back home. I didn’t realize one person could miss another person as much as I’d missed Grandma. It sort of made the fact that Sylvie hated me and had uninvited me from her birthday party matter a little less.
While I stood by the mailbox and stared at the road and waited and waited and waited, I wondered what fun things Grandma and I would do once she got back. We’d go to the mall. We’d go to the park. And she’d start making me desserts again!
“You could wait inside,” my mom said.
I jumped a little. I hadn’t even known my mom was standing by me and the mailbox.
“I want to see her as soon as she gets here,” I said.
“Maybe you should do something besides wait,” my mom said.
That was a pretty good suggestion. I set my sign on the grass and placed a small rock on it and pulled out my phone. “I’ll text Grandma.”
Me: How much longer until you are here?
“They might be out of range,” my mother explained.
But they weren’t, because my phone buzzed. And it was a message from Grandma.
Grandma: About an hour away! See you soon!
“She’s an hour away,” I said.
“Looks like you’ve got time to do something productive.”
“I am not doing homework right now,” I said. Ever since I started middle school, my mom had started frequently reminding me that I always had homework. Bleh.
“Not homework,” my mom said. “But maybe you could practice your mascot routine.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said. “Because I perform against the tiger in a week.”
My mother looked at me in a disapproving way. And I had no idea why.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re not performing against the tiger,” my mom said. “You’re performing for your school.”
I shook my head. Wow. I had never realized this about my mom before, but she didn’t understand basic mascot rules. “Actually,” I said, “I’m totally competing with the tiger. In fact, the crowd loves it when the mascots fight.”
“Who told you that?”
“Vicki Docker.”
My mom smiled. “You’re still in touch with the Docker twins?”
I nodded. But I didn’t bother telling my mom that Vicki had come to my PE class to coach me. Because my mom would have wanted all the details. And there were a lot of those, and that would have taken too much time to explain.
“I should probably put my bear paws on and practice in the grass,” I said.
“You’ll stain them,” my mom said. “Why don’t you practice inside?”
But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to practice acting like a bear outside in the wilderness.
“Grass is better,” I said. “It’s bear authentic.” I hurried to my room, waved to Bianca, and grabbed my bear paws. But I also thought about how mushy the grass felt on the way inside, so I also grabbed something to protect the fur: gigantic plastic trash bags. I sat on the sidewalk and started tucking the plastic around my paws.
“What are you doing?” my dad asked.
I looked up at him. He was holding his laser jammer.
“What are you doing?” I asked. Because I thought the laser jammer belonged in the car.
“Registering my unit,” he explained.
“Oh,” I said. I didn’t like that he was registering an illegal unit. “I’m wrapping my bear paws in plastic so they don’t get grass stains on them.”
“Are you going to be able to jump rope like that?” he asked.
“Probably,” I said. Jumping rope was my special talent that won me my mascot position. I wasn’t going to give that up.
I finished tucking the plastic in all the way around my bear paws so it went in the hole for my foot. I heard the front door open behind me.
“There’s no way that will work, Bessica,” my mom said. “You’re going to slip and hurt yourself.”
I didn’t know why both my parents had decided to be so negative. “It’s fine,” I said. “I’m going to practice my bear stances.”
I was so lucky Vicki had come and offered me such fantastic ideas.
“Roar!” I said, swinging my
While I stood by the mailbox and stared at the road and waited and waited and waited, I wondered what fun things Grandma and I would do once she got back. We’d go to the mall. We’d go to the park. And she’d start making me desserts again!
“You could wait inside,” my mom said.
I jumped a little. I hadn’t even known my mom was standing by me and the mailbox.
“I want to see her as soon as she gets here,” I said.
“Maybe you should do something besides wait,” my mom said.
That was a pretty good suggestion. I set my sign on the grass and placed a small rock on it and pulled out my phone. “I’ll text Grandma.”
Me: How much longer until you are here?
“They might be out of range,” my mother explained.
But they weren’t, because my phone buzzed. And it was a message from Grandma.
Grandma: About an hour away! See you soon!
“She’s an hour away,” I said.
“Looks like you’ve got time to do something productive.”
“I am not doing homework right now,” I said. Ever since I started middle school, my mom had started frequently reminding me that I always had homework. Bleh.
“Not homework,” my mom said. “But maybe you could practice your mascot routine.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said. “Because I perform against the tiger in a week.”
My mother looked at me in a disapproving way. And I had no idea why.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re not performing against the tiger,” my mom said. “You’re performing for your school.”
I shook my head. Wow. I had never realized this about my mom before, but she didn’t understand basic mascot rules. “Actually,” I said, “I’m totally competing with the tiger. In fact, the crowd loves it when the mascots fight.”
“Who told you that?”
“Vicki Docker.”
My mom smiled. “You’re still in touch with the Docker twins?”
I nodded. But I didn’t bother telling my mom that Vicki had come to my PE class to coach me. Because my mom would have wanted all the details. And there were a lot of those, and that would have taken too much time to explain.
“I should probably put my bear paws on and practice in the grass,” I said.
“You’ll stain them,” my mom said. “Why don’t you practice inside?”
But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to practice acting like a bear outside in the wilderness.
“Grass is better,” I said. “It’s bear authentic.” I hurried to my room, waved to Bianca, and grabbed my bear paws. But I also thought about how mushy the grass felt on the way inside, so I also grabbed something to protect the fur: gigantic plastic trash bags. I sat on the sidewalk and started tucking the plastic around my paws.
“What are you doing?” my dad asked.
I looked up at him. He was holding his laser jammer.
“What are you doing?” I asked. Because I thought the laser jammer belonged in the car.
“Registering my unit,” he explained.
“Oh,” I said. I didn’t like that he was registering an illegal unit. “I’m wrapping my bear paws in plastic so they don’t get grass stains on them.”
“Are you going to be able to jump rope like that?” he asked.
“Probably,” I said. Jumping rope was my special talent that won me my mascot position. I wasn’t going to give that up.
I finished tucking the plastic in all the way around my bear paws so it went in the hole for my foot. I heard the front door open behind me.
“There’s no way that will work, Bessica,” my mom said. “You’re going to slip and hurt yourself.”
I didn’t know why both my parents had decided to be so negative. “It’s fine,” I said. “I’m going to practice my bear stances.”
I was so lucky Vicki had come and offered me such fantastic ideas.
“Roar!” I said, swinging my
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