Daring to be noticed for the first time in her life, she pushed her chair back and stood up.

Mrs. Baer had not picked her for the reading group, but that didn't matter, because it didn't mean she wasn't good enough, it just meant that Mrs. Baer didn't KNOW how well she could read! Mom would say it, loud and clear Emily could hear it in her head, "If you'd just made yourself noticed, Emily, then you would not have been ignored!" This is what Mom always told both of her older sisters when they became too meek.

"You get it from your father," Mom would snort, when the girls would start wringing their hands and speaking in undertones. "I can't believe it, three girls and all of them too meek to even scare a cat."

This was true because none of the girls could even make the bed without paying special attention to not bothering the cat.

Emily loved reading though. She was all of seven and she'd read three novels already, and not picture books, real novels with real chapters! She
was so excited to hear about the reading group. Mrs. Baer would love her so much, and Mom would be so proud. But when they were to raise their hands to talk about their favorite books, Emily had shrugged and not said anything.

She'd cried to Dad.

"You know what to do, Emily," Dad said before they went back to drawing with crayons.

It was true. So as the reading group began to line up against the wall and she stood up and she raised that hand and refused to wring them, Mrs. Baer looked at her, and then scowled.

Emily's tummy gushed inside.

"Yes, Emily?"

"I have a dog!" Emily said abruptly.

"That's nice, Emily," Mrs. Baer said, her scowl deepening and slicing Emily's misery into pieces. "Why bring this up now?"

Emily shrugged, "I....like dogs."

When she sat down, most of the class laughed.