Answer the Knock

"Taya, I'm going to the store," said Mom one afternoon. "While I'm gone, I'd like you to clean your room."

"Okay," Taya said. She sat on the edge of her bed and looked around. It shouldn't take too long to get this done, she thought. She got up and began to straighten the things in her closet.

As she was working, Taya heard a knock on the back door. She was standing on a chair, straightening things on the closet shelves, so she didn't bother to answer it. A moment later there was a louder knock. It's probably the little kids next door, she thought. I wish they wouldn't always bother me. Taya finished the closet shelf and then picked up a cloth and began to dust her dresser. The knocking continued for a little while, but she ignored it.

When Mom returned from the store, she seemed surprised to see Taya. "Didn't Aunt Rachel stop by for you?" Mom asked. "I saw her at the grocery store. She was just leaving to go pick up your cousins from a friend's house and take them to a movie. She