Meg Cabot - The Princess Present

After we had all finished washing away the sawdust and dew, we politely thankedGrandmère and said

we had to be going back to camp in order to deliver the hot-dog buns. When we got there, we found out

that Mrs.Harmeyer had given birth to a healthy six-pound-five-ounce baby girl. Butwhat REALLY blew

me away was when Dr. Gonzales said, "And, Mia, theHarmeyers said to tell you that they named her

after you."

"Really?"I was flattered. "They named their baby Mia?"

Dr. Gonzales looked uncomfortable. "Uh," he said."Not exactly. They named her Princess."

PrincessHarmeyer . Oh, well. It's still nice to know I have left my mark on Hominy Knob.Sort of.

After the celebration dinner ­ which was really nice; they seemed to have run out of corn products ­ Dr.

Gonzales built a campfire and we roasted marshmallows. Michael got out his guitar and we all sang that "

Kumbaya" song, the one that makes me feel like crying every time I hear it.

Then to show our West Virginia hosts some New York City "flava," Lilly, and Tina, and I sang our

version of Destiny's Child's "Survivor," which we do very well (Lilly even let me beBeyoncé for a

change).Grandmère clapped like crazy, even though Lars laughed so hard that he almost choked on a

s'more and Mrs. Hill had to smack him on the back.

Then the host families sang aWest Virginia song that was very sad, about a girl who may have been born

poor white trash, but Fancy was her name. It was all about how Fancy used her talents to get ahead in

life. She never complained about having the WRONG KIND of talents, she just used what God gave

her. That, I realized, it was what I needed to start doing: stop wishing for better talents, and just learn to

use the one I have to the best of my ability.

I sighed pretty hard when I thought of this, and Michael must have thought I was sad or something, since

he put his arm around me. YES!!!!!!!! The guy was finally starting to come around.

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Then we had some nice passionate moments making out near his tent while he was supposed to be

putting his guitar away.

All I can say is....thank you. THANK YOU, GRANDMÈRE!!!!Because without her and the use of her

shower, Michael and I might never have developed the very great appreciation for the theology of the

hammer that we have right now.

Wednesday, March 16, 10 p.m., the loft

I amhome!!!!!AT LAST!!!!!!!!

The bus ride back fromWest Virginia was SO much better than the bus ride there. For one thing,

Principal Gupta made sure Boris was good and dosed with Dramamine before she left him anywhere

near the parking lot. And then everybody was so tired, they all fell asleep before we even got onto

Highway 64.

When the bus finally pulled up in front ofAlbertEinsteinHigh School and everyone started piling off to

collect their bags from Charlie, there was a lot of hugging and "See you Monday" going on from people

who before the trip hadn't been friends. Like between us and PeterTsu .

The funniest part was, Dr. Gonzales came up to me, looking all embarrassed and went, "Princess Mia,

please tell your grandmother that I enjoyed meeting her very much. She is truly a dynamic woman."

Whoa. Looks like I'm not the only Renaldo who turns out to have a secret talent.

I am so happy to be home, I ran around kissing everything I'd missed, including Fat Louie, the mattress

on my bed, my bathtub, the refrigerator, and the TV.

But most of all I kissed my mom, and told her that even thoughWest Virginia is all right and everything, it

is really true what Dorothy says in The Wizard of Oz, about there being no place like home.

"Even if you're on Spring Break?" my mom wanted to know.

"Even if you're on Spring Break," I said.

"Even if you're a princess?" my mom asked.

"Especially if you're a princess," I said.

And them I picked up the phone and called Number One Noodle Son and ordered us all some cold

sesame noodles for dinner.

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