The many adventures of Ramona and BatmanVolume 2

The phone rang early this morning. I glanced at the caller ID, but did not
recognize the number. "Hello?" I answered.
A tiny voice on the other end o the phone started tal!ing panic!ed, "I"m
sooooo hungry#"
$onused and still groggy rom the morning, I blin!ed, rantically rac!ing
my brain, "%hat?"
The voice continued, suddenly becoming amiliar, "&om# I"m sooooo
hungry# I"m starving#"
I hal'laughed. April (ool"s was yesterday. )till conused, not !nowing how
to respond, I dumbly as!ed, "*rady? Is that you?"
(rustrated, he tried again, "+es, mom# I"m sooooo hungry# $an I
pleeeeeese pleeeeeese pleeeeeese get some brea!ast?"
,ealization -nally dawned.
.ust then his teacher pic!ed up the phone, "Hello. *rady was watching the
other !ids eat brea!ast and seemed very hungry. I as!ed him i he had
eaten this morning, and he said he /ust ate a banana, so I told him to go
and get something rom the caeteria. He was pretty adamant that he
could not unless he had money in his hand. I assured him that you could
/ust send in money tomorrow, but he said that his &ommy said he had to
have money in his hand to buy brea!ast...."
I laughed, "+es....I tried to get him to eat more than a banana this
morning....
...And0the reason he will not go and get anything without money in his
hand is because0.1
*ac! in August at the beginning o the school year, I wrote this....
The many adventures of Ramona and BatmanVolume 2
&y niece, $assidy, and *rady are the best o riends.
$assidy is the oldest, by 2 whole months. I call her ,amona. *ecause she
is /ust simply that. ,ed rain boots and all.
*rady is *atman. *lac! cape and cowboy boots. ,eady to save the world.
The two o them together brighten my day.
%ell, most o the time.
They both /ust started 3indergarten.
&y sister'in'law, April, called me last wee!, 4*roo!e, I cannot ma!e $assidy
understand that you have to actually pay or brea!ast and lunch and ice'
cream at school. )he is convinced that they will /ust give it to you or being
good.1
I laughed.
)he sighed, 4Every day, *roo!e. Every day. )he argues with me every day
that the ood in her new school is ree.1
Today, I received another phone call. It was April. Hal annoyed. Hal
amused.
4Have you set up *rady5s meal pay account, yet?1
I responded, 46o, he has only eaten lunch one time. I /ust gave him lunch
money. 1
)he mused, 7%ell, you may want to loo! into that soon. I set up $assidy5s
account today, and as soon as I logged in, I was shoc!ed. 6egative 892. It
showed she has eaten brea!ast or 92 out o 9: days o school# )he has a
negative 892 balance# How does that even happen#?1
I laughed, 4)he did what?1
April continued in disbelie, 4+eah# )he5s been getting o; the bus, and
getting hersel brea!ast every morning. )o when she told me that they
will /ust give her brea!ast, she was right. They have been#1
I as!ed, 4Has she been eating at home too?1
April laughed, 4+es. )he7s been eating panca!es at home beore school
too. +ou may want to ma!e sure *rady has not been ollowing her in
there.1
I sighed, 4I sure hope not01
*atman arrived home. I helped him untie his shoes, and I as!ed, 4Hey
*uddy, has $assidy been eating brea!ast in the morning at school?1
He loo!ed li!e a deer in headlights, 4How did you !now that?1
The blood let my ace, 4*rady? Have you been eating brea!ast with
$assidy?1
He stood there rozen< not answering.
I as!ed again, 4*rady. Have you been eating brea!ast at school?1
He nodded, 4*ut, &om, $assidy said they will /ust give it to you when you
get o; the bus. )he said you don"t need any money. They do, mom# They
give it to you#1
*eore the di=cult tas! o e>plaining how it actually wor!s, I as!ed
curious, 4%hat have you been eating?1
He smiled, 4They have sausages, and biscuits, and panca!es and all !inds
o good things to eat at school. It5s soooooo yummy, &om#1
According to ,amona, they are called 4*rea!ast hamburgers.1
&iss ,amona is the size o an average 2
rd
grader. )he is not much smaller
than my ?
th
grader. &y best guess is that &iss Independent /ust wal!ed
o; the bus, went straight into the brea!ast line and got hersel a
brea!ast. %hy would they need to stop a "2
rd
grader" that clearly !nows
what she5s doing? @specially when she is obviously showing her 4little
!indergarten brother1 the ropes0
,amona and *atman0)tri!e again0