The Best Medicine (Teachers’ Lounge #5)

Prologue

“I ’m coming to get you, Polly Anna Alberton! You can’t hide from the evil Queen of Sheeba! Haaa, ha, ha, ha!”

Ducking down behind a bush, I put my hand over my mouth, trying to be quiet. Momma was so funny. She wouldn’t think of looking here. I was?—

“Ha ha! Foiled! The Queen of Sheeba’s found you!”

I screamed in delight as I got up to run, only to slip and fall in the mud. I heard a rip as I fell. Sitting back, I saw a big hole in my corduroy pants, right over the knee. Tears ran down my cheeks. Father would be so angry.

“Oh, baby. It’s ok.” Momma’s arms wrapped around me. I felt so safe and warm. I loved Momma’s hugs. “No use crying over a small rip, huh?”

“But,” I sniffled, “my new pants are dirty. And there’s a hole right here.” I pointed at my knee. “What about Father? He’s gonna be so mad.”

Momma leaned forward, stretched her fingers wide, and sunk her hand into the mud in front of us. I watched in amazement as she pressed a large muddy handprint onto her light-colored pants and giggled as she painted a line of mud down each of our cheeks and dotted our noses.

“There, now we match.” She smiled wide and squeezed me tight. She always knew what to say to make me feel better. She traced her fingers over the rip at my knee. “And this rip? Well, it’s a memory. Every mistake’s a memory. Some of my favorite times have come from mistakes. Don’t feel bad if you make a mistake, Polly. Feel bad for people who do everything perfectly the first time, because they’re missing out on the fun bits. Those are the bits that make you feel the most alive.”