“It was such a beautiful day, Stinky and his mother went for a walk across the forest. ‘Hi, Stinky,’ said Charlie the chipmunk. ‘Hi, Charlie,’ said Stinky. ‘Come along, Stinky,’ called his mother. Stinky hurried after her. They came to a road. Suddenly Stinky heard a noise he had never heard before. It was very loud, like thunder. A car, driven by humans, was speeding toward him! ‘Look out!’ shouted his mother. Stinky stopped in the middle of the road and stared at the onrushing car. He had never seen a car before. His mother pushed him out of the way just in time. He was safe, but unfortunately, the car ran over his mother. ‘Mama, Mama,’ he sobbed over and over again, but his mother didn’t answer. She was dead.”
Dana cried.
“Uh-oh, there goes the leaky faucet,” said John. He and Joe laughed.
Dana sniffled and wiped her eyes, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She just kept thinking about poor Stinky. What would he do without his mother? she wondered. Maybe he could go live with Charlie the chipmunk, she hoped.
She pulled a tissue out of the box John had given her and loudly blew her nose.
“There goes the foghorn,” said John.
Dana laughed into her tissue. She blew her nose again, even louder.
“It must be a very foggy day,” said John.
The next day after lunch Dana hurried up the thirty flights of stairs before the bell rang, so she could talk to Mrs. Jewls before class started.
“Yes, Dana?” said Mrs. Jewls.
“Can I leave the room when you read today?” asked Dana.
“Why?” asked Mrs. Jewls.
“Because I hate stories,” said Dana. “They make me laugh and cry too much.”
“You don’t hate stories, Dana,” Mrs. Jewls told her. “You love stories. I wish everybody laughed and cried as much as you.”
“Really?” asked Dana. She couldn’t believe it. All this time she thought she hated stories when really she loved them. She was glad she really loved stories.
Suddenly she made a face. “Oh, yuck!” she said.
“What is it?” asked Mrs. Jewls.
“What if I really love John, too?”
g
Chapter 14
Calvin’s Big Decision
It was Calvin’s birthday. His mother had made chocolate cupcakes with jelly beans on top. Mrs. Jewls passed them out to the class.
“Hey, Dana,” said Leslie. “I’ll trade you my black jelly bean for your red one.”
“Okay,” said Dana.
Everyone traded jelly beans. That was the most fun part of the party.
Bebe was very excited. “Tell everybody what you’re getting for your birthday, Calvin!” she said.
“I don’t know,” Calvin mumbled as he stared at his yellow jelly bean.
“He’s getting the best present!” said Bebe.
“What are you getting, Calvin?” asked Mrs. Jewls.
Calvin frowned. “I don’t know!” he griped. “I mean, I know what it is, but I don’t know what it is.”