4
" I had to admit that Danielle did not look wonderful, although she had probably been quite pretty before she got sick. Her face was small and thin, and her eyes were huge and brown, shaded by long lashes. Her eyes flashed when she spoke. And she smiled a lot.
On the other hand, she was painfully thin. Under her eyes were dark circles. And on her hands and arms were several bruises. Also, even if she hadn’t been wearing the T-shirt, anyone would have known she was nearly bald. She couldn’t hide that with a kerchief.
And I’m sorry to say this, but she looked pretty odd. No matter how prepared you think you are, you don’t expect to see an almost-bald 9-year-old girl. She looked like a little old man. "
― Ann M. Martin , Jessi's Wish (The Baby-Sitters Club, #48)
6
" At long last, Vanessa Pike said hesitantly, “Danielle, I hope you aren’t offended or anything, but … you don’t look like yourself. And it isn’t just because of your hair. I mean, you’re so thin …”
Then I understood why the older kids seemed afraid. They were afraid for Danielle. She didn’t look the way she’d looked at the end of the last school year. The kids were comparing the Danielle who sat in front of them to their memories of a healthy Danielle.
The 3rd graders couldn’t do that, since this was the first time they’d met her. To them, she was a curiosity and not much more. To the others, she was a friend who was obviously sick. "
― Ann M. Martin , Jessi's Wish (The Baby-Sitters Club, #48)
9
" Becca and Danielle looked at each other joyously. What a pair they made: Becca, dark-skinned, shorter and chunkier than Danielle, wearing a flashy pair of jams, her thick hair arranged in ponytails; and Danielle, still pale, with the shape of a bean pole, wearing droopy jeans and her even droopier "BALD IS BEAUTIFUL" T-shirt, a blue-and-green scarf not really hiding her almost bald head. "
― Ann M. Martin , Jessi's Wish (The Baby-Sitters Club, #48)
10
" Dawn’s afternoons at the Baker Institute for physically disabled kids sounded fascinating. She rode to Stamford in a specially equipped van with four children from Stoneybrook who went to Baker for physical therapy, classes in the arts, and a chance to make new friends.
The bus driver was a woman who was going to college to learn to be a physical therapist. She drove the bus to earn some extra money, but the kids were more than just a job to her. She really enjoyed being with them.
“Candace is so funny,” Dawn told me. “She jokes around with the kids, and they love her. She treats all of them the way you’d treat kids who aren’t in wheelchairs or wearing braces. She’ll say to them, ‘Hurry up! I haven’t got all day,’ and the kids just giggle. Most people tiptoe around the kids like they’re going to break. And never mention their braces or anything. But if a friend of yours got new clothes, you’d make a comment, right? So if a kid gets on the bus with decorations all over the back of his wheelchair, Candace will say, ‘Your chair looks great today! I think you should go into business as a decorator. "
― Ann M. Martin , Jessi's Wish (The Baby-Sitters Club, #48)
11
" But when Danielle thinks of the future, she thinks of fifth grade, maybe sixth grade. She wishes to be able to graduate from Stoneybrook Elementary. When Kendra thinks of the future, she thinks of college, of being an adult, of becoming a writer. Kendra has a future. Danielle has a future, too, of course, but hers is much more uncertain. "
― Ann M. Martin , Jessi's Wish (The Baby-Sitters Club, #48)
13
" On Tuesday, I saw Danielle at the Kids Club meeting. Her return was triumphant. She showed up with presents for everyone. Each member of the Kids Club, except Becca and Charlotte, got a Mickey Mouse sticker.
Danielle had chosen special presents for Becca, Charlotte, Mr. Katz, and me. For Becca, a Donald Duck T-shirt. For Charlotte, a book about Disney World. For Mr. Katz, mouse ears with “Mr. K.” written on the back. And for me, a delicate silver necklace in the shape of a star.
“It’s a wishing star,” Danielle told me. “Because you helped make one of my wishes come true. I’ll never forget that. "
― Ann M. Martin , Jessi's Wish (The Baby-Sitters Club, #48)
