7.Tell a joke to make her laugh 0/1
8.Read a book out loud
9.Give flowers
10.Give her a hug 0/1 (disaster!)
“I didn’t get to try them all,” he explained. “But the ones I did try had mixed results.”
“Is that what the numbers are?” I asked.
“Yes. Now, you can see, my subhypothesis to our original hypothesis was right. Not everything worked on Anabelle. Smiling and giving compliments were the biggest failures. For example, I told her I liked the shirt she was wearing, and she ran upstairs to change. And each time I smiled at her, she asked me what the heck was wrong with me. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. But for the sake of research I tried four times.”
“Maybe you’re smiling the wrong way,” Lucy said.
“What are you talking about? I smiled the way I always smile.”
“Show me,” Lucy said.
“This is ridiculous,” Theo said. But then he did force a smile onto his face.
“Hmm,” Lucy said. “Did you look at Anabelle like that when you were trying to hug her?”
Theo didn’t answer.
“It’s just,” she went on, “you look like you’re in pain. Doesn’t he, Chloe?”
“You don’t exactly look happy,” I admitted.
“I would’ve been concerned, too, if you looked at me like that,” Lucy said. “And if you tried to hug me like that, well.” She shook her head. “I think you should try again. Think of something really special and wonderful, like discovering a trunk full of vintage clothes in the attic, and then smile.”
“Special and wonderful are two more things that are subject-specific,” Theo said. “But that’s not even relevant. Please look at item number five.”
We looked.
“My sister despises dish duty,” Theo said. “The rule my parents have is that we take turns. Originally, my mom suggested that Anabelle and I do the dishes together every night, but Anabelle wouldn’t have it. The only thing she hates more than dishes is the idea of doing them with me. So that’s why we switch off. On her nights, Anabelle is always trying to talk her way out of it. Luckily, my parents are impervious to her complaints.”
I didn’t know what impervious meant, but I had a general idea of what Theo was saying.
“Last night it was her turn,” he went on. “Anabelle said she was too full, she said she was too tired. She said it was unfair because my dad had made two side dishes, and now there were extra plates to wash. I said, ‘I’ll take care of it this time.’”
“Was she so happy?” I asked.
“She was so confused,” Theo said. “My dad told her not to look a gift horse in the mouth, so she said thanks and ran out of the kitchen before I could change my mind. Later that night, Anabelle came into my room with a bar of chocolate. She keeps a bunch of them stashed in her room. She’s never offered to share before.”
“Wow,” I said. “So it definitely worked.”
“It’s too early to draw conclusions,” he said.
“What kind of chocolate bar was it?” Lucy asked
“Milk chocolate with caramel. I didn’t even eat it. I saved it in case we need it for evidence.”
“Evidence?” Lucy said. “What is this? A crime scene?”
“Scientific evidence,” Theo told her. “So, anyway, when we go back to Mrs. Gall—”
“Excuse me,” Lucy said. “Did you say we’re going back there?”
“Of course we are.”
“But didn’t you also say doing the same thing again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity?” I asked.
“We won’t do the exact same thing,” Theo said. “We’ll find something that works.”
“I doubt she’ll let us into her house to do her dishes,” Lucy said. “She’d probably kill us if we tried!”
“Don’t worry,” Theo said. “We’re not going to do anything like it. We’re going to write a note.”
A nice note was number two on Theo’s list. “What will we write?” I asked. “Some kind of compliment?”
“I honestly can’t think of any to give her,” Lucy said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Theo said. “Because our note will be our offer to clean her yard up. Instead of taking her by surprise, we’ll let her know our intentions—and that those intentions are kind. Lucy can slip it in her mailbox.”
“If only she had one,” Lucy said. “The houses on my street have slots in the front door.”
“Okay, you’ll slip it in there,” Theo said.
“Oh, no,” Lucy said. “I’ll just mail it.”
“Then we have to wait for it to go all the way to the post office, just to be delivered back to her door, and we don’t have that kind of time.”
“So you expect me to go on her property again.”
“Yes,” Theo said. “Today, if possible.”
Lucy audibly gulped. “Okay.”
“I can go with you,” I offered.
“Well, that’s unexpected,” Theo said.
“Unexpected?” I said. I couldn’t believe it—that Theo thought it was unexpected that I’d help Lucy. Though I guessed I deserved it. “I’ll really go this time. I don’t have an It Girls’ meeting until tomorrow.”
“I wasn’t talking about you,” Theo said. “I was talking about Anabelle. She just waved to me.” He lifted his hand to wave back. “She’s never done that before.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to wave to Anabelle, too. So did Lucy. “Speaking of things that are unexpected,” Lucy said. “I think it’s time for the surprises now.”
She opened up a flap on her fanny pack and pulled out three squares of felt. “I made us club patches,” she said. “You don’t know this, Chloe. But I used to make patches all the time.”
Lucy handed one to Theo and one to me. They were yellow, and the edges weren’t frayed at all. Instead there was blue piping all around, and in the middle green letters stitched in that spelled out The Kindness Club. Underneath the letters, Lucy had stitched some shapes, like a fancy kind of underline.
“You sewed these?” I asked incredulous, and Lucy nodded. “I can’t even mend a hole. Those letters must’ve taken all night.”
“They practically did,” she said.“And I like the pentagons,” I added.“Hexagons,” Theo corrected. “Pentagons have five sides and hexagons have six.”“Okay, hexagons,” I said. There were two of them put together, with lines coming out of either side.“I googled what serotonin looks like,” Lucy explained. “It’s like having a club logo.”
“Wow,” I said. “They look really professional. Like something you could buy in a store.”
“Thanks,” Lucy said. I could tell she was pleased. “You don’t have to wear them. I just wanted you to have them.”
“I’ll wear it,” Theo said.
“Even though it’s not khaki?” Lucy asked. “What if someone sees you wearing it and thinks you’re the kind of person who won’t pay his taxes?”
“You can wear colors and still pay your taxes,” Theo said.
“Did you hear that, Chloe?” Lucy asked. “I think Theo learned something from us for a change!”
We were fist-bumping each other, à la Mr. Dibble, when Monroe walked up. “Hey, guys,” she said. She winked at me, which made me feel like she was there because I’d signaled her. Which I hadn’t done. I hadn’t raised my hand at all, except to wave to Anabelle.
Oh, right, I’d waved to Anabelle. Monroe probably thought I had been signaling her.
“Hey, Chloe,” she said. “How’s the meeting?”
“It’s good,” I said.
“It’s great,” Lucy told her.
Monroe reached in front of me and picked up Lucy’s patch. “What’s this?” she asked.
“Accessories for our club,” Lucy told her.
“Your club?”
“Our science project,” I told her.
“Lucy made
you patches for it?”
“Uh-huh,” I said.
“Well,” Monroe said. “That’s . . . interesting.” She dropped my patch back down on the table, the right corner slightly creased from where she’d been pinching it. “So, Chloe, I just came over to tell you that you should come over after school.”
“Well, I . . .”
“Rachael and Anjali are coming,” Monroe said. “My mom will be home, and she really wants to meet you.”
“She does?” I asked.
“Of course.”
I looked at Lucy. I looked back at Monroe. I felt pained. “The only thing is, I just told Lucy I’d help her with something for our project after school.”
“You can do it another day though, right?” Monroe asked. “You know my mom isn’t home every day.”
“It’s okay if you want to go,” Lucy told me.
“That settles it then,” Monroe said. “Is your meeting done? If so, you should come back to our table with me—ours is just getting started.”
“Almost,” I said. “I’ll meet you over there.”
Monroe walked away, and I gathered up my stuff and said good-bye to Lucy and Theo. “I’m really sorry about this afternoon,” I told Lucy.
“It’s no problem,” Lucy said. “I know you want to be kind to Monroe. I figured that’s why you went to the movie when you were sick.”
“Yeah,” I said. My stomach did a somersault. “That was why.”
“Just don’t be so kind that you forget all your scientific obligations,” Theo said.
“Oh, Theo,” Lucy said. “You worry too much. We still have a week left.”
“We need Mrs. Gallagher to respond to the note,” he reminded her. “And we need to time to rethink things if she doesn’t. But it’s okay. I’ll go with you on my way home.”
“Chloe!” Monroe called.
“Go on,” Lucy said. “We’ve got this.”
“Thanks, guys.”
CHAPTER 14
It turned out Monroe’s mother wasn’t home that day after all. Bernadette, the housekeeper who lived with Monroe’s family, told us that Elle Reeser had taken the train to New York City, to rehearse with friends. “Did she say when she’d be back?” Monroe asked.
Bernadette dragged a damp cloth along the kitchen counter, cleaning a slab of marble that was already sparkling. “Your mother doesn’t tell me her plans.”
Monroe looked sad, and I put a hand on her arm. “I’m really sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Monroe said quickly. “This is a big opportunity for her. She’s the director’s first choice for the part, which means she’s about to be a Broadway star. It’s what she’s always wanted.”
“We should all go to New York City and see the show,” Anjali said.
“If she gets it,” Monroe said.
“You just said she’s the director’s first choice,” Rachael reminded her.
“Yeah, she is.”
“Hey, do you have any of those wafer cookies we ate last time?” Anjali asked.
“Bernadette?” Monroe said, in a voice that made it sound like we’d been waiting on the wafer cookies for at least a year.
“I’ll make a tray,” Bernadette said.
“We’ll be out back,” Monroe told her. She turned to the three of us. “Let’s go.”
“I need to call my mom first,” I said.
“Yeah, sure,” Monroe said. She nodded toward Bernadette, who handed me a phone.
I dialed Mom’s number, and let her know I was perfectly safe and at Monroe’s house. When we hung up, I headed to the backyard, where the other girls were sitting on lounge chairs. I sat on a cushy chair next to Rachael, and looked across the backyard, which was as big and well kept as a golf course.
“Can you believe the Spanish homework?” Rachael asked. “Two sections of the workbook.”
“Totally excessive,” Monroe said.
“I can help you if you want,” I said. “I started Spanish in my old school, so I’m a bit ahead of things.”
“Is that what Rivera wanted to talk to you about after class?” Anjali asked.
I nodded. “She said she was going to give me some other assignments, to work on while the rest of the class caught up.”
“Teacher’s pet,” Monroe said.
My cheeks warmed and I stared off at the vastness of the backyard, for a few seconds not saying anything.
“What’s that?” I asked, breaking the silence and pointing at a brown square in the distance.
“It’s a dance floor,” Monroe said. “My mom had it installed years ago. She used to be a dancer, and she says you never know when you’re going to want to dance in the backyard.”
“My mom has never ever danced in the backyard in her life,” Rachael said. “Your mom is so cool.”
“Yeah,” Monroe said softly. She paused for a second, and I wondered if she really thought so. Then she added, “Hey, Chloe, let me see that patch again.”
I didn’t know what had made Monroe think of Lucy’s patch right then. But I really wished she hadn’t. “It’s in my backpack in the kitchen,” I told her, hoping she wouldn’t tell me to go back in and get it.
Bernadette came outside with a tray of wafer cookies, plus cheese and crackers, and four glasses of seltzer over ice.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Oh, hey, Bernadette, get Chloe’s backpack for her. It’s in the kitchen, and it’s the—what color is it?”
“Blue,” I said. “But—”
“This will be great. You guys can see Lucy’s handiwork. There’s a weird squiggle at the bottom, like she was trying to make a cool design, but failed completely.”
Bernadette was already halfway back to the screen door. “Wait,” I called. “You don’t need to.”
“She doesn’t mind,” Monroe said.
“But I have a better idea,” I said. “Let’s practice our dance on the dance floor. It’s a much better space than my living room, and we don’t have to worry about the couch getting in the way.”
“Bernadette, turn on the speakers for us, will you?”
“You got it,” Bernadette said.
Phew. Saved by a backyard dance floor.
CHAPTER 15
I missed the It Girls’ meeting on Tuesday, because I had an orthodontist appointment. Mom picked me up straight after school and took me to Dr. Beach. Then we ran a few errands, and stopped at a diner for dinner. When we got home, there was a voice mail from Monroe. I went up to my room to call her back, and she answered on the first ring. “Hey, I was hoping it would be you,” she said.
“Really?”
“Yeah, we were talking about you at the meeting today, and we had an idea. But first I need to be sure about something. You want to be in our club, and not one with Lucy and Theo. Right?”
“Absolutely. I even told them,” I said.
“What did you say exactly?”
I’d taken Captain Carrot out of his cage. Now I was lying on my bed, with him on my stomach. I balanced the phone between my shoulder and my ear and put both hands on his back. “I said I didn’t think I’d have time to be in a club with them,” I told her. “I said if I got in, I’d have a lot of stuff to do with you guys.”
“Okay. That’s good. I think Lucy may have the wrong idea about you. I talked it over with Anjali and Rachael, and we think there’s only one thing to do—you need to give Lucy back the patch.”
“Give back the patch?” I asked.
“You can do it tomorrow,” she said. “Sit with her and Theo at lunch. And when you’re done, you can give me the signal—the same one we had before.”
“But—” I started.
“I’ve got to go,” she said. “But tomorrow. Lunch. You know the signal.”
I hung up the phone and rubbed Cappy’s soft back. I could feel the beat of his heart under my fingers. When I first got Cappy, I worried something was wrong with him, because his heartbeat was so fast. But it turned out that’s normal for r
abbits. Right then, it seemed like my own heart was beating at the same pace, way faster than a normal human’s.
Mom knocked on my doorframe and came into the room. “Hey, sweetie,” she said. “Do me a favor—when you’re with your dad tomorrow, can you make sure to get a check from him?”
“A check for what?”
“The money he owes me for your school clothes,” she said. “Plus his half of your orthodontist consultation.”
“I thought Dr. Beach wasn’t charging us,” I said.
“What gave you that idea?”
“Because he knows Dad.”
“Dad gives him referrals sometimes, so he’s giving us a small discount, but nothing is ever free.”
“Oh,” I said. “Well, can’t you ask Dad yourself when you drop me off?”
“You know your dad doesn’t come out to the car,” she said.
“So you can call him,” I told her. “Or you can come outside when he drops me off after dinner.”
“Give me a break, Chloe, won’t you?” Mom said. “It’ll take you a few seconds to ask for the check, and a few seconds for him to write it out. He’s the one who passed on the crooked teeth anyway. He had braces for five years.”
“Five years?”
“Your teeth aren’t nearly as bad as his,” Mom assured me. She motioned for me to move my legs and sat down beside me. “You’ve seen the pictures of your dad as a kid.” I nodded, and Mom went on. “There was this story Grandma Barb once told me. Your dad was so afraid of the dentist that on one visit, he jumped out the window. It was only the first floor. But still—a pretty drastic reaction, don’t you think?”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“I always liked that story,” Mom said.
“You liked that he jumped out a window?” I asked. Things between my parents were bad, but I didn’t know they were so bad that she wanted him out a window.
“I liked that he grew up to be the thing that scared him,” Mom said. “He once told me it was because he wanted to give dentists a good name. No kids out his office window.”
“That’d be really dangerous since his office is on the third floor,” I said.
“You bet it would,” Mom said. She smiled a closed-mouth smile, and suddenly her pressed-together lips got thinner, and she looked slightly pained. For a few seconds a silence fell between us. I wondered if she was thinking about that office on the third floor. There was cream-colored carpeting in the reception area, a beige couch, and a mahogany coffee table and side tables. The receptionist’s name was Grace, and then there were the dental hygienists, Lori and Annmarie, who worked on the patients with Dad. They’d been Mom’s friends. And now they weren’t anymore.
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