Ripple Effect Read online

  Dana tried to meet his gaze casually. His eyes were a warm green, and his face was deeply tanned except for a scar on the bridge of his nose. He smiled, revealing flawless white teeth. Dana’s heart was pounding. She couldn’t seem to put any words together. She took a deep breath and managed to smile back. A wide smile that was meant to say everything she couldn’t find the words for. I hope you had a great summer. I think you’re the awesomest boy in grade six. I’m so glad you’re sitting next to me.

  Unfortunately, Jason didn’t seem to get the message. “Ah, I think you might have something stuck in your teeth.”

  Dana stopped smiling. She unhooked her lip from where it caught and ran her tongue over the bumps of her new braces, feeling for bits of toast crust. As her cheeks started to overheat, Dana looked down and pretended to arrange things in her desk. She heard Jason talking to Trey. And she heard Mickey.

  “Dana, Dana, she’s got new tracks, but there’s no train-a!”

  Aargh. Mickey.

  Four

  IF CLASS WAS weird, cross-country practice was even weirder. Their running coach, Miss Marchand, always got right down to business and called a practice after school on the first day. Dana and Janelle had run together since joining the team in grade three. In races, Nelly was always the first Emery runner in, with Dana never far behind. It felt strange to be warming up behind the school without her friend.

  Amber and Gina ran up and tossed their water bottles on the grass. Amber adjusted her headband and Gina checked her phone before they started doing stretches. They had both been on the team last year. They were nice enough girls, but Dana didn’t really consider them close friends. Amber was super-serious and never smiled. All she talked about was running, and it made Dana tired just listening to her. Gina seemed cool, but she always left right after practice.

  Neta Pederson quietly slipped into the circle. She’d moved to Emery halfway through grade five, and Dana didn’t know her well yet. Neta was the kind of girl who blended in easily, so easily she almost disappeared. She wasn’t tall or short. She wasn’t fat or thin. Her hair was medium length, medium color. She was ordinary in every way. She was also very, very shy.

  “Hi.” Neta looked around the circle. “I thought I’d come and try out this year. Running. You know. On the team.”

  Amber looked mildly irritated. She looked around the group. “What do you think our chances are without Janelle?”

  “If we have to run without Janelle, maybe we should try running for Janelle,” said Neta, smiling brightly. Amber ignored her and started running down the trail. Gina followed. Neta’s smile faded.

  “Don’t worry,” said Dana. “Amber’s just a little intense. You’ll get used to it. Finish the warm-up with me and then we’ll go talk to Coach.” Miss Marchand currently had her hands full with a bunch of eager grade threes whose warm-up looked more like a tackle football game.

  Dana stretched her fingers down to her toes. That’s when she saw them. Janelle’s shoes. White with blue stripes. Neta was wearing the same shoes Janelle always wore. Janelle called them her lucky running shoes and refused to wear any other kind. Dana’s eyes blurred, and she shook her head to clear them.

  “You okay?” Neta asked.

  Dana nodded. “I’m fine. Come on.”

  Practice was tough, but Dana felt good. She’d been running all summer. She hadn’t had much else to do with Janelle away. Right after the accident, Dana’s mom hadn’t let her ride her bike anywhere. She was scared Dana might get in an accident too. So Dana had started running wherever she had to go. Things eased up after a few weeks, and her mother said Dana could take her bike out again, but only if she went with her brother, Dale. When she’d asked Dale to ride with her, he’d thrown her a look that could have melted her bicycle into a puddle. So Dana had done a lot of running.

  When practice was over, Dana went to unlock her bike. Inside her helmet she found a note from Dale, saying he’d already left with his friends. They were supposed to ride home together. She shrugged and put on her helmet, then said goodbye to the others.

  “Bye, Dana. Say hi to Janelle for me,” said Neta.

  Dana stiffened. She should go see Janelle now. But she was way too hot and sweaty. Then again, Nelly knew all about being gross and sweaty after practice. She wouldn’t care. Before she could change her mind again, Dana starting pedaling in the direction of Janelle’s house. It bugged her that Julia had been to see her so much. She leaned her bike against the big tree in front of Janelle’s house as she always did and knocked on the door. Mrs. Murphy answered.

  “Dana, it’s wonderful to see you! How have you been?”

  “Fine, thanks, Mrs. Murphy. I was wondering if I could see Janelle.”

  “I’m afraid she’s asleep, dear. Julia was here earlier, filling her in on news from the first day at school. Now she’s having a little nap before dinner. She’s still so tired all the time.” Mrs. Murphy smiled sadly. “But I’ll tell her you were here.”

  “Oh. All right,” said Dana. “Would tomorrow be okay to stop by? Right after school?” she asked. She had to get there before Julia could.

  “Tomorrow she has to go back to the hospital for some X-rays. If things look good, we’re hoping she can leave the wheelchair behind.”

  “Okay, how about Thursday?”

  “I’m afraid she has to go to physio. Can you come by Friday?”

  “I’ve got a cross-country meet. Our first one of the season.”

  “Oh, I’ll miss those.” Mrs. Murphy sighed and leaned against the doorframe. She had always come to the races and cheered the girls on. They could hear her voice all the way across the course. This had always made Nelly cringe, but Dana thought it was great.

  Mrs. Murphy put a hand on Dana’s shoulder. “Do your best, Dana. Okay? I’ll be thinking about you. Go Eagles!” She smiled. “Listen, Janelle’s grandparents are coming for the weekend, so it will be busy here, but if everything goes according to plan, Janelle’s hoping to be at school Monday.”

  “Monday?”

  “We’ll try. I’ll tell her you were here.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Murphy.”

  Five

  ON MONDAY MORNING Dana was so excited she had barely been able to eat breakfast. Janelle would be at school, and she couldn’t wait to see her. And she couldn’t wait to tell her about last Friday’s cross-country race. She started pedaling faster. Dale and Dana had started out on their bikes together that morning, but by the time they turned the first corner, Dale was already way ahead. Dana didn’t mind. She didn’t like being told to hurry up all the time, and she could understand that he didn’t want to show up with his little sister in tow. She also secretly hoped that one morning she would run into Jason Elwood. She knew he biked in too. She had checked twice this morning to make sure nothing was stuck in her teeth and had purposely not put the elastic band around her ankle so she wouldn’t look ridiculous if he turned up. They hadn’t exactly gotten off to a great start, but things could only get better from here.

  Dana cruised along, thinking about how good it would be to see Janelle and catch up on everything. She was nearly at school when her bike pedals locked unexpectedly. She almost fell, throwing her left foot out to steady herself. But her right foot wouldn’t move. Her jeans had gotten caught in the chain. She couldn’t believe it. She pulled on the jeans. She fiddled with the chain. She couldn’t get unstuck! She looked around. Dale was long gone. She tried the chain again, but it wouldn’t budge. She yanked on the jeans. No luck. She didn’t want to tear them. They were brand new. Aargh. How was she going to get to class with a bicycle attached to her leg?

  Dana shuffled over to the curb, dragging the bike with her. She sat. And waited. Would she really have to wait until school was over for Dale to come by? No, worse. When she didn’t show up, the school would call her mother. She would panic, thinking Dana had had some kind of accident. Once she found out where Dana was and realized she was fine, she’d be angry with Dana for not riding in with her
brother. Then Dale would be in trouble, and he would be mad at her too. It was a no-win situation.

  Dana picked up a few small pebbles and tossed them half-heartedly into a puddle beside the curb. They made sad little plopping sounds and sent tiny ripples along the surface of the water. When she heard the first bell go at the school, she flopped backward onto the grass. Dana wondered how long it would take for someone to find her. She had just started looking for shapes in the clouds when she heard a noise. Awkwardly, she sat up and shifted so she could look behind her. At first she didn’t see anything, but then she heard the noise again. A little dog was peering at her from under a bush not far away. His long black-and-brown hair hung over his eyes.

  “Hey there,” said Dana. “Are you going to keep me company? I seem to be stuck here.”

  Dana waited. The dog didn’t move.

  “No? I could really use a friend.”

  A bike suddenly skidded up next to her. “Need help?”

  Jason! His timing was perfect, although this wasn’t exactly the kind of meeting she’d been hoping for. Dana’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, but she was also relieved.

  “Yeah, I guess. Thanks.” She hopped up, trying to haul her bike up with her.

  “Here, let me.” Jason reached for her hand to steady her. Then he pulled her bike up straight. While he went to work on the chain, Dana pressed her hand against her heart to try to slow it down. The hand that Jason had held. It tingled.

  After a minute, Jason stood up again. “Whew. You were good and stuck.”

  “Well, my mom always says, if you’re going to do something—”

  “Do it right? Yeah, my mom says that too.” They laughed. He had a great laugh, Dana thought.

  Jason wiped his hands on the back of his jeans and began feeling around in his jacket pocket. “Hey, I’ve got something for you.”

  “You do?” Dana’s eyes lit up.

  “It’s something pretty special,” said Jason. “I found it the other day, and now I know it’s meant just for you.”

  “Really?” He had something for her? He thought she was special? She held out her hand. It trembled a little.

  Jason dropped an elastic band into her outstretched palm.

  “Ta-da! So you won’t get caught again,” he said. “It’s a really strong one. Is it perfect or what?”

  “Yeah,” said Dana. “Thanks.”

  Jason was already up on his own bike. “Better hurry.”

  Dana watched him as he biked away. She got on her bike and looked over at the little dog still hiding under the bush. “Isn’t he the greatest?”

  The dog gave a quick bark in reply. Dana laughed. “Well, I’ve gotta go. See you later, Buddy.”

  Dana got inside just as the last bell rang. Mickey looked at her chewed-up jeans and the grease on her hands and started singing, “Dana, Dana, got caught up in her chain-a.” Dana ignored him. As she made her way to the sink at the back of the classroom to wash her hands, she saw Janelle. Janelle! She’d almost forgotten. Her friend was back! Everyone was crowded around talking to her. She had the same beautiful, long blond hair. Same bright smile. Same tinkly laugh. Same white-and-blue shoes. Or shoe. Her left leg was still in a cast and stuck out straight in front of her. There was a pair of crutches stowed underneath the desk too. And the desk was at the very back of the room. Next to Julia’s.

  Dana felt a sting of guilt for not saving Janelle a seat and making her sit next to Julia. Maybe Dana could ask to move her desk to the back. But that meant she wouldn’t be sitting next to Jason anymore. Dana shook her head. She wanted to give her friend a big hug and tell her how good it was to see her. She just needed to wash her hands first. As Dana turned off the faucet, she heard Mr. Bartholomew clear his throat. “All right, everyone, find your seats, please. We’re ready to begin.”

  The crowd around Janelle thinned. Dana wanted to talk to her, but now wasn’t the best time. She threw her friend a quick smile, but Janelle was busy looking for something inside her desk. Instead, Dana locked eyes with Julia, who smiled sweetly and rested her hand on the back of Janelle’s chair.

  “Welcome back, everyone. We have a familiar face in class again today. Janelle, it’s good to have you back with us. We were very sorry to hear about the accident.”

  “Yes,” came a voice from the back of the room. But it wasn’t Janelle’s. It was Julia’s. “It’s been so hard on her and her entire family.” Everyone turned to look at Julia. “It was touch and go at first. She spent her whole summer in the hospital, far from home.” She paused, and everyone thought she might cry, but then she drew in a deep, raggedy breath and finished. “But here she is, looking better than ever. It’s great to have my best friend back.”

  Dana stared straight ahead. She felt the words fly through the air like arrows and stick solidly into her shoulders.

  Six

  ONLY A HALF hour of class had gone by. Time was going so slowly. Dana looked back longingly. She should be the one sitting beside Janelle. Julia had moved her desk right up against Janelle’s. They were sharing a math textbook, and Julia was explaining something. Dana could have done that. She looked over at Jason, but he was talking to Mickey.

  When the bell finally rang for recess, Dana jumped up and headed for the back of the classroom. Julia had gone to her locker, so Dana slid into her desk.

  “Hi, Janelle.”

  “Dana. How are you?”

  Dana shook her head. “How are you?” she asked.

  “I’m okay. Getting there.”

  “I was at your house.”

  “I know. My mom told me.”

  Julia came back and stood beside her desk.

  “Excuse me.” She tapped Dana’s shoulder. When Dana got up, Julia slid back into the seat and placed Janelle’s lunch bag on top of her desk. “Anything else you need, Janelle?”

  “Yes, anything I can do?” asked Dana quickly.

  “No, that’s it, I think. Thanks, Julia.”

  “No problem. That’s what best friends are for.”

  Julia smiled and took out her own snack. “I told Mr. B. I would stay in with you during recess, and he said that was a good idea. I can help you with the stuff you missed.”

  “Oh. Okay. I have missed a lot.” Janelle looked up at Dana. “So, my mom said you had your first run already.”

  “Yes. Oh, Nelly, it was so awesome. We—” Avery and Allie Grant came over and asked Janelle if they could sign her cast.

  “Sure,” said Janelle. “Let me just see if I can find something to write with.” She began to poke around in her desk.

  “Here you go,” said Julia, producing a twelve-pack of permanent markers in a rainbow of colors. “I bought these especially for cast signing.”

  Janelle grinned. “Awesome.” She held them out for the twins to pick a color. “Thanks, Julia.”

  “Dana,” said Julia. She motioned to Dana to come closer and lowered her voice. “I can’t believe you are talking to Janelle about cross-country. She obviously can’t run this season. That is so insensitive.”

  “But she asked me…”

  “Of course she did. She’s such a sweetie. But I don’t think you need to rub it in.”

  “I’m not rubbing it in. I just wanted to tell her how great the team did on Friday. I got third. I’ve never gotten third in my life. I got a ribbon!” Dana opened her fist to show Julia the green ribbon rolled carefully inside. “I want to give it to Janelle,” she continued. “Neta said if we couldn’t run with Janelle, we could at least run for Janelle, and so…”

  Julia smiled tightly. “Just remember, Dana, that talking about things Janelle can’t do will not make her feel better. We want to make her feel better, don’t we?”

  Dana nodded. “Well, of course…”

  “Besides,” continued Julia, “if I remember correctly, when Janelle ran she was always in front of you, wasn’t she? So third place isn’t really worth mentioning. You probably only placed because Janelle wasn’t in the race. She would ha
ve earned that ribbon on her own, don’t you think?”

  Dana was quiet. Maybe that was true. She remembered standing beside Neta just before the race started. Neta had smiled and held her hand up for a high five. “For Janelle?”

  Dana had high-fived her. “For Janelle.” She had run the whole race with this in mind—that she was running for her friend. But maybe Julia was right. Maybe it had been a stupid idea. She quickly stuffed the ribbon into the front pocket of her jeans.

  Janelle inspected the colorful additions to her cast as Avery and Allie skipped away. Then she turned back to Dana. “Sorry about that. What were you going to say?”

  “Mmm…nothing. I forget.”

  Janelle raised an eyebrow. Dana looked away.

  “Do you want to sign my cast?”

  “Sure.”

  When Dana asked Mr. B. if she could stay inside to help Janelle too, he said one friend was enough.

  Seven

  THE LAST HALF of September was wet. It rained almost every single day. Dana’s dad was busy cleaning up gardens and raking leaves. “I see the rain’s not hurting you any, Dana,” he said one night at supper. “You’re growing like a weed!”

  Dana was still biking to school. When she complained that her lunch was soggy, her mother began packing all her food in snap-lid containers. When she complained that her schoolwork was getting wet inside her backpack, her mother found special waterproof folders that would do the trick. When she complained that water had actually dripped out of her clarinet in band class, her mother dug out an extra-large, bright-blue rain poncho from the basement. Dana felt like a giant bird noisily flapping its massive wings in the wind. Every morning she’d look at the raindrops on the kitchen window and groan. Her mother would smile and run a hand over Dana’s hair. “You’re not made of sugar, you know. You won’t melt.”