James knocked on the door in three awkward bursts and stepped back a couple of steps, looking down at his shoes and shunning this dull, uneventful day. His mother had told him to visit every house on the block, and this was thankfully the last one. He always hated these stupid fundraisers. It was usually just grown-ups acting like they cared about whatever stupid fundraiser his school was putting on and he did it mainly out of sheer boredom. Summer was only a month away. Just one long month away, he thought.
Ellen hadn’t been expecting company. She put down her crossword puzzle and leisurely approached the door. “Hold your horses,” she called out, unlocking the latch and opening the door, looking out and down at James, carrying some fundraising supplies and his own frowning face. “Well, hello there, how may I help you?”