
The Wishing Map is a full-length fantasy that is being posted episodically at this site. To read the previous episode, click here. To read the entire novel, begin here.
Gina and her brother Zack had completely alienated one another. And now they were facing separate disastrous Back to School nights. Alone.
Gina looked for Birdy, her best friend, the minute they arrived, but couldn’t find her. Now she and Dad were at the Minzer High School Registration Table under a banner that said, “Go, Settlers!”
“Sort of a mixed message, isn’t it?” Dad mused.
By the time they reached the classroom of the infamous Biology teacher “Mr. Trip-to-Hell” (Mr. Trippifel), Gina had given up hope of finding Birdy. Dad and Trippifel hit it off, which was annoying, so Gina wandered out into the open quad.
“Hey, Dore. How’s ‘thy husband, thy keeper, thy sovereign?’” shouted Treece Vondermeuller, referring to Gina’s massive meltdown at Middleton Middle School last spring. Treece had never forgiven Gina for not getting sick so she could take over the lead role in The Taming of the Shrew.
A swirling eddy of guffaws began to build around Gina.
“Dude, that was wicked weird!” said Lexi Beckler. “Why didn’t you just get off the stage?”
“She did, she said, ‘Thanky!’” chortled Travis Mellon, who’d had a crush on Gina since God said, “Let there be light.”
More people, more guffaws.
Gina melted Travis with a look-laser. And then, with all the verbal firepower she could muster, she started blasting: “Actually, I’d quite forgotten about that. I’d also forgotten how caught up all of you are in your petty little existences here. Personally, I’ve got a destiny to fulfill, and it’s not in Middleton, it’s in a whole other world! But you wouldn’t know about that, would you?” (She knew she should stop, but some alternate reality version of herself had taken over.) “Because you don’t have anything better to do with your insignificant little lives than hang out here in Podunkville. Frankly, I feel sorry for you because—”
“Hail, Queen Gina!” a familiar voice shouted.
Gina whirled around, too shocked to reply.
“Hah-hah-hah-hah!” Birdy continued. “What an ego freak, huh? Gina did that visiting royalty bit at Middleton Mall yesterday, and they were all, ‘Oh, sorry, your highness!’ and ‘Yes, your majesty!’ It was a total shrieker! We told everyone she was this princess from—where was it?” Birdy shot Gina a look.
“Um, Princess J’nah of Frenga?”
“Yeah, right! Totally hilarious!”
Birdy had just thrown Gina a life preserver. Now she went on, blasting, snorting, and hooting until snot came out of her petite little nose! And then, as Gina watched in wonder, her best friend diffused the bomb like a world-class demolitions expert:
“I totally fell into these college guys’ potato salad at the beach in California this summer! They were so cool about it; they even wanted to help clean me off — in my bikini! Hey, Treece, “remember when your top came off at Wild Waters last month. Wow! That must have been crazy, huh?”
Treece looked like one of those old cat clocks, frozen plastic with only her eyes moving back and forth.
The crowd was laughing uncontrollably now.
“Yeah!” Treece screeched. “I guess we all have embarrassing stories, huh? Well, gotta go!”
As the crowd dissipated, Gina whispered, “Where did you learn that, Birdy?”
“Sunday School.”
“Huh?”
“You know, ‘Let the one who is without sin throw the first stone?” Listen, Gee, I don’t know what you’re looking for, but you’d better find it soon.”
Birdy stared into Gina’s eyes, forcing her to focus. And then she dropped the bomb: “We’re moving to California in two weeks. My dad’s gonna be partner in some medical group there, which means I have to spend the rest of my life with a bunch of stuck-up So-Calies. So can you please be real just for once!” Birdy’s sun-freckled cheeks were streaked with tears.
Stunned, Gina embraced her soon-to-be-gone-forever best friend.
Now she really was alone.
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Thoughts: Have you ever so alienated yourself from others that you felt completely alone in the world?

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