Hector came over to my house after school. He was carrying a box. It looked like a shoebox. He held it out and said, “Look at my new Puppet Pal Portable. It cost a lot of money, but it’s worth it for my precious Puppet Pals.”

I could have given him a shoebox for free.

Hector started taking his Puppet Pals out of the box.

My little sister, Mia, came over to us.

Our dog, Waggles, followed her. He was dressed in a Princess Sing-Along sweater. He looked really silly.

Mia glanced at Hector’s Puppet Pals. She said, “I used to play with finger puppets a long time ago, when I was three. Now I’m too old for them.”

Hector frowned. He said, “Those aren’t just finger puppets. They’re Puppet Pals. Zeke and I are going to play with them.”

“I wanted to play basketball,” I said.

“But Puppet Pals are so much fun for just about everyone,” he said.

I sighed. “That’s just what the commercial says. Why don’t we play basketball for a half hour, and then Puppet Pals for a half hour?”

“Okay. Deal,” Hector said.

“Let’s shake on it,” I offered.

We shook hands. Hector had Puppet Pals on most of his fingers. The vampire puppet’s fangs scraped my finger.

Hector put his puppets back in the box.

Mia sang, “Toilet paper is your friend, la la la. Make sure you wipe your back end, la la la.” Then she said, “Guess where I heard that song?”

“On the Princess Sing-Along TV show,” I said.

“How did you know?” she asked.

I tapped my head. “Because I’m smart.”

“And because you’re wearing a Princess Sing-Along shirt, pants, and socks,” Hector said.

“And because you sing Princess Sing-Along songs a hundred times a day,” I said.

“That’s not true,” Mia said. “I sing them two hundred times a day.”

“Let’s get out of here,” I told Hector.

We went outside and played a great basketball game.

“I forgot how much fun it was to run around,” Hector said.

After a half hour, I said, “Now it’s your turn, Hector. We can play with your Puppet Pals.”

“Let’s stay out here instead,” Hector said.

“Okay.” I smiled.

We played basketball for a long time.

Finally, we got so tired that we went back inside to play with Hector’s Puppet Pals.

Hector took them out of his box.

“Ahh!” he screamed.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” I asked.

“Very hurt. My Puppet Pal vampire is missing!” he shouted. “It must have fallen off my finger when we were shaking hands. It’s your fault, Zeke. You’re the one who wanted to shake hands.”

“It’s your fault for bringing over those stupid Puppet Pals!” I shouted.

“They’re not stupid!” he shouted.

“Stop shouting!” my sister Alexa shouted from her room.

“Let’s just look for the missing puppet,” I said.

We searched all over the living room. I didn’t see the Puppet Pal vampire anywhere.

But I did find a green moldy sandwich behind the couch. And there was a bad book report for Alexa under the couch.

I also found a ladybug on the window sill.

That made me run into my bedroom in terror.

Waggles was on my bed. Next to him were pieces of Hector’s missing vampire puppet. Some pieces were still in Waggles’s mouth.

“I found your Puppet Pal,” I called out to Hector.

“Thank you, Zeke. You’re a good friend,” he said as he ran into my bedroom.

When he saw the scattered pieces of his vampire puppet, he shouted, “You’re not a good friend!” He ran out of my room and left my house without even saying goodbye.

I pretended my pillow was a Puppet Pal. I punched it. Then I threw it across the room. That made me feel a little better.

I went into the living room and turned on the TV to feel even better.

The Puppet Pal commercial was on.

I turned off the TV, returned to my room, and beat up my pillow again.