Gwendy's Button Box

26

Gwendy’s first impulse is to sprint down the hallway, lock her bedroom door, and yank out the button box so she can pull the small lever and devour a magic chocolate treat. She can almost hear the voices chanting in her head: Goodyear! Goodyear! Goodyear!

But she doesn’t do that.

Instead, she closes the toilet lid and sits back down. Let’s see, I bombed my track season, pulled a pair of B’s for the semester (one of them just barely a B, although her parents don’t know that), and I gained weight (six whole pounds!) for the first time in years—and I’m still the happiest I’ve ever been.

I don’t need it, she thinks. More importantly, I don’t want it. The realization makes her head sing and her heart soar, and Gwendy returns to her bedroom with a spring to her step and a smile on her face.