Shine On, Luz Véliz!

Shine On, Luz Véliz! — page 7 — that turns on when you clap It also works when I snap Practically magic Mom calls him Gadget Santa because he’s always giving us gadgets like a motion detector that chimes when Zig zag goes out her cat door Plus Mr Mac knows stuff When I graduated from crutches he showed me his banged up knee and how to use a cane Turning my back on the trash bag I call over It is important It’s my old soccer stuff He nods his hatted head and the sun glints off his round glasses He’s quiet for a second That’s a prickly one to swallow all right It sure is It won’t be easy looking at my bare bedroom but it’s better than looking at a room that makes me sad That’s a fact I say Do you remember Stephen Hawking Luz The physics guy who talked through a computer That’s him He said something about intelligence And he was a smart guy Test scores or even high grades that’s not what intelligence is Hawking says it’s being able to adapt to change I let that sink in You mean my leg I glance at my trash bag So is this me um adapting to change As best you can right And life is change I’ve found He resets his hat which has a solar powered fan built into the top Not that it’s easy of course I think about the soccer ball still in my closet and I know that I’m not all the way adapted Of course I might 6

Shine On, Luz Véliz! — page 8 — play around with the ball again just for fun But what if being a star was what made it fun And Before Dad showing showing me his soccer secrets which After Dad doesn’t do I’m not sure soccer can ever be fun now Mr Mac points to his open garage Look what I found he calls He picks up a large remote extends the antenna and a red toy car zips out I love that little thing Little Red we call it He lets me drive it sometimes Now it crosses the street zooms right to my feet Welded to the roof is a shallow shallow box kind of a tray Mr Mac made that part himself Inside the box tray sits a black electronic device maybe an old old phone I turn it over in my hands Rectangular buttons line one edge four black and one red Explore it See what you can make of it Mr Mac says zooming Little Red and its empty tray back across the street Will do I give him a wave and climb back up the driveway driveway turning the mystery object over in my hand Mom meets me at the door What do you have there I don’t know I push one of the buttons and a whole side of the device springs open I haven’t seen one of those in a long time she says Mr Mac said to explore it Mr MacLellan’s always got something interesting for you doesn’t he Mom says pointing at my bare head She always wants me to wear a hat if it’s the least bit sunny 7

Shine On, Luz Véliz! — page 9 — I ignore her gesture and hang my jacket on its hook So come here a minute We need to talk What about I say pressing another button on the black thingamajig She disappears into the house her words fading as she goes We’ll talk about it as a family As a family There’s only three of us Mom Dad and me What’s the big deal This is not what I want to do with my Sunday afternoon From the black gadget I pull out a plastic rectangle sort of a cartridge It has two holes in it with tiny teeth like gears Can this talk meeting thing wait I call as I head toward my bedroom No Luz Mom says from the kitchen Dad’s already in the dining room I set the black device on my bedside table and turn back Then I stop I stand at my bedroom doorway I let a second go by Then two Dad’s been so quiet lately So gone all the time So busy busy busy Part of me wants to stand here and make him wait Make him think about me Make him wonder where I am and if I’m okay But of course he knows I’m in my room He knows I’m basically okay Except I’m not 8

Shine On, Luz Véliz! — page 10 — 3 I plop myself down in a wooden chair at the dining dining table I’m guessing Mom set up this meeting because Dad’s clearly not into it He’s fi dgeting reaching for his phone then pulling his hand back Somehow the air feels crackly Zigzag is nowhere nearby she’s probably lazing on a pile of warm laundry Mom leans toward me I had a call from the school counselor My whole body tenses Ms Martin Am I in trouble She just needs to know whether to keep soccer on your schedule for the last nine weeks of school Whoa whoa whoa I lean back If I know one thing it’s that I’m staying in Athletic Hour even if I’m not playing I like getting outside smelling the grass Watching how the ball rolls and rolls and never gets tired Dad blows air with puff ed cheeks His eyes look red around the rims Does it make him that sad that I’m not playing soccer right now Or fútbol as he calls it when

9

PAGE 9 OF 268

›

The only kids' eBook subscription service that offers thousands of high-quality books from well known publishers like HarperCollins, National Geographic and others.

JavaScript Required

Whoops! We're sorry but Epic doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Check your web browser's settings to make sure it's enabled.