Wish You Weren't - Chapter One - Wish Upon a Star

Chapter One  |  Wish Upon a Star

IT’S MIDNIGHT AND I’M FLAT ON MY BACK on a patch of grass in front of our hotel room, hoping that no one looks outside and wonders what the weirdos from California are doing.

Tonight is the peak of the Perseids meteor shower. Every year my mom drags us out of bed just to see the shooting stars. My brother’s on one side of me, squirming around, trying to stay awake. My friend Paul’s on the other side, snoring. At least he already knew our family was crazy before he came on this vacation with us.

When I was younger, I thought it was cool to get up at midnight and watch the stars. Tonight I’d rather be in bed. Like Dad. I swear it’s still over a hundred degrees out here. And don’t get me started with the mosquitoes.

“Did you see that one, Marten?” Mom points up at the sky, but all I see are a few regular stars winking back at me. That’s the thing with a shooting star. By the time someone asks if you saw it, it’s already gone.

Mom lies back down, eyes fixed on the sky. I shake my head, even though I know she’s not looking at me.

“I did! I saw it!” Aldrin is between us, practically shouting in my ear. He might convince Mom that he saw it, but I’m willing to bet his eyes weren’t even open thirty seconds ago.

Mom squeezes his hand. “Okay, let’s not wake Paul up, little man. Now close your eyes and make a wish.”

“I wish we were going to Disneyland!”

Paul bolts up, eyes wide. “Someone say Disneyland?”

Mom laughs. “You’re going to have to find another shooting star, Aldrin. And next time, don’t tell anyone what you wished for.”

“Like that makes a difference,” I grumble. “It’s not as if it’s going to come true.”

Mom goes up on an elbow, her eyes drilling into the side of my head. “Why would you say that, Marten?”

“Because I’ve been doing this all my life and none of my wishes has ever come true.”

Mom pins me with her gaze, leaning over Aldrin until we’re almost nose to nose. “Then you aren’t wishing hard enough.” 

“Do your wishes come true, Mommy?” asks Aldrin.

Mom rubs his cheek gently and smiles. “Almost every time.”

Paul leans over and whispers in my ear. “Maybe you should have your mom make your wishes for you.”

I roll my eyes. Mom always has her head up in the clouds, dreaming impossible dreams. I’m not really sure how she ever became a respected scientist. The guys in her lab would die laughing if they heard her talking about wishing on stars.

My dreams are much more down to earth. Get through middle school without ever experiencing swirlies. Install an alarm system on my bedroom to keep my brother out. Change my parents’ minds about moving to Texas.

I stifle a yawn and wonder how much longer we’re going to stay out of bed. When the sun comes up, it’ll be our last day of vacation here in Corpus Christi. If you can call visiting cousins and looking at model homes a vacation.

My parents started talking about moving to Texas a few months ago. At first it was just my dad saying stupid stuff like, “If you had to choose between Austin and Corpus Christi, what would you choose?”

Dad is the king of pointless questions like this. One time when Paul was at our house for a sleepover, Dad asked us, “If you were stuck on a deserted island and you could only choose one girl from your class to join you, which one would you pick?”