Then we put the when-and-where information

for our organizational club meeting,

which will take place after school on Wednesday

in Ms. Fletcher’s French classroom.

On some posters we put the flag of Guernsey

(a yellow cross on a red cross on a white background).

On some we put a photo of the coast of Guernsey

with a beckoning path.

On some we put a photo of a Guernsey village

with tall houses clustered together by the sea.

“Maybe one of those houses

belongs to our grandparents,”

I say.

“I wish they knew about us,”

Lizard says.

“I wish they knew we were making a club

for them.”

And I say,

“I do, too.”

Saving the Surprise

My mom is supposed to be at the university,

meeting one of her graduate students at three o’clock.

(Yes, she meets with students on weekends.)

So Lizard and I are startled when we hear her voice,

complaining to my father that the student didn’t show up.

“Quick! Hide the posters!”

I shout-whisper to Lizard.

My mom comes into her office

just as Lizard is snatching the last poster

from the printer.

“We’re printing something for a school project,”

I explain quickly.

“What school project?” my mom asks.

(She loves school projects.)

“It’s for social studies.”

Too late, I remember that Lizard and I

aren’t in the same social studies class,

and this is the kind of thing

my mom would remember.

“It’s for Lizard’s class,” I add.

“Because it has to be in color,

and Lizard doesn’t have

the right kind of printer.”

I hope my mom doesn’t notice

that a stack of fifty posters

is awfully thick for a school project.

“You’re welcome to use our printer

anytime, Lizard,” my mom says.

“Good luck with your project!”

Lizard bursts out laughing

when we’re back in my room.

“Wait till she finds out that

we’re really helping her with her project!”

Lizard says, hugging herself with happiness.

“Just wait till she finds out!”

Saturday Night Bombshell

Dinner tonight is pesto pasta with artichokes.

Even though we don’t usually have dessert,

tonight we have three different flavors of gelato

that my father bought for a special treat.

“We have some news to share,”

my mother says

after I take the first bite of hazelnut gelato,

which is my favorite flavor.

I have a terrible feeling it’s bad news.

My mother is smiling,

but I can’t tell if it’s a fake smile

or a real smile.

When Eloise’s parents got divorced,

Lizard told me Eloise had no idea

they weren’t madly in love

until the day they told her that her dad

was leaving to marry someone else.

But my father would never leave

my mother and me.

And my mother is too busy with her work

to fall in love with anybody new.

“What is it?” I ask,

glad that gelato is a food