Chapters 8, 9 and 10 Summary

Manmi grounds Seth for two days after she finds out that Seth skipped his piano lesson and went to Mrs. Fabiyi's house. Jean-Claude and Chantal are both grounded indefinitely for their latest trouble, so the Michelin household is not a very happy one lately. Manmi and Papi listen to Chantal's dreams and wishes but still make her do her chores around the house. Surprisingly, Seth's grandmother agrees with Chantal's ideas about women's rights and makes Seth and Jean-Claude clean the bathroom.

Now that Seth has some time home from school to think about things, he thinks about Samona and the Little Miss Dorchester beauty pageant entry. Seth just cannot imagine the gawky, outspoken Samona ever winning a beauty contest. Samona is the smartest girl in class, but no one would ever say she is beautiful.

One night at dinner, Seth tells...