Wish

Bertha wants Charlie to attend the church Vacation Bible School (VBS), but Charlie is reluctant since she doesn’t feel like she fits in with the Sunday school kids. Charlie relents and agrees to go since Howard will be there, and Bertha buys her a bright, rainbow-colored lunch box. Fearing that the other kids will make fun of her, Charlie says she prefers a brown lunch sack but instantly feels guilty when she sees Bertha’s disappointment.

On the first day of VBS, the teacher asks the students to make a list of things about themselves to help them get acquainted. Charlie remembers the “Get to Know You” sheet from the first day of school and happily makes a new list: “I have a dog named Wishbone. My sister works at the Waffle House. My aunt Bertha has seven cats” (182). Charlie decides that she will behave like Jackie so that the other kids will like her. She studies Audrey Mitchell and notices her tidy clothing and mannerly behavior. Howard launches into a story about how Burl wrote a letter to Jackie and he and Lenny got into a fight, but Charlie hardly listens as she watches Audrey unpack her lunch.