Free The Waffler by Gail Donovan

a pack, they shouted “Waffles! Hey, Waffles!”
    As Monty worked his way through tiny book after tiny book, the weeds behind the chain-link fence were turning yellow and orange and red. And every Wednesday Monty and his class trooped over to the satellite classroom so they could “search for hidden treasures” with their Reading Buddies. Monty always checked out the changes on the TODAY IS sign.
    TODAY IS . This was always followed by WEDNESDAY . Then came the month, and then a number for the date that got bigger and bigger, until finally the month changed from OCTOBER to NOVEMBER .
    THE WEATHER IS. This was followed by S UNNY or CLOUDY or RAINY.
    THE SEASON IS. Still A UTUMN .
    THE NEXT HOLIDAY IS . The first time they’d visited, the sign said that the next holiday was C OLUMBUS DAY . Then it changed to say the next holiday was HALLOWEEN , and orange paper pumpkins spotted the classroom walls. After Halloween the pumpkins came down and up went flags of white paper painted with red stripes, and white stars glued to blue squares. THE NEXT HOLIDAY IS: VETERANS DAY .
    The morning of the Veterans Day parade Monty woke to a gray sky. THE WEATHER IS: CLOUDY . He lifted the rat from its cage, settled him on his shoulder, and headed down to the kitchen.
    â€œMom,” said Audrey, his stepsister. Otherwise known as Big A. “Is that, like, allowed?”
    Audrey wasn’t usually around when Monty and Sierra were, because of the schedule. The week they came to their dad’s house was usually the same week she went to stay at her dad’s house. But sometimes the schedule got changed around and they ended up in the same house at the same time. Monty wasn’t too thrilled when that happened. Audrey acted like being thirteen gave her the right to boss him around. She was constantly telling him what to do. Either that, or telling him about all the terrible things that would happen to him when he got to middle school.
    â€œWell,” said Monty’s stepmom, Beth, “we haven’t really talked about it.”
    Beth was the exact opposite of the wicked stepmothers in the fairy tales. She didn’t order him and Sierra around. If there was some sort of problem, she called a family meeting and asked everyone to be part of the solution. Then she called the solution a “house policy” instead of a rule. Monty couldn’t figure out how such a nice mom had got Audrey for a kid.
    â€œMom, that’s disgusting,” said Audrey. “It’s a rat!”
    â€œHe’s a pet rat,” said Monty. “And for your information, his name is Scratcher!”
    Monty’s dad came out from behind his newspaper. “I thought his name was Mack.”
    â€œHe changed it,” said Sierra, who was sitting at the kitchen table eating a piece of toast with chocolate spread.
    â€œI thought it was Officer Rat,” said Beth. “Wasn’t it Officer Rat last time you were here?”
    â€œIt was,” said Sierra. “But then he changed it again. He’s changed it a bunch of times.”
    â€œHow many?” asked his dad.
    â€œA few,” admitted Monty.
    â€œLike, ten,” taunted Sierra.
    â€œNot ten!” argued Monty. “Dad, that’s a lie!”
    â€œMonty, don’t call your sister a liar. Sierra, don’t exaggerate.”
    â€œI’m not exaggerating!” protested Sierra.
    â€œYou are so!” objected Monty.
    â€œSierra—stop,” said their dad. “And Monty, did you ever think about just choosing something and sticking with it?” Without waiting for an answer, he picked up the compost bucket from beside the sink and stepped outside, heading for the compost pile.
    â€œWhatever,” said Audrey, launching back into her complaint. “Mom, he touched the rat and now you’re going to let him touch all the food in the fridge? And what are you doing with that—whatever it is?” she asked,