I jerked my head around. “I see you got jokes!” I told Mom.
“There are zillions of pages of these questions,” she told me with a laugh. “I’m sure that one is on the next page!”
She typed and typed, then got to the third page. “Ooh! Now this is better. Listen to these: “Is the applicant kind and generous and caring? Yes.
“Does the applicant have a family that adores her? Yes.
“Is the applicant smarter and lovelier than any other twelve-year-old in the universe? Absolutely yes.”
I reached out for a hug. My mom is the best.
Mom continued to read what was actually on the page.
“?‘Is the applicant afraid of loud noises, animals, insects, storms, monsters, or the dark?’?”
Hmm… Godzilla, maybe.
“?‘Please write a detailed description of the applicant’s home life. This includes typical daily family activities, layout of living quarters, and how the applicant fits into the daily routine of your family.’?”
Whoa! That’s gonna take a while!
I wondered what Mom was saying as she typed in her answer. Nothing around here is what most folks would call “normal.” We have a ramp outside our front door instead of steps. Our living-room throw pillows are permanently tossed on the floor in front of the sofa in case my body decides to do a fancy forward somersault. My bed is set up very low to the floor on the possibility that I might roll out.
The bathroom? Yep! Easy shower access and a sprayer that Penny loves. She calls it the “jungle rain-maker.” It’s fun for her, but Dad set it up because for me, bathing gets complicated.
As I thought about it, I had to admit that taking care of me was a full-time job, a 24/7 responsibility, a task that would never be completed. Jeez.
But Mom was humming away as she typed. That’s what she does when she’s in a happy place. No frown of annoyance on her face. She glanced over and smiled at me with genuine Mom-love. She didn’t even look tired, and Mom always looked tired.
It took forever, but we finally finished the last form.
“You ready?” Mom asked me one final time.
“Yes. Absolutely!” I told her.
“Okay, then. Send it in, kid!” She rolled my chair close to her computer and gave me a high five. It took me only a few seconds to hover my hand over her keyboard. It didn’t wobble. I let it drop, and I hit send.
CHAPTER 5
My application to Camp Green Glades went in on Monday. On Tuesday Mom told me they had sent a reply.
Whoa! That was fast! Maybe too fast. There’s a lever on my chair that propels me forward. I grabbed it and hurried into Mom’s room.
She made a couple of taps on her keyboard, and there it was. She drew in a deep breath. “Uh, well, let me read what they say,” she said quietly. “Thank you for your application to Camp Green Glades. We’re very sorry, but all available spots for the current summer sessions have been filled at this time. However, your child’s name has been placed on our waiting list. If an opening occurs because of a cancellation, you will be notified. We look forward to meeting Melody Brooks in the near future.”
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. It never occurred to me that they would say no. And, and, and the website had said there were openings!
Mom gnawed at her bottom lip, then turned from the computer to give me a long, long hug.
And I couldn’t help it, but I have to admit, it felt a little bit like the time I had been left behind in an airport by classmates who I had thought were friends. They had… ditched me! Because, well, I guess I was too much trouble. Was I—was I too much for the camp to handle? Were there too many boxes checked off on those first two pages? Maybe they were just being nice by saying the slots were filled!
I pulled roughly away from my mother, rolled back to my room, and grabbed the specially designed remote from its place on the side of my bed. Dad had set it up so it was on a coiled cord that couldn’t really fall far from my reach. The buttons were huge. Penny loved it because it was perfect for her chubby fingers. I turned the TV on, clicked on a music channel, and turned it up loud. Mom came in a little later and asked if I was hungry. I turned up the music even louder and she tiptoed out.
At last, the music started changing colors in my head, and I calmed down enough to fall asleep in my chair.
CHAPTER 6
It was only Thursday and it had been raining and gray all day, just like my mood. So Mrs. V decided to switch things up and take us to the library, even though it wasn’t even Friday. Well, maybe because I had begged her.
“Girl, you want me to go out in all this moisture and mess up my new hairdo?”
That made me laugh. “It’s for Penny,” I tapped out, giving her what I hoped was a convincing smile.
“I want to get a book about a dragon,” Penny told her. “A shiny red dragon!” She placed her small hand on mine.
“Okay, you two,” Mrs. V told us, “I can tell when I’m being ganged up on. Okay, okay!”
Because it was a yucky day, it took us a little longer than usual to load and unload—it’s complicated trying to keep me and my wheelchair dry—but by the time we got there, the sky had cleared, and the library wasn’t crowded at all.
Mr. Francisco greeted us with a wave as I plunked last week’s books into the book drop. “Perfect timing, Penny!” he told her cheerfully. “We’re about to begin story time!” He hurried her to the picture book section, where I’m sure he’d also help her find books about dragons.
Mrs. V and I wandered around a little; she usually waited to see what I was interested in. Today I didn’t even know. Were there books about feeling mad? Was there an I’m Angry section? There should be. Then I got mad that I was mad. Why was I letting this stupid camp make me feel bad? Ooh, I’d really reeeeally reeeeally wanted to go! But if I was too much trouble for them, then it wasn’t right for me, right? Well, that’s what my brain was telling the rest of me. My leg kicked over a wastebasket. Was that an accident? Maybe.