(Excerpt from Allisen's Notebooks: The Prequel)
First Plane Ride
About a month before I turned six, I officially started first grade. Not much changed— I still stayed at home with Mom, Mirisen, and Harrisson, doing my workbooks and sometimes a fun craft or activity. But I felt really cool to finally be in an actual grade, like Jefferson.
A few weeks later, I got some very exciting news. We were going to visit Nana and Gramps for my sixth birthday! They lived in Colorado, which was very far away, so we didn’t get to see them very often. But I still remembered them from when we’d driven to their house for Christmas the year before. Nana was fun and always made time to play stuffed animals with me. Gramps usually had candy in his pockets, and always let me have a piece when I asked. Also, they had a dog named Tinker and a cat named Lola.
“When are we going to leave?” I asked, bouncing up and down.
“We’re leaving on Wednesday night,” Dad explained. “The night before your birthday.”
“Which is awesome, because it means I get to skip two days of school!” Jefferson added, pumping his fist in the air.
“How many stuffed animals can I bring?” I asked. Last time, even though I’d wanted to bring my fourteen favorites, Mom and Dad had made me choose four.
“Hmmm… probably just one,” said Dad.
“One?” I whined. “But last time I got to bring four!”
“Well, last time we had more room, because we took the van,” said Dad. “This time, we’re going in an airplane.”
My eyes grew wide. I’d never been in an airplane before, except once when I was a baby, which I didn’t remember. “We get to go in an airplane?” I exclaimed. “A real live airplane?”
Mom and Dad both laughed. “A real live airplane,” Mom confirmed.
“Mirisen!” I shrieked, grabbing her by the hands and spinning her around. “We get to go in a real live airplane!”
“What about Goldie?” Jefferson asked. “How are we going to bring her along? Does she get her own seat in the plane or what?”
“We’re not bringing Goldie,” Mom told him. “Or Sniffer or Leelee. They’ll all be staying home, and Auntie Diana will be coming over to take care of them.”
“What?!” shouted Jefferson. “But Goldie’s my dog! She can’t stay home without me!”
“Goldie will be fine,” said Dad. “Auntie Diana will take very good care of her. And we’re only going to be away for four days.”
That night, I had trouble falling asleep. I was so excited about our trip, which was just three days away. I laid awake in bed long after my parents tucked me in, long after Mirisen fell asleep on the other side of the room, even long after my Billy Joel CD ended. I was thinking about all the fun things we’d do when we got to Michigan, and imagining what it would be like to ride in a plane.
Eventually I realized I needed to go to the bathroom, so I got up and walked down the hall. I stopped when I heard interesting words coming out of my parents’ room.
“…Jefferson about the party,” Dad was saying. “I mean, he’s twelve years old. He knows how to keep a secret.”
“I’m only worried about him accidentally letting something slip in front of the girls,” said Mom.
“I don’t think he will,” said Dad. “And even if he does, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“What’s the worst that could happen?! Daniel, it’s a surprise party!”
My mouth fell open, and I started to get that excited feeling in my body just like I did when I first found out we were going to visit Nana and Gramps. A surprise party? For my birthday? This was going to be even more fun than I’d thought!
It was really hard to keep the secret over the next couple days. I almost spoiled it several times, but I always caught myself just in time. The party was supposed to be a surprise, after all, and I was worried that if they knew I already knew about it, they’d just cancel it altogether.
Finally, the day came, and we got to go on an airplane! I got a window seat, with Mom next to me, Harrisson in her lap. Across the aisle, Mirisen had the window seat, with Jefferson next to her and Dad next to him. I watched with wide eyes as everything on the ground started getting farther and farther away, as we went up, up, up, right into the clouds.
The ride was long, but it was fun looking out the window, and playing spelling games with Mom, and listening as she read books to Harrisson and me. I also got to order a drink (I chose apple juice) and eat some Goldfish that the flight attendant gave me. Finally, we landed, and got off the plane into a new airport.
And there were Nana and Gramps, waiting for us! “We missed you guys so much!” Nana exclaimed, giving us all big hugs.
They drove us to their house, where we said hi to the pets, and then went right to bed, because it was super late. I was sleeping in one of the guest rooms with Jefferson and Mirisen, and since the bed was extra-big, we were all laying in it together, with Mirisen in the middle. I was so excited I kept bouncing up and down on my back. Tomorrow was my BIRTHDAY!
“Will you cut it out?” said Jefferson, annoyed as I kept bouncing.
I stopped for a little while, then started up again.
“STOP!” Jefferson whined.
“I like it,” said Mirisen. “I’m going up and down, up and down.”
“It’s annoying,” Jefferson complained.
“Sorry,” I apologized. Then, I didn’t even mean to, but I started bouncing again. I realized I was doing it this time and stopped on my own. “I’m just too excited about tomorrow.”
“Your birthday’s not that exciting,” said Jefferson.
“Yes it is!” I argued. I thought for a moment. Jefferson and Mirisen and I were the only ones in the room. All the grown-ups couldn’t hear us. I lowered my voice to a whisper anyway, just in case. “You guys wanna know a secret?”
“Ooooh!” said Mirisen. “Yes!”
“We’re having a surprise party for me tomorrow. Don’t tell anyone.”
Jefferson snorted. “It’s not really a surprise if you already know about it.”
“I’m not supposed to know about it. I just heard Mommy and Daddy talking about it.”
“Hah. That’s actually pretty funny. You’re like a top-secret spy.”
I smiled. Top-secret spy who was about to have the best birthday ever.
First Plane Ride
About a month before I turned six, I officially started first grade. Not much changed— I still stayed at home with Mom, Mirisen, and Harrisson, doing my workbooks and sometimes a fun craft or activity. But I felt really cool to finally be in an actual grade, like Jefferson.
A few weeks later, I got some very exciting news. We were going to visit Nana and Gramps for my sixth birthday! They lived in Colorado, which was very far away, so we didn’t get to see them very often. But I still remembered them from when we’d driven to their house for Christmas the year before. Nana was fun and always made time to play stuffed animals with me. Gramps usually had candy in his pockets, and always let me have a piece when I asked. Also, they had a dog named Tinker and a cat named Lola.
“When are we going to leave?” I asked, bouncing up and down.
“We’re leaving on Wednesday night,” Dad explained. “The night before your birthday.”
“Which is awesome, because it means I get to skip two days of school!” Jefferson added, pumping his fist in the air.
“How many stuffed animals can I bring?” I asked. Last time, even though I’d wanted to bring my fourteen favorites, Mom and Dad had made me choose four.
“Hmmm… probably just one,” said Dad.
“One?” I whined. “But last time I got to bring four!”
“Well, last time we had more room, because we took the van,” said Dad. “This time, we’re going in an airplane.”
My eyes grew wide. I’d never been in an airplane before, except once when I was a baby, which I didn’t remember. “We get to go in an airplane?” I exclaimed. “A real live airplane?”
Mom and Dad both laughed. “A real live airplane,” Mom confirmed.
“Mirisen!” I shrieked, grabbing her by the hands and spinning her around. “We get to go in a real live airplane!”
“What about Goldie?” Jefferson asked. “How are we going to bring her along? Does she get her own seat in the plane or what?”
“We’re not bringing Goldie,” Mom told him. “Or Sniffer or Leelee. They’ll all be staying home, and Auntie Diana will be coming over to take care of them.”
“What?!” shouted Jefferson. “But Goldie’s my dog! She can’t stay home without me!”
“Goldie will be fine,” said Dad. “Auntie Diana will take very good care of her. And we’re only going to be away for four days.”
That night, I had trouble falling asleep. I was so excited about our trip, which was just three days away. I laid awake in bed long after my parents tucked me in, long after Mirisen fell asleep on the other side of the room, even long after my Billy Joel CD ended. I was thinking about all the fun things we’d do when we got to Michigan, and imagining what it would be like to ride in a plane.
Eventually I realized I needed to go to the bathroom, so I got up and walked down the hall. I stopped when I heard interesting words coming out of my parents’ room.
“…Jefferson about the party,” Dad was saying. “I mean, he’s twelve years old. He knows how to keep a secret.”
“I’m only worried about him accidentally letting something slip in front of the girls,” said Mom.
“I don’t think he will,” said Dad. “And even if he does, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“What’s the worst that could happen?! Daniel, it’s a surprise party!”
My mouth fell open, and I started to get that excited feeling in my body just like I did when I first found out we were going to visit Nana and Gramps. A surprise party? For my birthday? This was going to be even more fun than I’d thought!
It was really hard to keep the secret over the next couple days. I almost spoiled it several times, but I always caught myself just in time. The party was supposed to be a surprise, after all, and I was worried that if they knew I already knew about it, they’d just cancel it altogether.
Finally, the day came, and we got to go on an airplane! I got a window seat, with Mom next to me, Harrisson in her lap. Across the aisle, Mirisen had the window seat, with Jefferson next to her and Dad next to him. I watched with wide eyes as everything on the ground started getting farther and farther away, as we went up, up, up, right into the clouds.
The ride was long, but it was fun looking out the window, and playing spelling games with Mom, and listening as she read books to Harrisson and me. I also got to order a drink (I chose apple juice) and eat some Goldfish that the flight attendant gave me. Finally, we landed, and got off the plane into a new airport.
And there were Nana and Gramps, waiting for us! “We missed you guys so much!” Nana exclaimed, giving us all big hugs.
They drove us to their house, where we said hi to the pets, and then went right to bed, because it was super late. I was sleeping in one of the guest rooms with Jefferson and Mirisen, and since the bed was extra-big, we were all laying in it together, with Mirisen in the middle. I was so excited I kept bouncing up and down on my back. Tomorrow was my BIRTHDAY!
“Will you cut it out?” said Jefferson, annoyed as I kept bouncing.
I stopped for a little while, then started up again.
“STOP!” Jefferson whined.
“I like it,” said Mirisen. “I’m going up and down, up and down.”
“It’s annoying,” Jefferson complained.
“Sorry,” I apologized. Then, I didn’t even mean to, but I started bouncing again. I realized I was doing it this time and stopped on my own. “I’m just too excited about tomorrow.”
“Your birthday’s not that exciting,” said Jefferson.
“Yes it is!” I argued. I thought for a moment. Jefferson and Mirisen and I were the only ones in the room. All the grown-ups couldn’t hear us. I lowered my voice to a whisper anyway, just in case. “You guys wanna know a secret?”
“Ooooh!” said Mirisen. “Yes!”
“We’re having a surprise party for me tomorrow. Don’t tell anyone.”
Jefferson snorted. “It’s not really a surprise if you already know about it.”
“I’m not supposed to know about it. I just heard Mommy and Daddy talking about it.”
“Hah. That’s actually pretty funny. You’re like a top-secret spy.”
I smiled. Top-secret spy who was about to have the best birthday ever.
