kitchen. And we are setting the table. That is because Cousin Angela and Aunt Denise are coming over. They are bringing our dresses. And we are going to try them on. And then tomorrow, I will wear mine to school! And I will show that Natalie Brice that I am not a liar. It is a completely wonderful plan.
âWhat if you get that dress dirty?â Maybelle asks.
âI do not get dirty.â
âYou fell in a big mud puddle the other day.â
âMaybelle! That is not polite.â I am putting all the spoons down on the table. That is because my mom is making a delicious broccoli soup for an appetizer. Broccoli is not good. But it is good in soup. I drop Cousin Angelaâs spoon right on the floor. Whoops.
I pick it up.
âYou better get her another one,â Maybelle says.
âLooks clean to me.â I put it back down next to her plate.
When Cousin Angela and Aunt Denise get over, they have Cousin Genevieve with them. She is the bride. And so she wants to see us in our dresses.
âNow, Maybelle,â I whisper to her. âDo not be causing any mischief with the dresses.â
âI will if I want,â Maybelle says. Then she whispers, âI am trying to be bad at magic, remember?â
I have a weird feeling about this right in my stomach. But I cannot think about it too long.
And that is because those wonderful dresses are coming right out of their dress bags.
âI will try mine on first!â I say. I go rushing right at it and try to make a grab for that dress.
âHailey!â Cousin Genevieve yells, pulling it away. âYou have to wash your hands first. We cannot get this dress dirty.â
I do a big sigh. Washing your hands is for babies. My hands are clean as a whistle. But me and Cousin Angela go in the bathroom to wash up.
âWhose nail polish is that?â Cousin Angela asks. She is looking at the bottle that is sitting on the sink. It is blue nail polish. And it is Kaitlynâs. I am too young to have nail polish.
But Cousin Angela does not know that. So I say, âThat nail polish is mine.â
âYou are allowed to wear nail polish?â Cousin Angela asks. She has lots of soap, soap, soapy suds on her hands.
âOf course.â
âNo, you are not,â Maybelle says. âThat is Kaitlynâs nail polish.â Maybelle is washing her hands, too.
I give her a look to be quiet. Even though Cousin Angela cannot hear her. It is not any of Maybelleâs business about that nail polish. It is nobodyâs business but my own selfâs.
âMy mommy says nail polish is only for big girls,â Cousin Angela says.
âWell, I am a big girl.â I dry my hands off on a purple towel. âI am seven years old.â I pick up the nail polish and take the top off. Then I paint my one pinkie nail blue. âSee?â I say. âIt is mine.â
I put the cap back on. âNow come on. We have to try our dresses on.â
âBLUE NAILS FOR ME, TOO!â Cousin Angela yells.
âNo,â I tell her. âBlue nails are for big girls only.â
âANGELA IS A BIG GIRL!â Cousin Angela screams. And then she picks up that bottle of nail polish. I grab it. And I try to pull it out of her hands. But she pulls it back very hard.
âLet go right this instant,â I tell her. âI am seven, and you are five, and that means I am the boss of you.â But Cousin Angela does not listen. She pulls on it harder.
And then that bottle of nail polish goes flying into the air. It is spinning around and around and around, and I reach up and try to catch it. But I miss. I knock right into it with my hand. Nail polish goes spilling and splattering all over. Blue is splattering on the walls and all over us.
Cousin Angela looks at me. She has a speckle of blue nail polish right on the tip of her nose. âYou made a mess,â she says. âNow you are going to be in big trouble,