1. Saturday Chores

Calendar Mysteries June Jam by Ron Roy

Chapter 1 Saturday Chores Bradley Pinto and his twin brother, Brian, climbed into the backseat of the family car. Their older brother, Josh, got in front next to their dad. "How come you always get to sit up front?" Brian asked. "Because I'm older and wiser," Josh said. Their father smiled. "Dad, thanks for taking us out for breakfast," Bradley said.

"You're welcome, Bradley," his father answered. "Did you three get enough to eat?" "I sure did!" Josh said. "I'll never eat again." "Yeah, right," Brian said. "For at least an hour." Bradley picked up the Junior Encyclopedia he'd been reading in the car. His teacher had asked each student to study one encyclopedia volume. Each kid had drawn a letter out of a bag. Bradley had gotten the letter J. So far, he had read about jaguars, Japanese fishing villages, javelin throwing, juggling, jungles, and a bunch of other stuff. He looked at a page about jam. "Why do you always have strawberry jam on your toast?" Bradley asked. His father grinned. "What else is there?" "Butter, marshmallow spread, peanut butter, grape jelly, lots of stuff!" Brian said. "Your grandmother Pinto, my mom, used to make strawberry jam when I was a kid," their father said. "I had her jam sandwiches for a snack every day after school. Her jam was the best in the world. Now that she's gone, I keep trying to find strawberry jam that tastes as good as hers. So far, I haven't found it."

The car pulled into their driveway. "Don't forget your Saturday chores," Bradley's father said. "Aw, Dad, I was gonna play softball," Josh said. "Okay, but after you clean the barn," his father said. "If you get cracking, you'll be done in an hour." "What's our job?" Bradley asked. "You two can weed the garden," his father said. "Do we get paid?" Brian asked. His father laughed. "Yes! You get to sleep in a bed, and you get to have three meals a day!" They all climbed out of the car. "Change your clothes first," the boys' father said. "Can Lucy and Nate come over and help?" Bradley asked. "Sure, if they want to," his father said. "Okay, then I'm getting Dink and Ruth Rose to help me in the barn," Josh announced. "Fine," his father said. "Tell you what—if you kids do a great job, I'll buy ice cream later for everyone." The three boys tore up the stairs to their bedrooms. While Bradley and Brian were

changing their clothes, their mother knocked and poked her head into the room. "How was breakfast?" she asked. "Awesome, Mom," Bradley said. "Why didn't you come, too?" Brian asked. "I wanted to stay home to think about a present for Daddy," their mom said. "Why, is it his birthday?" Bradley asked. She shook her head. "No, Father's Day is tomorrow." After she left, the twins finished changing. "I'll call Lucy and Nate," Bradley said. "See you downstairs," Brian said. Bradley called Lucy Armstrong. She was visiting her cousin Dink while her parents were in Arizona helping to build a school. Dink lived next door to Nate and Ruth Rose. Bradley, Brian, Lucy, and Nate were best friends. Josh, Dink, and Ruth Rose were all twelve and had been friends since kindergarten. Bradley ran out to the garden. "They're coming," he told his brother. "Good," Brian said. He pointed at the ground. "It'll only take a million years to pull all these

weeds." "No, it won't," Bradley said. "We can divide it up in sections. You take the tomatoes, Nate can do the lettuce, and Lucy will do around the zucchini." "What part will you do?" Brian asked. "I'll weed around the strawberries," Bradley said. "Hey, there they are!" Lucy and Nate walked into the garden through the gate. "Thanks for coming over to help, guys," Bradley said. "I think weeding is fun," Lucy told him. "I weed our garden in California all the time." "I hate weeding," Nate said. "My dad is buying us ice cream when we finish," Brian told Nate. "I love weeding!" Nate said. They all laughed. "Let's start," Bradley said. He told the other kids their sections. All four kids got down on their knees and started pulling weeds. They threw them into a pile in the corner of the garden. The sun warmed their backs.