When Jason walked into the gym, Miss Shelly was putting up a sign.
It said: "Donations for Liberty Elementary."
There were empty cardboard boxes lined up beneath the sign.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"An elementary school burned down after last week's lightning storm.
Those kids lost all their books, pencils . . . everything!
Now they need lots of help," Miss Shelly said.
Jason pulled a brand-new eraser out of his pocket.
"Here," he said. "Our first donation."
"Thanks, Jason. That's very sweet," Miss Shelly said.
"Mr. Frick told us about this today," Ethan said.
"I'm going to bring my old calculator tomorrow."
"I'm sure the kids would like any donations," Miss Shelly said.
"But we'll talk more about it later.
Now put on your aprons!
We're making applesauce muffins," Miss Shelly said.
"First we need to mix the dry ingredients.
Bobby, show Ethan how we do it."
"One and a half cups flour," Bobby read from the easel.
"Baking powder and baking soda," Jason continued.
"A half teaspoon of salt," Nina read next.
Everyone looked at Ethan.
"Cinnamon!" he said.
"Great! Now we mix the wet ingredients," Miss Shelly said.
"Melted butter," Izzie said.
"Two-thirds of a cup brown sugar," Bobby said. "Mix well."
"Two eggs," Jason said, cracking an egg.
"One and a half cups applesauce," Ethan read.
"Now we mix the wet and dry together.
But just a little bit.
Too much mixing is not good for muffin batter," Miss Shelly told them.
"I'll pour the wet into the dry bowl.
Ethan, you mix," Izzie said.
"Izzie can be bossy," Bobby said to Ethan.
"But she's nice."
Everyone lined the muffin pan with colorful paper cups.
"Now we pour in the batter," Miss Shelly said.
"But don't fill the cups completely.
The muffins will rise in the oven."
"How long do we bake them for?" Izzie asked.
"Twenty minutes," Miss Shelly said.
Jason was thinking about the kids at Liberty Elementary again.
"Do the Liberty kids have an after-school program?" he asked.
Miss Shelly nodded.
"Their program is meeting in the town hall until the school is fixed."
"Do they need donations too?" Jason asked.
"Yes, they lost most of their craft and cooking supplies.
It will be tough for a while," Miss Shelly said.
"I wish there was something else we could do," Jason thought.
"The muffins are ready!"
Izzie cried, running to the toaster oven.
"After they cool a little, we can try them," Miss Shelly said.
"Wait! Don't eat them!" Jason said suddenly.
"I have an idea!"
"We should give our muffins to Liberty's after-school program!" Jason said.
"We can call them after-school applesauce muffins!"
"Great idea!" Miss Shelly said.
"We can deliver them tomorrow."
"All right!" Jason cheered.
It felt good to help others.
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