What a Pair! (13 page)

On the way to school, Mark practiced the spelling words for the test they’d be having that day. He wanted to make sure he did well on the test. “Camping. C-a-m-p-i-n-g. Camping.”

“What about camping?” Mattie asked, trudging along beside him, looking like she was still half-asleep. “Are you hoping to go camping soon?”

“Nope.” Mark kicked a pebble with the toe of his boot and sent it flying. “Camping is one of the words we’ll have on our spelling test this morning.”

Mattie groaned. “Oh, that’s right, I forgot about the test.”

“Does that mean you didn’t study for it?” he asked.

“I studied a little bit.”

“Just a little bit?”

Mattie nodded.

“Then don’t expect to do well on the test.”

“What are all the other words we’ll be having?” Mattie asked. “I lost my list.”

“If you didn’t daydream so much you’d probably know where you put it.”

“Are you gonna help me or not?” Mattie asked.

Looking down at his study sheet, Mark recited the words to his sister. “Camping, fishing, fuzzy, yesterday, zipper, dizzy, plastic, coolest, packed, vase, smell, grass, coming, summer, kitten, spins, bending, facts, think, and Sunday. Oh, and there’s a bonus word—invention.”

“Most of those words are hard—especially the bonus word.” Mattie frowned. “I’ll probably fail the test.”

“You should have studied, Mattie.”

“I was studying, but when you started teasing Twinkles with that rag, I went outside to ask you to stop, and I never got back to looking at the spelling words.”

“Don’t blame me for you not studying enough. If you fail the test you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

“Now you sound like Mom.”

“I just think you need to study more so you’ll get good grades. So let’s practice some of these words while we walk.”

“Okay.”

Mark said a word, and then Mattie repeated it and tried spelling it correctly. She was doing pretty well until she spotted some yellow and white flowers growing along the edge of the road. “Oh, look at the pretty flowers. Wouldn’t they look nice in our flower beds at home?”

Mark rolled his eyes. At least he’d offered to help Mattie. If all she was going to think about was pretty flowers, she’d never pass her spelling test.

During noon recess that day, Mattie sat on the porch beside her friend Stella while they ate their lunches and visited.

“Are you still coming to my birthday supper next week?” Mattie asked, after she’d taken a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Stella bobbed her head. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Mark’s invited your cousin, John, because as you know, he’s Mark’s best friend.” Mattie smiled. “Oh, and my Grandpa and Grandma Miller will be there, too.”

“What about your other grandparents—the ones who live in Burton?” Stella asked. “Won’t they be at the birthday celebration, too?”

Mattie shook her head, feeling suddenly sad. “Grandpa Troyer’s arthritis is acting up, so I don’t think they’ll be coming.”

“That’s too bad. I’m sure they’ll send you both a gift, though.”

“The best gift of all would be to see their smiling faces. That would make me so happy.” Mattie took a drink of milk from her thermos. It was cold and refreshing.

“Get away from here!” someone hollered from across the porch.

Mattie turned to see what was going on, and was so surprised when she saw Twinkles with her little black nose inside Jared Herschberger’s lunch pail, sniffing around. Mattie liked surprises, but not this kind, and she couldn’t figure out what the dog was doing at the schoolhouse, but then she remembered that she’d forgotten to put Twinkles in her pen this morning.

“Go home, Twinkles!” Mattie shouted, clapping her hands. “Go home right now!”

Woof! Woof! Woof!
Twinkles raced back and forth across the porch excitedly, stopping only to sniff several other children’s lunch pails.

Mattie continued to holler at the dog, and so did some of the others, but Twinkles still wouldn’t go. She wasn’t being an obedient dog today, and Mattie was so embarrassed.

The teacher, Anna Ruth, stepped onto the porch just then and looked right at Mattie. “Is that your dog?”

Mattie nodded slowly, wishing at this moment that Twinkles belonged to someone else.

“Well, she can’t be here at school. Please, take her home right now.”

“Okay.” Mattie didn’t mind at all, because it would take her some time to walk home and back, which meant she’d miss taking the spelling test they’d be having soon.

“Oh, and since we’ll be having the spelling test while you’re gone, you’ll have to stay after school to take it,” Anna Ruth said.

Mattie frowned. It was bad enough that she hadn’t studied much. Now she had to stay after school and take the spelling test. She realized her forgetfulness about not putting Twinkles away like Mom had told her to do this morning would probably get her in trouble with Mom, too. She wished she’d come down with a bad cold or the flu so she could have stayed home in bed today!

    C
HAPTER
11    

“What are you thinking about?”
Mark asked, sneaking up behind Mattie and tickling the back of her neck with a feather.

She whirled around. “Absatz! You know I don’t like to be tickled!”

“Aw, sure you do.”

“No, I don’t. Not when I’m thinking.”

“What are you thinking about—the spelling test you failed at school last week?”

“Do you have to spoil our birthday by reminding me about that? Would you like me to keep reminding you about falling down the last time you tried to play baseball?”

“No, and I’m glad Anna Ruth has been letting me push some of the younger scholars on the swings during lunch recess, ‘cause that’s a lot more fun than playing baseball.”

“I guess you are happier doing that,” Mattie said, “but I’d rather play ball.”

“That’s because you’re so good at it. It’s always more fun to do something you can do well than something you always mess up.” Mark tickled Mattie’s chin with the feather again. “So what were you thinking about when I snuck up on you?”

“I was wishing Grandma and Grandpa Troyer could be here for our birthday celebration tonight.”

“I wish that, too. It would have been nice if Grandma had called and said Grandpa was feeling better by now. I’ve been praying for him.”

“Same here,” Mattie said with a nod.

Mark smiled. “Even though Grandma and Grandpa Troyer can’t come for our party, when everyone else shows up I’m sure we’ll have a good time.”

“I hope so.” Mattie’s mouth turned up at the corners. “I’m glad our birthday’s on a Saturday this year. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend the day in school.”

“Oh no, that would be baremlich.” Mark snickered and slid the feather under Mattie’s chin once more.

“Will you stop teasing?” She pushed his hand away. “If you don’t, I’ll find a feather and tickle you right back.”

“You can’t, because the only place I’m ticklish is on the bottom of my feet, and since I’m standing you can’t tickle me there.”

“If I was big like Dad or Ike, I’d pick you up and put you right on the ground,” Mattie said. “Then I’d sit on you and tickle your feet till you couldn’t stand it anymore.”

Mark plopped his hands against his hips and crinkled his nose. “Well, you’re not big like them, so don’t even think about tickling my feet!”

Mattie flapped her hand at him, like she was shooing away a pesky fly. “Why don’t you go play with your katze, or find someone else to tease with that feather?”

“Think I just might, ‘cause you’re so monotonous.”

“Monotonous? What’s that mean?” Mattie asked.

“It means you’re boring.” Mark gave Mattie one final tickle with the feather, and then he snickered all the way to the barn.

“Brothers,” Mattie mumbled. “I wish today was just my birthday and not Mark’s. Wonder what it’d be like to have a birthday all to myself and not have to share it with him?”

That evening Grandma and Grandpa Miller came for supper, along with Mattie’s best friend, Stella, and Mark’s best friend, John. There was enough food to feed a huge crowd. Mom fixed meat loaf, mashed potatoes, a tossed green salad, corn on the cob, and buttermilk biscuits. She even used their good dishes and put out the pretty stitched tablecloth with brightly colored squares on it, which made the birthday celebration even more festive.

“Umm … everything tastes appenditlich,” Grandma said, smiling at Mom.

“Danki, I’m glad you think it’s delicious,” Mom said. “Mattie likes meat loaf and biscuits, and Mark likes mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, so I made both of their favorites.”

“Who likes the tossed green salad?” Stella asked.

“I do,” Mom said with a grin.

Mattie smiled, too. She appreciated the good supper Mom had made for her and Mark’s birthday. She was glad their parents did nice things for them. She hoped that if she ever did become a parent when she grew up that she’d remember to do nice things for her children, too.

“What’s for dessert?” Russell wanted to know.

“Homemade ice cream,” Dad replied.

Mark’s mouth drooped at the corners. “Do I have to crank the handle again? That’s always hard work, and I don’t think I should have to work hard on my birthday.”

“No, you won’t have to crank,” Dad said with a chuckle. “Ike and I made the ice cream earlier, while you, Calvin, and Russell were doing your chores.”

“What kind of ice cream is it?” Mark asked with a hopeful expression. He was probably hoping for chocolate this time.

“Vanilla, but your mamm has plenty of chocolate syrup for you to pour over the top.”

“Are there strawberries, too?” Mattie questioned.

“Jah, I have plenty of strawberries.” Mom patted Mattie’s hand. “I also made you and Mark a birthday cake.”

Mark smacked his lips. “Yum. Can we have our dessert as soon as we’re done eating supper?”

“When I was your age I could eat a big meal and then gobble down my dessert right away,” Grandpa Miller said. “But now that I’m older if I eat too much it goes right to my waist.” He chuckled and thumped his stomach, while wiggling his bushy gray eyebrows. “So it’s best if I wait and let my supper settle awhile before I eat anything more.”

Stella looked over at Mattie and giggled. Mattie was glad her friend could be here to help celebrate her birthday. She hoped she’d be invited to Stella’s for supper when her birthday came, because Stella was the best friend she’d ever had.