Eleven by Lauren Myracle

Author:Lauren Myracle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2011-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

I woke up the next morning with Sweetie-Pie snuggled against my side. The song playing on my radio alarm was one I liked, and even Grandmom Perry’s turquoise shirt, which I’d draped over the top of a chair, didn’t look quite as hideous as I’d originally thought. A warm coziness seeped through me, and for a moment I couldn’t even remember why I’d been so worried the night before. I mean, I remembered, but none of it seemed quite so important anymore. Amanda was probably just being nice to Gail since Gail was new. I could be nice to her, too. We could be nice to her together. Secretly we’d feel sorry for her, but we’d only let on when it was the two of us alone.

I sat up, and pain shot through my neck. I gasped and held still. Slowly, I moved my head, and the pain flamed up even worse. I tried turning my neck more gently, but it didn’t help. I tried massaging it, but that didn’t help either. I must have slept all night with my neck wrenched to the left, and now it was stuck that way.

I eased off the bed and took tiny, clockwise steps until I could see myself in the mirror. My heart stopped. With my head twisted to the side, I looked like a human flamingo. And today was school picture day, which meant that unless the photographer had everyone try an over-the-shoulder glamour shot, I was in big trouble. But I had to be there, because otherwise there’d be three Aqua Girls instead of four, and I’d be the one everyone felt sorry for, not Gail.

Tears welled in my eyes. Why did everything have to happen to me? Why couldn’t I be normal like everyone else?

Stop it, I told myself. Just stop it. Maybe my neck muscles would loosen up between now and the time I got to school, and maybe by homeroom I’d be able to face forward. If not by homeroom, then surely by the time we got our pictures taken. Either way, crying would only make things worse. I had enough problems without adding puffy eyes to the list.

I carefully got dressed and grabbed my backpack, wincing each time I jarred my neck. “Bye!” I yelled, slipping through the front door while Mom was busy with Ty. Pain bloomed above my spine, but I made myself keep going.

In homeroom, the girls fidgeted with their hair and passed around compact mirrors while Mr. Hutchinson tried to read the announcements.

“Do my bangs look okay?” Karen asked. “Do you swear?”

“I told my mom I wanted to wear lipstick, but she wouldn’t let me!” said Maxine.

Beside me, Dinah tightened the ribbon around her ponytail. “My picture always turns out horrible.” She giggled and tugged at the waist of her dress. “I close my eyes every time. I can’t help it.”

“Just blink a lot before it’s your turn,” I said. My neck was still stuck, but I was trying to act casual. “That way your eyes will stay wet.

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