Nina felt like she could fly home. 

Not fly like the dragons on her trading cards.

Float.

Nina felt like the dragonfly that landed on a flower near the high school.

Its black body and bright blue wings were pretty against the stone path.

A dragonfly didn’t worry about much. It just thought about where it would land next. People didn’t scream and run away when they saw a dragonfly. They didn’t swat it away.

It must have been a happy life.

And today, Nina felt like she was a dragonfly.

This morning, she had a stack of trading cards in her backpack.

Now the stack was gone.

She only had one trading card left. It was a special one.

This didn’t worry her. She would make more.

She was the trading card queen.

And this is her story.

Every day after class, Nina walked to the grade school to pick up Ben. She loved her little brother. She didn’t love this chore.

Other kids in tenth grade played on a tennis or soccer team. Maybe Nina could next year. That’s what her mother promised.

Things would get better now. They were safe and had a new home in the United States. Her mom took a second job to help pay Ben’s hospital bills. While her mother was at work, Nina had to watch Ben after school. 

Nina knew better in her heart. Next year, something else would go wrong. Ben might go to the hospital again. If he did, mom would be with him. Then she might lose her job. They would have to move if they didn’t pay the rent.

Something always went wrong. Besides, Nina would never make a team. She didn’t know how to throw, kick, or cheer. 

Sometimes she wished she did! She wished she had friends to walk with in the halls. She wanted to be someone else. Not the new girl from far away. The girl who got her school clothes from Goodwill.

No one was mean to her. She didn’t give them the chance.

She looked away when they looked at her. She walked with her head down in the hall. At lunch, she stayed in the bathroom. If someone came in, she pretended to brush her hair. She didn’t need to eat lunch alone if she stayed there. 

Back in her old hometown, her friends had fun after school. Some worked, and some played a sport. They thought Nina was lucky to move to the United States. She could have a good life. They dreamed of being with Nina. Nina dreamed of being back with them.

Nina moved to the United States at the start of the school year. It had been five weeks. Nina hadn’t met a single friend.

Nina missed her old home. There, she had friends. Now, she felt all alone. She decided not to make friends. She was scared of being turned away.

Ben came out of the school before the rest of his class. This rule was for kids with special needs. They said it would stop him from getting hurt in a big group. Nina thought it was so Ben could feel what it was like to be first.

He ran to her. She could see something was wrong. His body was too tiny for his age. If he could just have the operation he needed. Then his cancer would be gone.

Today, his face was sad. He had red cheeks and a runny nose. He was crying.

“They took my dragon card!” he said.

His tears fell on her faded t-shirt. She wiped his dripping nose. She wiped the soggy cracker crumbs from his shirt.

“Who did?” she asked.

“I did,” a voice said.

She stood to see Ben’s teacher, Mr. Burns. He held the trading card. Nina grabbed it from him. He raised his eyebrows at her anger. She didn’t mean to be rude. She didn’t want it to be gone for good.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault,” she said. “I didn’t know it was against the rules. Please don’t tell our mother.”

“Where did he get the card?” Mr. Burns asked.

Nina looked down at the dragon with its wide, bright green wings.

“I made it for him,” she said.

“He should leave it at home. Everyone in class wanted to have it. It might get lost here.”

Or stolen. He didn’t say that out loud. Still, Nina knew it was the truth.

“I promise it won’t happen again,” she said.

She put the card into her brother’s jacket pocket. He looked up at her like she was a rock star.

Nina had a warm feeling in her belly.

Everyone in class wanted to have it.

Nina felt special. Even if no one knew her name.