I reach down and twist the power dial off. “I brought you the paper,” I say.
He plops down beside me. “If you want me to read something in there, you’re just gonna have to read it to me yourself.”
Suddenly my mouth is dry and my nerves are frazzled. “Sure. Right.” I open the paper to the middle and shake it out before clearing my throat. “‘Dear Reader, I’m proud to announce the latest addition to my column,Sweet Pea’s Corner. Sweet Pea is a thirteen-year-old resident ofValentine, Texas, who will be tackling one letter every time this column runs. I think you’ll find her insight to be a welcome addition. And like I’ve always said, wisdom has no age. And with that, I’ll let Sweet Pea introduce herself. Sincerely, Miss Flora Mae.’”
Oscar stands up. “What do you want me to say, Sweet Pea? Good for you? You got your own section in the paper. Big whoop!”
“Will you just wait?” I beg him. “Give me a minute.”
He sits back down. “Well, get on with it.”
I exhale deeply and then let it all out. “‘Dear Readers, Sweet Pea here. First things first: I don’t know everything. There have been plenty of times when I thought I did, and those are usually when I’ve made my biggest mistakes. Mistakes like keeping secrets from the people I love the most and pushing aside the ones who have always been there even when I wasn’t worth being there for. I always thought Miss Flora Mae had all the answers, but one thing I’ve learned from her is that we’re all just doing the best we can with the information we have. Sometimes seeing something from a distance or from a different point of view is all it takes to figure out what you should have seen all along. Like my mom says: we all have our blind spots.
“‘My blind spot? It made me take my best friend for granted. It had me thinking he’d be there for me no matterwhat, even when I treated him like cow dung. So today, before I have any letters to answer, I’d like to take this chance to say: Oscar, with the way I’ve been acting, I’m not worthy of a friend like you, but I’m going to do my best to be the kind of friend who deserves you. I know things are changing between us with lots of new stuff ahead, but the thing I’ve figured out lately is that change doesn’t have to be bad. Change can be an adventure even if it includes eighth grade and JV wrestling. Ready for the Adventure, Sweet Pea.’”
I fold the paper up and set it down between us.
Oscar’s quiet for a long minute.
“Well?” I ask.
“Your own corner, huh?” He smiles. “That’s some real power.”
“I wanted to tell you,” I say. “About helping out Miss Flora Mae. But she swore me to secrecy, and I didn’t realize keeping other people’s secrets would mean keeping so many secrets from you.”
His shoulders slump. “I just missed you, is all. And then I thought you were trading me in for Kiera.” He shakes his head. “I just didn’t get how you could do that after she did the same thing to you.”
“She apologized,” I offer. “And I want to give her a second chance. But she’s no replacement for you. Nobody is.”
“You’re right about that,” he says.
“So you forgive me?” I ask.
“That depends. You promise to never sing in front of my house again?”
“Hey!” I tell him. “Desperate times called for desperate measures.”
He throws his arm over my shoulder. “Yeah,” he says. “I forgive you.”
“You really joined the wrestling team?”
He curls his arm up and flexes. “Turns out I’m pretty great at it. All those years roughhousing with my brothers paid off. And they really need someone in my weight class.”
“Do you like it?” I ask.
“Yeah.” He sounds like he’s surprising even himself. “I really do. Sometimes my brain is spinning so fast I can’t keep up, but when I’m on the wrestling mat, all I can do is concentrate on the person I’m up against. It’s like my brain is just quiet for a little while. It’s pretty cool.” He puffs out his chest a little. “So I guess I’m a jock now.”
I laugh so hard I wheeze. “Well, count me as your number one fan because... we are family,” I belt at the top of my lungs.
He turns to me and holds the paper up as a fake microphone. “Get up everybody and sing!”
“Shut up!” Jorge shouts from the window upstairs.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Dear Sweet Pea
I walk my bike home, and even though it’s too hot to see straight, I feel excited for the first time in a long time about what the future holds, because I know that I’ve got Oscar by my side. And Kiera, too.
