Part 6 (1/2)
Before Stacey knew it, the Sn.o.bs were cleaning up the room. After a while, Stacey pitched in, but neither Amanda nor Max said a word about it. They just kept glancing at her warily.
When the room was as neat as a pin, the Sn.o.bs stood in the doorway to admire their work. Stacey thought they looked pretty proud of themselves, but she knew better than to praise them. After all, they'd been tricked, and they probably knew it.
”Boy, am I thirsty,” said Max. ”Get me some milk, Stacey.”
”Milk?” repeated Stacey. ”Okay. And I guess while I'm at it, I'll get some orange juice, some Hawaiian Punch, maybe some iced tea - ”
”No, no,” Max interrupted her. ”Um, that's okay. I'll just get it myself.”
”Yeah, we'll get the milk ourselves,” added Amanda.
”I'll join you,” said Stacey, and followed them downstairs.
Max got a carton of milk out of the Sn.o.bs' s.p.a.ce-age refrigerator. Stacey watched Amanda take two gla.s.ses out of a cabinet, think better of it, and remove a third for Stacey.
Then Max held the carton out to Stacey. ”Pour,” he commanded, and Stacey knew he was testing her.
”Okay,” said Stacey. But instead of taking the milk carton from Max, she opened a cupboard and began removing gla.s.ses and setting them on the table.
”Now what are you doing?” asked Amanda.
”Well, Max just said, 'pour.' He didn't say how much he wanted. I thought I'd better be prepared.”
”Oh, never mind.” Amanda took the carton crossly from Max and filled two gla.s.ses with milk. She hesitated. Then, ”Do you want some?” she asked Stacey.
”Yes, please. Half a gla.s.s will be fine.”
Amanda poured half a gla.s.s for Stacey and pushed it across the table to her. The three of them sat down and drank in silence. It wasn't long before Max knocked into his gla.s.s, slos.h.i.+ng milk over the sides.
He stared at the puddle on the table. ”Wipe it up, Stacey,” he commanded.
”Could you finish spilling it first, please?”
”Huh?” said Amanda and Max at the same time.
”Finish spilling it first. You've only spilled some of it. I don't want to have to stand up and get the sponge now if I'm just going to have to get it again in a few minutes. And by the way, since you like me to clean things up for you so much, you ought to know that I'll be happy to give you a bath later, I'm sure you'll want me to clean you up, as well as everything else.”
”That just shows how much you know,” said Max, pouting. ”I don't want you to give me a bath. I don't want you to clean up anything for me. I'll clean up my own messes. So there.”
”Suit yourself,” Stacey replied as Max mopped up the spill.
Max not only wiped up the mess, he brushed a few crumbs from the table, carried the sponge and the crumbs back to the sink, dropped the crumbs down the drain, and rinsed the sponge out before returning to the table.
”Thank you,” said Stacey.
”You're welcome,” replied Max.
”Stacey? What would happen if I asked you to get us some cookies?” ventured Amanda.
”Well, if you said, 'Stacey, could you please get out the Oreo cookies,' I would probably do it, especially if I thought you were going to thank me when I put them on the table. But if you just said, 'Stacey, get us the cookies,'
then I would give you every kind of cookie I could find, because I wouldn't be sure what you meant, and I wouldn't want to have to jump up and get anything else for a person who never says please or thank you.”
Amanda nodded thoughtfully.
”Aside from which,” added Stacey, ”I would feel very, very sorry that you are eight years old and unable to get cookies yourself.”
Amanda nodded again. Stacey thought she saw Max hide a smile. Then he said, ”I can clean up myself.”
”I know,” replied Stacey. ”I'm glad to see that.” She smiled at Max, then turned to Amanda. ”Do you want some cookies?”
”No,” said Amanda. ”I just wanted to find out what would happen if I asked for them.”
Stacey certainly hadn't expected that from the Sn.o.bs, but Amanda didn't seem to be acting snide or rude. In fact, she looked quite serious.
”You know,” said Stacey, ”you guys have worked really hard this afternoon. I think we should do something fun for now.”
”Like what?” asked Amanda.
”Do you know how to play hopscotch?” asked Stacey.
”Hopscotch is boring,” said Amanda.
”It's for girls,” added Max witheringly.
”Would you relax? I just asked if you knew how to play. I didn't ask if you wanted to play. Now. Do you know how to play hopscotch?”
”Yes.”
”Yes.”
”Do you have any chalk?”
”Yes.”
”Yes.”
”Do your parents let you draw on the driveway with chalk?”
”Yes.”
”Yes.”
”Good,” said Stacey. ”Because I'm going to teach you how to play Snail, and it helps to know how to play hopscotch first.”
”Snail?” replied Amanda, intrigued. ”What's that?”