Finally I close my eyes. “Disappear. D…”
Ms. Richards says, “Louder, dear.”
I nod. “D … I … S … A … P … P … E … A … R. Disappear.”
I hear a ding noise! Ms. Richards says, “Correct! You get to move to the next round. Take a seat on stage.”
I’m surprised. That wasn’t so bad! My voice didn’t sound so weird on the microphone. It sounded okay. I sit down and wait for the next round. I actually can’t wait to go again.
It takes a long time to get through the rest of the students. There are about eighty of us altogether, so there are many dings and errrrrs. Jenny makes it through to the next round. And, of course, Stanley does, too.
The next word I have to spell is “knowledge,” and I, of course, know how to spell it.
“K … N … O … W … L … E … D … G … E.”
I swear the ding sounds just a little bit more special the second time.
I make it all the way to the third round, or the semifinals, when I misspell the word “dandelion.” Honestly, hearing the errrrr noise wasn’t so bad, especially since there were only six students left on stage with me.
I get so caught up with the spelling bee that the only way I know that I made it to the semifinals is that I get a pink ribbon with a gold star that says “semifinalist.” Chris Pollard ends up winning it all with the word “gregarious.” I don’t even know what that means!
Stanley also has a pink ribbon, which is surprising. I thought he’d win it all. Maybe we’re alike in some ways.
Anyway, Jenny helps me put my ribbon on as we walk past the dolphin mural, and then we link arms. We make ding and errrrr noises to each other. “Maybe we sound like dolphins. No, better yet, robots!” I whisper to Jenny. We both giggle as we start walking like robots.
I wear my ribbon proudly the rest of the day. “I can’t wait to show Mom,” I say quietly to myself.
Then I say even softer, “Maybe the presentation won’t be so bad.” This time, I kind of believe it, too.
Chapter Sixteen
When Mom gets home from work, she makes a big deal about my spelling bee ribbon, which I don’t mind. She cries, “¡Mi bebé!” I usually don’t like it when she says “my baby” in public, but at home it makes me hug her even more.
“This calls for a celebration. How about a trip to the biblioteca and some frozen yogurt afterward?”
I squeal and spell, “Y … E … S.” That sounds like a great night. I also squeal because I love hearing the word biblioteca. It’s such a fun word, and I love going to the library.
Mom changes out of her suit. As soon as Nick and I see her in her jeans and sweatshirt, we know it’s time to go.
“Are you going to get any books for your project, Stella?” she asks as she grabs her car keys.
“I would like a book on starfishes. Mom, did you know that if a starfish loses an arm”—I hide one of my arms behind my back and then stick it out—“they can grow one back?!” I wiggle my hand in amazement.
She nods. “Did you know some people are as strong as starfishes?”
“What do you mean, Mom? You mean like superheroes?” I ask.
She laughs. “I just mean that some people have to go through tough things and they can bounce back. Like Frida Kahlo.”
“Ohh!” Then I ask, “Who is Frida Kahlo?”
“I’ll tell you more about her in the car,” says Mom. “She’s fascinating.”
Turns out Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter who made beautiful paintings. She was in a bus accident when she was very young and had to stay in bed for months. That’s when she learned how to paint. She became one of the most famous painters ever.
“Wow!” I exclaim. Hearing about Frida makes me feel proud to be from the same country.
“We can get a book on her at the biblioteca tonight,” Mom says as she pulls into the library parking lot.
Now, the library at school is pretty cool, but the public library near my house is incredible! It has three levels, and beanbag chairs in the kids’ section. I like to go to the reference section and look at the huge books on marine life. They have so many pictures.
The library also has art exhibits and art contests. One time I got third place. We had to draw a scene from our favorite book, and mine was from James and the Giant Peach. It was the scene where the peach gets stuck on top of the Empire State Building. I found this really cool photo of the building so I could see how to draw it and added many little seagulls. Mom framed it at home and always says that one day it will be very valuable.
When we get to the library, I see a sign near the front door that reads “Local Author Presentation in the Auditorium.”
“Mom, can we go, por favor?” I ask. If I say please, Mom usually says yes.
Mom looks at her watch and then at me. I’m giving her the biggest puppy-dog eyes I can. She nods yes and gives me a kiss on the head.
Nick says, “It starts in thirty minutes. Time to move it,” as he runs over to the graphic novels.
In the meantime, I spot more books on marine animals while Mom looks for a book on Frida Kahlo and some mystery novels for herself.
Since I’ve already done research at the library for my project, I know exactly where the fish books are. I only have a few more fishes to go, and I also want to get more photos for the starfish page that I am finishing. I find a picture of a royal starfish that’s purple with an orange border.
Nick wanders over with a stack of graphic novels and peeks over my shoulder.
“I can’t wait to draw it!” I whisper.
“I’m sure it will be great like the rest of your drawings, little Miss Frida Kahlo.”
I giggle. “Do you think they’ll have one at the Shedd Aquarium?”
Nick shrugs his shoulders. “Maybe. Also Mom’s a little busy with work, so I don’t know when exactly we will go.”
Nick’s been so great about the presentation. He told Mom about the Shedd Aquarium idea, and now I just hope we really can go. We’ve also been brainstorming how to make my presentation more interesting, and he suggested that I should be a fisherman. That sounds a little boring, but then I came up with the idea of doing a submarine. I just need to finish my research before I start building it.
Nick says, “Come on, champ. Time to go!”
I grab his arm and we run over to Mom, who is standing near the auditorium.
We enter just as the show is starting. Not only is it an author, but it’s a children’s book author and a girl! She starts the presentation by reading out loud a few of her books. One of them is even in English and Spanish. How cool is that! Obviously, I understand both parts. Later she speaks about how she got started as an author. She grew up in Texas like Stanley. Turns out she had problems speaking as a kid, just like me. She would switch the letters around. Everyone thought she wasn’t really smart. Because of that, she read even more and made herself write all the time. Then she decided that’s what she wanted to do when she grew up.
I whisper to Mom, “She’s a starfish.”
She puts her arm around me and kisses me on top of the head. Then I realize that maybe I’m a starfish, too. My name is Estrella, after all.
When I get home, I draw the royal starfish. As soon as I’m done, I whisper to Pancho, “Don’t tell anyone, but I might want to be an author one day.”
Pancho, of course, doesn’t say anything. He’s the best at keeping secrets.
Chapter Seventeen
I’m in the middle of reading about narwhals when Dad picks us up. The narwhal is a type of whale. People think it has a giant tusk, but it’s actually a tooth. Narwhals are extra special because they are rarely seen. People tried to keep them in captivity in the 1960s and 1970s, but sadly they kept dying.
I only see Dad once or twice a year, and this time it’s right before spring break. He’s in Chicago for a week with my Tío Carlos. Apparently, they are going to some sort of convention for my tío’s clothing store.
When Dad
arrives at our house, he is in a new car that I’ve never seen before. Dad always likes to drive instead of flying, so he must have gotten it back in Colorado. The new car is a sports car. You know, the ones that look like they go really fast. I’m used to this, though. Every time I see him, it’s a new car. As we put on our seat belts, he says that he’s taking Nick and me bowling.
“Cool!” says Nick.
I don’t say anything. I’ve never been bowling before. I’m excited, but I don’t know what to expect.
As soon as we get to the bowling alley, Dad says to us, “You guys paying?” He laughs.
I look over to Nick. He’s not laughing. I know why, too. Since Dad never sends us money, we never know when he will actually pay for things. Mom knows this, so she always gives us extra money when we see him just in case he makes us pay.
“Nick, it’s just a joke.”
Nick is still not laughing. Dad just shrugs. He goes over to the register.
“One adult and two kids.”
Dad opens up his wallet. I see a picture of Nick when he was little. Then I see a picture of a baby.
“Who’s that?” I ask, pointing to the picture.
“You!” he says.
I’m a little surprised.
“Really?”
“Sí, it’s you, from your first passport picture before we moved to the United States. Vamos, let’s get some zapatos on your feet!”
Apparently, you can’t wear regular shoes on the bowling lanes. You have to borrow these really cool shoes that are colorful.
I put them on. “I think I might like bowling,” I say to Nick. I kick my heels together like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
“Let’s go, Twinkle Toes,” Nick says.
We walk over to the lanes, and Dad enters our names into the computer. Then he hands me a few different balls to find one that I can bowl with. I find a bright orange one that I can actually carry.
“Señoritas primero,” says Dad. I like it when Dad says, “Girls go first.” Nick blows a raspberry.
I’m all smiles until I walk toward the lane. The floor is slippery, and I get all nervous trying to lift the ball. It feels too heavy.
“What do I do, Dad?” I ask.
“It’s not rocket science. Just roll the ball,” says Nick.
I turn roja, this time because I’m angry. Just because I’m new to something doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I wish that I were a narwhal right now so I could poke Nick with my giant tooth. Instead, I stick my tongue out at Nick. Then I roll the ball. It goes nowhere near the white pins.
In fact, my first two balls go right into the gutter. Nick goes next. He is much better than me and knocks a few pins over. Dad is really good. He knocks over all the pins. I don’t know much about bowling, but he kicks out his leg like the professionals.
“Dad, how come you are so good?” I ask.
“Well, I used to go bowling a bunch when I was a teenager.” He reties his shoe and looks at me. “I wasn’t very close to my parents. They were more concerned with their parties than with your tío or me. Once I no longer had a nana, a nanny, I spent all my time with my friends bowling or playing pool.”
I feel sad for a second. I never thought about Dad as a kid. It sounds kind of lonely. I love spending time with Mom and Nick.
I look at him. I say in Spanish, “Dad, could you teach me how to bowl better?”
“Claro que sí, mi amor, Stella.” “Of course, my love,” he says.
He shows me how to line up my feet with these little arrows first. Next he shows me how to swing my arm better and finally to let the ball roll. When I do it by myself, the ball goes slower than it did before, but it’s going straight down the middle. I actually knock over some pins. Almost all of them!
“Way to go, Stella!” says Nick. He gives me a high five.
Dad kisses the top of my head. I smile. For a moment, I miss having him around.
After we finish bowling, Dad drops us off at the house.
“Before you go…” he says, grabbing a box from the back seat. “Here are new coats for the two of you.”
I see the tags. They are from my tío’s store. Dad gives Nick and me each a coat. I try mine on. It’s too big. It’s also pink, with fur. I like pink, but a whole pink coat is too girly for me. Still I say, “Gracias.”
I look over at Nick, and I giggle. His coat is way too small. It’s so tight around his shoulders he can’t even put down his arms.
“Oh, I guess you grew more than I realized. You’re going to be as tall as your uncle!” Nick just shrugs and hands him back the coat.
“I’ll mail you a new one,” Dad says.
Nick looks at me. We both know that is never going to happen.
I give Dad a hug goodbye. I feel a little sad again. My dad is not all terrible. He just doesn’t know better. It’s like the people who used to hunt narwhals. People used to think that narwhals were related to unicorns. They didn’t know they were regular sea mammals and weren’t magical. I think part of Dad just doesn’t realize he’s not doing a good job at being a father. Then again, I don’t think he knows how. It doesn’t sound like he had really great parents. Nick and I are lucky because at least we have Mom.
Nick puts his arm around me as we go back inside our house. As we open the door, I smell something wonderful. Mom is in the kitchen making albóndigas again. I run into the kitchen and hug her tightly around the waist.
“Whoa, Stella! You surprised me.”
I look up at her. “I love you, Mommy.”
“I love you more,” she says as she hugs me back.
Chapter Eighteen
Today, I turn nine years old, which means I’m big enough to take more care of myself.
This year my birthday is on a Saturday, so I don’t have to go to school. Good thing, too, because I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about the day ahead. Mom pretended not to remember my birthday last night when we were playing games and eating Chinese food.
“Mom, are we doing anything special tomorrow?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. Should we?” she said with a wink.
“Yeah, nothing special happens tomorrow. The most boring day ever,” said Nick. I stuck my tongue out at him and opened my fortune cookie.
I went to sleep a little worried, but I was pretty sure I could hear presents being wrapped and smell cake being baked in the kitchen in the middle of the night.
So when I hear Mom tiptoeing into my room and I see lighted candles, I know she and Nick didn’t forget. They sing “Happy Birthday” twice. The first time in English and the second time in Spanish. I blow out all nine candles at the same time and feel extra lucky.
On our birthdays, we always get to eat cake for breakfast. Mom made my favorite this year—coconut cake with a special type of caramel called cajeta. Then she put a bunch of sliced mangoes on top. I run to the kitchen to grab the plates while Mom and Nick chase after me.
When I get to the kitchen, I see wrapped presents on the table. There’s even one for Nick because Mom always says that we need to celebrate being hermano and hermana. Because I’m a really good hermana, I let him open his present first.
But before that, I give him a card I made that has a drawing of a sea dragon on it. Sea dragons are like sea horses, but they look like leafy dragons. Inside it says, “To the best big hermano! Love, Stella.”
I drew the sea dragon because if my brother were a fish, he’d be a sea dragon. He always takes care of me like the male sea dragons do. Sea dragons also carry their young on their tails. Nick still gives me piggyback rides sometimes. Plus, Nick really likes dragons in general. It’s the only animal he draws.
“Thanks, sis!”
Mom says, “Ahora it’s Stella’s turn!”
I squeal and open up my four presents on the table, one at a time. The first is an envelope, and inside are tickets for the Shedd Aquarium!
“This is going to help me finish my fish project!” I say. “Thanks, Mom!”
“Way to go,
Mom!” Nick cheers.
Then I open the second present. James and the Giant Peach!
“Now you don’t have to check it out from the library anymore,” Mom says.
“¡Gracias!” I say.
I jump up to hug her and she kisses my cheek. Mom is the best. She used to try to give me baby dolls, but then she realized that I like books and art supplies way more.
The third present is a bigger box. It’s 128 colored pencils, the fancy artist kind! Before I only had twenty-four. I also didn’t have any of the metallic colors. Now, I’ll be able to draw superheroes with metallic capes for my brother. I saw Stanley doing that at school the other day, and it looked really cool.
“You can use the metallic ones to draw details on your submarine!” says Nick.
We high-five. He’s so smart.
The last present is really small, like the size of a note. I open it. It’s a card. On the front it says “To la mejor hija,” or “to the best daughter.”
I open the card. Written inside is “Go to the garage.”
“It’s a surprise!” I yell as I run into the garage. “I love surprises!”
There, in the middle of the garage, is a red bicycle—without training wheels! Mom and Nick like to go riding with each other around the neighborhood on the weekends. I was always a little jealous, but I didn’t have a bike without training wheels, so I would play at Jenny’s instead.
“Awesome!” I say as I jump up and down. “Can we ride now?”
“No riding until you eat your cake for breakfast.” Mom winks.
“Deal!” We all shake hands on it.
After two slices of cake, I put on my outdoor clothes and grab my helmet. I want to wear my pajamas, but Mom doesn’t think that is a good idea. “Stella, the robe will get stuck in the wheels,” she warns.
The three of us walk our bikes to the park across the street to practice.
I put on my helmet. “I’m ready!”
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