how a language works.”

But Everything She Is Saying Is Just Making It Even Worse

“I get it!” Lizard says,

and she’s shouting now.

“I get that you think this was dumb.

I get that you think this was worthless.

I get that you never wanted

Bumble to be friends with me anyway.

I get that you’re probably thrilled

she’s best friends with Zoey now.

Once someone gets something,

you don’t have to keep saying it

over and over and over again.

I GET IT!”

Lizard Storms Out the Door

I run after her.

I have to tell her

that I hate my mom now

for making my best friend cry.

I have to tell her

that I’m proud she and I

tried to save a dying language,

even if this was as pointless

as my mom said it was.

Maybe my mother’s work

is pointless, too.

After all,

when a language is lost,

it’s lost.

Who cares

what a dead language was like

when it was living?

What I Can’t Help Believing

Pointless things

can still be worth doing.

Sometimes the point

is just how hard

you tried to do them.

Even if nobody else cared,

sometimes the point

is just how much

you cared.

There are so many things

I need to tell Lizard

if I can find the words

to say them.

When I Catch Up with Lizard

She leaps in before I can say

a single thing.

“You’re the one who said,

Let’s make this a surprise.

You’re the one who said,

Let’s make a club.

You’re the one who told me

about dying languages in the first place.

You knew all along how horrible

this was going to be.

And you let me

do it anyway.

So I hope

you’re happy now!

I hope you like being a dumb

extra flower in a dumb play!

I hope you like baking dumb

pies with dumb Zoey!

I hope you enjoy the dumb

rest of your dumb life!”

When she runs away this time,

I don’t try to follow her.

When a language is lost,

it’s lost.

Once a friendship is lost,

I guess it’s lost, too.

Needless to Say

My mother spends the evening in her room, alone.

I spend the evening in my room, alone.

When I hear Dad’s ringtone through her closed door,

she doesn’t answer it.

When I hear his ringtone on my cell phone,

I don’t answer it, either.

When he texts me,

“Is everything okay, honey?”

I don’t text back.

When he leaves a voicemail,

“Please call, sweetie,”

I turn off my phone instead.

Sometimes you’re too sad

even to talk to the person

who might make you less sad.

Tonight

is one of those

times.

When I Wake Up the Next Day

My mom is still in her room.

I tap softly on her door,