bed fast asleep. (I didn’t have anything to do with that part—the contrary cat probably just realized the bedspread was freshly laundered and wanted to shed black fur all over it! Ha!)
Anyway, Dad and Mrs. Dana said a few nice things about the room, too. Then Marie spoke up again. “I’m a little surprised,” she said, stepping farther into the room with a puzzled look.
“What do you mean, hon?” Mrs. Dana asked.
Marie shrugged. “Well, knowing that Carole did the decorating, I would expect to see some more horsey stuff. You know—some hay, maybe a saddle or two. Or at least a few dozen horse posters.”
Dad and Mrs. Dana laughed, but I couldn’t help feeling kind of embarrassed. I could only imagine what Marie would say when she got a good look at my room across the hall—after all, practically every inch of wall space is covered with posters and pictures of horses. Normally I wouldn’t be the least bit embarrassed about that, of course, but sometimes Marie can be so sarcastic.…
But that was just the beginning, really. Dad suggested we all go down and have a snack before Mrs. Dana had to leave to catch her plane. When we got to the kitchen, he whipped a plate of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven.
“I’ve been keeping these warm for you,” he told Marie. “I baked them this afternoon from my own secret recipe.” He winked at me.
“Yum!” I exclaimed. “You haven’t made your secret-recipe cookies for ages, Dad!” I stopped to think. “In fact, I can’t remember the last time you made them.”
“Well, this is a special occasion,” Dad said.
I didn’t think too much about that at the time. But later …
Anyway, after Mrs. Dana left, Marie and I went upstairs to unpack her suitcases. As we put her clothes away in the dresser (Snowball woke up when we came in and kept trying to help by taking her socks out when our backs were turned and batting them under the bed), Marie suddenly realized that she’d forgotten to pack her portable CD player. She’s really into music, and she seemed pretty upset about it. “How am I going to make it through two weeks without any music? I can’t fall asleep without it!”
“No problem,” I reassured her. “You can use my clock radio while you’re here. I have an alarm clock I can use.”
“Really?” Marie asked gratefully. “Thanks a lot, Carole. Hey, it doesn’t just play the farm report or anything, does it?”
“Ha ha,” I said, rolling my eyes. I was just starting to remember how Marie liked to make jokes about absolutely everything!
Still, I was enjoying having her around for most of the rest of that first day. Then it was time to start our homework.
“You can have my desk to yourself tonight,” I told Marie. “I have to write a two-page essay for English class, so I’ll be downstairs using the computer.”
I was still on the first paragraph of my essay when Marie came into the room.
“Uh, hi, Carole,” she said. “When you said you had a paper to write, that reminded me that I’m supposed to writeone, too. It’s for extra credit in my social studies class. Do you think I could use the computer when you’re finished?”
I bit my lip. I knew I should offer to let Marie do her work first, since she was a guest. On the other hand, Marie’s paper was only for extra credit, while mine was an assignment, so I wasn’t sure what to say.
Dad must have come into the room just in time to hear what Marie said. “Carole, why don’t you let Marie do her assignment first? She’s our guest, you know.” He had this sort of disapproving tone in his voice, like he was surprised he even had to tell me such a thing.
I felt pretty guilty then. “I was just going to say the same thing.” I saved my document and then let her use the computer while I went to help Dad with the dishes.
He said he wanted to talk to me about something. “It’s about Marie,” he said seriously. “I just wanted to make sure you know how important it
Anyway, Dad and Mrs. Dana said a few nice things about the room, too. Then Marie spoke up again. “I’m a little surprised,” she said, stepping farther into the room with a puzzled look.
“What do you mean, hon?” Mrs. Dana asked.
Marie shrugged. “Well, knowing that Carole did the decorating, I would expect to see some more horsey stuff. You know—some hay, maybe a saddle or two. Or at least a few dozen horse posters.”
Dad and Mrs. Dana laughed, but I couldn’t help feeling kind of embarrassed. I could only imagine what Marie would say when she got a good look at my room across the hall—after all, practically every inch of wall space is covered with posters and pictures of horses. Normally I wouldn’t be the least bit embarrassed about that, of course, but sometimes Marie can be so sarcastic.…
But that was just the beginning, really. Dad suggested we all go down and have a snack before Mrs. Dana had to leave to catch her plane. When we got to the kitchen, he whipped a plate of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven.
“I’ve been keeping these warm for you,” he told Marie. “I baked them this afternoon from my own secret recipe.” He winked at me.
“Yum!” I exclaimed. “You haven’t made your secret-recipe cookies for ages, Dad!” I stopped to think. “In fact, I can’t remember the last time you made them.”
“Well, this is a special occasion,” Dad said.
I didn’t think too much about that at the time. But later …
Anyway, after Mrs. Dana left, Marie and I went upstairs to unpack her suitcases. As we put her clothes away in the dresser (Snowball woke up when we came in and kept trying to help by taking her socks out when our backs were turned and batting them under the bed), Marie suddenly realized that she’d forgotten to pack her portable CD player. She’s really into music, and she seemed pretty upset about it. “How am I going to make it through two weeks without any music? I can’t fall asleep without it!”
“No problem,” I reassured her. “You can use my clock radio while you’re here. I have an alarm clock I can use.”
“Really?” Marie asked gratefully. “Thanks a lot, Carole. Hey, it doesn’t just play the farm report or anything, does it?”
“Ha ha,” I said, rolling my eyes. I was just starting to remember how Marie liked to make jokes about absolutely everything!
Still, I was enjoying having her around for most of the rest of that first day. Then it was time to start our homework.
“You can have my desk to yourself tonight,” I told Marie. “I have to write a two-page essay for English class, so I’ll be downstairs using the computer.”
I was still on the first paragraph of my essay when Marie came into the room.
“Uh, hi, Carole,” she said. “When you said you had a paper to write, that reminded me that I’m supposed to writeone, too. It’s for extra credit in my social studies class. Do you think I could use the computer when you’re finished?”
I bit my lip. I knew I should offer to let Marie do her work first, since she was a guest. On the other hand, Marie’s paper was only for extra credit, while mine was an assignment, so I wasn’t sure what to say.
Dad must have come into the room just in time to hear what Marie said. “Carole, why don’t you let Marie do her assignment first? She’s our guest, you know.” He had this sort of disapproving tone in his voice, like he was surprised he even had to tell me such a thing.
I felt pretty guilty then. “I was just going to say the same thing.” I saved my document and then let her use the computer while I went to help Dad with the dishes.
He said he wanted to talk to me about something. “It’s about Marie,” he said seriously. “I just wanted to make sure you know how important it
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