Annie

by Lexi Ryals

  But the best part of it all was that Annie had her very own room. It had a king-sized bed and a view of the Empire State Building. Annie had never had a room all to herself. As she jumped backward onto the down-filled mattress, she realized she was going to like it here — a lot!

  That afternoon, Annie went back to Miss Hannigan’s apartment to pick up her things. “The closet was so big, I thought it was the living room,” she told her foster sisters as she stuffed clothes into her backpack.

  “How big was the living room?” Isabella asked.

  “I thought it was the street!” Annie exclaimed.

  “Is he nice?” Tessie asked wistfully.

  Annie paused. “I think so. He just doesn’t know it.”

  “I’m going to miss you.” Mia sniffed.

  “I’m not,” Pepper said. “Finally, we’ll get a little space in here.”

  “Well, whenever you miss me, all you’ve got to do is call.” Annie pulled out four brand-new Stacks phones — one for each of the girls. “Bam. Even for you, Pepper. I know you’re going to miss me.”

  “Oh my gosh!” Tessie squealed.

  “Thanks, Annie!” Isabella and Mia chorused.

  “No case?” Pepper asked. But deep down, she was thrilled with the present. And she really was going to miss Annie.

  Downstairs, Will waited for Annie in his SUV. He was working diligently on his tablet when a rapping on the window caught his attention. He looked up to see Miss Hannigan knocking. “Hey, Mr. Will Stacks,” she said super-flirtatiously. “Or should I say Mr. Soon-to-Be-Mister-Mayor.”

  “No thanks. I’m just waiting for someone,” Will called back, keeping the window firmly up.

  Nash got out of the front seat and came around to shoo Miss Hannigan away. “Ma’am, you want to move on? Thanks.”

  “What? No!” Miss Hannigan was furious. “How dare you. I’m a music superstar!”

  Just then Annie and the other girls came running out to the car.

  “Hey, Miss Hannigan,” Annie said seriously. “I just want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me —” Annie couldn’t finish her sentence because she burst into giggles. “I can’t do it with a straight face. Peace out.”

  Miss Hannigan stomped her foot and glared at Annie. “You think your life’s a fairy tale? There is no happily ever after! The worst thing in this world is a little taste of something good. Because it never lasts, and all you taste from then on is not-that-taste.”

  “Huh?” Mia asked.

  “Shhh.” Pepper patted Mia on the head. “Just let her talk when she gets like this. Remember?”

  The girls hugged Annie good-bye and then she climbed into the car.

  “Who was that?” Will asked.

  “Exactly,” Annie replied sassily, but she turned back to wave to her foster sisters as the car pulled away.

  “Where’s all your stuff?” Will asked, looking around for a suitcase or duffel bag.

  “Right here,” Annie replied, holding up her backpack. “Wait.” She checked her pockets. “Yup. Got everything.”

  “The usual?” Nash asked her.

  “Please.” She smiled.

  Nash turned on the talk radio station just as the car stopped at the red light at the corner. Lou came over and knocked on the window.

  Will looked up, startled. “No, thank you!” he yelled at Lou and then hissed at Nash, “Run the light.”

  “Wait! That’s Lou,” Annie exclaimed and then rolled down the window. She pulled another phone out of her pocket and tried to give it to Lou. “I got this for you.”

  “No thanks, mija. Those things are evil,” he told her. “They steal your private information so big business can spy on you and crush your soul.” He gestured to Will. “But it gets you a nice car, huh?” He pointed to the wheels. “What are these rims, twenty inch?”

  “They get me where I want to go,” Will replied stiffly.

  “I’m happy for you, though, mija,” Lou continued. “Getting off the block.” He waved and walked back into his bodega as the light changed and they drove on.

  “Sorry,” Annie said as she rolled up the window. “He just doesn’t like you.”

  “A lot of people don’t like me,” Will assured her. “That’s kind of why we’re doing this.” He looked around his seat. “Nash, where’s the hand sanitizer?”

  “I got rid of it,” Annie told him confidently. “It’s bad stuff. Creates antibiotic-resistant superbacteria.” Then she rifled through her bag until she found an old heart-printed washcloth. She handed it to Will. “Here. Rub real hard.”

  He shook his head in disgust looking at the grimy washcloth. “I’m good. All right, time for photographs. You ready, Annie?”

  Annie smiled up at him. “Let’s do this.”

  The next few hours were a whirlwind as Annie and Will posed for pictures in Central Park. Will pushed Annie on the swings, they played soccer, and Will even gave Annie a piggyback ride to go get soft pretzels. Soon, pictures of them were flooding the Internet, going viral in the best possible way.

  While Annie was enjoying her pretzel, a reporter approached them. “Annie! Are you having fun?” she called.

  “Mr. Stacks is the best!” Annie gushed. “I just wish I was old enough to vote for him.”

  “That was a bit much,” Will told her.

  “I’m still finding it.” Annie winked.

  Later that day, at Guy’s suggestion, Will took Annie out for the best photo opportunity yet — adopting a puppy from the local dog shelter. Even the huge gaggle of reporters and camera crews watching couldn’t dull Annie’s excitement. She’d always wanted a dog.

  “How do you choose just one?” Annie asked.

  “You don’t choose a dog; a dog chooses you,” the shelter coordinator told her. She led Annie into a pen filled with dogs.

  As soon as Annie stepped inside, the dogs rushed over, jumping on her and licking her.

  “They all chose me!” she cried, cuddling a tiny puppy.

  “Just one,” Will said sternly.

  Annie played happily with the dogs, trying to find the perfect choice. But she knew she’d found her match when she saw a small sandy-colored dog turning in circles in the corner. It looked just like the dog she’d saved from the boys in the alley. When she looked closer, she realized it was the dog she’d saved! The poor little dog was covered in muck and looked like she needed a good meal. As soon as Annie hugged her, she stopped spinning and licked Annie’s face. “Hey, girl,” Annie cooed. “We found each other. I’ll never leave you again. Promise.”

  “Annie! What are you going to name it?” a reporter asked.

  The dog started spinning again, chasing her tail.

  “She’s like a hurricane,” Will said.

  “Sandy!” Annie announced. “Her name is going to be Sandy.”

  Watching from off to the side, Grace pulled up the polls on her phone. Will had shot up — he was only three points behind his opponent!

  Just then two girls walked up to Annie.

  “Can we take a picture with you?” one of the girls asked.

  “Uh, sure,” Annie said, looking a little taken aback as they snapped a picture. She wasn’t used to being famous.

  “You’re so cool!” the second girl said, and the girls walked away.

  Annie smiled. It felt nice to be noticed.

  That night, Annie climbed into her huge bed with a freshly bathed and groomed Sandy. She was tired, but she was almost afraid to go to sleep. What if she woke up to find the whole wonderful day had been a dream?

  Just then her new phone dinged. It was a text from Tessie: We miss u! And attached was a photo of all the girls in their room. It dinged again. This time Mia had sent a picture of Miss Hannigan passed out on the sofa. Annie smiled. She took a picture of Sandy with her phone and sent it to them. Then she pulled her locket out from under her nightgown and rubbed it as she lay back against the pillows. She didn’t think she’d ever be homesick for Miss Hannigan, but she miss
ed her foster sisters.

  She sighed and pushed back the covers. She just wasn’t sleepy. Not with all of the day’s excitement to think about. She was going to get a snack.

  Annie padded down the hall to the kitchen with Sandy beside her. But as she rounded the corner, she was surprised to find Will already in the kitchen. He was sitting at the counter in his pajamas working on his tablet.

  “Hey,” Annie said.

  “Something wrong?” Will asked, barely even looking up.

  “Couldn’t sleep. It’s so quiet here,” Annie told him, climbing up onto a stool. “Whatcha doing?”

  “Working,” Will said.

  “This late?” Annie wrinkled her nose.

  “Always.”

  “When do you have fun?” Annie asked, confused.

  “This is fun,” Will said, looking serious.

  “Seems like it,” Annie said sarcastically. It sure didn’t look fun.

  “Are you hungry?” Will asked, changing the subject. “I don’t have much here, but I can order in.”

  “Why don’t you have a cook or, like, a million servants?” Annie asked.

  “I like to be alone,” Will answered.

  “So why do you need all this space?”

  “I like to be alone in a lot of space,” Will said. Annie sure did ask a lot of questions.

  “So you can do this and not touch a wall?” Annie hopped up and spun around in circles.

  Will watched her and shook his head. “Everybody surrounds themselves with all these people so they feel loved. When really, you can count the people who truly matter on one hand.” He held up a closed fist.

  “You’re making a fist,” Annie pointed out. “Where are your people?”

  “Not around anymore.”

  “You don’t want new ones?”

  “I’m good, thanks,” he said firmly.

  Annie shrugged. She walked over to the fridge and opened it. It was full of takeout containers.

  “I can make a meal out of anything,” she said. “Pick five ingredients.”

  Stacks shook his head.

  “Come on,” Annie begged. “This’ll be fun. Not work, but almost as fun.”

  Will sighed. “Okay. That fruit, pancetta, I think that’s risotto, steak, and the fusilli.”

  Annie looked at the containers. The only foods she recognized were steak and fruit. But she gathered up the containers anyway and carried them to the stove.

  Before starting to cook, she dropped a little bit of the risotto on the floor for Sandy. Then she dumped the rest of the ingredients in a pan. She turned on the heat and stirred and tossed the food — she really looked like she knew what she was doing. Will was impressed in spite of himself; he’d never cooked anything.

  When she was finished, she spooned her concoction onto two plates and slid one in front of Will. He took a bite and immediately spit it out. It was horrible.

  Annie laughed. “It’s gross. Sorry. But you’ve got to learn to stop spitting. You’re not a camel.”

  Will finally smiled. “I have a movie premiere tomorrow. Guy thinks you should come.”

  Annie nodded eagerly. “Guy’s right!” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been to a movie — her or her foster sisters. “Can I bring my friends?” she asked.

  “There are more of you?” Will asked incredulously.

  “More photos!” Annie reminded him.

  After eating a leftover piece of pizza Annie found in one of the takeout containers, she went back to bed. But she still couldn’t sleep. The room was just too big and empty. It felt lonely. Finally she got up and went into the walk-in closet. That felt better.

  She pulled her comforter and pillow inside the closet and lay down with Sandy next to her. There, she finally slept.

  The next morning, Annie pulled Nash aside before they all headed out. “I know this sounds crazy, but do you guys spy on people with your phones?”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “I really need to find some people,” she said, giving him her best puppy-dog eyes.

  There was no way he could say no to that. So he took Annie downstairs to the Stacks Mobile control room in the bottom of the building. Screens showing maps of the city covered every wall and each map was covered in tiny glowing dots — one for each Stacks phone being used.

  On side screens, texts, pictures, tweets, and websites scrolled constantly, showing what users were accessing in each area.

  “Welcome to the Stacks Mobile control center,” Nash said as they walked in. “We can trace every call and data transmission made on every carrier for the past twenty years.” He took a look at Annie’s jaw hanging open and laughed. “People shouldn’t be scared of the government, they should be scared of cell-phone companies.”

  “Lou was right,” Annie murmured to herself. Then she turned back to Nash. “Can you use all this to search for my parents?”

  “Bennett, right?” Nash asked. Annie nodded and Nash walked over to a map. He zoomed in until little names popped up over the dots.

  “Can you go back five years? Around the Twenty-Sixth Precinct?” Annie asked hopefully. “That’s where they left me.”

  Nash turned and looked at her. She seemed so hopeful it almost broke his heart. “It’ll take a bit. I’ll let you know,” Nash said kindly, putting his arm around her shoulder.

  “Thanks,” Annie said.

  That afternoon, Annie went to her very first movie premiere. Will, Guy, and Grace took Annie, Tessie, Isabella, Pepper, and Mia. They all got dressed up in their most fashionable outfits to walk the red carpet, and the girls had a great time striking silly poses for the media, although the reporters only had eyes for Annie.

  “Who are you wearing?” one asked.

  “This is my friend Isabella’s.” Annie pointed to her skirt. “And this I found somewhere!” She showed off her top.

  “Did you like the French toast you had for breakfast this morning?” another reporter shouted out.

  “It was so good.” Annie smiled. Then she paused. “Wait, how’d you know that?”

  “You tweeted it; @Annie4Realz,” he told her, looking as if she ought to have already known that.

  “We made you a Twitter account. You already have three million followers,” Guy explained. “Get it? Annie, 4, Realz, with a Z. Because you keep it realz.”

  Annie rolled her eyes. Guy tried way too hard to be cool sometimes.

  Just then Will walked past, heading back to the SUV.

  “Where are you going?” Annie called after him.

  “Back to work,” he answered over his shoulder.

  “No one stays for the movie,” Grace explained as she, too, headed for the car. “We just walk the red carpet to get the press. It’s all for show.”

  “But I invited my friends,” Annie said, looking stricken. “Can’t we stay and see the movie?”

  Will shrugged. “Sure. Go ahead.” Then he continued on his way, but a reporter noticed and ran after him.

  “Aren’t you staying with Annie?” the reporter asked loudly, catching the attention of all of the other reporters.

  Will froze in place. More and more reporters started running over. He couldn’t escape now. So he turned back around with a big smile on his face. “Just forgot my phone!” He walked back up the red carpet toward Annie and grabbed Grace’s arm as he went, whispering to her, “You’re coming with me. Make sure I don’t kill anyone.”

  Annie and her friends couldn’t contain their excitement as the movie started. It was based on a bestselling teen book and featured the hottest young actors in Hollywood! Will, on the other hand, was having trouble keeping up with the plot. Luckily, he was sitting next to Annie, and she was more than happy to explain it to him. Before long he was as engrossed as the girls. By the end, he and Annie were both yelling at the screen and cheering loudly during the final battle scene. Grace couldn’t help smiling when she saw him bonding with Annie over the cheesy film.

  This was a side of Will Stacks she had
never seen before. And it was coming out because of Annie.

  The girls and Will discussed the movie all the way out of the theater.

  “I want to be Saffron so bad!” Isabella groaned, looking at a poster of the pretty actress.

  “I can’t believe Sakana told on them.” Tessie grinned, pointing to another character on the poster.

  “Of course she did,” Will explained. “You can’t trust the fish people. Gwarklark warned them.”

  “I think she was bluffing,” Grace added.

  “Nope, it was a warning,” Pepper said matter-of-factly. “They come back in the next movie.”

  “There’s a next movie?!” Will exclaimed.

  Annie nodded. “There are four more.”

  “Shut up!” Will cried. He playfully shoved Annie and then picked her up and twirled her around. She giggled as he threw her in the air. But then his phone rang and he put her down gently. He looked at the screen and sighed. “I’ve got to go.”

  The girls all thanked him for letting them come to the movie.

  “Can’t we stay for the party?” Annie begged.

  Will looked at his phone again. “I haven’t worked in two hours. Three of my guys think I’m dead.”

  “You’ve worked enough,” Annie persuaded him. “If your building gets any taller, it’s going to hit the sun.”

  Will laughed. “You have this crazy way of turning nos into yeses. What is that?”

  “I think when people say no, they’re really just scared of saying yes,” Annie said with a smile.

  Will looked over at Grace, but she just held her hands up and smiled. “Don’t look at me. This is all you.”

  He looked from Annie to his phone and back at Annie. “I guess it couldn’t hurt …”

  The girls squealed with excitement. Annie grabbed Will’s hand and dragged him into the after-premiere party.

  The hall was decorated with tons of movie merchandise and was filled with amazing activity areas — a buffet, a candy bar, a create-your-own-jewelry stand, a makeover booth, and even a small indoor ice-skating rink. It was incredible!