Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Someone Should Take a Snack to the Piglins in Chapter Four. They've Been Sitting for a While! Ash's room was full of Wildling scouts. Everyone from her troop was there, squeezing through the door and carrying snacks, soda, a big cookie cake, and tons of energy. She sat in her computer chair, stunned, as they all admired her cardboard box sculptures and wished her good luck on her move. A party. Morgan had called one of her scout friends sometime between putting books in order and fishing twigs out of fishponds—and that scout had told another scout, who told the troop leader, who called her mom, and they organized an entire party in no time at all! They were all happy to do

something for Ash, and she couldn't believe it! Her room had been so empty before, but now, even with everything in boxes, it felt full. "I wish we could be there!" Morgan's voice came from her computer speakers. "But I know you, and I know that every one of your scout friends knows how special you are, too." A big grin crept onto her face. This was so silly. They didn't have to do this. She was moving all the time! It would be just as silly to throw a party for her every time she moved, right? But it didn't feel silly. Everyone looked happy to be there. And the scouts kept saying they'd miss her, and they hoped she'd like her new home.

"Kapoor!" Ash jumped up, startled—it was their troop leader, Mrs. Fontenot. She was a very cool, and very tall, woman who always called them by their last names. Ash raised her hand over the crowd of scouts. "I'm right over here!" "Quiet down, everyone." The troop leader came over to Ash and knelt down. She had a piece of cloth folded in her hands. "When your mom told me about your situation, I spoke to the

leaders of the other troops you've been a part of, and some of the scouts. I asked them about you. What they remembered. I hope that's all right." "Oh, they probably don't really remember me now," Ash said, embarrassed. "It's been ages since my first troop, and—" "They all remember you." Mrs. Fontenot handed Ash the folded cloth. Ash realized what it was by the color: a new Wilding Scout sash.

"Everyone I asked said, 'I wish Ash was still here,' or 'I don't want to bother her, but I think about her all the time,' or 'She helped me get such-and-such badge.' "Now Ash was really blushing. There was no way that was true. She had hardly been anywhere long enough to make an impression like that. Right? "You've only been a part of our troop for a short while, and you've left your mark here, too. So I got permission to have a little something made." Mrs. Fontenot gestured to the cloth. "Go ahead."