A Star on TV, Lucy McGee

by Mary Amato

  Leo and Lily both started dancing around.

  I couldn’t tell them that I wanted it to rain.

  So I made up a song.

  Clouds, listen up! You need to go away.

  Just think of all the soccer dudes ready to play.

  More sun is what we need. Not a wet mess.

  Raincoats need a nap. Umbrellas need a rest.

  “We’re tired of being wet!” shoes and socks cry.

  Toes are forgetting what it’s like to be dry.

  So scram for a while. Take a hike. Say “Bye!”

  You’re a big wet bully hogging up the sky.

  “You’re amazing, Lucy!” my dad said. While I kept going, he joined in, dancing around with Leo and Lily.

  Go hang out on Mount Everest and turn into snow.

  Adios, amigo. It’s time for you to go.

  Yeah, plants need the rain, but the flowers are frowning!

  They need the sun, too! The worms are almost drowning!

  Leo stopped dancing. His smile evaporated. “Lucy, are the worms going to drown?”

  “Don’t worry!” My dad scooped him up in a hug. “Worms are really good at taking care of themselves.”

  My mom walked in and Leo and Lily starting dancing again, and then we had dinner. I just couldn’t find the right time to ask either of my parents about the party. As I was falling asleep, I made up another song. I sang it to the clouds very softly.

  Clouds, listen up! You need to stay.

  I need a game to get canceled so nobody can play.

  More rain is what I need. A real wet mess.

  Raincoats and umbrellas won’t get a rest.

  “We’re tired of being wet!” shoes and socks cry.

  Sorry, little feet, but you can’t be dry.

  So stick around, clouds. Invite more. Say “Hi!”

  You might as well have a party in the sky.

  I was feeling two things at the same time. I really wanted it to not rain so we could all go to Leo’s soccer game. And I really wanted it to rain so we could stay home and I could have a party.

  Some people wake up because of an alarm clock. Some people wake up because they have a cute puppy or a cat that jumps into bed for a snuggle. I woke up because twenty worms were squirming on my face.

  Ten of the worms belonged to Leo. Ten belonged to Lily.

  “Get up, Lucy!” Leo said, wriggling his worm-fingers all over my head.

  “Up, Yucy!” Lily said.

  I sat up and wiped my face. Lily’s worm-fingers were especially gross because of her runny nose. They were both wearing the same soccer clothes they were wearing yesterday.

  “Dad is sick,” Leo said. “Lily was bad and gave him her cold.”

  “Me no bad!” Lily punched Leo.

  “Ouch! That was bad!” Leo said. “Don’t be a hitter.”

  “Stop it,” I said, getting out of bed. “Lily, it’s not your fault. Don’t say that, Leo.”

  Lily chased Leo out of the room.

  I glanced out the window. The sky was blue. There were some clouds, but they were way high in the sky. Definitely a perfect day to play soccer. I didn’t know what I was going to do.

  “Good morning, sleepy girl!” My mom walked in and gave me a kiss. “Hey, I have a favor to ask. Dad is feeling too sick to go to the game. And I’m worried about Lily’s cold getting worse. Would you mind staying home and taking care of Lily so Dad can stay in bed? I’ll take Leo to his game.”

  “That’s perfect!” I said. “I didn’t want to go to Leo’s game because I wanted to have some friends over.” I started bouncing with excitement.

  “No friends today, Lucy,” my mom said.

  I stopped. “But I was going to have a songwriting party. We were going to make up songs so we can be on TV. Scarlett’s mom—”

  “Lucy, no party. Your dad needs a quiet house so he can rest. We can find another day for you to have friends over. I’m making pancakes. Hop into some clothes and come on down.” My mom started to leave.

  I should tell my mom that I already invited my friends, but I was afraid she wouldn’t like that. “Mom…,” I said.

  She stopped and turned.

  I looked out the window at the backyard and a sneaky idea popped into my head. If I took Lily and the snacks outside, and if my friends happened to come over, then we could write songs and eat snacks together in the backyard. It wouldn’t be a party. We wouldn’t bother my dad at all. In fact, Lily would love it, so that was a huge help. “Mom, since it’s nice out, is it okay to take Lily outside this afternoon to play for a little?”

  “Sure,” my mom said. “Just make sure she’s wearing a coat and wipe her nose if it runs.”

  “Can we bring some snacks outside?”

  “Sure, as long as you do all the work. No bothering your dad.” She left.

  I jumped into my clothes. This would work! On my way down to breakfast, I bumped into my dad.

  His hair was a mess. His nose was red. And the pockets of his bathrobe were overflowing with tissues.

  “You look terrible!” I said.

  He laughed. “Thanks, Lucy. I hear you’re going to babysit Lily. Sorry you’ll miss the game. But there will be others.”

  The morning went by really slowly. Leo was so excited, he wanted to wear his cleats inside, and when my mom wouldn’t let him, he howled. He was a pain, but it was just because he was so excited. I was glad, then, that it didn’t rain. That would have been sad for him.

  And then, as the minutes passed, we all kept noticing those fluffy clouds growing bigger and darker. Now I didn’t want it to rain!

  Finally it was 1:30 p.m. The sun was blocked, but there wasn’t any rain. Everything was going to be fine. My mom sat Leo by the front door and put his cleats on.

  “Finally!” Leo said. “I been wanting to wear these things all day.”

  “I told you,” my mom said. “Cleats dig into the ground. They’re not for indoors.”

  Leo stood up, suddenly sad. “Oh no! This is terrible!” he howled.

  “What?” my mom asked.

  He stared at his cleats. “If they dig into the ground, they’ll hurt the worms!” He took a big breath and looked at all of us with the saddest face. “I can’t play!”

  He yanked off his cleats and ran upstairs.

  I couldn’t believe it.

  My friends were coming. Now what?

  “I got this, Mom,” I said, and ran into Leo and Lily’s room. He wasn’t there. Then I heard a lonely howl coming from my room. I followed it and opened my closet door.

  Leo looked up at me with a sad face. “I want to play, but I can’t.”

  “Leo, it’s okay. Worms like cleats.”

  His eyes got big. “They do?”

  “Cleats make holes in the ground, and worms like holes in the ground.”

  “They do?”

  “Sure. Holey ground is better for worms. It brings water down and makes it easier for them to crawl.”

  Leo jumped up. “If they like holes, I can make a lot of them!” He ran past me and down the stairs, yelling, “Mom! They like holes!”

  My mom gave me a big hug, and they left.

  Whew! That was close.

  “Dad, you can go back to sleep,” I said. “I’ll take Lily outside to play.”

  He smiled. “I love Leo, but it will be nice to have a quiet house.”

  After he went upstairs, I got to work. First I put a sign on the front door.

  Next I helped Lily put her coat on and stuffed her pockets full of tissues. I got a bag of chips, my songwriting notebook, and my ukulele, and we went out to the backyard. The clouds were huge and dark gray and the sun was blocked, but no rain.

  “Hey, Lucy!” Phillip walked through the gate with his ukulele. “I’ve got a great beginning for a song.”

  L
ily ran over and hugged his legs. “Yup!” she said. That’s her nickname for Phillip.

  He patted her on the top of her head. “Hi, Lily. Did you know you have stuff running out of your nostrils?”

  “That’s my job. I’m babysitting,” I said, and wiped her nose. “Let’s hear your song.”

  He strummed and sang.

  The weather’s getting odd.

  We’re predicting hail.

  Little stones of ice will fall.

  Collect it in a pail!

  Hail can be round or jagged.

  Droplets freeze in clouds.

  When hail hits your house or car,

  it sounds quite loud.

  Stay inside today.

  Get cozy on your couch.

  ’Cause playing in a hailstorm

  will make your head go “Ouch!”

  “That’s a great song!” Resa said. She walked through the gate next.

  “It’s just the first part,” Phillip said. “I think it needs more facts.”

  “Our drought song needs more verses, too,” she said.

  Before we could work on either, all our other friends came walking through the gate.

  “We’re doing weather songs!” Phillip said, and held up his uke.

  Scarlett and Victoria and Mara looked at each other. And I could tell what they were thinking. They were thinking about the fact that they were going to sing the weather on Wednesday. Without us. Which wasn’t fair.

  “Scarlett,” Resa said. “Weren’t you and Victoria and Mara writing a song about sunshine?”

  “We haven’t finished it,” Scarlett said.

  “I put in a part about pollen,” Mara said. “I have allergies.”

  “That’s good,” Phillip said. “We need facts in our weather songs. Sing it. We can all help add a verse.”

  Scarlett, Victoria, and Mara sang:

  The sky is blue. The air is slightly breezy.

  The pollen count is low. So you shouldn’t be sneezy.

  “That’s a great beginning, and you sound really great singing it,” I said. I meant it. All three of them are good singers.

  “Let’s put in something about the temperature,” Resa said.

  We worked together and wrote more and sang all our songs in a row. Then I wiped Lily’s nose, and everybody in the club got excited. Not about Lily’s snot. About the songs.

  “These are good songs!” Phillip said.

  “It would be so cool if we could all sing our weather songs on a real TV station!” I said, and Victoria and Mara looked at Scarlett.

  Scarlett’s face turned red.

  Mara pulled Scarlett aside and whispered something. Then they came back.

  Scarlett said, “Maybe we could all sing on real TV.”

  My heart started beating like crazy. Phillip and Resa leaned in.

  “My mom said we could sing on Channel Four this Wednesday,” Scarlett said. “But I’m not sure how many of us.”

  Saki and Natalie started going crazy. Saki hugged Scarlett. “You would be amazing if you could make that happen, Scarlett.”

  Scarlett smiled.

  “Call her!” Natalie said.

  “We can sing her the songs right now,” Pablo said.

  We all jumped up and gathered around Scarlett. She video-called her mom and we sang and played all our songs in a row. When we were done, we all stared at Scarlett’s mom’s face on Scarlett’s phone.

  “What do you think, Mom?” Scarlett asked. “Could we all sing on Wednesday?”

  “Those are great songs,” Mrs. Tandy said. “Let’s have everybody come to the studio. We’ll video you singing all the songs and showcase them.”

  “Woohoo!” We all started cheering.

  “Thanks, you won’t be sorry!” Phillip said into the phone before Scarlett hung up.

  We all danced around.

  “One for all and all for the Songwriting Club,” I said.

  Everybody held up their ukes. “One for all and all for the—”

  And then…booooooom! The sky rumbled.

  We looked up. We’d been so busy singing about the weather, we’d forgotten to pay attention to it. Huge dark clouds had gathered.

  Crrrraaaaack! Lightning flashed, and we all jumped. Lily grabbed my hand. Suddenly it began to rain. Everybody started yelling and laughing.

  “Let’s go inside!” Scarlett shouted, and ran to the back door.

  “Wait!” I said.

  Too late! Everybody was running into the house!

  I picked up Lily and ran into the house.

  “Guys!” I whispered. “Shh!”

  My friends were all standing in the kitchen, dripping rain all over the floor.

  Lily thought it was funny.

  Phillip started singing:

  It’s raining cats and dogs?

  I’d say it’s raining…cows!

  “Please be quiet!” I said.

  “Mo cows!” Lily squealed. “Mo cows!”

  “Shh!” I said.

  But everybody thought she was cute and started dancing around with her singing.

  It’s raining cats and dogs?

  I’d say it’s raining…cows!

  “Guys!” I waved my arms up and down to get everybody’s attention. “Please be quiet!”

  Everybody stopped and looked at me.

  “My dad is sleeping upstairs, and he doesn’t exactly know you’re here.”

  “Will he be mad?” Mara whispered.

  I nodded.

  “A mad dad is not fun,” Scarlett said. “I thought this was supposed to be a party, Lucy.”

  “This is bad,” Phillip said.

  Just then we heard a sound coming from above the kitchen.

  “He’s coming! Hide!”

  My friends all scattered. Victoria and Resa hid behind the couch. Mara and Scarlett crouched behind the big chair. Pablo hid behind the curtains. Natalie and Saki crawled under the kitchen table. And Phillip hid in the bathroom by the front door.

  “Hide! Hide!” Lily said, and clapped her hands. Lily loves to play hide-and-seek.

  My dad walked into the room. He was in his bathrobe and looked like he was half asleep.

  “Hey, Lucy,” he said. “I thought I heard thunder.”

  I stood frozen in the kitchen. Nobody moved. “Yeah,” I said. “It started to rain.”

  Lily laughed and ran around to peek behind the big chair.

  I tried to pick her up, but she kept running and laughing.

  “You’re doing a great job babysitting, Lucy,” my dad said. He walked to the fridge and poured himself a big glass of ice water. “Lily, don’t you want to take a nap?”

  “Hide!” Lily said, and pointed at the couch where Resa and Victoria were hiding.

  “She doesn’t need a nap, Dad!” I said. “She wants to play hide-and-seek.”

  Lily ran and pointed to the bathroom door where Phillip was hiding. “Yup!” she said. “Yup!”

  I grabbed her stuffed puppy on the couch and pretended it was barking. “Yip! Yip! Yup! Yup! Right, Lily? That’s what the puppy says!” I smiled at my dad. “We’re playing all kinds of games.”

  Lily tried to open the bathroom door. “Yup!”

  I could see Mara and Scarlett behind the chair. Their eyes were huge.

  “Thanks, Lucy,” my dad said. “Call me if you need me.” He walked out of the room.

  As soon as we heard his footsteps on the stairs, Natalie and Saki poked their heads out from under the kitchen table.

  “That was close,” I whispered. “Everybody has to go!”

  Just as all my friends were creeping out of their hiding places, I heard the car pull into the driveway. Oh no! Now my mom was home!

  “Lucy,” my dad called. “Sounds like Mom is home.” My dad’s footsteps hit the stairs again.

&nbs
p; Everybody ran back to their hiding places, and Lily started clapping again. “Hide! Hide!”

  My dad walked into the living room with his big glass of water. “They must have gotten rained out.”

  He was just about to open the front door when Leo burst in, dripping wet.

  He almost knocked my dad’s water out of the glass.

  “Gotta go!” Leo said, and ran straight to the bathroom.

  “Wait!” I started to say. But he opened the bathroom door, saw Phillip, screamed, and turned around. This time, he did knock the water out of my dad’s glass.

  The water flew over the chair and splashed Scarlett and Mara. They screamed and jumped up.

  My dad was so surprised he fell back on the couch, and that made Victoria and Resa scream and pop up like prairie dogs.

  Leo screamed again and ran for the front door, bumping against Pablo, who was hiding behind the curtain. Freaking out, Leo raced toward the kitchen, saw Saki and Natalie under the kitchen table, and screamed even louder.

  Just then my mom walked in holding the sign about meeting in the backyard, which I had forgotten to take off the front door. “What on earth is going on?”

  My dad looked at all my friends. “I have no idea,” he said. “A second ago, none of these kids were here.”

  Leo started crying and staring at his shorts. He had gotten so surprised, he wet his pants.

  “Oh no!” My mom scooped him up and carried him into the bathroom.

  I had a realization. Sometimes sneaky ideas can be good. Like putting potato chips in your friends’ lunches. And sometimes sneaky ideas can be bad. Like not asking permission to have friends come over. I got so excited about my sneaky ideas, I didn’t stop to think which ones were good and which ones were bad.

  “Lucy, what’s going on?” my dad asked.

  “I invited the Songwriting Club over for a party, but I forgot to ask you and Mom.”