Famous in a Small Town by Viola Shipman EPUB & PDF

Famous in a Small Town by Viola Shipman EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online

• Status: Available for Free Download
• Authors: Viola Shipman
• Language: English
• Genre: Women’s Friendship Fiction
• Format: PDF / EPUB
• Size: 2 MB
• Price: Free

“You can’t pick cherries with your back to the tree.”
—J.P. Morgan

Becky
June 2023
“Okay, Benjie, would you like it if Ashley did this to you?”
He scrunches up his face to stave off tears and shakes his head. “No.”
“Well, it’s not a nice thing to do.”
I study Ashley’s hair, then take her face in my hands. “It’s going to be
okay. Trust me?”
The little girl nods her head. I give her a hug.
I walk over to my desk and open the bottom drawer . There is a large jar of
creamy peanut butter sitting next to a bag of mini Snickers. The peanut butter
is for emergencies like this: removing gum from a little girls’ hair. The
Snickers are for me after I’m finished with this life lesson.

“Well, I’m just glad neither of you are allergic to peanuts,” I say. “Allows
me to do this.”
I cover the gum stuck in the back of Ashley’s pretty, long, blond hair and
then look at her.
“I promise this works,” I say. “I’ve performed a lot of gum surgery.”
She nods. Her eyes are red from crying, her cheeks blotchy.
“Why did you do this, Benjie?” I ask the little boy seated in the chair
before my desk.

He ducks his head sheepishly, his brown bangs falling into his eyes, and
murmurs something into his chest.
“I didn’t catch that,” I say. “What did you say? Remember it’s okay to
express your emotions.”
He looks at me, freckles twitching on his cheeks. “I can’t say,” he
whispers.

“Yes, you can,” I say. “Don’t make this any worse than it already is.”
Benjie glances toward the door to ensure that it is closed. “Tyler Evans
told me to do it or he’d punch me on the way home.”
Being a grade-school administrator is akin to being a detective: you have
to work the perp to get the truth. Eventually—no matter the age—they break,
especially when a verdict on punishment is waiting in the balance.
It’s the last day of school. Benjie does not want his summer to be ruined.

I lean down and slide the gum out of Ashley’s hair. I go to my sink,
dampen a cloth and put some dish soap on it, return and clean the rest of the
peanut butter off her locks. I move to a tall filing cabinet and retrieve a clean
brush. The filing cabinet is filled with bags of sealed brushes and combs,
toothbrushes and EpiPens, certificates and old laptops. I run the brush
through her hair. I hold up a mirror for her to see the back of her head.

“See, good as new.”
“What do you say to Ashley, Benjie?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Do you accept his apology?”
Ashley shakes her head no. “You ruined the last day of school. You’re a
big ol’ meanie.”
“Ashley,” I say, my tone sweet but authoritarian.

“I accept your apology,” she says.
“You’re free to go,” I say to her.
“But you’re still a big ol’ poop head,” she says, racing out of my office,
bubblegum-free hair bouncing.
I actually have to clench my hands very hard to stifle a laugh.

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