girls.â Scarlett points to the door.
âWe donât need an escort, Scarlett!â Rachel huffs.
âOh, I wouldnât miss this for the world.â Scarlett laughs as she pushes the door open.
Anika snorts. âMe neither.â
Missy nods. âYeah ⦠um ⦠hold it ⦠what donât we want to miss?â
âStay!â Scarlett holds up her hand, stopping Anika and Missy in their tracks. âWait here until Iâm done.â
Scarlett rushes ahead and is gleefully holding the door for us when we arrive at the office.
âGood morning girls,â Mrs. Harris says with a friendly smile. âPlease come in. Have a seat.â
Scarlett invites herself along.
âSo, I hear you have recently become entrepreneurs,â Mrs. Harris remarks.
âEntrepren-what?â I say, confused.
âYeah, I guess,â Rachel answers. âI mean, we have a product weâre selling, and we have investors.â
âAnd a business plan,â I add.
âHmm, well, taking all of that into account, Iâd definitely say youâre entrepreneurs,â Mrs. Harris says with a little chuckle.
âYes,â I say, âentre-pren-eurs ⦠um ⦠I thought you said something else. Yeah, weâre definitely entrepreneurs.â I like the way that sounds ⦠so professional. âWould you like to see our stuff?â I add, pushing up my sleeve.
âOh,â she says, gripping my wrist. âYes, they are quite lovely.â
Rachelâs face breaks into a smile; Scarlett looks beyond ticked off, and suddenly, I get it! Weâve been worrying for nothing. I know why Mrs. Harris invited us into her office. Sheâs the principal and the boss, and what do bosses want from their staff? Loyalty. It doesnât take a rocket scientist to figure out that Mrs. Harris plans to buy Wishbandz for all the teachers â if she gives
them bracelets, theyâll feel like a special part of her team, and theyâll give her their everlasting loyalty and devotion. Smart lady! She obviously heard how long the lineup was and didnât want to miss out. Wow, sheâs totally cool for a principal. This morning just keeps getting better!
âAhem â¦â Scarlett coughs, tapping a large book thatâs found its way onto her lap.
âOh, yes, Scarlett,â Mrs. Harris stammers, âI almost forgot.â
The smile on Scarlettâs face has returned.
Whatâs going on?
âSo you girls call your bracelets Wishbandz?â Mrs. Harris asks.
I beam. âYes, with a z at the end.â
âHow clever.â
âAhem â¦â Scarlett coughs again as she shoves the open book toward Mrs. Harris, who suddenly looks annoyed.
âWell, girls â¦â Mrs. Harrisâs face softens. âI am very pleased with the amount of effort you have put into your project. You should be very proud of yourselves.â
âWe are,â I answer.
âBeing an entrepreneur is seldom easy. There are many obstacles that can pop up unexpectedly on your way to success.â
I notice that Rachel is starting to shift around in her chair, and Scarlett has suddenly transformed into an evil feline again.
âSo, Iâm sorry to be the one to put up your first obstacle.â
âOh, Mrs. Harris,â I interrupt, âyouâre not our first obstacle.â
âShhhhh, Hannah,â Scarlett snaps, âthe principal has something very important to tell you.â
âYes, unfortunately I do.â Mrs. Harris looks down at the book. âIâm afraid that it is against school board policy for students to sell goods for personal profit while on school property and during school hours. Iâm sorry, girls, but youâre going to have to pack up your display immediately.â
And just like that, itâs over.
10
The Show Must Go On
âH annah !â I hear Mom calling from her
Elizabeth Strout
D.L. Hughley
Fran Rizer
Amber Skyze
Mary Jane Clark
Matt Chisholm
Betsy Haynes
T A Williams
Tess Fragoulis
Paula Altenburg