trying to get at.”
“Fine.” But I don’t ask right away. I scrape what’s left of the potatoes off my plate, shove them into my mouth, chew, swallow, and then I think some more.
“Well? I don’t have all day.”
“Why? Do you have a date or something?” I ask innocently.
Mom looks at me and says slowly and precisely, as if she’sbeen practising it, “No, I do not have a date
tonight
. And if you had asked in the first place, I would have told you that Doug asked me to dinner and I said yes. So eventually, yes, I will have a date.”
With that, she gets up, takes my plate, and starts clearing the table.
“But I’m not finished,” I say.
“Oh yes you are.”
Mom does the dishes in silence. She doesn’t even turn on the radio, like she usually does. I slink off to watch TV in the den, but I can still feel her anger radiating down the hall and ruining my shows. I don’t see why she’s so upset when she’s the one who is changing everything by bringing Doug into our lives. For someone who complains about there never being enough hours in the day, she seems to be able to make time for him.
Make Over
“Did you hear about Min’s birthday party? She invited to whole class to her parents’ restaurant. THE WHOLE CLASS!”
“I heard you, Mattie.”
“She’s so lucky. Her parents are going to close the Golden Dragon so it will be just us. After dinner, Min said we can push the tables back and have a dance. Can you imagine? Our own private dance!”
I don’t really care for dances, but I do love the Golden Dragon. I especially love those crunchy orange noodles they give you for your won ton soup.
“Do you think everyone will come?” I ask. “Lots of people don’t go to the school dances.”
“This is different,” Mattie insists. “It’s a free all-you-can-eat buffet and a dance. Even the boys can’t say no to that.” She has a point. I have never known any boy to turn down a free dinner.
“Come on, let’s go plan our outfits!” Mattie likes nothing more than putting outfits together. For a split second, I feel bad doing anything clothing-related without Benji, who watches those makeover shows religiously and is always honest about what looks good on you and what doesn’t. But then I figure he gets to act on stage in a musical and wearreal costumes, so I don’t feel so guilty anymore. Still, Mattie and I have very different styles; I’m not sure I can trust someone who only wears jeans on Fridays.
“Maybe some other time,” I say. “Benji will want to help out.”
“Oh.” Mattie struggles to look like she doesn’t care.
Not wanting to hurt her feelings, I make her the perfect counter-offer. “Why don’t you both come over after school on Friday? Then we can decide together.”
That perks her up. “Okay! Do you think we could ask your mom to do our hair?”
I shrug. “Sure. She’ll probably love that.”
“Great! What are you going to get Min for her birthday?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t really thought —”
“Oh! We should go to the mall together. Maybe we can find outfits, too!”
“I wasn’t really planning on getting a whole new outfit.”
“Then we’ll have to see what we can come up with. This is going to be the best party of the year, I just know it!”
By Friday, Mattie is so excited
I’m
ready to scream. She hasn’t been able to talk about anything else. Luckily Benji is here and I can zone out for the skirt talk.
“So … I was thinking about wearing my jean skirt — you know, the one with the rainbow stitching? — but I don’t think it’s special enough for a dance. It’s more of a casual everyday skirt. So then I thought maybe my purple skirt with the striped top, which I’ve only worn once”
“For picture day,” Benji says.
“Exactly! And then, like, if Josh and I start dating or whatever, obviously we’ll trade school photos, and I’ll bewearing the same outfit I wore when he first realized we should be
“Fine.” But I don’t ask right away. I scrape what’s left of the potatoes off my plate, shove them into my mouth, chew, swallow, and then I think some more.
“Well? I don’t have all day.”
“Why? Do you have a date or something?” I ask innocently.
Mom looks at me and says slowly and precisely, as if she’sbeen practising it, “No, I do not have a date
tonight
. And if you had asked in the first place, I would have told you that Doug asked me to dinner and I said yes. So eventually, yes, I will have a date.”
With that, she gets up, takes my plate, and starts clearing the table.
“But I’m not finished,” I say.
“Oh yes you are.”
Mom does the dishes in silence. She doesn’t even turn on the radio, like she usually does. I slink off to watch TV in the den, but I can still feel her anger radiating down the hall and ruining my shows. I don’t see why she’s so upset when she’s the one who is changing everything by bringing Doug into our lives. For someone who complains about there never being enough hours in the day, she seems to be able to make time for him.
Make Over
“Did you hear about Min’s birthday party? She invited to whole class to her parents’ restaurant. THE WHOLE CLASS!”
“I heard you, Mattie.”
“She’s so lucky. Her parents are going to close the Golden Dragon so it will be just us. After dinner, Min said we can push the tables back and have a dance. Can you imagine? Our own private dance!”
I don’t really care for dances, but I do love the Golden Dragon. I especially love those crunchy orange noodles they give you for your won ton soup.
“Do you think everyone will come?” I ask. “Lots of people don’t go to the school dances.”
“This is different,” Mattie insists. “It’s a free all-you-can-eat buffet and a dance. Even the boys can’t say no to that.” She has a point. I have never known any boy to turn down a free dinner.
“Come on, let’s go plan our outfits!” Mattie likes nothing more than putting outfits together. For a split second, I feel bad doing anything clothing-related without Benji, who watches those makeover shows religiously and is always honest about what looks good on you and what doesn’t. But then I figure he gets to act on stage in a musical and wearreal costumes, so I don’t feel so guilty anymore. Still, Mattie and I have very different styles; I’m not sure I can trust someone who only wears jeans on Fridays.
“Maybe some other time,” I say. “Benji will want to help out.”
“Oh.” Mattie struggles to look like she doesn’t care.
Not wanting to hurt her feelings, I make her the perfect counter-offer. “Why don’t you both come over after school on Friday? Then we can decide together.”
That perks her up. “Okay! Do you think we could ask your mom to do our hair?”
I shrug. “Sure. She’ll probably love that.”
“Great! What are you going to get Min for her birthday?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t really thought —”
“Oh! We should go to the mall together. Maybe we can find outfits, too!”
“I wasn’t really planning on getting a whole new outfit.”
“Then we’ll have to see what we can come up with. This is going to be the best party of the year, I just know it!”
By Friday, Mattie is so excited
I’m
ready to scream. She hasn’t been able to talk about anything else. Luckily Benji is here and I can zone out for the skirt talk.
“So … I was thinking about wearing my jean skirt — you know, the one with the rainbow stitching? — but I don’t think it’s special enough for a dance. It’s more of a casual everyday skirt. So then I thought maybe my purple skirt with the striped top, which I’ve only worn once”
“For picture day,” Benji says.
“Exactly! And then, like, if Josh and I start dating or whatever, obviously we’ll trade school photos, and I’ll bewearing the same outfit I wore when he first realized we should be
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