Chapter 1: The Name in the Water
I'm eight.
I know my name has seven letters if you count the cousin who writes it wrong.
Dad wrote it on a card.
He used his special pen.
I moved slowly to the kids' table.
My crutches go *tap, tap, tap*, like a little drum.
Mommy Rachel picked up the card.
She crumpled it and dropped it into a glass of water.
My name drifted.
Like it was learning to swim.
"You're not sitting here."
"Why?"
"That table is easier for you."
Easier for who?
I glanced at my cousins.
They were laughing at something I'd never hear.
"But Dad put my name here."
"And I moved it."
My plate went far away, beside the napkin stack and the trash can.
Evan brought me cake.
He's seven, and incredibly brave.
"It's okay…
you can go," I said.
I didn't want him to get in trouble for being kind.
Then I recognized Dad's footsteps.
He stopped.
He looked at the glass.
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What will Dad do when he realizes what happened?
Comment “NEXT” for Part 2.
