Everyone's a Critic Read Free

Dear Know-It-All letters that I had shoved into my pocket. I fished them out and read them. As usual, there were some goofy ones like “Dear Know-It-All, I can’t get to school on time” (Get up earlier?) or “Dear Know-It-All, my math class is too cold. What should I do?” (Bring a sweater?) I read the second-to-last one, hoping it wasn’t from the last living brain cell in the school:
    Dear Know-It-All,
    My friend recently asked me for some honest advice and I gave it to her. The problem is that she didn’t like the advice, and told me I was wrong, and now is mad at me. I’m okay with her disagreeing with me, but why did she ask me if she didn’t really want my opinion? Isn’t it okay to have different opinions?
    Signed,
    Too Honest
    Hmm. Is there such a thing as being too honest? I think of the times that Allie was certainly too honest with me, even though sometimes I actually ask for her opinion. It’s always annoying to hear something negative. She never misses an opportunity to tell me I need my hair trimmed or cooler shoes, or that I just need to look more like her. But we’re sisters, and if we’re talking honestly here, I never miss an opportunity to tell her when she looks like she’s trying too hard with too much makeup or supertight jeans.
    But friends are different. If Hailey asks me if I like her shirt or if she’s being too pushy or something,sometimes I tell her the truth and sometimes I don’t. It depends on whether I think I’ll really upset her or not. She was honest with me this morning and I guess I needed to hear what she told me, so that was okay. Were there really different rules for when to be honest? Or is it that sometimes you shouldn’t be as honest as other times?
    Maybe I need to be more truthful. I constantly cover up the Dear Know-It-All column, but that’s because I have to. I just manipulated Allie into letting me borrow a shirt. If I turn up the “honesty” volume, will people get upset? Boy, this is a tough one.
    I read another letter in a bright red leftover Christmas card envelope:
    Dear Know-It-All,
    I’m good friends with a boy who I like. We do stuff together, but I never know if it’s a date. How do I find out?
    Sincerely,
    Just Friends?
    Yeah, I know a little something about that. Lately, though, I’ve been wondering if Michael and I even fall into that category anymore, since we haven’t spent much time together.
    â€œSam! Can you help me set the table?” my mom called from the kitchen. I guess the Dear Know-It-All column would have to wait. I stuffed the letters back into my pocket.

    The next day, at lunch, Hailey and I sampled the organic sweet potato fries from the premium table, where we can pay extra to get something healthy. Believe it or not, it’s usually extra-yummy, too, and I’m talking about things like kale chips, chickpea fritters, and whole-grain carrot muffins. Even Hailey eats it, or some of it, kind of.
    â€œThese are awesome,” I said, waving a fry in Hailey’s face. “Have one.”
    â€œAre they mushy?” she asked, leaning back in her chair, arms crossed.
    â€œJust take one!”
    â€œOh, all right,” Hailey said. She sat up and took a bite. Her face lit up. “They’re just like regular fries, only, um . . .”
    â€œSweeter? As in sweet potato?”
    I looked up and saw Michael come into the cafeteria. He didn’t even walk over to our table to say hello, which he usually does, but sat at a table full of guys on the baseball team.
    â€œIs he ignoring me?” I asked.
    â€œNo, why would he be?” Hailey said, stealing another one of my fries.
    â€œI don’t know. No reason.”
    â€œDon’t worry. He didn’t forget about you when he wrote that story with Austin.”
    â€œI know.” I just wanted to get back to our routine. For the last issue, Michael worked on a