Bubble Troubles (2 page)

Mattie frowned. Not only had she been caught talking in class, but she also had a list of spelling words to copy, and some of them looked kind of hard.

Before Mattie started writing, she glanced over at her brother, who sat across from her. He stopped copying the spelling words long enough to frown at her, and then he put his head down and went right back to work.

Mattie looked away and tried to focus on each of the words. She could only imagine what Mark would say when they went outside for recess. Most likely she’d get a lecture from him, since he always did well with his studies and rarely talked out loud in class. Mark was especially good at spelling, so he probably thought the words Anna Ruth had given them were easy.
I’m sure he’ll pass the spelling test
, Mattie thought.
But not me. I’ll probably fail
.

The test would be given at the end of the week, and Mattie was worried. Thankfully, she had a few days to prepare, and maybe if she studied really hard, she would get at least some of the words right. Mattie would have to work twice as hard as Mark. But if that’s what it took for her to pass the test, then she was prepared to do it.

“I told ya it wasn’t gonna rain today,” Mark said as he and Mattie walked home from school that afternoon, following their brothers, Calvin and Russell, who were some distance ahead on their bikes. “See, you were worried for nothing.” He looked at Mattie and noticed her frown. “What’s wrong? Are ya
umgerennt
because you brought your amberell to school for nothing?”

She shook her head so hard that the ties on her bonnet swished around her face.

“Then what’s wrong? Why are you frowning?” he asked, bending down to pick up a small flat rock. It would go nicely with his collection of other unusual rocks.

“I was thinking about those spelling words the teacher gave us today,” Mattie said. “Some of them are really hard.”

“No they’re not. I think most of ’em are pretty easy,” Mark said. “In fact, I can spell every one of those words without even studying, and I can write ’em in a sentence, too.”

“Really?”

“Jah. Here I go … Scarecrow. S-c-a-r-e-c-r-o-w. Mom put a scarecrow in the garden to keep the birds away. Toothpaste. T-o-o-t-h-p-a-s-t-e. Some people in our family forget to squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom.” Mark waited to see what Mattie would say, since she was one person in the family who often forgot to squeeze the bottom of the toothpaste to make sure there was plenty at the top. But Mattie said nothing—just kept plodding along.

“Popcorn. P-o-p-c-o-r-n. One of my favorite winter snacks is popcorn.” Mark continued with his words and sentences. “Volleyball. V-o-l-l—”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Mattie stopped walking and tapped Mark on the shoulder. “You know you’re
schmaert
, and I know you’re smart, so you don’t have to rub it in.”

“I’m not trying to rub it in,” Mark said. “I just wanted you to see how easy those spelling words are.”

“They might be easy for you, but they’re not for me. I always have trouble with spelling.” Mattie sighed. “I’m worried I might fail the test.”

“There you go again … worrying about something that may never happen.” Mark grunted. “Just study those words, Mattie. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Mattie mumbled. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“I do understand. I’m good at some things, like spelling, and you’re good at other things, like playing ball. Why don’t you try writing each word down several times until you’re used to spelling out the word? You could be better at spelling if you’d study harder.”

“And you could be better at baseball if you’d practice running and throwing the ball more often,” she said. “We need to play catch sometime.”

Mark knew Mattie was right, but he didn’t like playing baseball. He had trouble catching the ball, and he couldn’t run as fast as the other kids, either. He was the one who always got teased by some of the boys in their class because he couldn’t play as well as they did. What made it worse was that his twin sister could play ball better than he could. Mattie was a fast runner and could hit and catch the ball better than most of the boys. Because she was so good at baseball, and Mark wasn’t, he didn’t play unless their teacher said he had to. But that was a lot different than studying for a test. It was important to get good grades in school.

“By the way,” Mattie said, “do you know how we got that scratch on the back fender of our bike? I noticed it the other day when our tire went flat.”

Mark wondered why Mattie would even care about something like that. “Probably happened during one of the times we fell, when we were learning how to ride the bicycle built for two,” he said.

“We’d better ask Dad if he has any paint. We don’t want it to start rusting where the scratch is,” Mattie said.

“There you go, worrying again,” Mark complained. “I’m sure that scratch has been there awhile. Why are you fretting about it now?”

“Never mind, Mark. I’m sorry I even mentioned the scratch.” Mattie shifted her backpack, and Mark figured it was heavier than usual today.
Too many books, and her amberell
, he thought.
She really should have left it at home
.

The twins walked the rest of the way home in silence. Mark was eager to get there so he could play with his two cats—Lucky and Boots. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to do that until he’d done all his chores.

“Where’s Twinkles?” Mattie asked Mom after they got home. “I didn’t see her outside anywhere, and I called for her several times.”

A wisp of Mom’s pale auburn hair came loose from the stiff white cap she wore on her head as she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen your dog since you fed her this morning. Did you put Twinkles in the kennel before you left for school?”

“No, I forgot.” Mattie’s forehead wrinkled. “Maybe she’s in the barn. Did you, by any chance, look for her in there?”

“No, Mattie,” Mom said, shaking her head. “I’ve been busy all day, washing clothes and taking care of your little brother and sister. Besides, I assumed Twinkles was in her kennel, where she usually is during the day.”

“I need to hurry and change my clothes; then I’m goin’ out to look for her,” Mattie said, eager to find her dog.

“I’m sure Twinkles didn’t go far, and you can look for her after you’ve done your homework,” Mom reminded. “You, too,” she added, looking at Mark.

“I don’t have any homework,” he said. “I got it done during recess today.”

Mattie groaned. “Can’t I do my homework after supper?”

“No,” said Mom. “You need to do it now, because Grandma and Grandpa Miller will be joining us for supper, and I’m sure you’ll want to spend some time with them after we eat.”

“That’s true,” Mark put in. “It’s always fun to listen when Grandpa tells stories about when he was a
bu
.”

Mom chuckled. “That’s right, and I think your grandma likes to tell stories about when she was a
maedel
, too.”

“I wonder, when I grow up, if I’ll be tellin’ stories about when I was a boy,” Mark said, taking a bite of the molasses cookie Mom had just handed him. “Yum … this sure is
gut
.”

“
Danki
,” said Mom. “I’m glad you like it.” She gave one to Mattie as well. “Now tell me what
you
think, Mattie. Are the
kichlin
as good as usual?”

Mattie took a bite and bobbed her head. “Jah, Mom. The cookies are very good. They’re moist and chewy, just the way I like ’em.”

Mark lifted the remainder of his cookie to his nose and took a sniff. “They smell really good, too. I love the aroma of ginger in them.” He looked over at Mattie and grinned. “In case you didn’t know it,
aroma
means
smell
.”

Mattie grunted. “I figured as much.”

“Would you two like some
meilke
to go with your cookies?” Mom asked. “When Calvin and Russell got home, I gave them some cookies and milk, but they took theirs out to the barn.”

“Jah, please,” the twins said at the same time. They often did that when someone asked them a question. Mattie figured it was because they were twins and sometimes thought the same thing. Of course, even though they looked similar, with red hair and a few freckles, they were really not that much alike. Mattie liked dogs; Mark liked cats. Mark was a tease; Mattie wasn’t. Mark collected marbles and rocks; Mattie liked to decorate things with flowers. In many ways, they were as different as night and day.

While Mom poured the milk, Mark and Mattie took seats at the table.

“How was school today?” Mom asked. “Did you learn a lot?”

Mark nodded eagerly. “After I finished my homework during recess, I looked for some new words in the dictionary.” He gave Mom a wide grin. “I found one I really like, too.”

“What is it?” Mom questioned.

“
Obstinate
,” Mark replied, looking over at Mattie. “It means
stubborn
.”

Mattie rolled her eyes. “You should have been outside playin’ baseball during recess, not looking up big words.”

“I agree with your sister,” Mom said. “You ought to go outside and play at recess like the other children do, not stay indoors. You really need the fresh air and exercise.”

“I go outside sometimes and push the little kids on the swings.” Mark looked at Mattie and wrinkled his nose. “And for your information, I like big words. They’re fun to say, and I like finding out what they mean in the dictionary.” Mark thrust out his chin. “And ya know I don’t like playin’ ball.”

Mattie made no reply. She finished her cookies and milk, put her dishes in the sink, and took today’s homework out of her backpack. While she worked on the spelling words, Mark went upstairs to change his clothes.

When he came back down, he stopped to see how Mattie was doing. “It might help if ya break the spelling words down.” He pointed to her paper. “See …
tooth
and
paste
become
toothpaste
. And
pop
and
corn
become
popcorn
. If you take it a little at a time and write each word down several times, it might be easier for you,” he said with a grin.

“Danki, Mark.” Mattie couldn’t believe how nice her brother was being. Sometimes he liked to tease her, but other times, like now, he was kind and helpful.

“You’re welcome.” Mark went over to Mom, who stood at the kitchen sink, peeling potatoes. “I’m going outside to do my chores now. When I’m done, I’ll be in the barn playing with my
katze
,” he said, before hurrying out the back door.

Mattie wished she could go outside and look for Twinkles right away, but she knew she’d be in trouble if she didn’t get her homework done, so she continued to write out the words the way Mark had suggested.

“I’m going to see if Ada and Perry are up from their naps now,” Mom said. “As soon as you finish your homework, you can go outside and look for your
hund
.”

Mattie smiled. “Okay, Mom.”

After Mattie wrote the spelling words down, she decided to get her math questions done. She knew she should write each spelling word more than once, but she had until Friday to take the test. So when the math questions were finished, she put her homework away and went upstairs to change her clothes.

Mattie also made a mental note to remember to ask Dad about paint for their bike fender so it wouldn’t get rusty. She’d study the words more later on. Right now, there were too many other things to think about, like where did Twinkles get to, and would she ever come home?

As soon as she’d changed into her everyday dress, Mattie tromped down the stairs and hurried out the back door.

“Here, Twinkles!” she called from the back porch, clapping her hands as loudly as she could. “
Kumme—
come here, girl!” Mattie looked toward the field where the hay had been harvested, knowing Twinkles often liked to play in there. She hoped to see the dog come bounding toward her. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Twinkles, not even a bark.

Mattie checked Twinkles’s dog dish and noticed that only a little of the food had been eaten. “That’s strange,” she said, shaking her head. Normally Twinkles ate all of her food while Mattie was at school. She must not have been very hungry today. Either that or she hadn’t been here most of the day.
Sure wish I’d put Twinkles in her kennel before we left for school this morning
, Mattie thought with regret.