My Last Best Friend (6 page)

Mr. Crow steps forward. "This will be a great project for our classroom clusters!" he says. Then he turns to Jenna's mom. "You can plan on our class painting four windows, Mrs. Drews."

"Wonderful," she says, jotting a note on her clipboard. "The Potato Pageant is on October 13th. That means you have one month to plan your window designs."

"We'll start thinking of designs now," Mr. Crow says. "And paint the windows the day before the pageant."

"I'm glad Jenna's in my cluster," Brooke says. "She's such a great artist."

Jenna nods. Brooke gives Jenna's mom her most pleasant smile. Jenna's mom smiles back and jots another note on her clipboard.

I look at the kids in my cluster. Rusty is sticking pencils up his nose. Randi is flexing her skull-and-crossbones temporary tattoo. Tom is reading the glossary in his science book.

"Can you guys paint?" I ask.

Nobody answers.

When it's time for recess, I take my sketchbook and a pencil outside with me. I sit on a bench that is nowhere near Bessie. If Stacey hides a note for me, I don't want her to see me hanging around.

I turn to a blank page and start drawing potatoes. By the time I've drawn six it's clear that there is nothing beautiful about them.

So I add faces. And clothing.

My first potato gets shaggy hair and a basketball jersey. I write
Randi
under it. I give the next potato long hair, two bright eyes, and perfectly straight teeth. Then I write
Brooke
under it. I dress
the next two potatoes in matching sweaters, necklaces, and earrings. But I give one dark hair and one light hair.
Meeka
and
Jolene.

I add several rotten spots to the next potato. I give it cross-eyes. Ten of them. And a potato bug crawling out of its nose. I write
Jenna
underneath.

There is one potato left. I give it curly hair. And a friendly smile.

"What's
that?
" I hear someone say.

I look up. Jenna Drews is standing over me, glaring at my potato people. I quickly close my sketchbook before she has time to read the names I've written under them. "Nothing," I say, and start to get up.

Jenna pushes me back down. "It looked like
potatoes
to me," Jenna sneers. Then she leans in close. "Don't even
think
about trying to win that contest, I
-duh.
Nobody knows potatoes like I do."

"Well, you are a vegetarian," I say.

Jenna plants her feet and lifts her chin. "That's right. And don't you forget it."

"Not to mention a
boss
etarian," I mumble.

"Don't you
dare
—," Jenna starts to say. But just then the bell rings and everyone starts running
inside. Jenna knocks my sketchbook out of my hands and marches away. She falls in step with Stacey, shooting a look back at me. Stacey looks at me, too, and starts to wave. But Jenna grabs her hand and holds it tight.

I pick up my sketchbook and open it to the potato page. I write
Anastasia
under my last potato. Then I close the book and hope that she left a note.

When I get back to the classroom, everyone is still milling around. Mr. Crow is nowhere in sight. But Stacey Merriweather is. She's standing behind Rusty's desk, watching him play "Pirates of the Caribbean" on his hand-held. Just as I sit down, Rusty throws his hands up in the air, practically punching me in the face. "Yes!" he shouts. "It took me three days to clear that level!"

Randi reaches across her desk and gives Rusty a high five. Tom, who is reading a paperback, raises his eyebrows in a silent salute.

"I cleared that level in an hour," Stacey says. "But then, I had the cheats."

Rusty swings around and gawks at Stacey. "You've got the cheat codes for this level?"

Stacey nods. "I have the cheats for
all
the levels. In fact, I know cheats that nobody else knows about."

Now it's my turn to raise an eyebrow.

Rusty drops his jaw. "Wow," he says, all impressed. "What are they?"

Stacey pulls at the collar of her sweater like someone just cranked up the thermostat. "Um ... well, it's not like I have them memorized," she says, inching away from Rusty.

"Can you bring them tomorrow?" Rusty asks.

"Um ... no," Stacey says. "I don't have them anymore. I mean, I didn't bring them with to my ... um ... aunt's house."

Rusty slumps.

Stacey hurries back to her cluster.

Mr. Crow comes dashing into the room. "Sorry I'm late!" he says. "I was in the cafeteria."

"But lunch is still an hour away," Joey points out.

"I wasn't eating lunch," Mr. Crow says. "I was looking for these."

Mr. Crow holds up a lumpy plastic bag. He pulls a potato out of it. Then he walks around the
room and gives each cluster one potato. "I thought potatoes would provide inspiration as you begin designing your Potato Pageant windows," he says. He sets a potato on Randi's desk and a sheet of drawing paper on mine.

"Ida, why don't you sketch out the ideas your group comes up with," Mr. Crow says.

I blink at Mr. Crow. "But I'm not really a takecharge kind of person," I say.

Mr. Crow pats my shoulder. "You'll do fine," he says, and walks away.

I look around my cluster. "Any ideas for a design?" I ask.

Randi picks up the potato and gives it a sniff. Then she shrugs and tosses it to Rusty. Rusty catches it and lobs it back to her. "Betcha can't throw a knuckleball," he says.

"Betcha I can," Randi replies, and digs her knuckles into the potato. Meanwhile, Tom opens his math book and begins reading the glossary.

I look at the sheet of paper Mr. Crow gave me. I remember all the goofy pictures Elizabeth and I used to draw. Then I pick up my pencil.

First, I draw a ship with tall masts and large sails. I study Randi's fake tattoo while she pitches the potato to Rusty. Then I draw a skull and cross-bones on a sail. I draw potatoes on the deck of the ship. I even plant one in the crow's nest. I put a scar on his cheek and patches over three of his eyes. I give some of the potatoes long mustaches and gold earrings. Several swing swords. One has a wooden leg. Then I draw choppy water under the ship. I use my best swirly cursive to write
Potatoes of the Caribbean
in the waves.

"That's great, Ida!"

I look up and see Mr. Crow standing over me, looking at my drawing. I cover it with one arm like I'm hiding booty.

"May I show it to the class?" he asks.

I gulp.

Mr. Crow takes that as a
yes.
He slips the picture out from under my arm and waves it around for everyone to see. "Look at Ida's drawing, everyone. This is wonderful potato humor!"

Everyone turns to look at my drawing. Several people actually laugh.

"That's really funny, Ida," Stacey says.

"Thanks," I mumble back.

Jenna rolls her eyes. "I don't see what pirates have to do with the pageant," she snips.

"It's a
potato
pageant," I say to Jenna as Mr. Crow tapes my picture to the board. "The pirates are
potatoes.
"

"Yes, but my mother said the most beautiful design will win the contest," Jenna says. "Pirates are
not
beautiful."

"Well," I say. "You
are
the expert of unbeautiful things."

Jenna gives me a scowl. A few people hold back giggles. Then she says, "If you want to see something that
is
beautiful, look at
this.
"

Jenna holds up the drawing she is working on. It's a field of potatoes. Bunnies scamper around it. Butterflies flutter over it. A rainbow stretches across the sky. It ends at the feet of a smiling girl who is wearing her hair in two braids.

Dominic glances at Jenna's picture. "
Borrring
," he whispers.

"What did you say?" Jenna snaps.

Dominic shifts in his seat. "
Beauuutiful?
" he offers. Then he ducks his head and pretends to be very interested in studying his potato.

Jenna gets up and practically jabs her picture into Mr. Crow's face.

"Very nice, Jenna," he says, backing away.

"Don't you want to hang it up?" Jenna asks.

"Maybe later," he says. "Right now Ida's picture is on the board."

Jenna's face heats up like a plate of french fries. She stomps back to her desk and glares at me. Then she grits her teeth and hisses, "Not. For. Long."

At lunch, everyone is talking about the Potato Pageant. But I just sit quietly and think about getting a note from Anastasia. When it's time for afternoon recess, I sneak over to Bessie and slip behind her branches when no one is looking.

I see a note hidden there.

I pull it out.

And smile.

Riding home on the bus, I read the note for the twenty-ninth time.

Dear Cordelia,

This is a great hiding place! Let's keep it a secret, okay? It's fun to have a good secret for a change,

Leave the letter A on your desk so I'll know who you are, I'd really like to know, I'll keep that a secret, too,

By the way, my real name isn't Anastasia, I'm sorry I lied,

Anastasia

I wonder why she lied about her real name. I
wonder if she's lying when she says she will keep this a secret. I wonder if she lies about everything.

I wonder if I should write back.

When I get home, my mom is outside, digging in her flower bed.

"Hi, Ida!" she calls, as I walk up the driveway. She brushes dirt off her gloves and sits back on the heels of her gardening clogs. "I ran into Jenna's mom this afternoon. She mentioned the window-painting contest."

"Yes," I say, stuffing Stacey's note into my pocket. "She mentioned it to us, too."

"Sounds like a fun project for you," my mom says. "You're so good at drawing."

I just shrug. "Mr. Crow liked my drawing of potato pirates," I say.

My mom smiles. "I bet the kids liked it, too."

I think about Jenna. "Some of them did," I say, and head inside.

When I get to my room, I pull out Stacey's note and show it to George. "She wrote back," I say.

George gives me the once-over and then waits for more information.

"She's probably lying about keeping this a secret," I say. "If I tell her who I really am she'll just run off and blab to Jenna that I'm a total baby for sending her secret notes."

I read the note again. Then I pull a piece of paper out of my desk drawer. And start writing.

Dear Anastasia,

Are you as good at keeping secrets as you are at telling Lies? I know you don't Live with your rich aunt. I saw her and she didn't Look one bit rich. Plus, rich aunts don't wear pink Curlers in their hair. Grandmothers do.

If you promise not to Lie to me, I promise not to tell everyone that you aren't who you say you are.

Cordelia

I read the note to George. He shudders.

"I know," I say. "But if I'm going to keep writing to her, I have to get a few things straight right from the start."

The next morning, I hide my note to Anastasia in the secret stone before school. When I get to the classroom, my
Potatoes of the Caribbean
drawing is no longer hanging on the board. It's on my desk. Torn into a million pieces.

I give Jenna a glare. She just smiles sweetly and then starts giggling with Meeka and Jolene.

I scoop up all the pieces of paper and throw them into the wastebasket. I think about throwing Jenna in, too.

I slump in my desk.

"Jenna did it," I hear someone say.

I look up. Tom Sanders is looking at me over the top of his social studies book.

"I know," I reply.

"Are you going to tell Mr. Crow?" Tom asks. I sigh. "No."

Tom nods. "Smart move," he says. "Remember when Jenna made me drink my fake tornado in first grade?"

"Yeah," I say.

"She did that because I told on her for smashing the block tower I was building. If you tell on her about this, she'll do something even meaner to you."

Tom goes back to reading his book. "By the way, Ida, your drawing was good," he says.

"Really?" I say.

"Really," he says back.

***

While Mr. Crow takes attendance, I write the letter
A
on a scrap of paper. But I don't leave it on my desk like Stacey wants me to. When it's time for our milk break, I toss the
A
onto Stacey's desk when everyone is getting their cartons of milk and the cookies Mr. Crow brought for a snack.

After our first recess, I see the letter
C
on Stacey's desk. At the end of the second recess, I check the stone again.

Dear Cordelia,

You're right, I don't have a rich aunt. And I do live with my grandma. Please don't tell anyone. I promise not to lie to you anymore. I don't usually lie. Just when it's an emergency. I can't tell you a^out the emergency yet. It's too scary.

I'll tell you a secret, though. I think Jenna Drews is mean.

Anastasia

P.S. Why are you scared to tell me who you really are?

When I get back to the classroom, it's time for Phys Ed. I slip the note into my backpack and then get in line to walk to the gym.

Our Phys Ed teacher, Ms. Stein, is waiting for us when we get there. She's dressed in her usual hooded sweatshirt and training pants. Like always, there's a whistle in her mouth. Several red rubber balls huddle around her sneakers.

"The name of the game is
dodgeball,
ladies and gentlemen," she says, clenching the whistle in her teeth.

Everyone else cheers.

"I love dodgeball," I hear Stacey say to Jenna. "I'm really good at it."

"Not as good as me," Jenna says back.

Ms. Stein makes all of us number off into two
teams. I'm glad to be on Jenna's team so she can't throw balls at me. Stacey's on Jenna's team, too.

"I'll be captain," Jenna says, while Ms. Stein starts kicking balls onto the gym floor. "Stacey, you stand next to me." Jenna positions herself front and center.

I take my usual position as far away from the line of fire as possible.