Never Grow Up

which surprised Ashley. Together they did a sort of hobble skip to the classroom. Not the smoothest three-legged race. But neither of them fell. And as they tagged the wall at the same time, Ashley knew something. Not only was Natalie a new best friend.
But she was the perfect partner for Field Day.
Mr. Garrett was Ashley’s teacher. They hadn’t gotten off to the best start. Ashley accidentally spilled ice cream on Mr. Garrett’s head at the back-to-school night, and there was the time she got lost at the school field trip to the zoo. Also her teacher hadn’t given her the sea animal she wanted in the class ocean presentation. But at the end of the day, he was a fun teacher. And she was thankful for that.
Now Mr. Garrett stood at the front of the room holding a stack of books. “We have a new class book to read.” He held up the cover. It had a lovely drawing of a pirate ship. “J. M. Barrie’s classic, Peter Pan.”
The class started talking at once. “I love Peter Pan.” In the chair next to Ashley, Natalie clapped her hands. “This is our best book yet!”
Ashley searched her head. She had seen the Peter Pan movie, but it was a long time ago. Pilots and fairies and pixie dust. Something like that. Also a boy who wanted to become a crocodile. Ashley lowered her brow. No… that wasn’t it. A boy who didn’t want to throw up. Or was it—
“Peter Pan is the story of a boy who didn’t want to grow up,” Mr. Garrett explained as he passed out copies of the book.
“That’s it!” Ashley slapped her desk. The other kids turned to look at her. “Not throw up. The boy who wouldn’t grow up!”
The story was coming back to Ashley now. “Peter had a bunch of pilot friends, right?”
“Pirates, Ashley.” Mr. Garrett frowned. “Not pilots.” He sighed. “And they certainly weren’t his friends.”
From the back row, Chris shouted, “Pirates are my favorite!”
No surprise, Ashley thought. Based on his aggressive and sometimes hard-to-handle attitude, Chris might be an actual pirate.
Elliot, another one of Ashley’s new best friends, raised his hand. “Peter Pan can fly. Is that right?” Elliot talked with a bit of a lisp because of his braces.
Mr. Garrett looked impressed. “Good, Elliot. Yes.”
“He goes high up into the clouds and then on into space. Like aliens.” Elliot talked very fast and breathless. Especially when it came to space and aliens. Elliot loved aliens.
“No, Elliot. Not aliens.” Mr. Garrett walked through the classroom giving out books to the students. “In the story, Peter goes on a fantastical adventure up to the clouds.”
Natalie nudged Ashley. “Like you!” she whispered. “Spinning your way up to the clouds.”
Ashley felt a thrill run through her. Natalie was right. She was just like Peter Pan!
Mr. Garrett was still passing out books. “Peter Pan takes with him a group of siblings, the Darling children.”
Ashley raised her hand.
Mr. Garrett paused. “Yes, Ashley?”
She drummed her fingers on the top of her desk. “Why were they darling?”
Mr. Garrett tilted his head to one side. “Excuse me?”
“You said they were darling.” Ashley threw her hands in the air. “So. What made them that way? Were they teeny tiny babies? Those are darling. Or were they loved by everyone in their village? Sometimes that’s a clue that someone is darling.”
“No, no.” Mr. Garrett laughed and handed Ashley her copy of the book. “Darling is their last name. But good question, Ashley.”
Ashley studied the picture. She loved the glittery stars and the kids flying through the sky. If the cover was anything like the book, then she was in for a real treat. She looked at the cover again. Peter Pan.
Ashley thought about Peter Pan and his life. Never growing up. Flying in the clouds. Going on adventures with pirates. He didn’t have to worry about new schools or making friends or gymnastics. Or falling on the playground.
It seemed like the perfect life.
In the van on the way home, Ashley pulled out her sketchbook and began to draw. She sketched a different picture every day. This time it was herself midspin. One hand held a sword, to fight off pirates, of course. And with the other she threw pixie dust in the air. Like Peter Pan. But this time Ashley wasn’t on the ground like a regular girl.
She was dancing on the clouds.

3
Brooke’s Breakdown
KARI
One day, Kari was going to write a book about her family. The Baxters, she would call it. And when she did, their new house was going to be a character. That’s how much she loved it.
That afternoon when they got home from school, after her siblings had gone in, Kari stood outside the two front doors and stared at the house. The white porch that wrapped from the front to the back, and the windows to each of their bedrooms. Plus the pond and stream and the million miles of green grass and trees that surrounded the place.
She loved everything about it.
Kari ran inside and took her backpack upstairs. They had only moved here a few months ago, but already her bedroom was her favorite place in all the world. The room she shared with Ashley. She dropped her bag and stared out the giant window. Beneath it was a built-in reading bench. Where Kari had already spent a thousand hours.
Yes, the house would be a very special part of her book, for sure.
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz had said it best: There really was no place like home.
Kari hurried back downstairs with her journal.
Mom was slicing apples for their snack. “Who has homework?” She pulled a plate from the cupboard. The house smelled like warm cinnamon.
“Not me.” Luke’s arm was still in a cast from falling out of the backyard tree. But he could use his fingers now. He unzipped his backpack, pulled out a wadded-up sheet of paper and handed it to Mom.