Actually I think it’s an improvement Malcolm said Cocoa batted the back of his head with her hand Ouch Mom she hit me Mom did her usual eye roll Cut it out both of you What will become of me Cocoa cried I’ll be forced to stay in I’ll have to be homeschooled No more dances pep rallies or voice lessons Actually Malcolm interjected that last one is a good thing He ducked before the next swat landed on the back of his head Mom put her arm around Cocoa’s shoulders and stroked her bushy hair You won’t become a shut-in she assured
her I have an eyebrow pencil that will fix that right up Cocoa whimpered then she followed Mom down the hall Malcolm turned back in time to see Grandma Eunice scrape the pancake of the wall She wheeled around and clacked her dentures Now where’s the syrup
Honk Waiting for the school day to end was like waiting for a snail to cross a football field Malcolm continually watched the clock When the bell finally rang he was on his feet and ready to go What a day Mrs Goolsby had turned the fifth-grade class into a torture chamber He’d suffered through a major science test two pop quizzes and an hour-long lecture on Andrew Jackson whose parrot had to be removed from Jackson’s funeral for
