11 Birthdays Read Online Free PDF Page A

a wish!” they chant.
    I point out that the candle is made of plastic, but pretend to blow it out anyway. They clap, and it spreads to the tables around us. People I don’t even know are clapping. I look up and catch Leo’s eye a few tables away. He smiles at me, almost like he knew what my wish was. My stomach clenches. I quickly look away and busy myself trying to cut the cupcake into four pieces. This is not an easy task and I wind up making such a mess that the cupcake becomes an unrecognizable pile of brown crumbs and blobs of icing.
    We eat it anyway.

Chapter Five
     
    Finally, sometime between seventh and eighth periods , my locker gets fixed. I know this because I tried in vain to open it before seventh, and when I go back after eighth, it suddenly glides right open. My birthday streamers are in tatters from people pulling at them as they walked by, but that’s okay. The janitor takes everything down at the end of the day.
    After stuffing most of the contents of my backpack into my locker, I reluctantly head to the gym for gymnastic tryouts. As I pass the guidance counselor’s office, who do I see, but Leo again! Why is it that when you’re avoiding someone, you see them that much more? Leo’s face is red, and he has a tissue in his hand. His allergies must be acting up. They always do this time of year. I tighten my gripon my backpack, prepared to flee. But this time he doesn’t see me, so I don’t have to pretend not to see him. I stare instead at the sign for the marching band audition that starts in five minutes. I’d so much rather be banging on my drum than flipping through the air right now. As though I COULD flip through the air.
    I hurry to the locker room and throw on my gym shorts and a plain white tee. I’m slipping on my white Keds when Ruby comes in. She’s wearing a shiny red leotard with shiny red leggings. She looks like she could be competing at the Olympics. In my ratty gym clothes I look like I could be handing out towels in the locker room at the Olympics.
    “Excited?” she asks, pausing to re-lace one of her sneakers on the bench.
    “About what?” I hope she’s not asking me about my party, since I didn’t invite her. When she didn’t invite me to hers last year, I figured okay, she just doesn’t like me. And I crossed her off my future birthday list.
    She rolls her eyes. “About tryouts!”
    “Oh. Um, not really. I’m not that good.”
    I expect her to look pleased at this, but she just shrugs. “Don’t worry about it. Maybe some of the other girls will freeze under the pressure and you’ll look better.”
    I force myself to give a little chuckle, even though her comment was kind of mean.
    I follow her out to the gym. Stephanie is warming up. I hold my breath as she executes a perfect back handspring. None of the other competitors clap, but I do. I wish Tracy and Emma were trying out, too. That would make this less horrible. But they have a built-in excuse. They help out at their parents’ flower shop after school. Plus Emma is worried that if she made the team Coach Lyons would make her stop eating candy. And if Emma stopped eating candy, Emma would stop
eating.
    Since she’s already on the floor, Coach Lyons tells Stephanie to go first. She repeats her nearly flawless routine and this time a few more kids clap along with me. Breathless and grinning, Stephanie runs over to join me on the bleachers. Coach Lyons calls Ruby next. Ruby tightens the hair band around her perfect ponytail, and does four cartwheels in a row, just to get to the spot where her routine is supposed to start! I don’t understand why Stephanie likes her. Ruby’s routine goes off without a hitch. She’s a little wobbly on her landings, but not too bad. I wish my only problem was a wobbly landing.
    “Amanda Ellerby,” Coach Lyons calls, checking my name off on her clipboard.
    “Remember to keep smiling,” Stephanie whispers as I slowly stand up. I plaster a smile on my face. I hope it