Daisy's Perfect Word (5 page)

Chapter Eight

The next morning Daisy was determined to avoid Samantha, so she risked the shortcut through the prickly bushes and ended up with only a couple of scratches. She wanted to walk just with Emma, because they had so much to talk about.

“I'm so excited you get to spend the night tonight, and it's a school night,” Daisy said.

“My parents usually don't have to be out so late, but tonight they have to go to an office party,” Emma said. “And my babysitter has to be home earlier. It's great your mom said I could stay with you.”

“Cupcakes or brownies?” Daisy asked.

“Brownies,” Emma replied.

“Sleeping bags or sheets and blankets?” Daisy wondered.

“Sleeping bags,” Emma voted.

“I won't be able to play the whole time,” Daisy said, “because I still haven't found the perfect word for Miss Goldner.”

“You will,” Emma said with such confidence that Daisy was reminded all over again why they were best friends.

At recess and lunch, they continued making plans for their sleepover and were so excited that they leapt out of their seats when the bell rang at the end of the day. Daisy went home to get out the sleeping bags and to start baking the brownies, while Emma headed to her house to pack her overnight bag. Daisy decided to do a little word thinking while she waited. Brownies are yummy, but the word
brownie
made her think more about the color than about how good brownies taste.

Finally, Emma rang the doorbell, and Daisy raced to let her in. After getting Daisy's room all set up, the girls finished their homework. They were in the middle of a great pillow fight when Daisy's mother said, “Stop being so rambunctious.” Hmm.
Rambunctious
was one of those words that felt perfect in Daisy's mouth, but she wasn't exactly sure what it meant. She whacked Emma one last time with her pillow.

“Please come set the table,” Daisy's mother called. Daisy and Emma laid out the plates, cups and silverware. Lily folded the napkins.

“Dinner smells marvelous,” Daisy's father said as he entered the kitchen.

Marvelous
, Daisy thought. It was definitely good for saying loudly but not so good for quiet times. It was not quite perfect, even though her mother's macaroni and cheese was quite marvelous.

“How's your word search going?” Daisy's dad asked.

“I've found some great words, but not the perfect one for Miss Goldner,” Daisy said.

“Sometimes, when I have a problem I'm trying to solve, I give myself a little time off from thinking about it,” her dad said.

“But tomorrow is the day everyone is giving their gifts,” Daisy explained.

“I got Miss Goldner a photo album, so she can take pictures of us and show them at her new school,” Emma said. Everyone at the table agreed that a photo album was a thoughtful gift. “You can help me wrap it,” Emma offered.

Daisy wasn't so sure that taking time off from her quest to find the perfect word for Miss Goldner was a good idea, but she was tired of looking and didn't feel much closer to finding the right word than when she'd begun. Besides, she didn't want to miss out on a minute of the fun she and Emma had planned. “I'll just take a little break,” Daisy said.

So after dinner, the girls listened to music and danced around the living room. They made a tunnel out of cushions for Lily to crawl through. They watched a silly show on television and ate brownies. After that, Daisy offered to put Lily to bed, because sometimes just being with Lily made Daisy feel better.

They read Lily's favorite story, about a fairy who has trouble turning a prince back into a frog. Daisy tucked Lily in. “Here comes the tickle monster!” Daisy whispered, holding up her hands and wiggling her fingers. As Daisy tickled her, Lily laughed and laughed. And that's when it came to Daisy — the perfect word for Miss Goldner! Daisy couldn't believe her good luck. She kissed Lily good-night and ran back to her room. The word was so perfect that she wrote it in her notebook on its very own page.

Chapter Nine

The next day at school, Samantha handed Miss Goldner a big package wrapped in silver paper. Miss Goldner opened the box and admired the vase inside. Some of the other children had brought gifts, too — bubble bath, a little container in the shape of an apple, a hand-made picture frame, a football and lots of wonderful homemade cards with lovely messages written inside.

Miss Goldner thanked all the children and told them how much she would miss them, especially when she needed a dance break. Then her eyes got a little misty and a couple of tears rolled down her cheeks.

Daisy knew it was time. She took a deep breath and raised her hand.

“I got you a present, too,” she said. Miss Goldner looked around. “Oh, it's not in a box or an envelope,” Daisy said.

Miss Goldner looked surprised.

“I found you the perfect word,” Daisy said proudly.

“That's ridiculous,” said Samantha. “There's no such thing as a perfect word.” Daisy wanted to hum, but she didn't. This moment was too important.

“This word is perfect for Miss Goldner,” Daisy said. “It's great for saying loudly and for whispering softly. It's not too long or too short, and I know both kids and grown-ups like it. It's not a made-up word, but it sounds like it could be, and it sure feels good in your mouth.”

“Well,” said Miss Goldner, wiping her eyes, “I can hardly wait.”

Chapter Ten  

“What is it?” Miss Goldner asked, leaning in close to make sure she could hear.

“
Giggle
,” Daisy said.

Then she extended both her hands toward Miss Goldner with a little flourish and said, “Now, you try.”

“
Giggle
,” said Miss Goldner, smiling.

“
Giggle
,” said Emma, breaking into a grin.

“
Giggle
,” said Ben, starting to giggle.

By the time the rest of the students tried it, the whole class was laughing, even Samantha.

Soon there was such laughter coming from Room 8 that the principal, Mrs. Joseph, came walking briskly down the hall. When she entered the room, all the children tried their best to stop laughing. But it was no use.

“It's my gift,” Daisy tried to explain. “The word
giggle
,” she managed to get out before she burst into another round of giggles.

Mrs. Joseph wasn't at all sure she understood what was going on in Room 8, but she loved her students to be happy and these children certainly were happy. In fact, they were so happy they were all laughing — every single one.

So Mrs. Joseph let out a big laugh herself and returned to her office.

Chapter Eleven

That afternoon Daisy and Emma walked home from school with Samantha. They talked about the day at school, and Samantha used words like
great
and
fun
. Daisy didn't hum at all.

Emma left them at the corner to go to her house.

“'Bye, Daisy,” Samantha said as she turned to walk up her driveway. “Yours was the best gift of all.”

Samantha's words fell like little presents on Daisy's ears.

“Thanks,” Daisy said.

As she ran up the lawn to her house, Daisy let out a big
yippee
! And Samantha didn't even say, “
Be quiet
.”

In fact, Daisy thought she heard a little giggle.