Later my mom bought us hot chocolate from the bookstore café.
It was cozy to sit in the café, watching people through the window as they hurried past.
By the time we headed home, it was dusk.
All the lights were coming on in the city.
"You're so quiet, Iggy," said Molly as we walked along.
"I'm thinking," I told her.
I was thinking about what Mrs. Mackey, the author, had said about plots.
I was also thinking about inventing something to help Molly sleep.
"I'm thinking too!" Caswell announced.
"I'm thinking that I want pizza for dinner."
"We can have pizza," said Lucy.
"I'll put it in the oven when we get home."
"You're a really good cook, Lucy," said Caswell happily.
Molly looked at me and rolled her eyes.
She didn't think a "really good cook" just put a frozen pizza in the oven.
Back in Molly's apartment, Molly and I brainstormed ideas for our story's plot again.
This time we managed to create a long list of possible plots.
"This is good progress, Iggy,"
said Molly, looking at our ideas with satisfaction.
The next day in school we didn't work on our stories.
Instead Mrs. Romano made a sudden announcement.
"Okay, class," she said. "Please open your desks.
It's Desk Inspection time!"
Everyone groaned. Mrs. Romano believes that fourth-graders should keep their desks really neat.
But almost none of my classmates followed that rule.
And now Mrs. Romano frowned as she walked around the room.
"Your desks are very messy!" she said.
"There is no excuse for messiness!"
Jake raised his hand.
"I like my desk messy," he said.
"Me too," Ruby chimed in. "It's cozy that way."
We all nodded, but Mrs. Romano kept frowning and shaking her head.
"There is nothing cozy about a cluttered desk," she said.
"Or a cluttered room.
Both are signs of a cluttered mind."
I wondered what Mrs. Romano would say if she could see inside my mind.
It must be a real mess with all my incredible ideas!
It was at that moment that I got an idea for another invention—one that would help kids everywhere.
I could invent an Amazing Mess-Pusher!
It would clean a room instantly.
No kid anywhere in the world would ever have to clean a room again.
I could even make a miniature one for cleaning desks!
Later I drew a picture of what my Amazing Mess-Pusher would look like.
Then I showed it to other kids during gym class.
We had to stand in line to practice rope-climbing, so there was lots of time.
"You use the Amazing Mess-Pusher to push all your junk to a corner of the room," I explained.
"It's fast and easy to use."
"I want one of those!" said Evan.
"Me too," said Ruby.
"First I have to make it," I said.
"Then I'll try it and see how it works."
That day after school Molly and I made an Amazing Mess-Pusher.
We used the handle of a broken broom I found in the cupboard.
Next we tied a dustpan to it.
Tate came into the kitchen while we were trying it out.
"What's that thing?" he asked.
"It's an Amazing Mess-Pusher," Molly informed him.
"Iggy invented it."
"Cool," said Tate.
I couldn't believe it.
Tate actually called one of my inventions cool!
But then Tate flashed a grin at me.
"I know, Iggy!
You can use the Amazing Mess-Pusher to push the mess in your room out the window!"