"Ice Cream!"  

"Oh, boy, Hazel's got ice cream."

"Me first. I want chocolate!"

"Girls first, Joey! Didn't your mommy teach you any manners?"

They jumped and shouted till the windows seemed to rumble as their excitement bounced against the glass panes.

"Quiet!" Miss Bishop, the teacher, rapped her ruler against the chalkboard. "I will serve the ice cream on Friday if everyone --" She stopped mid-sentence and stared at her students.

She waited as the "Shhhs" floated around the room. The toddlers were eager to learn how they'd earn the seldom-served treat.

Miss Bishop's all-knowing eyes scanned the room, momentarily lingering on one student before she finished her sentence, "if everyone eats their vegetables this week."

Moans and groans echoed across the room. "Oh, no" and "Yuck" replaced their excitement.

"What? Giving up already?" she challenged.

"Nooooo!" The chorus chimed. "We can do it."

"What about Wendy? She never eats green beans," someone whined.

All eyes focused on the tiny brunette. Wendy's chin tipped upward in defiance as she tossed a sneer at the others. They glared back at her.

"I can do it." The invisible gauntlet crashed to the floor. "You'll see."


                                 * * * * * * * * * *

"By the looks of the trash, the children earned their ice cream." Tom, the maintenance man, smiled at his partner as they cleaned and put away the folding tables.

Hazel shook her head in disbelief. "Didn't think Wendy would eat those green beans. Sure surprised me."

Tipping the last table on its side, both staffers burst into raucous laughter.

A continuous string of green beans lined the small ledge under the table.