Wish Upon a Star Read Online Free PDF Page A

teachers in the school were in her pocket?
    “We do it my way, or I’m gone and everyone will go with me,” Selena threatened.
    “I’m not starting over,” I walked over to the plans she had swept onto the floor. I picked them up and dusted them off. I slapped them on the table over the drawing Selena brought. I was riding so high I didn’t consider that she was serious.
    She walked up to me slowly. She stopped well within my personal bubble. I pulled my shoulders back to show I wasn’t afraid of her. She looked down at the drawing and sneered. She reached underneath and pulled out her sketch. “Fine. I’m gone.” She looked around the room. “If any of you want to keep your invitations to my after party, you’ll walk out the door with me.” She turned on her heel, and then stormed to the door.
    A few of her more loyal minions jumped up immediately. As they walked past me, they flipped their hair and made an annoying, high-pitched humph sound. I looked at the remaining people. They all were in various stages of packing up. Some were faster than others. I felt my stomach drop like a rock.
    I watched everyone file past me. Marcy was the last. She paused for a moment. “Wish Upon a Star was my idea. Thank you for not changing it.”
    “You can’t help me finish?” I almost pleaded with her.
    She shook her head. “I need to stay on the cheer team for my college applications. She would make sure I was kicked off.” She shrugged before heading to the door.
    I watched her leave. I could see Selena on the other side of the tiny window in the door. She was staring at me with a triumphant smile on her face. I received her message loud and clear. I was alone. She was and always would be in charge.
    I looked down at the drawing on the desk. My first thought was to text Dierdre. I pulled out my phone and started to press buttons. I stopped before I hit send. I almost forgot about our fight. I stared at my phone and tried to think of someone else I could ask to help me. Loneliness is looking at your phone and realizing you have no one to text.
    I glanced at the door to make sure Selena was gone. I plopped down in a seat. I wrapped my arms around my head and cried. 
    ***
    The day of the dance arrived too quickly. As I dragged the last of the decorations to the gym after school, I looked around and had no clue how I would finish on time. I could picture myself placing the last cut out as the first couples wandered in. Well, I could picture only being half done as everyone started trickling in and trying to finish around the happy couples. I drew parallels between myself and Cinderella.
    After a big sigh, I grabbed a roll of twinkle lights and a roll of tape. At one wall, I fumbled with them to get them taped in the right place. I wanted a zigzag pattern across the wall. I finished fifteen minutes later. When I stepped back, I realized how uneven they were. It wouldn’t do. I grabbed one end of the sting of lights and yanked. The tape gave way in sequence and the string fell to the floor. Fighting back tears, I grabbed part of the string of lights and stared at them. Would anyone really blame me if I gave up? It wasn’t my project to start with, I was doing the whole thing alone, I didn’t have any friends and I didn’t have a date to the stupid dance anyways. I could walk away. I could even leave town. I could travel to the wilds of Montana or something. Anything to escape my misery.
    With dejection, I knew I couldn’t. I slowly placed the first tape on the wall again, suspending part of the light string. I reached to place the next piece.
    “A little bit higher,” a voice said from behind me.
    I spun around and saw Dierdre standing behind me. She was studying the wall, hand on hip.
    “Hi,” I lowered my arms slowly. What was she doing there?
    “Hey. Seriously, you need to put the next piece higher or it will be crooked.”
    “What are you doing?”
    “I’m helping you not make the lights look like they were