An arrow of panic pinged Maddy She had to get a present for Ms Wilson Maddy wrapped the sachet her mind racing What about the secretaries And the librarian And the garden teacher And the crossing guard Her school had so many awesome grown-ups Her family liked her homemade gifts But she felt a little silly giving the teachers and adults at school painted rocks They deserved nice gifts Like earrings for Ms Wilson And seedlings 6
for the garden teacher And a book for Ms Katey the librarian But those things were expensive She was going to need money Again Maddy thought about the businesses she’d had in the past Last summer she’d run a day camp It paid for horseback riding lessons She and Darcy created an outdoor movie theater just before Halloween It paid for the annual block party permit What could she do to raise money to buy holiday gifts She and Darcy would have to brainstorm soon 7
Darn she said aloud starting on Dad’s present How did she go through all that tape already She headed down the stairs 8
Just as she grabbed the tape from the dresser in the hall two things happened The kitchen timer dinged lace cookies and the doorbell rang The oven door clanged as Mom pulled out the cookies Then Mom dashed into the hall Oh good Mads you’re here Mom said Can you take the cookies off the baking sheet I need to get the door Sure As Maddy transferred the cookies to a rack she listened Mom was talking with someone at the front door 9
