Emma

Emma and Jeremy

By the time Emma was in middle School, she had made her fair list of friends.  A girl from down the block named Ebony would come over every day to play, and as for Jeremy - he started looking a bit different than normal.

His parents had taken him to an optometrist more than a couple times a month nowadays, and he had emerged with a set of contacts last time he went.  He looked so different without his glasses.  His face was a little thinner, and his eyes didn't bug out.  Emma didn't say anything about it, for fear he'd get upset.

He had a nervous tick when he talked, and Emma hadn't noticed it before.  Aside his stuttering, he bit his lip sometimes.  Almost like he had the right words in mind but didn't want to say them at all.  He spent more time around Emma lately, and invited her everywhere he went.  Ebony would go with them, simply because Emma mentioned that she was going somewhere.

For this period in time they were all the best of friends. Ebony would walk home with Emma, and when she got to her house Emma would walk with Jeremy. He smiled a lot more with his glasses off, yet sometimes it was still hard for him to read. He seemed to put letters in the wrong place when he read aloud, and if he read by himself he looked mad at the pages.

Emma had been sitting with him at lunch today, and was intrigued by his fussiness with the book he had in hand. He threw it onto the floor - and Emma picked it up. "What's the matter?"

"I can't read it, and I don't want to."

Emma was an exceptionally studious little girl, and she was a great reader. She'd sit on the couch with her dad most days and read his books to him, and if she came by something she didn't understand she would look it up in the dictionary. She couldn't comprehend someone not being able to read at this point. She started reading and watched as Jeremy crossed his arms.

"Why can you read so well?"

Emma thought about it, and replied, "Well, my dad helps me read. He says I read very well."

Jeremy smiled, and held the pages while Emma supervised like a teacher. She started pronouncing words he couldn't as he pointed at the pages. She sat by his side and made sure he didn't throw his book again.

"See, it's easy."

"What's this word?"

"Appreciation. You pronounce it 'Ah-pre-see-a-shun'."

As they continued reading. Emma could see a smile from Jeremy - and she felt a slight flutter in her belly. She wanted to hug him, and help him read all day long. She smiled and watched him turn the page. After they reached the end of the chapter, he looked back at her and said, "Thanks, Emma."

The bell rung, and Jeremy got up from his chair. Emma froze up a little, and said, "No problem."

She didn't know what to say to him, and when he got to the door he turned around and asked, "Are we still walking home together?"

"I'll meet you at the bus stop, I just gotta get my stuff." Emma watched him walk out the door, and once she was certain he was down the hall she got all of her stuff in order.

Once she got Ebony from her class, Emma walked to the bus stop and spied Jeremy standing at the flagpole. He was leaning against it and starting a whole new chapter. Emma couldn't make her feet work for a minute, so she started talking to Ebony until they reached the flagpole.

"Okay, we can keep moving now." Emma announced.

He shot up from the ground and hugged Emma tightly, "Thanks for helping me read."

Emma blushed, and replied, "It's no problem at all."

Emma started walking, and Ebony started smiling for no reason. Emma wanted to slap the smile off her face. As they walked, Ebony ran into her house, and waved goodbye to all of them. Emma stomped her feet as she continued walking alongside Jeremy.

He started looking around the neighborhood, and laughing, "I'm so glad I've got contacts now. I don't have to worry about those stupid glasses anymore."

Emma watched her feet as she walked instead of facing Jeremy. She looked anywhere except his face. After she made it home, she watched Jeremy wave to her as he stepped into his own house at the end of the block.

Once she was inside, she found her mother spread out on the floor over a canvas that took up most of the living room. Emma was careful to step around it, and once she made it to the other side of the room she patted herself on the back for not stepping on any of her mothers equipment. Then, she realized the cat walked in with her.

Toby jumped into the paint pallet, and covered her work in cute blue paw prints. She looked at her mother, and saw a terrified look on her face. She had worked really hard on that drawing, and the cat had dragged his furry little feet across it with baby blue paint.

"Emma, can you please leave Toby outside today?"

Emma watched Toby as he sat down in his little corner and started playing with his toys. There was no room for a cat in the house while her mother was painting, but she scooped up Toby anyway and took Toby to her room.

Emma grabbed a paper towel and started polishing off Toby's paws. "You make a lot of mess, did you know that?"

Emma pulled open the door to her room, but she looked at it for a second. There was still bright pink font on her door that said Emma-Bear on it with a little Teddy Bear icon next to it. She started to think about how much better her door would look if it just said "Emma", but in a different font. Something less cute.

Emma shrugged and carried in Toby. She made sure that his paws were clean before setting him down in the little cat bed next to her desk. She thought about earlier in class when she was helping Jeremy read.

She was getting a little too old for butterflies and teddy bears and cute fonts on her door. She was still trying to find something to be good at at this age, and she'd tried her hand in sports and came across a sport called Baseball - a sport her uncle was very proficient at. He'd been in the MLB since his 20's when he'd been drafted off his college baseball team.

Emma wanted to be as good as her uncle, but she still wasn't. She wanted to find something she was great at. She wanted to be a builder like her dad for awhile, she wanted to be an artist like her mother too. All of that was so frustrating and impossible for her, but dealing with being normal wasn't something fun either.

She glared at Toby and said, "I think I'd do good at so many things, but I'm talentless." She crossed her arms and laid back. She was in middle school now, and hearing the nickname Emma-Bear made her sick to her guts if mentioned within ten feet of the school.

Toby flicked his tail back and forth and sat there patiently in the chair. After a little bit, the doorbell rang and Emma's name was called.

"Emma! Jeremy's here!"

She quickly picked up Toby and carried him downstairs with her. When she went outside, she found Jeremy sitting down on the sidewalk. He had a book in his hand, and was trying to read it, but he was still having trouble. Emma didn't quite know why though. He was the same age as her and they were both in middle school. A reasonable age to know how to read.

"Still need help?" Emma asked.

"Reading a book that your mom wrote. Apparently they're on the shelves in a few choice bookstores. I wish I could read it better though." Jeremy said.

Emma started to think about it, what if there was a reason that Jeremy couldn't read? She pulled out her alphabet chart from kindergarten and set it down in front of him. "I think I know what your problem is! All you have to do is read the alphabet the way you see it. If I'm correct, I'll tell you."

Jeremy shrugged, "Okay, A D C B E F G H I J K L W M O P . . ." he kept going, but he didn't realize that he messed up a few letters.

Emma picked up her alphabet chart and ran inside with it. She seemed overjoyed that she'd figured out Jeremy's problem. She set it down, and her father turned to face her.  Emma was a bright and caring little girl.  Who simply wanted to help her best friend. 

"I know why you can't read.  You're dyslexic!"  Emma said.  She hadn't done a lot of noteworthy things in her life.  But she felt accomplished when she figured out what was happening with Jeremy.

Emma smiled and shook her head.  Thanking God for helping her be someone's eyes.