Amber's Star Read online

  “I hope so.”

  “Hopefully you two can become good friends and you can invite her hiking for your birthday,” said dad.

  I had completely forgotten my birthday was just a few weeks away. I went to my room and thought all about the hiking trip. I thought about inviting Amber. I imagined her and me hiking to the top of the highest mountain. Loud knocks on my door interrupted my daydreaming.

  “Open the door, stupid!” screamed my brother Nick.

  “What is it?” I asked, trying to get rid of him.

  “Just open the door.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Come help me with something outside,” he said.

  “Better not be to talk to Judy for you!” I hissed. Nick had an obsession with one of our neighbors and often used me to talk to her.

  “That’s exactly what I want you to do, go out there and tell her your ball landed on her backyard,” he demanded.

  “What will I get?” I asked.

  “Five,” answered Nick. I walked to Judy’s front door and knocked on it, thinking about the five dollars that later could come in handy. This was taking some time. I knocked harder and Judy finally answered.

  “Hey,” she said. I don’t know why Nick is so in love with her, she’s short, just taller than me, and has a big pointy nose.

  “My ball landed on your backyard, could I go get it?” I asked.

  “My backyard?” she asked stupidly. “Yes,” I answered.

  “I was just in my backyard and there’s no ball there,” she said. My eyes went wide as I thought of something smart to say, nothing.

  “You want to know the truth?” I finally ask.

  “My brother Nick has a big crush on you and he often asks me to come over here and talk to you so you can come out and he can get a chance to talk to you,” I explained.

  “Really?” she asked.

  “Yes, and he’s giving me five dollars just to come over here, so I’d appreciate it if you went along with it so I could get my money,” I said.

  “You’re so cute,” she said, laughing.

  “Here’s what we’ll do. Tell your brother exactly what he wants to hear, I’ll let you out the back and I’ll come out, and hopefully, your brother talks to me on his own,” she said giggling. We agreed to the plan, I went out to the back to get the fake ball so Judy could step outside and so would Nick.

  “I don’t see your ball anywhere,” she said.

  “I told you it landed somewhere else,” said Nick, pushing me out of the way. I didn’t know what to answer. I stood there expecting Nick or Judy to say something, but neither did.

  “Well, I’m sorry,” I finally said and walked back inside. I went up to my room and looked out my back window. Judy was giggling and so was Nick. For the first time, Nick was talking to his crush. Judy had been his crush for over three years! Hopefully, it wouldn’t take me that long to talk to Amber.

  Chapter Three

  Amber: Nothing hurts more than chemo. For me it was painful, I remember talking to other kids with cancer who said it didn’t hurt at all. Mom explained their lots of different cancers and for that reason, chemotherapy can be different too. For me, it was a needle-looking thing going inside my chest once a week for about two hours. Doctors call it a port. It was painful. The chemo I received killed all rapid dividing cells in my body, including those that make your hair grow. Some kids received chemo that didn’t make them lose their hair, and some only lost parts of their hair. I guess I was just unlucky. I had gone bald a long time ago and had gotten used to it. Now I only needed six weeks more of chemo and my hair could grow back. The words from my doctor back in Denver still danced around my head.

  “After your treatment in Boston, your hair can start growing back” he had said. I was looking forward to that. “Six more weeks,” I thought as I walked into Boston’s Children’s Hospital. Six more weeks and I won’t have to come back to this place. Hospitals paint a pretty picture for kids like me. They have many video games and cool toys you can play with. When I was diagnosed I enjoyed playing and waiting for my chemo to begin. But now that I was only weeks away from turning eleven, there weren’t many toys that entertained me. Most of the toys are for younger kids, the only things appropriate for my age are video games, and I don’t like them much. Mom and dad say my doctor is nice. He’s also one of the best in the country, according to dad.

  I saw a tall man walking towards us. He had a big smile and seemed happy to see.

  “You must be Amber,” he said in a funny accent.

  “Nice to meet you, I’m Dr. Nahal,”

  Dr. Nahal gave us a cozy welcome and told us all about the treatment I would receive. Lots of the words he used I’ve never heard in my life. Mom nods and so does my dad, I bet neither of them knows what he’s talking about either.

  “Ready?” Dr. Nahal asked me.

  “Yes,” I answered, not knowing what I was ready for. We went up a floor and soon I found kids all different ages playing in the biggest playroom I’ve seen. Mom and dad couldn’t come in, so I went in alone. All the kids seemed happy. I played with a little boy sitting alone in a resting chair. After minutes of playtime, mom told me it was time for my chemo. It hurt as much as it dad back in Denver, I got side effects and usually missed a few days of school. But not this time my chemo was on Friday so I was good to go on Monday morning. The next few weeks I focused on math and history. I wanted to impress mom and dad with my grades that way I would force them to get me a cellphone for middle school like they had promised. Mom and dad counted the days for my birthday. They seemed more excited than I did.

  “Tomorrow is a very special day,” said mom.

  “It’s just October 25th,” said Grace. I looked at her and stuck my tongue out.

  “It’s my baby’s birthday!” screamed dad.

  “The big one-one!” he screamed.

  “Please tell me you didn’t tell my teacher about it,” I begged.

  “We didn’t, but we should. Baby, you only turn eleven once in your life,” said mom.

  “I know. It’s just embarrassing for it to be your birthday,” I said. “I’ve only been there for a month and still don’t have lots of friends, most of the kids will sing happy birthday just to go along,”

  “Okay, but promise you’ll invite Emily this Saturday for lunch.”

  “Promise,” I answered.

  On my eleventh birthday, I woke up to a new wig my mom had gotten me, and for those of you that don’t know a wig is a big deal, it’s real hair! Someone has to donate it or you have to buy it. I’d love to wear my new wig but it’s much longer than the one I have now, and everyone would wonder how my hair grew six inches overnight. I know mom bought this wig for me to wear when I go to middle school. I get hugs from mom, dad, and Grace before breakfast. Dad even makes Ernest hug me. I don’t feel any different; I guess turning eleven is not a big deal.

  “I met your mom when I was eleven,” said dad.

  “You two met that young?” asked Grace.

  “We did,” said mom smiling. I didn’t say much while I had breakfast. I finished fast and told dad I was ready.

  “Let’s go then,” he said, finishing his last piece of bread.

  “Bye loser, have a good day,” said Grace.

  “You too,” I answered.

  The bell rang for the beginning of class and I took a seat next to Emily as usual. I didn’t tell her about my birthday. I just didn’t want anyone to know. She brought a bag of cookies for me almost every single day. I couldn’t imagine what she would bring me knowing it was my birthday. Ms. Flowers walked in and the smile on her face told me she was up to something.

  “I have an announcement to make,” she said, smiling. ‘Oh, no here it comes. She knows about my birthday,’ I thought.

  “Someone turns eleven today,” she said, smiling. I squinted as I tried covering myself with my backpack.

  “Let’s sing happy birthday to,” said Ms. Flowers. While she spoke, I tried shrinking t
he most I could inside my sweater. The last thing I wanted was to hear my name and get a questionnaire from Emily to explain why I hadn’t told her about my birthday.

  “Happy birthday, Noah!” shouted Ms. Flowers. I shrunk inside my sweater like a turtle expecting a big hug from Emily. Wait. Did she say, Noah? I looked up and saw Noah with the same look everyone has while they get sung happy birthday. He smiled awkwardly at everyone and I felt a huge relief. I sat straight and tried to join the rest on the happy birthday.

  “Let’s all give Noah a hug,” said Ms. Flowers.

  “You don’t turn eleven every day!” she said being the first one to hug him. Some of his friends formed a line to hug him but I stayed seated seeing Emily do the same.

  “The rest can hug Noah later,” said Ms. Flowers.

  “We have to get back to class,” she added. The rest of the day I thought about how lucky I was to share birthdays with Noah. No one knew it was my birthday, so Noah got all the attention. At lunch, Emily pulled out two cookie bags. Lunch wasn’t great that day, so I ate most of my bag for lunch. I was stuffed with chocolate chip cookies and left my tray close to full. As we walked out, I saw Noah standing close to the door. I walked up to him and finally said happy birthday. Emily stayed behind and rolled her eyes at me. I still have to figure out why she hates him. I opened my arms to hug him and before I knew it his stomach met mines, I patted him on the back and pushed him slowly away. It was a long hug, Noah seemed to love hugs. He didn’t want to back away. I pushed him off, literally pushed him off, and tried backing away.

  “When is your birthday?” he asked. My eyes grew, I could feel the nerve building up inside me, I tried to think of something fast to say but my brain didn’t respond.

  “November 27th,” I finally answered.

  “Cool, that’s just like a month away,” he said.

  “Are you turning eleven also?” he asked.

  “Hmm yes,” I answered and walked away. I saw Emily with a nasty look on her face, similar to the face I made when I tried tuna for the first time.

  “Why did you hug Noah? Gross,” she said.

  “Just trying to be nice,”

  “Yuk,” she complained. I looked back to find Noah still looking at us.

  “Why don’t you like him?” I asked.

  “It’s a long story, and trust me if I tell you, you’ll hate him too.”

  It would have been a good day if Ms. Flowers hadn’t introduced Skylar to us after lunch. Skylar was a fifth-grader that was causing trouble in another fifth-grade room and was now our classmate. On the first day, Skylar did well. It was hard to believe she was a troublemaker. She had no friends in the class and the only time she could be a bully was at lunch. Skylar had blue eyes and long golden hair. Boys said if she weren’t so rude she would be the prettiest girl in school. Emily had told me all about Skylar and how she once got suspended in the second grade for burning the girl’s bathroom. She had brought a candle from home and had started a fire with matches and toilet paper. You could see evil in her eyes. She looked at everyone, trying to come up with nasty things to say. I think there’s a girl like Skylar in every school. I knew she was playing nice now, but eventually, she would show her true intentions.

  Ms. Flowers had Skylar sit close to her for the first week trying to monitor her. Skylar turned all homework in for the first week and often participated in class. If no one had told me how bad she had been, I would have never believed it.

  On Friday after school, I had chemo. Something inside me felt weird as if my body was trying to tell me something. Dr. Nahal didn’t like his patients wearing wigs inside the hospital. He said it made other boys and girls feel sad since not everyone could afford to have one. I took my wig off and put on a blue hoodie to cover my bald head.

  Mom was right next to me when the worst thing happened. I saw Skylar walking in with her mom, a little toddler boy next to them cried with pain. By the way Skylar and her move it’s clear the little boy has a broken leh. I tried hiding behind mom but it was too late, mom left my side and went to help Skylar’s mom with her child. I tried to turn around, escape inside the elevator, but it was too late. Skylar had seen me.

  “Amber?” she asked. I tried turning around, but my feet didn’t respond. “Open up, open up,” I whispered into the elevator’s doors. I felt her filthy hand pull down on my hoodie, exposing my head.

  “You have cancer?” she asked. I didn’t turn around. I thought of something smart to say but when I turned around she was gone. I glanced around and finally spotted her skipping her way into the next room. Her smile told me she was up to no good. It was a matter of time before everyone at school knew my big secret. I went through chemo without saying a word. Dr. Nahal tried to be funny with me and joked about lots of things, but I wasn’t in the mood for laughing. Mom knew me too well and by the end of my chemo, she knew something was wrong with me.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked back in the car.

  “Nothing,” I answered, knowing she’d insist.

  “Amber, what’s wrong?” she asked with an angry tone.

  “Nothing mom,” I said.

  Mom turned her head and didn’t seem to be happy. Mom didn’t talk to me for the rest of day. I tried to stay in my room most of the day and pretended to be asleep when dad walked in. I skipped dinner and told mom I only wanted cereal. I ate in my room and tried falling asleep fast. The image of Skylar telling everyone at school about my cancer haunted my mind. I knew it was inevitable, something deep inside me told now told me Skylar was mean and she would tell everyone about it as soon as she could.

  Chapter Four

  Noah: Love is a powerful word according to Nick. He and Judy had only talked for a few days and they seemed to love each other already. I was getting used to the idea of my brother having a crush on her, but during dinner, he brought her up to mom and dad.

  “Mom, Dad, how would you feel if I had a girlfriend?” he asked. Dad didn’t answer, and mom almost choked on her salad.

  “A girlfriend?” she asked.

  “Nick, you’re only fifteen, your only focus should be school, and school only,” she added.

  “But mom, Judy is so cool, she and I have a lot in common,” he explained.

  “Judy the next-door neighbor?” asked dad.

  “Yes her. Dad Judy is incredible,” said Nick. I finished up my dessert and headed upstairs to my room. I could still hear Nick talk about Judy as I headed up, I closed my door and thought about Amber.

  The days went by and each day I found it harder not to stare at Amber. Daniel almost caught me once, but I told him I was only looking out the window. My birthday was getting closer, and I still hadn’t told Daniel about the hiking trip. In my mind I still had time to be friends with Amber and invite her instead.

  With only one week away from my birthday, I gave up the possibility of Amber coming with me to the Rockies. I told Daniel about it and he went nuts. I was looking forward to hiking, seeing the tall mountains, and climbing them.

  The morning I turned eleven, Nick and Judy surprised me outside my room with balloons and a small cake they had both baked for me. They weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but they did seem like it. Mom and dad said happy birthday to me as well and told me there weren’t any gifts for me since they were spending a lot on next weekend’s hiking trip. I got ready for school and put on my best clothes, knowing I will be the center of attention at least while they sing happy birthday to me. Daniel was the first one to say happy birthday to me, he had always been a little jealous about the fact I turn eleven before he did.

  “Happy birthday, here’s this,” he said, handing me a small wooden box.

  “Thanks,” I answered.

  “Open it,” he ordered. I took the wooden box and opened it to find the most amazing compass I’d ever seen.

  “Cool!”

  “Yeah, it will help us on our trip,” said Daniel. I saw Ms. Flowers walk in the room. She had her happy birthday smile on, and I bet Daniel she�
��ll make everyone sing happy birthday to me before the class started. It’s weird to hear everyone signing at you. I tried not to feel uncomfortable, but I knew everyone felt the same way. It’s never cool to sing happy birthday, and it’s much worse if you’re the one they’re singing to. After the song was over, Ms. Flowers said the best words my ears could hear.

  “Let’s all give Noah a hug.”

  I tried not to get excited. But I knew that all meant Amber included. I looked around to see Daniel standing up to hug me, but Ms. Flowers reached me first. I hugged them fast, trying to see if Amber was close to standing up. I looked at her and she remained seated. Two more hugged me, but I didn’t pay attention to who they were. I stared at Amber, wondering why she wouldn’t get up. Then I remembered Emily sitting next to her, I can almost say Emily told her not to hug me, I could see in Amber’s eyes that deep inside she was dying to hug me. But I understood her, she didn’t want to upset her friend, and I was okay with that. I couldn’t wait to be friends with Amber so I could tell her why Emily hated me. It all happened in the third grade when she made up a rumor about me and her. The girl had a crush on me since kindergarten, but I didn’t. I hated her ever since she told the entire third grade that I had asked her to kiss me.

  “The rest can hug Noah later,” I heard Ms. Flowers say. I found it hard to concentrate for the rest of the morning. Most of my thoughts were about Amber. I’d imagined if she weren’t friends with Emily, and the perfect our hug had been.

  I ate lunch with Daniel and we talked about our hiking trip, after lunch the best thing happened to me. I stood close to the doors and saw Amber walking directly at me. I tried to act cool, but she was coming my way. I saw Emily roll her eyes and I was ready to hear what Amber had to say. At first, I thought Emily had sent her. Man, I was wrong. Amber stood in front of me and smiled. I tried saying something, but she beat me to it.

  “Happy birthday,” she said smiling. I tried to thank her, but my mouth didn’t respond. She opened her arms and before Emily could pull her back, I wrapped myself around her. It was the first time I was this close to her. She smelled great. I hugged her tightly and tried sniffing as most as possible to remember later. I must have been hugging her tight because the next thing I knew she patted me on the back and tried pushing me away. I took one last sniff and backed away. I tried acting normal but finally understood what people meant when they said they felt butterflies in their stomachs. I was now feeling them. I tried thanking her for the hug but ended by asking her something different.