Chapter One: Top Ten Things NOT to Do the First Day of School
By Someone Who Has Done Them All Even though I was still nervous, I saved the file, shut down my computer, and climbed into bed. After twenty minutes of tossing and turning like a beached codfish, I flipped the light back on. Time for desperate measures. I hopped out of bed and got my oldest stuffed animal, Truffles the Pig, down from the shelf. I also took my Mom’s old denim jacket off the back of my desk chair and put it on over my pajamas. I wear it for inspiration when I’m writing, but that night, I needed it for comfort. I pulled it around me and got back into bed, fingering the charm bracelet in the pocket. The bracelet was a baby present from Mom, and while I outgrew it ages ago, I’ve always kept it. With Truffles beside me and my fleece blanket all snug around me, I began to feel cozy. There was just one last thing I needed to do. I reached for the worn copy of Charlotte’s Web that was my mother’s when she was little. I turned to the last page and read the line Mom had underlined: âIt is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.â Then I began reading the story I’ve read a hundred times since I was little, and in the comfort of the story I knew so well, I fell asleep.
