Mixed Messages (8 page)

“Just a second,” Zee called back. Then she said to Ally, “I'm just going to send Jasper a thank-you gift for making Bluetopia.”

“I'll start setting the table,” Ally said.

As Ally headed to the door, Zee sent Jasper a red rose. Almost immediately, he sent one back. And her heart began to pound—just like it used to when Landon was near her. But this was her good friend Jasper! Zee was confused.

It was time for another blog entry.

 

Hi, Bloggoni,

Did you miss me? JK.

Can I have a crush on my friend? I've always thought of Jasper as my boy friend, not my boyfriend. Now something feels totally different. I mean, from the time I met him, I thought he was great. He's super-talented and he really cares about the environment. He's also funny (even though I don't think he's always trying to be). And he has an awesome accent. But all that stuff describes Chloe, too. So what's the difference? It all started with Bluetopia. But Bluetopia is not real. Sort of. I mean, it's a virtual world. Gifts aren't real. Money isn't real. I'm worried that I just like him because he created this really cool website. Maybe it's not a real crush, either.

Zee

 

“Zee!” Ally called from downstairs. “Dinner!”

“Coming!” Zee shouted back. She shut down her computer and hurried out of her room.

Chapter 6
Bluetopia Blowup!

L
ook!” Zee shouted as she and Ally got out of Adam's red subcompact before school on Tuesday morning. “There are Chloe and Jasper.” She pointed across the Brookdale Academy parking lot.

“Hey! Wait for us!” Ally called out to their best friends, then hurried over.

“Did you get the hug I sent you this morning?” Zee asked Chloe.

“Yes!” Chloe told her, then pointed to Zee's black skateboarding Converse with the bright purple laces. “I knew you were going to wear those sneakers.”

“How?” Zee asked.

“You posted a photo in the Fashionista Club.”

Zee giggled. “I forgot.”

“Did you see that all my mates from London are on, too?” Jasper asked.

“I was talking soccer with most of them during breakfast this morning,” Chloe told him.

“Someone named Colin even joined the Fashionista Club!” Ally added.

“Colin is quite a smart dresser,” Jasper said. Then he got a serious look on his face. “I was surprised to see Missy on Bluetopia. Who invited her?”

“I did,” Ally explained. “She heard us talking about it, and I didn't want to be rude and leave her out.”

When Jasper frowned, Zee was glad she had followed his rules. She didn't want him to be upset with her. Still, she had to admit she hadn't tried very hard to stop Ally.

“Ally didn't think it would be a problem,” Zee defended her friend. “And Missy is so nice and cool.”

Jasper's expression softened.

“I'm sorry, Jasper,” Ally apologized, then spotted Missy passing one of the rain barrels that surrounded the school. “I'll tell her not to invite any more people.”

Missy gave the group a big wave, then hurried to them. “I started a Pets Club and invited all you guys to join,” she announced.

“Um . . . that's great,” Ally said. “But just be sure to keep Bluetopia private with us. There can't be any more members.”

“Oh no!” Missy's bright smile disappeared. “I didn't know I wasn't supposed to invite other people.”

“Who did you invite?” Jasper asked.

“Just Conrad and Marcus,” Missy quickly explained.

“Okay,” Jasper said. “But that's it.” He looked at each of the girls.

“Definitely,” Missy assured him and then everyone else nodded.

Brrrrng!
The bell rang overhead.

“We'd better go,” Zee said. “First period's going to start.” They headed into the building and down the main hallway.

When the group entered the music classroom, Zee noticed Landon punching the buttons on his telephone keyboard.
This is my chance,
she thought. She was determined to have a normal conversation with him without feeling completely weird.

“Hi,” Zee said.

“Oh, hey!” Landon said, looking up.

“What are you doing?” Zee asked.

“I'm talking to some English dude on Bluetopia.”

“You know about Bluetopia?”

“Yeah. Marcus invited me.”

Jasper overheard the conversation as he passed by to get to his seat. “It wasn't really intended for surfer dudes,” he mumbled to himself.

Kathi and Jen walked into the room just as the late bell rang.

“Hey!” Landon called to them. “Did you get my invitation for Bluetopia?”

Please say no. Please say no,
Zee silently pleaded.

“Yeah!” Kathi said. “Thanks!”

Zee's heart dropped right into her Converse. How could Landon do this to her? Bluetopia was supposed to be for just a few close friends. It should have been a place where she wouldn't have to worry about Kathi. But she'd found her way in.

“All right, students!” Ms. Vardolis called out. “Take your seats and we will begin.”

Zee turned to Jasper and gave a weak smile. Things were not working out the way they had planned.

Chapter 7
The Assistant's Assistant

M
r. P is in a meeting with the head of school, Dr. Harrison, so I will be diving right in,” Ms. Vardolis announced after The Beans had settled into their seats. Zee couldn't help but notice how Ms. Vardolis's smooth voice seemed to match her silk clothes.

“We have a lot to accomplish before Saturday,” the assistant teacher continued. “You'll be performing a couple of new songs as well as a few you've been practicing already.”

“New songs?” Conrad blurted out, surprised.

“Oh, fab,” Kathi mumbled sarcastically. Then she looked at Ms. Vardolis. “I mean, no prob,” she said louder. Was Kathi actually following Jen's advice and trying to impress her cousin?

Ohmylanta,
Zee groaned to herself as her heart began to beat a little faster. It wouldn't be easy to learn all the new music in less than a week.

“Mr. P and I know that you won't have any problem with the new material,” Ms. Vardolis assured the class. Her vote of confidence immediately calmed Zee's pounding heart. “In fact, one of you probably knows a couple of the songs quite well,” she said as she began handing out the band's playlist for Brookdale Day.

“Hey, Zee!” Chloe shouted. “You wrote two of these songs.”

“Really?” Zee asked, looking at the sheet of paper. Two of her songs—“Solve It” and “My Heart”—jumped off the page. “Cool beans!” she said.

Kathi snorted.

Ms. Vardolis looked at Zee. “I couldn't believe it when Mr. P told me that a seventh grader had written these songs. We both agreed that the world should hear them.”

The world?
Zee repeated silently. Her face felt warm, and she was sure her cheeks were bright red from embarrassment.

“Why don't we start by practicing Mackenzie's songs first?” Ms. Vardolis passed out the sheet music for “Solve It.” “Because we have so little time to prepare, I arranged the songs myself,” she said, looking at Zee. “I hope that's okay.”

Zee wanted to say, “It's more than okay. It's incredible that you would want to arrange my songs.” But she was too tongue-tied to say anything besides, “Uh . . . that's . . . fine.”

“I can't believe it! There's a marimba solo,” Jen enthused. She smiled at Zee.

“And a drum solo,” Landon added.

Kathi's hand shot up in the air. “You arranged this for me to sing backup, but I can sing lead, too.”

“That's very nice of you, Kathi,” her cousin told her. “But I think it makes more sense for Mackenzie to sing lead since she already knows the words. That's less you need to learn.” Kathi slumped in her chair and frowned as Ms. Vardolis turned to Zee. “And since you know the songs so well, Mackenzie, how would you like to be the assistant teacher's assistant?”

“Cool beans!” Zee blurted out. It would be amazing to work alongside someone who had so much professional experience.

Ms. Vardolis flicked her hand. “Come up to the front of the room, then, and we'll get started.” The rest of The Beans got ready to begin playing music.

Ms. Vardolis directed the group, and Zee played along with the others. Then the teacher stopped the band and turned to Zee. “Do you think we should have less bass there?”

Zee pointed to herself. “Are you asking
me
?”
she said.

Ms. Vardolis smiled. “Yes, I am.”

“I don't think so,” Zee said, then added, “but maybe the piano could play harmony.”

“You're right! That would give this part a much richer sound. I'll fix the arrangement,” Ms. Vardolis said. “Please start at the beginning.”

“Uhh . . . what should I do while you fix my part?” Marcus asked. He was the band's pianist.

Ms. Vardolis turned to Zee. “What do you think?”

“Um . . . why don't you play the major chords when you get to that part?” Zee suggested.

“Good idea.” Ms. Vardolis smiled. As she stepped toward her desk, Zee counted out the beat, and The Beans began to play again.

The rest of the rehearsal went very well. The Beans worked hard to get their parts right. Kathi was cooperating, too, which was a huge surprise. Even though Kathi had said she was going to try to impress her cousin, Zee couldn't help but wonder if Kathi might be secretly plotting revenge—against her.

 

“It is so unbelievably cool that I am going to be in The Beans' first big concert!” Ally said excitedly as she, Zee, Jasper, Chloe, and Missy walked to the Carmichaels' house after school. “When The Beans become an international success, I can play with you when you're in France.”

“We'll be a worldwide sensation by Saturday afternoon,” Jasper commented.

“We will?” Missy asked.

“As soon as we post a video of the show on Bluetopia, Jasper's friends in London will see us,” Zee explained.

“You read my mind!” Jasper told her.

“Great minds think alike!” Zee put in, giving Jasper a nudge with her elbow. She quickly pulled it away.
Why did I do that?
she asked herself. She and Jasper had kidded around with jabs and jokes since they'd met. Why was this time different?

“Jasper, you should create a Bluetopia page for The Beans.” Chloe interrupted Zee's thoughts. “We can have all of The Beans join.”

“Brilliant!” Jasper agreed. “We can post updates and stuff about Brookdale Day. That will keep the planning very organized.”

Zee pushed open the front door to her home, and her friends followed her inside. Jasper led the charge into the kitchen, where Zee expected to find her mother—and the usual plate of delicious homemade snacks.

Jasper looked around frantically. “Where are the garlic pita toasts? Where's the black bean dip?”

“Where's my mother?” Zee asked.

“Is she gone, Zee?” Chloe asked. “Because I can't be here without an adult.”

“Maybe she went to the grocery store to get some snack ingredients,” Jasper suggested, licking his lips.

Zee looked at her iPhone and shook her head. “Mom must be here,” she told her friends. “She didn't text me and the front door was unlocked.” With her friends right behind her, Zee moved from the kitchen to the TV room, through the dining room, and into the living room. Then she peeked into the laundry room and knocked on the powder room door. No sign of her mother.

“Maybe she's upstairs,” Missy said.

“I'll check,” Zee said, zooming up the flight of steps as quickly as she could.

Picturing her mother buried underneath a pile of her brother's dirty clothes, Zee headed straight for Adam's room. When she looked in, her mother wasn't anywhere. “Mom?” she called out just in case. But there was no response.

Then Zee remembered her parents' plan to turn her room into a nursery. She hurried to her bedroom, half-expecting to see her mother painting the walls. Mrs. Carmichael wasn't there, either.

Zee glanced across the hallway through her parents' open door. Her mother's body was stretched across the bed, her head sunk deep in a pillow.

Zee stepped into the room. “Mom,” Zee whispered. But her mother didn't move. Instead she snored softly. “Mom.” Zee's voice got louder—but not loud enough to wake her mother. “Mom!” Zee barked.

“What is it?” Mrs. Carmichael asked groggily.

“I'm home from school. My friends are here, too. Remember? I told you we were all going to walk home together today.”

“Oh, of course, I remember,” Zee's mom said, and Zee was relieved that she had not been completely forgotten.

“I just came up for a little rest, and I must have fallen asleep,” Mrs. Carmichael told Zee. “I guess this pregnancy is really wearing me out. My body isn't used to taking care of two other people.” She laughed as she sat up, but Zee didn't feel like laughing. She hadn't realized how tired her mother would be
before
the twins were even born.

“Are you going to come downstairs?” Zee asked.

“Of course, sweetie,” her mother said. “Just let me put myself together. You and your friends can grab snacks from the cabinet.”

Snacks from the cabinet?
Zee couldn't believe her ears! Usually, all the prepackaged food was off-limits.

When Zee got back downstairs, her friends were gathered around the Wii, playing baseball.

“Was Ginny up there?” Ally asked Zee.

“She was taking a nap,” Zee told her friends.

“A nap?” Chloe said. “I didn't know she
ever
slept.”

“I'm relieved,” Jasper said without taking his eyes off the video screen. “I thought she'd taken off with the snacks, never to be seen again.”

“Well . . . she's here, but the snacks aren't,” Zee explained. “She didn't get a chance to make anything today.”

In shock, Jasper spun his head around to look at Zee. He struck out in the game. “Oh, bother!” he said. “I'm so upset, I can't even concentrate on baseball.”

“Sorry, guys,” Zee apologized.

Missy shrugged. “It's not a big deal. Your mom's snacks are fun and all, but that's not why we came over.”

Ally popped up out of her seat. “Let's see what's in the cabinet.”

Jasper put down his game control and went into the kitchen with the others. They pulled out rice cakes, almond butter, cheese, and crackers.

“Aaah, a fine snack indeed,” Jasper said, rubbing his belly.

“I guess,” Zee said. She knew that she was feeling badly not because of the food but about the fact that her mother had forgotten her and her friends.

“It must be really weird to have two bodies growing inside of you,” Ally said as she smeared almond butter on a rice cake. “Like aliens.”

“My mom says that when she was pregnant she used to look down and see her stomach moving around! My dad called it the Baby Channel,” Chloe told her.

“Definitely alien forces at work,” Ally said matter-of-factly.

The friends laughed, but Zee was still worried.

“Was your mother always tired when she was pregnant with twins?” Zee asked Missy.