11 Birthdays: A Wish Novel

Leo and Amanda meet in the courtyard. Leo complains that the guidance counselor has it is for him; Amanda wonders why he is going to the counselor, but she doesn’t ask. Leo apologizes about the things he said the previous year and tells Amanda that he didn’t mean what he said. He didn’t have fun at his own birthday; he missed Amanda and felt guilty.

They discuss the enchantment, and the moment they both realized that the other was also experiencing it. Leo realized that Amanda was also repeating her day when she didn’t turn up for school the second time their day repeated. Leo suggests that they skip school together the next day; they get a clean slate each day, so there’s no worry that they’ll experience consequences.

Amanda is discouraged when her mother still gets fired from her job. The next morning, Amanda tells her mother that she is sick. To avoid having to do the doctor’s appointment in the middle of the day, Amanda asks her dad to cancel it, and he agrees to. Leo climbs up the tree and arrives at her window. He has withdrawn his life savings—$300—from his bank account for their day of fun.