Read Alex's Challenge for Free Online

Valerie and Sarah together a lot in the beginning of the summer.
    â€œWell, sort of,” Valerie said. “But Sarah has been ignoring me lately, actually. She’s been hanging out with Brynn. I’m sure you’ve noticed that.”
    That was true, though Alex hadn’t thought about it that way. Alex had gotten tired of constantly practicing Brynn’s lines for the Peter Pan play. So she had been so relieved when Sarah started offering to do it. It gave her so much more time to swim and play soccer, the things Alex lived to do. She hadn’t even stopped to think about how Valerie felt about the new Brynn and Sarah twosome.
    â€œYou’re right, she has,” Alex said, worrying that maybe Brynn was starting to like Sarah better. “Don’t you hang around with them?”
    â€œNah, only in the rec hall and stuff. I don’t feel right. They have so many inside jokes and stuff lately,” Valerie said, grabbing a nail. Alex couldn’t get a sense of whether she was upset about it or not.
    â€œYou okay?” Alex asked, touching her shoulder. She was usually good at sensing how other kids felt. She was starting to believe Valerie, despite her cheeriness, was getting a little bit lonely. That was a feeling Alex could relate to.
    â€œI’m fine,” Valerie said. “Now let me show you how to make a cutting board.”
    â€œA cutting board?” Alex asked, once again dreading her commitment to woodworking.
    â€œI know it doesn’t sound like much fun, but it’s the first thing we all have to make in here. It’s because a cutting board is simple, and you have to use a lot of the tools to do one. The project is mostly to get you familiar with the tools, honestly. You can give it to your mom, too. I mean, all moms like to chop up vegetables and try to make us eat them, right?” Valerie asked, getting up from their long metal table.
    â€œOh, yes!” Alex answered. Her mom was always telling her how important it was to eat broccoli, peppers, carrots, radishes, lettuce, onions, peas, squash, yams, mushrooms, asparagus, artichokes, eggplant, cucumbers, cauliflower, cabbage, zucchini, celery, and Brussels sprouts. Alex’s mother was an expert in rabbit food. And, as it turned out, no one ate more rabbit food than Alex. “My mom will totally love this cutting board,” Alex said. She was feeling a little better about missing ceramics. If she couldn’t make her mother a necklace, at least she could make her something.
    They started drawing on the blank slab of wood that Valerie had brought over to Alex. The slab was the size of a laptop or dinner tray. Alex looked at it, wondering what the heck she’d do with it. It was so drab and dull and, well, woody.
    Valerie had started on her stool again, but with Alex’s wide-eyed look of confusion, Valerie pushed her project aside. Alex thought that was really nice. Valerie picked up a pencil and a ruler and started drawing on the slab; she drew a paddle shape and turned it over.
    â€œNow, you try,” Valerie said to Alex.
    â€œWhy? You already did a good job on the other side,” Alex answered. She didn’t see why anyone should do the work twice.
    â€œBut my cutting board outline was sloppy. I definitely think you could do a better job,” Valerie said, trying to appeal to Alex’s competitive streak.
    Her approach worked. Alex started making the shape, using the eraser to fix any wobbly lines. When she was finished, the shape was perfect.
    Valerie told Alex that she had a secret gift for drawing, but Alex insisted that if she could draw, it was only because her mother was an art teacher.
    Next, Valerie showed Alex how to use the saw to cut the shape into the slab. They thought the spewing sawdust looked like Chelsea’s hair in the morning, and they thought the buzzing noise sounded a whole lot better than Julie’s alarm clock. Alex didn’t realize that more