Out of Bounds (13 page)

“I think we should do the constellations as a backdrop, too,” Isabel suggested. “As sort of a camouflage thing.”

“I absolutely love this,” said Charlotte.

“The stars as camouflage will be awesome. It will distract everyone,” Katani said.

Maeve was excited because when you turned out the lights, the effect was dramatic! She could imagine that she was on a Broadway stage. Avery fantasized how Marty would be so famous after the show that maybe Kiki's father might use him in one of his videos. “It could happen,” she protested when the girls rolled their eyes at her hopefulness.

If they had been planning to talk to Isabel about how overbooked and tired she was, everyone forgot. Today Isabel seemed so happy. She had slept all night and had woken up feeling fine. And she kept talking about how her father was coming out for a visit. He had already gotten his tickets, she'd said. He had told Elena Maria that he was coming. But they had decided to surprise their mother. He hadn't been here since he helped move them in with Aunt Lourdes, almost three months before.

 

On Monday, Isabel didn't leave school with the rest of the girls. She had a rehearsal at four p.m., and it was already three thirty, so she decided to stay.

“Maeve, do you think you could stay for a minute and help me with something?” Isabel asked.

“Sure,” Maeve said, motioning for the other girls to go ahead.

“It's my harmony…for the song. I've got a rehearsal now, and I'm having a lot of trouble with it.” Isabel looked worried.

“That's a tough song to harmonize to,” Maeve said, as she unfolded her umbrella.

“I thought it was just me,” Isabel said, relieved.

“Sing it for me,” Maeve said.

Isabel looked embarrassed at the thought of singing alone, so Maeve sang the melody softly while Isabel sang the harmony she was supposed to be learning.

Isabel was right; she was having trouble with it. “Let's do it again,” Maeve said, “only this time you sing the melody and I'll try to pick up the harmony.”

Isabel sang the song softly, afraid that people on the street would hear her. Maeve, unconcerned about anyone listening, sang a few bars of harmony, and then stopped again. “I know what the problem is,” Maeve said.

“What?”

“You should be singing the melody,” Maeve said. “Isabel, you have a really nice voice.”

Isabel blushed. “No way,” she said.

“I mean it,” Maeve said. “I've taken a lot of singing lessons, and your voice is better for the melody. You should try to get them to switch it around.”

Even if Isabel had wanted to sing the lead, which she didn't, there was no way it was going to happen. “Kiki is singing the melody,” Isabel said.

“That figures,” Maeve said.

They worked for half an hour, until Isabel was getting more confident that she had learned her part.

“Thank you so much,” Isabel said.

“Anytime,” Maeve answered.

Maeve left before the rest of the Hip-Hop Honeys arrived. She didn't want to run into Kiki. She walked down the street toward the movie theater.

Maeve made it inside just as the big storm hit. The rain began pelting down on Harvard Street, and thunder and lightning lit up the sky.

I
t rained for the rest of the day. And it rained all the next day. The streets of Brookline were flooded.

Kristy B. reported a cold front coming in, which would explain the intermittent thunderstorms. Katani had counted three different storms so far, none of them knocking the lights out, but strong enough so that her mother told her to unplug her computer.

“I'm scared,” Kelley said. For someone who said she was scared, Kelley seemed brave enough. Every flash of lightning made her eyes go wide, but every peal of thunder made her giggle. Katani couldn't tell if Kelley was really scared and it was nervous laughter, or whether her sister was enjoying the drama of the storm.

“Here, let's count,” Katani said at the next flash of lightning.

They counted together, “One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand…”

They got to six before the thunder caught up. “I think that means that the storm is six miles away,” Katani said. It
was something everyone did—the counting—although she didn't know how scientific it was.

“It's six thousand miles away,” Kelley said vehemently. There was no arguing with Kelley once she set her mind to something. Katani's mom said it was part of Kelley's autism. She could get pretty rigid about things.

Katani didn't want to argue the logic with her sister, especially since she didn't even know if her own logic was correct to begin with. “Anyway,” Katani said. “The thunderstorm is far enough away, so we don't have to be scared of it.”

“I'm not scared of a thunderstorm,” Kelley said out the window. “I'm not scared of a silly old thunder-stupid-storm that's six stupid thousand miles away. Ha!”

Katani had to laugh. Sometimes Kelley was the funniest person. As much as she wanted her own room, she knew she might miss the comfort of having her sister nearby…especially at times like these.

“Kelley,” whispered Katani.

“What?” Kelley whispered back.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Miss Bossy,” and then for good measure Kelley added a big “Ha!”

W
hen they got to school on Wednesday morning, there were fire trucks outside Abigail Adams Junior High. Of course, Henry Yurt and the Trentini twins were all over the scene. They were excited to see the firefighters—rugged uniforms, exciting equipment, anything to give them a break from school—their least favorite activity.

“Those dudes are so awesome, I think I want to be a firefighter when I'm older,” said Billy Trentini earnestly. He was particularly impressed with state-of-the-art ladder truck.

“Dude, we're in trouble if you're with the fire department,” the Yurtmeister responded with a big grin.

Billy grabbed Henry playfully by the neck and gave him a Trentini special—a super noogie with a Three Stooges flick to the head. Ms. R had to break them up.

Charlotte, Avery, Isabel, and Maeve stood to the side watching the action.

Maeve looked worried. “I hope it's not really a fire. I wouldn't want the school to burn down…especially…” she said.

Katani, who had just appeared, rushed to assure her.
“No, it's not a fire. My grandmother said it was just a big leak that had gotten out of control.”

This was serious. No one was allowed inside the building. The leak they had seen outside a couple of mornings ago had turned into a small lake, one that extended all the way into the auditorium.

“That's what the smell was,” Charlotte said. “It was mildew from the water.”

When the building had been thoroughly checked, the classrooms were finally opened. But the wing that housed the auditorium was off limits.

By the time they got to class, it was already second period. They had missed math, for which Isabel was grateful. The truth was, she hadn't entirely finished her homework. On Sunday night, Kiki had called Isabel at home with yet another in the long list of Kiki requests. She liked the film of herself, she said, but there were a number of details she wanted changed.

Isabel had done all the math problems, but there hadn't been any time to check them. And Isabel always found mistakes when she checked her work. She hated doing it, but it always seemed to pay off in the end. Isabel had never received less than a B in math. She wasn't an A student, but her father said B meant that you understood most of what the teachers were presenting.

At lunchtime, Mrs. Fields came into the cafeteria to make an announcement. “I'm very sorry, but I have some bad news,” Mrs. Fields said.

“I hope they're sending us all home for the day,” Henry Yurt speculated. He wouldn't consider that bad news at all.

“The leak in the auditorium roof is quite extensive,” Mrs. Fields said. “So extensive, in fact, that I'm afraid we're going to have to cancel the talent show.”

The students were shocked. There was a collective groan and a chorus of “OH NOs!” Not having the talent show would be a huge disappointment, especially since Henry Yurt had finally agreed to dress up as a cheerleader. The student body of Abigail Adams was expecting an evening of hilarity, magic, and dancing. This just couldn't be happening.

“You mean postpone it,” someone said.

“I'm afraid I mean cancel,” Mrs. Fields said. “Even if we could get the roof repaired in time for the show, I'm afraid that leak has been going on for a while. I am told that we will have to close down that whole wing of the school until further notice.”

The Beacon Street Girls stared at each other. They were completely shocked.

Betsy Fitzgerald actually put her head down on the table. She had just found her mini brass band.

Anna and Joline looked stricken, and Kiki looked outraged.

The Beacon Street Girls turned in unison to Maeve. If they were upset about the show, how much worse was Maeve going to feel? And what would happen to the theater?

“Oh, Maeve,” Charlotte said.

“The show is cancelled?” Maeve asked, as if she were just starting to understand the implications. “Totally?”

“I'm…I'm so sorry, students. Things don't always go as planned. It's one of life's hardest lessons.” Mrs. Fields said the words to the whole class, but she was looking directly at Maeve.

O
n Sunday afternoon, the scene in the Tower was not a happy one. Katani sat in the Lime Swivel, tapping her toes and spinning slowly as she looked at the ceiling. Isabel was near tears because she was afraid that her dad wouldn't come once he learned that the show was cancelled. Maeve chewed on her fingernails. Thoughts of losing the theater loomed large and heavy. And Charlotte stared out the window toward the Charles River, wishing she was sailing on one of the boats bobbing up and down on the water. Their disappointment over the show's cancellation had set them all on edge. But the one who seemed the most upset was Avery. It had to do with Marty.

Somehow, Avery had become completely convinced that Marty had been a circus performer in his past life. It had been a fun game they'd played when they first brought Marty to the Tower. Every girl put together a story about Marty's history. And each story was more fanciful than the last. But when the girls started the magic show, Avery really started to believe that her story about Marty was the correct one.
Marty had an unmistakable talent for show business. He loved to be in the limelight and enjoyed practicing tricks for treats.

Ever since the show got cancelled, Avery swore that Marty was depressed. “His self-esteem just isn't what it used to be,” Avery complained to Charlotte.

Charlotte told Avery that she thought Marty's moping had more to do with the fact that he hadn't seen his new crush, La Fanny, the pink poodle they had met in the park, in a long time.

“He's a dog. Dogs don't get crushes, Charlotte.”

“You didn't see him, Ave. I did, and I am telling you he was in love.”

“Marty is not a love-at-first-sight kind of dog.”

“What, you read dog minds now?” Charlotte answered sharply.

“Maybe she can,” said Isabel in an annoyed tone. “They do have dog psychics, you know.”

“Stop it, you guys. You don't even sound like yourself, Charlotte,” an exasperated Katani said.

“This arguing isn't going to help anything,” a frustrated Maeve said in between picking at her sore nail.

That did it. Everyone sat up straight. There was Maeve and her commonsensical advice again.

They all agreed to stop snapping at each other. They had put so much energy into their acts. The bad news had completely taken the wind out of their sails. But, sitting around moping wasn't helping either.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, watching Marty shake his favorite toy, Happy Lucky Thingy. When even that didn't lift their spirits, Avery announced, “This is getting really grim and boring. I'm going home. I don't even
want to think about this anymore.” She stood up, grabbed her coat, and walked out, just as Charlotte was about to say…

“I have an idea.”

“Do you think she's really mad?” Isabel asked worriedly.

“No,” said Katani. “You know Avery, she just gets totally frustrated sometimes when things aren't happening the way she thinks they should.”

“Avery never gets really mad, Isabel,” said Maeve. “Now Katani, that's another story.” Katani laughed and threw a pillow at Maeve's head. Maeve ducked and the pillow bounced off Marty, who pounced on it like it was a squirrel. The rip-and-shred game was on.

The timing was perfect. Watching Marty race around the room at warp speed was just what they needed to lift the gloom.

Suddenly, Charlotte had new inspiration.

“Why don't we make a poster for Avery to cheer her up? We can think of what Marty would say if he could talk. Like his rules for life. She'd love it.”

Maeve thought that sounded hard, but then she came up with the first rule and they were off and running:

Marty's Rule #1: Always do your doggone best.

Then Maeve said she had to leave because she had to go get her brother Sam at his friend's house. Katani wanted to leave, too, because she was hoping her mother would take her to the fabric store for some material to make another poncho.

That left Isabel and Charlotte. They worked on the poster all afternoon, in between making popcorn, wondering what Miss Pierce was up to, and discussing the Trentini twins and how goofy they were. Isabel thought that maybe the boys
would grow up to be like the two characters in
Dumb & Dumber.

“So how are you doing, with the show being cancelled and everything?” Charlotte asked Isabel as they worked. “Your dad must be really disappointed.”

Isabel hesitated for just a minute before answering. “Actually, I haven't told him yet,” she said.

Charlotte didn't know what to say. “It's not like he's not going to find out.”

“I keep thinking something is going to happen,” Isabel said.

Charlotte hoped so, too. Now that they'd come so far, she couldn't picture not doing the magic show. But she didn't know what could possibly happen to change things.

The girls breezed through most of the Marty List, but when they got to the tenth rule, they were stumped.

MARTY THE DOG'S GUIDE TO LIFE AND HAPPINESS

• 1. Always do your doggone best.
  
• 2. Treat other puppies the way you would like to be treated.
  
• 3. You won't get the treat if you don't do the trick.
  
• 4. Act as if you've already gotten the treat. See how success feels. Then do the trick!
  
• 5. Every dog is beautiful.
  
• 6. Preparation & opportunity = luck…Luck = treats.
  
• 7. Forgive other dogs when they make messes. Forgive yourself too.
  
• 8. Every time you think about a mess you've made, think of three times you got the ball.
  
• 9. Get the ball!
  
• 10. If you come to an obstacle, jump over it. If it's too high, dig under it. If that still doesn't work…
  

Charlotte stopped. “I'm stuck,” she said to Isabel.

“Let me see it,” Isabel said.

Charlotte watched Isabel read the list.

Isabel smiled. “This is really cool,” she said.

“Except for the last one. I can't seem to get it,” Charlotte said, frowning.

“Let me see,” Isabel said. She started sketching little Marty dogs jumping and digging. She even drew Marty getting the treat.

Charlotte chewed her pencil.

“What's that song about the ant?” Charlotte asked.

“What song? The ants go marching one by one? That song?”

“No, you remember.” Charlotte started to sing. “Once there was a little old ant, thought he could move a rubber tree plant…” They sang the chorus together. “Anyone knows an ant can…move a rubber tree plant.” They sang the chorus. “High hopes…high hopes…”

“Move the obstacle,” Isabel said, and Charlotte nodded.

“I got it.” Charlotte started to write:

• 10. If you come to an obstacle, jump over it. If it's too high, dig under it. If that still doesn't work…MOVE IT!
  

Isabel started sketching Marty moving the obstacle. She did two sketches, one with Marty pulling it and the other with him butting his head against it, like the ram did in the next chorus of the same song.

“That is so cute!” Charlotte laughed. “We have to move it!” she said suddenly.

“Move what?” Isabel said.

“We have to
move
the obstacle! We have to move the talent show.”

“What? Where?” Isabel was hopeful.

“We have to move it to the only place it can go—the Movie House!” Charlotte exclaimed.

Charlotte and Isabel exchanged looks, as they cheered and high-fived each other.

Charlotte and Isabel called Katani on her cell phone. They were so excited, they could barely explain the plan.

“I'll get Avery and meet you in the Tower as soon as I get home from the store,” Katani said.

 

Mr. Taylor looked surprised when all the BSG marched into his office. “Is everything all right?” he couldn't help asking.

“It's better than all right, Dad,” Maeve said.

“It's great,” Avery said.

Mr. Taylor listened to the entire plan before he said a word. Finally, he stood up. “I don't know why we didn't think of it before,” Mr. Taylor said.

“It's a perfect location for the show, and it really shows off the theater,” Katani said.

“You girls are something else,” Mr. Taylor said.

“So we have your permission?” Charlotte asked.

“If the school approves the plan, it's fine with me,” Mr. Taylor grinned.

“They'll approve it,” Charlotte said.

“They have to,” Isabel agreed.

“Don't get too excited, yet,” Katani said. “We have to convince my grandmother first.”

“What would convince her?” Avery asked.

Katani thought about it for a while. She had an idea, but it would take a team effort and a lot of work.

The girls got special permission to spend the night in the Tower to really figure out a plan. The first thing they did was make signs:
The Show Must Go On. Save the Movie House. Save the Seventh-Grade Talent Show
.

Then they started an e-mail campaign to each of the cast members who, in turn, promised to forward it to three friends. The letter explained what they were going to do. At three o'clock on Monday, the group would congregate in the main hall. Carrying the signs they made to show their support for their cause, they would march to the principal's office.

1-2-3 M
ARCH

By the time they got to school on Monday, everyone was talking about the plan to move the show.

“Do you think Mrs. Fields will go for it?” Anna and Joline asked Katani.

How strange to be working on a common cause with Anna and Joline
, Katani thought. Even if they were totally out for themselves, Katani could tell that they would do just about anything to make this show happen.

By the time they were ready to start the march, even Kiki had shown up. She and several other seventh graders in her homeroom had made their own signs.

As they began to march, Katani started to get nervous. Maybe they should have just asked her grandmother. Why hadn't she thought of that before? Oh, well, she hoped her grandmother wouldn't be too mad, because there was no stopping the Save the Theater movement now. Instead, she hoped her grandmother would be proud that all the kids stood up for something they believed in. When they were young, Mrs. Fields and Miss Pierce had organized a civil rights march down these very same halls. Katani kept her fingers crossed.

As the group rounded the corner of the corridor on the last lap toward the principal's office, they were met by the cheerleaders.

Fully costumed, pompoms flying, these cheerleaders seemed a little awkward and out of sync.

Charlotte started to giggle as she recognized Henry Yurt.

“Go team!” Henry cheered. He was wearing a red wig. His fellow cheerleaders fell into the end of the line.

It was just what Katani needed to give her confidence. If Henry Yurt could show up in a red wig, and the Red Sox could win the World Series, you had to believe that anything was possible.

By the time they got to Mrs. Fields's office, there were at least forty kids, all carrying banners and marching together. They stopped at the door of the office, just as planned.

Katani went into the office first. “May we speak with Mrs. Fields?” Katani asked.

“Sure, Katani, you know you can. Go right in,” her grandmother's assistant said.

“Do you think we could speak with her in the hallway, please?” Katani opened the door and showed the group behind her.

Ms. Sahni looked at Katani strangely. “Okay,” she said and went to get Mrs. Fields.

“I'll wait outside,” Katani said. She sure hoped she was right and that her grandmother would appreciate the group effort. The look on Ms. Sahni's face made Katani start to doubt herself again. She was beginning to wonder if she had made a big mistake in approaching things this way and not just going to speak with her grandmother alone.

It seemed like a long time before Mrs. Fields came to the door.

“What's going on here?” Mrs. Fields said as she saw the group. “Katani?”

But it was Charlotte who stepped forward, just as planned.

“We want to move the talent show to the Movie House,” Charlotte announced.

“So it appears,” Mrs. Fields said.

“So can we?” Avery asked a bit too eagerly.

“My father loves the idea,” Maeve said. “You know, the Movie House used to be a real theater. It would be a perfect place to have the talent show. Think about all those theater ghosts cheering us on,” enthused Maeve.

“You've got a point, Maeve,” Mrs. Fields said, bemused.

“Please,” Avery said. She hadn't meant to say anything more, it just popped out.

“It's an interesting idea,” Mrs. Fields admitted.

As if on cue, the group cheered and raised their signs high.

“Let me look into it,” Mrs. Fields said.

It wasn't exactly a yes. But it wasn't a no, either.

 

Katani didn't get home until right before dinner. When she did, her family was in the kitchen, even her sister
Candice, who was home for a few days from college. They were all working together to make a salad, with everyone doing her part. Kelley was hard at work making garlic bread—her favorite. She didn't even look up at Katani.

“Hey Kgirl,” Candice said. “Just in time to chop some lettuce!” Candice threw a head of iceberg lettuce to Patrice, who did a jump shot and threw it to Katani.

Luckily, Katani caught it before it hit the floor. She didn't mind helping with dinner, but she wished her older sisters didn't have to always make everything into an athletic event.