Mackenzie Blue

by Tina Wells

  Zee climbed out of bed and reached for a notebook. On a piece of paper, she scribbled a new heading for her list:

  Top Ten Most Embarrassing

  Confessions in My Diary

  or

  Why I Should Consider

  Being Homeschooled

  6

  The Message

  E-ZEE: R u there?

  Zee IM’ed Ally the next morning.

  SPARKLEGRRL is offline

  She’s probably in school, Zee decided. Would she ever get used to the new schedule?

  Zee pulled a piece of paper out of her printer.

  Hi, Diary Piece of Paper,

  I didn’t think it was possible for me to miss Ally more than I did yesterday. Or the day before. Guess what? It is. Best friends and crises go together. But we’re so far apart. And I have no idea how to get through this without her.

  Zee

  Zee stared at the nothingness in her locker. She’d had her father drop her off in the exact spot as the day before, then slowly followed the same path to school from the SUV, past the giant solar tracking panels that helped power the school, up the front steps, and to her locker. She’d found a ruler, a hair clip, and a tofu-and-banana sandwich—interesting—but no diary.

  Zee pulled out the textbooks she’d placed on the top shelf, and flipped through the pages for the hundredth time. Discouraged, she shut her locker with a soft thud. Like the other lockers at Brookdale, it was made out of boards from recycled wheat straw. She stared at the golden-colored door, trying to figure out what to do next.

  “Lose something?” a voice behind Zee asked.

  “Iyeee!” Zee screamed as she spun around, her heart pounding from the surprise. Chloe stared back at Zee, a bright pink cello case strapped to her like a backpack. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Zee put her hand on her racing heart. “I didn’t know anyone else was here.”

  “My parents made me come early because I missed music yesterday,” Chloe explained. “They wanted my nanny to walk me to class today—until she convinced them I was too old for it. That would have been embarrassing.”

  “Definitely not cool.” Zee giggled. “I’ll go with you.” She picked up her guitar case, which she had stenciled to look like a flag, from the floor beside her. The girls headed to their first-period class.

  “What’s your excuse for getting here so early?” Chloe asked.

  “Actually you were right. I did lose something,” Zee explained. She told Chloe all about the missing diary and how she was clueless about where it could be. “I’m scared that someone found it and read it.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t freak about it until you know,” Chloe told her. “Maybe someone already found it and will give it back today. You’re probably worried about nothing.”

  Everything Chloe said was pretty obvious—and pretty positive! Chloe’s attitude was contagious, and Zee decided not to worry as they entered the classroom. Instead, when Chloe started pulling her bow across the cello strings, Zee tuned her guitar and then began practicing her Teen Sing song.

  Zee strummed the song she’d worked on at the pool over the summer. “Jump in the water—it’s cooler, baby,” she sang as Chloe played a classical piece. “Dive in the water—it’s better, baby.”

  “That note you’re starting on is high.” Someone else was in the room. Zee twisted around in her chair to find Mr. P. He looked only slightly less frazzled than he had the day before, and he was clutching his coffee cup like a drowning man holding on to a life preserver.

  “I’m sorry,” Zee said, bending over to put her guitar in its case.

  Mr. P sat down next to her with his own guitar. “You shouldn’t stop,” he said. “Try this chord.” He sang back the song’s words in a different key. Somehow Mr. P’s gravelly voice made it sound like a totally different song. Zee got a little shiver when he looked at her. “Your turn,” he said.

  Zee tried the song again—Mr. P’s way. She couldn’t believe how much better it sounded!

  “Cool!” Mr. P said, getting up. “I’ve got to get ready for class, but you should keep practicing.” He turned to Chloe. “You must be my missing mystery student from yesterday. I’d like to hear you play later, too. I bet you have some rock and roll in you. Everyone does.”

  “Suuure,” Chloe said, looking doubtfully at her cello.

  “That was unbelievable!” Zee whispered as Mr. P walked to his desk. Chloe nodded but she wasn’t smiling. Zee could tell something was wrong. “Don’t you like Mr. P?” she asked.

  Chloe’s expression changed to a forced grin. “I dooo,” she said hesitantly. “He’s just not what I expected.”

  Considering Zee expected Mrs. Bradley—a round, serious, fifty-five-year-old woman—to be the teacher, she thought she understood what Chloe meant. As her new friend listened, Zee played and sang.

  You know it’s too hot to be wearing a frown.

  Just get off that towel and start splashing around.

  We’re already treading water

  Just to breathe.

  So stop—

  Zee adjusted her fingers and tried again.

  We’re already treading water

  Just to breathe.

  So come—

  “Ugh!” Zee sighed.

  “What’s wrong?” Mr. P asked, looking up from his work.

  “I can’t remember the next line.”

  “Did you write it down?”

  “Well…yes,” Zee said. “But I lost the…um…notebook—maybe at school.”

  Mr. P stood up from his desk. “You still have time to check the lost and found before the bell rings. I’ll go to the office with you,” he said, picking up a sheet of paper. “I have to make some copies there.”

  “Mackenzie Blue Carmichael!” Mrs. Sayles cheerfully greeted Zee across the long counter in the main office. “What can I do you for?”

  “I think I lost something yesterday,” Zee explained. “May I look in the lost and found?”

  Mrs. Sayles motioned toward a box on the floor near her desk. “Sure. It’s right there.”

  Zee went behind the counter. As she rifled through the container, searching for her diary, Kathi came into the office.

  “Good morning, Kathi,” Mrs. Sayles said.

  “Is Dr. Harrison here?” Kathi asked. Dr. Harrison was the upper school’s head of school. Most kids dreaded a trip to the principal’s office, but Kathi loved it. She always bragged about how much money her family contributed to Brookdale Academy and how that meant the administration had to pay attention to whatever she said.

  “She’s expecting you,” Mrs. Sayles assured her. “Go right in.”

  Zee held her breath, hoping Kathi wouldn’t notice her as she walked to the private office door. She didn’t! Whew! Unfortunately Zee’s trip to the lost and found was not so successful. The only items in the box were a couple of iPods, a Nintendo DS, a retainer, and a few phones. She gave up and returned to the music room.

  By the time Zee got back to first period, all the students were there. Something was definitely weird. Everyone was staring at the front of the room.

  MACKENZIE BLUE WONDERS WHEN

  SHE’S GOING TO DEVELOP.

  WE DO TOO!

  Bold purple letters were printed on the dry erase board.

  Mr. P stepped into the room behind her and rushed to erase the note while Zee hurried to her seat. She looked at the ground, but as she passed Landon, she caught his friendly smile out of the corner of her eye. “Develop what?” he said, shrugging.

  Jen placed her hand over her mouth to hold back a giggle.

  As Zee turned to Chloe, she could see the concerned look on her face. They were both thinking the same thing: Someone had Zee’s diary!

  Kathi walked into the room and handed Mr. P a late pass. Then she sat in the seat Jen had saved for her.

  “What’s going on?” Kathi whispered to Jen.

  “I’ll tell you later.”

  Zee was sure the
y were not the only ones who would be talking about it.

  7

  Rock-and-Roll Teacher

  “Okay!” Mr. P got everyone’s attention. “Let’s warm up.” He pointed to Zee, Jasper, and Landon. “You three—stay right there and form a group. I’ll get you started.”

  Next, Mr. P pointed to Kathi, Chloe, Jen, and Marcus. “You four—set up near the piano. You’ll work on scales.”

  All the students took their places, and Mr. P moved between groups. As she played, Zee peeked over at Chloe’s group. Jen had set up next to Marcus. Kathi’s high violin notes and Chloe’s deep cello notes climbed the scales together perfectly. Kathi had been the lower school’s star musician. In the talent show, Kathi’s amazing solo was always the final performance—the best was saved for last. Now Chloe would definitely be competition. Kathi knew it.

  But Zee could see Kathi had a bigger problem. She couldn’t decide what to be more upset about—the fact that Chloe was an awesome cello player or the fact that Zee was grouped with Landon. Zee could feel the heat of Kathi’s glare across the room.

  It was all too much for Kathi. She lost her place and started missing notes. Marcus’s piano and Jen’s marimba couldn’t keep the students together. Before long, no one in their group was playing the same scale.

  “All right, everyone,” Mr. P said. “Nice job.”

  O-kay, Zee thought. I’d hate to hear what a terrible job sounds like. She wondered if Mr. P’s clone was in the classroom while the actual teacher had taken a coffee break somewhere else.

  “Next, we’re going to sight-read,” he said, passing out sheet music. It was a Coldplay song, and Mr. P had arranged the music for the instruments in the group.

  “Cool,” Jasper said. He slid his left hand around his bass strings and strummed with his right hand. Zee joined in.

  “Oh, great,” Kathi groaned, “rock-and-roll oldies.” She flicked her hair behind her shoulder and tucked her violin under her chin. “I guess we’re lucky it’s not Bob Dylan.”

  Mr. P laughed nervously. “I thought the class would like to play something by someone who isn’t dead,” he said.

  “Then why did you pick Coldplay?” Kathi mumbled too low for Mr. P to hear. “They were dead on arrival.”

  “Why don’t we just get started?” Mr. P said.

  Zee suspected the teacher quickly regretted that decision. With such bad timing and so many missed notes, the class sounded horrible. And Zee was a big part of the problem. She felt terrible about what had appeared on the chalkboard and couldn’t concentrate. Who had her diary?

  The violin typically led the musicians, but hoping to ruin Mr. P’s idea, Kathi was suddenly struck with an inability to play well, which made it hard for the others to keep up with their parts.

  Luckily Marcus played the melody on the piano, so it wasn’t completely a lost cause. Still, Mr. P kept interrupting the group, offering advice, then saying, “Let’s try it one more time.” Which was actually fifteen more times. Finally the teacher stopped conducting. “I think this is a good place to end,” he said, practically panting. He looked like he’d run a marathon. Sweaty clumps of hair stuck to his forehead. “We still have some time left before the end of the period, so…hang out.”

  Finally, Zee thought. Now was her chance to do what she’d been dying to do the entire class—plan her strategy. Zee stopped writing. It was no use. Someone already had her diary, so the list couldn’t help her now. She sighed and looked up from her paper. Kathi was rushing to the front of the room.

  How to Avoid Becoming the School Joke

  1. Put a lock on your diary.

  2. Don’t bring your diary to school.

  3. Never write down your secrets.

  “I have a few suggestions for making the group sound better,” she told Mr. P.

  “You do?” Mr. P asked, but he didn’t sound surprised at all.

  Kathi launched into her recommendations. As Zee focused on solving her diary problem, she overheard only bits of what Kathi said. “Students’ choice.” “Better music.” “Mrs. Bradley’s way.” “All percussion warm up with the strings.” And Zee’s personal favorite—“No guitars.” It was enough to distract Zee from her troubles and listen.

  “Kathi, it’s only the second day,” Mr. P said. “You can’t expect the group to sound like the New York Philharmonic.”

  Way to go, Mr. P! Zee thought.

  “We never will sound like them if we keep playing bad rock music,” Kathi told him.

  Mr. P sighed and leaned against his desk. His hand landed on top of a folder that slipped out from under him and slid to the floor. Lots of postcards spilled out.

  Kathi huffed, then bent down to help clean up the scattered cards. But instead of just handing over the stack she collected, she stuck one inside her music folder.

  Mr. P stood up with his own pile of cards. “Sorry, Kathi,” he apologized, scratching his head. “What were you saying?”

  The bell rang over their heads. “Never mind,” Kathi said, turning to leave.

  Zee and Chloe huddled near their gym lockers. “I don’t understand why gym hasn’t been banned as cruel and unusual punishment,” Zee said, holding up her school-issued gym uniform—a light blue T-shirt and dark blue shorts. “I mean, who looks good in this?” She shuddered.

  Chloe laughed. “Yeah, I guess whoever designed it was more concerned about fitness than fashion.”

  “Why?” Zee asked, baffled.

  “Do you really hate gym that much?” Chloe bent over to tie her black running shoe.

  “In a word? Yes.” Zee eyed the tall locker in front of her. “I wonder if getting stuck in a locker would be an excused absence. Maybe I could pay an eighth grader to shove me in.”

  “You would rather spend the entire class in a dark locker than take gym?”

  “Wouldn’t everyone?”

  “Not hardly. It’s my favorite period,” Chloe said.

  Zee patted her friend on the shoulder. “Good. You can catch all the balls that come at me. I just wish you could do my push-ups, too.”

  “At least you still have your sense of humor. I thought you might be more upset about your diary,” Chloe said sympathetically.

  “I am—a little—but I’m trying to think about my Teen Sing audition instead,” Zee said. “Mr. P is so awesome. He really helped me a lot this morning.”

  “Yeah, he knows a lot about rock music,” Chloe said half-heartedly.

  Zee was surprised when Kathi, already dressed for gym, slid on to the bench right next to her. Jen took the seat beside Chloe. Ohmylanta! Zee thought. How could Kathi make those horrible shorts and T-shirt look so good? It just wasn’t fair.

  “Are you guys talking about the message on Mr. P’s board?” Kathi asked.

  Oh, that’s why she’s here, Zee thought. To humiliate me more.

  “Jen told me what it said. You must be so upset. I mean, you don’t have boobs, but who cares?”

  Zee could feel the heat rise to her cheeks.

  “Whatcha got there?” Chloe asked and pointed to the card between Kathi’s perfectly manicured fingers. Zee was grateful to her friend for the distraction.

  “Oh, just something very interesting I found out today in Mr. P’s class.” Kathi slapped the card down on the bench next to Zee.

  “‘The Crew,’” Chloe read out loud. “‘Live at the Brookdale Amphitheater.’”

  Kathi pointed to a photo underneath—five men wearing T-shirts and blue jeans. “Recognize the guy in the middle?” Kathi asked.

  Chloe half stood and bent over to get a closer look, but Zee didn’t need to. She recognized Mr. P from her seat. “Mr. P’s in a band?” she said, looking from one girl to the next. “Why didn’t he tell us?”

  “He’s probably afraid he’s not cool enough,” Kathi said. “They’re playing the first night of the Brookdale Fall Music Festival in three weeks. I think we should go.”

  “Me, too,” Jen added. “I’ve never known a real rock musician.�
�

  “I have,” Kathi said. “But I still think it would be cool to see him. Are you in?”

  Zee was confused. She was sure Kathi would rather wear clothes from last season than go to a concert with her. But before Zee could figure out what Kathi was up to, Chloe said, “That could be really awesome. I’ll go.”

  “Great!” Kathi said. “What about you, Zee? I’m sure Mr. P would want his favorite student there.”

  As Zee pulled on her retro gym socks—white knee-highs with two blue stripes at the top—something just didn’t feel right. For the past two days, Kathi had shown absolutely no interest in supporting their teacher. Why now?

  “Do you even like Mr. P?” Zee asked.

  Kathi’s mouth dropped open. She looked shocked and wounded. “I never said I didn’t like him,” she defended herself. “Maybe I’ll understand his style better if I hear him play. My dad is a business manager for a lot of celebrities.” Chloe looked impressed, but Zee had heard Kathi brag about how important her father was a million times—now a million and one. “He always says you have to separate the music from the rest of the person’s life.”

  “That makes sense to me!” Chloe said.

  Kathi ignored her and looked at Zee. “Will you come?”

  Zee wasn’t sure. Something seemed fishy, but she didn’t want to abandon Chloe since she knew how nasty Kathi could be. Plus, it had been so cool to hear Mr. P sing her song. She’d love to watch him perform his own music.

  “Okay,” Zee said. “I’ll go.”

  Kathi, Jen, and Chloe cheered. “Mr. P might get nervous if he knew we were coming,” Kathi said. “Let’s keep it a secret and make it a big surprise.”

  “Great idea!” Jen said.

  “I can keep a secret,” Chloe agreed.

  As a whistle screeched in the gymnasium, Zee felt uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure if it was because her least favorite class was about to begin—or because Kathi was suddenly being so nice to her.