My New Best Friend (7 page)

"I'll keep that in mind," the driver replies, stuffing the note into her pocket.

I glance down the street again. Jenna is getting closer. Red face. Green braids flying.

"Will you be joining us today?" the bus driver calls down to me.

I glance up at her. "Um ... yes. It's just that Jenna is running ... a little late."

The driver glances down the street and sees Jenna. She toots the bus horn, like that is going to help the situation.

I keep waiting at the bottom of the steps until, finally, Jenna runs up behind me, breathing hard. Her braids look fuzzier than usual. Like she wore them to bed last night and then her mom didn't have time to rebraid them this morning. She's also wearing a new T-shirt. I know it's new because there's still a sticker on the sleeve that says clearance: $4.99. There's a nymph drawn on the shirt, but it's small and off to one side because most of the shirt is filled up by a big, puffy fish. now that's a big fish story! is printed under the fish in letters that look like fishhooks.

"Nice ... um ... shirt," I say.

Jenna just pushes past me and climbs onto the bus.

Our bus gets to school later than usual, so there isn't time to meet Stacey at the broken water fountain. And I don't get to spend any recess time with just her because Jenna keeps a tight leash on the nymphs all day, reminding us to do good deeds and promising a special prize at our meeting after dance today.

During cleanup at the end of the day, Mr. Crow lets all the dancers go to the bathroom and change into their dance clothes. That includes all of the girls, except me and Randi. And none of the boys, except Tom Sanders.

When the girls get back, everyone looks different. Brooke has her long hair bunched up in a pink scrunchy and she's wearing a pink leotard and pink warm-up pants. Meeka and Jolene have matching ponytails, sparkly purple leotards, and purple warm-up pants. Jenna has pinned her green braids to the top of her head. Her new orange leotard with the exploding fireworks peeks out from under her hoodie. Stacey's curly hair looks just the same, but she's wearing a black leotard and matching pants.

When the last bell rings, Jenna gets us all organized for the walk to Miss Woo's. She must have her good-deed radar turned up full blast because she marches ahead of the pack, picking up
candy wrappers, rescuing a ball from a prickly bush for a little kid, and helping Mrs. Eddy walk across Birch Street.

"I'm quite capable of crossing the street by myself," Mrs. Eddy tells Jenna.

"I'm happy to help," Jenna replies, pulling her along.

When we get to the park, Randi takes off for the basketball court. "Holler when it's nymph time!" she yells as she dribbles away. I stop by a bench near the playground. "I'll wait for you guys here," I say.

Stacey stops, too. "Why don't you come with and watch us dance?" she asks.

I think about sitting at Miss Woo's watching Stacey and the other girls dance. I think about them twirling and pointing and pliéing around. Then I think about them whispering and giggling between dances and Stacey telling me later what they were whispering and giggling about, only it won't seem so funny the second time around.

I sit down on the bench. "I'm good," I say. "I want to work on a new drawing anyway." I slip off my backpack, unzip it, and pull out my sketchbook and a pencil.

Stacey gives me a smile. "Okay," she says. "We'll be back before you know it!" Then she hurries to catch up with the others.

"I'll be waiting," I say.

I look around the playground for something good to draw. Some little kids are getting pushed on the swings. Bigger kids dangle from the monkey bars. Several moms are talking at a picnic table while their babies swap soggy cheerios from their strollers. Randi shoots hoops with some sixth graders on the basketball court. A squirrel darts in and out of a nearby bush.

"Will you watch this for me?" I hear someone say.

I look up and see a girl standing next to me. She pulls a wad of purple gum out of her mouth.

"Huh?" I say.

"We're not allowed to chew gum on the playground," she says, pointing to a sign that reads, no gum, dogs, or rollerblades on the equipment. She sticks the gum on the bench next to me. "Thanks," she says and runs off. A moment later she's hanging upside down from the monkey bars.

The squirrel reappears with half a granola bar in its mouth.

"Friend of Jenna's?" I ask.

The squirrel doesn't answer. It just flicks its fluffy tail into a question mark and watches me with one beady eye. Then it takes the granola bar in its tiny doll hands and bites off the edges with its sharp, pointy teeth.

I glance at my muddy sneakers, which are just one shade away from a granola bar. I pull my feet up onto the bench, check on the gum, and start drawing.

First, I draw a face with beady eyes and sharp, pointy teeth. I give it fuzzy braids. And a furry body with a fluffy tail. I dress it in a fish shirt. And size six sneakers.

It's good, but it's just my warm-up drawing.

On the other side of the page I draw a girl with curly hair and dark eyes and no sharp teeth at all. I give her feathery arms, like bird wings, and long legs that could kick her to the sky.

"Thanks," I hear someone say.

I look up and see gum girl standing next to me. She pulls her purple wad off the bench and pops it back into her mouth.

"You're welcome," I reply.

"Who's that?" she asks, snooping at my sketchbook.

"My best friend," I say, looking at my drawing of Stacey.

"Which one?" she asks. "The one with braids or the one with curls?"

"The one with
curls,
" I say, pointing.

"Then who's the one with braids?" she asks.

"That's ... someone else," I say.

"Not your friend?"

"Not exactly," I reply, checking my watch.

Gum girl studies the drawings some more. "You did that one better," she says, poking the page with her sticky finger.

She skips away.

I look at the page.

And see a purple smudge on a fuzzy braid.

The squirrel has finished its granola bar and moved on to soggy Cheerios by the time the dancers get back. Randi sees them coming and catches up. Meeka and Jolene do a little hop-skip-jump together as they come down the path toward me. Brooke is batting away bugs. Stacey is practicing some dance move she probably just learned. Jenna is talking constantly even though no one seems to be listening.

"Miss Woo even let me borrow her Greek music CD!" I hear Jenna say as they get closer.

Stacey does a graceful spin and lands next to me on the bench. Jenna plops down beside her and pulls a clipboard out of her backpack. "My parents are going to
love
this," she says, scribbling notes on the clipboard.

"Love what?" I ask.

"The dance we're going to do for Greek Day," Jenna says.

"Oh, I know!" Jolene chimes in, sitting down on the grass. "Let's make up a dance about that goofy boy who built wings with
wax
and then tried to fly to the sun." She laughs. "Typical."

Meeka laughs, too, and sits down next to Jolene. "Or the one about the wicked goddess who left a golden apple at a party and—"

"I'm gonna be a cyclops," Randi cuts in. "With Rusty. We're gonna glue a googly eye on our forehead and tell jokes."

"Fine," Jenna says, looking up from her clipboard, "but you're going to be in my dance, too. All the do-good nymphs are." She glances at Meeka and Jolene. "And I've already decided which myth we'll do."

"Which one?" Stacey asks.

"We're going to dance the myth about Gaia, goddess of the Earth, and how she saved her grandson, Zeus, from being eaten by his father," Jenna replies. "I've still got my Gaia costume from Brooke's party, so I'll be her." She makes another note on her clipboard.

"His father wanted to
eat
him?" Brooke says. She wrinkles her nose like a bug flew up it.

Jenna gives Brooke a look. "Don't you
ever
pay attention in class? Old lady Eddy told us that myth when she subbed for Mr. Crow. First, Zeus's dad ate his five oldest children, then he got tricked into eating a goat and a stone. He would have eaten Zeus, too, only I came along and saved the day."

Brooke shrugs. "Sounds like a fantasy."

I snort. "Sounds like a stomachache."

Randi looks up from dribbling ants. "I'll be Zeus!" she shouts.

Jenna shakes her head. "In this myth Zeus is only a baby. I need someone smaller." Jenna thinks for a moment. "Tom Sanders is the smallest kid in our class. Plus, he knows how to dance. I'll tell him to be Zeus." Jenna makes another note on her clipboard.

"Then I'll be his father!" Randi says. She picks up her basketball, brushes off the squished ants, and stuffs it under her shirt. She groans like she just ate five children, a goat, and a rock. "See?" she says, poking her belly. "I got
my
costume, too!"

Everyone laughs. Except Jenna. "Fine," she says. "You can be the father. Wear a toga over your basketball."

"What's a toga?" Brooke asks.

"It's Greek for bedsheet," I reply.

"What about me?" Stacey asks.

Jenna turns to Stacey. "You'll be a nymph." Then she looks at Brooke, Meeka, and Jolene. "So will you. After I hide baby Zeus in a cave, you have to take care of him."

"But I'm allergic to mold," Brooke says, swatting at a fly. "And caves are famous for it." She gives Jenna a sideways sneer. "Or don't you
ever
pay attention in science?"

Jenna rolls her eyes. "Not a
real
cave, Brooke. "We're going to use—"

"What about Ida?" Randi cuts in, drumming her basketball belly. "She still needs a part."

Jenna grins. "That's what I'm getting at. I have the
perfect
part for Ida."

I gulp.

"What?" the others ask, even though I'm perfectly happy not knowing what Jenna has in mind.

"Ida will be the
place
where I hide Zeus!" Jenna replies.

I give Jenna a very serious squint. "The
place?
"

Jenna nods. "I hide Zeus in a cave on
Mount Ida.
Isn't that perfect?"

"I can't be a
mountain!
" I say.

"Of course you can," Jenna says back. "All you have to do is stand still while we dance around you."

"Won't people wonder why she's just
standing
there?" Stacey asks.

"Of course not," Jenna replies. "It will be obvious she's part of the scenery when they see her costume."

"Um ... excuse me," I say. "I'm all out of mountain costumes."

"No, you're not," Jenna says. "Just paint a mountain on a box. Put it on. You're Mount Ida."

"I have to wear ... a
box?
"

"Yes," Jenna says. "Like you wore to Brooke's party, remember? Only bigger, so Zeus can fit inside, too."

"Huh?"

Jenna taps her pen impatiently on her clipboard. "I hide Zeus in a
cave
on Mount Ida," she
explains. "That's why Zeus has to be someone small, like Tom. He has to fit inside the box with you."

I jump up and punch my fists into my hips. "I am
not
wearing a box with a boy!" I shout.

I hear a gasp from the other girls.

Jenna's jaw tightens and her eyes narrow like fishhooks. "Fine," she says. "I'll make Rachel be Zeus. She's small and she's a girl."

"Rachel isn't in our class," I say. "And this is a clas—"

"My mother is still the PTA president, even though she's had to miss some meetings lately," Jenna interrupts. "If I say Rachel will be Zeus, then Rachel will be Zeus."

Jenna goes back to her clipboard.

I sink down on the bench and think about the box costume I wore to Brooke's party. I think about being mistaken for an end table and having punch cups piled on me. Then I think about wearing a box that's painted like a mountain. And standing there in front of my whole class. And all of our parents. And of Rachel squeezing inside it with me.

"But—," I start to say.

"Now that we've got
that
settled," Jenna continues, "it's time for our club meeting."

Jenna hooks her pen on her clipboard. "First, we need to award leaves for all our good deeds. Whoever gets the most leaves wins the special prize!"

Jenna sets down her clipboard and marches over to a bush. She starts yanking off leaves.

"What
is
the special prize?" Randi asks, scooting in next to Brooke on the bench. She rests an elbow on her basketball belly and starts picking at a scab. Each time she flicks a scab bit, Brooke flinches.

"You'll see," Jenna says, walking back to us with her handful of leaves. "I'll go first. 1. I picked up litter. 2. I got some kid her ball. 3. I helped old lady Eddy cross the street." Jenna pulls three leaves from her fist and sticks them in her green braids.

"Your turn, Stacey," Jenna says.

Stacey thinks for a minute. "Let's see ... I helped Mr. Crow correct some papers," she says. "And I gave Ida my brownie at lunch." Stacey gives me a smile.

Jenna frowns and gives Stacey two leaves. "Put them in your hair, like me," she says.

Stacey sticks the leaves in her curls. Then she turns to me. "You're next, Ida."

"Um...," I say, trying to think of something good I did today. All I can think of is making the bus driver wait for Jenna and I don't think she'll be handing over any leaves for that.

"Hurry up," Jenna says. "We don't have all day."

I fidget, thinking. "Um ... I watched gum."

"You
what?
" Jenna says.

I sit up a little. "I watched some girl's gum while she hung on the monkey bars. Saving her from a potential choking hazard."

"Wow," Jolene says. "I think saving someone from a potential choking hazard is worth
two
leaves!"

Meeka nods. "I think it's worth
three!
"

Brooke and Stacey nod, too. Randi gives me a drum roll on her belly.

Jenna just scowls and pulls one leaf from her fist. "One good deed,
one
leaf," she says. "That's the rule."

"Since when?" Brooke asks.

"Since now," Jenna says. "All in favor say, 'Aye.'"