11 Birthdays

Chapter Eleven

Humiliating myself in gymnastics tryouts is easier to handle this time. One good thing about being stuck doing this with Leo is that I can cross off "I'm going crazy" from my list of reasons why this is happening. I don't think people go crazy together.
When it comes time to put on my costume, I've thought of a few ways to make it less horrible. I slip on a T-shirt first so the lace isn't as itchy, and put fresh Band-Aids on my ankles so the shoes don't hurt as much. When I come out of the bathroom, Kylie's door is still closed. I haven't seen her since I've been home, which works out fine for me. The warning on the cover of her diary was probably just a bluff, but I don't want to take any chances. I'm about to head downstairs to greet the first arrivals when her door swings open, making me jump. She's still wearing the clothes she wore to school>
"Where's your costume?"
"I'm not wearing one."
I knew she'd be mad, but I didn't expect her not to dress up for my party. "But you looked so great in it."
She puts her hands on her hips. "How do you know how I looked in it? Are you spying on me now?"
I've said the wrong thing again. "I mean, I'm SURE you'd look great in in."
"Well, I"m not wearing it. Thanks to you, this has been a really awful day."
I'm taken aback. "Me? Why?"
"You know why. All that stuff you said about Dustin liking Alyssa instead of me."
"Er, but isn't that true?"
She glares at me and I back up a step. "I'll never know because I didn't ask him to the dance and now he's going with her."
"But he was always going with her, right?" Clearly the rule of teenage dating rituals are something I have yet to figure out.
"And then if that wasn't enough," she continues, ignoring my last question, "I forgot my science project and my teacher took off half a grade and Dustin's really mad at me."
"But that wasn't your fault," I insist. "Mom took your poster by mistake. Maybe if she calls your teacher and explains-"
For the first time today, Kylie's lips curl up into something resembling a smile. It's the kind of smile you see on the Nature Channel before one seemingly harmless animal devours another. She stomps back into her room and slams the door shut.
I knock. "Aren't you coming to my party?"
No answer. I guess this is how she's getting back at me for reading her diary.
Seeing as I know what to expect, I'm not disappointed this time that so many people don't show up. I try to make the party more fun for people who did come. We play silly kids' games like limbo and musical chairs. Dad sneezes into the punch bowl by mistake, and everyone laughs (then Mom takes away the punch bowl). I'm still thinking about Leo's party, and wondering how it's going, but this time it's different. This time I know for sure that he's thinking of me, too.
When everyone leaves I don't wait for Mom's news. I take the stairs two at a time to get ready for Leo's visit. I'm so curious to hear what his experience have been like that I can hardly sit still. My costume rips as I pull it off and at first I feel bad since it's rented. Then I realize it'll just fix itself tomorrow! At this point I'd be more surprised if Saturday DOES come than if it doesn't.
I wait by the window for Leo, figuring he'll probably climb up the branch instead of ringing the bell. I'm sure he doesn't want to deal with anyone in my family answering the door. I wouldn't blame him. He's not exactly Mr. Popularity around here.
My door band open and I jump. We have a knocking rule in our house and someone has just broken it. I turn around expecting to see Kylie, but instead it's Mom, her face red. She's carrying a poster under her arm. Usually this is when she'd be telling me about losing her job, but tonight she looks angry. Maybe I should have stayed to help clean up. Before I have a chance to apologize, she says in an even tone, "I know this was a hard day for you. For the first time in your life you didn't celebrate your birthday with Leo. You normally make such good choices and have proven you know right form wrong. All that said, I can't imagine why you wanted to sabotage my job."
My eyes widen and I search my brain for what she could possibly be talking about. "Huh? What?"
She hands me the poster and gestures for me to unroll it. It's her presentation. "Maybe you'd like to explain to me how this wound up in the outside garbage?"
"What? Why was it in the garbage?"
"That's what I'd like YOU to tell ME."
"But how would I know?"
"Your sister told me you knew I had her poster with me at work. There's no way you could have known about it if you hadn't switched them. No one knew except my clients. And my boss, of course, who fired me a few minutes ago."
I sink down onto the corner of my bed. How was I going to get out of this one? I couldn't exactly tel her that I knew because she told me. Three times!
"Okay Amanda, you don't have to tell me. Birthday or no birthday, you're grounded until you van tell my the truth. I don't have to tell you how disappointed I am."
She grabs her poster and leaves my door wide open when she storms out. Kylie peeks her head out of her own room and gives me a wide smile. Grrr! So THIS is how she's getting me back. I guess I should have taken the warning on her diary a little more seriously!
Fuming, I sit by the window again. Wait till Leo hears about THIS one. I'm still waiting, tracing my breath on the window, when the doorbell rings. I hear Mom clomp over to it and I step into the hall to hear better.
"Um, hi, Mrs. Ellerby. I came over to talk to Amanda."
There's a pause - probably from shock - and then Mom says, "Amanda is grounded until further notice."
"But-"
"No buts, Leo. And you have a lot of nerve coming here. We've missed you a lot this past year, you know."
I can practically see him staring down at his feet. He always does that when he's embarrassed. "I missed you all, too," he says, although I can barely make out the words.
Then the door closes with a definite finality. Why oh why did he choose the door instead of the window? I'm about to cross back over to the window when I hear the front door open again. Mom shouts out, "And don't tr climbing that tree! Grounded means grounded!"

I run over to the window in time to see Leo pedaling away on his bike. I can't believe that after waiting all day, I'm not going to talk to Leo tonight. I put on my pajamas and climb into bed. I can feel the frustration rising up in me. Grounded for something I didn't do! What a horrible fate! I want to scream out that I didn't do it, that Kylie is setting me up.
But a smile slowly spreads across my fave as I stare up at the ceiling. What am I getting so worked up over? In a few hours no one will remember any of this except for me and Leo. For the first time, I can't wait to see SpongeBob's freaky streamer arms waving at me in the morning.