The Amazing Life of Azaleah Lane

by Nikki Shannon Smith

  “Maybe Greenie is somewhere in your room,” I told Tiana.

  Tiana’s bottom lip quivered and her eyes filled with tears. “He’s not! I looked in my closet and my bed and under my bed. I looked on my shelf and took everything out of my toy box.”

  I sighed. Those were all of the places I would have looked.

  There was only one place left to search: Nia’s room.

  I did not want to check Nia’s room. Nia was never as patient about interruptions as I was. Interruptions made Nia grouchy. But I knew that if I ever wanted to start my diorama, we had to check her room.

  Tiana and I went upstairs. Nia’s door was shut. She was singing—loudly. I was glad she had a good voice because otherwise my eardrums would probably crack.

  “Knock on the door,” I whispered to Tiana.

  Tiana shook her head. “You knock.”

  “Just knock,” I said.

  Tiana shook her head again.

  I sighed and knocked on the door. I didn’t have time to argue.

  “What?” Nia yelled. “I’m rehearsing!”

  “We need help,” I replied through the closed door.

  Nia swung open her door and stood there with one hand on her hip. She had picked her hair into an Afro and was wearing her costume. The button-up top, skirt, and white earrings made her look just like Dorothy. She also had on lipstick and was holding a little stuffed dog.

  I peeked into her room to see what else was going on in there.

  “Don’t be nosy,” said Nia. She shut her door a little bit.

  I frowned. I didn’t like being called nosy. I was just curious.

  “What do you two want?” asked Nia again.

  “Did you take Greenie?” I asked.

  Nia rolled her eyes. “Greenie? Why would I take Greenie?”

  “Greenie is GONE!” Tiana hollered.

  “Well,” said Nia, “he’s not in here. I don’t steal. I don’t have time to steal anyway. I’m busy.”

  With that, she closed the door and started singing again. I could hear her feet stomping on the floor, so I knew she was dancing too.

  A tear rolled down Tiana’s cheek. “Where is he?” she asked.

  I thought about my empty diorama box. This day was turning out to be too challenging.

  “Could you have left Greenie somewhere while you were out with Auntie Sam?” I asked.

  “No! I didn’t leave him anywhere,” Tiana insisted.

  While I stood there thinking, Auntie Sam called, “Girls! Dinner!”

  I ran to the kitchen to see what Mama had left for us to eat. Tiana pouted behind me. In the kitchen, Auntie Sam was dishing up red beans and rice, pork chops, and greens.

  “I have to find Greenie!” Tiana whined.

  Nia skipped into the kitchen, still wearing her costume. “I don’t have time to eat,” she said. “I need to rehearse.”

  “No arguing,” Auntie Sam said firmly. “We’re eating together. Sit down.”

  * * *

  After dinner, we all searched high and low. I looked in the washing machine and the dryer. Auntie Sam checked the kitchen drawers and cabinets again. Tiana looked in the refrigerator and the closets.

  Nia offered to look in her room. I knew Greenie wasn’t in there. Nia just wanted to rehearse.

  By the time Mama and Daddy got home, Nia wasn’t the only one putting on a show. Tiana was pouting. Auntie Sam was blasting Daddy’s Earth, Wind & Fire record, trying to cheer Tiana up.

  I was starting to get frustrated. I hadn’t even started my diorama.

  “Why are you girls still awake?” Daddy asked us.

  “We have a problem,” said Auntie Sam. “Greenie is missing.”

  Mama picked up Tiana. Daddy turned off the music.

  “It’s time for bed,” he said.

  Nobody argued with Daddy.

  We quickly brushed our teeth and got in bed. But down the hall, I could hear Tiana in her room crying.

  I tiptoed to her room and peeked in her doorway. “I’ll help you look more tomorrow,” I whispered. “I promise.”

  Tiana nodded, and I snuck back to my bed. I stared at the heart-shaped shadows my night-light made on the walls. I needed to solve this mystery so I could start my diorama in the morning. If I wanted it to impress Ms. Li, it had to be perfect.

  CHAPTER 4

  NO PEACE

  My eyes popped open bright and early the next morning. I knew right away what day it was: Saturday.

  I loved Saturdays. Our family called them Lazy Saturdays. Daddy and I were the early birds. We always got up first. Mama slept in because she worked late on Fridays. Nia and Tiana usually slept late too.

  But this Saturday was going to be less lazy than usual. I had a tiger habitat to make! I made my plan before I got out of bed.

  Eat cereal with Daddy, like always.

  Watch one cartoon instead of three.

  Paint the inside of my diorama box before everyone else wakes up.

  Work on my tiger while the paint dries.

  I crept to my door extra quietly, so Tiana wouldn’t wake up. I knew she would want to search for Greenie right away. That would ruin my morning plan.

  But when I opened my door, I saw I had a big problem. Tiana was asleep on the floor. She was curled up, just like a cat, with her pillow and a blanket.

  I tried to sneak past. But as soon as I stepped my first foot over, Tiana woke up.

  “Hi, Azaleah!” she said. “Ready?”

  I knew what she meant, but I said, “Ready for what?”

  “To find Greenie,” she said. “You promised.”

  I always kept my promises, but I had to stall. I was not ready, because I already had a plan. And I hadn’t even gotten to step one yet.

  I had to think fast. Maybe I could add Tiana to steps one and two. Then I could sneak away while she watched cartoons.

  “Let’s go eat and watch cartoons first,” I suggested. “Then we can look for Greenie.”

  Tiana shook her head. “I want to look for Greenie now.”

  I remembered what Mama always said: “Food feeds the body and the soul.” I just had to convince Tiana.

  “If we eat first, we’ll have lots of energy,” I said. “Then we can find Greenie faster.”

  “Faster?” asked Tiana.

  I nodded.

  “OK,” said Tiana.

  We went to the kitchen. I expected to see Daddy at the table. He always drank his coffee and worked on his laptop until I got up.

  But when I walked into the kitchen, I knew right away something was wrong. Daddy wasn’t wearing the black robe and matching slippers he always wore on Saturdays. He was wearing work clothes. His work bag was on the table. And he was pouring coffee into the mug he took to his office.

  “Daddy? What are you doing?” I asked.

  Daddy kissed me. Then he looked at Tiana and said, “Hey, pip-squeak.” He gave her a kiss too.

  “Are you leaving?” I asked.

  Daddy nodded. “Yeah. No cartoons for me today. I have to work on this case.”

  “Oh,” I said. I felt bad for Daddy, but I also felt bad for mysef. My plan was really getting messed up.

  Daddy got the cereal from the cabinet and handed it to me. Then he headed out the door.

  As soon as he left, Tiana started to whine. She didn’t want cereal. She’d changed her mind about cartoons. All she wanted was Greenie.

  I ate my cereal and walked to the family room to turn on the TV. I was determined to finish step two of my plan.

  Mama and Nia were up now too. Mama was holding a paper, and Nia was standing in front of the TV. I knew right away that they were going over Nia’s lines. Mama had the script. If Nia forgot what to say, Mama would help her.

  “Can I watch TV?”
I asked.

  Just then Tiana walked in, climbed on Mama’s lap, and said, “Can you help me find Greenie?”

  “I’m trying to rehearse!” yelled Nia.

  Mama said, “Nia, calm down. Azaleah, go help Tiana look for Greenie while we practice. Then when we’re done, you can watch TV.”

  Nia stuck her tongue out at me. Tiana clapped. Mama smiled.

  I didn’t have anything nice to say, so I decided not to say anything at all. Instead I fast-walked down the hall with Tiana right behind me. I sat on my bed. Saturday was already ruined.

  “Where else could Greenie be?” Tiana asked.

  I shrugged. I was out of ideas. We had already looked all over the house. Then it hit me: Maybe Greenie isn’t in the house.

  “Tell me every single thing you did yesterday,” I said. “Start at the beginning.”

  Tiana grinned. “First Auntie Sam let me and Kevin play at the park for a long time. Then we walked to the mailbox. Then we walked to Kevin’s house.” She took a breath. “Then we saw Mr. Givens in his front yard. Then it was nap time.”

  I sighed. Great, I thought. Greenie could be anywhere. This is going to take all day.

  CHAPTER 5

  WILD GOOSE CHASE

  I went back to the living room with Tiana right behind me. “Mama,” I said, “Greenie might be somewhere in the neighborhood.”

  Mama put Nia’s script on the table. “Nia,” she said, “can you take your sisters through the neighborhood to retrace Tiana’s steps?”

  Nia groaned. “But, Mama, I need to practice.”

  Mama gave her a look. “Nia, I was at the restaurant late last night, and I have to go back in a few hours to prep for dinner. I could really use the rest. And I need to plan the daily specials for the week.”

  Tiana started to cry again. “Please, Nia? I miss Greenie. He’s my best friend.”

  Nia bent down and wiped Tiana’s tears. “I have an idea,” she said. “Why don’t I practice my lines while we search? I’ll be Dorothy looking for home, and you can be Tiana looking for Greenie.”

  Tiana gave Nia a great big hug, but all I could think was, I wish I could make a diorama while we search.

  After we got dressed, Nia took us outside. She looked around at our neighborhood like she’d never seen it before. I had a feeling she was pretending to have landed in Oz, just like Dorothy.

  “Where should we start?” Nia asked.

  Since Tiana had gone to the park first yesterday, we decided to start there. At least it was close. It was only three blocks away, and it was fun to look at our neighbors’ fancy cars. My dad told me some of our neighbors had very important jobs in the government.

  When we got to the park, we walked down a path to get to the play structure. A lady in a sun hat was pulling weeds in the park garden. A man and a woman were having a picnic on the grass.

  Nia wandered around singing while Tiana and I looked all over the place. I even climbed around on the play structure looking for Greenie.

  Finally I shook my head. Greenie wasn’t at the park.

  Nia stood up. “Let’s go to the Emerald City next.”

  I giggled. Emerald City was a place in The Wiz. “We haven’t found Greenie yet,” I said. I knew Tiana wouldn’t let us rest until we did. “Let’s check the mailbox next.”

  Tiana said, “I told you I brought him home. Somebody stealed him.”

  “Stole,” I corrected her.

  We crossed the street and walked to the corner where the mailbox was. I got on my hands and knees and looked under the mailbox. No Greenie.

  “Maybe you mailed him,” Nia joked.

  Tiana started to cry. “I didn’t. I brought him home.”

  I could tell Nia felt bad about making Tiana cry. “I was just kidding, Tiana,” she said. She went back to her Dorothy voice. “Maybe the Wiz will help us.”

  While Nia was busy being Dorothy, I remembered Tiana saying that Auntie Sam took Kevin home after they went to the mailbox.

  “Let’s go to Kevin’s house,” I suggested. “It’s on the way home.”

  “Greenie’s not there!” Tiana yelled. “I brought him home!”

  “Let’s just make sure,” I said.

  We walked one block to Kevin’s house and knocked on the front door. Kevin’s mom answered.

  A minute later, Kevin came running. He had on pajamas with trains all over them.

  “Hi, Tiana! Wanna play?” he asked.

  Tiana shook her head. “I can’t find Greenie.”

  “You took him home,” Kevin said.

  We all stood there looking at each other. I knew there had to be another answer. There had to be something Tiana was forgetting. Greenie was not at home.

  Kevin’s mom looked at him. “Are you sure?” she said.

  “Uh-huh,” said Kevin. “He waved goodbye to me when he left.”

  Tiana smiled. “He likes you, Kevin.”

  We left Kevin’s house and headed back to the White House. Mr. Givens, our next-door neighbor, was outside digging a hole. He was outside a lot. Mr. Givens lived all alone, but he didn’t seem sad about it. He smiled all the time, and he always had treats.

  As soon as he saw us, Mr. Givens said, “Well, if it isn’t the Lane girls. My favorite neighbors.”

  “Hi, Mr. Givens,” I replied. “What are you doing?”

  “Today I’m planting a cookie tree.” He winked at us.

  Tiana giggled. “Cookies don’t grow on trees!”

  “We’ll see,” said Mr. Givens. “Wait right here.” He disappeared inside and came back out with a plastic bag. He reached in and handed us each two chocolate chip cookies. “These are fresh,” he said. “Right off the tree.”

  “Thank you,” I said, taking a bite. “Have you seen a green stuffed frog?”

  Mr. Givens smiled. “You mean Greenie? I sure did.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “I saw him yesterday right here. He waved to me,” said Mr. Givens.

  Tiana had a cookie in her mouth, but that didn’t stop her from talking. “He likes you,” she said. Cookie crumbs dropped out of her mouth and landed on the ground.

  “I like him too.” Mr. Givens started digging his hole again.

  This mystery was starting to get complicated. It was like Greenie had disappeared into thin air.

  “Tiana,” I said. “You’re forgetting something. Where else could Greenie be?”

  Tiana started to cry again. “Nowhere. I brought him home. I tucked him in for his nap. Then he was gone.”

  “Wait a minute.” I stopped and stared at my little sister. “You tucked him in? You mean you know exactly where you put Greenie?”

  I looked at Nia. Her mouth dropped open. We had just walked all over the place for nothing. I realized I should have asked Tiana more questions. Better questions. I should have asked exactly where she’d had Greenie. I had only asked when she had him.

  Tiana had a proud look on her face. “It was nap time,” she said. “I told you.”

  It was true. She had told me. She’d just left out some details—important details. And I hadn’t believed her. I’d never even investigated Tiana’s room. I’d been so worried about hurrying up that I had actually wasted time.

  CHAPTER 6

  CALM ON THE OUTSIDE

  When we got back home, Mama was at her desk in the kitchen. “Did you find Greenie?” she asked.

  Before Tiana could answer, Nia said, “No.” She frowned. “I stopped rehearsing for nothing.”

  I could tell Nia was about to act dramatic. I think Mama could tell too, because she said, “Don’t start, Nia.”

  Tiana started to cry. “Mama, what if I never ever see Greenie again?”

  “We’ll find him,” Mama promised.

  Nia plopped down in a chair with her script. Sh
e read her lines very loudly. Tiana sat in Mama’s lap. Tears dripped onto Mama’s paper.

  I watched Tiana and Mama and thought about two things: Greenie and my diorama. They were both important, but I needed to pick one.

  “Mama?” I said. “Can I go work on my diorama?”

  “No!” Tiana yelled. “We have to find Greenie! You promised!”

  I took three calming breaths, just like Ms. Johnson made us do in class when everyone got too loud after recess. This mystery was a challenge and a problem.

  Tiana had already messed up my plan for the day. She had already messed up Nia’s rehearsal. She was probably messing up Mama’s morning too. Mama loved lazy Saturdays.

  Mama said, “Tiana, let’s take a little break and look some more later.”

  I was relieved. “Can I go work on my diorama, please?” I asked.

  Tiana frowned, then tilted her head back and let out a long cry. She reminded me of the baby elephant I’d seen at the National Zoo, only Tiana didn’t have a trunk. Between her and Nia, our kitchen sounded like a zoo.

  Mama looked like she needed to take three calming breaths. She put down her pencil and looked at Nia.

  “Nia, why don’t you see if you can rehearse at Maya’s house?” she said. “Isn’t she playing Auntie Em?”

  Nia smiled and nodded. Her best friend, Maya, lived three blocks away. “I’ll text her,” she said.

  She grabbed her phone, her script, and her costume. A few minutes later, Nia hurried out the door.

  Next, Mama stood Tiana on the floor. She crouched down and put her face very close to Tiana’s face.

  “That’s enough,” she said. “Nap time. Right now.”

  Tiana opened her mouth, but before she could make another sound, Mama said, “Now.”

  Mama meant business. Tiana sulked out of the kitchen.

  Once the kitchen was quiet, Mama hugged me. “Why don’t I make us some lunch?” she offered.

  I perked right up. I almost never got Mama all to myself. I helped her make roast beef sandwiches on toasted sourdough rolls. Then we sat down to eat.