Call Me Sunflower Read online

  I spotted Jessie right away. She sat at the front with a large group that included Cassie, wouldn’t you know? They were smiling and laughing and all chatty-chatty, as if they’d known each other all their lives. Which they probably had.

  I paused, noticing an empty seat. Jessie glanced at me for a second, but when she didn’t wave me over, I walked away, passing other tables full of kids who were too busy talking to notice me. My stomach clenched and at that moment I felt something I’d never felt before: I was an outsider. A stranger in a middle school full of kids who all seemed to know one another.

  Frantically, I searched the cafeteria for a girl with poufed-out pigtails and a patchwork skirt, but I didn’t see Lydia anywhere. Sitting with a bragger would have been better than sitting by myself. But when I didn’t spot her, I made my way to the back of the cafeteria, where I found an almost-empty table.

  A small boy wearing glasses sat at one end, nibbling on a sandwich, his nose in a book. His ears stuck out and his hair stuck up. He looked like a mad scientist. “Hi,” I said as I sank down onto a chair.

  He glanced up from his book, which had dragons on the front. For a minute, he looked like he’d forgotten he was in the cafeteria.

  “What are you reading?” I asked.

  “Scallingworth’s Lair,” the boy said, pointing to the cover. “Book three.”

  “I like fantasy, too,” I told him.

  He nodded, then turned back to his dragons. So much for conversation.

  I sighed and opened my sketchbook. The boy wasn’t into talking, but at least he hadn’t told me I couldn’t sit at his table. I was in uncharted territory, and I had to take what I could get.

  I turned to a fresh page and drew our house the way it had looked when we left last week: my favorite climbing tree in the front yard, where I’d tied a blue and green scarf on a high branch years ago; the front porch that sagged in the middle, and the mismatched pillows scattered on the old porch swing; the paint peeling off the shutters Scott had made himself, carving out moons and stars at the tops.

  I paused and closed my eyes, replaying our last moments together.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Scott had said after he explained why I couldn’t stay with him at his condo: he was too busy running his store and going back to school to take care of an eleven-year-old and, besides, Mom would never leave me behind.

  I wanted to shake him by the shoulders and yell, “How can you just let us go?” Instead, I noticed the way his face looked older, like he hadn’t slept well in weeks. I stared into Scott’s blue-green eyes, swallowing over the apple-sized lump in my throat. “I’m going to miss you so much,” I whispered.

  “Not as much as I’m going to miss you, Sunflower,” he said, and then everything started happening so fast I couldn’t slow it down. Mom and Autumn threw the last of the bags into the trunk. Everyone said their goodbyes again.

  I remembered the way Scott stood out front waving, while Stellaluna, my perfect little black cat, wrapped herself around his legs. As we pulled out of the driveway and took off down the street, Scott and Stellaluna got smaller and smaller … until I couldn’t see them at all.

  I opened my eyes, staring down at my drawing of home. I couldn’t bring myself to sketch in Scott and Stellaluna.

  Luckily, the bell rang, and I snapped my sketchbook shut, trying to block those last images from my mind. I jumped up and joined the wave of students exiting the cafeteria, determined to be on time for the rest of my classes and to let all my other teachers know my name before they could call me Sunflower.

  And it worked.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Mom had an appointment and didn’t come back to the house until Autumn and I were setting the table with my grandmother’s everyday dishes—crystal glasses and china fancier than any we’d ever used back in New Jersey. “Hi, girls!” she said, dropping her bag full of books on the counter. “How was your first day of school?”

  “Great!” Autumn said. She was launching into all the stuff she’d already told me about how super-awesome third grade was at her new school when Grandma Grace entered the room.

  “Shoes off, girls,” she interrupted. “I just had my floors done last week, remember?”

  “Sorry, Grandma,” Autumn mumbled as the two of us pulled off our shoes, dropping them in the box Grandma Grace had left at the entranceway.

  “And Rebecca, please hang your things on the hook or take them up to the office,” Grandma Grace continued. “I like to keep my countertops uncluttered.”

  “Got it,” Mom said, disappearing upstairs. I wondered how she felt, being bossed around by her mother after living on her own for years. It’s not like I minded the No Shoes rule since I spent a lot of time barefoot anyway; it was more about the fact that we were now living in someone else’s house, and we had to do whatever she said.

  One thing I knew for sure: Grandma Grace’s big white house with the black shutters and the wraparound porch would never feel like home to me.

  When we sat down at the long, shiny table a few minutes later, Mom at one end and Grandma Grace at the other, Autumn started talking about school again. A chandelier sparkled above us. I closed my eyes for a second and pictured home: comfortable chairs around a kitchen table set with mismatched dishes and plastic glasses, Scott in his seat across from me, Stellaluna rubbing against my ankles. Even though he didn’t live with us, Scott was always there for dinner. He was usually the one cooking since, most of the time, Mom had late meetings or errands to run after work.

  “What about you, Sunny?” Mom asked, snapping me out of my daydream. “How do you like middle school?”

  “It’s just like I thought it was going to be. Perfectly awful.”

  Everyone stared at me. It was like I’d knocked over my water glass on purpose, and it had splashed on top of all the food on the table. “Oh, honey.” Mom put her hand on top of mine. “It can’t be that bad.”

  “Yes, it is,” I said. “I got lost a million times. I didn’t get a chance to practice opening my locker because my locker partner is a snob. All the teachers are mean. And everyone made fun of my name. You must have named me Sunflower as a punishment.”

  “I named you Sunflower because sunflowers stand tall and proud.”

  “Well, I’m short.”

  “I said they stand tall. Height doesn’t have anything to do with it. Besides, they’re the sort of flowers everyone notices.”

  “Who wants to be noticed? I don’t like being stared at.”

  Mom laughed. I didn’t get what was so funny. I looked over at her. Did she have the name already picked out before she adopted me because she’d always wanted an unusual name? Or did she take one look at me and imagine that someday I’d do something that people all over the world would recognize me for, so I needed a bold name to stand out?

  “So,” Mom said, “why didn’t you just tell everyone your name was Sunny?”

  “I did, but you were supposed to change my name on my records.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mom said. “I thought they’d taken care of it.”

  “Well, they didn’t, which really stinks. Plus, I’ve already got tons of homework and it’s only the first day.”

  “We don’t have any homework,” Autumn said in a singsong voice. “Miss Denton said she’s giving us a break for the first week.”

  I shot her a dirty look.

  “Middle school takes some time to get used to.” Grandma Grace ran a hand over her smooth, silvery hair, which didn’t have a strand out of place. She was still wearing the matching tennis skirt and top she’d worn to the Club that afternoon. “Evergreen is one of the best schools in the state.”

  I didn’t reply. Being the best middle school in the state didn’t mean kids were friendly or teachers were understanding. It just meant you worked harder.

  “I’m sure it can’t be that bad,” Mom said. “There must be some nice kids.”

  “Everyone already knows everyone. There are three elementary schools that
feed into Evergreen, so all the kids already have a group of friends. Except me.”

  “I can’t believe you’re the only new student in the entire sixth grade,” Mom stated.

  I shrugged and looked down at my mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and fried chicken. I inhaled the delicious aroma and wondered what Lydia would have to say if she was eating with us. “There is one other new girl who’s from California. We had to interview each other in language arts.”

  “See?” Mom’s face lit up. “I knew you couldn’t be the only new student. What’s she like?”

  “She’s not someone I’d ever be friends with. She’s been homeschooled all her life and she thinks she’s a genius or something.” Lydia may actually be a genius, for all I know. But that doesn’t mean she has to brag about it.

  “Beggars can’t be choosers,” Grandma Grace said, and Autumn giggled.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

  “It means you shouldn’t be so quick to judge,” Mom answered, instead. “She’s new and you’re new, so maybe you’ll become friends.”

  “Yeah, right,” I mumbled.

  “Why did her family move all the way from California?” Mom asked.

  “They opened a health food store. They must have too many out in California.”

  Grandma Grace put down her fork. “You say they moved here recently? What’s the name of this health food store?”

  “I can’t remember,” I said. “It’s a vegetarian store.”

  Grandma Grace frowned. “Vegetarian?”

  “Yup. Lydia’s been vegan all her life.”

  “Hmm … I think they may have opened that new shop in our strip mall.”

  “Maybe,” I said, though I didn’t think they’d ever run into each other. Grandma Grace owns Luxury Furs and Leathers, a place I planned to spend very little time in, and I was sure Lydia would stay away from it altogether. I still had no idea how my grandmother and I were supposed to get along—an animal-lover like me and a lady who sold the furs of dead animals in her store.

  “Well, I made a new friend today,” Autumn said, changing the subject. “Her name’s Hallie and she has a pet hedgehog and she’s really good at the monkey bars. Can she come over after school tomorrow?”

  Mom smiled. While Autumn spent the rest of dinner talking about her new friend, thoughts began churning in my mind. Maybe I didn’t have the solution yet, but two years of being a member of Scott’s Odyssey of the Mind team had taught me that thinking outside the box always started with a lot of brainstorming. But if I didn’t get started soon, I could get stuck in Bennetsville for good.

  After I helped with the dishes, I raced upstairs, closing the door behind me.

  I pulled out my notebook and wrote at the top: “Sunny’s Super-Stupendous Plan to Get Mom and Dad Back Together.”

  When Mom had told us we were moving away, I’d asked if she was breaking up with Scott.

  “It’s good for people to have time apart,” Mom said. “Let’s look at this as an adventure. We’ll see what happens.”

  “What kind of adventure?” I’d asked, but what I really wanted to know was An adventure where you date other people?

  Mom didn’t give me any more details. She was an expert at answering my questions without actually ever answering them.

  Which only left me wondering what, exactly, was going on between Mom and Scott?

  I’d watched enough Disney movies to learn that if you’re lovesick, the only cure is to be with the one you love. But Mom didn’t act like someone with a broken heart. She’d completely forgotten she was in love. And, apparently, Scott had forgotten, too.

  Now it was up to me to remind them.

  I brainstormed without stopping to cross out ideas that sounded ridiculous or too out-there because you never knew if something was going to work until you actually tried it. And I needed lots of possibilities to solve a problem as big and important as this one.

  I’m not sure how long I sat there on the bed, legs tucked beneath me, scribbling away in my notebook. When I was done, I read back over my list and smiled. Then I jumped up from the bed. It was time to get started.

  I dug through my drawer full of photos until I found my favorites: the whole family in front of our tent on a camping trip; Scott and me on the porch swing; Scott, Autumn, and me building a sandcastle at the beach. They’d be perfect for the refrigerator. I found a few more family shots from different holidays—Easter, Christmas, Halloween. I could stick those in little frames and put them on the computer desk where Mom always sat when she was working.

  I picked up a photo of Scott leaning against the big oak tree in our yard. He looked like a movie star with his hair all ruffled from the wind, a lock of it falling over his forehead. He wasn’t wearing his glasses so you could gaze into his deep-blue eyes. It was exactly the kind of picture that belonged on a bathroom mirror.

  But the best idea I’d come up with, number five on the list, would have to wait for the weekend. I opened my laptop and clicked on a YouTube video that showed how to make a beautiful vase.

  When Saturday came around, I’d be ready.

  SUNNY’S SUPER-STUPENDOUS PLAN TO GET MOM AND DAD BACK TOGETHER

  1. Tell Scott that Mom has heavy bags under her eyes from crying so much, and to please send the Eezy Breezy Sleep Mask or a pound of cucumbers.

  2. Ask Mom to send Scott a pair of suspenders. Tell her that he has already lost four pounds because he’s too sad to eat, and his jeans keep falling down.

  3. Put up photos of Scott all over the house: on the refrigerator, on Mom’s desk, on top of Mom’s dresser, and on the bathroom mirror.

  4. Find glamorous photos of Mom and send them to Scott.

  5. Send flowers to Mom from “A Secret Admirer.” This will make Scott jealous enough to change his mind about letting Mom move so far away.

  6. Make a playlist of Scott’s favorite love songs—the mushier, the better! Be sure to blast it in the house and in the car every time you get in. Make a playlist of Mom’s favorite love songs and send it to Scott.

  7. Ask Mom to make Scott’s Manicotti Special. At the dinner table, take a bite, sigh, and say, “It just doesn’t taste the same without Scott here to share it.”

  8. Ask Mom about the old days, when she and Scott first became boyfriend and girlfriend. Ask Scott the same thing.

  9. Bake Mom’s special mint Oreo pie and send it to Scott. Put a card inside the box that says, “Made for you, with love from Rebecca.”

  10. Ask Grandma Grace for a chore list to earn some extra money. Buy a gift certificate for Mom and Scott to a fancy Italian restaurant. Make sure it has candlelight, wine, and spaghetti for two, just like in Lady and the Tramp. Give them the gift certificate when Scott comes to visit at Christmas time (or sooner).

  11. Enter one of those Perfect Family contests. When Mom and Scott see the winning entry, they’ll realize how much they belong together. Not only that, but the whole family wins a trip to Disney World!

  12. Enter the “Perfect Husband” contest. Tell all about how Scott would make a perfect husband for Mom and wait for your entry to be published, then show it to Mom. Enter the “Perfect Wife” contest and send the winning published entry to Scott.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  From: [email protected]

  To: [email protected]

  Miss You!!!!!!

  Hi Sunny! How’s NC? When do u start your new school?

  I miss u!

  Xoxo, Madeline

  From: [email protected]

  To: [email protected]

  Re: Miss You!!!!!

  Hi Madeline!

  We started school last week. Middle School!!!! Somehow, I survived.

  I’m sending you a super-long letter I wrote in the cafeteria. The only other person who sat at my table all week was this boy who had his nose buried in a book about dragons. So I had plenty of time to write letters.

  I miss u soooo much!!!!!!! Xoxoxoxoxoxox, Sunnyr />
  ***

  On Friday evening, we called Scott for the first time in almost a week. Mom let us talk to him after the first day of school, then told us we were going to stick with weekly calls from now on.

  Both Autumn and I had protested, but Mom said, “Scott’s pretty busy between work and classes.”

  “Yeah, but—” I started to say, but Mom cut me off.

  “If anything comes up and you really need to talk to him, of course you can call. But for now, I think it’s better to stick to a time when he’s expecting us so he’ll have time to talk.”

  “I bet this was your idea,” I said. Scott would always make time for us, no matter when we phoned.

  Mom raised an eyebrow. “Actually, we both came up with the idea,” she said, though I didn’t believe her.

  At least Mom didn’t rush us that night. I raced for the phone and grabbed it before Autumn could, taking it into the den where I closed the door behind me.

  “Oh, Sunflower, I’m so sorry,” Scott said after I’d filled him in on everything that had happened at school, which means I told him a lot more than I’d told Mom. Mom was already busy with her own classes and her writing and looking up old friends. Plus, whenever I told her what was going on, she was all about giving advice. Sometimes I just wanted someone to listen. “So you’ve been sitting by yourself in the cafeteria all week?”

  “Yup. Well, not completely alone. Another boy sits at the table, but he always has his nose in a book.”

  Scott laughed. “Sounds like me when I was in junior high. Books were a great escape.”

  “I’ve been drawing in my sketchbook,” I told him. “And writing letters to Madeline.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that. But you know, Sunny, eventually I did find a group of kids to sit with. Sometimes these things take time.”

  I didn’t need time. What I needed was to get back home, where I already had friends and a dad, too. I felt an ache in my chest and clutched the phone tighter.