Just Kidding (13 page)

And Charlotte walked out of the
Sentinel
office with her head held high, leaving Jennifer staring after her. Charlotte Ramsey was usually so meek. Jennifer was shocked, wondering what to do next.

 

When Maeve walked out of school, she was exhausted. She had spent the rest of her day trying to keep her chin up after the disappointment of the dance committee meeting. Now she couldn't keep the tears from welling up in her eyes. She'd wanted so badly to make Birdland the dance theme, and that was all over now. Her idea was clearly a dud. She squeezed her eyes shut for a minute, trying to push the tears back, and when she opened them, the first person she saw was her father, waving at her from the sidewalk.

“How'd it go, sweetheart?” he asked, giving her a big hug. “Was Birdland the hit of the day?”

“Dad,” Maeve managed to say, burying her head in his sweater, “what're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?”

“Thought I'd pick you up and take you out for some pizza,” he replied, beaming at her. “I called your mom to let her know. I just had to hear how the presentation went—I was thinking about you all day, and I couldn't wait 'til you got home to find out the news!”

Maeve tried to smile as her dad led her to his station wagon and opened the door for her. “Well,” she said, “it didn't
exactly
go the way we planned it.” Maeve felt terrible. She knew her dad would be almost as disappointed as she was about the way things had turned out.

“No?” Mr. Taylor listened while he drove, as Maeve explained about the reaction of the girls to her idea and then, worse, how the boys took over the meeting and forced everyone to accept their idea for Under the Sea. Finally, she finished, and a little sob forced its way out of her throat.

Her father sat quietly, saying nothing for a few minutes, but he reached over and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

“Maeve, honey,” Mr. Taylor said softly when she stopped crying, “it mustn't have been easy to have the boys make fun of you and your idea without even taking the time to hear about it. But the fact is, you can never really tell how people will react. I thought Birdland was great. But the important question is, how do you feel about it?”

Maeve fumbled in her coat pocket for a tissue and wiped her eyes, thinking about what her dad had asked. How
did
she feel? “You know something, Dad,” she said after a minute, “the funny thing is, I don't feel
totally
horrible because you know what I really think…that Birdland really
was
a pretty great idea, wasn't it?”

“It certainly was,” her dad agreed immediately. “You had a fantastic presentation and it sounds like you did a great job with it. Just because the kids didn't want to do it, doesn't mean you were wrong. They simply couldn't recognize its greatness!”

Maeve smiled. “You know, that's just what I was thinking, too.”

“Were you?” her dad teased. “How could you think at all with giant buckets of water coming out of your eyes?”

Maeve managed a weak smile. “Okay, I admit I was disappointed—for five minutes! But you know how big stars are—lots of drama and tears and then big smiles on the red carpet. Show business is tough, but you can't let anything get you down for long or you'll miss your next chance!”

“You are a real trooper, sweetheart, and that's what counts,” her father reassured her. They drove the rest of the way with big smiles and dry eyes. Her father put on his CD from
The Music Man
and the two of them belted out “Seventy-Six Trombones.” The car was practically rocking.

 

Isabel hurried home from school, eager to be in the one place where she could be sure no one was talking about her behind her back. At the door she got a big surprise…her mother, out of bed and smiling, was holding out her arms to her!

“
Mamacita!
” Isabel cried, using her pet name for her mother. “What are you doing out of bed? It's so good to see you up!”

“I feel wonderful today,” her mother said. “And I love being able to meet both you and your sister at the door.
Como esta?
”

“How am I?” Isabel tried to laugh, but it came out as a choked-up sob. As she put down her backpack and took off her coat, she unraveled the whole story of the rumors and gossip that were following her around school. She tried to explain everything calmly, but her voice broke, and she had to hold back her tears. Her mother put her arms around her and patted her back soothingly, just as she had when Isabel was a very little girl. And as Isabel hugged her mother back, she felt better than she had in days.

“Let's have tea together,
bonita
,” her mother said finally, patting Isabel's long dark hair. “Elena made some delicious cookies.” She gave Isabel a grin. “We'll
test
a few, all right?” She moved around the kitchen, fixing things for an afternoon snack, and Isabel watched, happy to see her mother doing the things that had been an everyday routine before she got sick. Multiple sclerosis was weird that way. Sometimes you felt okay; sometimes you didn't.

When they sat down together in front of steaming mugs of tea, Mrs. Martinez nodded at the refrigerator, where several of Isabel's best bird cartoons were on display. “Look at those, Isabel. Those are
you
. Those are who you really are. That's what I hope you'll be thinking about, not silly gossip by unkind children who always have to make themselves feel better by saying mean things about other people. They have nothing to do with the
real
you,
Isabel. Your artwork, and your friends, and your schoolwork, and your family—those are the things that really define you. Do you see that?”

Isabel stirred a lump of sugar into her tea and squeezed lemon juice from the wedge her mother had placed on the saucer. She looked at her mother. “I think I forgot about all those things these last few days. It's hard not to care about what those kids say, but you're right. What they say doesn't matter. But it's embarrassing when everyone is talking about you behind your back.”

Her mother held up her hand, squeezed two fingers together, and made the sign of something small. “Little minds with nothing better to think about. Silly little minds,” she added for emphasis.

There was a bang at the front door, and then Elena was in the hallway, her teeth chattering. “Oooh, it's getting cold out there! We all need a good hot dinner tonight to warm us up.”

“You're right,” her mother said, “but there's no need for you to cook this evening. You need a break.”

“Mama! I don't mind making dinner at all. I actually like doing the cooking.”

“I know, honey, and I'm so glad you're able to help out when I'm not feeling well. But tonight I feel wonderful, and I think we should let someone else cook dinner—how about going out to Village Fare for pizza?”

“Oh! Yeah! Let's go to Village Fare!” Isabel suddenly felt as though the weight she'd been carrying for days was gone now. She didn't care who was at the pizza joint and who stared at her or talked about her. Her mother was so
right. It had nothing to do with who she really was.

The three decided to walk the few blocks to Village Fare since Mrs. Martinez was feeling so well. Just as they were rounding the corner onto Washington Street, they heard a shout from behind them.

“Hey, wait up!” It was Avery, skateboarding at lightning speed to catch up with them.

“Ave! Uh, it's not exactly skateboarding weather. What are you doing?” Isabel asked.

Avery took off her helmet and unbuttoned her jacket a bit. “Just trying to get some boarding in before it snows or something. Where are you guys going?”

“Would you like to join us for pizza? We're headed to Village Fare,” Mrs. Martinez said.

As if in response, Avery's stomach let out a loud
grumble
. “Oops!” She giggled and glanced at her watch. “Well, I have to be back in half an hour, but I can stop in for a slice. Thanks!”

Isabel, Elena, Mrs. Martinez, and Avery were just deciding on their order—a large pizza with half pepperoni, half sausage, and onions and green peppers on both sides—when they heard someone trying to get their attention. Turning around, they saw Maeve and her dad waving and grinning from a table in the corner.

“Come join us!” Mrs. Martinez called to them.

In a few minutes they'd pulled the tables together and soon everyone was chatting away excitedly. It was just what they all needed…a break from illness and school and gossip and the Queens of Mean, and a fun dinner with family and friends.

A
very was already fantasizing about the Spirit Trophy before she even walked into school on Sports Day. She had dressed in her best warrior fashion—tying a blue bandana around her ponytail and smearing deep purple smudges of face paint under her eyes. Avery thought
that
made her look fierce. When they saw her, Anna and Joline burst out laughing. But then Dillon walked up behind Avery and draped his arm casually over her shoulder and asked, “What's so funny, girls? I hope it's not my buddy Avery, here.”

The Queens of Mean stuck up their noses and walked away, identical pony tails swinging behind them. Avery and Dillon high-fived each other and, together, raced into class. Charlotte gave her fellow BSG a wave; she had saved a seat for Avery. After the homeroom teachers took attendance, the kids participating in Sports Day were dismissed to the gym. Avery was up out of her seat like a shot and down the hall. She was full of energy, ready to compete and
confident that her group would crush their opponents!

Several of the boys in Ms. R's class had already made it to the gym and were warming up—passing the basketball back and forth across the court. The Yurtmeister was trying to lob the ball from half court into the net, but he kept coming up about ten feet short. Every time he missed, Yurt bowed low to the nonexistent crowd. One of the Trentinis shouted, “How many can you miss, dude?”

The boys gave a quick glance at Avery as she jogged in, and went back to passing the ball, practicing their shots, and joking around with each other. Nick and Dillon waved to her as they did sprints down the court, but no one else acknowledged her presence at all.
What am I, the invisible girl now?
Avery wondered. She followed Nick and Dillon with a few sprints and then hung around, waiting for one of the boys to pass the ball to her or call her name, but no one did.

This is so weird
, Avery thought as she bent to tie her sneaker. She had never been left out of a sports event before, and this was a really important one: they were playing for the Spirit Trophy, which was awarded to the homeroom whose team won the most sporting events. Avery was determined that the trophy was going to be displayed in Ms. R's homeroom, but it would be hard to win if her teammates acted like she wasn't there!

Fortunately, Avery had brought something she thought would help unify the team. “Hey guys!” she called. “Come over here for a minute!”

The boys reluctantly slowed down their practice and wandered over to where she was standing. “Look what I
have,” Avery said, holding up a supply of blue bandanas just like the one she already wore. “If we all wear these with purple paint on our faces, we'll look like a super team. The other homerooms will be psyched out of their minds when they realize how serious we are about winning.”

The boys took one look at her purple-rimmed eyes and snorted. “You really expect us to wear that?” Chase asked. “We'd look so dumb. The other teams would just
laugh
at us.” Chase pumped his fist and said in a loud voice, “Purple paint. Rock it out, dudes.” All the guys laughed—it was hard not to. Chase was a bit of an actor.

Avery had a really good comeback on the tip of her tongue, but at the last second she held herself back. This was supposed to be about team spirit, and starting an argument with Chase wasn't going to help one bit. “We should all wear the bandanas then,” she said instead, trying to be patient. “Team unity and all that,” she explained.

Chase hooted. “You mean I'd have to take off my lucky hat?” he asked, pointing to the Red Sox cap he wore backward on his head. The other boys nodded and stubbornly held onto their hats with both hands; none of them were giving them up, either.

Some of the girls who had joined Avery took a bandana and went to the restroom to smudge purple face paint under their eyes, but the boys ignored them and went back to their practice drills. Anna and Joline pointedly turned their backs and started practicing layups.
I can't believe them
, Avery fumed. She'd thought that her bandana idea was a no-brainer, and now it was completely ruined. Even Dillon and Nick said they didn't feel it would be right to
dis the teammates who didn't want to wear anything.

When Ms. R's team finally assembled at the start of the game, there was nothing holding them together. The boys were in grungy sweats and T-shirts with various baseball caps, while the girls, minus Anna and Joline, stood out in blue bandanas and purple face paint. It made it look like the girls were on a totally separate team.

Whew, at least Katani showed up
, Avery thought.
Even though she might be the worst player on the team, at least she's got the spirit, unlike
some
people I know
. Avery wouldn't even look at Dillon when he gave her a thumbs-up. If he wanted to stick with his secret society of boys, that was just fine with her. She went to sit by her friends.

Mrs. Fields made her way to the center of the basketball court to announce the rules of the competition. “We want this to be clean and fair,” she stressed loudly. “Everyone who wants to play will get the chance. There will be two basketball games and a tug-of-war. The team that wins the most games will be declared the winner, and the Spirit Trophy will be displayed in that homeroom for the rest of the year. And while all students will receive T-shirts, the winning homeroom will get #1 Spirit Week T-shirts!”

The gym erupted into cheers. The Spirit Trophy was something that everyone could be proud of! And getting free T-shirts was like the cherry on the sundae!

Pete Wexler was team captain for Ms. R's class. He looked down at the scrap of paper in his hand and announced the starting lineup. “Here are the starters,” he called. “Chase, Kevin, Dillon, Pete, and…” He squinted at the paper. Avery had stretched out and was ready to
run out on the court. After all, she was one of the best basketball players in school, out of the girls
and
the boys! She knew she should be in the starting lineup; the team needed her skills to win the game.

Instead, Pete called out, “…and Riley. First team, out on the court! Let's win this one, men!”

Avery sat down, shock showing clearly in her face. “This is
outrageous
,” she fumed to Julie Faber, another one of the best basketball players in the school. Pete's starting lineup was all boys. She watched them run out, high-fiving each other and bumping chests like teams did on TV. This game wasn't about spirit—it was about girls versus boys.

Ms. R's team was matched against Ms. Ciara's homeroom in the first round of basketball. Avery surveyed the scene and noticed that the lineup for Ms. Ciara's team had two girls on it. Their players were all wearing black T-shirts and green armbands, and they actually looked like a real team.

Avery, Chelsea, Katani, Isabel, Betsy, Anna, Joline, and the others sat on the bench watching and waiting for their chance. Pete was moving players in and out of the lineup strategically, watching the clock and calling for new people…but the boys just kept rotating in and out. They were getting tired, and some of them didn't have any of Avery or Julie's skills on the court. As the clock ticked on, the other girls looked over at Avery, who was now so furious she looked like she was going to explode. The color of her cheeks was rapidly coming close to the color of her purple war paint!

On the court, Pete was calling plays and seemed to be
totally focused on the game. “Number one!” he shouted as he caught a pass from Riley and started dribbling down the court. As Pete dribbled in place and paused for someone to get open, Nick shouted over to him, “Hey, Pete, how about putting Avery in? We could really use her. She hasn't played at all yet. Come on, dude.”

“Later, man,” Pete replied. “Get your head back in the game!”

Nick shrugged in Avery's direction as if to say “I tried,” before he pivoted and caught a pass from Pete. Nick passed to Riley, who went in for a lay-up. The next time they paused for subs, Pete waved a hand at the bench and yelled, “Yurt, in!”

The Yurtmeister looked uncomfortable, which didn't happen very often to the class clown. “Come on, Pete,” he said. “Put one of the girls in instead of me. Avery and Julie and Anna deserve a chance. They're some of the best players here.”

The girls on the bench heard Henry and echoed him with a chorus of “Yeah, come on!” and “Let 'em play, Pete!” The boys on the court looked at Pete to see what he was going to do.

Pete looked back at “his boys.” Avery called from the bench, “Come on, Pete, you have to give the girls a chance! We're supposed to be a team!”

Chase, who was reluctantly sitting on the bench after having played a full ten minutes, started laughing obnoxiously. “You're here to play? Oh, yeah? Girls don't know a thing about sports. Hey, Katani, who plays second base for the Red Sox?”

Katani, who was aware of Avery's frustration at sitting on the bench when she should have been on the court getting the job done, was sick of how the boys were treating her friend. She rolled her eyes at Chase. “What does that have to do with anything, Chase? In case you haven't noticed, we're playing
basketball
today.”

It was a good point, but Avery also knew she could have answered Chase's question in her sleep. Anybody who was a Red Sox fan knew that second base was Dwight Molina territory. But Avery became even more infuriated when Chase began to taunt Katani for not answering his question. “You see why you're all sitting on the bench?” he said with a smirk. “What do girls know about sports? Zip, zero, nada. You better leave it to us, girls. We're gonna win this game!”

“Where are you from—dinosaurville?” retorted an affronted Katani. Chase actually blushed.

Good
, thought Avery.
This boy-girl thing is getting way out of hand
. She high-fived Katani as she moved back to the bench.

When the buzzer sounded for the start of the second half, Pete gathered around him his “top” players, the original starting lineup. Avery, who hadn't sat out for an entire first half of any sports game since she had sprained her ankle earlier that year, was still on the bench…watching. Her jaw was clenched and she was trying to stare down Chase as he ran around the court.

With six seconds left in the second half, a foul was called on Charlie Meeker from Ms. Ciara's team. Ms. R's team was down by one point, so Pete had to make both
foul shots in order to put his team ahead. The first shot went in cleanly with a
swish
. The second shot bounced from one side of the rim to the other and finally in the basket. When Ms. Ciara's team got the ball back, Charlie Meeker dribbled a few steps and then lobbed the ball down the court as the buzzer sounded, but the ball went nowhere near the net. Ms. R's team had won!

But no one on the bench felt in the least like celebrating. Chelsea, Avery, and the other girls just stared as the boys cavorted around the court, high-fiving each other and shouting at the top of their lungs. They were all pouring sweat from their exertions because most of them had played for at least half the game.

The girls who had waited on the bench the whole time still looked as fresh as though they'd just come out of the locker room.

Chelsea leaned over to Avery as the rest of the gym exploded in excitement. “Avery, no way is
this
what Spirit Week is supposed to be about.”

“I so totally agree with you,” Avery whispered back. “Anything would be better than this clown show!”

Ms. R was clapping enthusiastically for her winning team, along with other members of the class who were there to watch. She congratulated all the players, but Avery had had enough. She was not going to let the second game go the same way, that was for sure!

Avery jumped up and marched over to Ms. R, who was standing by the bleachers. She told Ms. R how she and the other girls had been shut out of the game entirely, even though they were ready and eager to play. “It's not fair,
Ms. R. I know Pete's the captain, but he's not playing by the rules of Spirit Week. Everyone is supposed to be able to play if they want to, and we all want a chance.”

Ms. R looked at Avery's unhappy face and sighed. “I'm sorry this happened, Avery. I noticed that none of the girls were playing but I didn't realize it had gotten so out of hand. You'll get to play the next game, and so will anyone else who wants to. Leave it to me.”

As the boys were stretching and resting up for the second game and Pete was writing the new lineup busily on his slip of paper, Ms. R strolled over to him. “Pete, why don't you just sit down? I'll put together the lineup for the next game. You've done enough work on this today.”

Pete looked like she'd clobbered him with a goal post. “What? I'm the team captain, Ms. R; I'm the one who's supposed to decide on the lineups.”

“Well, Pete, your lineup hasn't been quite fair. A lot of people are being left out, and that's going to change in this next game. Now please give the team list to me and I'll take over.”

Pete had no choice but to hand over his paper to Ms. R. He looked over at the girls sitting on the bench and groaned. “We'll never win now. Ms. O'Reilly's class will dominate us. You let everyone play and it's good-bye, Spirit Trophy!”

“Sit down, Pete.” Ms. R used her iciest tone. She meant business. “I
don't
want to have to ask you again. If you don't let everyone play, then it's good-bye
spirit
. You think about that. If you can't play fair, then I'm sure Mrs. Fields
can think of something for you to do for her in the principal's office.”

Pete turned scarlet and slumped down on the bench. Ms. R glanced at his lineup sheet and then called, “All right, starting lineup for the second game: Avery, Isabel, Chase, Kevin, and Betsy.”