"Hey," said Mia, coming into my room. "I think there's something wrong with this quarter."
It took me a second to understand what she was saying, and I still wasn't sure I'd got it. "What?" I said.
"This quarter." She held out her hand, and there was a quarter in it.
"Uh. It's a coin...?"
"Read the words," Mia said.
I looked again. Around the edges of Washington's head, where the Latin stuff was supposed to be, were the words "please do not drop me again."
"Uh," I said. "Did you drop it?"
"Yeah," she said.
"Then don't drop it again. It's asking nicely."
"But look!" She put it in her pocket.
"I can't see it."
"Just wait a minute."
We waited.
Mia took the quarter out of her pocket. The words around the edges now said, 'please don't do that, I'm scared of the dark.'
"Well?" she said.
I shrugged. "Don't do that anymore," I said. "It's scared of the dark."
"What do I do? I can't spend this! I was gonna use it at the corner store. They'll just lock it up in the cash register forever!"
"Put it on your window sill," I said. "That way it has sunlight and can see outside so it's not bored."
She brightened. "Oh, that's a good idea. Thanks!"
And she ran off.
270