she got on, a dozen strangers stared back at her. Her stomach twisted in knots.
“Hey, June Bailey, saved you a seat!” a familiar voice called out. Banky was sitting toward the back of the bus. He slid over to make room for her. “This is going to be the best summer ever!”
June sat next to him, relieved to have a friend. Banky’s whole family had come to the bus to see him off. They’d even made signs with his name on them.
“Hey, campers!” Shannon, the senior counselor, said as the bus pulled onto the street. “Everybody here is heading to Camp Awe+Sum, right? If you’re not, you’re on the”—she made a diamond shape with her fingers—“rhom-bus.”
Everyone laughed. Banky turned to June and smiled. “I love geometry humor.”
June watched her dad as the bus pulled away. He grew smaller and smaller in the distance. She still worried he’d slip and fall or get sick or hurt himself in some silly way, but when the bus erupted into song, it was kind of hard not to join in.
“Oh my!” they all sang. “Here comes pi! Three point one four one five. A constant we all know, the famous ratioooooooo.”
As the song went on, June sang louder, joining Banky. She was surprised it felt so good. “Oh my! Here comes pi! How many can you memorize? It goes on and on, a never-ending song.…”
She pulled her lunch bag onto her lap and grabbed a juice box from it. It was only then that she noticed the note tucked inside. Her dad had packed all her favorite snacks and written a message on a napkin.
June, have a great summer! I love you! Miss you, Dad.
It was supposed to make her feel better, but she just kept staring at her dad’s words. Miss you. He was going to miss her—of course he would. What would he do with all his time? What if he slipped and fell on something? Who would call the ambulance? Who would get him soup if he got sick?
“This is a terrible mistake,” June said to herself as the song grew louder around her. She suddenly felt panicky. “What was I thinking? I can’t leave him alone for the entire summer.…”
Banky was still singing along beside her. “Well, why is the obtuse triangle—”
“Banky, I need your help,” June said, turning to him. “I need to get home.”
“What?” Banky said. “Your dad will flip. We’re talking eternal groundation.”
“But he knows he can’t function without me.” She pointed to the note. “Look at this. ‘Miss you.’ It’s like a cry for help.”
“Uh… I don’t know,
June.” Banky stared at the note. “I think you might be reading a bit too much into this.”
“I’ll take the hiking trails through the forest, and I’ll be there before lunch,” June said, looking out the window. They were barely even a mile away from the mall. “It’s a no-brainer. But first, I need to get off the bus. And you have to help me—please?”
“Ugh…” Banky looked nervous. “Okay.”
“Yes! Banky, I could kiss you!” June cried.
“Really?” Banky said, his eyes wide.
“Ewwwww,” June said. The thought of kissing boys was so unappealing. “No.”
“Right,” Banky said, disappointed.
“Now, what can I use…?”
June pulled a bunch of snacks from her lunch bag. She mushed up some of the chips and fruit gummies in her hand and then put the mixture into her water bottle. With a few shakes, it looked perfect. She whispered a few quick instructions to Banky, and then he stood up in the aisle.
“I don’t think I’m feeling very well at this moment,” he called out to the counselor. “I think I might…”
He sat back down and grabbed the water bottle from June. “Oh, I can’t hold it in anymore! Oh no! It’s here, it’s here!” Then he dumped what was in the bottle onto the floor. “Bleerrrrrrrghhhh!”
“Barf!” a camper yelled.
“Ewwww!” another kid screamed. “Stop the bus!”
The bus screeched to a halt. All the kids ran out, Banky right behind them. June sank down in her seat, waiting until she was sure she was the last one left. Then, when Shannon and the bus driver rounded up the kids on the side of the road, she slipped off and headed for the forest.
She turned back one last time. Banky was watching her go. She brought her hand to her mouth and blew him a kiss, and it looked as if Banky fainted, his eyes fluttering back in his head. Then June started through the forest, trying to find where the hiking trails picked up.
Wonder Park--The Movie Novel Page 2
