A Song Called Home by Sara Zarr

Author:Sara Zarr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2021-11-17T00:00:00+00:00

24

BY THURSDAY MORNING, MS. TOM had made a sign-up sheet for kids to say what they’d bring to Lou’s going-away party.

On Friday, the class had the party at the end of the school day. Joey Levoy brought potato chips and Lawrence Lee brought a tray of cheese and crackers from the store. Beth and her mom made cupcakes. The last time Beth brought cupcakes was Lou’s birthday. The sleepover coupons Beth had given her then were in Lou’s junk drawer, where she’d buried them after Beth discovered the stolen things.

Ms. Tom asked if anyone in the class wanted to say something nice about Lou. “Starting a new school is hard,” she said, “and this is a good chance for you to give Lou some encouragement.”

Hands went up so quickly that Lou thought Ms. Tom had probably talked to the other kids about it ahead of time.

Joey went first and Lou elbowed Beth, dreading whatever joke he was going to make. Even Ms. Tom looked skeptical. But then he said, “When we do reading aloud, Lou is the best. She never messes up. She knows how to say all the words and everything.”

A few other kids said, “Yeah,” or nodded. Lou stared down at her plate of chips and cheese, embarrassed in a good way. She did like reading aloud.

Charles Poza talked about the time last year when a bird flew into the classroom and got trapped there and Lou was the one who was able to get it to fly out again. Really that had been luck, and the bird pooped on her bare hand, but it was nice that he remembered.

Lawrence went, then Daisy Dobrov, then a couple of other kids. Lou listened hard. Then, Beth’s hand went up. Ms. Tom said, “Yes, Beth?”

Lou held her breath.

“I like Lou because she’s real,” Beth said. “She’s not perfect. She’s just herself.” Then Beth started crying again, like she had at lunch on Tuesday, her head down on her desk. Lou put her arm across Beth’s shoulder and a few more kids came over to pat Beth on the back and tell her it would be okay. They would still be there to be her friends when Lou was gone.

That’s when it hit her that they were all going to go on without her. This classroom would still exist and everyone else would still be in it and Joey would still be making jokes and all the usual games and conversations at recess and lunch would happen. It didn’t seem real or possible, but that’s how it would be.

She walked with Beth to where she was supposed to meet Casey, like they’d been doing since the move. Lou carried a shopping bag that contained leftover cupcakes, a card from Ms. Tom, and a jumble of pens and pencils and erasers and markers and paper and drawings from inside her desk.

“Can you come over this weekend?” Beth asked.

“I have to babysit . . .” Saturday would be her and Casey’s first real babysitting job for the Merritt-Mendozas now that the kids and the dog knew who they were.

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