THE WISDOM OF THE IVYVERSE

In this house people were always making private things their business. —Ivy, Book 1, Chapter 1

       Ivy and her friends tolerate a living situation that is not always ideal. It’s not easy to avoid stepping on another’s toes if they’re always so close to yours, but life goes along a lot smoother if you make an effort to respect everyone else’s personal space. After all, you can’t expect proper treatment from others if you don’t offer it to them.

It wasn’t as if we didn’t have enough noise in our house all the time, with up to sixteen people in the place at once, each making their share of racket. He didn’t need to add to it with that godawful music, especially not when I was trying to work. —Ivy, Book 1, Chapter 1

       Ivy rewarded Weaver for his disrespect by throwing him headfirst against a very hard surface. It does not pay to be the roommate who annoys everyone else.

       A good rule of thumb is to offer respect to everyone, but special respect should be offered to those you have to live with or work around. Ivy finds this out quickly when she finds herself in a stranger-in-a-strange-land situation on a school playground without much to go on:

I supposed I should try to be as nice as possible until I knew what to expect. —Ivy, Book 1, Chapter 3

       Be a respectful person yourself and you’re more likely to receive respect back. But everyone makes mistakes, so don’t be surprised if it isn’t automatic for people with worse manners than you; however, you’ll find that they’ll be more willing to correct their behavior (and even apologize!) if you’ve been respectful of their living quarters, their space, and their wishes up to that point.