parents.

“Of course we love Beezus,” said Mrs.

Quimby. “We love you both.”

“You love her more,” said Ramona. “A

whole lot more.” She felt better for having

said the words, getting them off her chest,

141

as grown-ups would say.

“Love isn’t like a cup of sugar that gets

used up,” said Mrs. Quimby.“There is enough

to go around. Loving Beezus doesn’t mean

we don’t have enough love left for you.”

“You don’t laugh at Beezus all the time,”

said Ramona.

“They used to,” said Beezus, who was

unable to stay away from this family discus-

sion. “They always laughed at the funny

things I did, and it used to make me mad.”

Ramona sniffed and waited for Beezus to

continue.

Beezus was serious. “Like the time when

I was about your age and thought frankin-

cense and myrrh were something the three

Wise Men were bringing to the baby Jesus

to put on his rash like that stuff Mom used

on you when you were a baby. Mom and

Dad laughed, and Mom told all her friends,

and they laughed too.”

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“Oh, dear,” said Mrs. Quimby. “I had no idea I upset you that much.”

“Well, you did,” said Beezus, still grumpy

over the memory. “And there was the time

I thought toilet water was water out of the

toilet.You practically had hysterics.”

“Now you’re exaggerating,” said Mrs.

Quimby.

Comforted by this unexpected support

from her sister, Ramona scrubbed her face

with her soggy Kleenex.“Mama, if you really

do love me, why do I have to go to school?”

At the same time she wondered how she

could find out what frankincense and myrrh

were without letting anyone know of her

ignorance. She had always thought in a

vague sort of way that they were something

expensive like perfume and whiskey done

up in an extra-fancy Christmas wrapping.

“Ramona, everyone has to go to school,”

Mrs. Quimby answered. “Loving you has

143

nothing to do with it.”

“Then why can’t I be in the other first

grade, the one in Room Two?” Ramona

asked. “Mrs. Griggs doesn’t like me.”

“Of course she likes you,” contradicted

Mrs. Quimby.

“No, she doesn’t,” said Ramona. “If she

liked me, she wouldn’t make me tell Susan

in front of the whole class that I was sorry I scrunched her owl, and she would ask me to

lead the Pledge Allegiance.And she wouldn’t

say bad things about me on my progress

report.”

“I told you Mrs. Griggs was great on

apologies,” Beezus reminded her family.

“And she will get around to asking Ramona

to lead the flag salute. She asks everybody.”

“But Beezus, you got along with Mrs.

Griggs when you had her,” said Mrs. Quimby.

“I guess so,” said Beezus. “She wasn’t my

favorite teacher, though.”

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“What was wrong with her?” asked Mrs.

Quimby.

“There wasn’t anything really wrong with

her, I guess,” answered Beezus. “She just

wasn’t very exciting is all. She wasn’t mean or anything like that. We just seemed to go