Ann Martin: Mallory On Strike

Heating frozen pizza sounds like a simple task, but it isn't. Not when you're feeding the Pike family. Dawn had to remove the pep-peroni for Jordan and the onions for Nicky, while Mary Anne trimmed the crust off for Mar go and made sure Claire's slice was cut into bite-sized pieces. Finally Mary Anne and Dawn leaned back in their chairs, exhausted, and watched the kids eat.

"When I have children," Dawn declared, "I'm having one boy and one girl. That's it."

"Me, too/' Mary Anne agreed. "I don't know how Mr. and Mrs. Pike do it."

After lunch, the kids put their plates in the dishwasher, then Dawn suggested they play Chutes & Ladders. While they formed a circle on the living room rug, Mary Anne cleaned off the counter and made sure the kitchen was sparkling clean. After she was finished, she thought she'd go upstairs to see how I was doing. Big mistake.

The knock on the door came as such a shock that I bellowed, "Whaaat?" at the top of my lungs. It sounded like I had been interrupted all day, but this was the first time. (Even Va-nessa hadn't ventured into the bedroom, and half of it is hers.)

Mary Anne sprang backward when she heard the sharp tone in my voice. "Mal?" she said timidly. "It's me, Mary Anne."

"Mary Anne?" I pushed back my chair. "What are you doing here? Come on in."

Mary Anne opened the door but didn't step into the room. She just stuck her head around the jamb and said, "Sorry to disturb you, Mal, but Dawn and I are baby-sitting downstairs and I thought I'd say hi and see how you're doing."

"Baby-sitting?" That was news to me.

Mary Anne explained about the emergency meeting. "I guess your parents didn't want to

bother you," she said. "So they called Dawn and me."

"Gee." I blinked in surprise. "I didn't know anything about that. That was really nice of them."

Mary Anne stepped just inside the door, as if she thought I might snap at her again. "I'm glad you talked things out with your parents. It must have made you feel a whole lot better."

I looked at my "Mallory on Strike" sign leaning against the bed and suddenly felt a little ashamed. "I haven't talked to them at all," I admitted. "I woke up this morning and decided to go on strike. I made that sign and told my parents that I had to write and I didn't want any interruptions."

Mary Anne crossed the room and sat on my bed. "You mean, as soon as your story is finished, things will go back to the way they were before?"

She had a point. Finding the time to work on my story had become a problem mostly because of the demands my parents made of me. They automatically assumed that I would be available to help with housecleaning, food making, baby-sitting, or running errands day and night.

Mary Anne leaned forward. "Mal, I think you need to have a good heart-to-heart with your parents as soon as they get home.

They're great people, and I'm sure they'll understand how frustrated you're feeling. If you like, Dawn and I will watch the kids while you do it."

I took Mary Anne's advice and, boy, was I glad I did! As soon as my parents got home, I asked if I could talk to them in my room. Then, for the next fifteen minutes, I poured my heart out.

"It's not that I don't love all of you," I said, finishing my speech, "but sometimes I need time to myself."

Mom and Dad looked at each other for a moment.

"Mallory, we're so proud of the work you do in school," my mother said, "and the way you help out at home, and how you're such a responsible baby-sitter. I think sometimes we forget to show it."

"And you're right," my father added, giving me a big hug. "We do take advantage of you sometimes. We're sorry and we'll try not to do it again." Then he smiled. "At least, not too often."

"You know what I think you need?" my mother said, kissing me on the forehead. "I think you need a special day, just for you."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You need a day off," she explained. "One that's just for you, without having to worry

about taking care of the kids, or helping your father and me."

"Gosh." I tried to imagine how that would feel. "I think I'd like that."

"Just pick the day," my father said, pointing to the calendar thumbtacked to my bulletin board. "And it's yours."

It didn't take me long to decide on a day. I had almost finished my story and I felt really good about it, so I blurted out, "How about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow it is!" My father put one arm around my mother and one arm around me and said, "I hereby declare tomorrow to be Mallory Pike Day!"

It's hard to describe what was going on inside me then. My feelings were so topsy-turvy, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So I did both.

Chapter 13.

Sunday. My special day. I couldn't wait to get started. I was so excited that I changed clothes three times before finally settling on my jean skirt and jacket, bright red tights, sneakers, and multi-colored earrings that Claud had made for me.

Mom and Dad said I could do anything I wanted for an entire day. I wanted to go to Washington Mall. And I wanted to take Jessi along. After all, a special day wouldn't be special without my best friend to share it with.

My parents asked Mary Anne and Dawn to baby-sit again, and luckily they were available. After a frenzied half hour getting my brothers and sisters dressed and making sure they'd eaten breakfast and put their dishes in the dishwasher, we were finally ready to go.

Waving good-bye to my brothers and sisters and getting into the car with Mom and Dad felt sort of strange. For the first time in my

life, I felt like I belonged with the grown-ups. For a while I had the backseat all to myself, which was also weird. (Of course, that didn't last for very long because we made one stop before we headed for the mall.)

"Jessi!"

She met me on her front porch, dressed in a new purple jumpsuit with a gold turtleneck, which made her look taller and more like a dancer than ever.

"I'm so excited!" Jessi said, as we hurried back to the car. "I raided my bank just for today and I'm planning to do some major shopping."

"Me, too!" I giggled. "Let's get going."

Washington Mall is about a half-hour ride from Stoneybrook. It has five levels and is the biggest one in our part of Connecticut. I mean, it is huge! If I had an entire special weekend, I don't think I'd be able to get to every store in it. But Jessi and I were going to give it our best shot.

"You girls have a great time," Mom said, as my parents dropped us off at the big front entrance. "We'll meet you at noon for lunch."

"Where?" I asked, waiting for my mother to give me her usual instructions. But this time was different.

"It's your day," she said with a smile. "You pick the place."

Jessi and I looked at each other and blurted out at the same time, "Casa Grande!"

We love Mexican food, particularly when it's covered with sour cream and guacamole. Like the Super Burrito at Casa Grande.

"Casa Grande it is," my dad said. "See you in two hours."

The mall was crowded with kids. I grabbed Jessi's hand and made a beeline for Stuff 'n' Nonsense, one of my favorite shops. On the way, we passed the ear-piercing boutique (where Jessi and I had finally got ours pierced), and I started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Jessi asked.

"I was just thinking about the time I took Margo and Claire to watch a girl getting her ears pierced. When the woman squeezed the trigger on the ear-piercing gun, Claire screamed as though she'd been shot. Then Margo announced to everyone within a hundred-mile radius that she was going to barf!"

Jessi laughed, too. "I wonder if those two will ever get their ears pierced?"

"Margo might. She likes putting on makeup and playing dress up. But Claire thinks it's too painful-looking." A pair of tiny pink bow earrings in a shop's display window caught my eye, and I added, "Although I bet she'd think those were really cute."