ER Be ha a afternoon a couple of weeks later. We were playin’ baseball like we always did, when up comes that man. This time he didn’t have his stupid lookin’ daughter with him. He had two men in gray pants. “Hello, kids,” he said comin’ up to us. “Still playing baseball?” “Yes, sir,’ Marilyn said smilin’ at him. Marilyn always smiled sorta a sick smile at grownups. | looked to see if he still had that piece of Kleenex under his nose. He didn’t. This time it was on the side of his chin. | didn’t think my Daddy cut himself that much when he shaved. And he still had that smelly old spicy shavin’ lotion on. “How come you’re here again?” Gary asked scratchin’ his freckled nose. My Daddy said boys who have red hair and freckles always scratch their noses, ‘cause | asked him. “Because | own this lot,” the man answered. “These men are going to survey it for me so | can build my house on it. You kids better run along now while the men do their work.” “But you can’t build a house here. Where will we play football and baseball?” 1 asked, feelin’ tears fill my eyes. “1 don't know, but | am sure you’'l! be able to find another place just as nice.” “Aw, gee, do you have to build a house here?” Gary asked wrinkling his nose. “Yes, now run along.” “\'m goin’ to ask my Mommie if you can do that to us,” | said runnin’ to my yard, next door. “Us too,” Marilyn and the fellas yelled, runnin’ after me. Me and Marilyn and all ten of the fellas ran in my house lettin’ the screen door bang shut like my Mommie always told me not to. “Mommie, Mommie,” | yelled. “Where are you?” “Downstairs the matter?” sewing dear, what's We ail ran down the stairs into the sewing room, where my Mommie was. | hated that room. It smelled like the laundromat we sometimes went to if our washer broke. | didn’t like the color either. When the sun shone, it looked like the color of my blue hay fever pills. “Mommie,” | said runnin’ into the sunny room, “they can’t do that to us, can they? They can’t do that to our field!’ “They can’t do that to us, can they?” whined Marilyn. “Hold on now, kids,” Mommie said takin’ off her black-rimmed readin’ glasses. “Who can’t dio what to what field? Oh, you mean the vacant lot next door?” We all nodded. ‘Is someone planning on building a house there?” “Yea, they can’t do that to us can asked Gary they, Mrs. Benson?’ scratchin’ his nose. Marilyn an’ eight of the fellas in my back yard one sunny morning. “They just can’t build a house on our lot.” “Yea,” scid Gary scratchin’ his nose, “but what can we do?” “Oh, | don’t know. Maybe we could do somethin’ to that witchy lookin’ girl.” “Yea, something that will make it so that they won’t want to live there,” Gary said. “They'll move away, and we'll tear down the house and get our lot back.” “Let me think,” | said tryin’ to get an idea of what we could do to Katherine. “I got it,” | said jumpin’ up and down in a circle. “I got it. | know what we can do. We can do somethin’ mean to her. Then she will want to leave our neighborhood. Then we can get our lot back.” “But what can we do to make her feel bad?” Marilyn asked. “Well, let me see,” | said rubbin’ my neck. “| know,” Gary said scratchin’ his “Well, kids, | am afraid that they can, and there isn't too much we can do about it. We'll just have to find some place else for you to play.” “But, Mother, that’s our field,” freckled | said feelin’ tears start to fill my eyes again. “They just can’t build a house on it.” mf they have bought the land, which | am sure they must have, they have a perfect right to build a house on it.” | felt really bad about them being able to build @ stupid old house in football field. and our baseball Havin’ a house there was bad enough, but havin’ a mousey-haired girl livin’ there was the worst yet. We watched them build the old house. Once we threw rocks through some windows, but they kept on building. Once we stepped in the wet cement on their front they didn’t stop building. house was nearly built, me lyn and the fellas decided do somethin’ quick. “We find some way,” | said (32) walk, but When the and Mariwe had to just gotta talkin’ to nose, “We could have a wiener roast and not invite her.” “Hey, that’s a choice idea, Gary,” Tim, one of the fellas, said. “We'll have to let her know about it though, so she can feel bad about it.” “That's the bad part,” Marilyn whined. “How can we let her know about it without coming right out and telling her that we are going to have a wiener roast and that she isn’t invited?” “That’s just it. We will tell her,” I said. “Yea, but how?” Gary asked. “Then she will know what we’re planning.” “No, she won't,” | said sitting down in the shade of our peach tree which was next to my back door. “We can go over an’ talk to her when she comes with her daddy. We can be really nice to her...” “Be nice to that big-nosed witch?” Gary said scratchin’ his nose. “You must be crazy!” “All | meant was pretend to be (33) nice to her. Then one of us can start talkin’ about the weiner roast.” “Yea, but not say anything about her being invited, right?’ said Gary. “Right. We'll say the names of those invited, but leave out her name. Marilyn and Gary and I'll do it, an’ let the rest of you know what happens.” “Yea,” the fellows answered getting up off the lawn. “That’s a good idea.” “Gary and Marilyn, stay here. They should be comin’ soon.” “O.K., Ann,” Marilyn and Gary said. “See you other guys later.” “Bye, you guys. We'll let you know what happens as soon a's we do it.” When Katherine came with ‘her Daddy that afternoon, we went over there. We walked really slow so she wouldn’t think anything was funny. Katherine was standin’ behind a man in gray pants, watchin’ him paint the front door. “Hi, Kathy,” | said forcin’ the sides of my mouth up in a smile. “What ya doin’?” “The name is Katherine, and I’m watchin’ Mr. Moore paint this door,” she said, pushin’ her thick glasses up higher on her fat nose with her middle finger. | squeezed my teeth together till my head started to ache just so | wouldn’t tell her off. “Well, Kather- ine, my Mommie just made some grape Kool-aid. | just wondered if you would like to come have some with me and Marilyn and Gary?” She looked at me funny through her thick glasses. | thought she was almost gonna bawl for a minute. “Do you really want me to?” she said twistin’ her head to one side like a@ monkey. “Sure we do,” Marilyn ond Gary and | said together. “Now, come on.” O.K., but I’ll have ask my Father,” she~ said. “Vl tell him, Katherine,” Mr. Moore, the man in sure he won’t gray pants, mind.” said. “I’m