There's some bad new in the Pike family: Mallory's dad has just lost his job.

I entered our house through the garage door. The rec room was silent and empty. So I ran upstairs to the living room. Everyone was sitting there, either on the couch or chairs, or on the floor.

No one had to tell me what the news was. I could see for myself.

"Oh, Dad," I said, letting out a breath.

"I'm sorry," said Dad simply.

"Hey, you don't have to apologize," I told him quickly. "It wasn't your fault."

"He got a pink slip," Claire spoke up. She was sitting on the floor, playing with Vanessa's hair. "He got it at five o'clock."

"Those stinkers!" I exploded. "Why did they wait so long to tell you you were fired? Why didn't they give out all the slips in the morning, instead of driving people crazy making them wait all day?"

"I don't know." Dad sighed. "Maybe they were still making decisions about who should go and who should stay."

"Well I still think the people who run your company are really stale."

"Look," said Dad, sounding cross, "I got fired and that's that."

"Okay. Sorry," I replied. I was taken aback. Dad usually doesn't talk that way. He's a sensitive, gentle person.

"Come on," said Mom. "Let's have dinner."

"Is it okay to eat? Shouldn't we be saving our food for when we really need it?" asked Nicky. He wasn't being sassy. He meant it.

"For pity's sake, we aren't destitute," answered Dad.

"What's 'dessatoot'?" Claire whispered to me as we followed Mom and Dad into the kitchen. I felt bad for her. I knew she was whispering because she didn't want Dad to hear her and get mad at her.

"Destitute," I corrected her, "and it means as poor as you can get."

"Very, very poor?" whispered Claire.

"Right. Very, very poor. And we aren't very, very poor," (yet, I thought) "so don't worry, okay?"

"Okay."

Poor Mallory!
Published by Scholastic Inc. 1996
ISBN: 059043568X