in the closet Then he took his work jacket off the hook by the door and tossed it over his shoulder C’mon Dad Dana tried to make her voice sound light Chances are we’d drive all the way down there and not even see her because she’d be busy with a physiotherapist or something She’s working really hard so she can come home And Mrs Murphy told Mom they’re hoping Janelle will be at school when it starts next week I’ve called a bunch of times and I’ve been writing to her you know to keep her spirits up and keep her up-to-date Yeah Yeah Of course She’s my best friend Dad I know He ran a hand through his wavy hair and then turned toward the door I guess I’ll see you at supper then Okay I’ll start packing my stuff for the weekend Dana turned around and went back upstairs to her room She heard her dad drive away in the truck and she let out a long slow breath Dana knew she should visit her friend but she really 6 Sylvia Taekema
hated hospitals and seeing Janelle there was just sad She wasn’t supposed to be there It wasn’t the same She wasn’t the same Where was the smiling energetic Nelly she knew Dana pulled some shorts and her swimsuit out of a drawer and stuffed them into her duffel bag She rolled up a beach towel and a sweater and shoved those in as well She was going camping for the weekend with her aunt Sandy They went every summer just before school started She pulled her sleeping bag out of her closet and then sat down on her bed and sighed She felt angry with herself but she also felt bad for not telling her dad the truth She had meant to write to Janelle She’d started more than once She’d pulled out several sheets of the pink paper that she’d gotten as a birthday gift a few years ago They were heart-shaped and smelled like bubble gum But she couldn’t send that to Janelle at the hospital Too cheery And the regular lined paper she’d found in her desk drawer felt too boring Like she was doing a school project Dana didn’t know what to say in the letter either Janelle had been in a terrible accident 7 Ripple Effect
She’d taken her bike to pick up a couple of things from the grocery store for her mom While she was crossing the street on her way home a car missed the red light completely but hit Nelly straight on She’d been at the children’s hospital for six weeks already When Mrs Murphy had first called to tell Dana’s mother the news she was crying She wasn’t even sure Janelle would make it There were no visitors allowed then Now everyone was sure she would be all right but they didn’t know how her leg would heal What was Dana supposed to write after Janelle had been through something like that Should she keep her up-to-date on summer soccer She’d just be reminding her of all the games she couldn’t play Should she tell her they’d put in a new diving board at the pool She’d just be reminding her that she couldn’t swim Should she tell her she’d worked at Emerald Acres for two weeks picking beans She’d just be reminding her of all the money she didn’t make money they were both hoping to use for back-to-school stuff She could tell her she’d finally gotten her braces two weeks ago and how annoying 8 Sylvia Taekema
it was when toothbrush bristles got caught in them or how awkward it was when her lip got hung up on them but these things seemed like nothing compared to what Janelle was going through Dana did want to tell Janelle how she’d used her time in the bean field to do a lot of thinking and that she’d finally worked up the courage to tell Jason Elwood straight out that she liked him But that wasn’t something you wrote in a letter What if someone else accidentally read it No way That was totally classified information So Dana didn’t write anything But she was positive Janelle would understand understand She would know Dana was thinking about her They’d been friends for a long time Summer was almost over now and they could forget about everything and move forward School started next week and Janelle would be there and they could start grade six at Emery Elementary as if nothing had ever happened 9 Ripple Effect
