2. Plenty of Room

2 Plenty of Room When I opened the door, Arlo and his family were standing on our front porch. My mom and Arlo's mom are best friends. They started hugging because they haven't seen each other in two whole weeks. I hid my notebook behind my back. Arlo might be mad if he knew I was writing this. "Hi Arlo!" I said. Arlo didn't say anything. He looked mad.

"Say hello to Andrea," said his dad. Arlo grunted. "You came back from your vacation early," my mom said. "Did something happen to you?" "There was a hurricane in Bermuda," Arlo's dad told us. "It was pretty bad." "Hurricanes usually form over large bodies of warm water," I told everybody. "The water evaporates and turns into clouds when moist air rises and cools." (I knew that because I looked it up in my encyclopedia.) Arlo rolled his eyes.

"It was scary!" said his sister, Amy. "They told everybody to evacuate." Arlo started giggling.

"What's so funny?" I asked him. "Amy just said they told everybody to evacuate." "So?" "'Evacuate' is a fancy word for pooping!" Arlo said. "It is not," I told him. "Is too." "I'll look it up in my encyclopedia," I said. "That will prove you're wrong." "Go ahead," Arlo replied. "Look it up in your dumb encyclopedia." I got my encyclopedia, which has a built- in dictionary. It's really cool because it's electronic. All you need to do is say a word, and a second later the encyclopedia tells you the definition out loud. "Evac-u-ate," I told the encyclopedia. "To discharge from the body as waste," the encyclopedia replied.

"See, I told you 'evacuate' means pooping," said Arlo. Oooh, I hate it when Arlo is right! "You are so immature!" I shouted. "And disgusting!" "Your face is disgusting," Arlo replied. "Stop arguing!" shouted Arlo's mom. "I

wish you two would get along better." My parents invited Arlo's parents inside to have coffee, because that's what grown- ups do. I poured juice for Arlo and Amy. "Didn't you rent out your house while you were away?" my dad asked Arlo's dad. "Yeah, we can't go back there for a week," Arlo's dad said. "We just stopped by to let you know we're home. We're on our way to a hotel tonight. I booked a room for the week." "Hotel?!" my mother shouted. "Don't be silly! That will cost you a lot of money. You're staying here with us." "WHAT?!" Arlo shouted. "Oh, there isn't enough room," said Arlo's mom. "We don't want to be a bother." "It's a great idea!" I said. "Arlo and I will have fun together!"