Growing Up in Lancaster County (43 page)

He shook his head.

“What do you want?”

“I’d like two powdered sugar doughnuts.” Jacob held up three fingers. “On second thought, make it three—no, I think four.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “You’re such a
sau
[pig].
Oink! Oink!
”

“I’m not a pig. I just know I’ll be hungry by lunchtime.” Jacob smacked his lips and patted his stomach. “Some powdered sugar doughnuts sound real good to me.”

“Is a tuna sandwich and four powdered sugar doughnuts all that you want?” Rachel asked as she reached for the container of doughnuts.

Jacob tapped his chin a couple of times. “Let’s see now. How about a thermos full of chocolate milk? Oh, and I’d also like some potato chips and a piece of leftover chicken.”

“Oink! Oink! Oink!”

Jacob poked Rachel’s arm. “Stop saying that. I’m not a sau!”

“Jah, you are. Only a pig eats that much at one time.”

Jacob stood straight and tall. “I eat a lot because, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m growing into a man.”

“
Puh!
” Rachel flapped her hand at him. “You’re not a man. You’re an
oink-oink
sau!”

“Am not!”

“Are so!”

“Am not!”

“What’s all the yelling about?” Grandpa asked when he stepped into the room. “I could hear you two clear down the hall.”

“She’s calling me names.”

“He’s acting like a sau.”

Grandpa motioned to Rachel. “Would you please explain to me what’s going on?”

She pointed to Jacob’s lunch pail. “Just because I’m supposed to make his lunch, he expects me to fix a whole bunch of food that he doesn’t even need. So I called him a sau.”

Grandpa frowned. “Jacob’s wrong if he expects you to fix more food than he needs, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to call him names.” He put his thumb under Rachel’s chin. “I think you should apologize to your bruder, don’t you?”

Rachel stared at the floor. “I don’t see why I have to apologize. He’s the one who started it by asking for so much food.”

“Well, if she hadn’t been grumbling about having to fix my lunch, I wouldn’t have asked for more food.” Jacob glared at Rachel. “
Die Rachel is die ganz zeit am grummle
[Rachel is grumbling all the time].”

“I am not!” Rachel shouted.

“Are too!”

“Am—”

Grandpa held up both hands. “That’s enough! I want you both to apologize for the things you’ve said to each other, and you’d better be quick about it.”

“Sorry,” Jacob and Rachel mumbled at the same time.

Grandpa motioned to Jacob’s lunch pail. “Now finish the lunches, Rachel, or you’ll both be late for school.”

“I’m almost done with Jacob’s lunch,” Rachel said. “And then I’ll need to fix my own.”

Grandpa nodded at Jacob. “Why don’t you wait outside for Rachel? She’ll be along in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Jacob slipped into his jacket, plunked his hat on his head, and hurried out the door, letting it slam shut with a bang.

Rachel sighed. “He makes me so angry! Sometimes I wish I didn’t have any
brieder
[brothers].”

Grandpa patted Rachel’s arm. “I’m sure all sisters feel that way at times. Brothers sometimes wish they didn’t have any sisters, too. I know I felt that way when I was a
buwe
[boy].” He gently squeezed Rachel’s arm. “Remember that even though Jacob sometimes gives you a hard time, he’s still a member of this family, and I’m sure he loves you. Just try to be nice to him, Rachel.”

Rachel nodded slowly. “I love him, too. I just wish he’d be nice to me all of the time.”

“Maybe someday he will—when you’re both grown up.”

Rachel grunted. “Jah, if that ever happens.”

As Rachel and Jacob walked to school, Rachel kicked at the stones along the path while she watched the falling leaves drift on the wind. It was easier than talking to Jacob, and a lot more fun.

“What are you looking at, Rachel?” Jacob asked, poking her in the back.

“I’m looking at the autumn leaves and thinking how much fun it would be if I could fly through the air like a leaf or a bird.”

Jacob grunted. “What a daydreamer you are. Won’t you ever grow up?”

“Grown-ups sometimes daydream,” Rachel said. “Grandpa does it whenever he stands on his head. He told me so once.”

Jacob shook his head. “That’s not why Grandpa stands on his head, and you know it. He stands on his head so he can think better.”

Rachel kicked another pebble with the toe of her sneaker. “A lot you know, Jacob Yoder.”

“I know more than you think, and I don’t daydream or grumble all the time.”

As they entered the school yard, Jacob ran off. He bounded up to Orlie Troyer and shouted, “Guess what, Orlie? My little sister’s a daydreamer!”

Orlie snickered and looked at Rachel.

Rachel gritted her teeth. If she hadn’t been trying so hard to do as Grandpa suggested, she’d have said something mean to Jacob.

Rachel glanced around the school yard, hoping to find her friend Audra, but she wasn’t anywhere in sight. A few minutes later, the school bell rang, and Rachel followed the other scholars inside. She was disappointed to see that Audra wasn’t at her desk. She wondered if Audra might be sick.

Ding! Ding!
Teacher Elizabeth rang the bell on her desk. Just then, Audra and her brother Brian raced into the room with red faces and breathing heavily.

“Sorry we’re late,” Audra said, looking at Elizabeth. “Our mamm’s sick in bed with the flu, so we had extra chores to do this morning.”

“It’s all right; you’re not that late,” Elizabeth said. “Just take your seats.”

A few minutes later, the scholars rose to their feet and recited the Lord’s Prayer. As the children sang a few songs, Rachel gazed out the window at some birds sitting on the branch of a maple tree. She wished she could be outside to hear the birds sing.

“Singing’s over, and it’s time to take your seat,” Audra whispered in Rachel’s ear.

Rachel’s face warmed, and she hurried to her desk.

As Elizabeth handed out the arithmetic assignment, Rachel’s mind began to wander.
I wonder what Grandpa’s doing right now. I wish I could be there helping in the greenhouse. It would be a lot more fun than being cooped up in the schoolhouse all day
.

“Rachel, are you working on your arithmetic assignment?”

Rachel jerked up straight when she heard her teacher’s voice. “Uh—yes, I’m almost done.” She looked down at her paper and realized that she’d only done two of the twelve problems.

Tap! Tap! Tap!
Rachel tapped the edge of her pencil on the side of her desk.
I wonder what Mary’s doing right now. Is she doing arithmetic at her school in Indiana? Does Mary like school this year, or does she wish she could be at home, too?

Rachel glanced out the window again. She wished it was open so she could hear the birds singing and smell the fresh fall air. She wished she could gather some fallen leaves and compare their sizes, shapes, and colors.

“All right, class. Your time is up,” Elizabeth said. “Please pass your papers to the front of the room.”

Rachel gulped. Her paper wasn’t done. She couldn’t turn it in with only two problems solved. She’d get a bad grade for sure.

Orlie, who sat in front of Rachel, turned around. “Where’s your paper, Rachel? You’re supposed to turn it in now.”

Rachel moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “I—uh—”

“You’d better give it to me, Rachel,” Orlie said.

With a sigh, Rachel handed her paper over to Orlie, along with the ones from the children behind her. Orlie stood and walked up to Elizabeth’s desk; then he handed her the papers.

When he returned to his desk, he glanced at Rachel. “Have you been daydreaming again?” he whispered.

She just looked away.

When it was time for morning recess, Rachel jumped out of her chair and raced for the back door. She could hardly wait to get outside!

“Rachel Yoder, can I see you a minute, please?”

Rachel whirled around. “What is it?” she asked her teacher.

Elizabeth motioned for Rachel to come to her desk. Then she held up Rachel’s arithmetic paper. “Why isn’t this done, Rachel? You had plenty of time to do the assignment, and it wasn’t that difficult.”

Rachel shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, I—uh—got distracted when I was looking out the window, and—”

“You were daydreaming instead of doing your schoolwork?” Elizabeth leaned across the desk and stared hard at Rachel.

Rachel nodded slowly as her face grew warm.

Elizabeth handed Rachel’s unfinished paper to her. “I want you to sit at your desk and finish this assignment right now.”

“But—but what about recess?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No recess for you this morning. You must learn to be more responsible and to do your assignment like the other scholars did.” She squinted her eyes at Rachel. “There’s a time and a place for daydreaming, but it’s not here at school. Do you understand?”

Rachel nodded and swallowed around the lump in her throat. She didn’t like missing recess, and she didn’t like being scolded by her teacher!

When it was time for lunch, Rachel grabbed her lunch pail and hurried outside to eat on the porch with several other scholars, including Jacob.

Rachel ate her peanut butter and jelly sandwich first; then she took out the doughnut she’d put in her lunch pail. When she bit into the doughnut, powdered sugar poofed out, sprinkling the front of her dress. She laughed and popped the last piece into her mouth. Then she licked her fingers.

“Grow up, Rachel,” Jacob said. “Only a boppli licks her fingers.”

“That’s not true,” Rachel said. “I’ve seen you lick your fingers when Mom serves fried chicken. I think everyone in our family does.”

Jacob shrugged. “Maybe so, but you lick yours more than anyone else. Besides that, you’re a boppli who likes to daydream and grumble all the time.” Jacob gulped down the last of his doughnuts, took a drink of chocolate milk, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I do not daydream or grumble all the time! You’re just a—” The scripture verse Grandpa had mentioned the other day popped into Rachel’s head. She clamped her mouth shut.

“I’m a what?” Jacob asked, nudging Rachel’s arm.

“Nothing,” she mumbled.

“So I’m a nothing, huh?”

“I didn’t mean that. I just meant—oh, never mind!” Rachel grabbed her lunch pail and scooted to the other end of the porch. She decided it was best not to talk to Jacob at all.

When Rachel arrived home from school that afternoon, she smelled the spicy aroma of hot apple cider as soon as she entered the kitchen.
Yum!
She licked her lips in anticipation.

Mom stood at the stove, stirring the cider in a big kettle. She turned and smiled at Rachel. “Did you have a
gut
[good] day?”

“It was okay.” Rachel chose not to mention that she’d missed morning recess to finish her arithmetic assignment. She also didn’t mention the trouble she’d had with Jacob when she’d made his lunch.

“Where’s Jacob?” Mom asked.

“He went to the chicken coop. Said he wanted to clean it first thing so he’d have some free time to do something fun.” Rachel’s stomach rumbled. “I’m hungerich,” she said, sitting at the table. “Are there any more of those powdered sugar doughnuts?”

Mom shook her head. “I gave the last two to Henry and your
daed
[dad] after lunch.” Her forehead wrinkled. “I thought there were a lot more when I put them away last night. Did you put some in your lunch pails this morning?”

Rachel nodded. “Jacob insisted on having four, and I had one.”

“Oh, I see,” Mom said.

“So is there anything for me to eat?” Rachel asked.

Mom motioned to the refrigerator. “You can have some cheese if you like.”

“Just cheese?”

“How about some crackers to go with it?”

“Jah, okay.” Rachel figured cheese and crackers would be better than nothing, so she headed to the pantry to get the box of crackers.

By the time Rachel had fixed a plate of cheese and crackers, the apple cider was heated.

“Here you go,” Mom said, placing a mug in front of Rachel.

A curl of steam drifted up from the cider, and Rachel sniffed deeply. “Mmm…this smells
appenditlich
[delicious].
Danki
[Thanks], Mom.”

“You’re welcome.” Mom poured herself a cup of cider and was about to sit down when—
Waaa! Waaa!—
Hannah’s shrill cry floated into the room.

“Guess I’d better tend to your baby sister.” Mom set her cup on the counter and hurried from the room.

Rachel ate her cheese and crackers and had just finished her cider when Mom called from the other room, “Rachel, your daed and Henry are in the barn grooming the horses. Would you please run out there and ask if they’d like some cider?”

“Okay, Mom.” Rachel set her dishes in the sink and scurried out the door.

She’d just stepped off the porch when she spotted Snowball playing with a ball of string.

“Here, kitty, kitty!” Rachel called, clapping her hands.

Snowball’s ears twitched, and she took off for the barn. Rachel raced after her.

When Rachel entered the barn, she didn’t see any sign of Snowball. Cuddles wasn’t anywhere in sight, either.

Rachel flopped onto a bale of hay, leaned her head against the wall, and closed her eyes. Soon she was daydreaming about going on a wild amusement park ride, like the one she’d gone on when she went to Hershey Park with Sherry and Dave this summer.

Rachel felt something tickle her nose, and her eyelids fluttered open. Jacob stood over her with a goose feather in his hand.

“
Absatz
[Stop]!” Rachel pushed his hand away. “Leave me alone!”

“What’s the matter, little bensel? Are you upset because I woke you, or were you daydreaming again?”

“Stop saying that to me!” she shouted so loudly that Snowball ran out from behind a bale of hay with her ears straight back. She hissed loudly as she raced out of the barn.

“Now look what you’ve done!” Jacob tickled Rachel under the chin with the feather. “You scared that poor cat of yours right out of her fur!”