11 Birthdays

Chapter Twelve

And there he is! Waving and smiling, just like always. I jump up and hug him. Mom and Kylie don't hate me anymore, and Leo and I are in this together! Woo-hoo!
Then it hits me - I forgot to hide the balloon last night! Maybe it really ISN'T still my birthday. I look wildly around my room and grab at the Dorothy costume. I turn it around in my hands until I find where the rip should be, right at the seam of the underarm. I feel all around, but it's perfectly fine! Woo-hoo, again!
I get dressed and run downstairs. I hesitate for a second at the entrance to the kitchen, where I can see Dad at the counter with his tea. I couldn't still be grounded, could I?
"Um, hi Dad," I say cautiously. I step back a bit in preparation for the four sneezes that have greeted me each morning.
"Hi, honey!" he says, then sneezes on schedule. "Happy birthday!"
I release my breathe. All clear. "Thanks! And thanks for the balloon."
Before he can tell me that Kylie thought I was too old for it, Mom rushes in. "Hi, sweetie," she says, bending to kiss my forehead. "Feel any older?"
I give her a big hug. She's not mad at me anymore! "I do, I feel a lot older. Like I turned eleven five days ago!"
She laughs and points to the birthday cake in the plastic box on the counter. "Well, I'm pretty sure if you turned eleven five days ago we'd have eaten that cake by now!"
I want to tell her that we HAVE eaten it, many times, and that it could have used more Oreo crumbles on top, but instead I just smile and pour my bowl of cereal. "Good luck on the presentation!"
"Thanks," she says, grabbing her granola bar, "I'll need it. I'm sorry you have to take the bus today, but I've really gotta run."
I turn back to my cereal and then, with a sharp intake of breath, I drop my spoon. It lands in the bowl with a splash that sends milk spraying into my fave. "Mom, wait!"
She stops halfway out the door. "What is it, Amanda? I can't be late."

I jump up and pull the poster from under her arm. "This isn't your presentation. It's Kylie's science project." I slide off the rubber band and hold it up. Sure enough, it's a diagram on how a solid becomes a liquid and then a gas.
Her eyes widen when she sees it. "I must have left mine upstairs!" She drops her overflowing briefcase to the floor. "How did you know?"
Good question. "Um, I saw her leave it here last night?"
She gives me a hug. "You better hurry and finish your breakfast before the bus comes." She rushes out of the kitchen just as Kylie rushes in. Kyle barely has time to step out of the way. "Don't forget your poster," Mom says as she passes.
"That's where it is!" Kylie says, rolling it back up. I have expect her to thank me but, of course, she doesn't know the trouble I just saved her. She tucks it under her arm, waves good-bye to Dad, and runs out the back door. Hmm. Interesting. She forgot her lunch. I guess the thing with the poster distracted her from what she would normally have done. I gulp down my juice and then grab both our lunches.
"Bye, Dad! Feel better."
"Not so fast," he says, then coughs a few times. "I know for a fact Kylie didn't leave that poster in here last night. She left it on the coffee table in the den. I brought it in this morning."
I feel my cheeks grow hot. "Oh?"
"Not that it really matters. A good deed is a good deed."
"Right! Gotta go."
"I've got my eye on you," he says playfully, wagging his finger.
"Er, okay, Dad! Bye!" I run out before I manage to mess up again. When I reach the bus stop I hand Kylie her lunch. Now that I know what depths meanness she's capable of when crossed, it pays to stay on her good side. Even if she won't remember it tomorrow.
"Thanks," she mutters, stuffing the paper bag into her backpack.
We stand in silence. If I didn't know her brain was consumed with thoughts of Dustin and the dance, I'd be annoyed that she's still not wishing me a happy birthday. But when I think about it, on that first birthday she had lost the guy, lost half her grade in science, and still got dressed up for my party. That must mean she doesn't totally hate me. The bus pulls up and as the doors open, I wish I could find a way to shield her from seeing Dustin with his arm around Alyssa. But nothing comes to me that wouldn't lead to her figuring out that I read her diary.
And I know how that ends.
I want to share my good mood with someone other than an empty seat. So when Stephanie gets on, I stand up and wave so she can't help but see me. She smiles and then glances quickly at Ruby, who glares at me. I wonder fleetingly if Stephanie is still going to choose Ruby over me. She doesn't. And even though she spends the whole night talking about gymnastics and the fun things we do when we're best friends with Mena and Heather and Jess, I'm still happy that she chose me. Especially since I know that once she makes the team and I don't, that won't be the case.
When we get to my locker, I'm about to thank her for decorating it when she says, "Wow, that looks great! Who did it?"
I crinkle my brows. "What do you mean? YOU did it!"
She shakes her head. "No, I didn't."
"But you told me you did."
"Huh? I swear, I didn't decorate your locker. If you'd like me to take credit for it though, I'm happy to."
This is very weird. Why would she had lied about such a small thing? And it's not like I can ask her since she obviously doesn't remember lying about it. "But if you didn't do it, who did?"
"I did," a voice from behind says.
We both whirl around and find ourselves face-to-face with Leo. He smiling.
"YOU did this?" Stephanie and I say at the same time.
His smile broadens. "Yup. I came in early this morning."
I stare at him, truly shocked.
"Um, I'm going to leave you two alone," Stephanie says, backing away. "Looks like you have a lot to talk about." She hurries down the hall, glancing backward at us every few feet.
I pull Leo into an empty classroom. "You've been decorating my locker every day?"
He nods. "It was easy. I had already cut out all the letters the night before our birthday, so each morning when I woke up, they were already in my backpack ready to be taped on your locker."
"But why would Stephanie take credit for it every other day, but not today?"
"Because she felt bad that you had to sit alone on the bus," he explaines. "Then you were so happy when you thought she decorated it, she just couldn't correct you. But I bet you sat together today, so she had no reason to take credit for the locker."
I narrow my eyes at him. "How do you know all that?"
"Well, um, I was sort of lurking nearby to see your reaction that first day. I thought you'd be so happy about the locker that you listen to my apology about, you know, last year. Then Stephanie jumped in and took the credit. I overheard her telling the story to Emma in math."
"So if you know all that, why didn't you tell me the truth?"
He shrugs. "Stephanie's been your friend all year, while I... well, you know. So I figured she deserve to have her secret kept."
That was really decent of him. I looked at them closely for the first time in a year. He's taller, by a few inches. He's wearing his dark hair a little shorter. I wonder how else he's changed. But I haven't gotten it last night, I would have found out. Kids start streaming into the class and we slip back out to the hall.
"Why were you grounded last night?" he asks. "I left my party before it was over because I couldn't wait to come over."
"After having your party for times, something tells me you weren't too broken up about leaving early."
He smiles. "True."
"Basically I got grounded because I snuck into Kylie's room and read her diary. It actually told me some interesting things, but then she found out and set me up. My mom was furious. But hey, my parents don't remember I got grounded, Kylie doesn't remember about the diary, and I still remember everything I read in it. So it all worked out."
Leo is nodding thoughtfully. "Remind me to tell you my thoughts on consequences."
"We have a lot to talk about first," I say, noticing for the first time that kids who passed by are staring at us. Our friendship breakup was kind of legendary. Leo must have noticed, too, because he drops his voice.
"Meet me in the courtyard after first period."
I shake my head and whisper, "I have math."
"Skip it," he urges. "It's not like it'll matter tomorrow."
He has a point. "But what if today is the last time this happened and tomorrow really IS tomorrow?"
"Then we'll have all weekend to come up with a reason why we skipped second period."
"Okay." We run into our history class just as the late bell rings. Needless to say, we both ace the pop quiz.

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A/N: okay, many have you said that this was a copy of an octo book by Wendy Mass. That is true, I had so many requests of this book so I decided to copy it and I'm giving full credit to Wendy Mass. This is NOT my book. Sorry for the confusion, I'm just copying this so other people can read it without buying the book.

I give full credit to Wendy Mass. Sorry for the long wait for this chapter.