Lazy Days & Mysterious Messages

It was Saturday. Jessie turned over in her bed. “Ugh,” she grunted. “I don’t want to get up.”

Just then she heard her mom calling, “Jessie, pancakes are ready!”Jessie rubbed her sleepy eyes. “I am hungry. Might as well get up.” She wrapped her comfy bathrobe around her and plodded down the stairs to the kitchen.

Jessie rubbed her sleepy eyes. “I am hungry. Might as well get up.” She wrapped her comfy bathrobe around her and plodded down the stairs to the kitchen.

“There you are, Lazy Bones,” her mom teased. “Come eat your pancakes before they get cold.”

Jessie sat down at the table and crammed a syrupy bite of fluffy pancakes into her mouth. “Mmm,” she mumbled. “I guess it was worth getting up for these.”

“Oh? Were you planning to stay in bed all day?” asked Dad.

Jessie nodded. “Yup. I’m just gonna do nothing today except watch my favorite TV shows and eat my favorite snacks.”

“Sounds like a lazy day,” said Mom. “I wish I could take some time off.”

“Me, too,” said Dad. “But I have a lawn full of tall grass that needs mowing.” Dad headed for the garage.

Mom bustled around the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes. When she came to take Jessie’s plate, Jessie wasn’t finished yet. Mom stood there, waiting. “Come on, Lazy Daisy,” she said. “I’ve got things to do today—and so do you.”

“Me? What do I have to do?” Jessie asked.

“Well, for starters,” Mom explained, “you need to gather your laundry and straighten your bed. Oh—and put your tea set away before it gets broken.”

Jessie swallowed her last bite. “Hmph,” she huffed. “Do I have to do all that right now?”

“I guess not right now, but you need to do it today.”

“Okay, I will,” said Jessie as she left the kitchen. She wandered to the living room and flopped on the sofa and turned on the TV.

After several hours of watching cartoons, Jessie heard a sound like a little bell—bing- BING-bing! It was her mom’s phone. “Mom, you got a text message!” Jessie hollered. But Mom didn’t answer; she was upstairs with Jessie’s baby brother, Mikey.

Jessie didn’t feel like taking the phone all the way upstairs, so she left it there beside her. Her TV show ended, but Jessie didn’t feel like getting to work yet, so she flipped through the pages of a storybook. Finally, Jessie went to the kitchen for some juice and crackers.

When Jessie came back to the sofa, she heard the phone “bing” again. She picked up the phone and saw that it was Aunt Kristi, Justin’s mom, who lived next door. Then she saw the first message: “Hey you!” it said. “I know you told me not to, but I did it anyway . . . so there!”

“What?” she gasped. “How can Aunt Kristi talk so mean? She must be mad at my mom.” Jessie stared at the mysterious message. Jessie couldn’t believe that her mom and her best friend’s mom were mad at each other! “This is awful,” she thought.

Jessie knew it was wrong to read other people’s messages. “But this is an emergency,” she told herself. She read the second message: “Meet me today—or else.” This sounded bad. Jessie’s imagination raced around. What was Aunt Kristi going to do if her mom didn’t meet with her today?

“I’ve got to do something.” Jessie thought hard, and then she got an idea. She carefully typed in the words, “OK. Meet here at 12.” Then she hit send. “There,” she said to herself. “When Aunt Kristi comes over, they’ll have to talk to each other and not stay mad.”

Jessie went to her room to change into her clothes. She wanted to be ready by 12:00.

It wasn’t long before Jessie heard the doorbell. She raced to the door and opened it. “Hello, Jessie,” said Aunt Kristi cheerfully.

Just then Jessie’s mom walked into the room with a purse on her shoulder, carrying a grocery list. She stopped and stared at Aunt Kristi. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Uh-oh! I hope they’re not going to fight,” thought Jessie.

“I texted you, and you said to come at 12:00. So here I am,” Aunt Kristi explained.

Jessie’s mom looked confused. “I don’t remember getting a text from you.” She checked her phone and saw the time a message was sent from her phone.

“Jessie,” asked her mom, “did you answer the text message?”

Jessie’s hands got sweaty, and her mouth went dry. She nodded.

Jessie’s mom rolled her eyes. “You and I are going to have a long talk, young lady.” Then she turned to her friend still standing in the doorway, holding a plate of cupcakes. “I’m sorry, Kristi, I was on my way to the store. I wasn’t expecting you.”

Aunt Kristi smiled. “I understand. But I did make cupcakes with strawberry frosting on top!”

“You did?” Jessie’s mom laughed. “I told you not to make those because I would want to eat them all!”

Jessie gasped. “So that’s what Aunt Kristi’s first message was about! I thought you were mad at each other!”

Aunt Kristi gave Jessie a hug. “Your mom is my best friend. I could never be mad at her. But you have to be careful not to read other people’s messages, or you could end up making more problems than you solve.”

With a grin, Jessie’s mom took the plate of cupcakes. “We better eat these while they’re still warm. C’mon and have a seat, you two. The grocery store can wait!”

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