"May I see that pair, please?" Joanna asked the clerk, tapping on the glass above the gavels.

    The salesclerk, a girl I thought I recognized as someone in Janine's class at SHS, opened the case and handed the card with the gavel earrings to Joanna.

    "While you have that open, could I please see the paintbrushes?" I asked, pointing them out.

    "I'd like to see the gold roses and the red roses, please," Jeannie said from her place at the counter.

    'And the books and those big blue globes for me, please," Shira added.

    The clerk sighed, pulling out all the earrings we'd asked to see. "How about you?" she said to Josh.

    He backed away, shaking his head and holding his hand in front of him.

    "Come on, Josh," said Jeannie. "Claudia will hold your hand while someone here pierces your ear." "Both of them, if you want," said Shira.

    "Hold both his hands or pierce both his ears?" Joanna asked.

    I turned toward Josh, smiling, ready to say I'd be glad to hold both his hands. But he wasn't smiling.

    "No thanks," he said, turning his back and walking to a rack of key chains.

    Shira frowned, as if she realized she'd gone a little too far.

    I started to follow Josh, but before I'd taken two steps, Jeannie called me back. "What do you think, fashion guru? Are these roses too different from the ones on the vest?" I glanced back, thinking I'd be able to answer with a quick yes or no and join Josh, but I wanted to be sure, which meant I had to look closer. "Not the gold ones," I said. "Too bright. Hold the red roses up to your ears." Jeannie shook back her long hair and held one earring to each ear. They were exactly right for the outfit. The roses were a little smaller than the ones on the vest, but they were a close match in color and style. "Perfect!" I said.

    "I can't believe how different roses can look," said Jeannie, pushing the earrings across the counter to the clerk and nodding that she wanted to buy them. "These are kind of flat and these are huge." She showed me at least a dozen pairs of rose earrings on display.