The Luckiest Girl by Beverly Cleary

keep Katie off the top of the refrigerator.

Chapter 6
    That evening, as soon as the dishes were washed, Shelley ran upstairs to wash her face and change into a fresh cotton dress, one that she had not worn to school. She brushed her hair, applied her lipstick with care, and because this was such a special occasion, dusted powder across her nose. Glancing at her watch, she was disappointed to find she still had an entire hour to wait before Philip would ring the doorbell. One long hour. She could write to her mother and father, but she felt too excited to sit down with pen and paper. She twirled around to see how far her skirt would stand out. This made it necessary to comb her hair all over again, a task that used up only a few seconds of the hour. She sat carefully on her bed so that she would not wrinkle her skirt. Fifty-three minutes to Philip. Fifty-three crawling minutes. How could she ever live fifty-three minutes?
    â€œMom! Dad! Shelley!” yelled Katie from the living room. “Come and see my hat for the hat dance!”
    Shelley, glad of a way to use up part of the fifty-three minutes, went downstairs to see the hat that Katie had spent the afternoon creating in secrecy in the laundry.
    Now Katie stood admiring herself in the mirror in the front hall. Upside down on her head was a hollowed-out head of curly chicory so large it covered almost all of her hair. Fastened here and there to the lettuce were radishes and green onions. Sticking out of the back like two enormous hatpins were a wooden salad fork and spoon. The whole creation was anchored by two green ribbons tied under Katie’s chin. “I’m a tossed green salad!” she announced.
    Tom and Mavis shouted with laughter, and Shelley thought Katie looked like a robust sprite. Luke, sitting in an easy chair with a pile of science fiction magazines on the floor beside him, groaned and said, “Oh, for dumb!”
    â€œKatie, that is priceless,” said Mavis. “How did you ever think of such a thing?”
    â€œI’ve always thought this kind of lettuce looked like curly green hair,” said Katie.
    â€œMom, you don’t mean you are going to let her go out in that thing, do you?” demanded Luke.
    â€œOf course,” answered Mavis. “I think it is fetching.”
    â€œWell, I think it looks dumb,” said Luke. “Do we have to eat it after she gets through wearing it?”
    â€œNo, you don’t,” said Katie. “I bought the lettuce and radishes and onions with my own money. I didn’t get them out of the salad things in the refrigerator.”
    â€œCome on, green salad,” said Mavis, picking up the car keys from the mantel. “You don’t want to be late.”
    â€œHave fun, and I hope you get lots of dances with the right boy,” said Shelley sincerely. If it hadn’t been for Katie, she might not be waiting for Philip this very minute.
    â€œHe can graze on her hat while they dance,” remarked Luke from behind his magazines.
    â€œOh, be quiet,” said Katie cheerfully, as she went out the front door. She was too happy to be annoyed by anything her brother said.
    Shelley rather envied Katie her puppyish excitement. She was excited too, but at sixteen a girl had learned to be more cautious about letting her feelings show until she knew for sure that a boy really liked her.
    â€œNow, Luke,” said Mavis. “Shelley is to have the living room this evening if she wants it.”
    â€œOkay,” said Luke without looking up.
    Shelley smiled to herself. Not only was Philip coming to see her, she was going to have the living room all to herself when he came. This time she would not have to cringe inside, the way she always had when she introduced a boy to her mother and father and could feel them looking him over, wondering what his family was like and what his father did and what time he would bring her home. This time was going to be