by Mary Amato
“Is my hair puffy?” I asked Phillip.
“Very.” He nodded and rubbed his stomach. He looked even more sick.
“I think sleeping with my hair braided made it wavy,” I said. “Does it look good?”
He shrugged. “I liked it fine the old way.”
It was the nicest thing anybody ever said to me. He was about to take the last sip of milk, but I stopped him. “Phillip Lee, you are not too short.”
He gave me a weak smile and tossed the carton into a recycling bin.
By the time we walked in, everybody had put away their backpacks and were sitting at their desks. They all looked at us.
And then Scarlett started laughing. Again.
I went over to the mirror by Mr. Chomper’s cage and looked. The bottom half of my hair was crazy wavy. The top half of my hair was sticking up. Even Mr. Chomper the hamster was laughing.
There was a spray bottle of water on the counter. I picked it up and started spraying it all over my hair.
“No!” Mrs. Brock yelled. “That’s not water! That’s vinegar for cleaning Mr. Chomper’s cage.”
Vinegar was dripping down my head. I smelled like a salad!
“Yuck!” Mara said, and plugged her nose.
“Oh no!” Phillip said.
Everybody looked at him, and then he ran over to the trash can and threw up.
A lot.
The whole class started running and screaming. Even Resa.
Resa would never want to sing with us again. Nobody would.
“Class!” Mrs. Brock yelled. She made everybody sit down.
Phillip got to go home. I had to wash my hair in the sink and go back to class.
Not a fun day. At all.
By the time I got home, my hair was flat and my stomach was growling. I didn’t want my tooth to fall out, so I didn’t eat lunch. You know how people say “I was so hungry I could have eaten a horse?” Well, I could have eaten a team of horses.
When I walked in the door, I heard my dad and Leo and Lily playing upstairs.
At least somebody was having a good day.
One Crunchzel was left. It was sitting there, smelling like chocolatey goodness. I grabbed that baby and shoved it in my mouth.
Yum! Yum! Crunch!
I bit something hard. “Oh no!” I yelled.
I spit out my tooth! I ran to the mirror and looked at the hole in my mouth. I’d thought the day couldn’t get any worse. It had gotten worse.
Leo and Lily came running down with my dad following.
“My tooth!” I screamed, and held it up.
“Yay!” Leo said. “You can get money from the tooth fairy!”
“I don’t want money. I want my tooth back in my mouth!” I said. I marched over to the kitchen and threw that tooth into the trash can. Then I ran upstairs and sat in my closet.
Everybody wanted to cheer me up, but it couldn’t be done.
“Come down, Lucy,” my dad called up. “We’re going to play in the backyard before dinner. Fresh air will be good for you.”
“Fresh air will just blow through the big hole in my mouth and make it worse,” I said.
While they played outside, I took my ukulele into my closet and wrote a new song.
I want to stay in my closet
right now.
I want to stay in my closet
and howl.
Everyone will hear me
and say, “Wow, oh wow.
We feel sorry for that kid
in the closet.”
Aawooo! Aawooo!
I want to stay in my closet
and howl.
Don’t try and make me
come out.
Don’t cheer me up,
’cause I won’t allow it.
Just feel sorry for the kid
in the closet.
Aawooo! Aawooo! Aawooo!
Singing and playing my ukulele always makes me feel better.
After a while a thought popped into my head. I should get that tooth out of the trash can and put it under my pillow. Money can’t buy you happiness, but it’s better than nothing. I tiptoed down to the kitchen.
The trash can was empty!
I ran to the back door and looked out. My dad must have taken the kitchen trash out to the big trash can. Now my tiny tooth was in that big can with all the gross stuff. I would never find it.
I went back upstairs and vented. I cried and howled very loudly, but nobody even heard me.
Finally, I was vented out. My mom came home, and we ate spaghetti and garlic bread. I told everybody how Scarlett was going to make fun of my smile, and they all told me not to listen to her. Easy for them to say.
“Well, it’s good to see you are finally eating again,” my mom said.
“What do you call a group of pigs?” I asked.
“A litter,” my dad said.
“I was going to say I’m eating like a pig,” I said. “But I’m really eating like a litter of pigs.” I took another chomp of garlic bread.
“Tomorrow will be a better day,” my mom said.
“I doubt it,” I said. “But at least I’ll be full.”
I was tired, so I went to bed at the same time as Leo and Lily even though I am allowed to stay up half an hour later. When I put my head on my pillow, something sounded funny.
I lifted up my pillow. There was a note. I opened it up. It was written in my dad’s handwriting. My tooth was at the bottom! It was taped onto the paper.
Dear Tooth Fairy,
This is Leo. I’m in kindergarten and my writing isn’t good, so I’m telling my dad what to put here. This is Lucy’s tooth! She did not mean to throw it out. Please give her extra money because this is a very nice tooth and because Lucy is very sad.
Love,
Leo
That made me so happy. I tiptoed into Leo and Lily’s bedroom. They were both tucked in, and the light was already off.
“Leo,” I whispered.
He opened his eyes.
“Thank you for getting my tooth,” I said.
“That was a really good deed.”
“Are you done being sad?” he asked.
“I’m still a little sad, but you helped a lot.”
I started tiptoeing out.
“Lucy!” he whispered.
“What?” I turned around.
“Tell me when you’re all the way happy,” he said.
I smiled. “Okay, Leo. Good night!”
“I don’t care if I’m short,” Phillip said. He was waiting for me by the fence.
“I don’t care if my hair is flat and my smile is holey,” I said. I showed him the hole in my smile and the money I found under my pillow. “My dad is taking me to Franklin’s after school so I can buy candy. So that’s one good thing.”
“Yeah,” he said. “And we’re going to make a new song and be good in the talent show. We don’t need anybody else.” He held out his fist and I fist-bumped it.
“Okay, but I can’t write a song during school, Phillip. My dad said if I got in trouble during school, he wouldn’t take me for candy.”
All day I was quiet and good.
After school my dad and Leo and Lily and I went downtown. We were about to walk into Franklin’s Candy Store when a voice called out, “Lucy!”
We turned. Scarlett’s babysitter ran up to us with Brandy, Scarlett’s little sister. Catherine had been babysitting Brandy and Scarlett every day after school for years, so our family knew her.
“Hi, Catherine,” my dad said. “How are you? Hi, Brandy. You’re getting huge!”
They both said hi, and then Catherine said, “I’m worried about Scarlett.”
“Scarlett’s annoying,” Brandy said, and rolled her eyes.
“That’s what Lucy says,” Leo blurted out.
My dad shushed him, and I turned red.
“Since Wednesday, Scarlett hasn’t been eating,” Catherine said. “She’s also been walking around with a heavy book on her head. When I asked her why, she said she was trying to squash herself down because she’s too tall. That’s also why she’s not eating. I dropped her off at gymnastics ten minutes ago, and they called to say she’s feeling sick and needs to be picked up.” Catherine turned to me. “Lucy, do you know if kids at school have been teasing Scarlett about being too tall?”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t write that note about Scarlett being too tall, but it was kind of my fault that Victoria wrote it.
“Lucy?” my dad asked. “Do you know anything about this?”
“I never said she’s too tall,” I said. “She doesn’t seem sad at school.”
“I think she’s trying to hide how sad she is,” Catherine said. “We all know Scarlett can be dramatic, but I think she’s having a hard time right now. And I’m not sure how to help her. I can’t change her height!”
My dad nodded. “I think this talent show is making all the kids worry too much. Right, Lucy?” He looked at me. “You’ve been worrying about your hair and your tooth falling out. That’s been hard for you, too.”
I turned even redder. The guys in my family sure talk a lot.
“Can you think of some way to help?” my dad asked.
Everybody was looking at me.
“I guess I could say something nice to Scarlett about how she isn’t too tall,” I said.
“That would be great, Lucy!” Catherine said. “Scarlett needs a boost.”
We said goodbye. As we walked into Franklin’s, my dad gave me a hug and said, “I’m proud of you for thinking of that, Lucy. I know it’s hard to be nice to someone who hasn’t been nice to you, but it’s a sign of your big heart.”
My heart didn’t feel big. It felt small and crumpled.
While I picked out my candy, I thought about it. If I was nice to Scarlett, maybe she would be nice to me and we could all sing “The Together Song” for the show. Resa and all the others in our club would be so happy. Scarlett and Victoria and Mara are really good at singing. And there’s the costumes. Scarlett’s mom would get us costumes, and Scarlett’s mom is rich.
I didn’t want a small, sad heart. I wanted a huge, happy one, so I decided to go to Scarlett’s and make things right.
When we got home, I went over to Scarlett’s and knocked on the door. Catherine looked happy to see me. “Scarlett’s in the backyard,” Catherine said.
I walked around to the back, and Scarlett looked at me.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
I held out a piece of candy.
She looked at it and then at me.
“It’s not poison,” I said. “I promise.”
“Why are you giving it to me?” she asked.
“I’m trying to make up. I’m sorry about the note,” I said. “Victoria didn’t mean what she said in her note. She was just trying to get back at you. You’re not too tall, Scarlett. We should all sing together.”
Scarlett started to cry. Not fake tears, real tears. It made my throat feel funny.
“But it’s true,” she cried. “I’m too tall. And I don’t play the ukulele or sing as good as you and Phillip.”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
She went on. “My problem is that I get a picture in my mind of how I want things to be. I got this picture in my mind of me being in the front row when we sing our song for the talent show, and it’s a really nice picture.” She looked at me and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
“It’s true, Lucy. I like being in the front row of things!” Scarlett sobbed. “And then I got really worried that Ms. Adamson would put you and Phillip in the front because you guys play and sing better than me. And you’re short and I’m too tall!”
I was shocked. Scarlett was saying she was jealous of me and Phillip!
“That’s not all,” she cried. “My mom said she wouldn’t buy us costumes, either.”
I could tell she was sadder than sad. It’s hard when you think you’re going to get something special, and then you find out it was just your imagination.
“Scarlett,” I said. “We could sing the song together. We could be friends again.”
“You aren’t mad at me for what I wrote?”
I handed her the candy.
She smiled a real smile and took it. “Thanks, Lucy.”
While she ate it, I thought about how amazing candy was. Whenever one country is mad at another country, they should give each other candy. If they did that, we wouldn’t have any wars.
She started singing the song.
An idea popped into my head. “We could make our own costumes. We could put glitter on white T-shirts. We’d all look really good.”
“I love glitter, Lucy!” Scarlett said. “That is the best idea ever.” She started jumping up and down.
When someone jumps up and down, I do, too. That’s the way I am. My mom says I am easily infected by feelings.
“Can you come over tomorrow?” she asked. “It will be so much fun. Bring a white T-shirt and all the glitter you have. We can make costumes for us and then show everybody else.”
She started singing the song, and I joined in.
The more we sing together,
the more the merrier we’ll be.
Life is a surprise. I couldn’t wait to tell Phillip and Resa and everybody else.
I sang and danced all the way home. When I got there, I said to Leo, “Hey, my heart is all the way happy!”
He gave me such a huge hug, it knocked me over. And of course, Lily jumped on top of us!
If you’re me, it’s hard to find a white T-shirt. I had three, but none of them were good. One had a rip from the time Leo was pretending to be a tiger. One had a grass stain from when Leo and Lily and I were pretending to be meatballs rolling out the door. And one was just plain dirty.
I took the grass-stained shirt and a jar of glitter over to Scarlett’s after lunch on Sunday. I was going to go on Saturday, but Scarlett forgot she had gymnastics that day.
“Yay!” she said when I got to her house.
As everybody knows, Scarlett’s house is fancy, so I took off my shoes. We went to her bedroom, which is also fancy. Her walls are pink, but her carpeting, bedspread, and pillows are all white. I went in and sat on her bed.
Yow! I sat on her cat, which was also white!
Princess Coconut screeched and jumped off the bed.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” I said to the cat.
The cat gave me a mean look. Princess Coconut does not like me.
“Look!” Scarlett said. “I made costume sketches! Which should we do?”
She set out a drawing with three different T-shirts. One had unicorns all over it. One had kittens. And one had unicorns and kittens.
“These look hard,” I said. “And they don’t really have to do with our song.”
“They aren’t hard,” she said. “And they’re really pretty.”
Just then her mom walked in. “Hi girls. Why don’t you come and work at the kitchen table? I’ll get you some snacks.”
I got up, but Scarlett kept looking at the sketches.
“We want to work in here,” Scarlett said. “Brandy is annoying.”
“I am okay working in the kitchen,” I said.
Mrs. Tandy smiled at me, but then Scarlett snapped, “No way. I’m not moving.”
My dad wouldn’t let me talk that way, but Mrs. Tandy got a tray of snacks and brought them to us. Fruit punch in pretty glasses and little gooey brownies. Yum!
“Just be neat and work on your desk,” her mom said. “Don’t get anything on the carpet,
okay?”
“Don’t be such a worrier,” Scarlett said.
Her mom left.
Scarlett got a big box of craft supplies. “This will be easier to do on the floor,” she said.
“Your mom said we should work on your desk,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “We’ll be careful and neat. Come on and help!”
She set the shirts on the floor and got out glue and glitter. “You paint on the glue, and then I’ll put the glitter on.” She handed me a paintbrush and poured some glue onto a paper plate. Then she poured some glitter onto another paper plate.
Princess Coconut slinked toward us. I was worried the cat would step in the glue, so I picked up the plate.
Just then Brandy opened the door and yelled, “Boo!”
The cat jumped and knocked against my hand. Scarlett jumped, too. The glue and glitter went all over Princess Coconut.
The cat screeched and ran out of the room.
Brandy laughed.
Scarlett yelled at her and jumped up, knocking over the fruit punch.
Oh no! The white carpeting now had a big red puddle.
Scarlett chased after Brandy, yelling, “You brat!”
I jumped up to get a towel from the bathroom and stepped on a brownie.
Mrs. Tandy, Scarlett, and Brandy were all yelling in the hallway, and then they came in.
Scarlett was holding a gluey, glittery Princess Coconut.
Her mom looked at the mess on the floor. “What on earth happened?”
Scarlett yelled, “Brandy tried to scare us, and she made a huge mess.”
Brandy pointed to me. “Lucy made the mess. I was just walking into the room. It’s not my fault they got scared.”
“She’s lying!” Scarlett screamed, and made a face at Brandy.
“I hate you!” Brandy yelled, and made a face back.
“You’re a brat,” Scarlett said. “I hate you more.” They started pushing each other, and the cat jumped out of Scarlett’s arms and ran out of the room.
