Karen's Grandad

  Mr. Hanley, the store manager, was waiting outside. (We had met him before when we came to buy Hootie.)

  “Welcome,” he said. “I have some excellent guinea pigs to choose from today.”

  Get ready, guinea pigs! One of you will soon have a new home and a new friend named Hootie.

  As soon as we reached the guinea pig cages, we knew we had a problem. The guinea pigs were all cute. They were whistling and playing. One was drinking from the water bottle. Another was gnawing on a piece of wood. (Guinea pigs’ front teeth just keep growing and growing. That is why they need safe things to gnaw on. Gnawing wears down their teeth.)

  “I like that black one,” said Ricky.

  “But look at the brown one. He is so cute,” said Addie.

  “The white one is looking right at us,” said Natalie. “He wants to come home with us.”

  “We can only buy one,” said Ms. Colman. “We will take a vote.”

  Ms. Colman pointed to each guinea pig. Mr. Harris counted up the votes. A nice fat black, white, and brown guinea pig won. Hooray! He was the one I voted for.

  “You picked one of my favorites,” said Mr. Hanley. “He arrived here just two days ago and is quite friendly.”

  We used money from our class fund to buy a food cup, water bottle, and toys for our new guinea pig. We already had everything else we needed.

  When we returned to school, we thanked Mr. Harris for coming with us. (He had to get back to his office.) Then we put our new pet into the cage with Hootie.

  Sniff, sniff, went the new guinea pig.

  Wheee! Wheee! went Hootie.

  Sniff, sniff! Wheee! Wheee!

  “I think they like each other already,” said Hannie.

  There was one thing left to do. We had to name our new guinea pig. I had an idea.

  “How about Everett after Everett Anderson?” I said.

  Ms. Colman smiled. “All in favor, say, “Everett’!” she said.

  “Everett!” the class cried.

  Welcome to second grade, Everett Guinea Pig.

  A Surprising Announcement

  By Wednesday, Hootie and Everett seemed like old friends. Now that Hootie had company, he was acting more cheerful.

  I was glad for Hootie. But watching him cheer up with his new companion made me think about Granny. I knew she was lonely without her companion. I felt sad for her.

  Everett seemed as happy as Hootie. We did notice that he had grown fatter since we got him. He had been fat to begin with. That is probably why he moved so slowly. But he had an amazing appetite, so he was probably healthy.

  I could tell Ms. Colman was worried about Everett, though. I saw a pile of guinea pig books on her desk. When we returned from recess that day, Mrs. Chen, the sixth-grade science teacher, was kneeling by the guinea pig cage examining Everett.

  I rushed into the room.

  “Is Everett okay?” I asked.

  “I am sure he is fine,” replied Ms. Colman. “I just wanted to ask Mrs. Chen about his weight. Everyone, please sit down. I need a moment to speak with Mrs. Chen.”

  Mrs. Chen picked up Everett and turned him over. Then she petted him. She and Ms. Colman were whispering to each other. Then they smiled. That was a good sign. It meant that nothing too serious could be wrong with our new guinea pig.

  “Thank you for coming, Mrs. Chen,” said Ms. Colman. She walked Mrs. Chen to the door, then turned to us.

  “Class, I have an announcement to make,” said Ms. Colman.

  From the look on Ms. Colman’s face, I could tell this was going to be one of her excellent Surprising Announcements. Goody.

  “I have a report for you about Everett. It turns out that Everett is not a boy guinea pig. Everett is a girl. And she is going to have babies,” said Ms. Colman.

  “Wow! When will the babies be born?” I asked.

  “Very soon,” Ms. Colman replied. “Mrs. Chen thinks they could be here as early as next week.”

  “Do we have to give her extra vitamins, or anything?” asked Natalie.

  “That is very thoughtful,” replied Ms. Colman. “Her regular diet is just fine. But we do need to put her in a cage of her own. Mrs. Chen has an extra cage we can borrow. One of the sixth-grade students will drop it off later.”

  “Are we still going to call her Everett?” asked Nancy. “That is a boy’s name.”

  We all agreed that Everett was no longer a good name for our guinea pig. She needed a girl’s name. We wanted to give her a name that sounded like Everett, though. We thought of Evelyn, Eve, and Evita. We took a vote. Evelyn won.

  Hmm. Now Ms. Colman was not the only one expecting a baby. Evelyn was pregnant, too. I thought about suggesting a baby shower for our guinea pig. But I knew there was not enough time for that. Mrs. Chen said the babies would be here any day. I could hardly wait.

  Babies!

  I was the first one to arrive at our room on Thursday. I raced to Evelyn’s cage. No babies. I kept my eye on Evelyn all day. Nothing happened.

  I was the first one to arrive at our room on Friday. I raced to Evelyn’s cage.

  “She did it! Evelyn had her babies!” I shouted.

  “Shh. You will scare them,” said Natalie when she arrived.

  Everyone crowded around. Then Ms. Colman came into the room. We all looked at Evelyn’s babies. There were six. Two were white. One was black. Two were brown and white, like Hootie. One was all three colors, like Evelyn. They did not look as babyish as some other baby animals I had seen.

  A cat once moved into the toolshed at the big house to have its kittens. At first, the kittens did not look so cute to me. They were scraggly. Their eyes were closed. They did not look cute and fluffy for several weeks.

  But these guinea pigs looked perfectly fine. Their eyes were open. They were walking around. They were just very small.

  Evelyn was nursing three of them. She was licking another one’s coat.

  “They are so-o-o cute,” said Hannie.

  “Can I hold one?” asked Bobby.

  “I do not think that would be a good idea,” said Ms. Colman. “I know this is very exciting. But right now I would like you all to sit down. Evelyn and her babies need to rest. We can talk about the babies a little bit. Then we must get to work.”

  Ms. Colman picked up one of her guinea pig books and read to us from it.

  “Guinea pigs in the wild usually have one to four young,” she read. “But when they are in captivity — which means when they are in cages — they can have up to eight young. The babies each weigh about three ounces. The mother takes care of them for about three weeks.”

  “Our mothers care for us a lot longer than that,” said Addie.

  “Thank goodness. I would hate to have to cook my own dinner,” said Hank.

  Everybody laughed.

  “Can we keep the babies?” asked Pamela.

  “I am afraid not,” replied Ms. Colman. “Two guinea pigs are enough for one classroom. When the babies are ready, they must go to new homes.”

  “Whose homes will they go to?” I asked.

  “I have not decided that yet,” said Ms. Colman. “I will think about it and let you know soon.”

  Talking to Granny

  On Friday night, I dreamed I was telling Grandad about the guinea pigs. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I started to go downstairs to tell him some more.

  Then I remembered he was gone. A whole week had passed since his funeral.

  I looked for Granny so I could say good morning to her. I looked in the kitchen. She was usually one of the first people up. Mommy and Seth were drinking their coffee. But they were alone.

  “Where is Granny?” I asked.

  “She is in her room,” replied Seth. “I am sure she would be happy to see you.”

  I knocked on Granny’s door and poked my head in. She looked so sad and lonely. I wondered how long Granny would feel that way.

  “Do you want some company?” I asked.

  “Sure,” Granny replied.
br />   I climbed into the bed and snuggled up beside her. I told her my dream.

  “Grandad would have loved hearing about those guinea pigs,” said Granny.

  Granny told me she had a dream about Grandad, too. She dreamed he was working in his garden. All of a sudden tomatoes popped up all over the place.

  “He would have liked that! He would have made lots of tomato sauce and put it in jars,” I said.

  Grandad liked to cook.

  We talked some more about the things Grandad liked best. Granny said that spending time with Andrew and me was at the top of his list.

  After a while Granny and I joined Mommy, Seth, and Andrew in the kitchen.

  My family spent the day together. We talked and read. We bundled up in warm clothes and took a walk around the neighborhood. We ate lunch. Granny took a nap in the afternoon. Then, for a treat, Seth took us out to dinner. We went to Uncle Ed’s Chinese Restaurant downtown.

  We ordered a few dishes to share. Andrew and I ate crunchy noodles in sweet sauce while the grown-ups talked.

  “Have you thought about the things you might like to do now?” Mommy asked Granny. “Maybe you could try some volunteer work. The library always needs people to help out.”

  “Yes, that sounds nice,” replied Granny.

  I am not even sure Granny had heard what Mommy said.

  “We could make your downstairs room into a permanent bedroom,” said Seth. “We would fix it up just the way you like it. You are welcome to stay as long as you want.”

  “Thank you,” replied Granny. “But I am used to living in a house of my own. I will need a bit more independence than that.”

  “There are other choices,” said Mommy. “I think you are too independent to move into Stoneybrook Manor. But there are apartment complexes here where many people your age live. If you moved to one of them, you could make new friends more easily.”

  Granny did not belong at Stoneybrook Manor. I had visited the manor with my class. It was very nice, but the people there are not able to live on their own. Granny is not like that.

  Nannie had lived in one of the apartment complexes for a little while. I had liked it. It was not too far away. I hoped Granny would choose a place like that to move to.

  “There are so many choices,” said Granny. “I will just have to think everything over.”

  The waiter brought our food. It was very delicious. When we finished eating, he brought a plate of sliced oranges and fortune cookies.

  I opened my cookie and read my fortune out loud. It said, “Exciting days lie ahead.” Goody.

  “Now read your fortune, Granny,” I said.

  Granny’s fortune said, “The answers will come.”

  “I hope so,” said Granny. “Right now, all I have are the questions.”

  The Lottery

  I ran into our classroom on Monday to see how Evelyn and her babies were doing. They were fine.

  After attendance, Ms. Colman said, “I have thought of a way to find homes for the guinea pigs. We will hold a lottery for both of the second-grade classes. Whoever gets permission from their parents can take part.”

  All right! A lottery sounded like fun.

  “Why does Mr. Berger’s class get to be in the lottery?” asked Pamela.

  “Because I do not think six students from our class alone will get permission to take home a pet,” said Ms. Colman.

  Hmm. A gigundoly good idea was coming to me. I wondered if I could bring home a guinea pig if I did not plan to keep it myself. I did not think that would be a problem. Especially if I had permission from Mommy and Seth.

  The person I wanted to win a guinea pig for was Granny. A pet is very good company when a person is lonely. Granny could take her guinea pig with her wherever she decided to live.

  When I got home from school that day I waited until Mommy and Seth and I were alone. Then I told them my idea.

  “That is very thoughtful of you,” said Seth. “A pet for Granny sounds like a nice idea.”

  “I usually do not approve of giving pets as surprise gifts,” said Mommy. “A pet is a responsibility. The person who is getting the pet needs to agree to take that responsibility on.”

  “But a guinea pig is not too hard to take care of. It is not like having a dog you have to walk,” I said.

  “You are right,” said Seth. “And it is such a good idea, I think it is worth taking a chance on,” said Seth.

  Mommy agreed and signed the permission slip for me.

  “Hooray! Now all I have to do is win,” I said.

  The lottery was held on Thursday. Three other kids from my class got permission to take a guinea pig home. They were Sara, Omar, and Audrey. Five kids in Mr. Berger’s class got permission.

  Ms. Colman collected the permission slips and dropped them into a big jar. Mr. Berger and his class came to our room for the drawing. (They had been invited in to meet the guinea pigs on Tuesday.)

  “We are ready to begin,” said Ms. Colman. She picked a name from the jar.

  “Congratulations, Liddie Yuan. You are our first winner.” (Liddie is in Mr. Berger’s class.)

  Everyone clapped for Liddie. Mr. Berger picked the next name.

  “Our second winner is Omar Harris. Congratulations, Omar,” said Mr. Berger.

  We clapped again. Two down, four to go. I was getting nervous. I wanted to win a guinea pig for Granny so badly.

  It was Ms. Colman’s turn to pick a name.

  “Congratulations, Karen Brewer,” said Ms. Colman.

  “Yippee!!” I shouted.

  Audrey won the fourth guinea pig. Then two more kids from Mr. Berger’s class won.

  Sara was the only kid from our class who did not win a guinea pig. She looked very disappointed. I felt bad for her. But I was glad I had won the guinea pig for Granny. She needed a soft guinea pig who wiggled its nose to cheer her up.

  Granny’s News

  Clink, clink! It was dinnertime at the little house. I was about to make my Surprising Announcement. I tapped my glass to get everyone’s attention.

  “Granny, do you remember when I told you that Evelyn had six guinea pigs?” I said.

  “Yes,” replied Granny. “I remember.”

  “Well, you are now the proud owner of one,” I said.

  I waited for Granny’s face to light up. It did not. In fact, it kind of drooped.

  “That was very thoughtful of you, Karen,” said Granny. “But I have some important news to share. This seems like a good time to share it.”

  “What is it?” asked Seth.

  “I have decided what I want to do. I am going to return to the farm in Nebraska,” said Granny.

  Mommy and Seth looked completely surprised.

  “All by yourself?” asked Seth.

  Granny nodded.

  “Why go there alone when you have us here?” asked Mommy. “We are your family. We love you.”

  “I appreciate that,” said Granny. “Really I do. But Grandad and I lived in Nebraska for a long time. I have many years of memories there.”

  “How will you run the farm on your own?” asked Seth.

  “The farm is run by hired hands now. So there are always people around,” replied Granny. “I miss my gardens and my animals. It is where I belong.”

  Mommy, Seth, and Granny talked some more about what Granny’s life would be like if she lived on the farm or stayed here in Stoneybrook. In the end, they all agreed that Granny would be happier back in Nebraska.

  I felt sad that Granny would be leaving. But I wanted her to be where she would be happy.

  “You can still have the guinea pig, Granny,” I said. “A guinea pig would love to live on a farm.”

  Granny took my hand.

  “It is so sweet of you to have won a guinea pig for me,” said Granny. “But I do not want to fly him all the way back to Nebraska when I have so many animals there waiting for me.”

  Granny was right. She did not really need the guinea pig if she was going back to the farm.
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  I had a pet rat and a goldfish. So I did not need him either. Hmm. I had a brand-new gigundoly good idea.

  Karen’s Gift

  On Tuesday morning, Mommy said, “Have you decided what to do about the guinea pig?”

  “I have a very good plan,” I replied.

  I could hardly wait to get to school. I ate my breakfast fast. (That did not get me to school any earlier. The bus still came at the same time.)

  I rode the bus with Nancy. As soon as we reached school, I called, “Meet you inside!”

  I raced into the room. (That did not do any good either. The person I wanted to see was not there yet.)

  I waited. And waited. The person I wanted to see arrived later than usual. I caught her on the way to her seat.

  “Hi, Sara! I have something to tell you,” I blurted out. “The guinea pig I won was not going to be for me. I wanted him to be a gift for my grandma. But my grandma cannot take him. So I want him to be a gift for someone else. Guess who!”

  “Who?” asked Sara.

  “You!” I replied. “I know you really wanted to have a guinea pig. And now you can.”

  “I cannot believe it,” said Sara. “That is so nice of you. Thank you, Karen.”

  “You are welcome,” I replied. “I know you will take very good care of him.”

  “Oh, I will. You can come over to visit him any time,” said Sara. She had a big smile on her face.

  Just then, Ms. Colman said, “Would you like to take attendance today, Karen?”

  “Sure!” I replied. “And I will add Evelyn’s name to our book.”

  I finished in no time. (I am very good at taking attendance.)

  “I would like to continue our unit on feelings this morning,” said Ms. Colman. “Let’s start with you, Sara. You have a big smile on your face. Will you tell the class why?”

  Sara told everyone about the guinea pig gift.

  “I was really disappointed when I did not win a guinea pig yesterday. But I am so happy today. I think getting the guinea pig from Karen is even better than winning one,” said Sara.

  “We can learn something about feelings from this,” said Ms. Colman. “Feelings can change from one day to the next. They can even change from one minute to the next.”