R.L. Stine. My name is Amy Kramer, and every Thursday night I feel a little dumb

Goosebumps - 31

(An Undead Scan v1.5)

My name is Amy Kramer, and every Thursday night I feel a little dumb. That’s because Thursday is “Family Sharing Night” at my house.

Sara and Jed think it’s dumb, too. But Mom and Dad won’t listen to our complaints. “It’s the most important night of the week,” Dad says.

“It’s a family tradition,” Mom adds. “It’s something you kids will always remember.”

Right, Mom. It’s something I’ll always remember as really painful and embarrassing.

You’ve probably guessed that on Family Sharing Night, every member of the Kramer family—except for George, our cat—has to share something with the rest of the family.

It isn’t so bad for my sister, Sara. Sara is fourteen—two years older than me—and she’s a genius painter. Really. One of her paintings was chosen for a show at the art museum downtown. Sara may go to a special arts high school next year.

So Sara always shares some sketches she’s working on. Or a new painting.

And Family Sharing Night isn’t so bad for Jed, either. My ten-year-old brother is such a total goof. He doesn’t care what he shares. One Thursday night, he burped really loud and explained that he was sharing his dinner.

Jed laughed like a lunatic.

But Mom and Dad didn’t think it was funny. They gave Jed a stern lecture about taking Family Sharing Night more seriously.

The next Thursday night, my obnoxious brother shared a note that David Miller, a kid at my school, had written to me. A very personal note! Jed found the note in my room and decided to share it with everyone.

Nice?

I wanted to die. I really did.

Jed just thinks he’s so cute and adorable, he can get away with anything. He thinks he’s really special.

I think it’s because he’s the only redhead in the family. Sara and I both have straight black hair, dark green eyes, and very tan skin. With his pale skin, freckled face, and curly red hair, Jed looks like he comes from another family!

And sometimes Sara and I both wish he did.

Anyway, I’m the one with the most problems on Family Sharing Night. Because I’m not really talented the way Sara is. And I’m not a total goof like Jed.

So I never really know what to share.

I mean, I have a seashell collection, which I keep in a jar on my dresser. But it’s really kind of boring to hold up shells and talk about them. And we haven’t been to the ocean for nearly two years. So my shells are kind of old, and everyone has already seen them.

I also have a really good collection of CDs. But no one else in my family is into Bob Marley and reggae music. If I start to share some music with them, they all hold their ears and complain till I shut it off.

So I usually make up some kind of a story—an adventure story about a girl who survives danger after danger. Or a wild fairy tale about princesses who turn into tigers.

After my last story, Dad had a big smile on his face. “Amy is going to be a famous writer,” he announced. “She’s so good at making up stories.” Dad gazed around the room, still smiling. “We have such a talented family!” he exclaimed.

I knew he was just saying that to be a good parent. To “encourage” me. Sara is the real talent in our family. Everyone knows that.

Tonight, Jed was the first to share. Mom and Dad sat on the living room couch. Dad had taken out a tissue and was squinting as he cleaned his glasses. Dad can’t stand to have the tiniest speck of dust on his glasses. He cleans them about twenty times a day.

I settled in the big brown armchair against the wall. Sara sat cross-legged on the carpet beside my chair.

“What are you going to share tonight?” Mom asked Jed. “And I hope it isn’t another horrible burp.”

“That was so gross!” Sara moaned.

“Your face is gross!” Jed shot back. He stuck out his tongue at Sara.

“Jed, please—give us a break tonight,” Dad muttered, slipping his glasses back on, adjusting them on his nose. “Don’t cause trouble.”

“She started it,” Jed insisted, pointing at Sara.

“Just share something,” I told Jed, sighing.

“I’m going to share your freckles,” Sara told him. “I’m going to pull them off one by one and feed them to George.”

Sara and I laughed. George didn’t glance up. He was curled up, napping on the carpet beside the couch.

“That’s not funny, girls,” Mom snapped. “Stop being mean to your brother.”

“This is supposed to be a family night,” Dad wailed. “Why can’t we be a family?”

“We are!” Jed insisted.

Dad frowned and shook his head. He looks like an owl when he does that. “Jed, are you going to share something?” he demanded weakly.

Jed nodded. “Yeah.” He stood in the center of the room and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. He wears loose, baggy jeans about ten sizes too big. They always look as if they’re about to fall down. Jed thinks that’s cool.

“I… uh… learned to whistle through my fingers,” he announced.

“Wow,” Sara muttered sarcastically.

Jed ignored her. He pulled his hands from his pockets. Then he stuck his two little fingers into the sides of his mouth—and let out a long, shrill whistle.

He whistled through his fingers two more times. Then he took a deep bow. The whole family burst into loud applause.

Jed, grinning, took another low bow.

“Such a talented family!” Dad declared. This time, he meant it as a joke.

Jed dropped down on the floor beside George, startling the poor cat awake.

“Your turn next, Amy,” Mom said, turning to me. “Are you going to tell us another story?”

“Her stories are too long!” Jed complained.

George climbed unsteadily to his feet and moved a few feet away from Jed. Yawning, the cat dropped on to his stomach beside Mom’s feet.

“I’m not going to tell a story tonight,” I announced. I picked up Dennis from behind my armchair.

Sara and Jed both groaned.

“Hey—give me a break!” I shouted. I settled back on the edge of the chair, fixing my dummy on my lap. “I thought I’d talk to Dennis tonight,” I told Mom and Dad.

They had half-smiles on their faces. I didn’t care. I’d been practicing with Dennis all week. And I wanted to try out my new comedy routine with him.

“Amy is a lousy ventriloquist,” Jed chimed in. “You can see her lips move.”

“Be quiet, Jed. I think Dennis is funny,” Sara said. She scooted toward the couch so she could see better.

I balanced Dennis on my left knee and wrapped my fingers around the string in his back that worked his mouth. Dennis is a very old ventriloquist’s dummy. The paint on his face is faded. One eye is almost completely white. His turtle-neck sweater is torn and tattered.

But I have a lot of fun with him. When my five-year-old cousins come to visit, I like to entertain them with Dennis. They squeal and laugh. They think I’m a riot.

I think I’m getting much better with Dennis. Despite Jed’s complaints.

I took a deep breath, glanced at Mom and Dad, and began my act.

“How are you tonight, Dennis?” I asked.

“Not too well,” I made the dummy reply in a high, shrill voice. Dennis’ voice.

“Really, Dennis? What’s wrong?”

“I think I caught a bug.”

“You mean you have the flu?” I asked him.

“No. Termites!”

Mom and Dad laughed. Sara smiled. Jed groaned loudly.

I turned back to Dennis. “Well, have you been to a doctor?” I asked him.

“No. A carpenter!”

Mom and Dad smiled at that one, but didn’t laugh. Jed groaned again. Sara stuck her finger down her throat, pretending to puke.

“No one liked that joke, Dennis,” I told him.

“Who’s joking?” I made Dennis reply.

“This is lame,” I heard Jed mutter to Sara. She nodded her head in agreement.

“Let’s change the subject, Dennis,” I said, shifting the dummy to my other knee. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

I leaned Dennis forward, trying to make him nod his head yes. But his head rolled right off his shoulders.

The wooden head hit the floor with a thud and bounced over to George. The cat leaped up and scampered away.

Sara and Jed collapsed in laughter, slapping each other high fives.

I jumped angrily to my feet. “Dad!” I screamed. “You promised you’d buy me a new dummy!”

Jed scurried over to the rug and picked up Dennis’ head. He pulled the string, making the dummy’s mouth move. “Amy reeks! Amy reeks!” Jed made the dummy repeat over and over.

“Give me that!” I grabbed the head angrily from Jed’s hand.

“Amy reeks! Amy reeks!” Jed continued chanting.

“That’s enough!” Mom shouted, jumping up off the couch.

Jed retreated back to the wall.

“I’ve been checking the stores for a new dummy,” Dad told me, pulling off his glasses again and examining them closely. “But they’re all so expensive.”

“Well, how am I ever going to get better at this?” I demanded. “Dennis’ head falls off every time I use him!”

“Do your best,” Mom said.

What did that mean? I always hated it when she said that.

“Instead of Family Sharing Night, we should call this the Thursday Night Fights,” Sara declared.

Jed raised his fists. “Want to fight?” he asked Sara.

“It’s your turn, Sara,” Mom replied, narrowing her eyes at Jed. “What are you sharing tonight?”

“I have a new painting,” Sara announced. “It’s a watercolor.”

“Of what?” Dad asked, settling his glasses back on his face.

“Remember that cabin we had in Maine a few summers ago?” Sara replied, tossing back her straight black hair. “The one overlooking the dark rock cliff? I found a snapshot of it, and I tried to paint it.”

I suddenly felt really angry and upset. I admit it. I was jealous of Sara.

Here she was, about to share another beautiful watercolor. And here I was, rolling a stupid wooden dummy head in my lap.

It just wasn’t fair!

“You’ll have to come to my room to see it,” Sara was saying. “It’s still wet.”

We all stood up and trooped to Sara’s room.

My family lives in a long, one-story ranch-style house. My room and Jed’s room are at the end of one hallway. The living room, dining room, and kitchen are in the middle. Sara’s room and my parents’ room are down the other hall, way at the other end of the house.

I led the way down the hall. Behind me, Sara was going on and on about all the trouble she’d had with the painting and how she’d solved the problems.

“I remember that cabin so well,” Dad said.

“I can’t wait to see the painting,” Mom added.

I stepped into Sara’s room and clicked on the light.

Then I turned to the easel by the window that held the painting—and let out a scream of horror.

My mouth dropped open in shock. I stared at the painting, unable to speak.

When Sara saw it, she let out a shriek. “I—I don’t believe it!” she screamed. “Who did that?”

Someone had painted a yellow-and-black smile face in the corner of her painting. Right in the middle of the black rock cliff. Mom and Dad stepped up to the easel, fretful expressions on their faces. They studied the smile face, then turned to Jed.

Jed burst out laughing. “Do you like it?” he asked innocently.

“Jed—how could you!” Sara exploded. “I’ll kill you! I really will!”

“The painting was too dark,” Jed explained with a shrug. “I wanted to brighten it up.”

“But… but… but…” my sister sputtered. She balled her hands into fists, shook them at Jed, and uttered a loud cry of rage.

“Jed—what were you doing in Sara’s room?” Mom demanded.

Sara doesn’t like for anyone to go into her precious room without a written invitation!

“Young man, you know you’re never allowed to touch your sister’s paintings,” Dad scolded.

“I can paint, too,” Jed replied. “I’m a good painter.”

“Then do your own paintings!” Sara snapped. “Don’t sneak in here and mess up my work!”

“I didn’t sneak,” Jed insisted. He sneered at Sara. “I was just trying to help.”

“You were not!” Sara screamed, angrily tossing her black hair over her shoulder. “You ruined my painting!”

“Your painting reeks!” Jed shot back.

“Enough!” Mom shouted. She grabbed Jed by both shoulders. “Jed—look at me! You don’t seem to see how serious this is. This is the worst thing you’ve ever done!”

Jed’s smile finally faded.

I took another glance at the ugly smile face he had slopped on to Sara’s watercolor. Since he’s the baby in the family, Jed thinks he can get away with anything.

But I knew that this time he had gone too far.

After all, Sara is the star of the family. She’s the talented one. The one with the painting that hung in a museum. Messing with Sara’s precious painting was bound to get Jed in major trouble.

Sara is so stuck-up about her paintings. A few times, I even thought about painting something funny on one of them. But of course I only thought it. I would never do anything that horrible.

“You don’t have to be jealous of your sister’s work,” Dad was telling Jed. “We’re all talented in this family.”

“Oh, sure,” Jed muttered. He has this weird habit. Whenever he’s in trouble, he doesn’t say he’s sorry. Instead, he gets really angry. “What’s your talent, Dad?” Jed demanded, sneering.

Dad’s jaw tightened. He narrowed his eyes at Jed. “We’re not discussing me,” he said in a low voice. “But I’ll tell you. My talent is my Chinese cooking. You see, there are all kinds of talents, Jed.”

Dad considers himself a Master of the Wok. Once or twice a week, he chops a ton of vegetables into little pieces and fries them up in the electric wok Mom got him for Christmas.

We pretend it tastes great.

No point in hurting Dad’s feelings.

“Is Jed going to be punished or not?” Sara demanded in a shrill voice.

She had opened her box of watercolor paints and was rolling a brush in the black. Then she began painting over the smile face with quick, furious strokes.

“Yes, Jed is going to be punished,” Mom replied, glaring at him. Jed lowered his eyes to the floor. “First he’s going to apologize to Sara.”

We all waited.

It took Jed a while. But he finally managed to mutter, “Sorry, Sara.”

He started to leave the room, but Mom grabbed his shoulders again and pulled him back. “Not so fast, Jed,” she told him. “Your punishment is you can’t go to the movies with Josh and Matt on Saturday. And… no video games for a week.”

“Mom—give me a break!” Jed whined.

“What you did was really bad,” Mom said sternly. “Maybe this punishment will make you realize how horrible it was.”

“But I have to go to the movies!” Jed protested.

“You can’t,” Mom replied softly. “And no arguing, or I’ll add on to your punishment. Now go to your room.”

“I don’t think it’s enough punishment,” Sara said, dabbing away at her painting.

“Keep out of it, Sara,” Mom snapped.

“Yeah. Keep out of it,” Jed muttered. He stomped out of the room and down the long hall to his room.

Dad sighed. He swept a hand back over his bald head. “Family Sharing Night is over,” he said sadly.

* * *

I stayed in Sara’s room and watched her repair the painting for a while. She kept tsk-tsking and shaking her head.

“I have to make the rocks much darker, or the paint won’t cover the stupid smile face,” she explained unhappily. “But if I make the rocks darker, I have to change the sky. The whole balance is ruined.”

“I think it looks pretty good,” I told her, trying to cheer her up.

“How could Jed do that?” Sara demanded, dipping her brush in the water jar. “How could he sneak in here and totally destroy a work of art?”

I was feeling sorry for Sara. But that remark made me lose all sympathy. I mean, why couldn’t she just call it a watercolor painting? Why did she have to call it “a work of art”?

Sometimes she is so stuck-up and so in love with herself, it makes me sick.

I turned and left the room. She didn’t even notice.

I went down the hall to my room and called my friend Margo. We talked for a while about stuff. And we made plans to get together the next day.

As I talked on the phone, I could hear Jed in his room next door. He was pacing back and forth, tossing things around, making a lot of noise.

Sometimes I spell the word “Jed” B-R-A-T.

Margo’s dad made her get off the phone. He’s real strict. He never lets her talk for more than ten or fifteen minutes.

I wandered into the kitchen and made myself a bowl of Frosted Flakes. My favorite late snack. When I was a little kid, I used to have a bowl of cereal every night before bed. And I just never got out of the habit.

I rinsed out the bowl. Then I said good night to Mom and Dad and went to bed.

It was a warm spring night. A soft breeze fluttered the curtains over the window. Pale light from a big half-moon filled the window and spilled on to the floor.

I fell into a deep sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

A short while later, something woke me up. I’m not sure what.

Still half asleep, I blinked my eyes open and raised myself on my pillow. I struggled to see clearly.

The curtains flapped over the window.

I felt as if I were still asleep, dreaming.

But what I saw in the window snapped me awake.

The curtains billowed, then lifted away.

And in the silvery light, I saw a face.

An ugly, grinning face in my bedroom window. Staring through the darkness at me.

The curtains flapped again.

The face didn’t move.

“Who—?” I choked out, squeezing the sheet up to my chin.

The eyes stared in at me. Cold, unblinking eyes.

Dummy eyes.

Dennis.

Dennis stared blankly at me, his white eye catching the glow of the moonlight.

I let out an angry roar, tossed off the sheet, and bolted out of bed. To the window.

I pushed away the billowing curtains and grabbed Dennis’ head off the window ledge. “Who put you there?” I demanded, holding the head between my hands. “Who did it, Dennis?”

I heard soft laughter behind me. From the hallway.

I flew across the room, the head still in my hands. I pulled open my bedroom door.

Jed held his hand over his mouth, muffling his laughter. “Gotcha!” he whispered gleefully.

“Jed—you creep!” I cried. I let the dummy head drop to the floor. Then I grabbed Jed’s pajama pants with both hands and jerked them up as high as I could—nearly to his chin!

He let out a gasp of pain and stumbled back against the wall.

“Why did you do that?” I demanded in an angry whisper. “Why did you put the dummy head on my window ledge?”

Jed tugged his pajama pants back into place. “To pay you back,” he muttered.

“Huh? Me?” I shrieked. “I didn’t do anything to you. What did I do?”

“You didn’t stick up for me,” he grumbled, scratching his red curly hair. His eyes narrowed at me. “You didn’t say anything to help me out. You know. About Sara’s painting.”

“Excuse me?” I cried. “How could I help you out? What could I say?”

“You could have said it was no big deal,” Jed replied.

“But it was a big deal!” I told him. “You know how seriously Sara takes her paintings.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Jed. But you deserve to be punished. You really do.”

He stared at me across the dim hallway, thinking about what I’d said. Then an evil smile spread slowly over his freckled face. “Hope I didn’t scare you too much, Amy.” He snickered. Then he picked Dennis’ head up off the carpet and tossed it at me.

I caught it in one hand. “Go to sleep, Jed,” I told him. “And don’t mess with Dennis again!”

I stepped back into my room and closed the door. I tossed Dennis’ head onto a pile of clothes on my desk chair. Then I climbed wearily back into bed.

So much trouble around here tonight, I thought, shutting my eyes, trying to relax.

So much trouble…

Two days later, Dad brought home a present for me. A new ventriloquist’s dummy. That’s when the real trouble began.

Margo came over the next afternoon. Margo is real tiny, sort of like a mini-person. She has a tiny face, and is very pretty, with bright blue eyes, and delicate features.

Her blond hair is very light and very fine. She let it grow this year. It’s just about down to her tiny little waist.

She’s nearly a foot shorter than me, even though we both turned twelve in February. She’s very smart and very popular. But the boys like to make fun of her soft, whispery voice.

Today she was wearing a bright blue tank top tucked into white tennis shorts. “I bought the new Beatles collection,” she told me as she stepped into the house. She held up a CD box.

Margo loves the Beatles. She doesn’t listen to any of the new groups. In her room, she has an entire shelf of Beatles CDs and tapes. And she has Beatles posters on her walls.

We went to my room and put on the CD. Margo settled on the bed. I sprawled on the carpet across from her.

“My dad almost didn’t let me come over,” Margo told me, pushing her long hair behind her shoulder. “He thought he might need me to work at the restaurant.”

Margo’s dad owns a huge restaurant downtown called The Party House. It’s not really a restaurant. It’s a big, old house filled with enormous rooms where people can hold parties.

A lot of kids have birthday parties there. And there are bar mitzvahs and confirmations and wedding receptions there, too. Sometimes there are six parties going on at once!

One Beatles song ended. The next song, “Love Me Do”, started up.

“I love this song!” Margo exclaimed. She sang along with it for a while. I tried singing with her, but I’m totally tone deaf. As my dad says, I can’t carry a tune in a wheelbarrow.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t have to work today,” I told Margo.

“Me, too,” Margo sighed. “Dad always gives me the worst jobs. You know. Clearing tables. Or putting away dishes. Or wrapping up garbage bags. Yuck.”

She started singing again—and then stopped. She sat up on the bed. “Amy, I almost forgot. Dad may have a job for you.”

“Excuse me?” I replied. “Wrapping up garbage bags? I don’t think so, Margo.”

“No. No. Listen,” Margo pleaded excitedly in her mouselike voice. “It’s a good job. Dad has a bunch of birthday parties coming up. For teeny tiny kids. You know. Two-year-olds. Maybe three- or four-year-olds. And he thought you could entertain them.”

“Huh?” I stared at my friend. I still didn’t understand. “You mean, sing or something?”

“No. With Dennis,” Margo explained. She twisted a lock of hair around in her fingers and bobbed her head in time to the music as she talked. “Dad saw you with Dennis at the sixth-grade talent night. He was really impressed.”

“He was? I was terrible that night!” I replied.

“Well, Dad didn’t think so. He wonders if you’d like to come to the birthday parties and put on a show with Dennis. The little kids will love it. Dad said he’d even pay you.”

“Wow! That’s cool!” I replied. What an exciting idea.

Then I remembered something.

I jumped to my feet, crossed the room to the chair, and held up Dennis’ head. “One small problem,” I groaned.

Margo let go of her hair and made a sick face. “His head? Why did you take off his head?”

“I didn’t,” I replied. “It fell off. Every time I use Dennis, his head falls off.”

“Oh.” Margo uttered a disappointed sigh. “The head looks weird all by itself. I don’t think little kids would like it if it fell off.”

“I don’t think so,” I agreed.

“It might frighten them or something,” Margo said. “You know. Give them nightmares. Make them think their own head might fall off.”

“Dennis is totally wrecked. Dad promised me a new dummy. But he hasn’t been able to find one.”

“Too bad,” Margo replied. “You’d have fun performing for the kids.”

We listened to more Beatles music. Then Margo had to go home.

A few minutes after she left, I heard the front door slam.

“Hey, Amy! Amy—are you home?” I heard Dad call from the living room.

“Coming!” I called. I made my way to the front of the house. Dad stood in the entryway, a long carton under his arm, a smile on his face.

He handed the carton to me. “Happy Un-birthday!” he exclaimed.

“Dad! Is it—?” I cried. I tore open the carton. “Yes!” A new dummy!

I lifted him carefully out of the carton.

The dummy had wavy brown hair painted on top of his wooden head. I studied his face. It was kind of strange. Kind of intense. His eyes were bright blue—not faded like Dennis’. He had bright red painted lips, curved up into an eerie smile. His lower lip had a chip on one side so that it didn’t quite match the other lip.

As I pulled him from the box, the dummy appeared to stare into my eyes. The eyes sparkled. The grin grew wider.

I felt a sudden chill. Why does this dummy seem to be laughing at me? I wondered.

I held him up, examining him carefully. He wore a gray, double-breasted suit over a white shirt collar. The collar was stapled to his neck. He didn’t have a shirt. Instead, his wooden chest had been painted white.

Big, black leather shoes were attached to the ends of his thin, dangling legs.

“Dad—he’s great!” I exclaimed.

“I found him in a pawnshop,” Dad said, picking up the dummy’s hand and pretending to shake hands with it. “How do you do, Slappy.”

“Slappy? Is that his name?”

“That’s what the man in the store said,” Dad replied. He lifted Slappy’s arms, examining his suit. “I don’t know why he sold Slappy so cheaply. He practically gave the dummy away!”

I turned the dummy around and looked for the string in his back that made the mouth open and close. “He’s excellent, Dad,” I said. I kissed my dad on the cheek. “Thanks.”

“Do you really like him?” Dad asked.

Slappy grinned up at me. His blue eyes stared into mine. He seemed to be waiting for an answer, too.

“Yes. He’s awesome!” I said. “I like his serious eyes. They look so real.”

“The eyes move,” Dad said. “They’re not painted on like Dennis’. They don’t blink, but they move from side to side.”

I reached my hand inside the dummy’s back. “How do you make his eyes move?” I asked.

“The man showed me,” Dad said. “It’s not hard. First you grab the string that works the mouth.”

“I’ve got that,” I told him.

“Then you move your hand up into the dummy’s head. There is a little lever up there. Do you feel it? Push on it. The eyes will move in the direction you push.”

“Okay. I’ll try,” I said.

Slowly I moved my hand up inside the dummy’s back. Through the neck. And into his head.

I stopped and let out a startled cry as my hand hit something soft.

Something soft and warm.

His brain!

“Ohhh.” I uttered a sick moan and jerked my hand out as fast as I could.

I could still feel the soft, warm mush on my fingers.

“Amy—what’s wrong?” Dad cried.

“His—his brains—!” I choked out, feeling my stomach lurch.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Dad grabbed the dummy from my hands. He turned it over and reached into the back.

I covered my mouth with both hands and watched him reach into the head. His eyes widened in surprise.

He struggled with something. Then pulled his hand out.

“Yuck!” I groaned. “What’s that!”

Dad stared down at the mushy, green and purple and brown object in his hand. “Looks like someone left a sandwich in there!” he exclaimed.

Dad’s whole face twisted in disgust. “It’s all moldy and rotten. Must have been in there for months!”

“Yuck!” I repeated, holding my nose. “It really stinks! Why would someone leave a sandwich in a dummy’s head?”

“Beats me,” Dad replied, shaking his head. “And it looks like there are wormholes in it!”

“Yuuuuuck!” we both cried in unison.

Dad handed Slappy back to me. Then he hurried into the kitchen to get rid of the rotted, moldy sandwich.

I heard him run the garbage disposal. Then I heard water running as he washed his hands. A few seconds later, Dad returned to the living room, drying his hands on a dish towel.

“Maybe we’d better examine Slappy closely,” he suggested. “We don’t want any more surprises— do we?”

I carried Slappy into the kitchen, and we stretched him out on the counter. Dad examined the dummy’s shoes carefully. They were attached to the legs and didn’t come off.

I put my finger on the dummy’s chin and moved the mouth up and down. Then I checked out his wooden hands.

I unbuttoned the gray suit jacket and studied the dummy’s painted shirt. Patches of the white paint had chipped and cracked. But it was okay.

“Everything looks fine, Dad,” I reported.

He nodded. Then he smelled his fingers. I guess he hadn’t washed away all of the stink from the rotted sandwich.

“We’d better spray the inside of his head with disinfectant or perfume or something,” Dad said.

Then, as I was buttoning up the jacket, something caught my eye.

Something yellow. A slip of paper poking up from the jacket pocket.

It’s probably a sales receipt, I thought.

But when I pulled out the small square of yellow paper, I found strange writing on it. Weird words in a language I’d never seen before.

I squinted hard at the paper and slowly read the words out loud:

“Karru marri odonna loma molonu karrano.”

I wonder what that means? I thought.

And then I glanced down at Slappy’s face.

And saw his red lips twitch.

And saw one eye slowly close in a wink.

“D-d-dad!” I stuttered. “He—moved!”

“Huh?” Dad had gone back to the sink to wash his hands for a third time. “What’s wrong with the dummy?”

“He moved!” I cried. “He winked at me!”

Dad came over to the counter, wiping his hands. “I told you, Amy—he can’t blink. The eyes only move from side to side.”

“No!” I insisted. “He winked. His lips twitched, and he winked.”

Dad frowned and picked up the dummy head in both hands. He raised it to examine it. “Well… maybe the eyelids are loose,” he said. “I’ll see if I can tighten them up. Maybe if I take a screwdriver I can—”

Dad didn’t finish his sentence.

Because the dummy swung his wooden hand up and hit Dad on the side of the head.

“Ow!” Dad cried, dropping the dummy back onto the counter. Dad grabbed his cheek. “Hey—stop it, Amy! That hurt!”

“Me?” I shrieked. “I didn’t do it!”

Dad glared at me, rubbing his cheek. It had turned bright red.

“The dummy did it!” I insisted. “I didn’t touch him, Dad! I didn’t move his hand!”

“Not funny,” Dad muttered. “You know I don’t like practical jokes.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. I decided I’d better just shut up.

Of course Dad wouldn’t believe that the dummy had slapped him.

I didn’t believe it myself.

Dad must have pulled too hard when he was examining the head. Dad jerked the hand up without realizing it.

That’s how I explained it to myself.

What other explanation could there be?

I apologized to Dad. Then we washed Slappy’s face with a damp sponge. We cleaned him up and sprayed disinfectant inside his head.

He was starting to look pretty good.

I thanked Dad again and hurried to my room. I set Slappy down on the chair beside Dennis. Then I phoned Margo.

“I got a new dummy,” I told her excitedly. “I can perform for the kids’ birthday parties. At The Party House.”

“That’s great, Amy!” Margo exclaimed. “Now all you need is an act.”

She was right.

I needed jokes. A lot of jokes. If I was going to perform with Slappy in front of dozens of kids, I needed a long comedy act.

The next day after school, I hurried to the library. I took out every joke book I could find. I carried them home and studied them. I wrote down all the jokes I thought I could use with Slappy.

After dinner, I should have been doing my homework. Instead, I practiced with Slappy. I sat in front of the mirror and watched myself with him.

I tried hard to speak clearly but not move my lips. And I tried hard to move Slappy’s mouth so that it really looked as if he were talking.

Working his mouth and moving his eyes at the same time was pretty hard. But after a while, it became easier.

I tried some knock-knock jokes with Slappy. I thought little kids might like those.

“Knock knock,” I made Slappy say.

“Who’s there?” I asked him, staring into his eyes as if I were really talking to him.

“Jane,” Slappy said.

“Jane who?”

“Jane jer clothes. You stink!”

I practiced each joke over and over, watching myself in the mirror. I wanted to be a really good ventriloquist. I wanted to be excellent. I wanted to be as good with Slappy as Sara is with her paints.

I practiced some more knock-knock jokes and some jokes about animals. Jokes I thought little kids would find funny.

I’ll try them out on Family Sharing Night, I decided. It will make Dad happy to see how hard I’m working with Slappy. At least I know Slappy’s head won’t fall off.

I glanced across the room at Dennis. He looked so sad and forlorn, crumpled in the chair, his head tilted nearly sideways on his shoulders.

Then I propped Slappy up and turned back to the mirror.

“Knock knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Wayne.”

“Wayne who?”

“Wayne wayne, go away! Come again another day!”

On Thursday night, I was actually eager to finish dinner so that Sharing Night could begin. I couldn’t wait to show my family my new act with Slappy.

We had spaghetti for dinner. I like spaghetti, but Jed always ruins it.

He’s so gross. He sat across the table from me, and he kept opening his mouth wide, showing me a mouth full of chewed-up spaghetti.

Then he’d laugh because he cracks himself up. And spaghetti sauce would run down his chin.

By the time dinner was over, Jed had spaghetti sauce smeared all over his face and all over the tablecloth around his plate.

No one seemed to notice. Mom and Dad were too busy listening to Sara brag about her grades. For a change.

Report cards were being handed out tomorrow. Sara was sure she was getting all A’s.

I was sure, too. Sure I wasn’t getting all A’s!

I’d be lucky to get a C in math. I really messed up the last two tests. And I probably wasn’t going to do real well in science, either. My weather balloon project fell apart, so I hadn’t handed it in yet.

I finished my spaghetti and mopped up some of the leftover sauce on my plate with a chunk of bread.

When I glanced up, Jed had stuck two carrot sticks in his nose. “Amy, check this out. I’m a walrus!” he cried, grinning. He let out a few urk urks and clapped his hands together like a walrus.

“Jed—stop that!” Mom cried sharply. She made a disgusted face. “Get those out of your nose.”

“Make him eat them, Mom!” I cried.

Jed stuck his tongue out at me. It was orange from the spaghetti sauce.

“Look at you. You’re a mess!” Mom shouted at Jed. “Go get cleaned up. Now! Hurry! Wash all that sauce off your face.”

Jed groaned. But he climbed to his feet and headed to the bathroom.

“Did he eat anything? Or did he just rub it all over himself?” Dad asked, rolling his eyes. Dad had some sauce on his chin, too, but I didn’t say anything.

“You interrupted me,” Sara said impatiently. “I was telling you about the State Art Contest. Remember? I sent my flower painting in for that?”

“Oh, yes,” Mom replied. “Have you heard from the judges?”

I didn’t listen to Sara’s reply. My mind wandered. I started thinking again about how bad my report card was going to be. I had to force myself to stop thinking about it.

“Uh… I’ll clear the dishes,” I announced.

I started to stand up.

But I stopped with a startled cry when I saw the short figure creep into the living room.

A dummy!

My dummy.

He was crawling across the room!

I let out another cry. I pointed to the living room with a trembling finger. “M-mom! Dad!” I stammered.

Sara was still talking about the art competition. But she turned to see what everyone was gaping at.

The dummy’s head popped out from behind the armchair.

“It’s Dennis!” I cried.

I heard muffled laughter. Jed’s muffled laughter.

The dummy reached up both hands and pulled off his own head. And Jed’s head popped up through the green turtleneck. He still had spaghetti sauce smeared on his cheeks. He was laughing hard.

Everyone else started to laugh, too. Everyone but me.

Jed had really frightened me.

He had pulled the neck of his sweater way up over his head. Then he had tucked Dennis’ wooden head inside the turtleneck.

Jed was so short and thin. It really looked as if Dennis were creeping into the room.

“Stop laughing!” I shouted at my family. “It isn’t funny!”

“I think it’s very funny!” Mom cried. “What a crazy thing to think of!”

“Very clever,” Dad added.

“It’s not clever,” I insisted. I glared furiously at my brother. “I always knew you were a dummy!” I screamed at him.

“Amy, you really were scared,” Sara accused. “You nearly dropped your teeth!”

“Not true!” I sputtered. “I knew it was Dennis—I mean—Jed!”

Now everyone started laughing at me! I could feel my face getting hot, and I knew I was blushing.

That made them all laugh even harder.

Nice family, huh?

I climbed to my feet, walked around the table, and took Dennis’ head away from Jed. “Don’t go in my room,” I told him through clenched teeth. “And don’t mess with my stuff.” I stomped away to put the dummy head back in my room.

“It was just a joke, Amy,” I heard Sara call after me.

“Yeah. It was just a joke,” Jed repeated nastily.

“Ha-ha!” I shouted back at them. “What a riot!”

My anger had faded away by the time we started Family Sharing Night. We settled in the living room, taking our usual places.

Mom volunteered to go first. She told a funny story about something that had happened at work.

Mom works in a fancy women’s clothing store downtown. She told us about a really big woman who came into the store and insisted on trying on only tiny sizes.

The woman ripped every piece of clothing she tried on—and then bought them all! “They’re not for me,” the woman explained. “They’re for my sister!”

We all laughed. But I was surprised Mom told that story. Because Mom is pretty chubby. And she’s very sensitive about it.

About as sensitive as Dad is about being bald.

Dad was the next to share. He brought out his guitar, and we all groaned. Dad thinks he’s a great singer. But he’s nearly as tone deaf as I am.

He loves singing all these old folk songs from the sixties. There’s supposed to be some kind of message in them. But Sara, Jed, and I have no idea what he’s singing about.

Dad strummed away and sang something about not working on Maggie’s farm anymore. At least, I think that’s what he was saying.

We all clapped and cheered. But Dad knew we didn’t really mean it.

It was Jed’s turn next. But he insisted that he had already shared. “Dressing up like Dennis—that was it,” he said.

No one wanted to argue with him. “Your turn, Amy,” Mom said, leaning against Dad on the couch. Dad fiddled with his glasses, then settled back.

I picked up Slappy and arranged him on my lap. I was feeling a little nervous. I wanted to do a good job and impress them with my new comedy act.

I’d been practicing all week, and I knew the jokes by heart. But as I slipped my hand into Slappy’s back and found the string, my stomach felt all fluttery.

I cleared my throat and began.

“This is Slappy, everyone,” I said. “Slappy, say hi to my family.”

“Hi to my family!” I made Slappy say. I made his eyes slide back and forth.

They all chuckled.

“This dummy is much better!” Mom commented.

“But it’s the same old ventriloquist,” Sara said cruelly.

I glared at her.

“Just joking! Just joking!” my sister insisted.

“I think that dummy reeks,” Jed chimed in.

“Give Amy a break,” Dad said sharply. “Go ahead, Amy.”

I cleared my throat again. It suddenly felt very dry. “Slappy and I are going to tell some knock-knock jokes,” I announced. I turned to face Slappy and made him turn his head to me. “Knock knock,” I said.

“Knock it off!” came the harsh reply.

Slappy spun around to face my Mom. “Hey—don’t break the sofa, fatso!” he rasped. “Why don’t you skip the French fries and have a salad once in a while?”

“Huh?” Mom gasped in shock. “Amy—”

“Amy, that’s not funny!” Dad cried angrily.

“What’s your problem, baldy?” Slappy shouted. “Is that your head—or are you hatching an ostrich egg on your neck?”

“That’s enough, Amy!” Dad cried, jumping to his feet. “Stop it—right now!”

“But—but—Dad—!” I sputtered.

“Why don’t you put an extra hole in your head and use it for a bowling ball?” Slappy screamed at Dad.

“Your jokes are horrible!” Mom exclaimed. “They’re hurtful and insulting.”

“It’s not funny, Amy!” Dad fumed. “It’s not funny to hurt people’s feelings.”

“But, Dad—” I replied. “I didn’t say any of that! It wasn’t me! It was Slappy! Really! I wasn’t saying it! I wasn’t!”

Slappy raised his head. His red-lipped grin appeared to spread. His blue eyes sparkled. “Did I mention you are all ugly?” he asked.

Everyone started shouting at once.

I stood up and dropped Slappy facedown on the armchair.

My legs were trembling. My entire body was shaking.

What’s going on here? I asked myself. I didn’t say those things. I really didn’t.

But Slappy can’t be talking on his own— can he?

Of course not, I realized.

But what did that mean? Did that mean I was saying those horrible, insulting things to my parents without even knowing it?

Mom and Dad stood side by side, staring at me angrily, demanding to know why I insulted them.

“Did you really think that was funny?” Mom asked. “Didn’t you think it would hurt my feelings to call me fatso?”

Meanwhile, Jed was sprawled on his back in the middle of the floor, giggling like a moron. He thought the whole thing was a riot.

Sara sat cross-legged against the wall, shaking her head, her black hair falling over her face. “You’re in major trouble,” she muttered. “What’s your problem, Amy?”

I turned to Mom and Dad. My hands were balled into tight fists. I couldn’t stop shaking.

“You’ve got to believe me!” I shrieked. “I didn’t say those things! I really didn’t!”

“Yeah. Right. Slappy is a baaad dude!” Jed chimed in, grinning.

“Everybody, just be quiet!” Dad screamed. His face turned bright red.

Mom squeezed his arm. She didn’t like it when he got too angry or excited. I guess she worried he might totally explode or something.

Dad crossed his arms in front of his chest. I saw that he had a sweat stain on the chest of his polo shirt. His face was still red.

The room suddenly fell silent.

“Amy, we’re not going to believe you,” Dad said softly.

“But—but—but—”

He raised a hand to silence me.

“You’re a wonderful storyteller, Amy,” Dad continued. “You make up wonderful fantasies and fairy tales. But we’re not going to believe this one. I’m sorry. We’re not going to believe that your dummy spoke up on his own.”

“But he did!” I screamed. I felt like bursting out in sobs. I bit my lip hard, trying to force them back.

Dad shook his head. “No, Slappy didn’t insult us. You said those things, Amy. You did. And now I want you to apologize to your mother and me. Then I want you to take your dummy and go to your room.”

There was no way they’d ever believe me. No way. I wasn’t sure I believed it myself.

“Sorry,” I muttered, still holding back the tears. “Really. I’m sorry.”

With an unhappy sigh, I lifted Slappy off the chair. I carried him around the waist so that his arms and legs dangled toward the floor. “Good night,” I said. I walked slowly toward my room.

“What about my turn?” I heard Sara ask.

“Sharing Night is over,” Dad replied grumpily. “You two—get lost. Leave your mom and me alone.”

Dad sounded really upset.

I didn’t blame him.

I stepped into my room and closed the door behind me. Then I lifted Slappy up, holding him under the shoulders. I raised his face to mine.

His eyes seemed to stare into my face.

Such cold blue eyes, I thought.

His bright red lips curled up into that smirking grin. The smile suddenly seemed evil. Mocking.

As if Slappy were laughing at me.

But of course that was impossible. My wild imagination was playing tricks on me, I decided.

Frightening tricks.

Slappy was just a dummy, after all. Just a hunk of painted wood.

I stared hard into those cold blue eyes. “Slappy, look at all the trouble you caused me tonight,” I told him.

Thursday night had been awful. Totally awful.

But Friday turned out to be much worse.

First I dropped my tray in the lunchroom. The trays were all wet, and mine just slipped out of my hand.

The plates clattered on the floor, and my lunch spilled all over my new white sneakers. Everyone in the lunchroom clapped and cheered.

Was I embarrassed? Take three guesses.

Later that afternoon, report cards were handed out.

Sara came home grinning and singing. Nothing makes her more happy than being perfect. And her report card was perfect. All A’s.

She insisted on showing it to me three times. She showed it to Jed three times, too. And we both had to tell her how wonderful she was each time.

I’m being unfair to Sara.

She was happy and excited. And she had a right to be. Her report card was perfect— and her flower painting won the blue ribbon in the State Art Contest.

So I shouldn’t blame her for dancing around the house and singing at the top of her lungs.

She wasn’t trying to rub it in. She wasn’t trying to make me feel like a lowly slug because my report card had two C’s. One in math and one in science.

It wasn’t Sara’s fault that I had received my worst report card ever.

So I tried to hold back my jealous feelings and not strangle her the tenth time she told me about the art prize. But it wasn’t easy.

The worst part of my report card wasn’t the two C’s. It was the little note Miss Carson wrote at the bottom.

It said: Amy isn’t working to the best of her ability. If she worked harder, she could do much better than this.

I don’t think teachers should be allowed to write notes on report cards. I think getting grades is bad enough.

I tried to make up some kind of story to explain the two C’s to my parents. I planned to tell them that everyone in the class got C’s in math and science. “Miss Carson didn’t have time to grade our papers. So she gave us all C’s—just to be fair.”

It was a good story. But not a great story.

No way Mom and Dad would buy that one.

I paced back and forth in my room, trying to think of a better story. After a while, I noticed Slappy staring at me.

He sat in the chair beside Dennis, grinning and staring.

Slappy’s eyes weren’t following me as I paced—were they?

I felt a chill run down my back.

It really seemed as if the eyes were watching me, moving as I moved.

I darted to the chair and turned Slappy so that his back was to me. I didn’t have time to think about a stupid dummy. My parents would be home from work any minute. And I needed a good story to explain my awful report card.

Did I come up with one? No.

Were my parents upset? Yes.

Mom said she would help me get better organized. Dad said he would help me understand my math problems. The last time Dad helped me with my math, I nearly flunked!

Even Jed—the total goof-off—got a better report card than me. They don’t give grades in the lower school. The teacher just writes a report about you.

And Jed’s report said that he was a great kid and a really good student. That teacher must be sick!

I stared at Jed across the dinner table. He opened his mouth wide to show me a mouth full of chewed-up peas.

Sick!

“You reek,” he said to me. For no reason at all.

Sometimes I wonder why families were invented.

Saturday morning, I called Margo. “I can’t come over,” I told her with a sigh. “My parents won’t let me.”

“My report card wasn’t too good, either,” Margo replied. “Miss Carson wrote a note at the bottom. She said I talk too much in class.”

“Miss Carson talks too much,” I said bitterly.

As I chatted with Margo, I stared at myself in the dresser mirror. I look too much like Sara, I thought. Why do I have to look like her twin? Maybe I’ll cut my hair really short. Or get a tattoo.

I wasn’t thinking too clearly.

I was too angry that my parents weren’t allowing me to go over to Margo’s house.

“This is bad news,” Margo said. “I wanted to talk to you about performing with Slappy at my dad’s place.”

“I know,” I replied sadly. “But they’re not letting me go anywhere until my science project is finished.”

“You still haven’t turned that in?” Margo demanded.

“I kind of forgot about it,” I confessed. “I did the project part—for the second time. I just have to write the report.”

“Well, I told you, Daddy has a birthday party for a dozen three-year-olds next Saturday,” Margo said. “And he wants you and Slappy to entertain them.”

“As soon as I finish the science report, I’m going to start rehearsing,” I promised. “Tell your dad not to worry, Margo. Tell him I’ll be great.”

We chatted for a few more minutes. Then my mom shouted for me to get off the phone. I talked for a little while longer—until Mom shouted a second time. Then I said good-bye to Margo and hung up.

I slaved over my computer all morning and most of the afternoon. And I finished the science report.

It wasn’t easy. Jed kept coming into my room, begging me to play a Nintendo game with him. “Just one!” And I had to keep tossing him out.

When I finally finished writing the paper, I printed it out and read it one more time. I thought it was pretty good.

What it needs is a really great-looking cover, I decided.

I wanted to get a bunch of colored markers and do a really bright cover. But my markers were all dried up.

I tossed them into the trash and made my way to Sara’s room. I knew that she had an entire drawer filled with colored markers.

Sara was at the mall with a bunch of her friends. Miss Perfect could go out and spend Saturday doing whatever she wanted. Because she was perfect.

I knew she wouldn’t mind if I borrowed a few markers.

Jed stopped me outside her door. “One game of Battle Chess!” he pleaded. “Just one game!”

“No way,” I told him. I placed my hand on top of his head. His red, curly hair felt so soft. I pushed him out of my way. “You always murder me at Battle Chess. And I’m not finished with my work yet.”

“Why are you going in Sara’s room?” he demanded.

“None of your business,” I told him.

“You reek,” he said. “You double reek, Amy.”

I ignored him and made my way into Sara’s room to borrow the markers.

I spent nearly an hour making the cover. I filled it with molecules and atoms, all in different colors. Miss Carson will be impressed, I decided.

Sara returned home just as I finished. She was carrying a big shopping bag filled with clothes she’d bought at Banana Republic.

She started to her room with the bag. “Mom—come see what I bought,” she called.

Mom appeared, carrying a stack of freshly laundered towels.

“Can I see, too?” I called. I followed them to Sara’s room.

But Sara stopped at her door.

The bag fell from her hand.

And she let out a scream.

Mom and I crowded behind her. We peered into the bedroom.

What a mess!

Someone had overturned about a dozen jars of paint. Reds, yellows, blues. The paint had spread over Sara’s white carpet, like a big, colorful mud puddle.

I gasped and blinked several times. It was unreal!

“I don’t believe it!” Sara kept shrieking. “I don’t believe it!”

“The carpet is ruined!” Mom exclaimed, taking one step into the room.

The emptied paint jars were on their sides, strewn around the room.

“Jed!” Mom shouted angrily. “Jed—get in here! Now!”

We turned to see Jed right behind us in the hall. “You don’t have to shout,” he said softly.

Mom narrowed her eyes angrily at my brother. “Jed—how could you?” she demanded through clenched teeth.

“Excuse me?” He gazed up at her innocently.

“Jed—don’t lie!” Sara screamed. “Did you do this? Did you go in my room again?”

“No way!” Jed protested, shaking his head. “I didn’t go in your room today, Sara. Not once. But I saw Amy go in. And she wouldn’t tell me why.”

Sara and Mom both turned accusing eyes on me.

“How could you?” Sara screamed, walking around the big paint puddle. “How could you?”

“Whoa! Wait! I didn’t! I didn’t!” I cried frantically.

“I asked Amy why she was going in here,” Jed chimed in. “And she said it was none of my business.”

“Amy!” Mom cried. “I’m horrified. I’m truly horrified. This—this is sick!”

“Yes, it’s sick,” Sara repeated, shaking her head. “All of my poster paint. All of it. What a mess. I know why you did it. It’s because you’re jealous of my perfect report card.”

“But I didn’t do it!” I wailed. “I didn’t! I didn’t! I didn’t!”

“Amy—no one else could have,” Mom replied. “If Jed didn’t do it, then—”

“But I only came in here to borrow markers!”

I cried in a trembling voice. “That’s all. I needed markers.”

“Amy—” Mom started, pointing to the huge paint puddle.

“I’ll show you!” I cried. “I’ll show you what I borrowed.”

I ran to my room. My hands were shaking as I scooped Sara’s markers off my desk. My heart pounded.

How could they accuse me of something so terrible? I asked myself.

Is that what everyone thinks of me? That I’m such a monster?

That I’m so jealous of my sister, I’d pour out all her paints and ruin her rug?

Do they really think I’m crazy?

I ran back to Sara’s room, carrying the markers in both hands. Jed sat on Sara’s bed, staring down at the thick red, blue, and yellow puddle.

Mom and Sara stood over it, gazing down and shaking their heads. Mom kept making clucking noises with her tongue. She kept pressing her hands against her cheeks.

“Here! See?” I cried. I shoved the markers toward them. “That’s why I came in here. I’m not lying!”

Some of the markers fell out of my hands. I bent to pick them up.

“Amy, there were only three of us home this afternoon,” Mom said. She was trying to keep her voice low and calm. But she spoke through gritted teeth. “You, me, and Jed.”

“I know—” I started.

Mom raised a hand to silence me. “I certainly didn’t do this horrible thing,” Mom continued. “And Jed says that he didn’t do it. So…” Her voice trailed off.

“Mom—I’m not a sicko!” I shrieked. “I’m not!”

“You’ll feel better if you confess,” Mom said. “Then we can talk about this calmly, and—”

“But I didn’t do it!” I raged.

With a cry of anger, I flung the markers to the floor. Then I spun around, bolted from Sara’s room, and ran down the long hall to my room.

I slammed the door and threw myself facedown onto my bed. I started sobbing loudly. I don’t know how long I cried.

Finally, I stood up. My face was sopping wet, and my nose was running. I started to the dresser to get a tissue.

But something caught my eye.

Hadn’t I turned Slappy around so that his back was turned to me?

Now he was sitting facing me, staring up at me, his red-lipped grin wider than ever.

Did I turn him back around? Did I?

I didn’t remember.

And what did I see on Slappy’s shoes?

I wiped the tears from my eyes with the backs of my hands. Then I took a few steps toward the dummy, squinting hard at his big leather shoes.

What was that on his shoes?

Red and blue and yellow… paint?

Yes.

With a startled gasp, I grabbed both shoes by the heels and raised them close to my face.

Yes.

Drips of paint on Slappy’s shoes.

“Slappy—what is going on here?” I asked out loud. “What is going on?”

When Dad came home and saw Sara’s room, he nearly exploded.

I was actually worried about him. His face turned as red as a tomato. His chest started heaving in and out. And horrible gurgling noises came up from his throat.

The whole family gathered in the living room. We took our Sharing Night places. Only, this wasn’t Family Sharing Night. This was What Are We Going To Do About Amy Night.

“Amy, first you have to tell us the truth,” Mom said. She sat stiffly on the couch, squeezing her hands together in her lap.

Dad sat on the other end of the couch, tapping one hand nervously against the couch arm, chewing his lower lip. Jed and Sara sat on the floor against the wall.

“I am telling the truth,” I insisted shrilly. I slumped in the armchair across from them. My hair fell over my forehead, but I didn’t bother to brush it back. My white T-shirt had tear stains on the front, still damp. “If you would only listen to me,” I pleaded.

“Okay, we’re listening,” Mom replied.

“When I went into my room,” I started, “there were splashes of paint on Slappy’s shoes. And—”

“Enough!” Dad cried, jumping to his feet.

“But, Dad—” I protested.

“Enough!” he insisted. He pointed a finger at me. “No more wild stories, young lady. Storytime is over. We don’t want to hear about paint stains on Slappy. We want an explanation for the crime that was committed in Sara’s room today.”

“But I am giving an explanation!” I wailed. “Why did Slappy have paint on his shoes? Why?”

Dad dropped back onto the couch with a sigh. He whispered something to Mom. She whispered back.

I thought I heard them mention the word “doctor”.

“Are you—are you going to take me to a psychiatrist?” I asked timidly.

“Do you think you need one?” Mom replied, staring hard at me.

I shook my head. “No.”

“Your father and I will talk about this,” Mom said. “We will figure out the best thing to do.”

The best thing to do?

They grounded me for two weeks. No movies.

No friends over. No trips to the mall. No trips anywhere.

I heard them talking about finding me a counselor. But they didn’t say anything about it to me.

All week, I could feel them watching me. Studying me as if I were some kind of alien creature.

Sara was pretty cold to me. Her room had to be emptied out and a new rug installed. She wasn’t happy about it.

Even Jed treated me differently. He kind of tiptoed around me and kept his distance, as if I had a bad cold or something. He didn’t tease me, or tell me that I reek, or call me names.

I really missed it. No kidding.

How did I feel? I felt miserable.

I wanted to get sick. I wanted to catch a really bad stomach flu or something so they’d all feel sorry for me and stop treating me like a criminal.

One good thing: They said I could perform with Slappy at The Party House on Saturday.

Whenever I picked Slappy up, I felt a little weird. I remembered the paint on his shoes and the mess in my sister’s room.

But I couldn’t come up with one single explanation. So I practiced with Slappy every night.

I had put a lot of good jokes together. Silly jokes I thought little three-year-olds would find funny.

And I studied myself in the mirror. I was getting better at not moving my lips. And it was getting easier to make Slappy’s mouth and eyes move correctly.

“Knock knock,” I made Slappy say.

“Who’s there?” I asked.

“Eddie.”

“Eddie who?” I asked.

“Eddie-body got a tissue? I hab a teddible cold!”

And then I pulled back Slappy’s head, opened his mouth really wide, and jerked his whole body as I made him sneeze and sneeze and sneeze.

I thought that would really crack up the three-year-olds.

Every night, I worked and worked on our comedy act. I worked so hard.

I didn’t know that the act would never go on.

On Saturday afternoon, Mom dropped me off at The Party House. “Have a good show!” she called as she drove away.

I carried Slappy carefully in my arms. Margo met me at the door. She greeted me with an excited smile.

“Just in time!” she cried. “The kids are almost all here. They’re total animals!”

“Oh, great!” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

“They’re total animals, but they’re so cute!” Margo added.

She led me through the twisting hallway to the party room in back. Clusters of red and yellow balloons covered the ceiling. I saw a brightly decorated table, all yellow and red. A balloon on a string floated up from each chair around the table. Each balloon had the name of a guest on it.

The kids really were cute. They were dressed mostly in jeans and bright T-shirts. Two of the girls wore frilly party dresses.

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