Adventures of Abby Diamond

Chapter 15- “The Thanksgiving Program” It was just my luck. Our grade level would put on the annual Thanksgiving program at our school. Why do people think that the blind kid has to be the center of attention? It isn’t like we don’t get attention most of the time anyway. We were suppose to sing a song about being thankful or something like that and then Neils and I would walk out together arm-in-arm together and introduce the cast of The First Thanksgiving. Isn’t that an original and creative title? Poor old Jaxson was assigned the role of the turkey. I think that was after he asked Ms. Adams why she cut her hair so short and then the big mouth added that she looked like his Uncle Frank. We practiced after school every day for a whole week. During one class one day, I showed Andrea and Neils how to make a turkey on the Braille writer. “That is really cool,” Andrea gleamed. “I’ll show you how to make another kind of turkey.” She took my hand and traced around it with Tulip paint. After Tulip paint dries, it makes a tactual drawing. I could feel the shape of the turkey feathers that were drawn in paint. The night of the program, my parents, Nan and Grand Pop, and Katy all piled into my mom’s brand new SUV. Since Dad has been working at his new job and liking it so well, he has been even more generous than usual and bought himself, and mom new cars. I got a cell phone, ipod and a new note taker and Katy squealed with excitement when she got her very own laptop. On the way to the program, I heard Dad ask Mom if it was okay to invite his boss, Mr. St. Claire and his wife over for dinner before Thanksgiving. My mom was fine with that, so we would get to meet the boss’ misses soon. Joy, I thought. After we did the Thanksgiving program, all of the kids and parents were standing around and talking. I heard Jaxson’s voice in my ear. I could feel his turkey feathers sticking into my ribs. “Ouch, what do you want?” I asked him. “I don’t want to scare you but that couple that came to see you a month ago were here tonight. I recognized the old woman’s hood and she was with the same old man,” Jaxson cried. I could hear my mother laugh, so I knew that she was not far away from me. “Jaxson, please don’t tell my mother or anyone. My mother would freak out,” I begged. “Oh, I won’t, Abby. I promise you I won’t tell anyone. I know that sometimes I ain’t always nice, but I really like you.” “Jaxson, first thing is I like you, too. Second thing, is there ain’t no such word as ain’t.” He and I both laughed. Jaxson wasn’t so bad after all. “Chapter 1” "Alison- The Fourth Musketeer" Since school started, we were all settling into hanging out with a really cool group of kids. However, as cool as the kids were, no one could get into our closely -knit group, The Three Musketeers, until an unusual girl walked into the classroom. I’ll never forget this particular day when Ms. Ashley and I were finished with our Braille lesson. I went back into the classroom when I heard Ms. Adams introduce a new girl to the class. Her name was Alison Cash. I was hanging my cane back on the hook when Alison began spinning a wild tale that was so wild that even I had a hard time believing. This new girl was telling the class that she had previously lived in a mansion and that both of her parents were famous movie stars. She told us that they were in movies all of the time and that they had each won an Academy Award. I heard Jaxson whisper to Neils, “Then why is she wearing those old dirty rags?” “Shhh,” Neils whispered to him. “Maybe she’s lying so that people will like her.” After Alison finished embarrassing herself, she sat down and I heard Jaxson call her a liar. She must have ducked her head down to cry because I heard Andrea tell Jaxson to shut his mouth. When Ms. Adams asked Alison to take her seat in front of me, I tapped her on the shoulder and said, “Hi. My name is Abby. It is nice to meet you.” “Hi,” she returned and then added, “Are you blind?” “Yes,” I said. “I have been blind since birth and so has my Grandmother Elizabeth.” “Can you see anything?” she asked. “No, not much. Just shapes and shadows.” “You are so beautiful,” she told me. “Thank you,” I said. “I bet you are, too.” The bell rang and we had to line up to go to the dreaded lunchroom at our school. The food was hideous; the lunchroom ladies were grouches and yelled at us daily. One time one old grouch with bad breath took me by the hand, made me sit down at the table by myself and served me a plate of ….. I better not finish that sentence. I told Ms. Ashley and boy was she mad. She and I went back into the cafeteria. Ms. Ashley told all of the crows that I was to walk through the line, carry my own tray and make food choices like everyone else does daily. “But she can’t see!” chirped one old lady. “What was your first clue, Ms. Brains?” “Abby, you be quiet,” scolded Ms. Ashley. Geez I thought that we could gang up on the bullies together. The next day during lunch, the goofy lunchroom workers allowed me to do what Ms. Ashley had requested but they were not any nicer about it. “We are serving salad, pizza and peaches,” one of the old ladies barked. “Great, I feel like I am at the Ritz Hotel.” “That blind one has a smart mouth,” I overhead one of them say. Unfortunately for her, Andrea and Neils heard it, too. They left the lunch line and went straight to our principal, Mrs. Cummings. Mrs. Cummings is a great principal but she doesn’t take anything off of anyone. So, as we were walking with our new buddy, Pinocchio, I mean Alison, we warned her about the lunchroom and its occupants. Even though Alison lies really bad, she was gradually becoming the Fourth Musketeers. After lunch one day, Andrea, Neil, Alison and I were standing around on the playground waiting on the bell to ring so that we could go back to class for more free education. We were talking about a favorite movie when Alison began talking, I mean lying, nonstop. “My parents are in that movie,” Alison lied. “They are in California this week filming.” Andrea, Neils and I became silent and allowed her nose to grow more. I felt like I was listening to a train wreck. “Yes,” Pinocchio continued, “I can’t wait for them to come back and get me. They are going to buy me a large house, a big diamond and a swimming pool.” Neils tried to derail the train wreck by saying, “Alison, why don’t you come over Friday night and spend the night with us?” “Sure,” she muttered. “I’ll have to let my father know, but I’m sure that it will be okay.”