Grace Griffin stated with a huff, her half-lens glasses dangling from the fake pearl chain which hung around her neck. She punctuated her latest remark by audibly popping a grape in her mouth. “You know how these kids are today, Grace,” Libby Blankenship, the head librarian, said, wrinkling her nose. I could feel my stomach turn sour just listening, dreading what I knew would be a continuation of the endless banter that wouldn’t stop until the final bell rang on Friday afternoon. “I don’t care how much Elizabeth begged,” Mrs. Griffin went on. “I would never let my sixteen-year-old daughter go on a ski trip with her boyfriend, chaperones or not, especially over Christmas. Christmas is all about family, and family should be together for the holidays.” “I agree with you, Grace,” Mrs. Blankenship said, her voice muffled by a tuna fish salad sandwich. “Now that all my papers have been graded, and the testing is done, I can get on with finishing up my gift wrapping and get started on my Christmas baking.”
