Ramona and Howie

by Fahiru

It was not his fault if she exaggerated. It was not his fault if she was not having fun. If the stilts broke, if Willa Jean threw a fit, if a guest was insulted, if Beezus cried for a week; it was not his fault. Because there was always Ramona, and Ramona did everything.

8. Concerned

Ramona did not understand Howie.

She did not understand his disregard for fun and games, his serious outlook on life, and the fact that he was always calm yet loved noisy things(like cars and construction).

But she did understand why he was a hard worker. Ramona was a hard worker too, and more often that not, they worked hard together.

So she really didn't like it when Howie worked alone. Even thinking about working alone made her feel exhausted.

Sure, she understood that sometimes you have to work hard by yourself if you are planning to surprise someone, or if you are working hard at a test, but Howie didn't have to work hard for his future by himself.

He could at least tell her where exactly he worked so that she could go support him. Heck, she'd get a job there too if it meant Howie didn't have to be by himself.

He wasn't impatient with her, but she could tell that he was dead tired. He was tired of working and tired of studying and tired of doing everything all by himself.

But Howie didn't know that. He was too busy being busy to notice.

And Ramona was worried about Howie. She was convinced that he was slowly killing himself.

So Ramona did the only thing she could think of; she threw Howie a surprise party.