The Spelling Bee

"Mom, Mom!" Daya Myers excitedly burst through the front door after school one day.  When she couldn't find her mother, she went bounding up the stairs looking for her.

"What's going on?" inquired her mother as she heard Daya's loud footsteps clattering up the stairs.

"I'm going to be in the school spelling bee!" announced Daya excitely.

"Oh, honey!, That's great!" enthused her mother throwing her arms around her daughter and hugging her.

"Wait, there's more!" declared Daya wrenching out of her mother's grasp. "Kinley is going to be in the spelling bee too." Kinley Ingram was Daya's best friend. She had been since they sat next to each other on the school bus on the first day of first grade.

"That's great." replied Mom.

"Yeah, the winner goes on to the state spelling bee and the winner of that goes on to the national spelling bee in Washington DC. Can you imagine me winning the National Spelling Bee?" said Daya dreamily closing her eyes.

"Whoa, slow down. Don't count your chickens and all that. Just take it one bee at a time."

"Oh  I can win it. I know I can." replied Daya confidentally. "Besides, they gave these pages of spelling words to study which should help us. If I master these I should have a good shot of winning."

Daya decided to do her homework and then relax a little. She would start studying the words after dinner. After dinner, she was tired though so she figured she would get a fresh start the next day after school.

The next day after school, Kinley came home with Daya. "Hello, Kinley." greeted Daya's mother. "Congratulations on making it into the Spelling Bee."

"Thanks, Mrs. Myers." replied Kinley.

The two girls had a snack then sat down at the kitchen table to do their homework.

"Did you start studying the spelling words yet?" Kinley asked.

Daya shook her head. "Nah. Not yet. " she admitted. "It shouldn't be too hard anyway. I'm pretty good at spelling."

"You're lucky." replied Kinley. "I have to work really hard at it. I still can't even believe I made into the Spelling Bee at all."

"Don't put yourself down. I'm sure your not that bad." Daya assured her friend.

After homework, Kinley had to leave. "Can't you stay for a little while even?" begged Daya.

"No, sorry. It'll be dinner time soon, and I want to have time to look over the Spelling Bee words."

Daya shrugged. She couldn't believe Kinley was being so obssessive about studying for the stupid Spelling Bee. It couldn't be that hard. She wasn't even planning to look over the words until after dinner.

After dinner, Daya got caught up in watching TV. Then, she took a shower. By the time she finished drying her long hair, she was too tired too look over the spelling words. "I'll do it tomorrow." she promised herself.

Tomorrow came and went and so did the next day and the next. Daya never managed to sit down and look over the spelling words. Suddenly, the day of the Spelling Bee which had seemed so far away was here.

Daya and Kinley and twenty of their classmates stood on the stage with their familes and other school mates sitting out in the audience watching them.

After the ground rules were explained, Kinley was the first speller.

"Favorite." intoned the moderator.

"Can you use it in a sentence?" asked Kinley nervously.

'Come on, Kinley.' Daya thought. 'That's any easy one.'

"Pink was her favorite color." stated the moderator in a monotone

"F *A*V*O*R*I*T*E." spelled Kinley slowly and carefully.

Daya silently cheered her.  Her turn was next.

"Surprise." intoned the moderator.

"S*U**P*R*I*S*E."

"No, I'm sorry that's incorrect." replied the moderator. "You may sit down."

Daya's mouth flew open and she fell into her seat in stunned silence. She couldn't believe she got knocked out in the first round when so many kids that she knew were not nearly as smart made it through to the next round including Kinley.

The rest of the match went by mostly in a blur. She just barely heard Kinley get knocked out in the final round on the word "spectator." That was an easy one. Everybody knew spectator is spelled with an o and not an e.

After the match, Daya was really upset but Kinley didn't seem bothered at all. "We gave it our best shot." Kinley assured her friend with a smile as they exited the stage and went to find their parents in the audience.

Daya wasn't assured at all. She was  really angry at herself, but she decided to take it out on her friend instead. "How could you miss 'spectator'"? she hissed at her Kinley. "Everybody knows 'spectator is spelled with an o and not an e."

"Well, at least I made it through more than the first round." Kinley hissed back. "Surprise?" she said, "You got out on surprise?  Everyone knows that there are two R's in surprise. Besides, it was on that sheet of words they gave us to look over when we made it into the spelling bee. Did you ever even look at that?"

Daya turned bright red and suddenly felt really ashamed. "You're right." she admitted. "I never even looke at that paper. I deserved too get knocked out in the first round,  and you should have won. I'm sorry you didn't. Can you ever forgive me for being so horrible?"

Kinley shrugged, smiled, and hugged her friend. "Don't worry about it." she said. "I was so nervous standing up their in front of just our school, I would never be able to handle being in the state spelling bee. Anyway, I think just being in the school spelling bee, should be good enough to get our parents to take us out for ice cream, don't you?"

Daya nodded. "Sure," she agreed putting her arm around her best friend's shoulder. "Let's go find them."

Millie the Magnificent

Today's story is not only for my daughter but by my daughter.


Millie Foster wanted to be a magician. She got magic kits. She  practiced all the time. No matter what Millie did, she could not get a trick right. Once, she did a magic show for her whole family including her aunts cousins and grandparents. She performed a trick with an egg in a hat, It was a disaster. At the end of the trick, she  put the hat on her head. The egg cracked and went all over. To make matters worse, her mom just cleaned everything. Plus, Millie had just showered that morning.

"Millie good news I am taking you to a magic show. Maybe it will help you improve your magic if you watch carefully." mommy said with a smile.

"Thanks mommy, but I don't think anything can help my magic. You remember the egg and the hat? I ruined the carpet. It still has stains all over, but I do still like watching magic. I will go to the magic show." Millie replied.

Later that week, they went to the magic show. Millie was so happy to see the show.

"So what did you think about the show?" mommy asked as they got up from their  seats when it ended.

"Mommy, that show made me realize I should never give up my dream of magic. I just have to keep practicing. Someday I will get it right." announced Millie proudly.

When they got home, Millie went straight to her room. She stayed there all day watching magic trick videos and practicing tricks. She even tried making up some of her tricks, but nothing worked. Maybe Millie just wasn't fit to be a magician. Millie didn't give up. She kept doing all she could think of to help her learn a trick.

Suddenly, Millie's dog Trixie jumped up on Millie's lap. A couple minutes later, Trixie jumped down. In place of Trixie, a bone had been placed in Millie's lap.

"I've got it." Millie thought to herself. "Magic has to be hidden. So people can't tell what is really happening. Millie burst out of her room. She got mommy and asked her to take her to the toy store down the street. There were some good magic kits there. After tons of begging, mommy finally agreed.

Millie picked out all kinds of magic kits. She found a kit just like what she had done with an egg a couple months ago. She knew to really know how magic works she had to be able to complete that trick. When she was done picking magic kits, Mommy paid, and they went home.

Once they got home, Millie went right to work. She decided which tricks to do for her magic show. Next, she wrote a script. After that was done, she practiced all the tricks and studied the script making sure she learned it by heart. When she was sure she had memorized her script word for word, she tested each trick one more time. She was just about ready to ask mommy to invite the family over for dinner  when she remember the one thing she had forgotten. She needed an assistant, every good magican had one. She picked up the phone and dialed the number of her best friend. "Hey Kayla, want to be a part of my magic show?" she asked into the phone.

"Of course!" Kayla replid excitedly

"Great, be over in ten minutes." Millie said and hung up without waiting for a responce. When Kayla got there, Millie taught her what she needed to do and helped her to learn her lines. By the time they were finished, it was time for the show. Millie's whole family was waiting in the living room.

Millie and Kayla stepped out of the room and ran downstairs. They stepped into the living room and the show began. At the end of the show, everyone clapped for Millie and Kayla.

"Millie, how did you do that?" asked her cousin Mark.

"A magician never reveals their secrets." replied Millie.

Mandy Loves Makeup Too

Mandy Brewster  was five years old. She had two older sisters. Mattie was 15. Marie was 16. They both loved makeup. Mandy loved make up too. She adored pretty eyeshadows especially in shades of purple and blue. She was crazy about lipsticks especially in bright colors, the brighter the better. Her favorite color was cherry red. She thought rosy rouged cheeks were just beautiful.

Mattie and Marie were allowed to wear makeup because they were older. Mandy was not because she was younger. "Please, mommy!" she begged. "I want to wear make up too."

Mommy smiled and patted her on the head "Your too little, honey." she replied."Wait until you get older." Mommy would paint Mandy's fingernails and toenails in pretty colors but that was it.

Mandy liked to sit in her sister's room and watch them get made up at least when they would let her. "You're so lucky. You get to wear make up." she declared enviously from her perch on Mattie's bed  as her sisters got ready to go out one day. She watched them paint their lids with eyeshadow and smooth rouge on their cheeks and line their lips with lipstick.  They look so pretty. Mandy sighed  She couldn't wait until she could be that pretty too.

Mommy didn't seem to appreciate make up as much as her girls. When she saw Mattie and Marie, she frowned. "March right back up there and take some of that off." she commanded. "When it comes to makeup, less is more." she declared.

Mattie and Marie sighed. They didn't seem to think so. They unhappily and went up and took some of the make up off even though they didn't want to. They knew better then to argue with their mother if they wanted to go out at all.

After Mattie and Marie left, Mandy wandered back up to their room. She knew she wasn't supposed to be in there when they weren't home, but she just couldn't help herself. She just wanted to peek at the pretty make up that's all. She tiptoed into the room and wandered over to Mattie's make up case. She took out the eyeshadow and looked at all the pretty colors. "Ooh." she sighed over a particularly lovely shade of purple eyeshadow. "I bet this would look pretty on me." she said to herself out loud. Maybe, she could just try a little bit  and then wash it off and noone would know.

After she smudged the eyeshadow all over her eye lids and around them, she looked in the mirror and smiled. It looked so pretty. All it needed was a little color on her cheeks to go with it. She went in Marie's make up case and found a gorgeous shade of pink. That would be perfect! She smeared it all over her face from her eyes to her chin.  She looked in the mirror again. She looked even prettier!

Then, she sighed. Something was definitely missing. She thought about it for a minute and then she smiled happily as she figured out what it was -  lipstick. Lipstick would be just the finishing touch she needed. Then, she would really be beautiful.

Mandy scrounged around in both her sisters' make up cases and tried all the lipsticks until she found a shade she liked - the perfect cherry red. She managed to completely cover her lips and all around them as well. Then, she looked in the mirror and admired herself. "Pretty, pretty." she smiled at her reflection.

Just then, Mommy came in startling Mandy so much that she managed to knock all the make up on to the floor. "Look how pretty I look." Mandy said to Mommy smiling brightly but Mommy didn't smile back. "Too much makeup?" asked Mandy pointing to her face.

Mommy nodded frowning. "Too much makeup."

Mandy smiled. She felt just like a big girl.

Rayli's Resolutions

Brooke Sanford was sitting at the kitchen table doing her homework. Her little sister, Rayli wandered over to where she was sitting. "What are you doin'?" she asked curiously.

"My homework." groaned Brooke unhappily. "We have to write a New Year's Resolution."

"What's that?" asked Rayli

"It's something that you want to change or do better in the New Year." replied her sister.

"Oh!" declared Rayli enthusiastically. That sounded like fun. She wanted to make a New Year's Resolution too. "Can you only make one New Year's Resolution?" she asked.It sounded like so much fun that she wanted to make lots of them.

"You can make as many as you want." replied her sister.

"I am going to make lots of New Year's Resolutions!" announced Rayli. "I will not eat vegetables! I will not go to school! I will get a dog!"

Brooke shook her head at her sister. "It can't be things you don't want to do anyway and that you have no control over. It has to be things you can control and that will make your life better not just things that you want. Why don't you start with something like I will not annoy my sister when she's doing her homework."

"Okay." replied Rayli disappointedly. It wasn't going to be a fun as she thought but she still want to try. New Year's Resolutions were for big girls, and Rayli wanted to be a big girl like Brooke. Rayli got a piece of paper and a pencil and went looking for her mother.

"Mommy, can you help me write my New Year's Resolutions?" she asked when she found her mother in her room sorting the laundry.

"Sure sweetie." replied her mother. "Just as soon as I finish sorting."

Rayli sighed. She sat down on her mother's bed impatiently. She did not like waiting. As soon as Mommy was done, Rayli excitedly handed her the paper and pencil. "Now, you write what I say." she commanded. Mommy gave her a look. "Please!" added Rayli.  Rayli's Mommy put the pencil to the paper ready to write.

"Number one, I will not bother my sister when she is doing her homework." declared Rayli. "Number two, I will clean my room. Number three, I will eat my vegetables. Number four, I will go to bed when I am told." When she finished stating her resolutions, Rayli sat back and smiled proudly as Mommy read them back.

That night at dinner, she shared her resolutions with the rest of the family. After dinner, the night went quickly and before long it was 8PM, Rayli's bedtime. "Time for bed, sweetie." announced Mommy.

Rayli frowned unhappily. "Just five more minutes. Please!" she begged.

Now, it was Mommy's turn to frown. "I thought going to bed when you're told was one of your New Year's Resolutions."

Rayli shrugged. "Maybe, I'll just have three New Year's Resolution's." she said.

The next day after school, Brooke was sitting at the table doing her homework again when Rayli hurried over. "What are you doing?" she inquired nosily.

"Wasn't one of your New Year's Resolutions to not bother me when I'm doing my homework?" asked Brooke with annoyance.

Rayli shrugged. "I still have two other resolutions." she said. "I am definitely going to keep those." She ran off to her room to play with her toys. After a while, she got bored and came downstairs to watch TV. She had only been watching for a few minutes when she heard her mother calling from upstairs.

"Rayli!" she was yelling in an angry voice. Rayli slowly and worriedly went back upstairs.

"What's the matter, Mommy?" she asked upon finding her mother in Rayli's own room.

"Wasn't one of your New Year's Resolutions to clean your room?" asked Mommy. "This room is a mess!" She pointed around the room. There were toys and books scattered everywhere.

Rayli sighed. "I still have one more resolution. I know I can keep that one!"

That night, Mommy served asparagus with dinner. As soon as Rayli saw it, she made a disgusted face and pushed it to the end of her plate. Asparagus was her absolute least favorite vegetable.

"Rayli," Mommy reminded her. "Don't forget your New Year's Resolutions."

Rayli slowly picked up her fork and moved it toward the aparagus. Then, she quickly moved it away again. "Maybe, I'll make New Year's Resolutions next year instead." she declared.