Authors: Laurie Friedman

Can You Say Catastrophe? (8 page)

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

âAlphonse Karr

Wednesday, July 17, 10:54 P.M.
Brynn's birthday

Today was Brynn's thirteenth birthday, which she celebrated at the Love Doctor Diner. I still can't believe that's where she ended up celebrating her birthday. It worked out in a funny way.

It started this morning when I called Brynn to wish her happy birthday. She was telling me that her mom said she can have a party when school starts, because it was hard to plan something for her while she was away at camp.

I said, “It's too bad we can't have a party for you on your birthday.”

June heard me say that, and of course she repeated what I said to Mom, who told Dad, who called Brynn's mom and said that it would be fun to celebrate Brynn's birthday at the diner. So that's what we did. Dad closed up early and we had a surprise celebration in honor of Brynn at the Love Doctor Diner.

Brynn and her mom and dad were there, and Billy and his family, and Mom and Dad and May and June and me. Dad served all of the Love Doctor Diner specialties: Fried chicken, potato salad, deviled eggs, biscuits, and shrimp and grits.

Mom made Brynn a “Birthday Girl” T-shirt and matching hat, which she insisted that Brynn put on.

I was a little embarrassed about the T-shirt and hat thingâthough Mom has definitely made worse. But Brynn was a good sport. She even went along with things when May picked her up by the legs and said she was going to hold her in the air for thirteen minutes, one minute for every year of her life.

I guess the idea of it was really funny to May, who was laughing like a crazy person which made June do the same thing. It was mortifying, but also kind of funny, so I just shrugged my shoulders and made a kids-will-be-kids face.

I thought it was a cool way to handle things.

Mom seemed to think so too, because she put her arm around me and said something very parental about how I have shown a great deal of growth and maturity over the summer. Fortunately when she finished saying it, she told May to put Brynn down.

When dinner was over, Dad brought out a pie with candles in it and we all sang “Happy Birthday” to Brynn.

Brynn said celebrating her birthday with her friends and family at the Love Doctor Diner was great, and for the most part, I thought it was fun too. But it made me think a lot about the last time I was there with all of them, at the grand opening.

So many things have changed since that night.

At the grand opening, there wasn't one part of me that wanted to be at the diner. I didn't want to wear the jacket Mom made or serve pie to people I know or be any part of a crazy, themed restaurant smack in the middle of town. I didn't want anything to do with my family, and then Billy kissed me, and then Matt kissed me, and the next thing I knew I was stuck at home for the summer babysitting my sisters and going on a family vacation I didn't want to go on.

It's weird that my brain was so obsessed this summer with Billy and Brynn and Matt and what they were all thinking.

Now it all seems so silly. Things with Billy and Brynn are better than ever. Dad was right when he said I should trust my friends. Brynn is an amazing friend and Billy is an amazing boyfriend. In a month and a half I'm starting eighth grade, and Brynn says it is even more exciting to have a boyfriend in eighth grade than it is at camp. I guess we'll see (though I never did get to try it at camp). Even though a lot happened this summer, Billy, Brynn, and I are still the Three Musketeers, and hopefully, that's what we'll always be.

And then there's Matt. I spent so much time worrying about what he thought of me. All I wanted to do was look and sound cool around him. But I have Billy, and it feels right. Tonight I was just happy to be at the diner with the people I love most.

Which I have to admit, besides my friends, is my family. Things with them definitely improved over the summer. I mean, they're as weird as ever. But I think maybe I'm different. I've been trying to be more patient, especially with May and June. Mom said one day they'll grow up and I won't recognize them. I asked her if that was a promise.

I think Mom and Dad have been trying too. They still say stuff that gets on my nerves, but I think they're starting to get the idea that I'm a teenager now.

And even though so much changed this summer, some things stayed the same.

As we were all leaving the diner tonight, Brynn stuck a pretend microphone in my face and said, “Tell us, April Sinclair, as an experienced thirteen year old, do you have any advice for the birthday girl?”

It was so Brynn-like. I had to think about my answer. I decided to keep it short and sweet. “If you don't want something to go up in smoke, don't hold it too close to a flame.” I glanced over at Billy, and he winked at me.

I still can't believe my friends were at camp without me. One thing I can say for sure is that I never EVER want to miss camp again. But I can also say that even though the summer didn't turn out the way I planned, I think it worked out exactly the way it was supposed to.

Acknowledgments

This book was written with the help of so many people.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank my family. To my parents, Kenneth and Annette Baim, and my sisters, Leigh Mansberg and Karen Reagler: You have given me a lifetime of love, laughter, tears, and memories. For all of that and more, I am eternally grateful.

To my wonderful agent, Susan Cohen of the Gersh Agency: all my thanks for all you do (and you do a lot)!

To my amazing editor, Anna Cavallo, and the rest of the incredibly incredible team at Lerner: from start to finish, thank you for all you've done every step of the way.

To Gloria Rothstein, an amazing friend and a meticulously careful reader: thank you, thank you, thank you! (I can't thank you enough!)

To all the students at all the schools I have visited: Thanks for all your input over the years. I hope you've learned even a fraction as much from me as I've learned from you.

And of course, my deepest thanks to my children, Becca and Adam, and to Albert. I love you all with all my heart.

About the Author

Laurie Friedman can sympathize with April Sinclair. Ms. Friedman grew up in a small town in the South; she had two little sisters, a mom who made a lot of her clothes, and a dad who gave a lot of advice; and the summer she turned thirteen, she went on a family vacation while her best friends went away to camp. If you were to ask her parents, they would say that her attitude at thirteen was a lot like April's. If you were to ask Ms. Friedman, she would say that although she didn't want to go on the trip her family took that summer, it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Laurie Friedman has written more than thirty books for young readers. She is the author of the award-winning Mallory series as well as many picture books, including
I'm Not Afraid of This Haunted House
;
Love, Ruby Valentine
;
Thanksgiving Rules
; and
Back-to-School Rules.
She lives in Miami with her family. You can find Laurie B. Friedman on Facebook or visit her on the web at
www.lauriebfriedman.com
.

When
LAURIE FRIEDMAN
was thirteen, her parents nixed her plans to go to summer camp with friends. Instead, they bought an RV and packed up Laurie and her little sisters for a two-week family getaway. She says the best thing about the trip was that it gave her lots of material to write about.

Ms. Friedman is also the author of the popular Mallory series and several picture books. She lives in Florida with her family.

Jacket illustration by Ali Douglass