Annie Barrows

  “Wow. Your parents gave you dirt?” asked Bean.

  “Sort of,” Sophie said. “They’re going to use it in the back yard, but not until next week.”

  “We can play on it?” asked Bean. It was too good to be true. “It’s okay with your mom?”

  Sophie W. looked at her front door and giggled. “My mom’s not home! There’s a babysitter in there!”

  Bean stared at the mound. They wouldn’t put it out in the front yard if they didn’t want people to use it, she thought. “Shouldn’t we ask the babysitter?” she said.

  Just at that moment, a teenage girl stuck her head out the front door. She was the babysitter. “Oh,” she said to Sophie. “There you are.”

  “Is it okay if we play with this dirt?” asked Bean politely.

  The teenager looked at the mound like she had never seen it before. “I guess. Um. Don’t track it into the house.”

  “No problem,” said Bean. “We don’t even want to go in the house.”

  The babysitter nodded and turned to Sophie. “I guess I’ll be watching TV, okay?”

  “Sure,” said Sophie. She and Bean waited until the teenager had gone inside. Then Sophie turned to Bean. “What should we play?”

  “Play?” said Bean. “We haven’t got time to play! This volcano’s about to blow!”