Ava XOX Read Free Page A

easier if when you liked a person, that person liked you back the exact same amount in the exact same way, and that was that.
    Ms. Sickle broke us into groups and had us flip through women’s magazines. She said we should look for pages that show “mixed and contradictory messages.” At first we didn’t know what she meant. But then it was “eye-opening” because the magazines had ads for candy bars and recipes of gooey desserts right next to articles on how to “shed pounds fast.” Ms. Sickle said it’s hard to “live mindfully” in a world full of temptations, but it’s important to try.
    AVA, OPEN-EYED?

2/11
TWENTY MINUTES LATER
    DEAR DIARY,
    There’s something I didn’t tell you, and now I’m almost embarrassed to, even though you’re my private diary. But writing helps, so here goes:
    At the end of the day, I had to pee, so I went to the girls’ room and dashed in and out and didn’t notice that I’d stepped on a piece of toilet paper. I ran to where Pip usually meets me after school, and two older kids were pointing at my feet and smirking. One was Loudmouth Lacey, that girl who wears thick eyeliner and used to pick on Pip. The other was an eighth grader named Rorie who everyone says is mean. (She looks like she could beat people up without even trying.)
    Chuck must have noticed, because he came over and mumbled, “TP alert.”
    â€œHuh?” I said. (I did not spell it out.)
    He pointed at my left boot, and I glanced down and saw the tissue trail and thought, OMG! TP? I mumbled thanks and stepped on the tissue with my right boot. The TP came off, but so did what was left of my dignity .
    When I looked up, Chuck was gone—probably already on the bus next to Kelli, who would never be caught dead dragging TP around. (Not that I was literally “caught dead.” I mean, I’m still breathing.)
    Anyway, Pip showed up with Tanya, and my face must have been toilet-paper white, because Pip said, “What’s the matter?”
    All I could say was, “Nothing.”
    AVA, NOTHING
    PS One of tomorrow’s spelling test words is humiliated .

2/11
BEDTIME
    DEAR DIARY,
    After school, Tanya and Pip worked on their homework poster. So I made a poster too. I made mine for Bates Books, and in my best handwriting, I wrote: “Books are gifts you can open again and again.” I even added, “Buy Local,” because Bea said it drives her parents crazy when people browse for books at their store and then order them online. Mrs. Bates says she wishes they’d worry about “saving their community,” not just “saving every dollar.” She also says bookstores give towns “character,” which is funny since bookstores are full of books that are full of characters.
    Anyway, we made popcorn, but Tanya melted half a stick of butter and poured it all over the top, and it ended up too buttery.
    After Tanya left, I told Pip about the toilet paper, and she said, “That’s happened to everybody,” which made me feel better. Then Pip told me what she is worrying about. It’s way bigger than tagalong TP.
    Last week, Pip’s Spanish class got divided up into pairs, and one kid from each pair had to reach into a hat and pick out a name of an artist from a Spanish-speaking country. “One kid got Picasso,” Pip said. “Another got Goya. Another got Frida Kahlo. Another got El Greco. Another got Velázquez. And Tanya picked for us and got Botero.” (I had to look up those spellings.)
    Pip said each pair of kids is supposed to give a short talk and make a poster of one of their artist’s paintings.
    â€œSo? What’s the problema ?” (That’s “problem” in Spanish.)
    â€œWe have to do our presentations during an assembly in front of the whole middle school!”
    â€œBut in English, right?”
    â€œDuh.”
    â€œAnd for kids, not parents,