Traci and Marilyn are in fifth grade and are best friends.
They are in Miss Wichelman’s class who makes it comfortable and seem like home.
There is a class guinea pig named Pinky. Miss Wichelman made the class believe
that they could be anything they wanted to be. Marilyn wanted to be a
pianist-she took lessons every week-Traci loved to listen-Traci did not know
what she wanted to be-all she knew that helping others made her feel warm
inside. Miss Wichelman kept a basket of lemons on her desk and almost everyday
just as the last bell was about to ring she would say “And if life hands you a
lemon or two today-and you all know how sour lemons are-just add water and
sugar and what do you have?” Everyone would make a face and reply back
“Lemonade!” Traci and Marilyn stayed
after school one day to help Miss Wichelman put up career day posters-She
pinned up a picture of a doctor and stated that she once wished to become a
doctor-she even took pre-med courses-but she discovered she being a teacher was
important to her. Walking home from school older girls were teasing Traci and
Marilyn. They made fun of Marilyn’s weight and she cried out that she would do
anything to be thin. As weeks passed and school went on, Marilyn began dropping
weight and she looked great. The other kids even stopped teasing her. One
afternoon when the girls were planting flowers Marilyn collapsed. She said she
was extremely tired. Traci new something was wrong so she went to get her
mother. Marilyn did not come to school
from that day on. Traci knew why. Marilyn’s mother came over one night crying
and broke the news to Traci’s mom. The next day in class Miss Wichelman made
the announcement to the class. Marilyn has Leukemia. Marilyn must undergo
cancer treatments, chemotherapy. As days
passed Miss Wichelman and Traci were regular visitors at Marilyn’s house. She
began to loose all of her hair. She had some days that were good and others
that were not-so-good. On a not-so-good day Miss Wichelman stopped by for a
visit with a Mozart CD. Marilyn was extremely sad and stated that she could
never play the piano again because of how weak she was and how her arms were
all bruised and poked from the hospital.
Miss Wichelman told the girls she was getting married and she wanted the
both of them at her wedding wearing bight lemon yellow dresses. This was a
secret though. It was Monday morning and
Marilyn’s first day back to class. Everyone had a surprise for her. When she
entered the classroom everyone was wearing a funny hat and there was a cake on
Miss Wichelman’s desk. Traci pulled off her funny hat and then everyone else
followed. Everyone was bald! Each child
had shaved their heads. Even Miss Wichelman. But she seemed somewhat sad.
School went back to its normal routine and Marilyn completed her last round of
chemo. Everyones hair was starting to grow back even Marilyn’s. Traci, Marilyn,
and Miss Wichelman had become very close and they called themselves “The
Lemonade Club”. Every week they would meet and talk and read poetry. One day a
student asked Miss Wichelman why she still wore her scarf. She sadly looked out
the window and Traci knew something was wrong. She called for an emergency
meeting. Marilyn was the first to speak under the old elm tree where they met.
She asked if Miss Wichelman had cancer too. And she admitted to having breast
cancer and she was almost done with chemotherapy but she will eventually need
to have surgery. Miss Wichelman admitted
that she wanted to help children like Marilyn so she applied to Stanford
Medical School. But she discouraged herself. The girls repeated the words that
Miss Wichelman had always told them “If you can dream it, you can BE it”. Five
years later, Miss Wichelman’s class attended her wedding. Marilyn and Traci
were in her wedding wearing the bright yellow dresses they had talked about one
time. Dr. Cynthia Wichelman became the wife of Dr. Warren Gish. When I continued reading on to the last few
pages I saw that this is indeed a true story.
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