11 Birthdays: A Wish Novel

Amanda is confused when her alarm goes off (she thinks that it is Saturday morning) and is surprised to see the SpongeBob balloon in the middle of her room—she had put it in the closet the night before. Her sister is getting ready for school, and her mom wishes her a happy birthday, tells her to get dressed for the bus, and mentions her upcoming birthday party that night. Amanda, thinking that they are all tricking her, gets back in to bed. Her mother comes in and tells her to get up. In the kitchen, her dad, who has a cold, hands Amanda her schoolbag, which is heavy, just as it was on Friday morning—even though she remembers putting her books away in her locker at the end of the day.

At the bus stop, Amanda asks Kylie if she is sure that it is her science project under her arm, or whether it is their mom’s project, but Kylie dismisses her concern. The bus arrives; all is as it was the day before, including Stephanie sitting with Ruby, her decorated but jammed locker, and even the detritus on the floor around her locker. Amanda is confused—she wonders whether she dreamed of the events of the day before.