Wish #1: The Wish Journal Series

NOTE: This series chronicles the wishes Tina writes in the Wish Journal she received from her aunt when she turned 13. To better understand Tina's character, be sure to read her other wishes in chronological order.

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It was a beautiful brown leather journal with silver studs on the cover. It was so beautiful that Tina didn't want to write in it. What if she ripped a page? What if she made a mistake and the eraser left smudges? Better not touch anything that beautiful. So it sat in the corner of her desk for weeks, slowly drowning in school papers, library books, and a winter hat that never found its way into closet storage, despite it being the end of April.

Then one night, as Tina was agonizing over her math textbook, in the light of the desk lamp, her glassy eyes traveled to the leather-bound spine, which peeked out from behind pages of an old newspaper. Tina was desperate. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she pulled the Wish Journal from the shadows and opened to the first page.

Wish #1:   To pass this math test            

I wish to pass Mrs. Benji's stupid math test. I wish that I could magically understand math and not worry about passing the eighth grade because of stupid numbers. 

I wish that tomorrow, when Mrs. Benji hands me the math test, every light bulb ever will go on in my head and the test will be a breeze. That I was the first person done... and not the last.

I wish that when Mrs. Benji hands back the test, she asks to speak with me because I was the top score... not the bottom. And that she would smile and not make me feel like I've failed her and everyone else.

​I wish that I could understand math so I could make Momma proud and be a good big sister. I wish I didn't have to struggle so much to be average.