Free The More the Merrier by Stephanie Barden

school and not looking for Miss Purvis or having a what’s what at all. “I feel like your Main Theme this year has been to be mean. To give a few examples of this, you keep talking all about your clubs in front of kids who aren’t in them, and their feelings are getting hurt. You even made Kristy cry about the class party.”
    Something was tickling my ankles, but Rosemary T. just stood there and didn’t say anything, so I kept talking. “You and Rosemary W. whisper all the time and make fun of people. You bug me about what I eat and some of the things I do too.”
    The tickling was still going on, but Rosemary T. and I were in the middle of a stare down. “You called me names and said really mean things about my aunt and Miss Purvis too.” And then I realized the tickling was Miss Purvis, and I reached down and scooped her up. She rubbed her head under my chin and purred and purred. “And you can plainly see that this is not a spooky, black cat, just a very nice one.” I started walking home before Miss Purvis could get tired of being held and start to do a Halloween yowl.
    â€œWell, I think your Main Theme this year is to be a baby.” Rosemary T. ran to catch up with me. “You don’t have pierced ears and you always lose shoes and you hold your mom’s hand! You even skip and sing with little kids.”
    Miss Purvis squirmed a little in my arms, but I rubbed her side and kept walking.
    â€œIn fact,” said Rosemary T., “you’re so weird and dumb and babyish that I don’t want to be friends with you anymore!”
    My feelings started hurting like the dickens, and I got tears in my eyes. There was no way I was going to let Rosemary T. see them, though. I buried my face in Miss Purvis’s fur and walked faster.
    â€œDid you hear me?” she said.

    Of course I’d heard her, but I had a big lump of sad in my throat, and I could not get any words by it.
    â€œI’m serious!” she said very loud.
    And I believed her. We passed her house, but she kept walking with me.
    â€œI am officially kicking you out of all my clubs! If we’re not friends anymore, I don’t want you in them!”
    I thought about reminding her that I wasn’t in all her clubs, but then I figured out that it didn’t really matter. We made it to my front door, and Rosemary T. stood there with her hands on her hips waiting for me to say something.
    The lump of sad in my throat was still there, but it was smaller and I could talk a little bit now. I couldn’t think of anything to say, though, so I just said “Oh.”
    â€œOh!” she shouted. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
    My front door opened, and Aunt Flora stuck her head out. “Is everything all right?”
    â€œEverything’s fine,” I said. “Our what’s what got a little loud is all.” I handed her Miss Purvis, and she nodded and shut the door.
    Rosemary T. kept her hands on her hips and made mean stink eyes at me.
    â€œWe’ve been friends since we were babies,” I said. “It would be weird to stop.”
    â€œIt would not be weird,” she said. “I’m never weird.”
    â€œWell, it might be awkward then.”
    â€œIt will not. I just won’t talk to you.”
    â€œI thought not talking was babyish,” I said.
    Rosemary’s stink eyes got even stinkier. She made a big, huge, unicorn harrumph noise and huffed off down the block.

Chapter 13
A Left-Behind Mary Jane
    S ince it was really, really raining the next morning, we got to go right up to our classrooms and not stand outside and get soaking wet. We could sit wherever we wanted to before the bell rang, so I sat next to Erin at her table and told her all about Rosemary T.
    â€œI can’t believe it; I just can’t believe it,” she said over and over and over.
    â€œI know,” I said. “I was very, extremely