Planet Middle School (5 page)

Message

Oh, no!

It was Jake’s call

I missed

on purpose.

We were supposed to meet.

How could I forget?

Apology

“Sorry I didn’t show up,”

I tell Jake

when I call that evening.

“Where were you?” he asks.

“I waited for almost an hour!”

“Sorry,” I repeat,

stalling until I can figure out

what to say.

I’m usually honest with Jake,

but this truth is just too lame.

“I was studying for a test,” I tell him.

“I guess I lost track of time.”

I’m holding my breath

but don’t even know it

until I hear him say,

“Yeah, well, don’t do it again.”

Unspoken

Back from another practice,

Caden and I find Mom

in the living room

thumbing through one of his

old drawing pads,

her crescent moon smile

lighting up her eyes.

“Hey! Where’d you find that?”

asks Caden,

snatching the pad

from Mom’s fingers.

“I thought it was lost.”

“I found it under the coffee table,”

she says.

“Bottom shelf.

Must’ve moved it there one day

when I was cleaning.

Which reminds me,” says Mom,

“I haven’t seen you

drawing in a while.

Why is that?”

Caden shrugs,

all the answer

he plans on giving.

To Be Honest

Secretly,

I’m with Mom on this.

I miss Caden’s drawings.

I hate to see him give up

something he’s so good at

just to try to be

like me.

Lipstick

I stand in front of

Mom’s vanity

like most girls do at three,

splashing on perfume

and smearing blush

from cheek to ear.

And here I am,

snagging lipstick.

“Crimson Touch”

is a nice name.

I wipe it across my lips,

then dash out the door

before Mom can catch me.

Minutes later, I meet up with KeeLee

and we strut through the school hall,

me waiting for my chance

to impress Him.

I’m all smiles when I see Santiago,

which is when KeeLee starts

poking me. But I ignore her

’cause all I can think about

is Santiago, who

takes one look at me

and laughs out loud.

Not the reaction

I was hoping for.

KeeLee pokes me again.

“You’ve got lipstick

on your teeth, silly.

I tried to tell you.”

My hand flies to my mouth

too late.

I sprint to the girl’s room,

leave “Crimson Touch”

on wads of toilet paper,

suddenly realizing the color

looks just like blood.

Disgusting.

Can this day

get any worse?

Busted

Of course

the first person

I run into on my block

is Jake. “Dude! Your lip is bleeding.

No, wait.

It’s your whole mouth!”

The lipstick must have left

a stain on my lips.

I sigh and roll my eyes,

in no mood to explain.

“Hey, Jake.

What’s up?”

“You tell
me
,” he says

studying my lips.

“It’s lipstick,” I mumble.

Jake laughs.

“You gotta be kidding!”

I burn him with a stare.

“Sorry,” he says.

“I didn’t know

you were into that

sort of thing.”

I shrug.

“Just thought I’d give it a try.”

“O-
kay
,” says Jake.

“But why?”

“None of your business!” I say,

wanting to get off of the subject.

“Dang! Somebody’s in

a rotten mood today.

Later,” he says,

and jogs off

before I tell him

to leave me alone.

Help

I need help with this makeup stuff.

KeeLee doesn’t know

much more than me.

Too bad I’m not

Cinderella.

A fairy godmother

would come in handy

right about now.

Advice

I slip out of my

sweaty gym clothes

and hit the showers.

Toweled off and half dressed,

I find my voice

before Glory has a chance

to leave.

“I like your makeup,” I say,

feeling silly.

“I mean, the colors are nice.”

“Thanks,” she says.

“I wish—”

My tongue stumbles.

“There’s this boy—

I mean—”

Why is my mouth

suddenly useless?

“I try to get him

to look at me, but—”

Thank God,

Glory steps in.

“You want a makeup tip?”

I nod. That seems safer

than speech.

“Keep it simple.

A little blush,

a little lip gloss.

That’s it. Okay?”

I nod again,

smiling, relieved.

Still feeling ridiculous, though,

but at least

Glory didn’t laugh.

Practice Does Not Make Perfect

Today

it’s layup shots

for Caden.

Of course,

he stinks at this.

One of these days,

I’m going to have to tell him so.

I just don’t know how.

Useful Noise

Back home,

I sprint ahead,

take two stairs

at a time,

duck into the bathroom

and lock the door.

Just before I switch on

the shower,

Caden yells,

“Hey! How did I do today?”

I turn the water on

full blast.

“Sorry!” I yell back.

“I can’t hear you!”

Hair

I step from the shower,

catch sight of my wild mane

in the mirror.

Something makes me pause,

capture a damp curl in my fingers,

and pull.

Wonder what I’d look like

if I gave up my usual ponytail

for braids?

Scar

Some monstrous thing

crawled under my skin last night

while I was sleeping,

something hideous that left

a bulging bump on the middle

of my cheek.

This thing’s the size

of Kilimanjaro,

so it’s not like

I can hide it.

With my luck,

Santiago will notice me today,

and how exactly

am I supposed to

explain this thing away?

Enough

Today,

I push Caden into a game

with the neighborhood boys

so he can see

just how bad he is.

A half hour in

he’s swimming in sweat

from chasing up and down the court,

bruised from one too many

body blows

from playing guard,

mad from losing his grip

on the ball

each time he manages

to get his hand on it

for a second.

I shake my head

and yell, “Time!”

then pull him aside.

Give it up

is what I’m thinking.

Instead, I say,

“Go home, Caden.

Just—go home.”

He clenches his fist,

glares at me,

and stomps off the court.

The Plan

The next day,

Caden shows up at my door,

stares silently for the longest.

“What?” I finally ask.

“I thought you got it, Joy.

I thought you understood

why I need to learn that game.”

I sigh, set aside

Bridge to Terabithia
,

and tell my little brother

what he doesn’t want to hear.

“You’re okay at sports, Caden,

but your heart’s just not in it

and that shows.”

Now it’s Caden’s turn to sigh.

“I know. I just thought—

since Dad—

you know.”

We both sit silent

till an idea comes to me.

“Hey! Dad’s birthday

is coming up soon.

Why not do a drawing for him?

You’re so good at that,” I say.

Caden rolls his eyes.

“No, seriously.

Do a portrait of him.

He’ll really look at it this time.

Trust me. He doesn’t want

to make Mom mad.”

“Maybe,” says Caden.

“I bet he’ll love it.

You could even do it from

one of his favorite photos.

Like that old one

when he was captain

of his basketball team.”

I can see Caden’s wheels

start to turn.

“You think so?”

I don’t answer.

I just smile.