Ghost Town (5 page)

“Two cookies for fifty cents a piece? That'll be one dollar, please,” Avery calculated, putting her hand out to a high school couple on their way into the movie theater.

“Guys, the movie is starting in two minutes,” Maeve announced to some of their seventh-grade classmates, who were crowding around the treats at the table. “You better hurry . . . you don't want to miss the previews!”

“Can I have some more pink lemonade? This stuff rocks! What did you put in it?” Dillon asked.

Katani and Charlotte shared a look. They had used Grandma Ruby's lemonade recipe, which had been passed on from
her
grandmother. What they had put in it was strawberries, which sweetened the drink without overwhelming the natural lemon flavor.

“It's a family recipe . . . top secret,” Katani smiled.

Avery was glad that so many kids from their class had shown up for the first show. Scott assured her that even more kids from the high school would be there for the second show.

“Come on, guys, you need to get in there,” Maeve directed her classmates. “The movie is
starting
. I hate it
when people come in late. It wrecks the whole mood of the thea-
tour
,” Maeve complained dramatically.

“Chill out, Kaplan-Taylor. We're sitting in the balcony, so we won't wreck anything—I swear. You guys want to come too?” Billy Trentini asked the girls behind the table.

“We have a little cleaning up to do and then we have to set up for intermission and the second movie,” Katani said. “But go on in. Enjoy the show.” Kgirl was all business.

“One more cupcake for the road!” Riley Lee declared. He grabbed a chocolate cupcake and shoved a dollar bill in Avery's direction.

“As class president, I think I should get a free cup-cake,” piped in Henry Yurt, aka the Yurtmeister.

“Hmm, I guess so,” Isabel said. She opened her sketchbook and quickly drew a picture of a Yurtbird with a cup-cake in his beak. She ripped the piece of paper out and handed it to Henry. “Here you go!” she said. “A free cup-cake for the president.”

Henry held the drawing to his chest and pretended to swoon. “I will cherish it forever!” he promised.

Maeve leaned over and whispered to Isabel, “There goes our president—fearless leader and hopeless romantic!”

Isabel giggled and pushed back her long, dark hair. “Wow, what a big crowd! My arm is hurting from all that salsa scooping, and we've still got a long way to go. Elena said that most of her high school class is coming to the second show.”

“Time to clean up, Team Cowgirl!” Maeve announced, adjusting her cowgirl hat and doing a little spin in her
boots.
Only Maeve could pull off an outfit like that
, thought Charlotte.

The girls heard the slamming of car doors outside and saw a group of people moving toward the ticket counter. “Wait a minute, guys,” Avery said, uncovering the baskets of tortilla chips. “Last-minute surge.”

A crowd of about twenty kids filed into the Movie House, tickets in hand.

Charlotte elbowed Avery. “Warning! QOM alert,” she whispered, just loud enough for all the BSG to hear.

The five girls looked up to see Anna McMasters and Joline Kaminsky, Abigail Adams Junior High's resident Queens of Mean, coming their way.

Avery straightened her bandana as they approached. Maeve had decided that if they weren't all going to dress up, they could at least wear Charlotte's red bandanas around their necks, cowboy-style.

Anna and Joline approached the table and sniffed tentatively at the food.

“Would you like a mocha chocolate chunk cupcake?” Isabel asked, trying her best to be polite. It wasn't easy, though. Anna and Joline were definitely the meanest girls she knew.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Anna replied with a snort. “I
never
eat bake sale food—it's way too sketchy!”

“Then move along.” Charlotte waved her hand. “You're holding up the line.”

Anna's mouth dropped open, and Avery thought the girl might actually faint. Charlotte was usually very shy when it came to the QOM.

As soon as Avery collected money and distributed change to the last group of moviegoers, she turned to Charlotte. “
Move along
? You're holding up the
line
? Where did
that
come from? Ten points for Charlotte Ramsey . . . zinger of the week!”

“Did you see the look on Anna's face?” Katani asked, clapping her hands together. “Priceless!” She gave Avery a high five.

“Way to put those two in their place!” Avery gloated.

After they all had a good laugh, it was time to get back to business. “All right, let's take inventory,” Katani said.

“And clean up,” Charlotte added, running the sweeper over the lobby's red and gold carpet.

“Avery and I can count the money drawer,” Katani offered, pulling out her calculator.

“We definitely need more chips. Thankfully, Elena Maria made more salsa than we asked her to,” Isabel said as she ripped open a new bag of tortilla chips.

“I can call my mom and ask her to pick up some more chips for the second show,” Avery said, as she stacked quarters in piles of four.

Katani was busy counting the bills. When she was done she recounted them—just to be safe—and a wide smile spread across her face.

“I don't believe this!” Katani shouted.

“What?” Maeve asked, completely startled by Katani's sudden outburst.

“What is it, Katani?” Isabel demanded.

“We've already made two hundred and seventy-five dollars! Even if the second show is half what the first show
was, we'll still have more than enough. Maeve and Isabel, there's no doubt about it—we're ALL going to Montana!”

The music from the opening credits drifted out the theater doors and came to a well-timed crescendo.

“All for one. And one for all!” Avery shouted.

“Yeeeeee haaaaawww!” Maeve cried, tossing her cow-girl hat in the air.

Fashionista Katani found herself ooohing and ahhhing when Maeve bounced out the door of her apartment and onto the sidewalk outside the Movie House, where a van stuffed with the BSG, Mr. Ramsey, and all their luggage was waiting. “And you were freaking out about what to wear! You look like you stepped right out of the Sundance Film Festival!” Katani exclaimed. “I'm very impressed!”

Isabel was instantly drawn to Maeve's sensational pink outfit—scrunched magenta suede boots over pale pink tights and a multipink plaid mini skirt with a swingy bubble hem. She wore a classic white shirt under her pink and burgundy plaid wool jacket. The ensemble was topped off with a newsboy hat that matched the plaid jacket.

Maeve was totally put together in a head-to-toe “look at me” way that only she could pull off.

“Check it out! Cool redhead in pink!” Katani called.

Maeve grinned as she spun around like she was posing for a camera.

“If I were a fashion editor, that's the caption I'd write under your picture,” Charlotte added, giving Katani an approving nod.

Avery was the only one who seemed unimpressed by Maeve's outfit. “Geez, Maeve. Looks like you fell into a bottle of Pepto Bismol,” she joked. “Ew . . . you know, that stuff people take when their stomach is upset?”

Maeve pretended to look furious as she hopped into the van. “Thanks a lot.”

Avery laughed and threw her arm over her friend's shoulder as the van rumbled through the famous Callahan tunnel on the way to Logan Airport.

When they arrived, Maeve strutted through the lobby like a Hollywood starlet with her own personal entourage. After lots of walking, waiting, and standing in line, the BSG finally made it to the gate just in time to board the plane. Charlotte and her dad had seats in business class (courtesy of the magazine), while Avery, Maeve, and Isabel shared a row in coach with Katani just across the aisle.

Maeve and Katani were the only two who had never been on a plane before, but both insisted they didn't want the window seat. “I can't. I just can't! I'll seriously freak,” Maeve squeaked. Poor Maeve gripped both armrests during takeoff and looked a ghostly shade of white.

“Are you okay?” Isabel asked above the roar of the engines as the plane lifted off the runway.

“Uh-huh . . . super!” Maeve answered with a nervous laugh. But when the pilot came on the intercom and
announced they were flying at 30,000 feet, a look of complete horror struck her face.

“Thirty thousand feet?! But that's impossible!” Maeve insisted. “Isn't that too high? How can we breathe?” she asked, putting her hands over her lungs and gasping for air.

“Shhhhh.” Isabel patted Maeve's arm. “It's okay, Maeve. Just, um, breathe normally. See? Like everyone else. People fly every day.”

Maeve looked around and slowly calmed down a bit. But when the plane hit a patch of turbulence over the Great Lakes, she totally lost it.

“Why is the plane shaking? We're going down!” Maeve shrieked. “I've got to call my parents and tell them I love them!”

Katani ducked her head into her magazine as other passengers craned their necks to check out the commotion Maeve was causing.

“Maeve, relax. It's just turbulence,” Avery interrupted. “It's a normal part of flying.”

“Turbulence?” Maeve sniffed fearfully. “That sounds like a bad thing.”

“It's air currents,” Katani explained. “Simple science.”

“Well, it feels like we're being sucked into a tornado. Are we falling? It feels like we're falling!” Maeve grabbed Isabel's arm and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Geez, Maeve, relax,” Avery said. “This is nothing. You should try visiting my dad in Colorado. Flying through those mountains is like a roller coaster ride.”

Isabel gave Avery a stern look. Sensitivity wasn't always Avery's strong point.

“Excuse me, miss. May I bring you something?” a passing flight attendant offered.

“How about a train ride to Montana instead?” Maeve tried to laugh.

“Oh, don't worry. Everything is fine,” the flight attendant assured Maeve as she patted her shoulder and handed her a bottle of water.

“Take deep breaths,” Isabel suggested after the flight attendant continued down the aisle.

Maeve gasped dramatically a few times. “I can't breathe. Are you sure we have oxygen? My head is spinning. Can't you feel it, Isabel? This is it! I know it is!”

“Shhh,” Katani whispered from across the aisle. “Maeve, you have got to chill out!”

“Excuse me, young lady?” The girls looked up to see a very handsome man in uniform standing in the aisle between them.

“I wanted to give you my personal assurance that the plane is completely, a hundred percent safe.” The man smiled as he kneeled next to Maeve's seat. “Part of my job as copilot is to stay in contact with the tower and air traffic control. We can change our altitude to avoid bad weather. No need to worry about a thing.”

Maeve began to breathe more normally and loosened her grip on the armrest.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

Maeve nodded and flashed him a sheepish grin.

He offered his hand and Maeve shook it.

“I'm Captain Aaron Olcrest. It was very nice meeting you, Miss . . .”

“Uhh . . . Maeve Kaplan-Taylor,” Maeve blurted.

“Okay, then, Maeve Kaplan-Taylor. I hope you enjoy the rest of your flight.” He gave Maeve's hand a friendly squeeze and tipped his hat.

Isabel looked at Maeve, who flashed the copilot a dazzling smile.

After he left, Maeve relaxed back into her seat and fanned her face with her in-flight magazine. “His cologne was intoxicating,” she yawned before falling asleep on Isabel's shoulder.

After they deplaned, the BSG made their way into the small Bozeman, Montana airport. Inside the terminal, they made a beeline for the bathroom, while Mr. Ramsey stood guard over their belongings. “You can freshen up, girls, but be quick about it.” Mr. Ramsey tapped his watch. “Regional airports are usually pretty fast with the luggage.”

As they left the restroom, the girls stopped at the window to take a look around at the Montana scene. Most of the people at the airport were in jeans and plaid shirts, and some were even wearing cowboy hats and boots. Maeve clearly stood out in her pink creation and seemed to drink in the attention—in the form of stares—she was getting from other people around her. In fact, she was beaming. It was as if she thought everyone in the airport was part of her personal fan club.

“Wow,” Avery marveled, looking at the dramatic scenery outside the large windows. “Those mountains are huge!”

“I think those are the Bridger Mountains,” Charlotte informed her. “And those are the Spanish Peaks,” she continued, pointing. “That's where the resort is. I looked it up online.”

“Cool!” Avery responded, pressing her face against the window to get a full view of the mountain ranges. The white-capped peaks sprang up from the valley floor and seemed to go on in both directions indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Maeve was distracted by a different sort of view. “What do you think
that's
about?” she whispered to Katani, directing her attention to their right.

Katani looked to where Maeve was pointing. Mr. Ramsey, surrounded by all their carry-on bags, was talking to a woman in a snappy leopard print coat.

“She's pretty!” Isabel blurted.

“Looks like
someone
has found something
other
than the beautiful scenery to admire,” Maeve said in a singsong voice.

Katani sighed. “Maeve, you have a one-track mind. Just because Mr. Ramsey is talking to a woman doesn't mean anything.”

“We'll
see
,” Maeve replied, giving Katani a meaningful look.