When I got home from school, I went straight to the kitchen to get a snack.

“What happened to you?” my mom asked.

“What do you mean?” I said.

“Just look at you! You’re covered in mud.”

“Yeah,” said Suzie. “You look like you went swimming in a mud puddle.”

“Oh, that,” I said, laughing. “My friends and I were looking for worms at recess today.”

“Did you have to do that in the mud?” said my mom.

“That’s the best place to find worms,” I said, “especially after it rains.”

“You guys must have been in that big puddle near the slide,” said Suzie. “I stayed far away from it.”

“That seems like a better idea,” said my mom.

“I’m starving,” I said. “Can I please have a snack?”

“Not until you change your clothes and wash your hands really well,” said my mom. “Right now you look like a mud monster.”

“Okeydokey!” I shouted as I ran out of the kitchen and dashed up the stairs. “I’ll be right back!”

“And make sure you put those muddy clothes in the hamper, not on the floor,” my mom called after me.

My mom was such a neat freak. Our toys always had to be put away. We weren’t allowed to have food in our bedrooms, we had to make our beds every morning, and absolutely no pets allowed in the house!

I quickly changed my clothes and tossed the muddy ones into the dirty clothes hamper in the bathroom. Then I scrubbed my hands with soap. As the dirt washed off, it made a muddy river in the sink.

I dried my hands, and in my rush to get back to the kitchen, I slid down the banister instead of taking the stairs.

The only problem was I almost slid right into Suzie, who was just starting to walk up the stairs. I froze.

“Ooooooo, you are in so much trouble,” said Suzie. “You know you’re never supposed to slide down the banister.”

“No one will know unless you tell them,” I whispered. “And you wouldn’t tell Mom and Dad, right?”

“What’s it worth to you?” Suzie asked as she held up her pinkie for a pinkie swear.

“Really?” I said. “You won’t keep this a secret?”

“I will if we make a deal,” Suzie answered with a big grin on her face.

“Fine, fine,” I said. “I’ll make your bed tomorrow morning.”

“Just tomorrow morning?” said Suzie. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Well, how many mornings do you want me to make it?”

“Three,” said Suzie, shoving three fingers in my face.

“I can count,” I said. “I don’t need your fingers in my face.”

“So do we have a deal?” Suzie asked, holding up her pinkie one more time.

“Yes! We have a deal,” I shouted, and we locked pinkies.

Just as we finished, my mom appeared. “Kids, what’s going on in here? Is everything all right?”

I glared at Suzie. She made a deal. She’d better not tell my mom about what I just did, or the deal would be off.

“Yes, Mom, everything is okay,” Suzie said.

“I heard Freddy shouting, so I thought I’d better come see if the two of you were okay.”

“We’re fine,” I said. “Can I have my snack now please?”

“Sure, honey, come with me.”

“I’ll be right back down,” Suzie said. “I just have to get something from my room.”

My mom and I walked back into the kitchen. “Let me inspect those hands,” said my mom. “I want to make sure you really did wash them.”

I held out my hands for my mom to look at. First I held them palms up, and then I held them palms down. “See?” I said, smiling. “I washed the backs and the fronts.”

“Nice job,” said my mom. “Now what do you want to eat?”

“How about a cheese stick and some grapes?” I said.

“That sounds healthy,” said my mom. “Good choice.”

Suzie walked back into the kitchen. “Mom, did I just hear you say ‘that sounds healthy’?”

“Yes, honey, you did.”

“Since when does Freddy suggest a healthy snack?” said Suzie. “He has the biggest sweet tooth of anybody I’ve ever met!”

I crossed my arms and shouted, “I do not!”

“Yes you do!”

“Do not!”

“Do, too!”

“All right. Enough you two,” said my mom. “There’s no need to argue. Suzie, what would you like to eat?”

“I guess I’ll have apple slices and peanut butter,” she said.

“Another good choice,” said my mom.

Suzie and I went to sit at the table while we waited for my mom to get our food.

“Here you go,” said my mom, placing the snacks down in front of us.

I started to shove the cheese stick into my mouth.

“Whoa, slow down there, Freddy,” said my mom. “You can’t eat that whole thing at once.”

“I’m just really hungry,” I said with my mouth full.

“I can see that,” said my mom, “But I don’t want you to choke, and I don’t want you to talk with your mouth full.”

I picked up a grape, tipped my head back, opened my mouth, and tossed the grape in the air. Instead of landing in my mouth, the grape hit Suzie in the face.

“Hey, watch it!” Suzie growled. “Don’t throw grapes at me.”

“I wasn’t throwing grapes at you,” I said. “I was trying to catch one in my mouth, but I missed.”

“You missed by like a mile,” said Suzie.

“Josh was trying to teach me how to catch grapes in my mouth during lunch today. He’s really good at it.”

“Well, you’re not,” said Suzie.

“Yes I am!” I shouted. “Watch!” I picked up another grape and tossed it in the air.

“Nice toss,” Suzie teased.

This time the grape hit me in the eye.

“Bravo! Bravo!” Suzie yelled and clapped her hands. “That was amazing? Can you hit yourself in the eye again?”

“Be quiet!” I snapped. “You messed up my concentration when you yelled out ‘nice toss’! I’m going to do it one more time, but you can’t make any noise. I have to concentrate.”

“I won’t say a thing. My lips are sealed,” said Suzie as she pretended to zip her lips closed.

This time before I threw the grape up into the air, I stuck my hand in my pocket and rubbed my lucky shark’s tooth.

Then I tipped my head back, tossed the grape into the air, and it landed right in my mouth.

“Lucky throw,” said Suzie. “That was just a lucky throw.”

I just stared at her and smiled.