1 Never 4-Ever

IVY + BEAN MAKE THE RULES by annie barrows

NEVER 4-EVER "Girls are strong! Girls are great!" sang Nancy,

boinging into the kitchen. "Girls have the power to cre-ate!" She stomped her foot and put one arm in the air. "At GIRL POWER FOREVER!" "Stop singing that song," said Bean grumpily. She sucked the milk out of her spoon. Then she slurped down the cereal that was left behind. Nancy watched. "That's got to be the slowest way to eat cereal in the entire world." "I know," said Bean, slurping. "That's why I do it. To make it last longer." "Well, cut it out," Nancy said. "I have to get to camp. Today's the first day!"

As if Bean didn't know that already. Camp, camp, camp. Nancy had been talking about it for weeks. And there it was, right on her T-shirt, in big letters: Girl Power 4-Ever! For spring break, Nancy was going to Girl Power 4-Ever Camp. Bean was too young for Girl Power 4Ever Camp. You had to be eleven. If you were seven, like some people, the only camp you could go to was Puppet Fun! Bean would never in a million years go to Puppet Fun! Nancy dropped her backpack on the kitchen table and opened one of its many

pockets. Nancy's backpack was a fancy zebra- striped kind. There was a tiny troll doll attached to one of its zippers. Bean's backpack was dirty and orange, and she had tried to draw an eagle on the front, but it hadn't turned out right. It looked like a slug with wings. Nancy pulled out her special folding brush and brushed her already-brushed hair. Without even looking, she made a ponytail and fixed it with a sparkly scrunchie. "Hurry up," she said to Bean. "Just eat it." Bean took a long, slow slurp. "I don't see

why I have to hurry," she said. "I'm not going to your old camp." "You can go when you're eleven," Nancy said. Bean scowled. "No way! Camp? Ha! Not for me." She shook her head. "I've got too much other stuff to do." Nancy smiled. "What kind of stuff?" Bean shook her head like she had so much to do that she couldn't even begin to tell about it. Nancy patted her shoulder sympathetically. "Finish your cereal. You have to go with Mom to