I believe that no matter how terrible life may seem, every cloud has a silver lining. When my grandmother died, my baby sister was born shortly after (even if she is a butt from time to time). When my favorite rainbow monkey disappeared, my friends were there to help me look for it (granted, we never found it, but it's the thought that counts).
But I have yet to realize what the positive outcome of Nigel leaving us is. Abby took over as leader, and I'm proud of her and happy for her, but I can't help but think that she wasn't meant for that job; Number One was.
But Number One's gone now, and he has been for a while now, almost two years. Right now, he's probably zipping around the galaxy at a bazillion miles an hour or something, chasing alien baddies and making new friends from all over the universe. I'm happy for him, too, but I still think he wasn't the one for it; he was born to lead Sector V. They should've sent Rachel; she's the leader of the entire Kids Next Door Agency, anyway. Or Number Infinity. Or even Number 274. Someone other than one of my best friends.
And with the rest of Sector V's thirteenth birthdays edging nearer and nearer, I'm worried that I'll never find that silver lining before I can't even remember it. Abby's will be within the next year, and then Hoagie and Wally will follow soon after. I'll be the last one to go, but by that time, will I even care? All of my friends wouldn't even remember my name by then.
I sigh and look around. I'd been sitting on one of the outside decks of the tree house for a few hours. I pull my sweater sleeves even more around my hands, 'cause I just noticed how chilly it is outside. The stars above Cleveland are gleaming brightly, and I hope that Number One's on one of them, just so I can pretend he's looking back at Earth, too.
No, I never like liked Nigel. Maybe when I was eight or nine, but that was because he gave me a flower for my birthday. It only lasted a few hours, because by the time I went to bed that night, I'd received a dozen separate flowers from a dozen separate people.
I jumped off of the wooden rail I had been straddling and sit on a plastic folding chair. I cross my legs under myself and shiver just a little, still looking up at the night sky.
"Number Three?" I turn around to see Number Four in the doorway from the living room. "You okay?" I nod, scoot over on my seat a little, and pat the spot next to me. Wally turns back to look inside, but soon joins me on the chair. He let his head hang down, covering up his eyes with his blonde hair.
"Penny for your thoughts?" I ask.
"You'd be paying too much."
"Really, Wally. Anything wrong?" He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. He seemed to try to say something, but stopped.
"No," he replied instead. "I'm fine." We sat in silence for a few more minutes, me staring at the sky, him staring at his shoes.
"Look," I say suddenly. I tap his shoulder and point to the night. A star flew by, its long tail sparkling behind it. "You think that's him?" I ask.
Wally looks up and back at me with a quizzical face. "Him who?"
"Nigel, dummy."
"Oh." He seems to ponder this as he looks back up at the falling star. "It couldn't be, Kuki. That's just a cruddy star."
"Nuh-uh," I protest. I point again. "Look harder. It's totally a spaceship." Number Four stares at me again, this time a worried look. I give him a face of my own back, one that says humor me.
"Oh, now I see it!" He grins at me. "Yeah, that could be him. Probably is. And you know what?"
"What, Wally?"
"He's probably in there, staring back at us."
"Well, if that's the case," I say, standing up and running to the rail. I scream, "Hi, Nigel!"
Number Four stares at me. "What?" I ask. "If he's looking for us, we should wave. It's only polite." I shake my arms wildly. "Hi, Number One!" He still doesn't join me.
"Come on, Wally, you'll miss him!" I run over to him, grab his hands, and pull him to the railing. "Wave, darn you!"
Number Four grins again at me. "Alright, Kuki." He looks up at the sky and yells, "Hey, Number One!" at the star. We stand there waving for who knows how long. Soon enough, it starts to disappear.
"Oh no!" I laugh, "He's leaving again."
"'Bye, Number One!" Wally yells. "Have fun!"
"Goodbye, Nigel!" I scream. "We miss you!" The start vanished. "Goodbye," I whisper again. I can feel water pressing at my eyelids, so I quick cover them with my arms. I don't want Wally to see.
"Kuki?" Crap. He saw. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I say quietly. "I guess so." A cool wind blows by, and I shiver. I really need to get a heavier sweater.
"You cold?" Number Four asks, and I nod a little. In a flash, his orange sweater is off, and he's wrapping it around my shoulders. "There you go," he says. I look up at him. Wally really has grown in the past few years. He's pretty cute, too…
"Want to go inside?" he suggests.
"Yeah, it's cold."
"You're telling me. I just gave up my sweater." We laugh a little. As we start walking back, I grab Wally's shoulder to stop him and I look back up at the stars.
"Wally, do you believe in miracles?"
He shrugs. "I guess so. Why?"
"Just asking," I reply. "I do, too. 'Cause I believe that even after we're decommissioned, we'll all still be together. And I believe," I smile at the sky, "That one day, he'll come home."
I feel his hand slip into mine. "I do, too, Kuki." He smiles at me, but not one of his famous, cocky grins. A real, sweet, meaningful smile. "Let's go inside."
Still holding hands, he and I go into the nice, warm clubhouse. After I've taken the sweater off and given it back to Wally, I realize I've just discovered my silver lining. But not one I just found; one that's been there all along.