CHAPTER 1
Welcome to Evie's World
It is not easy being a very smart and curious little girl, even if you were as pretty as Evie! Everyone who met Evie said she had a smile that made other people smile. People were drawn to her beautiful dark brown eyes and perky nose. Her hair was light brown. She liked to wear it as a braid, long enough to hang below her shoulders and down her back. Evie was not too tall but not tiny either. She was funny, and she made other people laugh. Kids in her class enjoyed being around her. So did all of her mom's friends. People often commented that, when Evie walked into a room, the mood got better and people smiled more. People stopped and looked at her. She made the adults think about their own children and even about their own good times when they were growing up. Evie seemed to have a calm spirit that helped her friends feel better when they were sad or worried.
She seldom whined or misbehaved. This was because she enjoyed reading books and learning new words. She was able to use her words so well that she could usually explain to other people what she needed or wanted. Because she was so good with words, she was not often frustrated or mad due to people not seeming to understand what she meant. She could also understand what other people were saying to her and to each other. This made her a well-behaved child and eager to keep learning even more words and all the ways to use them. However, Evie had only a few good friends her own age. She preferred to be around adults.
Evie's mom, Rachel, was also very pretty and worked very hard as a doctor. Many people in the city went out of their way to see Evie's mom when they were sick or needed help to become healthier. Dr. Rachel was very busy helping her patients, volunteering to help charities, and working with police officers to solve cases when people died. She was also the doctor for the sports teams of a nearby college.
No matter how busy she was, though, Evie's mom always had time for Evie. Dr. Rachel could tell when Evie wasn't feeling well or seemed a little sad. She always had a bright smile and a warm hug to make her feel better. She loved to play with Evie, to sing and dance with her, and to make up stories with her.
Some of the stories Evie liked best were about the stars. Because she lived in a small city in the mountains, she could look up on a clear night and see many stars. Evie noticed that some of them seemed to be arranged into shapes. When she asked her mom about those shapes, they would both look up at the sky. Mom would make up a story about that shape. Better yet, they both would make up stories and tell them to each other. They had fun cuddling with each other and giggling about the stories they had just made up!
One group of stars looked like a huge kind of bug with giant claws and a long tail. Mom told her that the bug was a fiercely stinging scorpion, which was part of a species called arachnids. They imagined that this particular scorpion was really just trying to be friendly. They decided to name it Bugsy, even though the stars in this group made up a constellation called Scorpius. No matter how nice Bugsy tried to be, the other bugs, animals, and even people were all very afraid of him. They moved away from him whenever he came near. They would not believe that he could be their friend. They could not believe that he was anything but evil and mean. How lonely that must be!
The day after making up the Bugsy story, Evie and her mom spent time after dinner learning more about scorpions. They wanted to know if Bugsy could really be friendly. They went to the museum a few days later to look at some real scorpions in the insect collection. Evie and Mom even got to speak to the scientist working with the collection. An insect scientist, Evie learned, is called an entomologist.
The entomologist knew a lot about scorpions and was happy to answer Evie's questions. She learned that a scorpion is not evil. That word is usually used to describe a person who acts in a way that hurts other people ... just to be mean! The scorpion hunts, as do most other creatures, when it needs to find food — because it is hungry. Scorpions defend themselves when they are in danger and can't just move out of the way. But Bugsy would not lash out just to hurt someone.
There were many other shapes in the sky, and each one could be the subject for a great story. By looking up at the sky at night, Evie got to spend wonderful happy times with her mom. They also got to learn a lot at the same time. She couldn't wait to tell some of her stories to Grandpa and Grammie!
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Mom loved music. Evie grew up singing and learning to play an instrument. She practiced hard as she learned to play the violin and was improving every day. Her music teacher was excited about her progress and was right there with ideas and new songs for Evie to sing and play. She enjoyed playing the violin with some of her musical friends and played along with her mom, who also played the violin.
Evie's dad and mom were divorced, and they didn't live together. There was no doubt in Evie's mind, however, that they both still cared about each other and both loved Evie very much. Evie got to spend time with each parent. She could correctly say that she had two bedrooms as well as toys and clothes in each house. Evie didn't understand the reasons her mom and dad were no longer married, but she felt very confident that she loved each of them and that they loved her. She wasn't worried about that at all!
CHAPTER 2
Kenny, the Bully
Like every child, however, there were things that worried her. Two things bothered Evie most. One was a boy in her class who lived down the street. He always seemed to pick on her. His name was Kenny. He was taller than Evie and seemed much bigger all around. He must have weighed half again more than Evie did.
At school, he would push other children around and sometimes make them fall or cry. He once did that to Evie. She told him clearly to stop doing that, but he just laughed at her. That's also what he did when other children told him not to be so mean.
His words weren't always very nice either. He was loud and kept pretending to be a wrestler, flexing his muscles and growling. Whenever he behaved that way, Evie and most of the other kids simply moved to the other side of the schoolyard. However, Kenny often followed them until it was time to get back to class.
Kenny told the class one day that his favorite hobby was watching television until his parents got home from their jobs. He always watched wrestling. When he grew up, he was convinced that he was going to be a big, strong wrestler. Kenny's behavior made Evie think of Bugsy!...
