“What are you thinking about, Lola?” Mom asks.

“I’m thinking that Josh and Bella are mad at me,” I say. “And I’m thinking that maybe I’m not nice.”

“Lola,” my mom says, “you are nice. You’re my sunshine girl. I’ll tell you what you are not, though.…”

“What?” I ask Mom.

“You’re not perfect,” Mom says. “Nobody is. We all make mistakes, and it’s hard to be perfect every second of every day. All we can do is keep trying to be our best selves.”

“I’m glad I don’t have to be perfect, but I still don’t like feeling this way,” I tell Mom. “And what am I supposed to do about Josh and Bella?”

“Well, you’ve said sorry, so the other most important thing is to change your actions.”

“You mean I should stop scaring them?” I ask.

“That seems like a good idea, but don’t worry, we can still celebrate the scary parts of Halloween together,” Mom says. “Okay?”

“Okay,” I say, and I feel better. I always feel better after I talk with Mom. “I don’t have to be perfect,” I say, “and even if I wanted to, nobody is perfect. I think I can go to sleep now.” Mom gives me one more hug and then walks me upstairs and tucks me in.

“I love you, Lola,” she says.

“I love you, too, Mom,” I say with a yawn.

In the morning, I feel better, and I have a plan. I ask Dad if we can go to the grocery store after breakfast. I bring all the money I have in my piggy bank and some markers. I buy two pumpkins—a big one to give to Josh so he’ll have something to paint today and a little pumpkin for Bella. Dad drives me to Josh’s house and I knock on his door. He answers and I give him his pumpkin.

“I’m so sorry,” I tell Josh. “I wanted to make sure you had a pumpkin to paint.”

“Thanks, Lola,” Josh says. “I wasn’t really scared, you know. I was more surprised.”

“I know,” I say, “but I realize it wasn’t a very nice thing to do. Most people don’t like to be scared or surprised. Will you still come trick-or-treating with me tomorrow?”

“Of course,” he says. “I’m going to be a firefighter, remember?”

I’m so relieved. I say good-bye to Josh, and then Dad and I go to Bella’s house. No one answers the door. I remember that Bella has ballet on Saturday mornings, so I leave the pumpkin in Bella’s mailbox. It’s not just a regular pumpkin. It’s a pumpkin-gram.

Dear Bella,

I am sorry I didn’t listen to your words and scared you again. You are one of my super best friends, and I hope you forgive me.

Shalom,

Lola Levine

I hope Bella forgives me. I’m not sure, though, because I don’t hear from her the rest of the day.