I did get my book back at the end of recess. I decided never to bring it to school with me again. Actually, I didn’t ever want to go to school again. At least not until Mr. Moyers was gone and I could remember everyone’s new names. I made a list to keep track:
Stella—Scheherazade
Willa—Caramel
Talisa—Kit Kat
Lucy—Truffle
Asher—Mike
Maddie—Candace
Clark—Zach
Joshua—Richard
“Stella, it’s bath time!” Mom called.
“I’m coming,” I called back. I was just putting my pencil down when Penny came into my room.
“You’re supposed to knock,” I reminded her. It was probably about the millionth time I had told her the exact same thing.
“The door was partway open so I didn’t think I had to knock,” she said.
“Well I’m leaving my room anyway,” I told her. “Mom just called me.”
“That’s what I came to tell you,” Penny said. “Mom said ‘Stella, it’s bath time.’ But I’m Stella, remember? I told Mom she had to call me Stella from now on.”
“I changed my mind,” I told her. “You can’t be Stella. It’s too confusing if you’re Stella.”
“Why?” Penny asked. “It’s not your name anymore. You’re Sherry, remember?”
“Stella!” Mom called again.
“Coming!” Penny and I yelled at the same time.
“Jinx!” I said, and then Penny and I both ran down the hall, like we were racing, even though no one had said, “On your mark, get set, go!” Penny had a little head start because she’d been closer to the door when we started running. But I’m older so my legs are longer.
I got to the bathroom right before she did. “I won,” I said.
“Girls, it’s too late for such crazy running,” Mom said. She was standing in the bathroom doorway. Her feet were actually in the bathroom, but her belly was so big it stuck out the bathroom door. She was like a real-life version of the chocolate Buddhas they sell at the store. Behind her, the water was running into the tub. It was almost filled up to the amount of water I like to have in the bath.
“Stella started it,” Penny said.
I was going to tell Penny she couldn’t talk because I said jinx, but it was actually good she talked because she called me Stella. “See, I am Stella!” I said. “You called me Stella!”
“I meant Sherry,” Penny said. “You made me mess up. You know I’m Stella now!”
“One of my Stellas needs to get into the tub pronto,” Mom said. She walked over to turn the faucet off. The water was at the perfect level.
“I’ll get in,” I said.
“No, I will,” Penny said. “I always take my bath first.”
It was true—Penny did always take the first bath, because I was older and my bedtime was later. Penny started getting undressed right there in the hall. “I have to go, but you have to flush,” she told Mom.
“When you said Stella, who did you mean—me or her?” I asked.
“Well, I meant Penny,” Mom said. “You told me you wanted to be called Sherry, and your sister said she wouldn’t answer unless I called her Stella.”
“See, I told you,” Penny said, and she stuck out her tongue.
“Penelope Jane,” Mom said, using Penny’s full, old name—the way she does when she’s mad.
Dad came down the hall right then. “What is this ruckus?” he asked. ‘Ruckus’ is one of my favorite words—it means something noisy is going on. But right then I didn’t care about my words. I stuck my tongue out at Penny, and then I ran back down before Mom could say “Stella Rae.”
I went to my room. I felt so confused. I didn’t even like the name Stella. At least I used to not like it, so why did I miss it so much?
Dad knocked on my door—he always remembers to knock. “What’s wrong, darling?” he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Penny stuck her tongue out at me,” I said.
“Penny does silly things sometimes,” he said. “She’s only five. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”
I nodded. I am eight, and I still do silly things. Like changing my name was a really silly idea. Scheherazade was long and had too many syllables, and it was hard to remember that it was even my name. It was so much easier when I had just one name—my old name. I was Stella, and Penny was Penny, and Willa was Willa, and Lucy was Lucy. There weren’t any new names to remember, and I never messed up.
“Is something else bothering you, darling?” Dad asked. “Oops, I’m supposed to call you Sherry now, right?”
“I just want some privacy,” I said.
“Sure thing,” Dad said. “I’m here if you need me.”
This is my trick I sometimes do when I’m upset: I close my eyes and picture Batts Confections in my head. It just makes me feel better to think about all that candy—gummy bears, Junior Mints, Hershey’s Kisses, the M&M rainbow, jelly bean jewelry, candy crayons, the Penny Candy Wall, Stella’s Fudge.
So then I was back to the name Stella, and I opened my eyes. I said my name—my old name—over and over again in my head. Stella. Stella. Stella. It was sort of a good name after all. In my book, I call myself Stella. And the sign on my door still says Stella’s Room. I shouldn’t even care what Joshua said. He is just a meanie. Nobody even listens to him.
I clicked my heels together three times. I wished I’d never changed my name.
Mom came in to get me for my bath. Penny was behind her, wrapped up in a towel. “I can wash my hair and sing at the same time,” she said.
“So? I’m still mad at you,” I told her.
“You said I could be Stella,” Penny reminded me. “No backsies.”
“That’s not what no backsies is,” I told her. “You only use no backsies when you’re giving something away that you don’t want back. But I want my name back.”
“Mom,” Penny said. She started stamping her feet. “It’s not fair. She gets all the good names.”
“Penny is a good name,” Mom said. “It’s a beautiful name. It’s one of my favorite names.”
“No, it’s stinky. She shouldn’t get two good names. I want to be Stella or Sherry.”
“You can be Sherry,” I said. “I’m just going to be Stella.”
“You are?” Mom asked.
I nodded. “It’s too hard to have a new name. I’m used to being Stella.”
“I think you’re a perfect Stella,” Mom said. “The thing about your name is that it’s your very own name. Daddy and I picked it out for you, and no one can take it away.”
“If Stella is just going to be Stella then I’m just going to be Penny,” Penny said. “So now you can’t be mad at me anymore.”
“I’m not,” I said.
“Good,” Mom said. “The Batts girls have to stick together. Remember, we have a little boy coming soon.”
“I’m never going to want a boy’s name,” Penny said.
“Me neither,” I said. “I’m never going to want any name except Stella.”
“Dad, come in here!” Penny yelled. “We have something to tell you!”
Dad came back to my room. He knocked on my door because that’s what the sign says.
“Come in!” I called.
“We’re Penny and Stella again,” Penny told him. “I’m Penny and she’s Stella, just like you picked out for us.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I was having a hard time remembering who was who,” Dad said.
“Me too,” Mom said.
“Me three,” I said.
“Not me,” Penny said. “I always remembered, except for that one time. But I’m going to be Penny from now on anyway.”
So then I had my name back. When I finish this book, it’ll say “By Stella Batts” across the cover. One day I might write another book. I think it would be really cool if the name Stella Batts ends up meaning someone who’s a really great storyteller—maybe even the best storyteller ever. But for now this is the end of the story.