One club adviser who didn’t want to advise the club anyway…

and

nobody else.

What Ms. Fletcher Says

I’m sorry, girls.

I had a feeling that…

In any case…

Well, I applaud

you two

for trying.

Taking Down Fifty Posters

Ms. Fletcher tells us that it’s our job

to take down the posters.

So we do.

I thought Lizard would rip them off the walls

and crumple them up

and hurl them into the recycling bins.

But she doesn’t.

She just says,

“This is why languages die, Bumble!

This is why your mom

is so exhausted and stressed all the time!

This is why your mom needs us

more than ever!”

The Queen of Pies

At rehearsal on Thursday,

Zoey asks me, “Do you like pie?”

I assume this is another question

like the ones we talked about on Tuesday:

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

What kind of movies do you like?

“Of course!” I say.

“Who doesn’t like pie?”

“I love pie,” Zoey says.

“All kinds of pie.

I love eating pie.

But most of all,

I love baking pie.

My parents call me

the Queen of Pies.”

There is something

about the way Zoey says this

that makes it sound different

from telling me that she once

had a pet named Wormy Squirmy.

“So I was wondering,”

Zoey continues,

“do you want to come over sometime?

Like maybe tomorrow afternoon?

And bake a pie with me?”

Now I get it.

“Um—sure!” I say.

Tomorrow is Friday,

when I usually have my piano lesson,

but this week my teacher is off

giving a concert in New York somewhere.

So what possible reason could I have

for saying no?

Reasons Why I Now Wish I Hadn’t Said I’d Bake a Pie with Zoey

Reason number one: my mother.

I just can’t face how happy she’ll be

that I’m doing something

with somebody who isn’t Lizard.

Reason number two: Lizard.

I just can’t face how mad she’ll be

that I’m doing something

with somebody who isn’t her.

Sharing the News with My Mother

“Can I go to Zoey’s house after school tomorrow?”

I ask my mother as soon as she comes through

the door from the garage into the kitchen.

“Zoey’s mom will pick us up from school

and drive me home afterward.”

I don’t know if I’m making it sound like more of a big deal

by asking her right away,

or if I’d be making it sound like more of a big deal

if I asked her later,

as if it were a big wonderful announcement

I had to save until she was settled in

for the evening.

From the way her eyes light up

I already know she’s going to say yes.

“Is Lizard going, too?”

my mother asks,

and I can tell what she hopes the answer will be.

“No. Just me,