LILY, Chapter 5
more wishes and a fight
Chapter 5/ More Wishes and a Fight
As Lily walked across the street to Raven’s house, she thought about the Big Rock and her three wishes. Two had already come true. Her mom was not going to marry Larry. And Raven was her new best friend. Her mom showed no sign of wanting to fulfill her third wish, to have cable TV in the house so she could watch The Disney Channel, but that wish had also come true, sort of, because Raven her new best friend got that channel, so Lily got to watch it anyway. Two out of three, that wasn’t bad. That was pretty special, especially when your third wish almost came true.
Lily opened the door to Raven’s house and ran into the living room. Where was Raven? There was June Mae, doing jumping jacks.
Just like that, without intending to do it, Lily made a wish, a powerful and sincere wish. She wished that June Mae would go away so she could have Raven all to herself.
“What are you doing, June Mae? That’s not even dancing.”
“Loosening up.”
“You ought to do stretches. For dancing, stretches are better.”
And then, Raven ran in from the kitchen and said she was going to teach them how to do the moves to their favorite song in High School Musical, “We’re All in This Together.”
Raven owned the soundtrack. In the afternoons, after lunch, she had been teaching June Mae and Lily how to dance. They didn’t have to learn to tap dance. They could wear their normal shoes. They could even dance barefoot. In the summertime, June Mae liked to run around barefoot.
This particular practice did not go well. This is what happened. In the middle of it, Raven called a halt, pointed at June Mae, and criticized her for messing up the steps. Again. Raven told the chunky girl she should dance more like Lily and her and not be so clumsy.
Lily blurted, “This song’s not even that hard, June Mae.”
June Mae glared at Lily.
Lily realized immediately that June Mae did not like her comment even though it was constructive criticism. Lily knew June Mae a lot better than Raven did. June Mae could not stand criticism of any kind. Just to be safe, Lily retreated two steps, so she was closer to the screen door in case she had to flee.
Obviously unaware that June Mae was heating up like a volcano getting ready to explode, Raven made things worse by imitating June Mae. “I’ll show you what you look like, June Mae.” Raven showed June Mae what she looked like dancing, how clumsy she was. It was a pretty great imitation. Raven marched in place and waved her arms like a crazy person who had no rhythm at all. The imitation was so similar to how June Mae danced that Lily could not help herself. She laughed.
And then slapped her hand over her mouth. And edged closer to the screen door.
Laughing at June Mae was never a good idea because June Mae could not stand anyone making fun of her. The heavy girl shot an outraged glance at Lily for laughing, but then fixed her gaze on Raven, which was a relief to Lily. June Mae glared at Raven as if she wanted to kill her, clenched her fists, and tensed her body. Her eyes got squinty, her face got red.
Raven seemed to have no idea the volcano was about to blow.
“Do it like this,” Raven said, and she did all the moves perfectly. “It’s so easy. Now you try.”
“Watch out, Raven!” Lily yelled.
June Mae charged Raven, intending to tackle her, which is how she fought. When June Mae got mad at a kid, even if it was a boy, she knocked him down and sat on him and slapped him in the face until he cried.
This technique did not work on Raven.
When the tall girl saw June Mae coming, she balanced on one long leg and fended off June Mae with her other leg, bopping her attacker in the face with her foot. Raven was wearing leather shoes. It was an amazing thing to see. June Mae kept trying to grab hold of Raven’s leg, but Raven kept moving it out of range and then bopping June Mae in the face again.
June Mae couldn’t believe what was happening to her.
Then, Raven bopped June Mae a good one, right in the face again. June Mae backed up holding her nose, which was squirting blood. June Mae probably thought it was broken, and she would be disfigured for life. She held her nose and burst into tears. Lily had never seen June Mae cry before. Holding her bloody nose, wailing, June Mae ran out of Raven’s house.
Lily looked at Raven. “She’s gonna tell. I bet you a million dollars, she’s gonna tell her mom.”
Raven said, “Well, it’s her fault. I didn’t start it.”
At dinnertime, eating with Grandma Grace and her mom, Lily picked at her food.
Grandma Grace peered at her. “What is wrong with you, girl. You sick? I thought you loved tater tots.”
“I’m just not that hungry. Leave me alone.”
In her room, although it was still daylight, Lily lay on top of her bed. She thought about the Big Rock and her record of successful wishes. She felt bad. She felt guilty about her wish that she would get to have Raven all to herself. For all she knew, June Mae had a broken nose. That was dangerous, a wish like that. We should care about others more than we care about ourselves. We should not cause harm to people, especially our friends. Lily lay there on top of her bed unable to sleep and imagined scary things.
She imagined June Mae’s dad, a big guy with a big belly, knocking on the door to Lily’s house. She imagined the door opening, and the professor, Raven’s dad, looking with surprise at his visitors.
June Mae, her mom, and her dad were large people. The professor, like his daughter Raven, was tall and thin. Probably the professor never got into fights. June Mae’s father got into fights. Lily had heard the stories. Even June Mae’s mom got into fights. One time, June Mae’s mother got into a fight with the neighbor, a woman named Norma. This fight had occurred in the neighbor’s front yard. The two women had grappled, fallen, screamed obscenities. The police had come and everything. That is where June Mae got her temper, from her parents.
Lily imagined June Mae’s father punching the professor in the face. She imagined June Mae’s father sitting on top of the professor, slapping his face, and saying horrible things like, “Are you a baby? Baby gonna cry?” She imagined June Mae’s mom tackling Raven, holding her down, and pulling her hair until she apologized to June Mae. She imagined June Mae’s nose all swollen and covered with bandages.
Lily closed her eyes and made a wish, a powerful and sincere wish. She wished that June Mae’s nose not be broken. She wished that June Mae’s parents never found out about the fight, never went to see the professor. She wished she had never wished that she got to have Raven all to herself. She wished that Raven and June Mae would be friends again, and that June Mae would get better at dancing. She wished that only good things would happen to everyone she knew, and that if anything bad happened, it would not be her fault.
Probably, she thought, my wishes don’t come true. Not really. That’s so silly.
“I’m a good girl,” Lily whispered. “A good girl.” She fell asleep thinking that same thought over and over.
“I’m a good girl.”