Dawn and the Impossible Three by Ann M. Martin

after school. He’d never done that before. WhenI opened the door, he didn’t say a word — just held out a large piece of paper. It was his completed family tree. A gold star was glued to the top.
    â€œMy teacher loved it,” he told me. “Thanks for helping me, Dawn.”
    â€œYou’re welcome, Buddy,” I replied, and gave him a hug. But all the while, I was thinking that Mrs. Barrett should be hugging Buddy for his good work.

Thursday, May 21 st
    This afternoon I baby-sat for David Michael. Poor kid. I bet it’s hard being the youngest in a big family. Kristy, Sam, and Charlie were all off doing other things, and Mrs. Thomas was at work, of course. So that left David Michael
.
    When I came over, he looked kind of sad. As soon as Kristy left the house, he said, “Stacey, let’s have a snack and a talk.” Little kids today have a lot to worry about
.
    You guys should know that David Michael is getting very worried about moving into Watson’s house. That waswhy he wanted to talk to me. Because I moved recently. It turns out that he watched the men unloading our furniture from the van last August. He saw them drop a lamp and break it. And he saw something or other covered with a drop cloth that looked like a ghost to him. He’s pretty scared, all right
.
    Apparently, David Michael was more interested in talking than in snacking. Stacey fixed him a plate of crackers and peanut butter and poured him a glass of juice, but he hardly looked at the food.
    â€œStacey,” he said, “when you moved, did the men pack up
every
thing in the van?”
    â€œOh, yes,” she said reassuringly. “Every last thing. Nothing was left behind.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œPositive.”
    David Michael began to look tearful. “Do you have any pets?” he asked.
    â€œNo,” Stacey replied, puzzled. Then suddenly she caught on. “Oh, David Michael,” she cried.
    â€œThey won’t put
Louie
in the van. Dogs don’t go in vans.”
    â€œI hope not. Louie doesn’t like dark places.” “Anyway, you’re only moving across town. Your mom will drive Louie to Watson’s house in the car. Louie likes car rides, doesn’t he?”
    David Michael brightened. “He loves them!” “Has he ever been to Watson’s house?” David Michael nodded. “A few times.” “See? He’ll even know where he’s going. No big deal.”
    A pause. Then, “Stacey, moving vans sometimes have accidents.”
    â€œThey do?” Stacey said, wondering what David Michael was getting at now.
    â€œYesterday I saw a TV show where this van was driving along a mountain road and suddenly it had an accident and it skidded and went
shwooo
” (David Michael demonstrated the van sailing over a cliff.) “down the mountain and the doors flew open and things fell out and a man found the accident and saw a teddy bear on the ground all squashed and ripped. Also a tricycle with the wheels bent.”
    â€œBut, David Michael, there are no mountains here in Stoneybrook. It’ll only take a few minutes to drive from Bradford Court to Watson’s house.
    Anyway, our moving van traveled from New York City to Stoneybrook with no problems at all —”
    â€œThe lamp broke.”
    â€œâ€” and Dawn Schafer’s moving van traveled from California to Connecticut without any trouble. That’s three thousand miles…. I
know
our lamp got broken. So did a vase. But moving men aren’t perfect.”
    â€œWell, I don’t want them moving my space station.”
    â€œI bet if you tell your mom that, she’ll take it to Watson’s in the car sometime. Or Charlie will. He’ll be able to drive by then.”
    David Michael nodded. He bit an infinitesimally small corner off of one of the crackers. Stacey had the feeling that the moving van wasn’t
really
what was worrying him.