Promises, Promises Read online

  Quote:

  You can’t make yourself look good by making someone else look bad.

  —My Mom

  Survey:

  What’s your favorite Fall Activity?

  a) Hayride

  b) Jumping into a pile of leaves

  c) Wiener roast

  d) Football games.

  Results from the last Survey:

  What is your favorite way to help the environment?

  a) Pick up litter (28%)

  b) Recycle cans and bottles (68%)

  c) Buy environmentally friendly products (4%)

  Swedish Fish Fix

  “Mrs. Weiss!” Maeve called as she burst through the door of Irving’s. “Help! I need Swedish Fish…immediately, if not sooner!” Maeve pretended to faint, and then collapsed into giggles. It felt good to be silly. Things were so tense with the BSG these days, and it was stressful just to be around Avery and Katani.

  Mrs. Weiss chuckled as Maeve sprung up and took a bow. “My, you certainly are energetic this afternoon. Did you have a good day at school?” she asked as she made change for Maeve’s dollar bill and handed her the package of Swedish Fish.

  Maeve opened the bag and popped two fish into her mouth. “Well, school was okay. But my friends are still fighting about the school election, and I’m totally fed up. I wish they would realize how ridiculous they sound. And how bad it’s making the rest of us feel.”

  Maeve had been keeping Mrs. Weiss posted about the drama surrounding the election. It was nice to talk to someone on the outside—someone who wasn’t wrapped up in all the emotional friendship stuff.

  “I’m sorry, Maeve. It sounds like this campaign has gotten out of hand,” Mrs. Weiss said sympathetically. “Sometimes people want to win so badly that they forget about everything and everyone else. But I know you girls have a special bond. And I think it will hold you together through this.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Weiss. I hope you’re right. But things aren’t looking too good right now,” Maeve said, and then filled Mrs. Weiss in on her failed attempt to reunite the BSG after the debates.

  “Well, it sounds like Avery and Katani aren’t making things easy for the rest of you girls. I’ll send extra good thoughts in your direction until the election is over…even more good wishes than usual,” Mrs. Weiss said with a smile. “And how is your special project going?” Maeve perked up again and grinned. Mrs. Weiss was the only person who knew her secret. “It’s going GREAT.” She gave a thumbs-up to Mrs. Weiss, stuck the Swedish Fish into her school bag, and bounced out the door.

  CHAPTER 17

  Giant Zingers

  Avery couldn’t believe her eyes when she arrived at school early the next morning. The seventh-grade hall looked like a gigantic “zinger” graffiti wall. There were zingers everywhere—on every poster—giant-sized yellow Post-its in bright red markers. Somebody got totally carried away.

  None of the comments was nice. Usually, Avery considered herself immune to attack. When she was playing sports, she was in the zone and didn’t hear trash talk. Her teammates sometimes filled her in afterwards on some of the things she was called. Sure, the comments made her angry, but she chose to focus on the game.

  But walking down the hall and staring up at all the Post-it notes made her grit her teeth.

  Outraged, Avery ripped a zinger note off her poster that said “Don’t vote for this Munchkin.” Avery was sure of one thing—even though Katani sometimes called her Munchkin, there was NO WAY Katani was behind this. She would never ever stoop this low. She took a few zingers off Henry Yurt’s poster. Henry wouldn’t do this either.

  Dillon? She wasn’t sure. No, Avery shook her head. The more she thought about it, the more she was certain that nasty notes like these weren’t Mr. Popular’s style.

  Avery saw Ms. Rodriguez come out of her office. “Avery! Stop right there!” she called out. Avery froze as Ms. R came toward her, her high heels ringing loudly in the empty hall. “Avery! What are you doing?”

  “Taking down these…zingers,” Avery said, continuing down the hall, ripping down the ones that were within reach. “Ms. R, I can’t reach this one…could you?”

  “Of course,” she said, reaching up and pulling a zinger from one of Avery’s posters. “For a minute, I thought…”

  “You thought I put them up?”

  “Well…yes. It’s just that when I went down this hall twenty minutes ago, none of these were here. Whoever did it, just did it. What are you doing here so early?”

  “I came to put more posters up,” Avery said, pointing to the stack of posters lying on the floor in front of her locker. “But it seemed more important to get these down before anyone saw them.” Avery showed a particularly nasty zinger to Ms. Rodriguez: “Dillon is a fake loser.”

  “This is inexcusable,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “We need to get to the bottom of this…now.”

  During first hour, Avery got a hall pass to go to the office. When she got there, the other candidates were there as well as Ms. Rodriguez and Mr. Danson. Mrs. Fields was not happy. None of the candidates looked very pleased either. Dillon didn’t have his million-dollar smile on and even Henry himself couldn’t find anything to joke about.

  “If anyone in this room has any idea who is doing this you better tell me now!” Mrs. Fields said firmly.

  Katani had never seen her grandmother so mad.

  They all shook their heads.

  “No matter what, I can’t imagine anyone in this room saying—writing—those things!” Avery said.

  “Avery’s right,” Katani said.

  They all nodded grimly.

  Mrs. Fields looked out at the group of candidates and teachers and said, “Nothing like this has ever happened while I have been principal at Abigail Adams Junior High. This election has created a very negative atmosphere in our school, and I don’t care for it one bit.”

  Everyone was stunned. No one had ever heard Mrs. Fields speak that way before; even her own granddaughter was worried. Did Grandma Ruby think that she was a negative influence? thought Katani as she chewed on her nail.

  Mrs. Fields sent the candidates on their way with a stern warning to behave in an honorable fashion.

  Katani and Avery walked out of Mrs. Fields’s office and stood for a moment together.

  “Gotta get back to art. What class are you going to?” Katani asked.

  “Math,” Avery said.

  “If I ever find out who’s doing this…,” Katani said.

  “Don’t worry. I know it’s not you,” Avery responded.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Katani asked, whirling around to glare at Avery.

  “That even you aren’t that ruthless,” Avery said. She didn’t understand what Katani was getting all upset about. “You gotta hearing problem? I said I knew it WASN’T you!”

  “Because even I wouldn’t be that cruel?!” Katani looked like steam was about to shoot out of her ears.

  “Right!”

  Katani had both hands on her hips.

  “What?” Avery asked.

  “You are…,” Katani huffed.

  “Whatever,” Avery said, and took off down the hall in front of her.

  Avery didn’t understand Katani at all…she was soooo sensitive. But it didn’t matter. Avery was out in front. She was on her way to victory. Katani would get over it. Katani wasn’t one to hold a grudge.

  Katani stood there shaking. How could she behave like that after her grandmother had warned everyone? Grandma Ruby was right. “Negative” was the word. What had happened to everyone? What had happened to her…to Avery? Avery was her friend, one of her best friends. Now they were always snapping at each other, saying mean things, and storming off like they were in first grade.

  Photo Shoot

  “Can you believe this weather?” Charlotte asked Isabel and Maeve as they climbed the hill to her house. Even though it wasn’t sunny, Charlotte couldn’t believe how warm it was today. Much too warm for the jacket she’d worn this
morning. On cloudy days, the leaves seemed to glisten, as if they were releasing the last stored up sunshine of summer.

  “I haven’t been able to figure out Boston weather yet,” Charlotte said.

  “Me either,” Isabel said. “No matter what I pick to wear, I’m always too hot or too cold.”

  “Don’t feel bad! I’ve lived here all my life and I still can’t figure it out,” Maeve said.

  Maeve had suggested that all five of the girls go to Charlotte’s house after school to help with Marty’s “photo shoot.” Charlotte had been a little disappointed at first that Avery and Katani had said they were busy, but now that it was just the three of them, she had to admit she was a little relieved. Things were just too tense when Avery and Katani were around.

  “Did you hear about the notes on the campaign posters this morning?” Isabel asked.

  “Yeah, Avery calls them the Nasty Zinger Notes,” Charlotte said.

  “They were all signed, ‘The Red Pen will strike again.’ Just like the first set, but even nastier,” Maeve said.

  “Who do you think the ‘Red Pen’ is?” Isabel asked.

  “Whoever it is…how do you think they got them up so fast? Avery said that Ms. Rodriguez had just left her room and went to the teachers’ lounge only ten minutes before,” Charlotte said.

  “Maybe they had help,” Maeve said, arching her eyebrows in surprise.

  “That makes sense,” Charlotte agreed.

  “I know two nasties who would love to trash both Avery and Katani,” Maeve said.

  Charlotte knew that she was talking about the Queens of Mean—Anna and Joline.

  “We don’t know that,” Isabel said.

  “How can you defend them after what they did to you during the Talent Show?” Maeve asked.

  “I only know that I can’t accuse them unless I have better evidence,” Isabel said.

  “You should be a lawyer, Isabel.” Suddenly, Maeve stopped short. Charlotte and Isabel walked on for a few steps before they noticed. “Look! That’s a pretty important-looking car in front of your house,” Maeve said, pointing at a big, shiny black car.

  “Wow, Dad’s not home right now and Miss Pierce NEVER has visitors,” Charlotte said.

  Just as she said that, two serious-looking men came out of the house. They were wearing dark suits and black trench coats—even on this warm day. They slipped dark sunglasses on as they trotted down the front porch steps—even though it was cloudy out—and headed toward the black car.

  “Who do you think they are?” Isabel asked. “Did you catch the license plate?”

  “Weird. It wasn’t a Massachusetts license plate,” Maeve exclaimed, craning her neck to see. “I think it was a U.S. government plate.”

  The three exchanged a surprised look.

  “Str-r-r-ange,” Charlotte said.

  “Maybe they’re with the FBI,” Isabel guessed.

  “No, they looked too spooky for that…CIA, I bet,” Maeve said.

  “Wait a minute! Miss Pierce was an astronomer. IS an astronomer! What if she’s found extraterrestrial life?” Charlotte whispered excitedly.

  “Those guys could have been MEN IN BLACK,” Maeve added.

  “That’s only a movie,” said Isabel.

  “Hey…you’d be surprised how many things in movies are really, actually true,” Maeve continued, giving Charlotte and Isabel a knowing look.

  Once inside, with Marty dancing around their heels, the girls quickly forgot about the mysterious men in the car and concentrated on the task at hand.

  First, they took Marty for a walk in the park. The “little dude” was beyond ecstatic. His whole posse—Fly, Louie, everyone was there. The girls laughed as Marty greeted each and every dog with his woof-and-somersault routine.

  “Our dog is going to be famous someday,” predicted Maeve.

  When they ran back to Charlotte’s house and up the steps to the Tower, even Marty was out of breath.

  “So who did you get to sew the costume?” Isabel asked.

  “I didn’t. I had to improvise and make a costume out of what I had on hand. AND what I could hot-glue together. No sewing involved,” Maeve said, pulling her big pink slipper from her backpack.

  “Your slipper?” Isabel asked.

  “No! Can’t you tell? This is a fur coat. With matching scarf and ear muffs,” Maeve said.

  In minutes, the three cut leg holes out of the bottom of Maeve’s slipper. Maeve had already drawn on buttons down the front. She had cut apart her other slipper to make a scarf and earmuffs using a pink pipe cleaner. They duct-taped the slipper on. And voilà! Marty was transformed into a puff of pink—ready for winter.

  “And for the final touch…” Maeve pulled what seemed to be large pink tongue depressor out of her bag. “A pink snow board.”

  “That should make Avery happy,” Isabel said.

  “We need a backdrop,” Maeve said.

  “Do you think we could borrow this piece of fabric from inside Katani’s window seat?” Isabel asked. “It’s perfect—the blue will off set the pink.”

  “Better not let Katani catch us,” Charlotte warned as she looked out the window up and down the street to make sure Katani wasn’t on her way to her house.

  “We’re going to put it back,” Maeve said.

  “I don’t know, Maeve.” Charlotte sounded worried. “Things are bad enough.”

  “It’ll be fine.”

  “Well, you have to put it back EXACTLY the way it was!” Charlotte insisted.

  Maeve stamped her foot in jest, put her hands on her hip, and said to Charlotte, “I will.”

  Charlotte crossed her eyes and made a funny face at Maeve.

  Isabel began draping the fabric over the window seat and let it fall in a puddle on the floor. Charlotte put Marty in the middle and tried to get him to raise his head and look up as Maeve clicked away with the Ramseys’ digital camera.

  Marty was so cute that the three couldn’t stop cooing at him.

  “Pretty doggie.”

  “Good little dude.”

  “Smart doggie.”

  It was so unusual for Marty to sit still for that long. But he seemed to enjoy the attention and the posing. It’s almost as if he knew how to be a doggie actor.

  After a few minutes, Marty was ready for a game of chase around the room. He broke away from Charlotte and shook his scarf and earmuffs off, sending them flying. Then he flung himself to the floor, flipped on his back and the duct tape gave way with a loud rip. He shook off the pink fur coat, which looked like Maeve’s slipper again once it was on the floor. Then, Marty pounced and attacked it with such ferocity that the girls went crazy.

  When the three recovered from the laugh attack that Marty’s little striptease had started, they flopped down on the floor to review the pictures on the digital camera and came up with their favorites.

  “Charlotte, could you print these, and then we can vote on them?” Maeve said.

  Silence reverberated in the Tower.

  “Don’t worry,” Maeve said. “After the election, everything is going to go back to normal and then we can find a space for Isabel in the Tower.” Maeve clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oops—sorry, Charlotte. I know you didn’t want me to say anything.”

  “That’s okay, Maeve. I talked to Isabel about it already,” Charlotte said.

  “I’m so sorry, Isabel. It’s so unfair! We’re going to make it right!” Maeve said.

  “That’s okay, Maeve,” Isabel said. “I told Charlotte I’m not one to worry about being exact or things being equally, evenly fair. Things always have a way of evening out in the end.”

  Maeve put her hands on her hips. “Oh, no! You’re not going to be all goodie-goodie about this and say you don’t need equal space.”

  Isabel shook her head. “No way…But I’ve accepted it as my challenge to find a space for me in the Tower without taking away from anyone else.”

  “Really? How’s that going to work?” Maeve asked.


  “Well, as I said, it’s a challenge…but I have some ideas. Speaking of which, I need some measurements.” Isabel pulled a tape measure from her backpack and got to work. “Actually, I’ll need some help. Charlotte, will you hold this end of the tape measure? Maeve, can you write the measurements down?”

  Maeve and Charlotte complied as she measured the floor diagonally from the corner-to-corner, then from the floor to the tip of the ceiling.

  “Thanks,” she said, taking the list of measurements from Maeve and putting the tape measure back into her bag.

  “What are you going to do? Take the top part of the room?” Maeve asked.

  A hint of smile danced across Isabel’s face as she looked up from the pad she was working on. “You’ll see,” she said mysteriously.

  Maeve and Charlotte both looked at her, both hoping for more details, but Isabel was silent.

  “I almost hate to ask, but…how are the cartoons for The Sentinel coming?” Charlotte asked.

  Isabel’s smile turned to a frown.

  “I turned in my article this morning,” Charlotte said. “I always feel so relieved when it’s done…it’s always rush, rush, rush to finish it. But once I get it done, I feel much better. What did you decide to turn in?”

  “I haven’t turned anything in yet,” Isabel said.

  “But today was your deadline!”

  “For articles…I have until tomorrow morning for cartoons.”

  “What ones are you going to turn in?” Charlotte asked.

  Isabel sighed heavily. “I’m not sure,” she said.

  Dress Rehearsal

  Katani pulled a list from her notebook, and then made a neat check next to everything she’d finished.

  Katani had finished hemming her dress that afternoon. The dress had an empire waist, made with fabric that was very soft and silky. She loved the way the fabric swirled around her knees. The color was perfect—burgundy, rust, and a sage green on a warm autumn gold background that accentuated Katani’s skin tone. The dress was perfect for the dance, but when it was time for the election results, Katani would put on the burgundy jacket she had made last month. The jacket was made of rich velvet with a scalloped, asymmetrical front with two frog closures and a three-button mandarin collar. It was the perfect complement to the dress and in an instant transformed it from a carefree party look to the elegant style of a distinguished class president.