Dance, Belle, Dance!. Beth Huffman

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СКАЧАТЬ was no answer. Mom repeated the question. “Belle, do you hear me? We’re close to the school. Are you paying attention?”

      So once again I thought to myself, “Did you really just ask her if she’s paying attention, Mom? She never does. You know that. She didn’t hear a word you said because she’s been fiddling with some paper clips for the last five minutes. In case you haven’t noticed, she’s never stopped kicking the back of your seat.”

      Belle still hadn’t responded when Dad parked the car. That’s because she had other things on her mind - like unfastening her seat belt, jumping out, running to the front door of the school building and shouting, “Macey, I beat you!”

      I covered my face. I didn’t want anyone to know she was my sister. I was as sarcastic as possible when I said to Mom, “She’s done a great job of holding Dad’s hand and using her quiet voice tonight, hasn’t she? I bet you’re really proud of her, aren’t you?”

      They hurried to catch up with her in fear of what she might do next. I could hear Dad yelling at her for taking off and never looking to see if any cars were coming. I’m pretty sure she missed the point because she interrupted him and said, “Let’s go to the playground, Macey!”

      First Impressions

      I had goose bumps when we walked into the building. Just two years earlier, I had been in Mrs. Heldman’s kindergarten class. At the open house, I remembered whispering, “Mom, this room looks like a magic castle.”

      I was afraid to guess what Belle would say when she saw the room. I was even more afraid what she’d say to Mrs. Heldman. That’s why I kept a safe distance behind Mom and Dad. They were holding Belle’s hands to keep her from taking off but that didn’t stop her from hollering, “Where’s my room? Where’s my teacher?”

      I don’t know if Mrs. Heldman heard her or not. I think she did because she stepped into the hall to greet us. I was looking for some dark corner where I could hide.

      “Hello! I bet you’re Belle Andrews. I’m Mrs. Heldman.”

      Belle let go of Mom and Dad’s hands, spun around in a perfect circle and said, “I already know your name is Mrs. Heldman. You were Macey’s teacher. She liked you. Did you like her? Sometimes she’s mean to me.”

      Mrs. Heldman understood why I was staring at the floor. She knew I was thinking, “I’m sorry about my sister. We aren’t anything alike.” She handled things perfectly. “Oh, I enjoyed having Macey in class very much, Belle. I know I’m going to enjoy having you, too. Are you excited to be starting kindergarten?”

      “Yes! I’m excited! I want to see my new room. Can Macey come with me?”

      Mrs. Heldman reached for her hand and calmly said, “You can show her your room another time. I’m sure she’s anxious to meet her new teacher.”

      Before she could argue, Mom added, “I’m going with Macey tonight and Jeff is going to be with Belle. We’re so pleased that you’ll be her teacher, Mrs. Heldman.”

      Belle didn’t like the plan one bit. She stomped her foot and started yelling, “I want Macey! I want Macey!”

      Mom and I quickly walked away and didn’t look back. My room wasn’t very far away. I could see Miss Rex standing in the hallway. I’ll never forget her warm handshake. My heart started beating really fast when she said my name.

      “Macey, I’m so happy that you’re in my class. Your 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Bowers, and I are good friends. She told me that you love to read and write stories. Is that true?”

      “It’s true. Mrs. Bowers said I should be a teacher when I grow up.”

      “That sounds like a wonderful idea. Now please introduce me to your mother and tell me a little bit about your family.”

      “Miss Rex, this is my mom. Her name is Caroline and my Dad’s name is Jeff. He’s with my sister tonight because she’s starting kindergarten. Her name is Belle.”

      “Mrs. Andrews, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Macey, why don’t you and your mother take a tour of the room? You’ll see your name on one of the desks.”

      The rainbows of color on the bulletin boards and walls were dazzling. “Mom, look at all the books. There have to be at least 100 or more. Don’t you think?”

      “You might be right, sweetie.”

      “I wonder if Miss Rex will let us take them home. I bet she will. And look how close my desk is to Kylie’s. This is so cool.”

      “Honey, I know you want to stay longer but we need to go. I’m sure that Dad and Belle are waiting for us.”

      By then, Miss Rex had come into the room. I waved goodbye to her but she didn’t see me. She was showing parents the new computers we’d be using. As soon as we were in the hallway, I spotted the exit door that led to the parking lot.

      “Mom, I’m going this way. I’ll meet you at the car. I don’t want anybody else to see me with Belle tonight.”

      “I wish you wouldn’t say hurtful things like that. She adores you. She’s young and immature. She’ll grow out of it.”

      “Yeah, she’s definitely immature but I don’t think she’ll ever grow out of it.”

      A few seconds later, I heard a voice yelling, “Daddy, where’s Macey? I wanna see her room.”

      I was out the door immediately.

      Bedtime

      The ride home was exactly like I thought it would be. Mom asked Belle how her night had gone. She gave the same answer she always does when she isn’t paying attention.

      “Uh, I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

      Dad tried to get her to say something that sounded half-way normal. “Now you know what happened. Tell Mom and Macey what Mrs. Heldman had everyone do. Tell them about getting in a circle.”

      When she didn’t answer, he tried again. “Belle, what did you have to say?”

      “I had to say my whole name. What else, Daddy?”

      “You had to tell everyone your favorite color.”

      “Oh, that’s right. I said I love pink, purple, blue and yellow. Some kids started laughing. I didn’t think it was funny. Did you, Daddy?”

      I should have kept my mouth shut but I didn’t. “They were laughing because your answer was totally stupid. You were only supposed to say one favorite color.”

      “I don’t care. I like a lot of colors. Hey Macey, when we get home, let’s make hot fudge sundaes. Then we can play some video games.”

      Mom quickly put a stop to that. “No ice cream before bed and no video games. You can have a bowl of cereal or fruit. You’re also going to need another bath. Why exactly did you draw blue lines on your hands and legs?”

      “I saw some boy do it tonight. СКАЧАТЬ