by Mary Amato
Then Scarlett called everybody in the Songwriting Club over to the picnic table for a meeting.
“If I win,” Scarlett said, “I’ll have four tickets to give away. So if you want one, you can fill out this form. I made them during math.” She gave us each a piece of paper.
IN CASE SCARLETT WINS FOUR EXTRA TICKETS
Name:
Age:
Phone Number:
What Will You Do for Scarlett If She Gives You a Ticket:
“Turn them in by the end of the day,” she said, and walked away with Victoria. “Come on, Victoria. Let’s decide what to wear to the concert.”
Mara crumpled up her paper and walked away.
Phillip held his in front of him and pretended like he was going to throw up on it. Resa and I laughed, and then Resa folded her paper into an airplane and sailed it toward a recycling bin. It missed.
“I can’t even get lucky at that,” she said, and went to get it.
Saki, Natalie, Pablo, and Riley got up to go back to their practice. “If our video doesn’t win,” Saki said, “I hope yours does.”
“Back at you,” Phillip said.
Recess ended, and then we had to get through the afternoon. Finally, school was out.
“Showtime!” Phillip said.
The three of us grabbed our ukes and met by the picnic table. We practiced a bunch of times and decided where to stand. Then Phillip propped up his cell phone on the table, pushed RECORD, and we sang and played for real.
Sun without warning.
Sun in the morning.
Sun dancing through my window pane.
Peace without warning.
Peace in the morning.
Peace back to say hello, my friend.
After all these trips and falls,
I’m gonna get up, gonna
gonna get up again.
The first verses were perfect. We smiled at each other and kept singing the other verses. We were sounding great! We went through the whole song and got to the end without a single mistake.
“We nailed it!” Resa said.
The three of us started jumping up and down.
“Let’s watch it,” Phillip said, and we gathered around his cell phone. He pressed the PLAY button. “Ta-da!”
There were our feet. You could hear us singing, but all you could see was our feet for the whole video.
“We should’ve played the ukes with our toes instead of our fingers,” Resa said.
“My fault,” Phillip said. “Sorry. We have to do it again.”
We did it again and this time it was all sky.
“It’s too hard to get it right without holding the phone,” Phillip moaned.
“I have an idea,” Resa said. “Why don’t we make three videos? One of each of us. We can hold the phone for each other and get it just right.”
“But then we’ll be competing against each other,” I said.
“As long as we all promise to invite each other if we win, we’ll be okay,” she said.
Phillip nodded. “This will actually increase our chances. Great idea, Resa.”
I held the phone for Phillip’s video, and we both cheered him on. Phillip held the phone for Resa, and we cheered her on. And then Resa held the phone for me, and they both cheered me on.
“That was fun,” Phillip said. “And now we have three excellent videos. I’ll send you each your video. Get your parents to submit it.”
We did a triple fist bump again.
“Now for my big surprise,” Resa said. “I brought a reward for when we got done!”
She pulled a big bag of potato chips from her backpack.
“Salty, crunchy, lovely potato chips! I love you!” I yelled, and hugged the bag.
“No crushing!” Phillip said, and pulled them away.
We chowed down.
Crunch. Crunch. Munch.
Chapter Eighteen
HIDE AND SEEK? HIDE AND PEEK!
On my way home, I passed by Scarlett’s house and heard voices. She and Victoria must be making their video in Scarlett’s backyard, I thought. And then I couldn’t stop wondering how it was going. Quietly, I crept around the side of Scarlett’s house and hid behind a big flowering bush. I peeked out.
Scarlett and Victoria had made a kind of curtain by hanging a sheet on the shed, and they were singing and playing their ukuleles in front of it. And they had makeup on! Lots of it. All over their cheeks and eyes. They even had on lipstick!
Brandy, Scarlett’s little sister, was sitting in a chair holding up a cell phone, so that meant they couldn’t get the fancy video camera after all.
“Stop!” Scarlett yelled.
“Why?” Victoria screamed. “We were almost done!”
“I want this to be good,” Scarlett said. “Don’t you?”
“It was good!”
“It wasn’t right,” Scarlett said. “We weren’t together. And you were singing a little too loud.”
“I was not!” Victoria said.
“You couldn’t hear yourself because you were too loud,” Scarlett said. “Trust me.”
“Well, you rubbed your eye in the middle of it,” Victoria said. “That looked bad.”
“I did not!”
“You did, too. You just said your eyes feel itchy.”
Brandy laughed.
“Don’t film this!” Scarlett yelled.
“It’s funny,” Brandy said. “I’m going to post it.”
“Delete that right now!” Scarlett said, and grabbed the phone.
“Give me my dollar now,” Brandy said. “This is annoying.”
“No!” Scarlett snapped. “I told you I’d give you a dollar when we’re done, and we’re not done!”
In a way, it was lucky that I heard those voices and came over to spy because I was seeing something important. I shouldn’t be jealous of Scarlett. Nobody here was having any fun. And having fun with friends is the best. My friends and I had a blast together today, and Scarlett and Victoria missed out.
Carefully, I turned to leave and stepped on a stick.
“What was that?” Scarlett said.
I froze.
Then from one of the flowers on the bush, a huge bee flew out and hovered right in front of my face.
“Yikes!” I screamed, and jumped out.
“Lucy McGee?”
“A bee!” I yelled, and ran.
I heard Scarlett yelling behind me. “Lucy McGee, were you spying on us?”
“Who, me?” I yelled back.
Chapter Nineteen
DON’T YOU HATE TO WAIT?
Entering a contest is both fun and not fun. Until it’s over your brain bounces between “maybe I’ll win” and “maybe I’ll lose.” After my parents entered my video that Thursday my brain was playing ping-pong all night long.
The next day Resa and I got to school at the same time. Phillip was waiting by the fence, chewing his thumbnail.
“Guys, guess who else entered the giveaway?” he asked.
“Mr. Chomper?” Resa asked.
“Ha ha,” Phillip said.
“The queen of England?” Resa asked.
“No!” Phillip said. “Actually, I don’t know. Maybe. But I doubt it. Stop guessing! I’ll tell you.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Jeremy Bing!”
“Jeremy Bing doesn’t even like Ben & Bree,” Resa said.
“I know!” Phillip said. “He just told me he entered because he likes to win free things. He said if he wins he’s going to sell the tickets and put the money in the bank.”
“This is not a good sign,” I said. “I bet a million people entered.”
Ben & Bree were going to announce the winner at six o’clock tonight, which meant we had to get through the day. And it was just
starting.
Just then Scarlett showed up wearing big movie-star sunglasses. I thought she was going to brag about how great she looked with all that makeup on in her video, but she just walked by.
Victoria and a bunch of girls were standing by the doors, but Scarlett walked over to the Buddy Bench and sat down. At our school, the Buddy Bench is where you can sit if you are sad. If you see someone sit on the Buddy Bench, you’re supposed to go over and cheer them up.
* * *
—
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Resa asked.
“Scarlett Tandy has never in her entire life sat on the Buddy Bench,” Phillip said.
The three of us walked over. By the time we got there, the rest of the Songwriting Club had noticed and had come over, too.
“What’s wrong, Scarlett?” Victoria asked.
She took off her sunglasses. Her face was red and puffy! She didn’t look like Scarlett. She looked like a tomato with sad eyes.
“I put on my mom’s makeup without permission. And after Victoria left, I broke out in hives.” She sniffed. “I’m allergic to makeup.”
We were all quiet. Then there was a sad little sound of gulping. She was trying not to cry.
She went on. “My dad got so mad, he sold the tickets to the Ben & Bree Show. And he said even if I win the giveaway, I can’t go.”
Nobody knew what to say.
Finally, Resa asked, “Does it still itch?”
Scarlett nodded.
“We’re all really sorry for you, Scarlett,” Saki said. “Right?”
Everybody nodded.
“You’re not mad at me anymore, Mara?” Scarlett asked.
Mara shrugged. “Kind of. But it’s hard to be really mad at somebody who looks as itchy as you.”
“Thank you,” Scarlett said. She tried to smile, which made her face look like a squashed tomato, and then she pulled a stack of papers out of her backpack. “I made all of you one of these,” she said, and handed us each one.
JUST IN CASE
If you win the giveaway, please feel sorry for me and give just one of your extra tickets to me. Then ask your mom or dad to call my dad and talk him into letting me go. I think my dad will listen to another grown-up.
If you do this, you can pick one of these thank-you gifts:
I’ll give you two brand-new glitter pens.
You can have anything from my lunch for one week.
You can keep your favorite of my necklaces or earrings (but don’t tell your parents or my parents).
If you’re in Mrs. Brock’s class, I’ll clean Mr. Chomper’s cage when it’s your turn.
I will say nice things about how you look every day for two weeks.
I’ll give you my allowance for one whole month.
Nobody said anything. Then the whistle blew for school to start. We stuffed the notes in our backpacks and headed inside.
On the way Resa whispered to me and Phillip. “Hey, when I brought those potato chips yesterday, did it feel like I was trying to buy your friendship?”
“No!” I said. “That was just a nice surprise.”
“Yeah,” Phillip said. “Do not hesitate to bring us potato chips. Ever.”
Resa laughed.
“I hope I never have to buy my friends,” Phillip added. “ ’Cause I got nothing.”
“Guys,” I said. “At six o’clock we’ll find out if we’re winners or losers. If we win, how will we ever decide who to give our extra ticket to?”
Phillip shook his head. “I’m not even going to think about it.”
“Let’s just see if we win,” Resa said.
I nodded. One step at a time. I just wanted time to go a lot faster!
Chapter Twenty
TICKTOCK, SIX O’CLOCK
Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong!
Finally, the moment of truth.
I was in the middle of eating leftover tofu taco pie with my family when the clock struck six.
“It’s time!” I jumped up. “We have to check the contest!”
My mom pulled out her cell phone, and I raced over. She opened up her app and started scrolling through the messages.
“Do a hashtag search,” I said, and closed my eyes. “I can’t look!”
“Hold on. There’s a lot about Ben & Bree,” my mom said.
My dad pulled out his phone and started searching, too.
Please let it be me, I chanted. Please let it be me. Please let it be me.
Or Phillip. Or Resa. Or at least not Scarlett.
“Here it is!” my mom said, and then she read the tweet out loud. “Thanks to all our fans. Winner of the tickets giveaway is…Nico Pasi. Congrats, Nico!”
“Nico Pasi?” I cried. “Who is that?” My heart thudded.
“I’m sorry, honey,” my mom said.
“You gave it a good try,” my dad said.
I kind of wanted to cry, but I didn’t want to seem like a baby. “It’s okay,” I said. “Lucy No Prize McGee. That’s me.”
“Oh, Lucy!” my mom said.
While we finished dinner, I thought about my friends and Mr. Tapper and even Jeremy Bing. Everybody was probably having a sad night.
“Bo?” Lily asked.
“You can ride in the boat first, Lucy,” Leo said. “I’ll push.”
They were trying to cheer me up. “No thanks,” I said. “I’m just going to go up to my room and feel sorry for myself for a while.”
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
I was busy lying on my bed staring at the ceiling when there was a knock on my door.
My dad, mom, Leo, and Lily all came in. Leo and Lily jumped on my bed and snuggled in. Then my mom and dad both joined in, too. It was a squash.
“We missed you, Lucy,” my mom said.
“And we have an idea,” my dad said.
“We know how disappointed you and your friends are not to be able to go to the concert,” my mom said. “So we thought you and your Songwriting Club could put on your own concert here tomorrow night.”
“We could have a party and invite the kids and their parents, and you guys could sing for us,” my dad said. “We’ve been meaning to have a potluck for everybody in the club.”
“You mean a pity party?” I asked.
My parents laughed. “A real party,” my dad said.
Leo exclaimed, “And it isn’t even anybody’s birthday.”
“We can invite everybody in the Songwriting Club?” I asked.
“Sure. It’s a potluck,” my mom said. “That means we don’t have to cook everything.”
“Actually,” my dad said. “We need to invite everybody. We don’t want any hard feelings. We can send everybody an e-mail or a text.”
“Can we invite Ms. Adamson and Mr. Tapper, too?”
“The more the merrier,” my mom said. “But it’s short notice, Lucy, so not everybody will be able to come.”
“I know! But whoever can come is going to be so happy!” I said. “All because of us! Thank you!”
I don’t think Lily knew what was going on, but she squealed and threw her pacifier in the air, and then we had a very squashy group hug.
Chapter Twenty-One
FOOD AND FRIENDS TO THE END?
On Saturday we decorated the backyard with a string of twinkle lights (my idea!) and put a big sign on the door that said FREE CONCERT IN THE BACKYARD (my idea!) and made popcorn (Leo’s idea!), and people started coming. It wasn’t dark yet, so you couldn’t really see the lights, but it still looked nice.
When you’re used to seeing people only at school, it makes you nervous at first to see them hanging around your own backyard, but then you get used to it and it’s fun. Scarlett came, and her tomat
o face looked better. She wasn’t even bossy. She was just happy to be included.
My dad fired up the grill, and everybody brought tons of food and set it out on the picnic table. All the grown-ups kept talking and talking, and so we decided to grab plates and get started.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Pablo asked as he took a plate.
“What are you thinking?” Phillip asked.
“Dessert first?” He smiled.
We all stuffed our faces with cookies, cake, lasagna, tamales, sesame noodles, and salad, and the grown-ups didn’t even notice.
Then Ms. Adamson walked in with her ukulele and…a man! He had a long beard and a guitar!
“I think that’s her boyfriend,” Phillip whispered.
“I hope they get married and ask us to play in their wedding,” Resa whispered.
“Hi everybody,” she said. “This is my friend Jason. Jason, this is the famous Songwriting Club I’ve been telling you about!”
Phillip stood up and bowed, and we all laughed.
“We thought we could jam together after the concert,” Ms. Adamson said.
Then Mr. Tapper appeared, carrying a big drum. “Hey! Hey! This must be where the party’s at!” He shook my dad and mom’s hands, and then he walked over and fist-bumped Ms. Adamson and Jason and all of us. He had brought a friend, too, who also had a drum.
