Rrrrrrinnnnnnggggg!
Declan's alarm clock went off at 7:00, as always. In one fluid motion, he turned his clock off, grabbed his glasses, and shoved them in front of his eyes.
It was time to start another day at school. The thought made him want to go under the covers and never come out again.
Declan was the perfect example of a geek. He got perfect scores on tests, tripped at least once a minute, had a really weird name (he still wondered what had possessed his Mom and dad when he was born), wore huge black rimmed glasses, was terrible in gym class, and always wore wrinkled and dirty clothes. He would probably have clean clothes more often had he actually put his dirty clothes in the hamper, but his absentmindedness prevented that from happening.
Declan sighed. He had to go to school whether he wanted to or not. He knew his mother wouldn't buy it if he faked sick, especially since he was a really terrible liar. He got out of bed and promptly tripped over his backpack. He had forgotten that he had been working on homework last night. He went out of the room and knocked on the door of the room next to his.
"Nina," he called, "time to get up."
The response was what he had been hearing for the past month. Nina's head popped out from behind the door with a huge grin on her face, "Three days until I turn eight!" she said happily.
"Yeah, I know," Declan said, "let's go down to breakfast."
Nina's grin broadened as she stepped out of her bedroom and started skipping down the steps to the kitchen. Declan followed her.
Nina stopped short at the bottom of the stairs, and when Declan caught up to her, he could see why.
His mother was sitting at the kitchen table. She had a letter in her right hand and with her left hand she was holding her head.
She was crying.
"Mom?" Declan blurted out.
Declan's mother looked up and immediately got busy making breakfast muttering, "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was so late."
Nina looked up at Declan. Needless to say, her grin had disappeared and was now replaced by a worried look.
"It's okay, Nina," he said, hugging his sister, "why don't you go get dressed while Mom makes breakfast."
Nina nodded and went back upstairs.
Declan walked into the kitchen to find his mother scrambling eggs in a skillet. Whatever happened, it was over now, and she had gone into her 'busy mother mode' again, but what had happened? Declan needed to know.
"Is something wrong, Mom?" he asked.
She turned around and looked at him for a second, then a sad look came into her eyes and she went back to cooking.
Declan came closer. "Mom, I really want to know."
His mother swallowed, then she said, "Declan, your father has cancer."
Declan's mouth dropped open. His father had cancer? Ever since he had been a little kid, he had always seen his Dad as someone ... well ... as someone who would never die, at least not until he was really old, and here he was, his Dad's death staring him in the face. Everything he had known was changed with his Mom's answer. If today's outlook hadn't been bad enough already, it now hit rock bottom.
"Well, what's going to happen?" he asked.
"He's going to have to go through surgery," his mother replied, turning off the stove and carrying the skillet to the table with a pot holder. She sat down in a chair. "but if that doesn't work ..." she trailed off as a tear squeezed out of her eye.
Just then, Nina came down the stairs dressed in a bright pink T-shirt and blue jeans. "Is breakfast ready?" she asked.
His Mom brushed away her tears and tried to look happy. "Yes, Nina," she replied, "breakfast is ready."
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"What's five times ten to the fourth power?" the math teacher, Mrs. Johnston asked.
Declan raised his hand.
"Yes, Declan?" she called on him.
"Fifty-thousand," he answered.
"That's right," the teacher replied, "let's try a harder one. What's six times ten to the eighth power?"
Declan raised his hand again.
"Anyone else?" Mrs. Johnston asked. The class was silent. Declan still had his hand raised. "Anyone?" she was looking a little desperate. "Okay, Declan," she conceded, "tell us the answer."
"Six hundred million," he replied.
"That's just about all the time we have today," she said, "so tomorrow we're going over exponents again because it seems that nobody understood."
How hard was it to understand? You just take the number and add the amount of zeros that it's 'to the power of.' The bell rang. It was time for Science class. Declan picked up his backpack and left the room.
"Hey, Geeklan!" a voice called from behind him, "Nice job in Math class!"
'Geeklan' was a nickname some of the kids had given to Declan. The idea had come to them when a substitute teacher had pronounced his name 'Deeclan' while taking attendance. He usually let it slide, but today he was in a particularly bad mood.
He turned to the boy, whose name was Jacob, and said, "Stop calling me that."
"Why?" he asked mockingly.
"Because I don't appreciate it." Okay, it sounded *a lot* better in his head.
Jacob laughed, "Well, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Geeklan." he said sarcastically.
Declan turned around and walked away. He shouldn't have bothered trying to get Jacob to stop. It would never happen. He went down the stairs to the Science room and sat in his usual seat. Unfortunately, his friend Paul wasn't here today, as if his day couldn't get any worse. He took out his Science folder and looked for his homework. It wasn't there. He must have left it somewhere in his bedroom. This was just great.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Declan sat in the cafeteria, munching on his lunch. It was a turkey sandwich today, with an apple and a granola bar on the side and pudding for desert. When would his Mom remember that he didn't like turkey? Of course, she *was* under a lot of stress, which was completely understandable. He decided that he could live with turkey.
After eating half of the sandwich and a bite out of the granola bar, he decided that he wasn't hungry anymore and saved the rest for later. Now it was time to spend his half-hour recess doing nothing because Paul wasn't there. Fun. He exited the cafeteria and went out the door to the playground. He found a bench to sit on and prepared to stay there for the rest of recess.
Might as well get some thinking done.
There was a lot to think about, especially since he had just learned that his Dad had cancer. Why him of all people? He was healthy. He was the kind of person who almost never got sick, and when he did, it was usually just a cold. Now this. This was so much worse.
Then there was Nina. She had no idea. Of course, she had seen their mother crying just like he had, but she didn't know about Dad. How would she take it? She was only seven. Take that back, she'd be eight in three days.
His thought were interrupted by a girl who was standing in front of him. She looked like she was about his age, but he had no idea who she was. "Are you all right?" she asked.
"I'm fine," he lied. What was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to talk to her about how terrible his life was?
"I'm Margaret," the girl said, "I'm new here. What's your name?"
"Declan," Declan answered, "it's Irish."
"Oh," Margaret said as she sat down, "are you sure you're all right? I heard what that guy said to you in the hall today."
Declan had forgotten about that. "It's not that it's ..." He stopped. He didn't want to tell her.
"What?" Margaret asked.
Declan realized that he had to tell someone, and Margaret was probably the only one who would listen. "I just found out my Dad has cancer."
"Oh," Margaret said sympathetically, "I'm so sorry."
Declan stared at the ground, biting his lip to keep from crying. "It's just been a hard day for me, that's all ..."
"I can imagine ..." Margaret said.
The bell rang. It was time to go back to class.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
It was seven o'clock at night and Declan was doing his English homework, an essay on his favorite family memory. It was due on Friday, the day after Nina's birthday.
My favorite family memory was on the Fourth of July when I was
nine years old. My father took the whole family out in a boat in the middle
of Monterey Lake to see the fireworks.
That was all he had so far. At the moment, he wasn't really writing, but actually living the moment in his mind. He remembered it perfectly, the boat rocking from side to side, everyone bundled up in blankets because it was unusually cool for July. Everyone was so happy then. Declan was starting to wonder if they would ever have a family moment like that again.
He put his notebook down and went down the stairs to the kitchen for a snack.
"But Evan, there's no way we can afford this," his mother's voice drifted from the living room.
"We can get through it, Laura," his Dad comforted, "we just have to pray and hope for the best."
"There are just so many things we won't be able to get, like new clothes for Declan and ..." she stopped for a second, " ... and a present for Nina."
A present for Nina?
Declan ran upstairs and back to his room. He found his money bank on the table and counted how much he had. Twenty-one dollars and nineteen cents. He grabbed his bicycle helmet and went back downstairs.
"I'm going on a bike ride, Mom!" he called as he went out the door.
"Be back by six!" she called after him.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Declan was walking through the aisles at the store that was a few blocks away from his house. He was trying to find something that Nina would like.
Then he saw it. A deluxe art set. It was perfect. He picked it up and headed straight to the cashier.
The cashier scanned the art set and it came to exactly twenty-one dollars and nineteen cents. Declan pulled out all of his money and gave it to the cashier. She had a hard time counting it, but in the end, it did come out to the exact amount. He took the art set and the receipt and put on his bicycle helmet as he headed out the door.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Declan's alarm clock went off at six o'clock. He turned it off and excitedly got the wrapped art set out from under his bed. In the Dunn family, it was tradition for a person to get breakfast in bed on their birthday, so the rest of the family got up extra early to make it.
Declan went out the door and tiptoed down the stairs so he wouldn't wake up Nina. At the bottom of the stairs, he was met by the aroma of a ham and cheese omelet cooking on the stove. Declan walked into the kitchen and found his Mom using two spatulas to lift the omelet out of the skillet and put it on a plate.
When she saw Declan, she smiled and, noticing the present he was holding asked, "What's that?"
"It's an art set for Nina," Declan answered.
Mom's eyes suddenly filled with tears, but they were happy tears. She embraced her son and whispered, "Thank you, Declan,"
"It's no problem," Declan said as he set the present on the kitchen table.
Dad walked in the room. He spotted the present and gave both Declan and his Mother a confused look.
"Declan got an art set for Nina," his Mom explained.
Dad walked over to Declan and put his hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, son, this means a lot."
Declan smiled.
Declan's Mom put the finishing touches on Nina's breakfast, putting a candle on the toast, then she picked up the tray. Declan followed her, carrying the present. His Dad was last, with nothing to carry.
"Happy Birthday to you," they started to sing as they walked up the stairs, "happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Nina, Happy Birthday to you."
Mom opened the door to Nina's room to find her sitting up in bed with that huge grin on her face they had all come to know and love. Mom placed the tray of food on her lap and said, "Make a wish, Nina,"
Nina closed her eyes for a second, then blew out the candle that had been put in the toast. This was immediately followed by applause as Mom went to turn on the light.
"I want to open the present first," Nina said, pointing to the present Declan held in his hands. Declan handed it to her sister who immediately tore open the wrapping paper. When she saw what was inside, her already wide grin grew even wider. "Thank you!" she said to her mother.
"Don't thank me," Mom replied, "thank your brother."
Nina gave her brother a big hug, "Thank you, Declan," she said.
Declan didn't mind that he didn't have any money anymore. He was happy that his sister had gotten a present. That moment was a perfect family moment. Everyone was there. Everyone was happy. It was one of the last happy family moments that family would ever experience.
Declan's alarm clock went off at 7:00, as always. In one fluid motion, he turned his clock off, grabbed his glasses, and shoved them in front of his eyes.
It was time to start another day at school. The thought made him want to go under the covers and never come out again.
Declan was the perfect example of a geek. He got perfect scores on tests, tripped at least once a minute, had a really weird name (he still wondered what had possessed his Mom and dad when he was born), wore huge black rimmed glasses, was terrible in gym class, and always wore wrinkled and dirty clothes. He would probably have clean clothes more often had he actually put his dirty clothes in the hamper, but his absentmindedness prevented that from happening.
Declan sighed. He had to go to school whether he wanted to or not. He knew his mother wouldn't buy it if he faked sick, especially since he was a really terrible liar. He got out of bed and promptly tripped over his backpack. He had forgotten that he had been working on homework last night. He went out of the room and knocked on the door of the room next to his.
"Nina," he called, "time to get up."
The response was what he had been hearing for the past month. Nina's head popped out from behind the door with a huge grin on her face, "Three days until I turn eight!" she said happily.
"Yeah, I know," Declan said, "let's go down to breakfast."
Nina's grin broadened as she stepped out of her bedroom and started skipping down the steps to the kitchen. Declan followed her.
Nina stopped short at the bottom of the stairs, and when Declan caught up to her, he could see why.
His mother was sitting at the kitchen table. She had a letter in her right hand and with her left hand she was holding her head.
She was crying.
"Mom?" Declan blurted out.
Declan's mother looked up and immediately got busy making breakfast muttering, "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was so late."
Nina looked up at Declan. Needless to say, her grin had disappeared and was now replaced by a worried look.
"It's okay, Nina," he said, hugging his sister, "why don't you go get dressed while Mom makes breakfast."
Nina nodded and went back upstairs.
Declan walked into the kitchen to find his mother scrambling eggs in a skillet. Whatever happened, it was over now, and she had gone into her 'busy mother mode' again, but what had happened? Declan needed to know.
"Is something wrong, Mom?" he asked.
She turned around and looked at him for a second, then a sad look came into her eyes and she went back to cooking.
Declan came closer. "Mom, I really want to know."
His mother swallowed, then she said, "Declan, your father has cancer."
Declan's mouth dropped open. His father had cancer? Ever since he had been a little kid, he had always seen his Dad as someone ... well ... as someone who would never die, at least not until he was really old, and here he was, his Dad's death staring him in the face. Everything he had known was changed with his Mom's answer. If today's outlook hadn't been bad enough already, it now hit rock bottom.
"Well, what's going to happen?" he asked.
"He's going to have to go through surgery," his mother replied, turning off the stove and carrying the skillet to the table with a pot holder. She sat down in a chair. "but if that doesn't work ..." she trailed off as a tear squeezed out of her eye.
Just then, Nina came down the stairs dressed in a bright pink T-shirt and blue jeans. "Is breakfast ready?" she asked.
His Mom brushed away her tears and tried to look happy. "Yes, Nina," she replied, "breakfast is ready."
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"What's five times ten to the fourth power?" the math teacher, Mrs. Johnston asked.
Declan raised his hand.
"Yes, Declan?" she called on him.
"Fifty-thousand," he answered.
"That's right," the teacher replied, "let's try a harder one. What's six times ten to the eighth power?"
Declan raised his hand again.
"Anyone else?" Mrs. Johnston asked. The class was silent. Declan still had his hand raised. "Anyone?" she was looking a little desperate. "Okay, Declan," she conceded, "tell us the answer."
"Six hundred million," he replied.
"That's just about all the time we have today," she said, "so tomorrow we're going over exponents again because it seems that nobody understood."
How hard was it to understand? You just take the number and add the amount of zeros that it's 'to the power of.' The bell rang. It was time for Science class. Declan picked up his backpack and left the room.
"Hey, Geeklan!" a voice called from behind him, "Nice job in Math class!"
'Geeklan' was a nickname some of the kids had given to Declan. The idea had come to them when a substitute teacher had pronounced his name 'Deeclan' while taking attendance. He usually let it slide, but today he was in a particularly bad mood.
He turned to the boy, whose name was Jacob, and said, "Stop calling me that."
"Why?" he asked mockingly.
"Because I don't appreciate it." Okay, it sounded *a lot* better in his head.
Jacob laughed, "Well, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Geeklan." he said sarcastically.
Declan turned around and walked away. He shouldn't have bothered trying to get Jacob to stop. It would never happen. He went down the stairs to the Science room and sat in his usual seat. Unfortunately, his friend Paul wasn't here today, as if his day couldn't get any worse. He took out his Science folder and looked for his homework. It wasn't there. He must have left it somewhere in his bedroom. This was just great.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Declan sat in the cafeteria, munching on his lunch. It was a turkey sandwich today, with an apple and a granola bar on the side and pudding for desert. When would his Mom remember that he didn't like turkey? Of course, she *was* under a lot of stress, which was completely understandable. He decided that he could live with turkey.
After eating half of the sandwich and a bite out of the granola bar, he decided that he wasn't hungry anymore and saved the rest for later. Now it was time to spend his half-hour recess doing nothing because Paul wasn't there. Fun. He exited the cafeteria and went out the door to the playground. He found a bench to sit on and prepared to stay there for the rest of recess.
Might as well get some thinking done.
There was a lot to think about, especially since he had just learned that his Dad had cancer. Why him of all people? He was healthy. He was the kind of person who almost never got sick, and when he did, it was usually just a cold. Now this. This was so much worse.
Then there was Nina. She had no idea. Of course, she had seen their mother crying just like he had, but she didn't know about Dad. How would she take it? She was only seven. Take that back, she'd be eight in three days.
His thought were interrupted by a girl who was standing in front of him. She looked like she was about his age, but he had no idea who she was. "Are you all right?" she asked.
"I'm fine," he lied. What was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to talk to her about how terrible his life was?
"I'm Margaret," the girl said, "I'm new here. What's your name?"
"Declan," Declan answered, "it's Irish."
"Oh," Margaret said as she sat down, "are you sure you're all right? I heard what that guy said to you in the hall today."
Declan had forgotten about that. "It's not that it's ..." He stopped. He didn't want to tell her.
"What?" Margaret asked.
Declan realized that he had to tell someone, and Margaret was probably the only one who would listen. "I just found out my Dad has cancer."
"Oh," Margaret said sympathetically, "I'm so sorry."
Declan stared at the ground, biting his lip to keep from crying. "It's just been a hard day for me, that's all ..."
"I can imagine ..." Margaret said.
The bell rang. It was time to go back to class.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
It was seven o'clock at night and Declan was doing his English homework, an essay on his favorite family memory. It was due on Friday, the day after Nina's birthday.
My favorite family memory was on the Fourth of July when I was
nine years old. My father took the whole family out in a boat in the middle
of Monterey Lake to see the fireworks.
That was all he had so far. At the moment, he wasn't really writing, but actually living the moment in his mind. He remembered it perfectly, the boat rocking from side to side, everyone bundled up in blankets because it was unusually cool for July. Everyone was so happy then. Declan was starting to wonder if they would ever have a family moment like that again.
He put his notebook down and went down the stairs to the kitchen for a snack.
"But Evan, there's no way we can afford this," his mother's voice drifted from the living room.
"We can get through it, Laura," his Dad comforted, "we just have to pray and hope for the best."
"There are just so many things we won't be able to get, like new clothes for Declan and ..." she stopped for a second, " ... and a present for Nina."
A present for Nina?
Declan ran upstairs and back to his room. He found his money bank on the table and counted how much he had. Twenty-one dollars and nineteen cents. He grabbed his bicycle helmet and went back downstairs.
"I'm going on a bike ride, Mom!" he called as he went out the door.
"Be back by six!" she called after him.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Declan was walking through the aisles at the store that was a few blocks away from his house. He was trying to find something that Nina would like.
Then he saw it. A deluxe art set. It was perfect. He picked it up and headed straight to the cashier.
The cashier scanned the art set and it came to exactly twenty-one dollars and nineteen cents. Declan pulled out all of his money and gave it to the cashier. She had a hard time counting it, but in the end, it did come out to the exact amount. He took the art set and the receipt and put on his bicycle helmet as he headed out the door.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Declan's alarm clock went off at six o'clock. He turned it off and excitedly got the wrapped art set out from under his bed. In the Dunn family, it was tradition for a person to get breakfast in bed on their birthday, so the rest of the family got up extra early to make it.
Declan went out the door and tiptoed down the stairs so he wouldn't wake up Nina. At the bottom of the stairs, he was met by the aroma of a ham and cheese omelet cooking on the stove. Declan walked into the kitchen and found his Mom using two spatulas to lift the omelet out of the skillet and put it on a plate.
When she saw Declan, she smiled and, noticing the present he was holding asked, "What's that?"
"It's an art set for Nina," Declan answered.
Mom's eyes suddenly filled with tears, but they were happy tears. She embraced her son and whispered, "Thank you, Declan,"
"It's no problem," Declan said as he set the present on the kitchen table.
Dad walked in the room. He spotted the present and gave both Declan and his Mother a confused look.
"Declan got an art set for Nina," his Mom explained.
Dad walked over to Declan and put his hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, son, this means a lot."
Declan smiled.
Declan's Mom put the finishing touches on Nina's breakfast, putting a candle on the toast, then she picked up the tray. Declan followed her, carrying the present. His Dad was last, with nothing to carry.
"Happy Birthday to you," they started to sing as they walked up the stairs, "happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Nina, Happy Birthday to you."
Mom opened the door to Nina's room to find her sitting up in bed with that huge grin on her face they had all come to know and love. Mom placed the tray of food on her lap and said, "Make a wish, Nina,"
Nina closed her eyes for a second, then blew out the candle that had been put in the toast. This was immediately followed by applause as Mom went to turn on the light.
"I want to open the present first," Nina said, pointing to the present Declan held in his hands. Declan handed it to her sister who immediately tore open the wrapping paper. When she saw what was inside, her already wide grin grew even wider. "Thank you!" she said to her mother.
"Don't thank me," Mom replied, "thank your brother."
Nina gave her brother a big hug, "Thank you, Declan," she said.
Declan didn't mind that he didn't have any money anymore. He was happy that his sister had gotten a present. That moment was a perfect family moment. Everyone was there. Everyone was happy. It was one of the last happy family moments that family would ever experience.