Book cover for Best Day Ever by [Your Name] âZaria!â Mommyâs voice sliced through my dreams. I groaned. Iâd stayed up way too late at my cousinâs house last night. Couldnât I just⌠five⌠more⌠minutes? âZARIA!â Louder. Urgent. Uh-oh. Today was the school trip to the Metropolitan Zoo. I shot out of bed like toast from a toaster. BEST. DAY. EVER. Five minutes to get dressed, brush teeth, and find my lucky green socks. One was under the bedâfuzzy with dust bunnies. The other⌠dripping with dog slobber. âMr. Wiggles!â I glared at our dog. He wagged like heâd just won an award. Still⌠best day ever. Breakfast. Yogurt. SPLATâright onto my brand-new yellow dress. Still best day ever (if you ignored the flamingo-shaped stain). Outsideâscreech! The bus! Early! I dashed for itâonly to have Mr. Wiggles clamp onto my backpack like a furry barnacle. Rrrrip. Fabric in his mouth. Me? Backpack swinging like a kite. I reached the driveway just in time to see the bus zoom away. âOkay⌠maybe slightly less than best day ever,â I puffed. Daddy screeched up in the car. âHop in!â Halfway to school, he sniffed. âWhatâs that smell?â I sniffed too. Ew. âSkunk, maybe?â he guessed. At school, I boarded the trip bus. Replacement driver. Packed. Loud. And the smell? Oh, it was still there. âIt stinks!â Leo groaned. âI know!â Jessica fanned her nose. I laughed like I wasnât gagging. âIt smells likeââ Nia, Omar, and Sue started in chorusâ âZoo at last!â Ms. Hollis cut them off. Okay, maybe this wasnât best Ver mais