by Brann Garvey
“We’ll have to eat somewhere else,” Dad said. “We’re taking your cousins with us. You can’t be trusted.”
I smiled. Messing up worked! I didn’t have to watch my cousins after all.
But Dad wasn’t finished. “You’re GROUNDED for the rest of our vacation,” he told me. No fireworks and no birthday party. And no hanging out with Mason and Randi.”
Claudia’s Worst Vacation Ever Journal
Motel Room, Florida. Saturday, 7:18 p.m.
I’m not dependable anymore. So I guess nobody will ask me to do stuff. That’s what I wanted, but I don’t feel like I won. I feel like a total loser.
CHAPTER 7
Sunday
Breakfast Blues
My fabulous Florida vacation was RUINED.
That night, I watched the fireworks from the motel window. ALONE. My cousins weren’t even there. But they were at the beach house the next day to bug me at breakfast.
“Claudia’s in trouble!” Alisha sang, skipping around me. “Claudia’s in trouble.”
Gabe put a huge beetle in my cereal.
Jose tripped over my foot. Then he said I tried to hurt him on purpose.
After breakfast, I picked up Jimmy’s video game. I usually didn’t play video games, but I was bored. Dad took it away.
A few minutes later, Randi and Mason stopped by. “Want to go snorkeling again?” Mason asked.
“Can’t.” I said. I didn’t want to explain.
Alisha explained for me. “Claudia’s grounded,” she said. Then she shut the door.
I volunteered to help Grandma with the dishes. I needed her advice. So I was honest.
“I was late on purpose,” I confessed.
“Why?” Grandma asked. She wasn’t mad. She was puzzled.
I looked down at the ground. Then I said, “Everybody expects me to babysit and help out. Even if I don’t want to or I have something else to do. I don’t even get paid. Aunt Maria and Uncle Renaldo stick me with the cousins just because I’m there and they want to sleep.”
I took a quick breath. Then I went on, “Jimmy doesn’t have to do anything. Plus, he doesn’t get grounded when he messes up, which is all the time.”
“Did you tell your father that?” Grandma asked.
I shook my head. I knew that Dad wouldn’t take back a punishment unless he was wrong. He wasn’t wrong. I was late on purpose.
“Your dad deserves an explanation,” Grandma said.
I sighed. “Okay,” I said.
“And you should be nicer to Alisha,” Grandma added.
“No way!” I exclaimed. “She’s a selfish brat, and she hates me.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Grandma said. She patted my cheek.
Claudia’s Still-Awful Florida Vacation Journal
Motel Room, Florida. Sunday, 11:47 a.m.
Grandma said that Alisha picks on me because she wants me to like her. Really! Grandma said that Alisha thinks I won’t like her, so she does awful things to make sure of it. That way her feelings won’t be hurt.
It makes sense in a weird seven-year-old way. Alisha can tell herself it’s the awful things I don’t like, not her.
Fixing a Problem
I found Mom and Dad and told them everything.
“I’m on vacation too,” I explained. “But nobody else had to babysit or help Grandma clean up.”
Dad didn’t say anything. He raised an eyebrow. He does that when something seems odd or unbelievable. So do I.
“Taking you for granted wasn’t fair,” Mom said. “But you should have told us before you got into trouble. It’s too late now.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m really sorry I made you miss dinner at that nice restaurant.”
I went back to the motel room. I read another chapter of my BOOK. I didn’t fall asleep.
Claudia’s Not-So-Terrible Florida Vacation Journal
Motel Room, Florida. Sunday, 2:11 p.m.
Nobody can fix a problem if they don’t know there is a problem.
Mom and Dad didn’t realize they were being unfair. I didn’t tell them. I just did something mean to hurt them.
Afternoon Apologies
Being grounded at the beach was a hundred times worse than being grounded at home.
The whole Gulf of Mexico was right outside, but I couldn’t even get my big toe wet.
I couldn’t even watch a movie on TV.
Jose was watching cartoons. And I was watching the cousins.
Dad knew I wouldn’t do anything STUPID like leave the kids alone. He was right. I wanted him to trust me again.
The Claudia Cristina Cortez Rebellion was over.
“Would you like me to fix your hair, Alisha?” I asked. “For the party tonight?”
Grandma told me that Alisha would stop being a brat if I was nice to her. I didn’t think it would work, but it was worth a shot.
Alisha frowned. “Fix it how?” she asked suspiciously.
“Make it curly like mine,” I said. “And tie it with a ribbon. I have lots of different colors.”
Alisha scrunched up her face. “Okay, but it better not hurt,” she said finally.
“It won’t,” I said.
Alisha sat in a chair. I used my curling iron to curl her hair. I was very careful so that I wouldn’t burn her.
When the curls were done, I pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Then I tied a ribbon around it. The pink ribbon matched her shirt.
“You look GREAT!” I exclaimed.
Alisha nodded, but she didn’t look happy.
I pretended not to notice. “Let’s do your nails too,” I said.
First, I soaked her fingers in soapy water. Then I filed the rough edges of her nails.
While I filed her nails, I talked about the teen magazines I liked. But Alisha didn’t say anything.
I was starting to think that Grandma had been really, really wrong about Alisha.
“Pick a color,” I said. I showed her three bottles of fingernail polish.
Alisha suddenly glared at me. “Do you think Mason is cute?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “But he’s not as cute as Brad Turino.”
“Who’s Brad Turino?” Alisha asked.
“He’s the boy I like at school,” I said.
“You have a BOYFRIEND?” Alisha whispered. She stopped glaring.
Then I figured something out.
Alisha had a crush on Mason! She was jealous of me because she thought I liked Mason too.
That’s why she was acting like a total brat!
But she wouldn’t be jealous if she knew I liked someone else.
“He’s not my boyfriend, but I wish he was,” I said. “He’s a fantastic football player, and he’s totally GORGEOUS.”
“Cool!” Alisha said. She grinned. Then she pointed to the pink nail polish. “I like that one the best,” she told me.
I painted Alisha’s nails very carefully. While I did, she talked about how FUNNY and cool Mason was.
“Let’s put on a little bit of lip gloss,” I said. “I wiped off the Gabe germs.”
Alisha giggled. Then she hugged me. “Thanks, Claudia,” she said. “I wish you could come to Great-Grandpa’s party.”
“Me too,” I told her.
The cousins left for the party at 5:30.
I changed the TV channel at 5:31. Cartoon music was giving me a headache.
Then Dad came to the door. “I owe you an apology, Claudia,” he said. “It was wrong to make you work so much on your vacation.”
I blinked with surprise.
“That doesn’t excuse what you did,” he went on. “You were late on purpose. So you still have to be punished. But you can be grounded when we get home. You should enjoy the rest of your vacation.”
I almost fell over!
Claudia’s Fabulous Florida Vacation Journal
Motel Room, Florida. Sunday, 5:36 p.m.
I’m going to Great-Grandpa’s birthday party!
CHAPTER 8
P.S.
I had a blast.
Dad wasn’t mad at me anymore, and Mason and Randi were at the party too. We hung out all night.
Dad told Aunt Maria and Uncle Renaldo they had to pay me two dollars an hour to babysit.
That’s a BARGAIN, but they grumbled anyway. I guess they thought cousins were FUN to babysit so they didn’t need to pay me.
Uncle Diego played the guitar, and the whole family, plus Mason and Randi, had a singalong on the beach. Jimmy used pots and pans for drums.
Alisha and I are friends now. Mason danced with her three times. She was so thrilled she practically glowed in the dark!
Mason and Randi gave me their e-mail addresses. They want to come visit me on their next vacation! I had the best time with them in Florida. I can’t wait until they come to visit me.
Ping-Ping was glad to be home from the vet, but she wouldn’t let me pet her for three days. I guess she was still mad at me.
I was glad to be home too, but I’ll NEVER forget my fabulous Florida vacation!
About the Author
Diana G. Gallagher lives in Florida with her husband and five dogs, four cats, and a cranky parrot. Her hobbies are gardening, garage sales, and grandchildren. She has been an English equitation instructor, a professional folk musician, and an artist. However, she had aspirations to be a professional writer at the age of twelve. She has written dozens of books for kids and young adults.
About the Illustrator
Brann Garvey lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife, Keegan, and their very fat cat, Iggy. Brann graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor of fine arts degree. He later attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where he studied illustration. In his free time, Brann enjoys being with his family and friends. He brings his sketchbook everywhere he goes.
Glossary
appetite (AP-uh-tite)—
desire for food
behavior (bi-HAYV-yur)—
the way that a person acts or speaks
chaos (KAY-oss)—
total confusion
dependable (di-PEND-uh-buhl)—
if you are dependable, people rely on you and count on you
desperate (DESS-pur-it)—
if you are desperate, you will do anything to change your situation
dominoes (DOM-uh-nohz)—
a game played with small, rectangular tiles. The tiles are divided into two halves that are blank or contain dots.
goggles (GOG-uhlz)—
special glasses that fit tightly around your eyes to protect them
parched (PARCHD)—
if you are parched, you are very thirsty
snorkel (SNOR-kuhl)—
a tube that you use to breathe through when you are snorkeling, which is swimming underwater
souvenir (soo-vuh-NEER)—
an object you keep to remind you of a special person, event, or place
Discussion Questions
Did Claudia do the right thing when she didn’t show up to babysit? What would you have done? What else could she have done?
Claudia is forced to babysit her three cousins in this book. What is a chore that you have to do?
Why does Claudia have to use the buddy system when she goes swimming in the ocean?
Writing Prompts
Great-Grandpa Cortez is the oldest person in Claudia’s family. Who is the oldest person in your family? Write about that person.
Have you ever gone on vacation with your family? Where did you go? If you haven’t gone on a vacation, write about a place where you’d like to travel one day!
Claudia meets two friends in Florida. Do you have any friends or relatives who don’t live near you? Write about them.
More Fun with Claudia!
Claudia Cristina Cortez
Just like every other thirteen-year-old girl, Claudia Cristina Cortez has a complicated life. Whether she’s studying for the big Quiz Show, babysitting her neighbor, Nick, avoiding mean Jenny Pinski, planning the seventh-grade dance, or trying desperately to pass the swimming test at camp, Claudia goes through her complicated life with confidence, cleverness, and a serious dash of cool.
Claudia Cristina Cortez is published by Stone Arch Books,
A Capstone Imprint
1710 Roe Crest Drive
North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
www.capstonepub.com
Copyright © 2009 by Stone Arch Books
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gallagher, Diana G.
Beach Blues: The Complicated Life of Claudia Cristina Cortez / by Diana G. Gallagher; illustrated by Brann Garvey.
p. cm. — (Claudia Cristina Cortez)
ISBN 978-1-4342-0773-9 (library binding)
ISBN 978-1-4342-0869-9 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-1-5158-8710-2 (ebook)
[1. Vacations—Fiction. 2. Family reunions—Fiction. 3. Babysitters—Fiction. 4. Interpersonal relations—Fiction. 5. Hispanic Americans—Fiction.]
I. Garvey, Brann, ill. II. Title.
PZ7.G13543Be 2009
[Fic]—dc22 2008004284
Summary: Claudia’s family is on vacation. So why is she stuck babysitting her three younger cousins?
Art Director: Heather Kindseth
Graphic Designer: Kay Fraser
Photo Credits
Delaney Photography, image 1, image 2
