Sleeping Over by P J Denton

Author:P J Denton [Denton, P J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781442456891
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“Uh-oh!” Max yelled.

Randy hooted with laughter. “Marie made a mess!” he shouted gleefully. “Messy Marie!”

Max and two or three of the other boys in the room started chanting “Messy Marie! Messy Marie!” over and over again. Marie and her best friend, Tammy Tandrich, scowled at the boys and started picking up the papers.

Kara wrinkled her nose as she watched. “Boys,” she declared with distaste. “Why do they always have to act so immature?”

“Never mind them.” Taylor turned back to stare at Jo. “We have more important things to worry about than stupid boys. Now come on, Jojo—tell us your plan!”

Jo shrugged. “Okay, but it’s not really the kind of plan you guys were talking about,” she said. “I was just thinking about how Emily told us she was in a bad mood after her parents said no, stomping around and everything.”

“I still can hardly believe that part,” Kara broke in with a giggle. “Em’s never in a bad mood!”

“I guess I was last night,” Emily admitted, feeling a little bit guilty about the way she’d acted. “I was just so mad about being treated like a baby—I couldn’t help it.”

“But see, that’s what I’m trying to say.” Jo turned to gaze at Emily. “I think the best way to change your parents’ minds is to apologize for acting that way.”

“What?” Taylor exclaimed. “Why should she apologize? They’re the ones treating her like a kindergartner!”

“No kidding!” Kara agreed quickly. “They should apologize to her!”

“I know, I know.” Jo still sounded calm, even though Taylor and Kara were both scowling at her. “But think about it, you guys. After she apologizes, they’ll definitely listen if she explains about the slumber party in a more grown-up way.”

Emily shook her head, not really sure what Jo meant. “But why?” she said. “They already said no when I tried that before. That’s why I was mad in the first place, remember?”

“Okay, but didn’t you say you barely had a chance to discuss it before you started crying?” Jo said.

Emily glanced around, hoping nobody else had heard what Jo had said. Luckily, Randy and Max were roughhousing in the back of the room, and most of the kids in the class were back there watching them.

“You don’t have to tell the whole world what a crybaby I am,” Emily told Jo with a slight frown. “Anyway, this is probably a waste of time. My parents think I’m still a baby, and nothing will change their minds.”

Jo shrugged. “But see, that’s just the problem. If you act like a baby, they’ll keep treating you like one. But if you act more like a grown-up, maybe they’ll notice that you are growing up.”

“Hey!” Taylor said. “Don’t be so mean, Jo. Em’s not a baby.”

“Yeah.” Emily could feel tears welling up, and she swallowed hard to stop them. It was bad enough to know that her parents thought she was a baby. If her best friends started to think the same thing, she wasn’t sure she could stand it.

Jo put a hand on Emily’s arm.

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