"So, you're saying you have an adopted little sister named Addigail, who has a hamster named Rodger..." "And she has this medical problem?" "Yes." "What kind of medical problem?" "Does she tend to lose her mind?" "Very funny Megan. OK, look. Rodger means the world to Addigail, if something happens to him, she'll get so emotional, her lungs will go haywire! But her brain sends the message that something's wrong with her stomach, and by then, the lungs shut down. She won't be able to breathe, so she'll die." "Oh no!" "Yeah, so I'm getting worried. Rodger's been acting weird lately... the little butt nipped me the other day..."
"Heh. But don't you think you should go check on him real quick?" "Already covered, Ashley. I'm using my old Barbie doll with the video camera to spy on Rodger, and I programmed it to show the video on my phone. "Smart thinking, Invader." "For now, though, let's just try and have some fun! And... whoa." "Yeah?" "Guys... over here!" "Yeah?" "What is is, Missy?" "Look." Cassidy, Courtney, and I looked up. "Holy..." "Every guy must be up there!" On the wall of the school were pictures of every guy in 8th grade! "Hey, Megan, look. There's Ethan." Megan did her crazy-talk and backed away.
I checked my phone, laughing. My smile stayed on for about a second. No! A nanosecond. "Uh oh!" "Uh oh? Why uh oh?" I didn't answer, instead I ran home, and if you don't think I was worried as heck, you're crazy! I burst through the door. "Addie! I'm home! Where are you--" My eardrums began ringing. Addigail has one of those screams that are really loud and high-pitched. I found Addie in tears. Rodger had died. Remember her medical problem? Here it comes. Addie started hyperventilating. "Addie! Addigail, calm down!" Addie, barely breathing, held her stomach. She fell to the floor. Addigail was dead.
I didn't go to hang with the Glamberts the next day, but I had to go to school on Monday, whether I liked it or not. We always went to school at 8:00, even though school didn't start until 9:00. We just enjoyed the free space. I did my best to stay out of the group... I just really wanted to be alone... I felt... odd. "Invader, what do you think? Invader, what's wrong?" "Addie's dead. I walked past Missy, who seemed to freeze when I said that. "I ran home on Saturday, and her medical problem proceeded. I couldn't do anything about it." All of the Glamberts looked at me like I was speaking Finnish. "Hey, look on the bright side." "What bright side, Alina?"
"She wasn't a real family member. She was just a girl you adopted for 3 months. She wasn't even the same skin color." Yeah, what a bright side that was. I ran away, crying... that is, until I tripped, and skinned my knee and ripped my pant leg, and you'd better believe it hurt. I eventually made it to the fence. Anytime a Glambert felt bad, they would go to the fence. This dude always came early, around 8:30. He was one of my good friends. "Hey, Invader." "Hm? Oh, hey, Jimmy." "Did you see your friend Anglie snap at that Alina girl?" "What? no way. You must be talking about Cassidy, Courtney, or Missy." "Nope. It was Anglie, alright. I took a video with my phone." "Since when did you get a phone?" "Since Saturday. Just watch it."
I stared at the tiny screen of the phone. "Now look what you've done! Don't you get it, Alina? You're not a Glambert, and you never were! You just crushed our best friend! Just because Addigail wasn't our same skin color doesn't mean she wasn't family! You only said that because you have no consideration for others! A Glambert would stick by her friends through thick and thin! You're not a Glambert, you're just the biggest bully in all of Finland!" "I don't get it." "Ugh! Alina, listen carefully. Nobody wanted you around in the first place. You just came along and invited yourself into our group. Nobody does that, except you, it seems." "Dang, Anglie, that's a little harsh!" "Good! Maybe now she'll know how Invader feels right now!"
Alina walked away, and the video was finished. "Dang." "Right! Well, the 9:00 bell's about to ring any minute. We should get going." We walked to class.
