The Amazing Life of Azaleah Lane

by Nikki Shannon Smith

  “So, what have you done so far on your diorama?” Mama asked.

  “Nothing,” I said. “All I have so far is an empty box.”

  She smiled. “I have an idea.”

  Mama stood up and took a piece of paper and a pencil from a drawer. “The best thing to do when you have a lot to get done is make a list,” she explained.

  She handed the paper to me. “Why don’t you start by writing down the steps for your diorama?”

  “Is that what you do at the restuarant?” I asked.

  Mama nodded and grabbed her daily special planner too. “We’ll both make our to-do lists,” she said. She sat down and got started right away.

  I took the pencil and thought for a minute. Then I got to work too.

  Paint box blue and green.

  Make clay tiger.

  Make paper grass.

  Collect plants from outside.

  Paint tiger.

  Stick everything on the diorama.

  I looked at what I’d written. I’d thought making a list would help, but it made me feel worse. There were six steps, and I had less than two days. I might not finish my diorama.

  Just then, Daddy came home. He kissed Mama first, then me.

  “Looks like you two are having a nice, calm, lazy Saturday,” he said.

  I thought about walking all over the neighborhood for nothing. I thought about Nia’s loud rehearsing. I thought about Tiana’s crying. Then I thought about my unfinished diorama and the unsolved mystery.

  Maybe I looked calm, but that was only on the outside.

  CHAPTER 7

  DIORAMA DISASTER

  Daddy sat down at the kitchen table and took a sandwich from the platter Mama had put on the table. He took a great big bite. “Mmmmm,” he said.

  Mama giggled and stood up. “I better get to work,” she said. “I sure am glad I took tomorrow off.” Then she grabbed her planner and her chef uniform and left.

  I let out a sigh. I’d been hoping for Mama’s help.

  Once we were alone, Daddy turned to me. “What’s up?”

  This was the first chance I’d had to talk to Daddy about the zoo and my extra credit assignment. First, I told him all about my field trip. Then, I said, “Now I get to make a diorama. I’m making a tiger habitat.”

  “Wow!” said Daddy. “Can I see it?”

  “There’s nothing to see,” I said.

  I updated Daddy on our not-so-lazy Saturday, and about Greenie. He listened to every single word I said. That was my favorite thing about Daddy. He was a very good listener.

  “Well, I guess you better hop to it,” he said. “The house is nice and quiet now.”

  I went to my room and put my list on my desk. Then I pulled out the art mat Auntie Sam had bought me for my birthday. The mat helped keep my desk clean.

  Next, I got out blue and green paint, a paint brush, and my clay. Then, I put my smock on over my clothes so they wouldn’t get dirty. Auntie Sam had given it to me with the mat.

  Finally I sat down at my desk. I was ready. First, I painted half of the box blue. That would be the sky.

  Then, I painted the other half green. That would be the grass. I didn’t want the outside of the box to look like a shoebox, so I painted the whole outside black.

  Finishing that step made me feel better. I put the box to the side to dry. I crossed step one off my list. Step two was going to be the most fun: making the clay tiger.

  I pulled out the postcard I’d bought at the zoo’s gift shop. It had a picture of Nikita on the front. I was extra glad that I’d bought it before we left.

  I started to shape the clay. It wasn’t as easy as I thought. First, it looked like a rock with legs. Then, it looked like a dog. Finally it was just right.

  Just then, Tiana came crashing into my room. She didn’t even knock.

  “Let’s look for Greenie!” she yelled, barreling toward me.

  Before I could even set my tiger to the side, Tiana bumped my desk and knocked Nikita onto the floor. When I picked her up, Nikita was ruined. One side of my tiger was squished flat. Two legs and one ear had come off. Every single little whisker I’d made had fallen off too.

  “Look what you did!” I shouted. I stood up, grabbed Tiana’s hand, and pulled her to the door. “Get out!”

  Tiana did her baby-elephant cry again. “Owwwwww,” she whined.

  “Get out!” I yelled. “You broke my tiger!”

  I pulled Tiana all the way out of my room. Unfortunately, I ran right into Daddy. I quickly let go of Tiana’s arm.

  Daddy looked at us. He had a pencil behind his ear and was wearing his glasses. I knew he had been in his office working. Tiana and Greenie were interrupting everyone’s day.

  At first I thought I was going to have some explaining to do. But Daddy walked right past me. He went into my room and picked up the tiger pieces. He stared at them for a minute. Then he put them on the desk and walked over to Tiana.

  Daddy bent down so his face was very close to Tiana’s face. “What do you need to say to your sister?” he asked.

  Tiana frowned. “But, Daddy, I only wanted—”

  “I don’t want to hear it,” Daddy said firmly.

  I was glad to have Daddy on my side. My diorama was just as important as Greenie. Tiana had a whole toy box full of stuffies.

  Daddy repeated his question: “What do you need to say to Azaleah?”

  “I’m sorry I broke your tiger,” Tiana mumbled.

  I nodded, but I did not forgive her. Not for one second. Nikita was ruined. She needed a veterinarian.

  So much for step two, I thought.

  Daddy said, “Azaleah, see if you can fix your project.” Then he led Tiana away and shut my door. Even though the door was closed, I heard him tell Tiana not to interrupt me again.

  I sighed. Sometimes having a baby sister was very annoying.

  * * *

  By the time I finished fixing my tiger, it was time for dinner. On weekends, we usually had leftovers from Avec Amour since Mama needed to be at the restaurant.

  Daddy heated up the food and put it on the table. Today Mama had left us macaroni and cheese, glazed ham, and candied yams. She’d also left some homemade rolls.

  A few minutes later, Nia walked back in from her rehearsal. She was all dressed up in her Dorothy costume, and she had on very long fake eyelashes. Her Afro was nice and round.

  The whole time we ate, Nia pretended like she was Dorothy. If anyone talked to her, she gave an answer that didn’t even make any sense.

  Daddy asked, “Nia, how was your rehearsal?”

  “I’m on my way to find the Wiz,” said Nia. “I have to find my way back home.” She bent down and picked up the stuffed Toto from the floor. She hugged him and stared into space.

  Daddy laughed, but Toto must have reminded Tiana of Greenie. She started crying again. “I want Greenie!” she wailed.

  “Ugh, Tiana!” said Nia. “Give it a rest. Nobody wants to hear any more about Greenie.”

  Of course, that made Tiana cry more. I wished Tiana could go spend the night at Auntie Sam’s this weekend. Maybe she could stay at Kevin’s house. I didn’t care where she went. It was worth a try.

  “I think a slumber party might cheer Tiana up,” I suggested.

  Tiana stopped crying and grinned. “Maybe I can have a slumber party with you!” she said.

  I shook my head. I did not want to spend one more minute with my little sister, even if I did have a mystery to solve. I needed to do three steps today and three steps tomorrow if I wanted to finish my diorama. Thanks to Tiana, I had already spent way too much time on step two. I had to get step three done before bed.

  “No way,” I said.

  Tiana went back to crying.

  Lazy Saturday had quickly turned in
to crazy Saturday. Daddy wiped his mouth and scooted his chair away from the table.

  “Everyone is going to bed,” he said. “Now.”

  I started to cry. I tried not to, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t go to bed. I had to make my paper grass.

  “Dad,” said Nia. “It’s six o’clock.”

  “I don’t care,” Daddy said. “This is ridiculous.”

  Nia stomped upstairs with Toto. I looked at Tiana. This was all her fault. She didn’t even look like she felt sorry. She was smiling.

  “Daddy,” she said, “can I have a slumber party with Azaleah?”

  “You have caused enough trouble for one day,” Daddy said.

  Tiana gave Daddy her sweetest smile. “Pleeeeeeeaaaase?” she begged.

  Daddy thought for a long time. Finally he looked at me and winked. I knew what that meant: He had a plan.

  “If I let you have a slumber party in Azaleah’s room, do you promise not to bother her tomorrow?” he asked Tiana.

  I smiled at him. Daddy was smart. We had to go to bed either way. If Tiana agreed and came with me, I’d have all day tomorrow to finish my diorama.

  Tiana grinned and nodded. “Yes, Daddy. I promise.”

  Finally, I’ll have some peace, I thought. And tomorrow, I’ll have an awesome diorama.

  CHAPTER 8

  WORST SLUMBER PARTY EVER

  Slumber parties should be fun. They should be with your best friends. But as soon as my slumber party with Tiana started, I knew it wasn’t going to be either of those things.

  Tiana dragged her sleeping bag and pillow into my room. She spread her stuff out right next to my bed and snuggled up with a big smile on her face.

  My little sister obviously thought she’d won. But I knew I was the winner.

  When Daddy came to tuck us in, he said, “Go right to sleep. No messing around in here.” He kissed us and shut the door.

  “Will you sleep on the floor with me?” asked Tiana.

  I thought about Daddy’s deal. If a good slumber party kept Tiana away from me tomorrow, it was worth it.

  “OK,” I agreed. “But don’t forget—tomorrow you leave me alone.” I pulled my covers onto the floor and made a bed next to Tiana.

  First, Tiana talked. I ignored her. Then, she sang herself a lullaby.

  “Shhhhh!” I whisper-shouted.

  Tiana stopped singing and hummed very softly. Eventually my eyes closed. But as soon as I fell asleep, Tiana woke me up with her crying.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I miss Greenie,” she whispered. “What if he’s scared without me?”

  “Frogs can be nocturnal,” I said. I’d learned that at the zoo. “Greenie is probably fine.”

  Tiana sniffled. “How do you know he’ll be fine? What’s nocturnal?”

  “That means he likes to be awake at night. You’re not nocturnal. You’ll feel better if you go to sleep,” I said.

  I turned over and thought about which plants I needed to collect for my diorama. Next to me, Tiana finally fell asleep. I could tell because she started snoring very softly. It was cute.

  What was not cute was when I woke up in the middle of the night with Tiana sleeping on top of me. She had wiggled all the way onto my covers and was lying on my arm.

  My arm had fallen asleep too and was tingling. I couldn’t even move because I didn’t want to wake Tiana up. I knew if I did she’d start whining about Greenie again.

  Finally Tiana did move. She started tossing and turning in her sleep, almost like she was running. She mumbled Greenie’s name.

  Tiana ran and mumbled for a long time. When she was done, she had turned herself all the way around. Now her toes were touching my cheek.

  I had no choice. I had to wake her up.

  “Tiana, move,” I whispered. I pushed her feet out of my face.

  Tiana sat up and looked around like she had forgotten where she was. When she saw me, she turned around and put her head on my pillow. I hoped she would go back to sleep, but …

  “I want Greenie,” she whispered.

  “I want Greenie too,” I muttered.

  Tiana said, “Where do you think he went?”

  I was having a hard time with this mystery. I didn’t know where Greenie could be. But if I told Tiana that, she would start crying again.

  Suddenly I remembered something Ms. Johnson had taught us: the process of elimination. She said when you didn’t know an answer, you should think about what the answer was not. Greenie was not in the neighborhood or in the house. But Tiana knew right where she’d left him. That was the confusing part.

  I knew what I had to do. We had to return to the scene of the crime.

  “Tiana,” I whispered. “I need you to show me where Greenie was.”

  Tiana got excited. “Right now?”

  “Shhhhh,” I whispered. Looking for clues might also get us in trouble. If Daddy caught us out of bed, he’d be mad. “Yes, right now. But you have to be really quiet.”

  I opened my door and peeked down the hall. The house was dark except for the night-light in the bathroom.

  We tiptoed past Mama and Daddy’s room. Their door was open a crack, and they were asleep.

  We got to the end of the hall without making a single peep. When we reached Tiana’s room, I quietly shut the door behind us. Then I sat on Tiana’s bed.

  “OK, where was Greenie?” I asked.

  “He was right there,” she said.

  “Right where?” I asked.

  “There,” Tiana said. She pointed to the corner of her room near the night-light. There was a small doll bed on the floor, right next to Tiana’s cowgirl boots.

  “In the doll bed?” I asked.

  Tiana nodded.

  “Tell me the whole story,” I said. I got ready to listen very carefully.

  “It was nap time,” said Tiana. “I tucked in Miss Betty first. Then I tucked in Puff Puff. Then I tucked in Greenie. I gave them kisses, and I got in bed. I took a nap.”

  I looked at the doll bed. Miss Betty, Tiana’s doll with curly hair, was still there. So was Puff Puff the Kitty. “Then what?” I asked.

  Tiana looked at me. “Then nothing. I was asleep.”

  “What did you do when you woke up?” I asked.

  “Mama woke me up. Auntie Sam and Woofer were gone. Mama made me hurry because we had to go get you.” Tiana frowned. “She picked me up right out of the bed and carried me to the car.”

  It didn’t make any sense at all. “Did you take Greenie?” I asked.

  “Mama wouldn’t let me.” Tiana’s frown got bigger. “I didn’t remember him till I was buckled in my car seat. She said we were late.”

  “Hmm,” I said. “Was Greenie still in bed when you left?”

  Tiana tilted her head to one side. “I don’t know. I didn’t look.”

  I looked at the doll bed again. I crouched down on the floor. I stared at Miss Betty. The blanket was pulled up to her chin. Puff Puff was right next to her.

  Then I looked at the spot where Greenie was supposed to be. The blanket had been moved just a little bit. One corner of it had a smudge on it. It looked like chocolate.

  I sniffed it, but the smudge didn’t smell like chocolate. It smelled like dirt. There were also a couple of tiny leaves on the floor next to the doll bed.

  Something was not quite right. But I didn’t know what it was.

  Before I could think of a hypothesis about Greenie, Tiana’s door opened. Tiana and I both jumped.

  Daddy stood there frowning at us. “Back to bed,” he said. “NOW.”

  We did what he said. He stood in the hall and watched us go back into my room. Tiana and I got under my covers together. My brain was busy trying to figure out the clues I’d found.

  “Tiana, were your feet dirty whe
n you got home?” I whispered.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered back.

  I needed to go back to the scene of the crime first thing tomorrow morning. I also needed to work on my diorama, but I was determined to crack this case. I had a feeling I was getting close.

  CHAPTER 9

  UNUSUAL SUSPECT

  Early the next morning, Tiana tapped my forehead with her finger. “Can we look for Greenie?” she asked.

  I got right up. The clue about the dirt might help me solve the mystery. Then I would have the rest of the day to work on my diorama.

  Tiana and I ran to her room. Now that it was morning, we didn’t have to sneak. I knelt on the floor next to the doll bed. Puff Puff and Miss Betty were still sleeping. They were right where we’d left them.

  So was the dirty spot. So was the leaf.

  “Do you remember what shoes you had on?” I asked. Maybe Tiana had left the dirty spot.

  Tiana went to the closet to get her ballet shoes. She handed them to me, and I turned them upside down. The bottoms were clean.

  I pointed to the dirt and leaf. “Look,” I said. “How did that get there?”

  Tiana got on the floor next to me. She looked at the spot and crossed her arms. “Somebody got my doll bed dirty!” she said. “And stealed Greenie. I told you.”

  What kind of thief would come in and steal a stuffed animal? I thought. Nothing else was missing. It didn’t make sense. I needed more information.

  “Did you hear anything while you were taking your nap?” I asked.

  Tiana laughed at me. “No, silly. You can’t hear while you’re asleep.”

  I took three deep breaths. “Did anything wake you up?”

  “Just Mama,” she said.

  “Did you hear anything before you fell asleep?” I asked.

  Tiana tilted her head to the side again. She stayed like that for a while. “Yes!” she said. “I heard jingle bells.”

  “‘Jingle Bells’?” I asked. “Like the song?”

  “Like the bells,” Tiana said. “Like the kind on an elf’s hat.”