1. You're Not the Boss of Me
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Nikki isn't playing right. She's holding her paddle wrong and she isn't keeping her eye on the ball. Plus she's hitting too hard and the Ping-Pong ball isn't even bouncing on the table. Deja has to keep chasing it and she's getting tired.
"You're hitting the ball too hard."
"Am not."
"Yeah, you are." Deja lobs an easy one to her. Nikki completely misses it.
"You have to keep your eye on the ball, Nikki."
Nikki doesn't say anything. She just digs around in the bushes behind her. She throws the ball hard back to Deja so she can serve again. It sails softly over the table and lands right in Deja's hand. Nikki looks disappointed.
Deja hits the next ball lightly, right at Nikki, as if she were five years old and Deja was teaching her how to play Ping-Pong by going very, very easy. Nikki watches it bounce, then doesn't even trouble herself, it seems to Deja, to reach for it. She deliberately lets the ball bounce twice before she swings at it and misses.
Deja is exasperated. "You can't let the ball bounce twice, Nikki. It can only bounce once. And you're not even trying!"
"Be quiet!" Nikki shouts. "You're not the boss of me!"
Deja puts her paddle down. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing! I'm just getting tired of you bossing me around."
"I'm not even bossing you around! I'm just trying to tell you how to play."
Nikki's face is scrunched so that her eyebrows jut up on the ends like a Halloween mask. Her mouth turns down as if she is about to cry. Then she does cry. She slams the paddle on the ground and stomps off to the porch steps. She flings herself down and puts her face in her hands.
Deja checks to see if her brand-new paddle is harmed in any way, then marches over to Nikki.
Auntie Dee and her friend Phoebe had spent
Â
the morning setting up the Ping-Pong table, first on the grass because there was more shade, then in front of the garage, where there was cement. Auntie Dee had thought the grassy spot under the tree was better because it would be cooler, but then she changed her mind and thought the table would be sturdier if it was on a hard surface. Finally, it was set up. It was Auntie's way of giving Deja more to do outsideâaway from too much TV.
"What's the matter with you?" Deja asks again, when she's settled next to Nikki on the steps. Nikki's nose is running. She reaches up and wipes it with the heel of her hand, then runs her hand over her pant leg to clean off the snot. She sniffs loudly.
"Nothing," Nikki answers quietly. "I just don't like being bossed."
"But nobody's gonna cry over that, Nikki. Tell me the truth."
Nikki looks like she's trying to make up her mind whether to tell Deja what's really going on.
She drops her face into her arms, resting on bent knees. Deja hears her mumble something, but she can't make out what it is.
"What? I can't understand what you're saying."
Nikki mumbles something again. Deja strains hard to make out the words, but she simply can't.
"Put your head up, Nikki, so I can hear you."
Nikki raises her head and from her quivering mouth come the words "I think my mom and dad are getting a divorce."
"What?" Deja wonders if she heard her correctly. She couldn't possibly have said what she thinks she said. "They're getting a
divorce?
Deja blurts out.
"I said I
think
they're getting a divorce. They had a big argument on Tuesday and they haven't spoken to each other since." She looks over at Deja, her face smeared with tears, and takes in a shuddery breath. "They keep talking to each other through me! And I don't like it!"
Deja doesn't know what to say. She doesn't even know what expression to put on her face. "Just because they're not speaking doesn't mean they're getting divorced. People stop speaking to each other all the time." The words sound truer to Deja as she goes along. "Auntie Dee and her friend Phoebe stopped speaking for a long time once."
Nikki wipes her eyes, and when her hands come away, she looks hopeful.
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Nikki isn't playing right. She's holding her paddle wrong and she isn't keeping her eye on the ball. Plus she's hitting too hard and the Ping-Pong ball isn't even bouncing on the table. Deja has to keep chasing it and she's getting tired.
"You're hitting the ball too hard."
"Am not."
"Yeah, you are." Deja lobs an easy one to her. Nikki completely misses it.
"You have to keep your eye on the ball, Nikki."
Nikki doesn't say anything. She just digs around in the bushes behind her. She throws the ball hard back to Deja so she can serve again. It sails softly over the table and lands right in Deja's hand. Nikki looks disappointed.
Deja hits the next ball lightly, right at Nikki, as if she were five years old and Deja was teaching her how to play Ping-Pong by going very, very easy. Nikki watches it bounce, then doesn't even trouble herself, it seems to Deja, to reach for it. She deliberately lets the ball bounce twice before she swings at it and misses.
Deja is exasperated. "You can't let the ball bounce twice, Nikki. It can only bounce once. And you're not even trying!"
"Be quiet!" Nikki shouts. "You're not the boss of me!"
Deja puts her paddle down. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing! I'm just getting tired of you bossing me around."
"I'm not even bossing you around! I'm just trying to tell you how to play."
Nikki's face is scrunched so that her eyebrows jut up on the ends like a Halloween mask. Her mouth turns down as if she is about to cry. Then she does cry. She slams the paddle on the ground and stomps off to the porch steps. She flings herself down and puts her face in her hands.
Deja checks to see if her brand-new paddle is harmed in any way, then marches over to Nikki.
Auntie Dee and her friend Phoebe had spent
Â
the morning setting up the Ping-Pong table, first on the grass because there was more shade, then in front of the garage, where there was cement. Auntie Dee had thought the grassy spot under the tree was better because it would be cooler, but then she changed her mind and thought the table would be sturdier if it was on a hard surface. Finally, it was set up. It was Auntie's way of giving Deja more to do outsideâaway from too much TV.
"What's the matter with you?" Deja asks again, when she's settled next to Nikki on the steps. Nikki's nose is running. She reaches up and wipes it with the heel of her hand, then runs her hand over her pant leg to clean off the snot. She sniffs loudly.
"Nothing," Nikki answers quietly. "I just don't like being bossed."
"But nobody's gonna cry over that, Nikki. Tell me the truth."
Nikki looks like she's trying to make up her mind whether to tell Deja what's really going on.
She drops her face into her arms, resting on bent knees. Deja hears her mumble something, but she can't make out what it is.
"What? I can't understand what you're saying."
Nikki mumbles something again. Deja strains hard to make out the words, but she simply can't.
"Put your head up, Nikki, so I can hear you."
Nikki raises her head and from her quivering mouth come the words "I think my mom and dad are getting a divorce."
"What?" Deja wonders if she heard her correctly. She couldn't possibly have said what she thinks she said. "They're getting a
divorce?
Deja blurts out.
"I said I
think
they're getting a divorce. They had a big argument on Tuesday and they haven't spoken to each other since." She looks over at Deja, her face smeared with tears, and takes in a shuddery breath. "They keep talking to each other through me! And I don't like it!"
Deja doesn't know what to say. She doesn't even know what expression to put on her face. "Just because they're not speaking doesn't mean they're getting divorced. People stop speaking to each other all the time." The words sound truer to Deja as she goes along. "Auntie Dee and her friend Phoebe stopped speaking for a long time once."
Nikki wipes her eyes, and when her hands come away, she looks hopeful.
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