Free Zinnia's Zaniness by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

couldn't help it. We laughed too. The idea of that boy, the ridiculous idea of any boy, having a crush on Petal when she was wearing her Petal beach getup...
    It took us a moment to realize one of us wasn't laughing, and by one of us we don't mean Petal, who apparently found this as uproarious as the rest of us.
    "Whatever that boy George wanted," Zinnia said thoughtfully, "I don't think that was it."

TEN
    "No more excuses!" Annie shouted.
    "Of course we can come up with more excuses," Rebecca countered. "Just give us time."'
    It was the following morning, August 5, and we'd finished breakfast and changed into our beach clothes because we were going to the beach right after breakfast.
    Or so we thought.
    Turned out, Annie had other plans for us.
    And those other plans went by the seemingly innocent two-word phrase Summer Workbook..
    "I don't care what other excuses you might be able to come up with," Annie said now, "because it doesn't matter. Yesterday we were so busy, what with frolicking with dolphins and trying to identify shadows, we never got around to getting our daily quota in. That means we're a full day behind schedule. That means a double dose today if we want to get it all done before school starts."
    "But we don't want to get it done," Rebecca said.
    "None of us do," Georgia added. "Well, except for you."
    "It doesn't matter what you want or don't want," Annie said. "I'm in charge and I say we need to do double. Now then, two times sixteen point seven six six comes to how much?" Annie looked to Marcia.
    "Don't tell her!" six Eights shouted at Marcia.
    But we needn't have bothered.
    "Thirty-three point five three two," Marcia answered promptly. Then she turned to us with an apologetic shrug. "Sorry," she said. "I just can't help myself."
    Annie ignored the last part of what Marcia said, responding only to the part that mattered to her.
    "That's right," Annie said. "So if we're going to get thirty-three point five three two pages done today, we really do need to—"
    "Excuse me," Jackie said, cutting Annie off, which was a brave thing to do. Almost no one cut off Annie. "I don't mean to offend you, Annie, but we've all been wondering: Why are you the way you are?"
    It was true. We had been wondering. Not only had we been wondering, but just that morning we'd been discussing it among ourselves while Annie was in the bathroom. At the end of the discussion, we'd nominated Jackie to talk to Annie about it. Okay, we begged Jackie to, because the rest of us were too scared to take Annie on about anything in general and this in particular.
    "Excuse me?" Annie said now, sternly.
    "It's just that," Jackie said gently, "we do remember what you were like before Mommy and Daddy disappeared. True, you've always been the oldest. And, being the oldest, you did tend to be bossy when compared to, say, Petal. But not like this. Not this constant need to be in charge of every little thing. Not this constant need to control everything we do and make sure everyone does your bidding. I hate to say it, but at times it makes it difficult to like you. We always love you, but this morning you are making liking you very hard. We just want to have a good vacation. Don't you want to have a good vacation too?"
    As Jackie spoke, we watched Annie's face change from stern to confused and finally to sad. Even the least observant of us marked these changes. And then that made us sad, not just for Annie but also for Jackie, who we knew never liked to be the cause of sadness in anyone else.
    Oh no. Was that a tear in Annie's eye?
    "Do you have any idea," Annie said, her voice quavering, "how hard these past seven months and five days have been on me? I knew someone had to take charge of leading the family in Mommy's and Daddy's absence, or we'd all get split up. We'd lose each other. I did it because I felt I had to, so our lives wouldn't turn to chaos and ruin. But do you honestly think I enjoy being thought of as the bossy Eight?"
    "Yes," Rebecca