Out of Bounds (11 page)

“Looks like,” said Katani.

Avery was too angry to speak. When she finally said something it was, “My mother is allergic to dogs. But we were sitting way in the back. And Marty was in a bag! It wasn't Marty that she was allergic to. Kiki didn't start sneezing until she went up on the stage!”

“Now what are we going to do?” Isabel asked.

“I don't know,” Charlotte said glumly.

Isabel had set aside this afternoon to design the sets for the magic show. If she didn't do it today, she didn't know when she'd have time to fit it in. But she didn't want to say that. Things were bad enough already.

No one felt like talking. The Beacon Street Girls Magic Show was clearly a bust.

When they got outside the building, Dillon was waiting for Maeve. “Can I talk to you?” he asked.

“I guess,” she shrugged.

“I mean by yourself?” he said, giving the girls an apologetic look.

Maeve hung back to let her friends go ahead.

“You know, when I signed up for Kiki's act, I thought you were going to be in it,” Dillon said.

“I'm not,” Maeve said.

“That's the only reason I said yes.”

Maeve looked relieved.

“Do you think I want to be the only guy in the show?” he asked.

“Then quit,” Maeve said.

“I can't do that. They're counting on me.” Dillon meant it. It wasn't like him to break a commitment.

“Kiki lied to you,” she said.

“No, she didn't,” Dillon said.

“If she said I was going to be in the act, then she lied,” Maeve said.

“She said she had asked you…I figured you would just say yes,” Dillon said.

Maeve actually might have been tempted to say yes if she had known that Dillon was in the act. But Kiki hadn't told her that part, and it was hard for Maeve to be phony anyway.

“Never assume,” Maeve said. It didn't sound nearly as good when it came out of her mouth as it had in her head. In fact, it sounded kind of mean. But she couldn't exactly take it back now. She mumbled that she was sorry.

They stood there silently for a minute, then Dillon started to walk away. “I gotta go,” he said over his shoulder.

Maeve walked slowly to catch up with the others. If she felt bad before, she felt worse now.

“What'd he say?” Isabel asked.

“I don't want to talk about it,” Maeve said. She couldn't look at Isabel, so she just looked away.

Avery had to get to soccer practice. Charlotte wanted to
get home ASAP to start researching some new tricks. Since the Beacon Street Girls didn't have an act yet, Isabel thought she should switch her schedule around and get started on Kiki's video background. Good thing the teachers were cutting back on homework or she would be toast!

That left Maeve and Katani.

“So, do you want to talk about it now?” Katani asked after they'd walked a few blocks.

Maeve told the story to Katani as they walked.

“He was trying to be nice,” Maeve said. “And I wasn't very nice at all. I feel really bad about it.”

“Maybe you should call him,” Katani suggested.

“Maybe,” Maeve said. But she knew she wouldn't. It was too awkward and confusing. Besides, Maeve had enough on her mind these days with the possible closing of the theater and all of her parents' problems. Trying to deal with boys right now was just too complicated.

“Let's go to Irving's,” Katani suggested when she realized the shop was only a few more blocks away. “I'm having a Twizzler emergency and you can get some Swedish Fish.” That sounded good to Maeve.

M
aeve liked chatting with Mrs. Weiss. Ever since she was little, Maeve had enjoyed a special relationship with the owner of Irving's Toy and Card Shop—the local kids' hangout near their school.

Maeve and Katani stood at the counter at Irving's, chomping away. By the time they finished the bag, Maeve had told Mrs. Weiss the whole story. First she told her about Dillon.

As they talked, Mrs. Weiss nodded and smiled. “I wouldn't worry too much, Maeve. Just be nice to Donald the next time you see him. He'll forget all about what you said.” The girls smiled at each other. Mrs. Weiss didn't get the name right, but her advice was pretty good.

Maeve nodded. She knew Mrs. Weiss was right. Dillon wasn't the kind of boy to hold a grudge.

“So how is your family?” Mrs. Weiss asked. She knew about Maeve's parents' separation and guessed that what was bothering Maeve right now probably had more to do with her home life than with her current crush.

As soon as Mrs. Weiss asked her, the whole story poured
out. She told Mrs. Weiss about the theater and all the financial problems her dad was having. “We're going to have to close down the Movie House if my father doesn't think of something soon,” she said.

“Tsk, tsk. It would be such a shame to close it down,” Mrs. Weiss said sympathetically.

“That theater has been here forever,” Katani said. “My mother and father went there on their first date.”

“I didn't know that,” Maeve said.

“What about getting the community involved?” Mrs. Weiss suggested. “Maybe holding some kind of fund-raiser.”

“What do you mean?” Maeve seemed genuinely interested.

Katani had been trying to come up with a way to tell Maeve about her proposal. Mrs. Weiss had just created the perfect opportunity.

“I have an idea,” Katani said, then corrected herself. “I mean, I had it a while ago.”

“You have an idea for a fund-raiser?” Mrs. Weiss asked.

“Yes,” Katani said. “The talent show.” Katani looked directly at Maeve when she spoke.

“The seventh-grade talent show?” Maeve asked.

Katani nodded. “You know how they are looking for something to support? Some community project?”

“Didn't they say it had to be educational?” Maeve didn't exactly understand what Katani was getting at.

“That's just it. I think the movies are educational. Remember the other day, when you told Isabel that everything you ever learned, you learned from the movies?” Katani asked.

“I was just kidding around,” Maeve said.

“Well, I think you had a point. I got thinking about what
I'd learned from the movies. And I asked a few other people as well. Pretty soon I had a whole proposal for the Student Council,” Katani said.

“You gave a proposal about the movie theater to the Student Council?” Maeve asked.

“That sounds very interesting. I'd say you're thinking outside the box, or at least outside the box office,” Mrs. Weiss said, chuckling at her own joke.

“Don't be mad at me,” Katani said to Maeve.

“I think it's a wonderful idea,” Mrs. Weiss said.

They both looked at Maeve.

“It's fantastic,” Maeve said, meaning it.

“But they haven't said yes. Not yet,” Katani warned.

“I'll keep my fingers crossed,” Mrs. Weiss said.

“Me too,” said Maeve. She smiled at her friend.

“If they say yes, I will put a notice in the store for you girls,” Mrs. Weiss suggested. “Maybe I can even sell a few tickets. Lots of kids come here after school.”

“I know it doesn't solve the whole problem of profits,” Katani said. “But it might help pay the taxes, though.”

“We should probably tell my father,” Maeve said, not absolutely certain that he was going to approve.

“I agree,” Katani said.

“Maybe we should wait and see if we get it first,” Maeve said.

 

Kgirl Notes
Ideas to help the Movie House after the talent show:

Maeve, Avery, and Charlotte were busy coming up with new magic tricks. They weren't having much luck, but they were IM-ing each other a lot. They were looking for a real big slam-bang trick. Charlotte said magic was boring unless they got people excited with something spectacular. They had agreed that the new trick had to have something to do with Houdini, but, as yet, they hadn't figured out any more than that.

S
o how come none of the boys signed up for the show?” Charlotte asked Nick Montoya, as they sat in homeroom waiting for the bell to ring.

Ms. Ciara had asked the girls to find out.

Nick shrugged. “You know guys, they think it's dorky to be on stage.”

“What about you?” Avery asked Henry Yurt.

“Too stupid,” Henry said without hesitation.

“It's not stupid. It's fun!” Avery said, too quickly.

“Why do you think it's stupid?” Charlotte really wanted to know.

“Because they want us all to get up there and make idiots of ourselves. For what?”

“What if the money went to help some cause you liked?” Katani asked.

“Like what?” Nick wanted to know.

“Like something that made a difference in your lives. Like something that, if it disappeared, you would really miss.”

“Like what?” Henry asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“I'm not saying. I'm just asking you if you would sign up if the money went for something you really believed in,” Katani said. “Would you be in the show if it was for something good?”

“I don't know,” Henry said.

“What about you?” Katani turned to Nick.

“Yeah. I guess so,” Nick said.

“So Nick said yes,” Katani turned back to Henry. “What about you?”

“Maybe,” Henry said.

“What would you do for your talent?” One of his friends teased. “After your last performance, I don't care if I ever hear ‘Happy Birthday' again.”

“I'd dress up like a cheerleader and do a little cheer,” Henry said, and then proceeded to mimic the moves of a cheerleader.

It was hilariously funny to his friends, and they were beside themselves with laughter.

“That's how sure I am that the money won't be going to a cause I want to support,” Henry said.

“But if it did,” Katani said. “Then you'd dress up as a cheerleader? With pompoms and the whole thing?”

“Yes,” Henry said.

The other boys whooped in support of the idea. The Yurtmeister as a cheerleader was something the whole seventh grade would come out to see.

“Hey, I don't know what you're laughing for, you're gonna be right up there with me.”

“No, I'm not,” Nick said.

“No way,” the others agreed.

Anna and Joline sidled in then, breaking the festive mood. “So, how's the magic show coming?” Anna asked Charlotte.

“Yeah, did you figure out any new tricks that don't involve rodents?” Joline asked.

“Marty is not a rodent!” Avery turned on her. “He's a dog.”

“That was a dog?” Joline laughed.

Joline handed Avery a copy of the flier Isabel had made last night.

“What's this?” Avery said.

“What's going on?” Maeve asked.

“What's going on is that we're gonna have the most awesome act ever, thanks to your friend Isabel,” Joline gloated.

Isabel looked as if she had been up all night working on the brochure. There were dark circles under her eyes.

“I'm gonna say something to her,” Avery said to Maeve. And she would have done it, too, except that the bell had already rung and Ms. Rodriguez was motioning for everyone to take their seats.

“Wait until tonight,” Charlotte said. “We'll all talk to her together.”

“Okay.” Avery reluctantly agreed to wait.

“I hope those girls aren't using Isabel,” Maeve said.

“My guess is…YES!” Katani said sarcastically.

Before passing the flier back down the row to Joline, Avery altered it slightly. By the time it got to Charlotte, Kiki's nose had a big wart drawn on it.

“Avery!” Charlotte was shocked. “That's so mean!”

“Well, I'm sorry, I just can't help it.” Avery said. “Kiki already acts like a wicked stepmother, and now she looks like one.”

Maeve tried not to laugh as she passed the flier back to Joline.

“Very funny,” Joline said as she took back the flier. “Maybe you should switch to a comedy routine. Since you don't even have a magic act to begin with.”

“We have a magic act,” Avery said.

“Yeah? What is it?” Joline challenged Avery.

“We're going to do a trick so good that the whole school is going to remember it, forever.”

“Keep dreaming,” Joline said and took the flier back to her seat.

Joline was livid about the flier. She thought Anna would be mad too, but instead of getting angry, Anna looked amused.

 

The girls talked about the magic act all through lunch. They were getting nowhere until Charlotte, tapping herself on the side of the head, said, “Omigosh—a disappearing act, that's what we need to do. People love it when things disappear. Harry Houdini was so great at that.”

Avery loved the idea. “I want to be the person who gets to disappear. We could have smoke and everything. It would be so cool.”

There was only one problem: Charlotte didn't know how to do the trick. She would have to call Jacques back.

“I hope my dad doesn't mind. Calling Paris is really expensive.”

“You have to, Charl,” said Katani. “We don't know how to do the trick otherwise.”

All of a sudden, the cafeteria was silent.

“It's your grandmother,” whispered Isabel to Katani, whose back was facing the door. As Katani turned around,
her stomach did a little flip-flop. She knew her grandmother was about to announce the winning proposal.

Mrs. Fields was making her way into the lunchroom, followed by the president of the Student Council. She walked to the front of the room. “Quiet, please,” she said, waiting for the room to settle down.

“As you know, this is the day that we announce the winning proposal. But, before I announce the winner, I must tell you that the Student Council received ten outstanding proposals, quite possibly the best Abigail Adams has ever seen. It was quite difficult to choose one among them. So, before the Student Council announces the winner, I'm going to read the names of the students who submitted proposals. As I do, I want each of them to stand. And when I am finished, I want you all to give a big round of applause to the following students:…Betsy Fitzgerald…Rachel Gorden…Anna McMasters and Joline Kaminsky…”

Charlotte looked over at Katani, who was staring at her hands. Charlotte tried to signal her, but she wouldn't look up. The suspense was killing Charlotte, and Maeve was looking pensive and nibbling on her lower lip. Avery was wriggling in her seat like her snake, Walter.

Then Mrs. Fields called “Charlotte Ramsey.” Charlotte couldn't believe it. She must have misheard. So, she didn't move. But, Mrs. Fields looked around the room and called her name again. Avery gave her a little shove in the ribs…“Get up, Charlotte…don't be so modest…”

There was nothing Charlotte could do but get up. But she looked at Katani and shook her head quizzically. As everybody clapped, Charlotte tried to get Katani to look at her, but K refused to meet her glance. There was nothing she could do but stand there and wait for the winner. Katani
must have put Charlotte's name on the proposal even though Katani had done all the work.

When Mrs. Fields finished reading the other names, she began to clap, and everyone joined in. Charlotte could hear the Trentinis doing their usual woo-hoos in the back of the cafe teria. How weird is this, thought Charlotte. Here I am standing in front of the whole seventh grade taking credit for something I didn't even do. She felt really bad. And what if the teachers found out? Charlotte could feel her cheeks begin to flush.

Mrs. Fields asked everyone to sit, and then she turned the floor over to the Student Council president. “I want to…” Suddenly, Mrs. Fields interrupted. “I wanted to let you all know that I was not part of the judging committee this year. Ms. Ciara stood in for me.” Then she told the council president to go ahead and make the announcement.

Charlotte looked over to Katani, who had a shocked expression on her face. Charlotte gulped. Of course…Katani had put Charlotte's name on the proposal to save her grandmother from having to be in an awkward position. It all made sense. Mrs. Fields must have forgotten to tell Katani that she had taken herself off the committee. Now Katani wouldn't get credit for her idea, and they would have to keep the secret from everyone. What a horrendous mess. Charlotte almost felt like crying.

And then it got worse…or better, depending on how you thought about it. The council president announced: “Thanks to a winning proposal by Charlotte Ramsey, the Student Council has voted unanimously to use the proceeds of the show to save the Brookline Movie House. This historical landmark may be forced to close because of serious competition from all the big cinema chains. But the Movie
House is unique in the kinds of movies it offers the community, and it has been here for our grandparents and great-grandparents during the Great Depression and during both World Wars. We felt that we just couldn't let this Brookline landmark disappear from Coolidge Corner.”

There was some applause, as well as some sounds of surprise.

“I didn't know the Movie House needed saving,” Joline said loud enough for Maeve to hear. Maeve totally ignored her. This was not the time for pride. The theater needed saving, and that was that.

“Saving the movie theater,” Katani said to the boys at the next table. “Is that a good enough cause for you?”

The boys had to admit it was. They were total horror movie nuts. They never missed the Frankenstein Fest.

“So you'll be in the show?” Katani said.

“Oh, man,” said Nick.

Henry Yurt slouched in his seat.

Katani raised her hand. “I'd like to make an announcement, too,” she said.

Mrs. Fields looked surprised. “Yes, Katani?”

“Because they really want to support the cause you chose, the seventh-grade boys have agreed to be in the show.”

“Oh, man,” Nick said again. But this time he said it under his breath.

The bell rang and everyone began to disperse. The girls had to race to their classes, but Charlotte had seen Katani head to the girls' room. She followed her in. Katani was splashing water in her eyes. Charlotte walked up to her and patted her on the back. “Katani Summers, you are the most amazing girl.” Then she turned and walked out the door.

 

Late that afternoon, Maeve and Katani met with Maeve's dad.

“So this proposal might not help with your long-term profits,” Katani said. “But it might help you with back taxes.”

“I don't know what to say,” Mr. Taylor said. “I'm completely flabbergasted.”

“Say yes,” Maeve suggested.

“Well, yes. Of course, yes.” Mr. Taylor smiled.

“I have some other ideas,” Katani offered a little tentatively. She didn't want to sound too pushy.

“I'd like to hear any ideas you have, Katani,” Mr. Taylor said. “You seem to have a real head for business.”

“That's what she wants to do,” Maeve said proudly. “She wants to have a fashion and advice empire. And teach ladies how to make and manage their money, all while they feel beautiful doing so.”

“Well, I'd say she's on the right track.” Mr. Taylor sounded genuinely impressed. “And I guess that makes me your first client.”

Katani beamed.

S
ETTING THE
R
ECORD
S
TRAIGHT

Charlotte knocked on Mrs. Fields' door.

“Come on in,” she answered.

Charlotte straightened her shoulders and said, “Mrs. Fields, I have something to tell you.”

 

Just before supper, Charlotte decided she couldn't wait any longer for her father to come home. Perhaps Miss Pierce knew something about magic.

Charlotte went downstairs and knocked lightly on the door. Over the months, she and Miss Pierce had become friends, but she was always careful not to intrude on her reclusive landlady's privacy.

“Come in, Charlotte,” Miss Pierce said as if she had been expecting her. “Sit down.”

Charlotte sank into the overstuffed couch.

“What can I do for you?” Miss Pierce wanted to know.

“Do you know anything about Houdini?” Charlotte asked.

“Harry Houdini?” Miss Pierce said the name as if he were a longtime friend.

Charlotte nodded.

“What do you want to know?”

Charlotte pulled the Houdini books out of her backpack. “I've read these biographies,” Charlotte said. “I was wondering if you know anything about the tricks he performed…the escapes and things. I thought maybe you knew how he did them.”

“What makes you think I am familiar with Houdini?”

“I saw some books when I was here before,” Charlotte said. In fact, she had seen several books on Houdini, a whole shelf of them. Right next to the more scientific astronomy journals. Somehow, it seemed to suit Miss Pierce to have both. Maybe it was because she lived in a house with a secret Tower room and seemed like a bit of an escape artist herself. Or maybe it was just a hunch. “I need a really good trick for the talent show. I was hoping you could help me.”