Maniac Monkeys on Magnolia Street & When Mules Flew on Magnolia Street by Angela Johnson

down by the lake relaxing, we thought we had a clear path to the kitchen. Well, we got into the kitchen okay.
    Then we got to the pantry okay. The key was hanging right by the door. (Why?) We put it back before we went in.
    We got the pantry open okay. Then we saw all the food. Boy, was there a lot of food! We were minutes from all kinds of cookies, dried fruit, and boxes of chocolate when we heard laughing. Sam and I hid behind a big box of canned peaches. We closed our eyes, hoping we wouldn't get caught, so that's why we didn't know until it was too late that the doors had been closed and the pantry light had been turned off.
    I think we could have broken out of there. We sure did try. I don't know why those locks are so strong. Do you think they're trying tokeep kids out of the pantry?! They should feed us better at camp.
    Anyway, by the time we had finished a few bags of cookies, me and Sam were so full and so sick of them that I didn't care if I never saw another cookie again my whole life. I think Sam felt the same as I did.
    We would have gotten away with it if Sam hadn't start laughing in his sleep.
    Later he said he was dreaming about everybody wandering around the camp with pants on their heads. I couldn't wake him up and that's how they found us. Surrounded by empty cookie boxes, and Sam laughing in his sleep.
    We're sticking to our stories that everything was all right with us, too. I guess everybody had been looking for us a few hours, and they had been so upset that they'd called our parents. Mr. Ruftis, the camp director, told us our parents had come up with our punishments. It's always goodto know my mom is thinking about me. Sam said he wished his parents wouldn't think about him as much as they do.
    Peeling potatoes for the whole camp's meals isn't so bad. I make a game of it.
    Sam says washing dishes isn't that bad, either.
    And mystery meat isn't looking all that bad anymore at old Camp FunWa.
    It's been only four days, Charlie. How is everything on Magnolia Street?
    Lots of wishes that you don't get kisses!
    Your friend,
Billy

ear Charlie, How have you been doing way on the other side of the state? Is Magnolia Street still sitting there waiting for me to come back to it? I (Oops—I got to stop writing for a minute to get all this gum off my shirt.)
    Well, Charlie, it's about forty-five minutes later. I was in a little trouble with the gum. Who knew it was so sticky?…I kind of got some in this girl's hair when she tried to get it off my shirt. (It's a good thing the girls will be on the other side of the lake.) Then a counselor tried to help, and it ended up all on his glasses.I'm not supposed to be chewing it. I'll tell you why later.
    (I should probably start chewing a different kind that doesn't stick so much.)
    Camp Margaret is great. I really didn't think I would be very happy here, but Fm surprised at how much fun everything is.
    When my aunt and uncle decided—along with Billy's mom—that it wouldn't be a good idea for us to go to camp together, I thought it might be one of the worst summers in the world. I mean, what would I do without Billy and you! But it's working out.
    Camp Margaret is an art camp.
    I have never painted on so many things in my life—and you don't get yelled at for doing it.
    Yesterday we got to paint each other. It was crazy.
    First everybody had to wear white T-shirtsand shorts. Then the counselors sprayed us with water and handed each of us a palette fall of all different colors of paint and a brush. The painting party was on.…
    In the end everyone was just smearing paint on each other and wearing their palettes as hats. I looked like a huge tie-dyed walking thing. For some reason this boy named Pip was covered only in yellow paint. We all started calling him Banana Boy.
    The counselors thought we looked great and took pictures. The fun didn't last long, though. The camp owner showed up with a tour of parents. We found out later we were only supposed to be painting