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wall?”

chapter 65
    In Which the Copier Stops and Ajax Sits in His Broken La-Z-Boy
    After he turned off his new Christmas copier, Ajax waded through 473 thank-you notes (Mark counted them later), accidentally stepping on a 21-inch pile of Important Papers as he went. Then he sighed, sank into his La-Z-Boy chair, and pulled the lever to bring the back up so he could take a better look around.
    But the back didn’t come up. It stayed flat on its back.
    Then Ajax said to the copier and to the broken chair and to us, the reading audience, “Grown men don’t cry,” and a pair of tears strolled down his left cheek.
    He eased himself all the way back into his broken favorite chair and stared at the ceiling.
    The ceiling could use a coat of paint,
he thought.

chapter 66
    In Which Ajax Takes the Temperature of His New Christmas Copier
    Ajax spent several minutes trying to figure out how his office had turned into such an impressive mess in such a short time. He had only gone out to buy eggnog and the
Paris Review,
and yes, okay, on the way home he
had
stopped at the library to see if they had ordered his most recent book, and while he was there he
had
run into his best friend, Ted Bear, and it’s true, they’d gotten a cup of coffee—or two—and discussed the future of children’s literature.
    But still and all, and all in all, he hadn’t been gone
that
long.
    Ajax struggled out of the chair, crossed the room to his new Christmas copier, and took its temperature with his hand. (It was quite hot.) Then he wandered back into the living room.

chapter 67
    In Which Ajax Uses His Powers of Observation
    Right away Ajax noticed that there was something different about the living room. But what? He stood there thinking about it. Then his Powers of Observation kicked in.
    â€œWhy does that wall say ‘HANK YOU’?” he said.
    â€œWell, it’s the funniest thing,” said Moxy.
    But no one laughed, although Granny George looked hopeful, as if she were waiting to be told a good joke.
    â€œYou see, I had this brilliant idea,” Moxy began again.
    She waited, but no one asked what her brilliant idea was.
    â€œDoes anyone want to know what my brilliant idea was?”
    Granny George raised her hand.
    Mark took this picture of her:

    â€œSince you asked, I’ll tell you,” Moxy went on. “My brilliant idea was to save scads of time on my thank-you notes by writing ‘Dear’ and ‘Thank you for whatever’ and ‘Love, Moxy’ on one piece of paper and then making copies of it.”
    â€œYou know you’re not allowed to touch Ajax’s new copier.
And,
” added Mrs. Maxwell, “I
know
you know you’re not allowed to touch another can of spray paint until you’re twenty-one. It says so on the refrigerator.”
    â€œBut it was for the Greater Good, Mother.”
    â€œWho is the Greater Good?” asked Pansy.
    â€œIt’s not a person,” said Moxy.
But what exactly is it?
Moxy asked herself. She couldn’t quite remember.
    â€œThe Greater Good means…it has something to do with the fact…and so, which is why…”

chapter 68
    The Greater Good Explained
    Moxy looked at Mark. Mark had taught her the phrase. He even knew what it meant. (Mark could have belonged to Mensa, which is a country club for geniuses, but he thought it was stupid.)
    â€œMark,” said Moxy, yawning, “would you please explain to everyone what ‘the Greater Good’ is? I’m feeling a bit tired.”
    â€œIt means you do something you know is wrong in order to achieve something that is more important than the wrong thing is wrong.”
    â€œAnd so, as you can see and in conclusion, that is why I was forced to break a couple of rules.” Moxy glanced at the gold “T” on Sam’s shirt and the big “HANK YOU” on the green wall.
    â€œWhat could be more important than obeying the