Never Grow Up

“I finished it in the car. So can I go play outside?”
“Son…” Mom uncrumpled the paper. “You need to be more careful with your schoolwork.” Mom pressed the wrinkled page along the kitchen counter. It didn’t help.
Luke grinned. He had lost a tooth last night, so he had a big hole in the front of his mouth. “At least I did it.”
“No. Not at least…” Mom put her hands on her hips. “You are a Baxter. That means we do our best. No matter what.” She looked down at Luke’s shoe. “And please, tie your shoelace.”
Luke covered up his laugh. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Go play.” She handed the messy page back to Luke. “But be more careful next time.”
“I will!” Luke seemed to be a little more cautious as he put the page back into his backpack. Then he ran outside. Within seconds Kari could hear the sound of the basketball on the pavement.
Mom sighed. “Making baskets is more important to that boy than making good grades.” She looked at Kari. “What can we do?”
Kari shrugged. “He does make most of his shots.”
This time the laugh came from Mom. “True.”
Brooke wasn’t home yet, but none of the other kids had homework. Mom set a plate of apples on the kitchen table and joined Kari, Ashley and Erin there. She looked at the girls. “I need to make participation prizes for Field Day. You three want to help?”
“Yes!” they all said at once. Doing projects with their mother was always a fun way to spend the afternoon.
Mom explained the project. “Each student who participates will get a bag with a letter from the principal and a number of prizes.” Mom organized piles of gel pens and small notebooks, colorful pencils and yellow smiley-face key chains. The last pile consisted of small candy bars, plus there was a stack of letters. “I’ll put the candy and a letter to the parents inside a bag and pass it around the table. You girls fill it with one item from each pile.”
It took them a few tries to get the rhythm of the assembly line down, but once they had it, they were able to work and talk at the same time.
“How were your days?” Like always, Mom sounded happy. “Give me the highlights.”
“Good.” Erin answered first. She was in charge of the colorful pencils. “I sat next to a new friend at lunch. His name is Max.” Erin passed the bag to Ashley.
“Max. That’s nice.” Mom placed a parent letter and a candy bar in a few of the open bags to get the assembly line started.
“I had a dancing day.” Ashley was getting behind on the key chains. She picked up her pace. “What does the winner of Field Day get?” She looked at their mom. This seemed very important to her.
“Hmm.” Mom grabbed another bag and slipped her items inside. “I’m not sure. Why?”
“Because, Mother.” Ashley’s mouth hung open. Five bags were piled up beside her on the assembly line. “Prizes are the most important thing.” She lifted up the nearest bag. “These are nice, but I mean real prizes. For the winners.”
“At our old school, the winners got medals.” Kari placed another gel pen and small notebook in a bag and passed it to Erin. “Didn’t you get a bunch of them, Ash?”
“I did.” Ashley looked satisfied. “Medals would work.”
“Medals aren’t guaranteed, Ashley.” Mom looked at her. “Field Day is about having fun.”
Ashley didn’t look convinced. “Medals are better.”
“Fine.” Mom filled another bag. “What about you, Kari?”
“We learned about the meteor shower coming to Bloomington!” Kari glanced at Ashley and then Erin. “It’s completely safe. Ms. Nan said so.”
“Meteors raining down on us?” Ashley frowned. “I think I’ll stay inside.”
“No.” Kari tried again to picture the stupendous event. “Meteors flashing across the sky. Like a light show.”
Erin’s eyes lit up. “I’d love to see that.”
Mom nodded, impressed. “Sounds amazing. When is it?”
“Forty-one days.” Kari felt her excitement leave. “But then… the worst part of the day was after lunch. Ms. Nan gave us a new assignment.”
“What’s that?” Mom was curious.
“We have to write a paper on what we want to do when we grow up.” Kari let her hands fall to her lap. “But, the truth is, I don’t know.”
“I do.” Erin’s happy voice rang across the table. “I want to be a teacher!”
Ashley didn’t hesitate either. “I’m going to be an artist.”
“I’m doomed.” Kari passed another bag to Erin. “I have no idea.”
“Kari, it’s okay.” Mom smiled. “You can write about something that interests you. But you don’t have to have all the answers. Not yet.”
Just then, they heard the front door fly open and slam shut. Brooke rushed into the room, out of breath and teary-eyed. “My life is over.” She tossed her backpack to the floor and dropped to an open seat at the table.
“Hello to you, too.” Mom looked at Brooke. “Maybe you should tell us about it.”
“Right. Hello, everyone.” Brooke covered her face for a moment. “Sorry. It was the worst day.”
Kari did not like when one of her siblings was upset. It made her stomach ache and her mouth dry.
Brooke looked around the table. “I have two tests and five assignments. All due this week. Plus, Carly said she heard Stephanie Black tell Crystal Cummings that Donnie Baker is taking Stacy Campbell to the Fall Ball.” Brooke was clearly out of breath. She took a quick gasp. “And Donnie is supposed to like me.”
“Wow.” Mom moved to the seat next to Brooke. “That’s a lot, honey.”
Brooke leaned her head on their mom’s shoulder. “It’s not like I even care about that. Donnie is immature. But I wish he would have at least asked me. I would have said no. But, like, it would have been nice. You know?” She took another quick breath.
Kari couldn’t believe it. So much to deal with.
Their mother put her arm around Brooke. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You’re a little young for all that.”
“No I am not. I’m not a child, Mom.” Brooke