Just Kidding (8 page)

Today, though, Avery was thinking as much about Spirit Week as about their game. As Scott dribbled the ball a couple of times and set up a shot, Avery said in a casual tone, “You know, I really think I can be the head of the sports committee.”

Scott shot the ball and watched it swish neatly through the basket. “Another one for me,” he said with satisfaction. “You've got D-O-N, and I've only got D…ha-ha!”

“Don't you think I could do a great job heading up the sports committee?” Avery said again, ignoring her brother's teasing. She wasn't in the mood for an all-out Madden battle, and she really wanted to know what her brother thought about going for the head spot.

But Scott wasn't too excited about the idea. “Oh,
I don't know,” he said slowly. “Do you want to do it all by yourself? Why don't you work with a boy, like a cochair or something? That way, you'd show everybody how the committees
and
the teams can be coed.” He took another shot and watched it swish through the net. “Still only D for me.”

Avery bristled. “Why does everyone think a boy should be running things? Why can't a girl do it herself?”

Scott shrugged. “You asked me, Ave. I just told you what I thought.”

“Well, maybe I don't care what you think!” Avery shouted. She grabbed the basketball from Scott, even though it wasn't her turn, and started dribbling toward the basket. She was angry but just a little worried that Scott might be right, that having a girl and boy working together was really the right way to handle the sports committee. And because Avery was a little doubtful, she took out her frustration on the court.

“Hey, squirt!” Scott shouted. “This isn't one-on-one!” He chased her down by the basket, and Avery tried in vain to shoot the ball past him. But he was too tall and too good at guarding her, which was making her more and more frustrated!

Finally Avery did a quick pivot to get away from Scott and stood for a split second, aiming the ball at the basket, which was almost directly above her head.

Scott immediately jumped into her line of sight, and when she tried to pivot in another direction, he put his hand on her head to keep her from moving. “Scott, stop it!” Avery cried, trying to shake his hand off. “Foul! That's a foul!”

“This isn't a pickup game!” he shouted back. “We're playing D-O-N-K-E-Y, Avery! Stop being a baby—I just told you what I thought and you got mad at me!”

Avery was so furious that he was keeping her from the basket and now that he had called her a baby, she was determined to shoot no matter what. She tucked the ball under one arm and started pushing Scott away with her other arm. Scott grabbed her arm and wouldn't let go, no matter how hard she tried to pull away.

Finally, Avery gave up. She shoved the basketball hard into Scott's arms and started to jog off, mumbling under her breath. Scott threw the ball onto the grass. “Relax, Ave. I was just kidding,” he said.

“Oh, sure!” Avery retorted. “Well, that's the second time I've heard that excuse today, and it's getting really old!”

Anyway, there was no point in wasting time with Scott. Avery knew she needed to go to her room and calm down. Then she would start thinking about a campaign that would guarantee she would be chosen to head up the sports committee.
What I need is a good slogan
, she thought.

Avery brainstormed as she climbed the steps to her room, and at her bedroom door, an idea flashed into her mind. She ran over to her desk, snatched a blank sheet of paper and wrote on it in bright red marker:
SPORT SPIRIT—GIVE IT YOUR BEST!

She held the slogan at a distance, very satisfied with how it looked and sounded.
That ought to get people pumped
, she thought.
And it should be just what I need to prove that I'm the right person to run the sports committee!

C
harlotte slowed her pace as she made her way down Harvard Street. The last thing she wanted was to run right into Anna and Joline, especially when she was worried about Miss Pierce. Where was Miss Pierce? It seemed kind of strange that she'd disappeared.

Even if I wasn't worried about Miss Pierce, I wouldn't want to run into the Queens of Mean
, Charlotte admitted to herself.
They're rude enough to turn a day full of sunshine into a day of rain!

But Anna and Joline seemed determined to run into Charlotte. “Oh, what a cute doggy!” Joline cried, kneeling down to pet Marty. Charlotte gritted her teeth and stopped; she couldn't get away from them without yanking poor Marty off his feet, and she refused to do that to the little dude, who was shamelessly wagging his tail at Joline.

“He is cute,” Anna agreed, but she stayed on her feet and contented herself with making faces at Marty. And
then, as though she had just noticed Charlotte, she said, “Oh, hey, Charlotte.” Marty turned his doggy face up to Anna's and was wagging his tail winningly to grab her attention, but Anna kept her sharp eyes on Charlotte.

Joline was cooing to Marty. “You are such a beautiful dog, you sweet thing! Charlotte, what's his name again?”

“Marty,” Charlotte said shortly. Everything about this meeting felt strange to her. She felt sure the Queens of Mean had something up their sleeves besides their arms!

“Maaaarty,” Joline sang to the dog, stretching out the word and rubbing her cheek against his fur. “Marty, you are sooo darling!”

Marty, you are a such a flirt
, Charlotte thought.
But you're wasting your time with these two. They're not sensitive enough to know how lovable you really are—they just want something from me, and they won't leave you alone 'til they get it!

While Joline took Marty's paw and shook it, Anna said casually to Charlotte, “So, how's your friend Isabel?”

I smell a rat
, Charlotte thought.
So that's why they're stopping me on the street!
Aloud, she said, “Oh, Isabel's great. Why do you ask?”

Anna just smiled tolerantly at her. “You'll find out tomorrow, I'm sure,” she quipped. “C'mon, Joline.”

Joline immediately got to her feet and followed her friend. Marty looked after Joline with a bewildered face as she and Anna traipsed down the street, giggling. Charlotte made a face after them, the kind of face you got when you bit into a sour lemon. Marty let out a couple of barks and spun around a few times, unable to understand that Joline had lost interest in him.
I knew it
, Charlotte said to herself.
“Don't worry, Marty, we still love you,” she whispered to the disappointed pet.

“Charlotte, what is the big hurry up?” The question came from Yuri, the Russian grocer who often gave her lovely fresh apples in the mornings. “You have no time for Yuri and his fruit? These pears is from Chile. Beautiful fresh. Is best pears for cold weather.”

“Oh, Yuri, you know I love your fruit. But I can't find Miss Pierce, and I'm beginning to worry about her.”

“Cannot find? You lose her? She a whole person, how can you lose?” Yuri scratched his head as though he didn't quite understand.

“Well, sort of. We went to the park together, and when I was ready to leave she was gone. I'm hoping she just went to Montoya's for coffee and to warm up. But it seems kind of strange that she would just disappear.”

Yuri thought for a minute. “I bring fruit Miss Pierce every week. Twice a week for long time, I bring her fruit. She never go out, Miss Pierce. Wait! She owe me money for last shipment. I not like to lose my good customers that owe me money!”

Charlotte couldn't help smiling, despite her anxiety about Miss Pierce. Yuri's grumpiness was kind of cute in its own way. “Hopefully she's just down the street at Montoya's. I'm sure everything's okay.”

Yuri shook his head. “I was talking to my fruit here all afternoon. I would see her pass. She never come this way. She not at Montoya's.”

Charlotte didn't say anything. Yuri tended to go back and forth from his outside stand to his shop to get more
merchandise; she thought he could have been inside when Miss Pierce passed.

Yuri's weathered face was worried. “Here. You wait.” He fumbled for a slip of paper and a pencil and wrote something down. “My e-mail address. You e-mail me later, yes? Tell me Miss Pierce is all good again, safe inside her house.” He tried to seem offhand but couldn't quite manage it. Yuri was clearly concerned that Miss Pierce was missing. “Only so I can collect what she owe me, yes?”

Charlotte took the paper and smiled as she put it in her pocket. Yuri's e-mail address was appleman@yurifruit. com. She tried to smile up at Yuri, but she was getting more and more worried by the minute. She thought it was sweet that Yuri was worried about Miss Pierce, too, even if he tried to cover it up with all his talk about not losing good customers.

Charlotte continued on her way to Montoya's, hoping that she would be right and that Miss Pierce would be sitting at a table chatting with her old astronomy professor.
I'll just go in and look around
, she thought,
and then I'll…oh, no, I can't!

She looked down unhappily at Marty trotting along next to her. She couldn't bring a dog into a bakery!

Well, then she'd have to see what she could spy from the outside. When she got to Montoya's, she leaned against the window and squinted. The bakery was well lit within, and Charlotte scanned the room from one side to the other. It wasn't very busy inside, making it easy to spot all the patrons.

Yuri was right. Miss Pierce wasn't there.

Suddenly, a face appeared on the other side of the window.
Oh, no!
It was Nick Montoya, a friend of Charlotte's who worked at the bakery to help out his family. He had just dropped off pastries and coffee to some college students, and after serving them, stood looking curiously at Charlotte.

Frozen in place with her face pressed flat against the window, Charlotte knew her features must be all smushed and distorted. She hoped she hadn't been drooling. That would have been too disgusting. Marty was jumping up and lapping at the window too. Nick tried to hold it in but he couldn't help it; he burst out laughing.

Charlotte jumped back from the window and turned a deep red. Could things get worse? She lost her landlady, and then Nick, who was so cute and really nice and one of her good friends, saw her having a Kodak moment against the bakery window!

Nick tapped on the window and pointed to the door, indicating that he'd meet her there. Charlotte hoped she could think of a good way to explain things, but as every step brought her closer to the door, she doubted it. It was just one more “perfect” Charlotte Ramsey moment, the kind that people would never let her forget and would end up under her yearbook picture.

“Hi, Char,” Nick said with a smile, pushing open the door. “You coming in, or did you want to just hang out by the window?”

Charlotte broke into a smile. Nick was teasing her, but in a nice way. “Uh, no,” Charlotte said. “No, I've got Marty with me.”

“Oh. Well, are you looking for Isabel?”

Charlotte looked at him curiously. He was the second person that afternoon to ask about Isabel. Anna had mentioned her too, and Charlotte wondered what was going on. “No,” she answered, “I'm looking for Miss Pierce, my landlady.”

Nick frowned. “Miss Pierce? I thought she never left the house.”

“She doesn't usually.” Charlotte explained rapidly how Miss Pierce seemed to be lost and how Charlotte thought she might have come into Montoya's earlier with her friend.

Nick shook his head. “She hasn't been in here today. I've been on since school got out, and I haven't seen her. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen her in here.”

Charlotte wondered whether Miss Pierce had just gone home. It was getting dark, and no one had seen her since Charlotte left her on the park bench more than an hour earlier. Even though Miss Pierce was an adult and didn't need to check in, Charlotte was getting a little worried. Miss Pierce wouldn't have left the park without telling her.

“Sorry, Char…I have to get back to work before my mother gets annoyed. We've been so busy today. Good luck finding her!” Nick called as he went back inside.

Time had slipped by and Charlotte realized that she had been gone much longer than she expected. It had gotten much colder, and it was almost completely dark. She said to Marty, “Come on, boy, we've got to get home fast. Dad'll be really worried about us.”

She wrapped Marty's leash around her hand, whistled to him, and in a minute they were running up Harvard Street and around the corner onto Beacon, toward home.

But Charlotte's legs were much longer than poor Marty's, and he couldn't keep up with her. Besides, he was cold and hungry, just like Charlotte, and he began to yap unhappily. “All right, Marty.” Charlotte paused and picked up the little dog. “I know you're too brave to be carried around, but we've got to get home fast. I'll give you all sorts of treats and hugs when we get there, and I'll wrap you in a warm soft towel so all the cold gets out of your fur….”

She was trying to think of other treats to keep up Marty's spirits, when a car halted next to her. “Charlotte Ramsey,” called a female voice. “What are you doing out alone in the dark?”

Charlotte looked over at the car. It was Officer Sue Moody, safety officer for all the Brookline schools, who lived around the corner from the Ramseys. “Are you okay?” Officer Moody asked. “Do you want a lift?”

“Oooh, yes!” Charlotte cried, her teeth chattering. “Thank you, Officer Moody! We're both freezing.” She picked up a shivering Marty and climbed into the police car. She was lucky Officer Moody had stopped; it was getting darker by the minute, and by now her dad was probably worried sick about her.