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PACKING

Glue stick? Check!

Folder of cutout magazine pictures? Got them!

Felicia the Flamingo? Totally!

Snacks? Yum!

“Whoa! Mom’s going to be annoyed with you!”

I turned from the piles on my bed to face my big sister, Sophie. She stood in the doorway of my room.

“Why? I’m doing exactly what she told me to do. I’m packing!” I said proudly.

I, Jasmine Toguchi, love summer. Summer is fun because every day feels like a holiday. But this summer was very special. I was going on a big family vacation. For the first time ever, I was going to Japan. I was excited to have a big adventure!

“It looks like you’re making a huge mess.” Sophie left to go to the living room or the kitchen or wherever she was headed.

Sophie was two years older than me. She thought that made her smarter than me. This was her first big vacation, too. She was not an expert on packing.

I went back to sorting all the things I would be bringing with me on vacation.

“Jasmine Toguchi! What are you doing?” Mom stepped into my room. She had the wrinkle on her forehead that she gets when she is annoyed.

“Hi, Mom!”

“You’re supposed to be packing,” she said.

Sometimes parents are not very observant. “I am!”

“What happened to the list I made for you?” Mom asked.

I pointed to my desk. “Over there?” I did not remember for sure where I had put it.

Mom shuffled through my books and papers and markers and pencils. She found her list buried underneath them. “You haven’t checked anything off of my list.”

“I know,” I said. I held up a piece of paper. “I made my own packing list. See? And I’ve checked off almost everything.”

“Jasmine Toguchi,” Mom said. She took my list from me. “Remember we had a special family meeting? We talked about how important it was going to be to follow all the rules to make this a fun vacation.”

Of course I remembered! It was only yesterday. But I didn’t know why she called it a special meeting. Mom always had rules for everything.

“Please use my list for packing,” she said. She put my list on my desk and handed me her list instead. “I’ll be back to check on you.”

Walnuts! Mom’s packing list was boring. It had things like a toothbrush, a comb, underwear, pajamas, and only one personal item. There was no way I could pick just one thing of mine to take.

“Told you,” Sophie said, poking her head into my room. “I’m packed and ready to leave tomorrow. I can’t wait to visit Obaachan and see all the cool places in Japan.”

“Same!” I said. “We are going to have a big adventure!”

Sophie actually smiled at me. That made me happy. When she started fifth grade last year, she turned bossy and was not very nice to me. But now she was getting ready to start middle school. For the first time, we would be going to different schools. She would probably miss me. Maybe she would like me again. Maybe this vacation would make us friends again. That would be super-great!

“Seriously,” Sophie said, frowning at me. “Get packing. Don’t ruin anything by annoying Mom.”

Okay, well, maybe Sophie wouldn’t be friendly to me right away. I could work on it.

“Mom won’t be annoyed with me,” I said to my sister, but Sophie was gone.

Then the doorbell rang.