2. The Why Game

2 The Why Game My older sister, Amy, was already downstairs. She was all dolled up in her pink dress, white shoes, and a frilly Easter bonnet. My mom was dressed up fancy too. It looked like we were all going to a funeral. "Okay, let's go!" my dad said. "Do I have to go?" I asked. "Yes, you have to go, A.J.," said my mom. "Why?" I asked. "Because it's Easter, and this is what we do on Easter," said my dad. "Why?" I asked again. If you don't want to do something, try playing The Why Game. It's fun! Here's how you play: no matter what your mom or dad

says, just keep asking "Why?" It drives grown-ups crazy. Sometimes The Why Game can go on for hours. "We have to go because it's a family tradition," said my mom. "Why?" I asked. "It just is," said my dad. "Why?"

"Because I said so," my dad barked. "That's not fair "I whined. The Why Game always ends with the grown-up barking "Because I said so," and then you have to whine, "That's not fair." Nobody knows why. "I'll take care of this," Amy announced. She pulled me to the side. "It's Easter, dumbhead!" Amy whispered in my ear. "Don't you know what that means?" "It means I have to wear a tie?" "No!" Amy whispered. "It means you get to eat lots of candy." Oh, yeaaaaahhhhh! I forgot about that. Now she was talking my language. "They're going to have tons of chocolate," Amy whispered. "And marshmallows! And Peeps!" PEEPS?

Did she say Peeps? My name is A.J. and I love Peeps! In case you live in a cave where they don't sell Peeps, they are these delicious marshmallow candies shaped like chicks and bunnies. They're coated with sugar, which is my favorite food. You can put sugar on just about anything to make it taste good. I bet that if you covered a clump of dirt with sugar, it would probably taste good. Not that I'm going to eat dirt or anything. But I bet my friend Ryan would eat a sugar-coated dirt clump. He'll eat anything, even stuff that isn't food.

Marshmallows are already made of sugar, so they taste great. But then they put even more sugar on them to turn them into Peeps, and that makes them taste even better than a plain marshmallow. I bet that if you took a Peep and sprinkled even more sugar on it, it would taste even better than a

plain Peep. I should try that sometime. The point is that Peeps are the greatest invention in the history of the world.* The person who invented Peeps should get the Nobel Prize. That's a prize they give out to people who don't have bells. And the best part is that on Easter you can eat all the Peeps you want—no questions asked. I have learned a lot about life in my eight years. Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good. If you want to get really great at skateboarding, you have to spend hours and hours practicing. If you want to get great grades in school, you have to spend hours and hours studying. And if you want to eat Peeps, you have to wear a dumb string around your neck for hours and hours. "Let's go!" I said, charging out the door. This was going to be the best day of my life!