Ivy and Bean Doomed to Dance (7 page)

“And quiet. Fish are very quiet.” Bean pictured herself drifting off to sleep with fish swirling around her. It would be nice. “It’ll be like sleeping on a boat.”

Ivy rubbed her hands together. “In this book I read, the kids filled their clarinet cases with extra underwear, but we’ll use our backpacks.”

“My backpack is pretty big.”

“We should bring jackets, too. And money. In the book, they brought all their money.”

“Why do we need money if we’re going to scrape it out of the fountain?” asked Bean. “Besides, I only have four dollars and some coins.”

“I’ve got twenty-six and some coins,” said Ivy. “But I don’t want to spend it. I’m saving for a glass doll.”

“There will be plenty of money in the fountain,” Bean decided.

“And we’ll get clean at the same time,” said Ivy.

“Boy,” Bean said, shaking her head. “It’s too bad I wasted all that time worrying.”

Somehow, knowing that they were going to run away made ballet class better. “Still not good,” said Bean. “But better.”

“I don’t know,” said Ivy. She was watching Dulcie do an arabesque. An arabesque was when you stretched out one arm and one leg at the same time. Arabesques made Ivy fall over. Dulcie could arabesque all day long. “Bet she puts glue on her shoes,” muttered Ivy.

“Very nice, Dulcie,” said Madame Joy.

“Thank you, Madame Jwah!” said Dulcie.

Now instead of being butterflies at the end of ballet class, they practiced “Wedding Beneath the Sea.” Dulcie swayed and kitty-jumped and fluttered her fingers. Two starfish girls twirled with their arms out. Two seahorse girls galloped in and out of the starfish. Two tuna girls glided together across the floor. Ivy and Bean, the friendly squids, stayed in one place and waved their arms.

“Call this dancing?” Bean whispered. “This is standing.”

“Enter the prince!” cried Madame Joy.

The prince was a girl wearing a black leotard and a red hat that looked like a tiny pillowcase. The prince was the second-crummiest part in “Wedding Beneath the Sea,” but it was way better than being a friendly squid. The prince at least got to leap. The prince-girl leaped toward Dulcie while Dulcie fluttered away. Then the prince got down on one knee and waved her arms at Dulcie. Then Dulcie nodded, and all the other fishy things got in a circle and danced around them. Except the two friendly squids. Madame Joy said they were like doormen. They guarded the entrance to the mermaid palace.

Finally Madame Joy clapped her hands. Class was over. For Ivy and Bean, it was especially over. Next week they’d be living at the aquarium.

Ivy grinned at Bean. “Bye-bye, ballet,” she whispered.

“Down with squids!” Bean whispered back. The night before the field trip Bean filled her backpack with useful items. Band-Aids? Check. Pencil? Check. String? Check. Underwear? Check. Bag of salt? Check. Nancy had told her once that all you needed to stay alive was salt and water. Bean figured there would be plenty of water at the aquarium.

Bean zipped her backpack closed. She looked around her room. It seemed like she should be discussing important things with Ivy. She couldn’t think of any important things, but she called Ivy anyway.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

“Who’s this?” said Ivy.

“Bean!”

“Oh. Hi, Bean,” said Ivy. She didn’t like talking on the phone. “What do you want?”

“Are you ready? Say ten-four if you are.”

“Say what?” asked Ivy.

“Ten-four,” said Bean.

“Fourteen,” said Ivy.

“No! It means yes,” said Bean.

“Yes what?”

“Ivy! Yes, I’m ready!” yelled Bean.

“Oh. I’m ready, too. Good-bye.” Ivy hung up.

Forget it. Bean went back to her room. It was almost bedtime, which meant it was almost morning, which meant it was almost running-away time. Bean could hardly wait.

VERY FISHY

Ms. Aruba-Tate’s class swarmed off the bus. They were proud. Their bus behavior had been excellent, if you didn’t count Marga-Lee and Dusit.

They stampeded up the stairs toward the aquarium’s front door. Who would get there first? Who would be the best?

“Boys and girls! Stop!” hollered Ms. Aruba-Tate. They stopped. Ms. Aruba-Tate didn’t holler very often. “Boys and girls! Stay where you are! Don’t move! Stay with your buddy! Try to stay together!”

The white marble patio outside the aquarium was full of hollering teachers and wandering kids. There were kids sliding down the handrail on the stairs. There were boys throwing their backpacks at each other. There were girls walking along the rim of the fountain. All the teachers were trying to get all the kids to stand still. What a nuthouse, thought Bean.

“Boys and girls! Follow me!” shouted Ms. Aruba-Tate. “Stay with your buddy!”

Linking arms, Ivy and Bean climbed the stairs toward the big golden doors.

“Our new home,” Bean whispered.

They went inside. The aquarium was big and dim, with dark hallways like arms leading off in many directions. It was sort of greenish all over, and even with hundreds of kids wandering around, it was quiet.