LITMIR.BIZ

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messy little kid?” Maryellen repeated, horrified. Granted, she was not a finicky fussbudget like Joan. But a messy little kid? One who was childish, wild, untidy, tomboyish, disorganized, and grubby? A messy little kid who created disasters wherever she went? Was that how Joan and—Maryellen gulped—Mom thought of her?

      “Let’s say this,” said Mrs. Larkin. “We’ll give the All Girls Room a try tonight. Sharing a room with your big sisters will be a test for you, Ellie. If you show that you can be tidy and responsible, we’ll consider making the All Girls Room permanent. Do we have a deal, ladies?”

      “I suppose so,” said Joan with a shrug.

      “It’s fine with me,” said Carolyn.

      “Yes,” said Maryellen. She understood that if she failed this test, she’d lose her chance for the All Girls Room. But there was something even more important than that at stake. If she failed the test, she’d lose her chance to improve Mom’s opinion of her.

      “That’s settled, then,” said Mom. “Joan and Carolyn, come with me and I’ll give you fresh bedsheets. And you’d better move your pajamas and whatever else you’ll need for tonight into Ellie’s room. Ellie, if I were you, I’d start a Cleanup Campaign right away.”

      “I will, Mom,” said Maryellen.

      While the others headed to the linen closet, Maryellen dashed outside to speak to Davy.

      “Looks like I’ll be inside for a while,” she said. “I’ve got to clean up my room.”

      “How come?” asked Davy. He was sitting on the swing, spinning to make himself dizzy.

      Maryellen explained about the room switcheroo. “Joan didn’t want to do it,” she said, “because she thinks I’m messy. Mom said that she had to, but that it’ll be a test for me.”

      “A test of what?” asked Davy.

      “Neatness, mostly,” Maryellen said, “and being careful of what I do.”

      Davy grinned. “Or what you don’t do,” he said. “Just don’t make a mess.”

      “Right!” said Maryellen, cheered up by Davy as usual. “That’ll be easy!”

      Another Great Idea

       CHAPTER TWO

      sually, when Mom asked Maryellen to clean up her room, she gave it a lick and a wish, shoving her clothes into drawers, tossing her shoes into the closet, and yanking the bed covers up. But now, Maryellen folded her clothes neatly, lined up her shoes in the closet, and pulled her covers taut so that not one lump or wrinkle could be seen. Maryellen liked to sketch, so she made a little drawing of Joan and Carolyn, wrote “Welcome!” on it, and taped it to the mirror. Then she dusted the top of the bureau, in case Joan and Carolyn wanted to put their brushes and combs there.

      “Look, Mom,” she said. “Ta-da! I made everything tidy and beautiful.”

      Mrs. Larkin gave Maryellen’s work a quick glance. “Good,” she said. She sounded a little out of breath because she was standing on the lower bunk bed tucking a sheet under the mattress of the upper bunk.

      Mom didn’t seem overly impressed by her efforts, so Maryellen looked around to see what else she could do. She collected Tom’s trucks and Mikey’s blocks in a box and slid the box under the bed. Then she took some shirts off two hooks on the closet door so that Joan and Carolyn could hang their pajamas on the hooks.

      As Maryellen was hanging the shirts on hangers in the closet, Joan and Carolyn appeared, their arms full. Maryellen was delighted to see that in addition to her pajamas, Joan was bringing her tennis dress, bobby pins, cold cream, and several books and magazines. Carolyn was bringing some clothes, some rock ’n’ roll records, and her portable record player.

      Now that’s more like it! thought Maryellen. Instead of babyish toy trucks and blocks, the All Girls Room will be full of grown-up things like books, rock ’n’ roll records, and movie-star magazines.

      “You need all that for one night?” asked Mom, shaking her head at Joan and Carolyn.

      “Not all of it is for me,” said Carolyn. “I thought while I was at it, I might as well move these dresses I’ve outgrown into Ellie’s closet.” Carolyn showed Maryellen a plaid dress. “I wore this dress to the first day of fourth grade,” she said, “so I thought you’d like to, too.”

      “Uh, thanks,” said Maryellen, polite but not thrilled.

      “Hey,” said Joan, “I remember that dress. I wore it in fourth grade, too. I used to think it was so cute.”

      When Joan and Carolyn left, Maryellen held the plaid dress up in front of herself as she looked in the mirror. She sighed. “Mom,” she said, “don’t you think this hand-me-down dress is sort of old and worn-out?”

      “Umph,” said Mom. She was holding a pillow under her chin as she slipped a fresh pillowcase onto it.

      “I sure would love a brand-new outfit to wear for the first day of fourth grade,” said Maryellen. She got carried away, imagining herself in a chic, fashionable, grown-up-looking outfit like the ones girls wore on TV shows. Oh boy! Everyone would be impressed! The perfect back-to-school dress would guarantee the perfect start to school and a perfect year in fourth grade. She said eagerly, “Mom, you and I should go shopping and—”

      “Maryellen!” Mrs. Larkin interrupted in a no-nonsense voice. “Carolyn’s plaid dress is perfectly fine for your first day of school. You don’t need anything new, except maybe some socks and underwear. But right now, I can’t even think about a shopping trip. I’ve got my hands full getting ready for Betty and Florence. Now come and help me gather up these sheets for the laundry.”

      “Okay, Mom,” said Maryellen. She was disappointed, but even new underwear was better than nothing. And she knew better than to press her luck. Mom sounded unusually harried. As one of six children, Maryellen had long ago learned the sad but true lesson that parents had only a certain amount of patience and energy and attention to give, and you couldn’t use more than your share or your parents got mad. So she just quietly helped Mom with the sheets. She’d save the shopping conversation for later.

      After lunch, Mrs. Larkin said, “Kids, I’ve got to scrub the kitchen floor. I need you out of my hair and out of the house for a while. So put on your swimsuits and go to the beach.” She turned to Davy, who had come over for lunch, and said, “Davy, ask your mom if you may go, too, if you like.”

      The girls hurried off to put on their swimsuits. The Larkins lived in Daytona Beach, Florida, just a few blocks from the ocean. Maryellen felt lucky that on hot days like this one, she could go to the beach to swim and cool off.

      Maryellen was ready in a flash, so she went back to the kitchen, where Mom was helping Mikey put on his bathing trunks. Maryellen saw an old photo that she’d never seen before on the kitchen table. The photo was of Mom and two smiling ladies standing in front of a factory. Maryellen immediately figured out that the two ladies were Betty and Florence. “Hey, Mom,” she asked as she looked at the photo, “what did you and Betty and Florence do at the factory?”

      “Well, they worked on the assembly line, and I was the line manager,” said Mrs. Larkin.

      “The manager?” repeated Maryellen. “You mean you were the boss of the whole assembly line?”

      “I sure was,” said Mom, tying Mikey’s shoelaces.

      Maryellen

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