The best of friends, in fact.
If one of them were here, giving Mia advice about the situation, she was pretty sure they would tell her she should give it a chance.
After all, what did she really have to lose?
Lacy had been right. The pastel-yellow nails looked super cute.
As for Mia’s nails, they’d never looked so good. She had to admit, having a manicure was pretty awesome. Before Tawni had painted Mia’s nails, she gave Mia’s hands a nice massage with lotion. It felt so good.
After their nails were done, Lacy gave Mia a tour of the rest of the house. When they went into the kitchen, they met the chef, Suki, who wore a cheerful pink-and-green apron and smiled at Mia like she was the queen of England, and then proceeded to give Mia a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, as if they’d known each other forever.
“Is there anything special you’d like to have for dinner?” she asked the girls.
Lacy looked at Mia. “You choose. You’re the guest.”
“Oh, wow, I don’t know. Anything’s fine. Really.”
“She makes the most delicious chicken fettuccini you’ve ever had,” Lacy said. “How’s that sound?”
Mia nodded. “Sure. That’s great.”
“What about dessert?” Suki asked. She reached over and put her arm around Lacy’s shoulders. “I know you usually don’t have dessert, but come on, live a little.”
The words tumbled out of Mia’s mouth before she had a chance to think about it. “Do you know how to make a fruit pizza?”
Suki grinned. “Of course. Cookie crust, a cream-cheese filling, and covered in fresh fruit, right?”
“Yes!” Mia said. “I had it at summer camp for the first time, and I’ve been dying to have it again.”
“Oh, how fun,” Lacy said as she clapped her hands together. “We can have a tiny taste of summer camp right here in my house.”
“Fruit pizza it is, then,” Suki said. “I’ll have dinner ready for you at six. Do you want anything to snack on in the meantime? Some veggies and dip, maybe?”
“Yes, please,” Lacy said. “We’ll take it up to my room.”
Suki pulled out a big plastic tub filled with vegetables and went to work making a veggie plate.
“I figure now that you’ve had the official tour, we can hang out in my room until dinner,” Lacy explained. “I want to show you what I’ve done so far with my scrapbook. After dinner, I thought we might watch a movie.”
“Okay,” Mia said.
The girls thanked Suki for the snack and then headed back to Lacy’s room. Mia had only peeked into her room briefly as they made their way around the house, but now, they went in and settled in on the black leather sofa that sat in front of the flat-screen television on the wall.
Mia could hardly get over it — a bedroom big enough to have all the normal bedroom stuff plus a couch, a coffee table, and a flat-screen TV. Lacy placed the plate of veggies and dip in between them and they started munching.
“If you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” Mia asked, “can you go into the kitchen and make one, or does Suki make everything for you?”
Lacy licked her lips. “Yum. I haven’t had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in forever.”
Mia scrunched up her face. “Seriously? So I guess that means you don’t really do much in the kitchen, then.”
“Probably because I don’t need to. If I want something to eat, Suki gets it for me. It’s pretty much her job, you know?”
“What about late-night snacks?” Mia asked. “Even chefs have to sleep.”
Lacy shrugged. “I’ve never had a late-night snack. I’m usually in bed by ten. Eleven at the latest, if I don’t have to work the next day. What do you even eat for a late-night snack? I have no idea.”
Mia finished her celery stick and reached for a carrot. “Well, I usually have cookies and warm milk, because warm milk makes a person sleepy. It’s what I do if I wake up from a nightmare and can’t go back to sleep.”
Lacy shook her head and tried to smile. “If I have a nightmare, I usually turn on the TV until I can go back to sleep. Am I the weirdest person you’ve ever met or what?”
“No,” Mia said. “Definitely not the weirdest. Cesar Lagunas, a kid at my school, he’s the weirdest. He puts ketchup on everything. I’ve even seen him put it on ice cream.”
“Ew,” Lacy said, scrunching up her nose. “Are you serious?”
“Totally. It’s disgusting. He should be on that TV show about strange addictions. Have you seen that?”
“Ohmygosh, yes!” Lacy shrieked. “If I come across that show, I can’t turn away, no matter how gross it is. Did you see the one where the guy couldn’t stop licking his cat?”
“Ack, no!” Mia said, laughing. “Now see, that is weird. You’re not weird. Not even close to weird. You’re just famous, that’s all. And, you know … rich.”
“Some days I wish I wasn’t,” Lacy said softly. “You can’t even begin to imagine how lonely it is sometimes. Even though I have a person for just about everything, they’re all adults, and they do what they do for me basically because they have to. You know, because it’s their job.”
Mia didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry it’s like that for you.”
Lacy took the veggie tray and placed it on the coffee table, since both of them had stopped eating. “You don’t know how lucky you are, Mia. You have your camp friends and your school friends. So many friends. I really don’t have anyone. Not like that.”
“Except I’m not getting along with some of my friends at school right now.” Mia groaned slightly as she leaned back into the sofa. “It’s no fun, let me tell you.”
“I still think you’re lucky,” Lacy said. Then she shook her head, like she didn’t want to think about it anymore. “Okay, let me get my scrapbook and show you what I’ve done so far. I think you’re going to love it.”
As she got up and went over to a desk, Mia thought about what Lacy had said.
Lucky.
Mia glanced at the charm bracelet she wore. Lucky could mean a lot of different things. The more she thought about it, the more she realized Lacy was right. Mia was lucky. Or maybe fortunate was a better word. Because Mia knew she wouldn’t trade her friendships for all of the limos and salons and flat-screen TVs in the world. And suddenly, she couldn’t wait to make up with Salina when she got back home.
The chicken fettuccini was to die for.
And the fruit pizza was out of this world. Lacy loved it too. As the two girls talked and laughed and ate, Mia realized she hadn’t had this much fun in a long, long time.
After dinner, they watched two movies back-to-back, while eating Red Vines (a mutual favorite). When the movies were over, Lacy got up and turned on the lights. Mia looked around the theater room, with a screen in the front and two rows of chairs, just like a real movie theater, and said, “That was great. This is how everyone should watch movies at home.”
“I’m glad you liked it,” Lacy said, stifling a yawn. She looked at the clock on the wall. “We should probably get to bed. You know, since we have to get up with the birds.”
Mia smiled. “You sound like your grandma.”
They walked to their rooms and when they reached the door to Mia’s room, Lacy said, “I hope you sleep all right. If you have a nightmare, come and wake me. We’ll go and have cookies and milk together.”
“We could go have some now,” Mia said. “Then you can be in the late-night snack club.”
Lacy’s eyes sparkled. “Oooh, yes, let’s do it!”
As they made their way to the kitchen, Lacy looped her arm through Mia’s and said, “I’m so glad we met that first day at the café. Because I really like you, Mia Cruz.”
Mia replied, “Well, I like you too, Lacy Bell. Especially because you don’t lick cats.”
The two girls laughed and laughed.
* * *
The next morning, Suki made the girls omelets. As she placed their plates in front of th
em at the dining room table, she said, “I found a few crumbs on the counter that weren’t there when I left last night. I wonder, do we have mice, or did the two of you have a late-night snack?”
“It was us,” Lacy said with a smile. “You aren’t mad, are you? I’d never had a late-night snack before. We had cookies and warm milk. Mia heated up the milk on the stove, in a pan, and made it slightly warm, not too hot. It was good.”
Suki crossed her arms and tried to look angry. “Well, how dare you girls. Don’t you know if you’re going to have a late-night snack, you’re supposed to invite me along? That’s just about my most favorite meal of the day.” She smiled as she reached over and patted Lacy’s arm. “I’m so glad Mia’s teaching you how to live a little.”
There it was again. That phrase, “live a little.” As if Lacy’s celebrity life wasn’t living at all. It seemed so strange to Mia.
After Suki returned to the kitchen, Mia asked, “Will I get to meet your mom? I mean, does she get up to see you before you go birding?”
Lacy took a sip of orange juice. “No. I never see her in the mornings. She’s not a morning person. At all.”
“Oh,” Mia said, thinking of her own mom and how she arranged her schedule so she could be with Mia every morning before school and on Saturdays for her soccer games. She’d hate to have to get up all by herself every day and leave the house without seeing her mom. Once again, Mia found herself feeling bad for Lacy.
Before they could say anything more about it, Gail marched into the dining room, carrying the bag she brought along every week that held their binoculars and notebooks.
“Good morning, my fine feathered friends,” she said as she took a seat next to Lacy. “You both look well. Have fun yesterday, did you?”
“Yes,” the girls answered at the exact same time.
“Wonderful,” Gail said. “Splendid. Happy to hear it. I think I shall go pester Suki for some coffee and a bit of food while you girls finish up. Then we can just head to the lagoon straight away. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
As she left, Mia took another bite of her delicious omelet. “I could get used to eating Suki’s food, that’s for sure.”
“Anytime you want to come over and eat something, just let me know,” Lacy said. “She won’t mind at all. And I’d love it, of course.”
“Okay, I’ll remember that,” Mia said. “When I’m craving fruit pizza, I’ll just give you a call.”
“Please do,” Lacy said. “I’m totally serious. In the car, let’s make sure to exchange phone numbers, okay?”
“Lacy, it’s so rude though,” Mia said, laughing. “Calling up someone to come and eat their food?”
“No, it’s not rude at all. Not when it’s you. It’s friendly, and it means you’re comfortable with me, which is awesome.”
“Awesome,” Mia repeated. “Now you’re even talking like me.”
“I think you should just move in here,” Lacy said, finishing her last bite of breakfast. “Honestly, it feels like you belong here with me.”
Mia didn’t know what to say to that, so she didn’t say anything. She knew Lacy was joking, but still, it was sad how lonely the poor girl seemed to be. Thankfully, Gail came strolling in carrying a mug of coffee and a bagel.
“All right, my little chickadees, are we ready to go?” Gail asked before she took a sip of her coffee.
“We’re ready,” Lacy said. “Mia’s stuff is by the front door, Grandma, can you ask the driver to put it in the car?”
“Already taken care of,” Gail said. “So let’s skedaddle, shall we?”
As they walked to the car, Mia thought about how she’d known Gail and Lacy for only a couple of weeks, and yet, in some ways, it seemed like she’d known them forever.
Like old friends.
* * *
It was the best expedition yet. They saw many, many birds, and Mia took literally hundreds of pictures.
“There’s something special about today,” Gail said as they rose from the bench where they’d been sitting. “I wonder what it is.”
Lacy looked at Mia and said, “I couldn’t agree more.”
And just then, when it didn’t seem like the day could get any better, Gail turned to them with her finger on her lips and whispered, “Shhh. Girls, listen.”
Everyone stood completely still, not saying a word. The sound they heard was like an old beater of a car, sputtering down the road.
Lacy’s eyes got really big as she mouthed the words, clapper rail.
Mia felt goose bumps popping up all over her arms. Gail’s life bird was close. Really close! But where? Where was it?
Gail put the binoculars to her eyes and scanned the area ever so slowly. Lacy was looking too. It seemed like an eternity before she finally pointed her finger at a bird that had just come out from the grassy marsh and was now strutting along the shore, next to the water. Mia zoomed in with her camera and took picture after picture. It was a good-size bird, with funny looking feet and a skinny orange beak. Mia watched as it jumped into the water and gave itself a bath. The bird put its head into the water, then wiggled its whole body as it rubbed its wing with its beak. The bird did it over and over again. Lacy let out a little giggle at the sight.
When the bird finished bathing, it got back on shore and walked a little more before it ducked back into the marsh and disappeared.
Gail lowered her binoculars and hit her thigh with her hand. “Now, wasn’t that just something to crow about?”
Lacy ran to her grandmother and gave her a big hug. “We did it, Grandma. We really did it! We finally saw the bird you’ve been dreaming about.”
Gail looked like she was about ready to cry. Mia was so honored to have been part of that special moment.
“What’d you think, Mia?” Gail asked her. “Does the light-footed clapper rail have another fan now?”
“I thought it was amazing,” Mia said. “Knowing how long you’ve been trying to find that bird, it was the best feeling knowing you finally got your wish.”
“I can hardly believe it,” Gail said.
“I totally get it,” Lacy said, holding Gail’s hand. “It’s how I felt last night, sitting across the table from Mia, having a late-night snack with my new friend. Like you just want to stop time because it doesn’t seem like it will ever get any better than that.”
* * *
On the ride to the café, Gail and Lacy scribbled notes in their notebooks as Mia sat and thought about how much things had changed since the first time she met Lacy and her grandma.
Birding wasn’t weird at all. It was fun. Exciting. Never in a million years would Mia have believed it if someone told her that, but she’d seen it for herself.
And then there was Lacy. Just like Mia had made assumptions about what bird watching would be like, she’d made assumptions about what Lacy would be like. And most of it hadn’t been true. Deep down, Lacy was a regular girl, just like Mia, who wanted what everyone ultimately wants — for people to understand her and to care about her.
When they pulled up to the café, Lacy got out her purse like she’d done every other time. Mia felt her heartbeat quicken as she thought about taking Lacy’s money. It didn’t seem right anymore, after everything Lacy had done for her over the weekend.
“Please,” Lacy said, extending her hand with the money. “Take it. I can tell you’re thinking you shouldn’t this time, but I want you to have it. You took a ton of photos today and you earned it. Really.”
Mia hesitated another second before she reached out and took the hundred-dollar bill. “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”
“No,” Lacy said. “Thank you for everything. This was the best weekend I’ve had in a really long time.”
“Will we see you next Sunday morning?” Gail asked.
“I hope so,” Mia said. “I’ll have lots of pictures of your friend, the light-footed clapper rail.”
Gail rubbed her hands together. “Oh dear me, I can hardly wait.”
The driver opened the door, and as Mia climbed out of the limo, she was shocked when she came face-to-face with about twenty kids from her school. Not only that, but Salina and Josie were front and center. All of them bombarded her with questions.
“Does she take a limo wherever she goes?”
“Can you get us her autograph to sell online?”
“Are you too good for us now, Mia?”
“What’s it like to be friends with a rich girl?”
Mia stood there, squeezing her fists, trying to stay calm. But it was so hard. After basically ignoring her last week, now they wanted to talk to her, just so they could make fun of her?
Mia couldn’t take it. She yelled, “Stop it! She’s not my friend, okay? Like I said before, I work for her. I take photos.” She held up her camera and the hundred-dollar bill. “See?”
It was quiet for just a second before the noise started up again. And in that second, Mia realized the driver hadn’t shut the car door yet, because he’d been getting her bag.
Lacy had heard everything Mia had said.
Mia watched the limo drive away, feeling sick. Like the way she felt after crashing in a big wave, swallowing a bunch of seawater, and having to return to the shore feeling small and defeated.
What had she done?
With the celebrity show now over, most of the kids headed across the street, toward the beach. Salina and Josie stuck around.
Mia looked at them. “What are you even doing here?”
“After we saw you yesterday,” Josie said, “we asked your mom where you were going. She said you were sleeping over at Lacy’s house. When we asked what time you’d be back, she told us. Mia, why didn’t you tell us?”
“Probably because I was afraid of something like this,” Mia said. “Why did you have to tell half the school?”
“We didn’t,” Josie said. “I mean, not really. I think maybe we each told a few people, and I guess they told a few people …”
Mia picked up her bag. “Well, I hope you got what you came for.” She looked at Salina. “Was the party fun yesterday?”
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