Never Grow Up

“I can see that.” She made a face. “It really was a terrible dinner. Just being honest.”
“You’re not the only one who has disaster days. That dinner smelled awful.” Mom laughed out loud. “And between you and me it tasted worse.”
“You don’t like stroganoff?” Ashley was shocked.
Mom giggled and shook her head. “No. But your dad loves it. So I make it for him.”
Now they were both laughing, and suddenly Ashley understood what Mom meant. She could mope around thinking upsetting thoughts and believing the worst about the people she loved. Or the dinner she’d made. Or she could remember the truth… that her family loved her and she loved them. And even if Ashley was prone to disasters, Mom was right. People weren’t laughing at her. Not even Landon Blake. They were laughing with her. That was a better way to look at things.
Just then Luke ran in with the biggest toad cupped in his hands. “I did it! I caught one!”
Ashley smiled.
Because she had just done the same thing.

7
Animals and Dancing Queens
KARI
Exotic Animal Day had finally arrived for Ms. Nan’s class. But as Kari walked down the hall to her classroom, she wondered if one of the animals had escaped. Maybe a boa constrictor or an iguana or a bear. Something must’ve gotten loose because students were bunched up near the classroom door.
Kari pushed her way through the sea of people. Turned out the kids weren’t looking at a loose animal. They were staring at a sign-up sheet for the school’s talent show. Kari’s stomach dropped, like when she rode that roller coaster last spring.
A few girls signed their names to the sheet, and then three boys from her class did the same thing.
A talent show? Kari grabbed the straps of her backpack. She had never done anything like that before. Kari spotted Mandy and Liza. She waved them over.
“Look!” Kari pointed to the sign-up sheet. “A talent show! The three of us are loaded with talent!” She looked at her friends. “I think we could win the whole thing!”
“Hmm.” Mandy’s eyes looked nervous. “What would we do?”
“I’m not sure. Juggling, maybe?” Kari tried to imagine that. She could feel her excitement building. “Or maybe singing?”
“No.” Liza wrinkled her nose. “I would be too nervous.”
“But you love singing!” They needed to sign up before all the spots were taken.
“Not in front of people.” Liza shook her head. “No talent show for me, Kari. I’m too scared.”
The bell rang. Kari had to act fast. She quick grabbed the pen that hung next to the piece of paper and she signed up Liza, Mandy and herself.
“Hey!” Liza’s mouth hung open. “I said no!”
“And I was about to.” Mandy looked like she might faint. “What if we have no talent?”
“We do!” Kari linked arms with her friends and hurried them into the classroom. “I’m great at finding talent! You’ll see.”
Kari’s mind raced as they took their seats. She had told the truth. She had seen talent in Ashley long before her sister started gymnastics. And she had been absolutely sure Brooke would do great on her tests in middle school.
She was a born cheerleader! That’s what her mom always said. Surely she’d find some sort of talent for the three girls before the show. For now she couldn’t think about that.
Because lined up on a long table at the front of the classroom were four large cages covered with blankets. Each of them held a different zoo animal. Surprise zoo animals. Like possibly a baby lion or a small rhino or a long-toothed baboon. If there were such a thing.
Kari wasn’t sure.
But she was glad her desk was in the second row and not the first.
Their teacher stood a few feet from the animals. Next to her were two zoo workers: a tall skinny man with gray hair, and a pretty girl with a blond ponytail and a friendly smile.
Ms. Nan clapped her hands. “All right, class. Today we begin learning about different careers. My goal is to help you explore options so you’ll choose something to write about. Ideas for when you grow up.”
Kari stared at her shoes. Right. This again. She hadn’t thought about the growing up assignment since the day it was introduced. Kari felt her heart beat harder. After a few seconds, the palms of her hands grew sweaty.
She didn’t want to think about this. Not today. Her brain was busy enough thinking about the talent show.
Ms. Nan continued. “We begin the exploration of future careers today by looking at the life of a zoo employee and learning about exotic animals!” The class didn’t make a sound. Ms. Nan smiled. “Thank you ahead of time for paying attention to our zoo friends.”
The tall skinny man traded places with Ms. Nan. “My name is Anderson.” He motioned to the other worker. “This is Kristen.”
Kristen waved. “We work at the Indianapolis Zoo!”
Anderson pointed to the row of cages. “The animals we brought today are very friendly. But try your best to keep quiet. And please no sudden movements.” He hesitated. “Kristen. Can you bring out our first friend?”
Kristen stepped up to the first cage and removed the blanket to reveal a porcupine. The class gasped and some kids in the front row backed up. Kari winced. She’d heard about dangerous porcupines. Throwing spiky things everywhere. She didn’t trust them.
“This is Pork.” Kristen smiled. “He is a porcupine. Pork uses his strong feet and curved claws to climb trees.” She touched the animal’s feet. As if she wasn’t afraid at all. Then she moved her hand just over Pork’s back. “A porcupine is covered with sharp spines called quills. And some porcupines have up to thirty thousand of them on their body!”
Kari glanced at the classroom door. If quills started flying she was ready.
The other zoo worker took over. “Some of you may wonder if porcupines can shoot their quills. They actually cannot. No need to worry.”
Best news all day, Kari thought