Wings of a Bee
A Young Adult Novel
by Julie Roorda

excerpt

    I pulled out the cardboard rolls I'd saved from the last two packages of paper towels.
    "These are our telescopes," I announced.
    "Is she staying?" Alannah asked and gestured uncomfortably toward Carey, who lay on her bed.
    "Sure," I shrugged and handed Alannah one of the telescopes. "We've got to keep an eye out for flying saucers. Tonight's a good night for them," I added.
    Alannah pointed her roll to the window, but every time Carey made a noise, she stopped to look at her. Then Alannah leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Maybe your sister's an alien." Then she added in a regular voice, "You said they had skinny legs."
    At first I felt indignation. I looked at Carey, who was watching us. It was true, her limbs were as thin as skin and bones. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell Alannah that she was stupid, that Carey was thin because she had cerebral palsy, when something else occurred to me. Wouldn't it be interesting if I was related to someone who was perhaps part alien? Carey did possess some remarkable abilities.
    "She can spell, you know," I said. "She could already last year when she was only four. And do you know what? No one ever taught her how. She just knew." It hadn't occurred to me to claim bragging rights to Carey's achievements before. I had finally uncovered a way to draw some of that fanfare and prestige to myself, by sheer proximity. Alannah looked doubtful, so I elbowed her. "It's true. Carey has special powers. Sometimes her wheelchair moves by itself." That's when we saw the lights in the sky. "The telescopes!" I hollered. I grabbed my roll and quickly located the UFO and followed it across the sky. It moved from west to east, where the sky was much darker and its lights seemed to blaze brighter. "It's going to land!" I shrieked.
    "I can't find it," Alannah said, putting her telescope aside.
    "There! There!" It disappeared from our sight heading above the trees of the park toward the tower of the war memorial. "It's landing at the memorial," I said. Alannah looked unconvinced, but decidedly nervous.
    "What's all the noise?" Mom entered the room, which had become quite dim, and flicked on the harsh, overhead light. "Bronwyn! You haven't even started that mattress yet!" She crossed the room and attached the foot pump to the mattress, which was spread out on the floor between the two beds. "I'll start it. You two get changed." We undressed and Alannah took her nightgown from the plastic bag. It was a store-bought one with some sort of cartoon character on the front that was now faded beyond recognition. It was made of that strange synthetic fabric that is sheeny on one side, fuzzy piling on the other. The pile had worn away around the collar and in the armpits where there were threadbare see-through bits. I'd always wanted a nightgown like that. I sighed and pulled on my own plain cotton pyjamas. Alannah gathered her clothes into a ball and put them back into the plastic bag, which she placed carefully at the foot of my bed.
    Scwunch-hiss, scwunch-hiss, Mom stepped on the foot pump in rapid rhythm. "Let me try!" I pushed her away so I could take over. It was a lot more difficult that I thought, but I wasn't about to admit that. Scoo-wunch hiss. Mom slid the quilt out from under Carey and tucked her into bed. Then she went to the hall closet to get a sleeping bag. Scoo-wunch. I decided to take a rest.
    "Do you want the bed or the mattress?" I asked Alannah.
    "The bed," she said.
    How boring, I thought, and was glad.
    "Bronwyn, you have to keep pumping or you'll let the air back out." Mom took over again and pumped it up rapidly while I spread the sleeping bag on top. She pulled off the pump and pushed in the plug, allowing only one short hiss of air to escape. She had the pump in her hand as she pulled down the blind and headed for the door.
    "Can I keep that here?" I asked.
    "Why?" she asked, and tossed it to me without waiting for an answer. I put it beside me, under Carey's bed. Then she flicked off the light and closed the door behind her. There was still some twilight coming in around the edges of the blind, but it was shadowy enough for things to start altering their natures. There was something between the bars of Carey's railing. Was it her hand? I felt too nervous to reach out and check. Lying between the two beds meant I was directly below the window. I couldn't see Alannah up in my bed at all.
    "They've landed by now," I stage-whispered, "at the memorial. They'll start up the street soon. They can float, you know. They don't have to walk."     "What do they look like? Are they the skinny ones?" Alannah asked. I wished I could see her face.
    "They're invisible now. You can't see them. But we'll know when they are here."     "Here?"
    "Shh."
    "Why would they come here?"
I paused dramatically. "Because of Carey." I heard Alannah's sharp intake of breath.