Josh might want to go to the music store, but he wasn't saying much. Shira and Joanna were leaning toward the Merry-Go-Round.

    "Is that okay?" I asked Josh. He shrugged again. "You aren't saying a whole lot. Is everything all right?" Josh is usually in the middle of any conversation, no matter what the topic.

    "I'm fine," he said.

    I wasn't convinced. We turned into the store and crowded around the earring counter.

    "Look for red roses," Shira directed, walking around the counter slowly.

    I let my backpack slip off my shoulders. It didn't make nearly as much noise this time, but we all giggled again when it hit the floor.

    Except Josh. He wore a puzzled look. "What?" he asked.

    "Earlier I dropped my backpack and it was so full, it made this huge noise," I tried to explain. It didn't sound very funny. It was one of those things that you had to have been there for to understand. Josh's mouth turned up at the corners for a quick moment, then his eyebrows collided as he frowned.

    I decided to stay close to him. "What do you think about those?" I asked, pointing to a pair of earrings I'd just spotted. They were tiny paintbrushes made out of real bristles, with a different color of paint on the tip of each one. I like to make my own earrings, but I'm not above buying them if they're creative enough.

    "Umm," Josh answered.

    "Joanna!" I'd caught a glimpse of the perfect pair for Ms. President - a pair of gavels. They weren't a reserved presidential gold or silver, though. They were made of rainbow-striped plastic. I couldn't imagine anyone but Joanna wearing them. "These have your name written all over them." Joanna leaned across the counter. "That's not how you spell Joanna," she said, the glass case steaming up as her breath hit it.

    "It's how you spell president," I said.