“Okey-dokey,” said Nancy. “I will come over with my wagon after school.”
Isn’t Nancy the best?
Mountains of Food
We got started as soon as we returned from school the next day. (Actually, first we had a snack with Andrew. We did not tell him about our secret plan. I wanted to surprise him.)
At the Daweses’ house, Nancy rang the bell. Mrs. Dawes answered, holding Nancy’s baby brother, Danny.
“Hello, ma’am,” I said. “We are collecting food for the Family Pantry, to help homeless families. It is a good cause. Will you please donate some packaged or canned goods today?”
I had rehearsed this speech at home. I thought it sounded very professional.
“Certainly,” said Mrs. Dawes. “Hold on a moment.” When she came back, she handed me a small box of rice and two cans of vegetables.
“Thank you very much, ma’am,” I said. I put them in Nancy’s wagon.
“Thank you, Mommy,” said Nancy. “I will be home in a little while.”
After the Daweses’, we went to the next house on the street. The people there also gave us two cans. We were making a great start. Miss Jewel was going to be thrilled.
Nancy and I took turns pulling her wagon. We went to all the neighbors we knew on both sides of our street. Some neighbors gave us several cans or packages of food. Some gave only one. But it was not long before the wagon was so heavy we could hardly pull it.
“Whew,” I said. “This is making my hands hurt.”
“Mine too,” said Nancy. “Do you think we have enough?”
I looked at the wagon. It was piled high with food. Then I looked down the street. There were several more houses we could go to.
“I know,” I said. “Let’s go to my house and drop off this load. Then we can hit the last few houses. And we will be done.”
“Okay,” Nancy agreed. “Boy, will Andrew be surprised.”
“Yes,” I said happily. “I cannot wait to see his face. He will think I am the best big sister ever.”
* * *
At home Mommy was upstairs. We snuck the wagon into the kitchen and began unloading food. We stacked the cans and boxes neatly by the kitchen table.
We were almost finished when we heard the front door slam.
“Mommy! Mommy!” cried Andrew.
Mommy came downstairs. “What’s the matter, honey?”
“I tried to collect my food, but I could not,” said Andrew. “Everyone said they had already given food to Karen.”
Mommy and Andrew came into the kitchen together. I stood up proudly and waved my hand at the huge pile of food we had collected. “Ta-daaa,” I sang.
“Karen, what is this?” asked Mommy. She was frowning.
“It is food,” I said. “Food for Andrew’s class project. Nancy and I have been collecting it all afternoon. We got so much. Miss Jewel will think you are wonderful, Andrew,” I said.
Andrew was staring at me with his mouth open. “Karen!” he shrieked. “How could you? You have ruined everything!”
Now I stared at him. “What do you mean?”
“I went to the Barneses’, the Daweses’, and the Druckers’,” Andrew said angrily. “They had all already given food to you. You ruined it! This was my project! You butted in!”
“Andrew is right, Karen,” said Mommy. “Miss Jewel gave this assignment to Andrew, not to you. It was not fair for you to take over.”
Well, boo and bullfrogs. “I was only trying to help,” I said. “Now Andrew will have the most food.”
“Andrew was not supposed to have the most food,” Mommy explained. “It was important that Andrew do what he could, by himself. You would not like it if someone took over a special project of yours.”
Hmm. Mommy was right. I would not like it.
“I am sorry, Andrew,” I said. “I guess I did not help at all. I did not mean to ruin your project.”
“Andrew, maybe you could take just a few of the food items to school,” Mommy suggested. “Explain to Miss Jewel what happened. Maybe the rest of this food could be a joint gift to the Family Pantry from the whole class. We will probably not be able to return these things to our neighbors.”
I shook my head. I could not remember who had given what.
“I guess,” Andrew said.
I felt bad about butting into Andrew’s project.
“I will tell you what,” I said. “I have been butting into your play too. Would you like to practice being a cat all by yourself?”
He said, “Yes. I will do it myself.”
I was disappointed. “But if you do want my help with your play or your costume, just ask,” I said. “Because you know, I have a lot of experience with plays.”
“I will do it myself,” repeated Andrew.
I knew I would be crushed if Andrew did not want my help with the play.
Dress Rehearsal
Monday went by. Tuesday went by. Andrew did not ask for my help with the play. He practiced by himself in his room. I dropped hints. I talked about plays I had been in. I mentioned how important it was to know your lines.
Wednesday went by. Andrew did not ask for my help. The play was on Saturday. Andrew still did not have his costume together. I felt very nervous. What was he going to do? I could solve his problems in a second. But I had promised not to butt in.
Andrew’s play was practically all I thought about.
The other thing I thought about was a new home for the bunnies. I asked everyone at school, but no one could take them. I made a sign and asked Mommy to take me to Dr. Selwyn’s. She has a bulletin board for people who need to find homes for their pets. I put our phone number on the sign, but no one called.
Andrew and I still played with Spot and Princess all the time. They were getting bigger fast. We were gigundoly careful about watching them. They did not do anything bad.
Finally, finally, on Thursday afternoon, Andrew knocked on my door. (I was on my bed, reading.)
“Karen,” he said. “Will you help me with my costume?”
“Yes!” I shrieked, leaping off my bed. “Thank heavens you asked! I have it all figured out.”
What a relief. I felt that I could breathe again.
* * *
“Andrew,” I said on Friday afternoon. “Time for a final dress rehearsal.”
A dress rehearsal is when you practice your play while wearing your costume.
Andrew changed into his costume and met me in my room. I had given him a pair of my pants. They had tiger stripes all over them. He also wore a yellow sweatshirt that he had painted black stripes on. We had made ears out of construction paper and bobby-pinned them to his hair. For a final touch, we borrowed a makeup pencil from Mommy and drew on a black nose and long black whiskers. He looked great. Just like an orange tabby.
“These are way too big,” Andrew complained, holding up my pants around his waist. “I think I should just wear my sweatpants.”
“No, no, no,” I said. “They are perfect. They just need to be pinned, that’s all.” I scrunched the material in one hand and clipped it with a clothespin. “There!” I said. “Now let’s go over your lines again. Remember your gestures.”
I had thought up all sorts of things Andrew should do, since he was a cat. Even when he was not saying his lines, he could act like a cat.
“Meow,” said Andrew, stretching out on all fours with his bottom up in the air. (I have seen cats do this a million times.)
“Hello, Fluffy,” I read from the play. “It is time to brush your fur.”
Andrew flopped over on his back with his hands and feet in the air while I pretended to brush him.
“Okay, Mommy,” I read, being Peter. (I had jumped ahead in the play.)
“Meow!” Andrew wailed, sounding very hungry.
He crawled on the floor, rubbing against my legs. I petted his head behind his ears. I noticed that the clothespin had slipped off of his pants, and they were very loose around his waist. I quickly repinned them.
>
Andrew (as Fluffy) had one more line. It was after I (being Peter) put his food dish on the floor. Andrew pretended to eat. Then he pretended to wash his paws by licking them. (Cats always do this.) Then he crawled over to my bed and pretended to sharpen his claws on my bedspread.
Finally he pushed his head against my leg. “Meow,” he said, and purred loudly.
I patted his head. “Good boy, Fluffy,” I said.
Our dress rehearsal was over.
“Congratulations, Andrew,” I said. “You were perfect! You will be great in the play tomorrow. Miss Jewel will think you are terrific.”
“Really?” asked Andrew.
“Really,” I promised him. “You are so well prepared, nothing can go wrong.”
On with the Show
“Do you have everything, Andrew?” Mommy asked on Saturday after lunch. “Your costume, your script, your makeup pencil?”
Andrew checked his bag. “Yes, Mommy. I am all ready.”
It was time to leave for Andrew’s school. I was very excited. I could not wait to see what everyone thought of Fluffy. Maybe Andrew would say, “My sister Karen helped me. She has been in many plays.”
Mommy, Seth, Granny, Andrew, and I all got into Seth’s car and fastened our seat belts. I bounced in my seat because I was so excited.
At Andrew’s school, Mommy, Seth, and Granny went to the big all-purpose room where the school program would be. They promised to save me a seat. I went with Andrew to his classroom.
I had been to his classroom before. There is a large display wall with artwork taped to it. There are very small tables and chairs for little kids. There are some bean plants growing by the window. There was an empty gerbil cage where Tommy Joe used to be. A note was taped to the cage. It said, “We still miss you, Tommy Joe.”
“Come on, Andrew,” I said. “Let’s put your costume on.”
All of Andrew’s classmates were getting ready to take part in the program. Some wore costumes, some were practicing their lines. Parents and brothers and sisters helped some kids. Miss Jewel was trying to help everyone at once.
Andrew and I went to a corner of the room. He opened his bag and put on his costume. I helped bobby-pin his cat-ears to his hair. I drew on his black nose and black whiskers.
“You look just like a cat,” I said proudly.
“Wait, Karen,” said Andrew. “I cannot find the clothespin to hold up the pants.”
I looked in the bag. No clothespin. I checked my pockets. No clothespin.
“Do you really need it?” I asked. “The pants almost fit you.”
“No — they are much too big,” said Andrew. “But I will find something to hold them up. Miss Jewel will help me.”
“Karen,” called Seth from the classroom door. “You must take your seat now. The program is about to begin.”
“You will be fine, Andrew,” I said firmly. “Break a leg.” That means good luck. You say it before someone is in a play.
“See you soon,” said Andrew.
All Eyes on Andrew
I sat between Mommy and Granny in the sixth row. There was a tall man in front of me. I had to lean way over to one side to see. There was no stage, but an area was marked off with colored tape.
Miss Jewel came out and explained that they had been studying different kinds of families. Then a bunch of kids (not Andrew) sang a song. They sang that a family was any group of people who lived together and loved each other.
Then one of Andrew’s classmates read a short poem about mothers and fathers.
Miss Jewel came back out and asked people in the audience to name different family members. My hand shot up.
One by one other people said, “Cousin.” “Mother.” “Sister.” “Aunt.” “Uncle.” “Father.”
I said, “Stepfather,” when it was my turn. Then I smiled at Seth. He smiled back.
Someone else said, “Stepmother.” And we went on and on with about a million different family members.
Finally Miss Jewel said, “And now, the children of Class B would like to present a play about families.”
My family and I clapped hard.
Different kids in Andrew’s class played the Mother, Father, Aunt, Uncle, Sister, Brother, Cousin, Grandmother, and Grandfather. I knew everyone’s lines by heart.
Finally Andrew came out, dressed as Fluffy. I noticed that he was holding the waist of my pants with one hand.
Uh-oh. He must not have found a clothespin. Suddenly I had a bad feeling.
Andrew crawled on the floor and said his first line at exactly the right moment. But he had to keep stopping to pull his pants up with one hand. He looked like a cat with a hurt paw.
The play went on. I sat on the very edge of my seat, trying to see.
Andrew said his second line. “Meow!” he practically shouted as Peter fed him.
He ate his food. He washed his paws. Then he crawled over to the table and reached up to sharpen both claws. As he reached up, he let go of the pants. I put my hand over my mouth, but there was nothing I could do.
My tiger-striped pants fell down around Andrew’s knees. Everyone in the whole room could see Andrew’s underpants. His Winnie-the-Pooh ones.
Oh, my land, I thought. Some people giggled. A lady gasped. The kids playing Mommy and Peter laughed out loud. A little girl in the audience shouted, “I see his underwear!”
Andrew dropped back down and pulled up the pants as fast as he could. His face was bright red. His lower lip stuck out. He looked like he was going to cry.
The boy playing Peter finally said, “Good boy, Fluffy.” But he was still giggling.
Andrew growled, “Meow.” He sounded furious.
I knew I was probably in trouble.
* * *
“It was all your fault!” Andrew shouted again.
We were in the car, going home. It is hard to be seat-belted next to someone who is madder at you than he has ever been before.
That is how mad Andrew was.
“You made me wear those stupid pants!” cried Andrew. “I said they were too big! You made me sharpen my claws! You are bossy! I will never listen to you again.”
“I was only trying to help,” I said. I did not point out that he had asked for my help. Sometimes it is better just to be quiet when someone is mad at you. “I am very sorry about … about what happened,” I added.
“I will never listen to you again,” Andrew repeated. He looked out the car window.
I felt very bad. Andrew is my only little brother. I wanted to help him as much as I could. I wanted to be a good big sister. But lately I had not been doing such a great job.
Another Brilliant Idea
“Andrew, I have been thinking,” Granny said once we were back home. “I need some advice about the colors in my needlepoint. Will you help me? You are good with colors.”
“Okay,” said Andrew. He stomped into the den.
“I think I will go to my room,” I said loudly. “I think I need to be alone and think about my bossiness.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” said Mommy. “I will call you in half an hour. I would like your help in making a salad for dinner.”
“Okay,” I said. I went upstairs to my room. I flopped on my bed and put my feet up against the wall. I held Goosie, my stuffed cat.
Usually I do not mean to be bossy, I thought. But sometimes I have so many good ideas, they have to come out. My brain is hardly ever turned off. Ideas and plans are always swirling around inside.
I sighed. Sometimes it is hard being me.
I decided to make a list of how not to be bossy.
I sat at my desk and wrote:
1. Listen to other people.
2. Do not always try to get your way.
3. Do not butt in.
4. Let other people use their own ideas.
That would be a start. Then, all of a sudden, I had a gigundoly brilliant idea. It was about Andrew’s classroom. It was about Spot and Princess. I could solve two problems at onc
e!
See what I mean? I was trying not to butt into Andrew’s business, but my brain just would not listen.
I ran downstairs.
“Mommy! Andrew!” I called. “I have a wonderful idea!”
Andrew came out of the den. “I do not want to hear your wonderful idea,” he said. “I am tired of your ideas.”
“But this is a really good one,” I said.
“What is it, Karen?” asked Mommy.
“Well, today at Andrew’s school I saw Tommy Joe’s empty cage. The class still misses him.”
“So?” said Andrew. He frowned.
“It has been awhile since Tommy Joe died,” I said. “Maybe your class would like … two bunnies!” I looked from Mommy to Andrew to Granny, who had joined us.
“You mean Spot and Princess?” said Granny. “Could they live at Andrew’s school?”
“Yes, they could,” I said. “They even come with a hutch!”
“That is not a bad idea, Karen,” Mommy said slowly. “Andrew, what do you think?”
“I would get to see Spot almost every day,” said Andrew. “I could still play with him and help take care of him.”
“That is true,” said Mommy.
“We could call Miss Jewel right now,” I said. “I bet she will be happy to take our bunnies. I will tell her — ”
“No!” Andrew said. “I will call Miss Jewel. She is my teacher. It is my classroom. And Spot is my rabbit. It was your idea, but I want to be in charge. By myself.”
“Okay, okay,” I said, holding up my hands. “Just let me know what she says.”
“I will get her number for you,” Mommy said. She and Andrew went into the kitchen.
“That was an excellent idea, Karen,” said Granny. She put her arm around my shoulders. “I hope it works out.”
“I do too,” I said.
A Farewell Dinner
Miss Jewel loved the idea. She asked Andrew to tell the class about it on Monday morning. They would vote on whether to take the bunnies.
On Monday afternoon I raced home from the bus stop. I burst through the front door. I ran into the kitchen.