Chapter 10
Little Kindnesses

The next day at school, the morning began with Emma talking about which special day it was.

“Today is,” Emma said, pausing for dramatic effect, “National Cinnamon Bun Day!”

Carlota raised her hand. “I love cinnamon buns.”

Theo raised his hand. “Me too.”

“Me too!” Synclaire yelled.

Mrs. Z raised her eyebrows. “If you like cinnamon buns, raise your hand.”

Everyone but Sebastian and Ayana raised their hands.

“How can you not like cinnamon buns?” Emma asked the anti-cinnamon-bunners.

“They have extra things on them,” Sebastian explained. “Like nuts.”

“I hate raisins,” Ayana said with a shrug.

Olive raised her hand. When Mrs. Z called on her, she said, “Poppy’s grandma always puts extra treats in Poppy’s lunch box to share with our table. She made cinnamon buns a couple of weeks ago, and they were delicious!”

“Can I sit at your table today?” Fia asked Poppy.

“Me too?” Mars said.

“I want to sit with you!” Adam and Carlota said at the same time.

“But if you all sit with Poppy, then there won’t be room for me or Sebastian or Olive!” Rohan exclaimed.

Poppy’s stomach started to hurt. Po Po had a doctor’s appointment today, and if Po Po was sick, maybe she wouldn’t be able to bake anymore. Then Poppy’s lunches wouldn’t have special things in them, and her classmates wouldn’t want to sit with her anymore. And maybe Po Po would forget more and more things. Maybe one day she wouldn’t remember Poppy anymore!

Poppy knew she had to master the Dragon’s Beard candy. She needed Po Po to know how much Poppy loved her.

She raised her hand. “Can I go to the nurse?”

A few minutes later, Poppy stood in the doorway of the nurse’s office. Her classmate Lucy was already there. Lucy was always in the nurse’s office. Ms. Reyes was on the phone, but she gestured for Poppy to come inside and take a seat.

“Are you feeling okay?” Poppy asked Lucy as she sat down.

Lucy shrugged. “Are you feeling okay?” she asked Poppy.

“My stomach hurts,” Poppy said.

Lucy nodded knowingly, then reached underneath her seat and pulled out what looked like a small beanbag wrapped in plastic. She took the plastic off, twisted the bag, and shook it a few times.

“Here,” Lucy said, handing it to Poppy. “It’s a hand warmer, but I put this on my stomach when it hurts. Sometimes it helps.”

Poppy took the bag. It felt good, like holding a warm cup of tea. She put it against her stomach. It did make her feel better.

“Thanks, Lucy,” Poppy said.

“No problem,” Lucy said.

Ten minutes later, after Ms. Reyes examined her and determined that Poppy was okay, Poppy headed back to her classroom and watched the clock. A few days ago, lunch was her favorite time of day. Now, she dreaded it, especially because her mom had packed her lunch again.

Also, everyone wanted to sit with her because they thought she had extra desserts.

Also, maybe Po Po wouldn’t come to Valued Visitor Day, and Poppy would have to explain why.

When the bell rang for lunch, Poppy dragged her feet as she collected her lunch bag. Memo was also moving slowly, until they were the last two people in the room. When he saw her brown lunch bag, he asked, “Where’s your lunch box?”

Poppy shook her head. “At home.” Then she looked at Memo. She knew he had a grandmother because she had seen him with her after school.

“My grandma isn’t doing well,” Poppy said. Then she burst into tears.

Poppy was so embarrassed. Memo was probably wishing he got out of the classroom faster. She guessed he would flee to the lunchroom. But a moment later, she heard a crinkling sound, and Memo put something into her hand. Poppy used her other hand to swipe at her tears. When her vision cleared, she saw what Memo had given to her.

Inside a clear plastic container was a piece of cake.

“It’s tres leches cake,” Memo explained. “My grandmother made it for my mom’s birthday yesterday. There were leftovers.”

“You should have it,” Poppy said, sniffling. “I don’t want to take your dessert.”

“We can share,” Memo suggested.

Poppy looked at the door, then back at Memo. “I don’t really want to go to the lunchroom. Everyone expects me to have extra dessert, and I don’t want to explain why my grandma didn’t pack my lunch today.”

Mrs. Z came back into the classroom and smiled with relief at the sight of Poppy and Memo.

“Ah,” she said. “I wondered where you two were!”

Memo spoke up before Poppy could say anything. “Can we eat lunch in here?” He pointed to his leg. “I don’t feel like going all the way to the cafeteria today.”

“Of course you can stay here,” Mrs. Z said. “Are you feeling okay?”

Memo nodded. “It’s just one of those days, you know?”

Mrs. Z put an arm around his shoulder. “I know all about those kinds of days.”

Poppy looked at Mrs. Z and Memo in surprise. She couldn’t imagine that Mrs. Z, who was always cheerful and wearing fun jewelry, could ever have a bad day. And there was Memo, who never seemed bothered by much, but he must also understand bad days. He did have a cast on his leg, after all.

Poppy guessed bad days and hard things happened to everyone. She sat down, and Memo handed her an extra spoon as he opened the container. They both took a bite of cake. Then they said, “This is sooooo good!” at the exact same time, which made them laugh.

She was grateful for Memo, and for Mrs. Z, and for tres leches cake, and for Lucy and the hand warmer. Little kindnesses added up, and soon, with her stomach and heart full, she felt ready for the rest of the school day.