“My face hurts, too.”
“We don’t have time for this today,” her mom said. “I have an early meeting. Gramps is taking you to school. Now hurry.”
Ava and Nikki and Grace were waiting for Posey near her cubby.
“Miss Lee said Henry has a stomachache,” Ava said in a scared voice.
“My mom said I have to say sorry,” said Nikki.
“Me, too,” said Grace.
Posey didn’t want to talk about it. She went to her table and sat down. Henry’s place was empty.
She sat by herself all day long.
Gramps picked Posey up after school. “How was your day?” he asked.
“Bad.”
Gramps drove in silence for a while.
“Life sure is a funny thing,” he said finally. “One day, you can feel like the happiest person in the world. The next, it’s like there’s a storm cloud hanging over your head.”
Posey didn’t say anything.
“Your cloud looks like a real humdinger,” Gramps teased. “I should have brought my umbrella.”
Posey didn’t smile.
“Who are you mad at?” Gramps asked.
“Everyone.”
“That’s a lot of people.” Gramps turned into the driveway. “Maybe you should figure out where it all started and take it from there.”
Posey went up to her bedroom without having a snack.
“Danny and I are going outside,” Gramps called up the stairs. “Are you coming?”
“No,” said Posey.
“I’ll be outside if you need me.”
Posey heard the kitchen door close. Then she heard laughing outside. She pressed her face against the window.
Mrs. Romero and Gramps were helping Danny find sticks. They looked like they were having fun.
Posey put on her pink tutu and her veil.
Who cares if everyone was mean to her? She was Princess Posey. She could go anywhere and do anything.
All by herself.
Posey went and stood in front of her mirror.
“Miss Lee was mean to me,” she said.
Princess Posey looked back at her.
“Henry acts as if he knows everything,” Posey said.
Princess Posey didn’t say a word.
“Well, he does.” Posey’s shoulders sagged. “Everyone’s being mean to me.”
Princess Posey’s eyes were steady and calm. She knew where the whole thing had started.
So did Posey.
“You’ll Make Him Feel Bad!”
Gramps was sitting alone when Posey got outside.
“Where’s Mrs. Romero?” she asked.
“She had to go shopping.” Gramps stood up. “Stay with Danny while I run in and get him something to drink. I’ll be right out.”
“Okay.”
Posey sat on her swing. Tyler and another boy rode up the driveway on their bikes. They stopped in front of Tyler’s garage.
“What’s that kid doing?” the boy said.
“He’s playing,” said Posey.
“He just dumped the sticks out. Why’s he putting them back?”
“Because he likes to,” Posey said.
“What a weirdo,” the boy said. He laughed.
“Yeah, Danny is a little weirdo,” said Tyler. He laughed, too.
“He is not a weirdo, you big bullies!” Posey jumped off her swing and raced toward them.
“You’ll hurt his feelings if you call him names!” she shouted. “You’ll make him feel bad!”
Tyler put out his hands to stop her.
“Hey, Posey, we’re only kidding,” Tyler said. “Marcos is sorry. Tell her, Marcos.”
“Sorry,” said Marcos. “I think he’s cool. I collected dead worms when I was little.”
“You say it now,” Posey told Tyler.
“Sorry, Danny.” Tyler picked up a stick and held it out. “Here you go. Another one for your collection.”
Danny threw his arms around Tyler’s leg.
“See? Danny and I are friends.” Tyler ruffled Danny’s hair. “I won’t call him names anymore, okay?”
“You better not.”
Posey gave Danny a fierce hug when the boys left.
They had made fun of him the same way she made fun of Henry.
It was her turn to say sorry.
A Rock with Real Diamonds
Henry was at their table when Posey got to school in the morning.
“I’m sorry I called you a name,” she said.
Henry was arranging his rocks. He didn’t look up.
“You just love rocks, don’t you?” said Posey.
Henry nodded.
“That’s like my brother, Danny. He loves sticks.” Posey put something on the table. “You can have this for your collection. It has real diamonds in it.”
It was a sparkly rock.
Posey had found it on a nature walk. She pretended it was the treasure the magic unicorn had to guard when she played her Magic Land game.
“It isn’t diamonds,” Henry said. “It’s mica.”
“What’s mica?”
“It’s a mineral found in rocks,” said Henry. “I’m going to be a geologist when I grow up. They study rocks.”
“Maybe Danny will be a scientist, too,” Posey said. “I’m going to be a dog trainer.”
“Dogs are noisy,” Henry said. “They also bite.”
“Hero never bites,” Posey said. “He lives next door to me. You could come over and meet him.”
“What if he doesn’t like me?”
“He will if you’re my friend.”
“I can help your brother look for sticks,” said Henry.
“Okay. You ask your mom and I’ll ask mine.”
Posey went to put her things in her cubby. She stopped at Miss Lee’s desk on the way.
“Henry knows everything about rocks,” Posey said. Then she whispered, “But he’s afraid of dogs.”
“He is?” Miss Lee whispered back.
Posey nodded. “I asked him to my house to meet Hero.”
“I’m glad you worked things out.”
Posey gave a small hop. “I’m good at working things out, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are.” Miss Lee smiled. “And you always feel better after you do.”
“I know.”
Happiness bubbled up in Posey like a fountain. She twirled around. “Life sure is a funny thing, isn’t it, Miss Lee?” she said.
Miss Lee laughed. “It sure is, Posey,” she said. “It sure is.”
Princess Posey and the First-Grade Boys Page 2
