Free 13 Gifts by Wendy Mass

hall to watch the action outside the bathroom window. The backyard is filling up quickly with partygoers of all ages, crowding onto the patio. I watch as a boy with black curls and a pretty blond girl walk in together. Seeing the top of their contrasting heads isn’t what catches my eye, though. It’s the fact that they’re wearing what look like chalkboards around their necks. Sure enough, a few seconds later the girl yanks hers a bit to the side, picks up the end of a long string attached to the top, and begins writing. I can’t see the chalk from here, but I can see the white words beginning to appear on the board.
    The boy reads it, nods, and scribbles something on his own board in response. None of the other kids around them seem the least bit fazed by their behavior. I don’t get it. Are they not able to talk, like, they’re mute from some traumatic experience? That’s so sad. I watch for a few more minutes until Emily joins me in the bathroom.
    “You ready to go downstairs? I’m sure people are looking for you. You’re the guest of honor after all.”
    I shake my head. I honestly don’t think I can go down there. I don’t even think if I’m dressed right for a barbeque in Willow Falls.
    She leans over, pinches my cheeks (hard), and fluffs my hair. I stare at her. “What was that for?”
    “My mom does that when I’m about to do something social. ‘Gotta have pink in your cheeks!’ ” Emily’s imitation of her mom is spot on. Then in her normal voice she says, “Um, do you have anything more, I don’t know,
colorful
to wear?”
    For the second time this morning, I look down at my outfit. Black shorts, brown T-shirt, brown and tan striped sneakers. I shake my head. “This is pretty much as colorful as I get. I probably shouldn’t go down there. You know, dressed like this. And your clothes would be too small so don’t even offer.”
    She sighs dramatically. “You’re
going.
Remember, I got out of camp because I promised to help you acclimate. Now let’s go down there and acclimate!”
    “I don’t know what that means,” I say, trying to stall.
    She rolls her eyes. “It means mingle. Adjust to the new environment.”
    I sigh and grudgingly follow her downstairs. I stumble a little as we near the back door and the noise filters in from the party. A little voice in my heads whispers, “Just smile and nod and it’ll be over before you know it.” It takes a second to realize that little voice is actually Emily whispering in my ear.
    So I put on a smile and start nodding as we step out onto the patio.
    “Maybe skip the nodding,” Emily whispers. “You look like a bobblehead.”
    I stop the nodding.
    Emily immediately heads over to two girls, dragging me along by the elbow. “These are my friends, Emily C and Emily B.”
    The Emilys say hello in unison. I wonder if they practice that or if it comes naturally if you have the same name as someone. I’ve never met another Tara before, so I wouldn’t know.
    “So let me guess,” I ask my cousin, “you’re Emily S?”
    Emily shakes her head. “No, silly. I’m Emily A.”
    “But your last name starts with an
S.”
    Emily C leans over like she’s telling me a secret and says, “It’s about class rank, not last names.”
    Emily B adds, “We’re not supposed to talk about class rank. Our school is all about fostering a sense of self-worth in a noncompetitive environment.”
    “We don’t think that accurately reflects the real world, do you?” Emily A asks me.
    “Um, no?” It must have been the right answer because all the Emilys nod in approval. B and C excuse themselves andhead off to the soda table as the boy and girl I saw earlier wearing the blackboards come over. Up close I see that the girl has a lot of freckles and her blond hair is a little puffy. She keeps trying to smooth it down with her hand. I expect them to start writing on their boards, but to my surprise, the girl turns to me and says, “Hi! I’m Amanda!”
    Okay,