Wish Upon a Sleepover Page 11

  “That’s so sweet,” Autumn says.

  The phone on the reception desk rings. “Go ahead and have a seat,” Dr. Kevin tells us. Then he answers the phone.

  Manga Girl, Todd, and Autumn all take seats in the waiting room. Manga Girl starts working on another one of her secret cartoons. Autumn picks up a magazine called Cat Fancy, and Todd looks over her shoulder while she thumbs through the pages. Now they’re reading together? At this rate, they’ll be engaged by the end of the night!

  While Dr. Kevin talks on the phone, giving instructions on how to put eyedrops into a cat’s eyes without getting clawed to pieces, I tiptoe down the hall and peer into the back room. It looks like an operating room, with a table, a sink, and a bunch of medical supplies on the shelves. Six metal cages are stacked against the back wall. William stands in front of one. I can barely see the black cat, who’s lying on her side. William has stuck his fingers through the bars and is stroking the cat’s ear. Her eyes are closed. There’s a white cat in another cage who’s making wheezing sounds. But there’s another sound in the room.

  Whispering.

  William’s lips are moving. He’s talking to Belle. He’s telling her that she’ll be okay. That she’ll be coming home. And that he loves her.

  For once in my life, I don’t want to eavesdrop. I slip away from the door before he sees me. I lean against the wall. I’m beginning to understand the boy from the third floor. Those times in the elevator when he ignored me, when he looked so sad holding the cat carrier. He wasn’t being rude because he didn’t like me. He has stuff going on.

  It seems that we all have stuff going on.

  I go back to the lobby and sit with the others. Manga Girl’s still drawing. Todd has given up on Cat Fancy and is tossing a cat toy from hand to hand. Autumn’s reading a pamphlet on fleas and ticks. Dr. Kevin hangs up the phone and begins to shuffle through files. I don’t say anything about William talking to his cat. I know I’ve seen something important, but it feels private. Like it isn’t my place to tell anyone.

  “What does Belle mean?” I ask Autumn, wishing I had my name book.

  “It’s French,” she says. “It means ‘beautiful.’”

  William comes back about ten minutes later. His eyes are red. It’s official. More than half the people at my sleepover ended up crying.

  “I bet you could use another one of these.” Dr. Kevin hands William a little plastic plant container. The plant growing in it looks like a clump of regular old grass, the kind you’d find on a playground. “It’ll help settle her stomach, just like the other times. Greens work wonders for cats.” So that’s why William’s been in the alley with a pair of scissors. He’s been collecting greens for his cat to help her feel better.

  William holds up two fingers, the way little kids do when you ask them how old they are. “Two?” Dr. Kevin asks. “Okay.” He gives William a second container. “I’ll call your home number if anything changes—I promise. I’m here all night.” Then the doctor opens the front door and ushers us out.

  We stand on the stoop. William hands one of the plants to Todd. “Is this your special ingredient? One for Belle and one for the soup?” William nods. “But it’s for cats. Can we eat it?”

  “It’s just grass,” I tell Todd. “And it couldn’t taste any worse in the soup than candy or used popcorn.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Todd sticks the plant into his backpack.

  It’s really dark now. “I guess we’re done,” I say. I’m freezing and hungry. “Let’s go. I’ll ask Tutu to order us a couple of pizzas.” Todd texts my mom to tell her that we’re heading back to the apartment and that everyone is fine. We walk two blocks to the bus stop, and the bus pulls up right away. We get on and grab the front seats. Todd and Manga Girl sit together. William slides into the next row. Then I sit down.

  No one sits next to me.

  The door closes, and the bus starts down the street.

  “Hey,” I say. “Where’s Autumn?”

  21

  First Fight

  We jump off at the next stop. Why didn’t Autumn keep up with us? Is she waiting at the previous stop, or will she try to walk all the way back to my apartment? None of us is supposed to walk alone, so we need to find her. We run up the wet sidewalk as fast as we can.

  “Be sure to look on both sides of the street,” I say. “Just in case.”

  But we don’t find her. What could have happened? I start thinking about all sorts of bad things, like being abducted by a stranger, or falling through a sewer grate, or getting struck by a sudden bout of amnesia! Any of those things could happen.

  Autumn. Where are you?

  I’m breathing pretty hard when we reach the place where we last saw her. And there she is, sitting on the front steps of the cat hospital. “Autumn?” I’m gasping for air. “What are you doing?”

  “William forgot his shield,” she says. It’s lying on her lap. “I told you I was going back inside to get it. But when I got outside, you’d all disappeared.” She looks hurt, like we left her behind on purpose.

  “I didn’t hear you,” I explain. Autumn’s voice is so quiet, and the street noise on Capitol Hill is constant. “I thought you were right behind me.”

  “That was nice of you to remember the shield,” Manga Girl tells her.

  “Yeah, super nice,” Todd says.

  Autumn gets to her feet. Then she offers the shield to William. During the run, his fur hat fell off. Now it dangles from his hand. His blond hair is smooshed into weird patterns, and a big clump is flattened against his forehead. Major hat head.

  “Don’t you want it?” Autumn asks, still holding the shield.

  I wonder if William left the shield behind on purpose. After all, it’s just a plastic toy. Maybe he was too polite to refuse it when Uncle Galaxy gave it to him. Or maybe he did forget it. I have no idea what he’s thinking. I can’t read him any better than those vocab cards in Reading Lab.

  He puts on his hat, then takes the shield. He looks at Autumn, then at the shield, then back at Autumn. He shuffles in place. With his lips pressed together, real tight, he looks like he’s trying to hold back a burp. Wait. Does he want to say something? But there aren’t any doors to hide behind. No aisles blocking our view. His hands begin to tremble.

  “It’s okay,” Autumn whispers. “You can do it.”

  William lifts the shield slowly until it’s in front of his face. Whoa! Is he going to do it? Is he going to say something? Todd’s mouth falls open. Manga Girl’s fox ears straighten. Autumn and I hold our breath. It’s like watching a suspense movie. All we need is that music from Jaws. So I play it in my head—dah dum, dah dum, dah dum.

  “Thank you.”

  William Worth, the boy from the third floor, speaks two words on the sidewalk that night, with only a thin piece of plastic protecting him. It’s not a miracle or anything like that, but it’s something.

  He lowers the shield. His face is blotchy and sweaty, as if he just ran a marathon. “You’re welcome,” Autumn tells him.

  Todd slaps him on the back. “Dude, that was amazing.”

  Manga Girl bounces on her toes. “I knew it would work!”

  “That was amazing,” I say. And I mean it. I don’t know much about Captain America’s shield, but I’m gonna guess he never used it to fight selective mutism.

  A piece of newspaper dances down the sidewalk, pushed by the sudden cold wind. I pull up the collar on my raincoat. “We should go.” I wonder if Tutu is waiting. “Come on, Autumn.” I start walking toward the bus stop, but Autumn doesn’t move. “What’s the matter?”

  She crosses her arms and frowns. “You forgot about me.”

  “No, I didn’t. I didn’t hear you say you were going back into the hospital to get the shield. That’s why we got on the bus without you.”

  “You forgot about my turn.”

  “Huh?” What’s she talking about?

  “Whoa, she’s right,” Todd says. “Autumn hasn’t had a tur
n yet. She hasn’t taken us to her special place.” Autumn tightens her arms, as if giving herself a hug. She sinks deeper into her coat.

  Oh crud, it’s true.

  “If Leilani hadn’t been in such a hurry to get home, we wouldn’t have forgotten,” Manga Girl tells her.

  “Hey, why is this my fault? I didn’t forget,” I insist, even though I did. There’s been so much going on, like all the crying and all the cat drama—it was an honest mistake. “I just thought that maybe, well, maybe you didn’t really care about going to a special place and getting an ingredient. You know, because magic isn’t real and there’s no such thing as a moon goddess.” Autumn’s round eyes get even rounder. She always knows when I’m lying. “Yeah, okay, so I forgot,” I confess. “I’m hungry. And I’m tired. And Tutu’s going to get worried if we stay out any later. That’s why I was in a hurry. I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

  “I know the real reason why you want to get back,” Manga Girl says, flinging her cape behind her shoulders. “You want to know what Hailey Chun is doing at her sleepover. You wanted to spend tonight with her and not with us. You’d rather spy on the Haileys than give Autumn a turn.”

  Todd shakes his head. “Jeez, that’s cold, cuz.”

  I gasp. “That is completely and totally not true.” Why is everyone ganging up on me? “I wasn’t thinking about Hailey Chun. I don’t care what she’s doing.” Oddly enough, at this moment, that’s absolutely true. I turn my frustration on Manga Girl. “Why don’t you go and draw another cartoon, this time about how horrid I am that I forgot my best friend?”

  After a long sigh, Autumn slumps onto the steps. I throw myself next to her. “Don’t listen to them. Yeah, okay, so I forgot about your turn, but I didn’t do it on purpose. We’ve been best friends since that day in the nurse’s office when you … you know, since that day. I would never try to hurt your feelings. I think maybe I forgot about your turn because, well, sometimes you’re…”

  “Invisible?” She blinks at me.

  “No, not invisible.” I pull my raincoat over my knees to try to stay warm. “Just because Uncle Galaxy said that, it doesn’t mean it’s true. You’re quiet. Super quiet. Sometimes I don’t hear you.”

  The hood of Autumn’s raincoat lies open against her back, making a nest for her curls. In the dim light, I can barely see any of her freckles. “You didn’t forget about my turn because I’m quiet,” she says. “You forgot because I’ve been a willing participant in this pattern of behavior.”

  I scoot closer to her. “What do you mean? What pattern of behavior?”

  “It’s true what Tanisha said, about me being in your shadow.”

  I gulp. Her voice is so serious. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Autumn puts her hand on my knee. “It’s not your fault, Leilani. It’s mine. I gave myself the power of invisibility because it’s easier for me to follow than to confront. That’s why I always let you make the decisions.”

  I get dizzy all of a sudden. There are so many emotions rushing over me it feels like a tidal wave. I’m hurt that Hailey Chun doesn’t like me, sad that William’s cat is sick, and worried that Tutu is going to call the police if we don’t show up pretty soon. Also, I feel really stupid that I made the “DO NOT invite” list in the first place. But most of all, I’m upset that Autumn is upset. My stomach starts to ache. You can try to put emotions into separate compartments, but unlike a crustless cheese sandwich and perfectly peeled orange slices, emotions spill over and get all mixed up. “I … I…” I don’t know what to say.

  A gust of wind sweeps over us. Autumn shivers, then puts her hands in her pockets. “Leilani, I want to tell you how I feel about something—something you do that’s been bothering me.”

  This is starting to get weird. Are we having a fight? We never, ever have fights. “Can we talk about this later?” I whisper, because Todd, Manga Girl, and William clearly have nothing better to do than to stand here and watch us. “When we’re alone?”

  “No. If I don’t say this now, I might never say it.” She takes a long, deep breath. Then she looks into my eyes. My stomachache gets worse. The way she’s looking at me, I can tell she’s about to deliver some really bad news. Mom looked the same way when she told me that Tutu was in the hospital. “We’re supposed to be best friends, but you’re obsessed with the Haileys. You know everything about them, their schedules, what they do on weekends, where they go shopping, what they wear. We spend most of our time at lunch talking about them. Well, you talk about them. I mostly listen. It hurts my feelings. It seems that you…” She pauses. “That you…” She swallows hard. William steps forward and offers her the shield. She puts it in front of her face. “That you would rather be friends with them than with me.”

  “What? That’s crazy!” I feel a sudden rush of relief. I pull the shield from her hands. “Is that why you’re mad at me? Because you think I’d choose the Haileys over you? No way! Never!”

  “Really?” she says.

  “Really!”

  “Then why do you spend so much time talking about them?” Manga Girl asks.

  “Well, in the first place, Tanisha, this is none of your business,” I snap. “And in the second place, it’s true. I’d like to have a bigger group of friends. What’s wrong with that? Wouldn’t you like to have more friends?”

  “If I had a best friend as nice as Autumn, I’d be happy,” Manga Girl says. “One true friend is better than a bunch of false friends.”

  She’s right, again. “I am happy that Autumn’s my best friend. But…” I’m about to admit how I feel. Forget Hawaiian luau. The theme of my sleepover is “Admit your fears in front of everyone.” I don’t think that’s going to catch on as a trend. “But Autumn leaves Seattle every other weekend to go visit her dad, and I’m on my own. I just thought it would be nice to be friends with the Haileys so I wouldn’t be alone on those weekends. I miss Autumn when she’s gone.”

  “You do?” Autumn blinks at me.

  “Yeah. But that doesn’t mean I want a new best friend.” I put my arm around Autumn’s shoulders. Have I really been ignoring her? A parade of lunches runs through my mind. In each one, Autumn is chewing in her squirrel-like way and I’m talking.

  About the Haileys.

  Everyone’s right. I’ve been totally obsessed. “It doesn’t matter anyway. The Haileys hate me.” Tears well in my eyes. Oh, jeez, now I’m crying! “I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt your feelings. Never. Next week, you get to be in charge of the conversation at lunch. We’ll talk about whatever you want. You know, science and stuff like that.” I wipe my nose on my sleeve. “And we’ll do that thing you wanted to do.” She’s been talking about something all week. Come on, Leilani, what is it? “That exhibit at the science center. About the brain.”

  Finally, Autumn smiles.

  “Group hug!” Todd yells, and before I can stop him, he’s squeezing the life out of me and Autumn.

  “I don’t hug,” Manga Girl says. William doesn’t join in, either. He’s looking up at the cat hospital door with a pained expression, like he has a really bad headache. I twist away from Todd.

  “Okay, everyone, listen up,” I say. “It’s Autumn’s turn, and we’re going to her special place, but we’ve really got to go now, because if we stay out much later, Tutu will spew lava like Kilauea.”

  Autumn jumps to her feet. “Don’t worry, my special place is right by your apartment.”

  I grab her arm. “It’s not Hailey Chun’s, is it?”

  “No!” She laughs. “You’ll see.”

  22

  Squirrels Like Nuts

  Manga Girl draws while we wait for the bus, then during the ride, but she still won’t let us see what she’s creating. I use Todd’s phone to call home but get the answering machine. “Tutu,” I say, “we’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”

  The bus drops us off one block from my apartment, right in front of the Capitol Hill International Market, which is a mini marke
t with all sorts of specialty foods. I’ve been here a million times with Tutu. It’s her favorite place to shop because the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Wong, include Hawaiian foods in their store. Tutu buys things like guava jam, hibiscus honey lemon tea, Kona coffee, macadamia shortbread cookies, papaya seed dressing, and coconut syrup, which she loves to pour over vanilla ice cream.

  “This is my special place,” Autumn explains.

  “How come?” Todd asks.

  “I don’t get to see my grandparents very often, so Tutu is like a step-grandma to me. Whenever I go to Leilani’s house, Tutu brings us here for treats. The first time she did, she introduced me to chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, and now they’re my favorite candy.”

  I remember that day. We were in kindergarten, brand-new friends, and while Autumn’s mom and my mom chatted in the kitchen, Tutu walked Autumn and me to the market. Mr. Wong had bought a new shave-ice machine, and he was handing out samples. Tutu informed him that shave ice was a Hawaiian invention. He said the Chinese invented it, because they invented everything. He and Tutu got into a big argument, but eventually we ordered, and I got passion fruit and Autumn got strawberry, because she was scared about trying a new flavor. That was when Tutu said, “Come look at this, Autumn. These nuts are the most special nuts in all of Hawaii.” And then she told Autumn the same story she’d told me when I tried my first macadamia nut. “You have to wait ten long years for the tree to mature. Then the nuts grow, but you can’t pick them from the tree. You have to wait for the tree to offer you the nuts, by dropping them to the ground. Then each nut is carefully gathered and given the respect it deserves. Even a nut has mana.” She bought Autumn an entire box, and she’s been buying them for Autumn ever since.

  We are about to go into the store when the glass door opens and the Haileys walk out. They are each holding a shave ice and wearing their plastic leis.