Joseph Anderson Donetti felt his face grow red. “I’m never going to get this!” he exclaimed.
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MacKenzie Isabelle Evans bounced on the seat of the school van. “This is so great!” she exclaimed. “I can hardly believe Miss Binney is taking us hiking! I love hiking! Can you believe we’re actually going hiking instead of sitting in school?”
Trevor Paul Monroe dug through his sock drawer. There they were! He sat down on the floor and yanked his thick hiking socks over his bare feet. Then he scrambled on his hands and knees over to the bed and pulled his hiking boots out from underneath it.
MacKenzie Isabelle Evans stared at Joseph. “Why not?” she asked. “Why don’t you want to join a book club? It sounds like fun! I would love to join a book club! I like reading books! I like giving book reports! And I like listening to other people’s book reports too!”
Joseph Anderson Donetti felt like shouting. Instead, he took a deep breath and began softly, “I don’t want to belong to a book club! I don’t want to give book reports in front of perfect strangers!”
MacKenzie Isabelle Evans skipped ahead of her mother to the big glass door of the toy store. “Can I look in the art aisle for a while?” she asked over her shoulder. “Please?”
Hannah Maria Estevez clenched her fists. Hot tears of disappointment burned behind her eyeballs, and she blinked to keep the tears from spilling out.
MacKenzie Isabelle Evans looked up from her Primary Treasure. “What exactly is a banquet anyway?” she asked. “I mean, I sort of know, but not really.”
Mac slowly entered the living room again. She was a sight to behold. Her long purple dress-up dress rustled as she walked slowly across the carpet. A veil of filmy pink chiffon fabric covered her face and was held in place by a gold cardboard crown. Rows of beads from the dress-up box circled her neck, and the sparkly silver slippers on her feet completed her outfit. “I’m Queen Esther!” Mac announced, twirling in front of Mom. “Do you think I’m beautiful?”
