Ann Martin - Jessi's Wish

So must Mr. Katz. He was leaning against the teacher's desk, flipping through some sheets of paper. He didn't even notice when the sneaker sailed across the room and smacked into the blackboard behind him. Were the kids in the Kids Club always this wild? Becca had never said anything about that. On the other hand, maybe she'd never noticed.

I approached Mr. Katz. "Hi," I said.

He looked up quickly. "Jessi. Hi. I'm glad you're here. Welcome to . . ." (he glanced around the wild room) "... the Kids Club. Don't worry. They won't be this zooey all afternoon. They just need to let off some steam before we start. It's been a long.day."

I nodded. (I understood why Becca liked Mr. Katz so much.)

Mr. Katz let the kids run around for about five more minutes. Then he clapped his hands and called, "Okay!"

That was all it took.

Every single kid in the room stopped what-

ever he or she was doing and scrambled for a spot on the floor. (The desks had been pushed against the wall in one corner of the room, and the kids crowded into this space.)

What was I supposed to do? Sit with the children? Stand with Mr. Katz?

Mr. Katz answered the questions for me. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Okay, everybody. Settle down. I'm glad you came this afternoon. As you know, Ms. Simon is out of town for awhile. She hopes to be back in a month or so. Meanwhile, something fortunate has happened. I want you to meet Jessi Ramsey. This is Becca's sister. She's offered to give us a hand until Ms. Simon returns. Jessi will be here to answer questions and to do anything Ms. Simon would have done — except drive our van." (The kids giggled.)

Mr. Katz turned to me. "Jessi, I expect you know a lot of the kids here. In case you see some unfamiliar faces, though, I'm going to ask everyone to introduce himself or herself to you."

The children took turns saying their names aloud. (When it was Becca's turn, she giggled and said, "I'm your sister. I think you know me.")

Then Mr. Katz got down to business. He picked up the papers he'd been looking through a few moments before. "Guess

what/' he said. "You guys got some mail."

The kids, who were already paying attention, seemed to perk up even more. . "Who'd we get mail from?" asked Nicky Pike.

"I'll read one of the letters to you. You can see for yourselves," replied Mr. Katz. He sorted through the papers, chose one, and read, " 'Dear Kids Club, Thank you for the great toys. They are great. We are having a great time with them. Sometimes the nurses let us choose a toy from the playroom and bring it to our room for the night. That is great! I always choose the panda bear. Thank you. Sincerely, John/ "

"The kids at the hospital!" exclaimed Charlotte Johanssen. She had raised her hand (and she left it raised while she spoke), but she hadn't waited to be called on, Mr. Katz didn't seem to care. "The kids got the toys. I guess they like them," continued Charlotte.

"Read some more letters!" called out a boy whose name (I thought) was Bruce.

"Okay." Mr. Katz shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Let's see. Here we go. 'Dear Kids Club, Hi! I broke my arm. I broke it playing football with my brothers. It wasn't their fault, though. Thank you very much for sending the toys. I only have to stay in the hospital for a few days. But I really appreciate

the toys. They help pass the time. Love, Abbie.' "

"Abbie!" cried Nicky. "You mean a girl was playing football?"

"Girls can play football, too," said Vanessa.

Mr. Katz ignored this. "Here's an interesting letter," he said. " 'Dear Kids Club, Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the wonderful toys. We really needed them. I feel like I have been in this hospital all my life! But guess what. The chemo is working. I can come home soon. I look funny, but I don't care. I can't wait to go back to school. Honest! I used to love being absent from school. Now I hope I never have to miss another day. We have Nintendo at the hospital. And a VCR. The video lady brings good movies. Oh! I should tell you what my favorite new toy is. Well, it's not really a toy. It's the art supplies that Wither-spoon's donated. I have been making jewelry. I wasn't going to mention this, but I decided maybe I should warn you. The chemo made most of my hair fall out. Don't worry. I won't make you look at a bald head. I'll get a scarf or a wig. I can't wait to see you. Thanks again! Love . . .' " Mr. Katz paused.

The room was silent.

Finally someone whispered, "Danielle?"

Mr. Katz nodded.

Becca's eyes met mine. I thought she might

cry. Instead she said slowly, "Those kids sound like they need pen pals. We better read the rest of the letters."

Mr. Katz smiled at her. "Is that going to be your next project?"

The kids still looked a little stunned. After a few moments, Vanessa raised her hand.

"Yes?" said Mr. Katz.

"I thought we were going to pick up litter."

"Gross," said Bruce. "We just cleaned up that place for the park. I'm tired of trash."

A few kids laughed. The tension eased. Mr. Katz perched himself on the edge of the teacher's desk, so I did the same thing.

Wendy Jervis raised her hand. "Arts and crafts — " she began.

"Wendy!" exclaimed Peter Tiegreen. "Can't you think about something besides art?"

"But we were going to make presents, and the people who deliver Meals on Wheels were going to give them to all the people who can't leave their homes."

The kids turned to Mr. Katz and me. They seemed to be saying, "Help us make up our minds!"

"You do need to decide on a new project," said Mr. Katz.

The children listened to him seriously. I was impressed by how quickly they'd calmed down and by how attentive they were. But

then, that made sense. They weren't at the club meeting because they had to be. They were there because they wanted to be. They liked thinking up new projects, other ways to help people.

"You did a terrific job with the toy drive," Mr. Katz went on. "But it's over now. Well, except for these letters."

Mr. Katz was interrupted by my sister. "Who here has ever been in the hospital?" she asked. (About half the kids raised their hands.) "Wouldn't you have liked to have a pen pal then? Especially if you had to stay in the hospital a really long time . . . like Danielle?"

I wanted to hug my sister. I was so proud of her. But I did just what Mr. Katz was doing, which was waiting for someone to respond to her.

"I think/' spoke up Vanessa Pike, "that we should at least answer those letters. The kids would like to get mail. We liked getting their mail."

"Let's hear another letter," said Charlotte to Mr. Katz.

"All right." He chose one. " 'Dear Kids Club, The toys are so cool! Thank you! I have been in the hospital for almost a month. This is the third time I've been here this year. I have cystic fibrosis. I am always in the hospital. It's hard to make friends here. Kids come and

go. Danielle says she knows you. She's my friend, too. But she's going home soon. She's so lucky.' "

"Lucky?" cried Wendy. "She has leukemia!"

"I guess the hospital is a pretty lonely place/' said Becca pointedly.

I expected Wendy to make a face at my sister. But she just stopped talking.

Mr. Katz finished reading the letter. He placed it on the desk. "You received eleven letters all together," he told the kids.

"And there are sixteen of us," said my sister, taking charge. "So six people can write letters by themselves, and the rest of us will find a partner and answer the letters in teams."

"Let's look at all the letters," said Nicky.

"Why? Are you afraid to write to a girl?" teased Vanessa.

"No," said Nicky so fast that I was sure that was exactly what he'd meant.

Mr. Katz handed the letters around, and the kids read them eagerly.