My New Best Friend (2 page)

"From everyone," Stacey adds.

We take our hands off the mermaid, but I can still feel my fingers tingling.

"We found her in your attic," Stacey says, picking up the mermaid. "You take her first."

"Okay," I say, taking the mermaid from her. "But just for one night. Then it's your turn."

We carry the mermaid to my room very carefully, like she's carved from finger Jell-O. We set her on my windowsill.

"Now what?" I ask.

"Now we light her every night," Stacey says.

"And then what?"

"Then we have our club meetings and talk about what difference it makes," Stacey explains.

"Difference?"

"Like if stuff starts happening now that we've brought her back to life. Like in the movies."

"What movies?" I ask.

"The movies me and my brother used to watch
before he moved in with our dad. When we were a family. The ones with evil spells, and runaway orphans, and stuff."

I nod like I know exactly what she's talking about. But really, I don't have much experience with runaway orphans and evil spells and not being a family.

We collapse on my bedroom floor and eat half a bag of Choco-chunks.

Then we go back to the attic and get the two boxes.

"This attic would make a great secret clubhouse," I say, looking around at all the stuff my parents store up here. "We could use that old crib mattress for a couch and that piano bench for a table." I walk over to the bench my mom's piano students sat on until it got too wobbly. I lift the lid on the bench. "We can even hide stuff in here!"

Stacey looks around. "Doesn't your dad come up here to use his tools and stuff?"

"Not since last spring when he hammered his thumb so bad he had to go to the emergency room. Now my mom does all the hammering in the family. She keeps her hammer in a junk drawer in the kitchen."
Stacey nods and looks around the attic again. "Our secret clubhouse," she says, taking it all in.

I nod and close the lid on the bench. "Just for us."

We haul the boxes downstairs and get the first outhouse mostly done before we realize it's too small for either of us to wear without suffocating. So we start over with two bigger boxes. We get my mom to help us glue on the cardboard roofs and cut out the arm holes and half moons. Then my dad helps us paint the boxes to look like wood, but they don't require any hammering. We write his and hers on the front of them.

Then we lie across my bed, toss Choco-chunks to George, and make up evil mermaid stories while the boxes dry.

We try them on.

They are the best costumes ever.

"Say 'cheese'!" Mom tells us later that day from behind her camera.

"Cheese!" me and Stacey say, smiling through the half moons in our outhouses.

Mom clicks a picture. Then she hands us two matching gift bags. We each got Brooke one sock, one glove, and one earring, just to be funny. "Let's go party!" Mom says.

"Can we stop by the Purdee Good on the way to Brooke's?" Stacey asks. "Kelli's working and she wants to see our costumes."

Stacey calls her mom Kelli just like the rest of us. The Purdee Good is a café where she's a waitress. It's named after our town, Purdee. Plus, they serve purdee good food there. Get it?

"Sure," Mom says. "Oh, and there's one more thing...," she adds.

"What?" I ask.

The doorbell rings.

Mom walks over to the door and peeks out the window. Then she looks back at us. "
This,
" she says and opens the door.

There stands Jenna Drews and her little sister, Rachel.

"Hi, girls!" Mom says, like she was expecting them.

"Hi, Mrs. May," Rachel says back. "Thank you for inviting us." Rachel's wearing a white ballet leotard with white netting wrapped around it. A flowery wreath is on her head. She reminds me of
a statue I saw in a park once. Only Rachel doesn't have any bird poop on her.

Jenna is wearing a green leotard with fake vines stuck to it. Bugs and butterflies are painted on her face. Her hair, which is usually braided, is loose and crimped. It hangs over her shoulders like lasagna noodles. It's dyed the color of cooked peas.

Mom turns to me and Stacey. "I didn't have a chance to tell you," she says.

"Tell us what?" I ask.

"Mr. and Mrs. Drews had something come up at the last minute, so Jenna and Rachel are going to the party with us!"

My chin practically drops out of my half moon.

"Great!" Stacey says, all cheerful.

"Stacey?" Jenna says. "Is that
you?
"

"Yep," Stacey says back. "I'm an outhouse! It was Ida's idea." She gives me a smile.

Jenna gives me a look. "Figures," she says.

"Um.. .what are you supposed to be?" I ask Jenna. "A talking log?"

Jenna glares at me. "For your information," she says, "I'm
Gala.
"

"
Who-a?
"

Jenna rolls her eyes. "
Gai
-a," she replies. "Goddess of the Earth.
Hello?
Mr. Crow just read a myth about her last week."

"Oh," I say. "Sorry. Wrong number."

Rachel tugs on Jenna's vine. "
I
want to be an outhouse," she says.

"No, Rachel," Jenna says back. "You're a
muse.
"

"But I don't want to be a moose," Rachel says. "Not unless I get to wear antlers."

Jenna rolls her eyes again. "Not a
moose,
Rachel. A
muse.
You sing and dance and do whatever I tell you."

"I want to be an outhouse," Rachel grumbles.

"I'm not taking a stinky old outhouse to Brooke's party," Jenna says. "You're lucky I'm taking you at all," she adds. "It's not like you were invited."

Rachel swallows hard. Her bottom lip starts to tremble.

I turn to my mom. "We
do
have an extra box," I say.

My mom smiles at me and nods.

"What
extra box?
" Jenna says.

"This one," Mom says and disappears into the kitchen. A moment later she returns with the too-small outhouse. She fits it over Rachel's head.

"It's perfect," Stacey says, smiling at Rachel.

"Wait," I say and bump my way to the kitchen. I grab a black marker out of the junk drawer. I bump my way back and write mine under Rachel's half-moon chin.

Rachel steps back and smiles at all of us. "How do I look?" she asks.

"Very a-
muse-
ing," I say.

Stacey giggles.

Jenna snorts and shakes back her green hair. "Can we
go
now? My makeup is starting to melt."

"I'll grab my keys and meet you at the van," Mom says.

We head out the door. Jenna barges to the front of the pack, practically knocking Rachel right out of her box.

I grab Rachel's arm to steady her. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yep," she says. "I'm not breakable."

"It's a good thing I showed up," Jenna says when we get to the van.

"Um ... how do you figure?" I ask.

"Just look at you two," she says, giving me and Stacey the once-over. "Going to a party dressed like that. How are you going to drink punch? Your arms barely poke out. Plus, you'll be bumping into people and tripping over furniture the whole time."

"We'll manage," I say as we pile our boxes into the back of the van.

Jenna lifts her buggy chin. "You need me," she says, hopping into the front seat.

"Um ... no, we don't," I mumble and hop in back.

We stop at the Purdee Good on our way to the party. Kelli takes pictures of us to send to Stacey's dad.

"Can't your dad even show up to take his own pictures?" Jenna asks Stacey as we head back to the van.

"It's not like that," Stacey says. "He wants to be here ... it's just ... it's complicated."

Jenna huffs. "I'd never let my parents split up."

"It's not like I had a
choice,
Jenna," Stacey replies.

"Still," Jenna says, "it's not going to happen in
my
family."

It's a good thing Brooke has a big house because lots of people are at her party. Almost all the kids from our class are there, plus a bunch of strangers who look a lot like Brooke with their dark, shiny hair and perfectly straight teeth. Relatives.

Jenna pulls Stacey through the crowd like a box kite on a string. She feeds her punch and treats. She even yanks down streamers and balloons and decorates Stacey until she looks more like a parade float than an outhouse.

Every time I try to get within bumping distance of Stacey, Jenna drags her away to another part of the house. Rachel goes off to play with one of Brooke's little cousins. I just grab a handful of chips from the snack table, lean against a wall, and pull my arms inside my box. I eat chips and watch the party through my half moon. It isn't long before one of Brooke's relatives stops right in front of me, blocking my view. She gulps down the last of her punch, sets the empty cup on top of me, and walks away.

"Use a coaster next time," I mumble.

When it's time for Brooke to open her presents, Jenna puts herself in charge of handing them to her. She gives Brooke the gift she brought first. "It's a diary," Jenna says before Brooke even gets all the wrapping paper ripped off. "My dad helped me make it. We put water and old newspapers into a blender and churned it into
pulp.
Then we spread the pulp on a screen and let it dry to make the pages." Jenna takes the diary from Brooke and opens it up to show everyone. Each page looks like a pan of oatmeal.

"Um ... thanks," Brooke says.

"You're welcome," Jenna replies. She props the diary up on a shelf like it should be in a museum.

Next, Jenna hands Brooke Stacey's gift, but not mine.

"Um...," I say, tapping on the inside of my box. "That's actually a two-part gift."

No one hears me. All I can do is watch as Brooke pulls one sock, glove, and earring out of the gift bag from Stacey. She does a puzzled look. But Stacey is too busy giggling with Meeka and Jolene to tell Brooke that the rest of her present is in the bag from her
best friend.
Me. Ida May.

When my mom finally shows up to take us home, Mrs. Drews shows up, too. I guess her meeting with Mr. Drews got done early. She insists on giving Stacey a ride home to make up for any trouble Jenna and Rachel caused my mom.

"They were no trouble at all, Pauline," Mom tells her.

"That's right," I chime in, not wanting her to take Stacey.

"I insist," Mrs. Drews says, herding Stacey, Jenna, and Rachel down the sidewalk.

Jenna shoots a satisfied look at me as Stacey ditches her outhouse and climbs into Jenna's car.

Jenna climbs in next to Stacey and closes the door.

I pull off my box and wave good-bye to Stacey as they drive away.

Stacey doesn't see me because Jenna's big, green head is in the way.

As soon as I get home I stomp upstairs. I change into my grumpy-face pajamas. I rip open my birthday treat bag and yank out two fun-size candy bars. I crush them with my bare hands before
I eat them. I stomp to the bathroom and practically brush the bristles right off my may orthodontics toothbrush.

Then I stomp back to my room. George gives me a concerned sort of look.

"Because Jenna Drews is a jerk," I say. "And that's the
truth.
"

George remains calm.

I turn away and catch a glimpse of the mermaid night-light. She smiles pleasantly at me.

I study her for a minute. Then I walk over and pick her up. "Just one evil spell," I say.

I set her on the windowsill again and turn her face toward Jenna Drews's house. "Chicken pox ... hairy spots ... ugly warts that itch a lot..."

I pick up her cord and plug it in.

Then I dive for my bed and hide under my covers before her evil, glowing grin makes me pee my pants.

The next morning I get dressed, make my bed, set George on my pillow, and walk over to the mermaid. Even in the morning she looks spooky. I wonder if she zapped Jenna with any evil spells while I was sleeping.

"Let's find out," I say, unplugging her. Before I put her inside my backpack, I wrap a red bandana around her. Then I head downstairs.

When I get to the bus stop, Quinn and his little sister, Tess, are already there. Tess waves to Rachel, who is walking down the sidewalk with Jenna. Rachel waves back because she and Tess are best kindergarten friends.

I study Jenna as she gets closer, looking for signs of chicken pox or warts. But all I see are her two bobbing braids. They are still bright green.

"How come you got green hair?" Tess asks Jenna when she gets to the bus stop.

Jenna's jaw tightens and her cheeks heat up. "Because the dye wouldn't wash out."

"She washed it
fifteen
times," Rachel says, giggling.

Quinn snorts.

Jenna scowls.

I think I feel something shift inside my backpack.

"Um ... anything else?" I ask, looking Jenna over. "Itchy spots? Suspicious bumps?"

Jenna turns her scowl on me. "Of course not," she says. "I used all-natural
henna
hair dye, not battery acid."

"
Henna Jenna,
" I mumble. Quinn hears me and snorts again.

"Only she didn't read the directions first," Rachel says.

This time Jenna gives her sister a shove.

The bus arrives and we climb on. Kids turn and point at Jenna.

"Look! The creature from the
Green Lagoon!
"

Fake screams.

Fake faints.

Jenna pushes through and drops into the very back seat. She scrunches down so all you can see is the top of her green head.

I scoot into another seat, unzip my backpack, and peek at the mermaid.

She smiles back at me.

When I get to school I grab Stacey's arm and pull her to the broken water fountain.

"Guess what?" I say as soon as we get there.

"What?" she says back.

"Last night, when I got home, I wished an evil spell on Jenna, and now her hair is
green.
Probably forever!" I unzip my backpack and show her the mermaid.

Stacey studies the mermaid for a moment. "I knew lighting her would make a difference," she says.