Boiling Point (8 page)

Amanda pretended to cough to hide a laugh. This woman was too much! “We could make cupcakes,” she replied. “And even a fruit cobbler if you want something besides cupcakes.”

“How much will all this cost?” Ms. Barlow asked.

“I-I’ll have to get back to you,” Amanda told her. There was no way she was going to set a price without talking to the other girls first.

“Okay” Ms. Barlow replied. “Well, whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be just fine! It all sounds
perfecf.
I live at one twenty-four Carroll Place. Please deliver the food at four o’clock on Saturday. Good-bye.”

“Good-bye,” said Amanda, but Ms. Brenda Barlow had already hung up.

Five minutes later, the phone rang again. It was Mrs. Jamison, telling her that her neighbor. Brenda Barlow, might call to place an order. Also, Mrs., Jamison wanted to know if the girls could cook up three days’ worth of dinners and deliver them in two days. Mrs. Jamison was going to have knee surgery and wanted to have food in the house. Amanda accepted the job, thanked Mrs. Jamison, and hung up.

That’s when the phone rang for the third time.

“Hello?”

“Dear, it’s Ms. Brenda Barlow again.
Listen,”
said the woman breathlessly. “I know I said
next
weekend, but something very important has come up for next weekend, and now I need to schedule this dinner for two nights from now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Ms. Barlow, but we’ll be too busy cooking for Mrs. Jamison that day.”

There was a pause.

“Well, I’m just
desperate
for you to do it. Please! You
can’t
back out now! That wouldn’t be right, my dear. You
already
made a commitment!”

Amanda didn’t know what to say. This lady is whacked, she thought. She’s the one who changed the dates! I’m NOT going to give in to her! But Amanda’s tongue felt too big in her mouth when she tried to say no again. She’d never had to argue with an adult before—at least, not with one she didn’t know! So she finally said, “Okay,” just to get rid of Ms. Barlow. Hanging up the phone, Amanda thought,
Well, Mom is just going to have to help us with all this cooking.

That’s exactly when Mom got home from work. She taught art history at Brooklyn University.

“Hi. sweetie, do you want some lemonade? Where’s Molly?” she asked.

“Uh. She’s at—she’s with—I mean, she and Peichi are swimming. You know, at her house. I just wanted to—stay home.”

“Oh,” said Mom. “Why did you want to stay home, honey? Don’t you feel well?”

“Well, no. I mean, yes, I feel fine. I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to practice a lot today,” said Amanda lamely. She shrugged and tried to look casual. Amanda was a terrible liar. And she was also getting a sinking feeling about all the work Dish would soon have, without Shawn’s help.

“Okay,” said Mom, but she looked concerned. “Well, I’m going to change my clothes. When you’re finished practicing, come out to the garden.”

Later, in the garden with Mom. Amanda pretended to be deep in a book so that she wouldn’t have to say much. She felt like anything she said would give away Molly’s secret.
Where is she?
Amanda began to wonder, as the afternoon wore on.

Finally, Molly’s face appeared at the screen door that led to the garden. She looked pretty gloomy—not like someone who’d just had an amazing adventure.

“Hi, Molls!” said Mom.

Molly didnt say anything right away. But Amanda could tell that Molly took a deep breath before she opened the screen door.

“Hi. Mom,” Molly said, stepping outside.

“Did you swim?”

“Swim?”

“Um, I told Mom you were at Peichis.” said Amanda quickly.

“No. I wasn’t at Peichi’s.”

Mom looked surprised. Then she smiled. “Then where were you, sweetie?”

“Peichi and I went to Chinatown. On the subway. By ourselves. Even though we knew we weren’t supposed to. And then we ran into Mr. Cheng on the subway, on the way home.”

“Molly! cried Mom. Then she turned to Amanda. “Amanda! You lied to me!”

The twins looked down at the ground.

“Well, I don’t know what to say,” began Mom. She was still shocked.

Then she got mad.

“Yes, I do know what to say! Molly, you thought you were going to have big fun, didn’t you! And no one was going to find out. Well, what you did was very dangerous. And very irresponsible. And Amanda, I’m surprised at you, too. It’s not like you to lie like that.”

“Well, at least I didn’t go with them.” said Amanda meekly.

Mom didn’t even hear her. Her eyes bore down on Molly.

“Amelia, you’re grounded for a week,” stated Mom.

Amelia! Whoa! She never calls me that,
thought Molly. Amelia was her real name.

“...And that means no computer time, either,” Mom went on. “Amanda, you’re off the computer, too. And you can forget about your little shopping trips and our outings to the nail salon for a while.” Lately, Amanda and Mom had enjoyed getting manicures together at a neighborhood salon.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” said Molly, fighting back tears. “I really am.”

“Me, too, Mom,” said Amanda. “I’ll never lie to you again.

Then the worst thing happened.

Mom looked sadly at the twins and said softly, “I trusted you girls.” She coolly walked into the house as Molly jumped out of her way.

Now the twins were alone in the garden. Usually they loved hanging out there. The garden was long and narrow, made private by a high wooden fence. A one-hundred-year-old tree provided lots of shade. Colorful flowers, a picnic table, and lawn chairs made it the perfect summer hangout. But right now the garden just seemed lonely.

“Oh! This is such a drag,” moaned Molly. “Mom’s never gonna trust me again.”

“All you think about is yourself!” snapped Amanda. “Look at me. I’m in trouble, too. Because I lied for you.”

“Well,” countered Molly, “you didn’t have to lie for me.

“Didn’t—didn’t
have
to!” sputtered Amanda. “Well, don’t worry—I never will again. But now I’m really in trouble. Because we got two cooking jobs today while you and Peichi were running around Chinatown. And I’ll bet Peichi gets grounded, too, so we’ve lost her, and we’ve lost Shawn, and guess what? We have to do it all. And there’s no way Mom will help us now.” She folded her arms over her chest and stormed out of the garden, leaving Molly all by herself.

Molly and Amanda weren’t able to go online. Shawn, of course, didn’t know that.

“M
om, can you please help us?” asked Amanda late that night. “I’m really sorry for lying to you. But now we have all this work, and I have no idea how we’ll get it done. Peichi is grounded, too, and Shawn’s gone.

“Sorry, Amanda, but I think you will have to work this out on your own,” replied Mom. “You should never assume that I can help you. You know I love to cook with you girls every chance I can get, but you need to ask me first. I’m very busy with my own work right now. Dish is your business, and you need to learn what the responsibilities of having a business are all about.”

“Yeah, I know, but I didn’t think Molly and Peichi would be grounded.”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” said Mom firmly. “If you’re going to have a business, you all have to behave in a way that won’t hurt your business.”

Amanda sighed. Deep down, she knew Mom was right.

The next morning, as Molly practiced the piano, Amanda took her parents’ work clothes to the dry cleaners down the street. She did it as a favor to Mom, to try to get back on her good side. Plus, she really needed to go outside. At least she was allowed to get out of the house—unlike Molly!

As she walked home, she daydreamed about what she could say to get out of the two cooking jobs.