I don't feel any older. I feel the same as yesterday. Owies all over me. Mom got mad at me again. I don't remember what I did wrong. I try my best to be a good boy. But I always mess up. I dig my face into my pillow.

"Jaden!"

I jump up. Mom's at my door.

"Good morning." I say.

"Yeah, yeah get ready for school, I'm going to work." She walks away.

She forgot my birthday. I turn 6 today. But mom doesn't care. I get up and my head starts to hurt. I look at my arms. There are bruises. I guess I have to wear a long sleeve shirt. I look at my legs. And pants.


"Good morning, Jaden!" the bus lady says.

"Hi." I say quietly and sit down. I look out the window.

"Smores!"

I jump. I turn and see Tristan.

"Haha I scared you!" He says.

"Did not."

"Did too.." he sits down next to me. "Happy birthday!"

"At least you remember."

"Huh?" he asks.

"Nothing.." I look down at my hands.

He digs in his backpack and pulls out a ziplock bag. "my mommy baked you cookies!"

I smile. "thanks."


"...Happy birthday to you!" my whole class sings to me. I smile.

"okay, Jaden you can now get something from the treasure chest." My first grade teacher says.

I open it and there's a lot of cool stuff. I don't know what to get. There's play dough, coloring books, crayons, and a cool looking blue long whistle thing. I grab it and there are holes at the top of it.

"That's a flute." my teacher says. "You can make music with it."

"Really!" I blow it and laugh.

"Okay you can play with it after class."

"Okay." I put it in my backpack. I wonder if mom will remember my birthday when she gets home.


"What you doing for your birthday?" Tristan asks.

"I dunno."

"What did your mommy and daddy get you?"

"My daddy's dead." I mumble.

"my grandpa is dead to. Do you write to him?"

"No." I look at him.

"Well my mommy and daddy says I should write letters to him every week, so he knows I'm okay. And we go to the cemetery and I put it next to his stone."

"Really...hmm.." I think Tristan is smart.


I get off the bus and walk towards my house. Mom hides the key in a flower pot. I dig for it and unlock the door.

At first I was scared to be home alone, but I'm scareder when mom's home instead.

I throw the key back in the pot and walk to my room and grab my extra blue folder. I grab a pencil and paper.

#1 Deer daddy it my birthday today. i turn 6. but mom forgot. she no love me no more. she use to but not no more. mom say you die. my best frend Tristan says i shood rite to you and put it by your grave. but i no no where you are. maybe wen i get old mom wood tell me. do you meber me? i no meber you. mom never talks bout you. wen i asks she get realy mad. She hits me and kick me. it use to hurt alot. but rite now it still hurt but not so much. i hope you can read this. bye i love you. love Jaden.

I jump on my bed and hide it behind the crack. I lay down. Will my daddy will be able to read it? I close my eyes. I wonder what he looks like.

"WAKE UP!"

I open my eyes and mom is standing by my door looking really mad.

"WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING!"

"I..." but I can't speak. She runs over to my bed and grabs me by my arm.

"No!" I scream.

She pushes her nails in my arm.

"What are you doing?" a deep voice says.

I look up to see a dark figure by my door like a shadow, "Daddy?"

It nods and walks away.

"DADDY IT'S ME!" I try dragging myself towards the door but mom's pulling me back. "IT'S ME! JADEN! JADEN! NO COME BACK! PLEASE! NO! No... No... No..."

"JADEN... Stop it Jaden..." she grabs my arm.

"NO! NO! NO! PLEASE NO MORE! STOP! NO!"

"Jaden wake up, Jaden..."

Mom starts to fade and then it's all dark. Why couldn't I see daddy's face? I open my eyes. I see Kristy by my bed.

"Are you okay?"

I nod. "Bad dream." I mumble.

"You wanna talk about it?"

I shake my head no. I get up slowly.

"Well happy birthday!" Kristy holds out a blue box.

I smile. "Thank you!" I stare at it. I wonder what's inside.

"Well open it!"

I tear the blue wrapping paper. "Wow." It's a hot wheels driving course. "Thanks."

"No problem birthday boy. Come on let's set it up."


We play and play. It's so cool. The cars go so fast. We build a really cool course. We add rulers, books, and more of my toys to it. This is the best birthday ever.

I hear the door click. Mom is home. I look up and she walks in carrying nothing. I guess she really didn't remember.

Kristy gets up and walks towards mom, "Hi Mrs. Somers."

I keep playing with my cars. They talk and talk.

"Here I'll help pick up." Kristy says.

"No it's okay he'll do it."

"Okay, bye Jaden! See ya tomorrow and happy birthday!"

I look up and smile. "Bye!" The door closes. I stop smiling and look down and keep playing.

"How was your day?"

"Okay." I mumble.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." I mumble.

She grabs my arm. "What's wrong!"

"Aww...it's my birthday." I mumble. Her hand is around one of my other bruises.

"So..." she let's go of my arm.

"You forgot!" I jump up and run to my room. My eyes feel all wet. Why does she hate me so much?

"JADEN!" mom screams. Oh no she's mad now. She comes in my room. "You cannot run away from me when I'm talking to you! And just because it's your birthday, doesn't make you special!" she grabs my arm and drags me towards the living room.I see my racecar course and she throws me on it. I land on my side.

"Ow!" My arm starts stinging. I close my eyes. Please don't hit me no more...please...no.

"And pick up this junk!" she walks to the kitchen.

I get up slowly. My arm starts throbbing. I rub it and I start cleaning my course. Picking up everything. I make sure it's in my room in the right spot or else mom would get mad again. I sit on the ground in front of the TV. SpongeBob is on. I wish I was like SpongeBob. He doesn't live with his mom.

"Turn it off, time for dinner."

I turn the TV off and I walk and sit at the table. Mom made spaghetti. Yummy. I start to eat it.

"So, what did you do at school today?" mom asks. I look at her and she has a blank expression.

"I...um...learned math." I reply.

"Is that it?"

"Sorta." I stare at my food.

"You wanna hear about my day?" she asks.

"Okay-" I look up at her.

"Well today sucked. I got in a fight with my stupid coworker about my anger issues! Is she crazy! I'm gonna report her for spreading lies and false rumors. I mean she's dumb, saying I should take classes to control it. CONTROL WHAT!" she asks me.

"Um...I don't know?"

"Well didn't you bother listening to me! I'm not your friend I'm your fucking mother! Didn't I ever teach you to respect your elders!"

I can't speak, or else it would make her madder. I have to take it.

"Well answer me, you little piece of shit!"

"Yes-"

"Yes to what!"

"Respecting my elders-" I squeak out.

"'Respecting my elders.' that's a fucking lie!" she screams.

I look down at my food. Why does she hate me?

"I don't see you respecting me. If you fucken respected me you would look at me!"

I keep staring at my spaghetti. It doesn't look so good anymore.

"LOOK AT ME!" she screams. I can't. I'm too scared. My eyes start to get watery. I hear her getting up. I hold onto my chairs arms. Please no. I gulp.

"LOOK AT ME!" she grabs my chin and forces me to stare at her. My heart beats really fast. She glares at me. Her eyes look so scary. I gulp.

"You look just like your father!"

I look down and I'm about to smile but stop myself.

"What are you smirking about? That's not a good thing!" she pushes my chin away. Then I feel a sharp pain on the side of my head. It hurt really badly. I touch it with my hand. "aww." a bruise is going to come soon.

She sits back down in her seat. "Do you wanna know about your stupid father? And take you hand away from your face!"

I put my hand down. "Okay," I whisper. My head is feeling funny.

"Well he was an ignorant lazy bastard, who did nothing but sit on his lazy ass every day!"

Did he do that? Was daddy really like that? I drop my head to my lap.

"Do you think he loves you? Well?"

I shrug my shoulders.

"Don't wiggle your shoulders at me? Answer me!"

"I don't know." I whisper. I think he does.

"Oh you don't know, well are you too stupid to answer a very fricken easy question. It's either yes or no, boy! And look at me!"

He had to love me. He's not mom. He's better than her. I know he loves me. I look up and I glare at mom's black eyes. "Yes."

She lets out an evil laugh. "Are you so sure?"

"Yes. I know he loves me."

"How do you know you never even met him!" she yells.

"I just know. I-"

"Well that's where your wrong dummy! He hasn't even held you or even looked at you. He left us before you were even born!"

"What! You said he died!" I shout. Her face went from mocking to nothing. Like in shock. She didn't know I was going to say that. She's lying. I know she's lying. "You're lying!"

Her face hardens, "Don't you call me a liar, you little piece of-"

"LIAR!" my heart is pounding. I can't take it no more. "All you do is lie! YOU LIE LIE LIE!"

She runs over to me and tries to grab me. But I won't let her. I start hitting and waving my hands all over the place. But mom's stronger.

She grabs my arm and pulls me. I fall down on the floor. I start kicking. She tries to grab my leg.
"STOP IT!" She gets hold of my leg and lifts me up in the air.

"NO!" I scream. I start kicking and hitting. Then I feel her hand let go.A sharp pain starts throbbing in my head. Mom drops me on my head. I didn't have time to use my hands for protection. I feel dizzy. "Awww!"

I scream. A pain starts on my ribs. Mom starts kicking me over and over again. I close my eyes. I just have to wait until it's over. Is it ever going to be over? I lose count on how many kicks. I bite my lip. It hurts so bad. I hope to see daddy soon.


"Wake up!"

I moan and open my eyes. I'm on the couch and mom is at the end of it.

"Do you still think your daddy loves you?" she says.

I nod my head yes.

She runs right over to me. Our faces are almost touching. "Well that's where you're wrong." I can smell her gross breath.

"Didn't you fucken learn your lesson? Dad left and then he fucken died! He didn't give a shit about you! He left because of you!" she gets up and starts pacing the living room.

Mom's lying. She always lies. That's not the truth. I move a little. "Ughh." My ribs feel really sore. I can't breathe fast.

"It's your entire fault! If you weren't born then my life would be easy! I hate this fucken day!" She walks closer to me. "Do you still think he loved you?"

YES. I scream in my head. But if I said that mom would start hitting me again. I have to say no. My nose starts to tingle and everything is getting blurry. I gulp. "No." I whisper. The no was to mom not daddy. I now know that mom will never love me.

"Finally, listen here, nobody will love you! Nobody likes you and no one will help you. Your stuck with me forever!" she walks out of the living room and turns back to me. "You tripped, do you understand?"

I nod my head.

"And don't give the excuse unless they ask for it. And sound convincing!" she turns off the light and walks out to her room.

Its pitch black. I guess I'm sleeping here. It hurts too much to move. Why doesn't mommy love me? Wait no! She's mom not mommy. Do I cost too much money? Maybe it is my fault. My fault that I was born. I wish I was never born. I wish I had a mommy who would love me. A mommy who would remember my birthday and celebrate it too. I would have a big party with all my friends. I smile and sing quietly, "…happy birthday to me...goodnight daddy...I'll always know that you'll love me."


A month pass and mom doesn't get too mad at me. Only a little a bit if I get too clumsy and break stuff or if I'm too loud.

"Bye Jaden." Kristy says.

Once Kristy leaves Mom throws her purse on the table. I bit my lip. I hope she's not mad. She starts to pace around the living room.

"What's wrong?" I say.

"Never mind you!" she yells. "How can you just sit there without a care in the world? Damn you!"

I look down at my hands.

"What you don't even wanna know what's wrong!"

I look at her. I nod.

"Well I got laid off."

"Does that mean fired?"

"NO! It means I quit!" she screams.

"So you're not a nurse no more."

"Are you that stupid!" she yells.

I look down at my hands. I'm not stupid. My teacher says I'm smart.

"Now I gotta find a new job. A better one." she groans and I hear her walk away. At least she didn't hit me. I get up and walk to my room. I jump on my bed. I stare at my ceiling. Mom doesn't have a job no more.

I get up and grab my blue folder.

#16 hi daddy. mom does not have a job no more. Is that bad? How will she make money. Moms coming. Bye Jaden.

I close my book and throw it in the crack. Mom walks in. "I think I found something!"

"What?"

"A job dummy. I'm gonna do the interview by phone tomorrow and if I get it then we're moving."

"Where?"

"I don't know wherever it's located at. Dinner will be ready in an hour. And clean your room!" she slams my door shut.

I look under the crack. Mom's talking on the phone. She's doing her interview. She made me go to my room. I can't hear or see anything. I can only see her feet. I groan and get up. I hope she gets the job. If not, then...I don't even want to think about it. It's taking forever. I lie on my bed and start to count to one hundred. Then backwards. It's really hard. "43...uh...42...40...no...um..41..."

"Guess what!"

I look at the door and mom looks happy. I like it when she's happy.

"I got the job! We're moving to west Virginia!"

"Where's that at?"

"Ugh, you and your questions!"

"Sorry." I mumble.

"Well it's on the other side of the U.S. Start packing. We leave in a
month."


The next week, two big men come to our house and they put all our furniture in a big truck. Mom made my empty everything from my desk and dresser out. Everything's on the floor. Even my toys.

"Is this going to our new house?" I ask mom once the big men drive away with almost everything.

"Yes."

"Where are we going to sleep without beds?"

"The floor, where else!" she shouts.

Mom sells everything. The TV and my toys. She said she was going to buy me news ones once we move.

The only light we have is from the ones on the ceiling. So at night it's scary and really quiet.


"Echo! Echo!" the whole house is empty except for suitcases. So it sounds really cool when I yell.

"What are you screaming about?" mom grabs my arm.

"I...I...I was just playing."

"Well stop it!" she let's go of my arm. "Now today is your last day at that school, so behave and don't get in trouble! Understand!" she glares at me.

"Yes."

"I'm not going to be home after you get off school, so you hangout outside."

"Can't I just get the key from the flower pot?"

"No, I'm dropping it off!"

"Off where?"

"To the owner!"

"What about the car? Is it coming in the airplane with us?"

"No, I'm selling it and stop asking questions." she grabs my arm and pushes my toward the door. "The bus is waiting."


"why do you hafta move!" Tristan yells.

"Because my mom got a new job." I explain.

"it's no fair." Tristan pouts.

"What's not fair?" Jacob turns to face us from the seat in front of us. He has black hair and brown eyes.

Tristan points a finger at me, "He's moving."

"Where?" Jacob asks.

"West Virginia." I reply.

"Where's that?"

"Across the United States."

"Wow that's cool." Jacob says.

"Jacob sit down!" the bus lady yells. He sits back down super-fast. He pokes his head up to stare at me. "I'll miss you." he smiles and turns around.

"Yeah I'll miss you too. You are my bestest friend." Tristan says with a big smile.


"I don't want you to go!" Tristan yells.

"I'll miss you to." I say. Me and him are sitting in the bus on my way home.

"This is the last time you is gonna be in this bus." he says.

"Yeah I know."

"Hey do you have the hat?" he asks.

"What hat?"

"The one my daddy gave you."

"Oh." The police man hat is at the bottom of my suitcase. I don't want mom to see it again. Or else she'll get really mad. "Yeah." I stare out the window.

The bus stops. "Bye Jaden." Tristan smiles at me.

I get up. "Bye Tristan. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you more Smores."

"It's Somers like-"

"-like the season." Tristan mocks.

I laugh and walk off the bus.

"BYE JADEN! BYE SMORES!" Tristan's head is sticking out the window as the bus drives away. I wave.

I sit on my porch. It's kinda windy, since its November. I open my backpack. All of my art projects are in there. I see something blue at the bottom. I grab it and it's my blue flute. I never got it out from my birthday. It was the only present I got, beside the cookies from Tristan, and the racecar course from Kristy. I was too sore to even remember where I put it. Too sad to remember I even got a present, since mom throw away my racecar course the next day. I blow the flute and it makes funny noises.


The big kid bus finally came. Kristy! I run over to it. A whole bunch of tall people come out.

"Kristy!" I see her and smile.

"Jaden! Here come on." She grabs my hand and we walk to my porch and sit down.

"I'm going to miss you." I say.

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss you to. Are you leaving today?"

"Yep. I made something for you." I dig in my backpack and find the painted picture that I drew of me smiling. "So you will remember me."

"It's beautiful. I'll miss you kiddo. She ruffles my hair.I bit my lip and tense up. Stupid reaction.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just sad...to be moving." I look down at my shoes.

I hear her going through her backpack. I sneak a little glance and she's holding a huge box camera.

"Smile!" she points the camera at me.

I smile my bestest smile ever. It flashes and a paper pops out of it. She grabs it and fans it for a bit.

I smile, "what is..." but I'm not supposed to ask questions, "never mind." I mumble.

Kristy answers my unfinished question, "it's a Polaroid camera. You take a picture and it comes out instantly. Except it has to dry for a while. See." she shows me a square picture and I see my face. "Smile!" she takes another picture, except of the both of us.

"That's cool!"

"Here, you can have it." she hands me the huge camera.

"Really?"

"Yes, so you can always remember me."

"Say cheese!" I yell. We take more and more pictures and she tells me I have to buy some special paper to make the pictures come out fast.

"Where's your mom?" she asks.

"Um... She's taking a nap."

"Ahh I wanted to say bye."

"I'll tell her for you."

"Okay, I gotta go, bye Jaden."

I hug her hoping she doesn't have to leave me. But she does. She walks down the driveway and turns back. She smiles and waves. I wave back sadly. I'll miss her forever. Why do people have to leave me? Except for Mom. She'll always be there. I feel my eyes getting watery. I wish somebody will love me.