for you.â
âMom!â Kaitlyn yells. âMom!â
My mom comes running into the kitchen. She is wearing some very fancy work clothes of black pants and black high-heeled shoes. âWowza,â I say. âYou look like a knockout.â
âThank you,â she says. She pours some Apple Oâs into my bowl.
âMom, Hailey spilled my nail polish all over, and I just bought that nail polish with my babysitting money!â Kaitlyn says. Kaitlyn thinks she is so smart because she has a babysitting job.
âEveryone just stay calm,â I say. âIt is just some nail polish. It is not the end of the world.â Some people have real problems. Like getting music at the wedding. And stopping their sprite from having to go back to the castle.
I take a big spoonful of Apple Oâs. One falls off my spoon and onto the table. Maybelle picks it up and starts to eat it right up. Apple Oâs are her very favorite cereal of all time.
âHailey will pay you back for the nail polish,â my mom says.
âThose are very beautiful shoes,â I tell my mom. This is called distracting. Because I cannot pay Kaitlyn back. I do not have any money. I do not have a job. And I spent my allowance already. And me and Russ have not had a lemonade stand in forever and ever.
âHailey,â my mom says. âToday after my meeting I will bring you over to Aunt Deniseâs house. You and Cousin Angela will clean out Uncle Adamâs car to earn money to buy Kaitlyn new nail polish.â
I gasp. âBut I did not even spill that nail polish or use it!â
âThen how come your pinkie nail is painted blue?â Kaitlyn asks.
Oops.
I do not have time to think about having a job later at Cousin Angelaâs house. And that is because I am trying to figure out a way to sneak that dress off to school.
âWhy are we in your mom and dadâs room?â Maybelle asks. We are tip, tip, tiptoeing quiet as a mouse into my mom and dadâs bedroom. My mom and dadâs bedroom is off-limits. But there is no choice. My flower girl dress is in here.
âShhh!â I tell Maybelle. Even though no one can hear her, she should be very quiet. We are on a secret mission. I take that beautiful blue dress out of the closet. Then I go into the hall and try to quick run into my room. But before I can get there, I go running right into my dad. Uh-oh.
âHailey,â he says. âWhat were you doing in our room?â
âJust moving my dress into my own room,â I tell him. This is not a lie. I am moving it into my own room. But I do not tell him that I am wearing it to school. And I do not tell him that my mom did not tell me to move that dress.
âOkay,â my dad says. âHave a good day at school.â Dads are good when you are trying to do something that you do not have a permission to do. And that is because they do not ask too many questions. They are in their own world.
âYou have a good day, too!â I say very happy.
Then I am run, run, running back to my room. And I am pulling on my flower girl dress. And I am putting it on right over my jeans and T-shirt! The sleeves of my T-shirt are a little sticking out. But it still looks very beautiful.
âYou better put that dress back, Hailey!â Maybelle says. âYou are going to make a big mess of it. It is looking very stretchy over the clothes you are wearing.â
âIt is okay,â I tell her. âI am going to be very careful.â I am tuck, tuck, tucking the bottom of my dress right into my pants.
I put a nice big heavy coat on over that dress. To cover it all right up.
I get my book bag. And I take my lunch box out of the fridge.
âGood-bye, Kaitlyn,â I say. âIt is time for me to leave for school.â
âGood-bye,â she says. She does not sound like she really cares too much. She is still mad about that nail polish. But she will get over