The phone rings and, typically, no one answers. I try my mom’s cell. She doesn’t answer. I call my dad’s cell. He doesn’t answer. Where are they? Why aren’t they answering? What if it was an emergency? My heart is beating so hard and tears are welling up in my eyes. I dial the house again. Beep!
“Mom and Dad, it’s me, MaKayla,” I say. “Cameron and I have been down here for almost a month and you haven’t told us anything. You sent us down here because you’ve been fighting, but you haven’t even told us what’s going to happen. You guys act like we don’t matter! Cam and I matter! I made it to the double Dutch finals and you didn’t even say anything about it. You didn’t even say congratulations! You never come to my double Dutch competitions and you never spend time with Cameron. This isn’t just about you! It’s about us!” I cry. “I’m going to be at Madison Square Garden and if you don’t show up, I will never…”
Beep! “Thank you for your message. Good-bye,” the machine says. Uuuugh! I can’t stop crying. I just want us to be together, a family like Sally’s. Is that so difficult? I lie on the bed, crying and writing like crazy in my diary. I wonder if they’re going to even care about how I feel. I wish I could stop caring, but I just can’t.
—
By morning I feel a little relieved, even though the voice mail cut me off. I don’t even know if they got the message, but for now I have to put my parents in the back of my mind. I have the big double Dutch show, and I don’t want my new team to see my sad side. We are on our way, and I won’t let anything take away how happy I am about it, not even them.
Cameron is driving back with my aunt and uncle and cousins. They would take a flight, but my uncle Larry has a terrible fear of flying. I have no idea how he is an army veteran and still hasn’t gotten over his fear. As for me, our sponsors bought us all first-class tickets and got us a hotel right in the middle of Times Square! As long as I’ve lived in New York, I’ve never stayed in a Manhattan hotel. I guess sponsors are a good thing, because I’m not just going home, I’m going home in style! I’ll also be competing in the double Dutch competition I’ve been dreaming about since I was like eight years old. Now I have a bigger team with crazy costumes, an awesome routine, and the best coaches, and best of all, everyone’s become really good friends. Even Sally and Ivy are cool again, like “peas and carrots,” as they say in the South. I never would have thought I’d be so excited, not in a million years. Well, I shouldn’t get too excited; we still have work to put in at Madison Square Garden.
In the morning, the coaches hurry us to get ready because a bus will be there to pick us up outside the hotel. A bus? We’re only about six blocks from the Garden. Why don’t we just walk? But when we get to the curb, this huge bus pulls up. “Wow!” the whole team says as it stops right in front of us. The bus is covered in a tropical forest theme or something. Ah, sponsors, right! I’m guessing the sponsor logo is for some special water that’s supposed to help us stay hydrated. Cool! When we climb on, we see other teams all ready to jump. I am amazed to see kids from all over the United States. I can’t help but think we look like a can of mixed nuts with sprinkles—all dressed up in fresh gym clothes and anything that sparkles, glitters, or shines. And there are more boys! What? Now, that’s different. But who cares? They all are about to get smoked by the Carolina Fire Jumpers! I’m repping North Carolina. Really?
As we pull away from the curb toward the competition, I wonder if both of my parents are going to be there. I know my aunt and uncle and the boys will be there for Sally, but I don’t know about my family. Will my mom and dad make excuses? And if my parents do show up, will they be together together or just together?
The bus driver clicks on the sound system, and it gets everyone’s attention.
“Welcome to New York City, everyone!” he says, and we all cheer. His heavy New York accent suddenly sounds weird to me. “As I understand it, you guys are on your way to a competition for double Dutch, which, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know existed.” Everyone laughs or boos. How can you live in New York and not know about the biggest double Dutch contest in the world? “Ah, what are you gonna do?” He laughs to himself. “But since I was hired to get you guys to Madison Square Garden safe and sound, I want you to sit back and enjoy the ride.” He clicks off, then clicks on again. “Oh yeah, but I did remember a song from back in the day. I’ll play it for you. It might help you guys get into the mood to jump around.” No, he didn’t. “So
