by Annie Bryant
“Welcome to the Reruns!” she said. “Tonight we’re showing ‘The Rerun of Maeve Kaplan-Taylor’s Award Ceremony’—in which Maeve finally gets it right, and thanks her friends for everything they did and are still doing to help her!”
She paused dramatically, passing out an envelope to each girl. “OPEN,” she commanded in her best impersonation of an emcee’s voice.
Everyone opened their envelopes. Inside were beautiful certificates, creamy white with gold trim.
* * *
THIS CERTIFICATE HONORS ___________________
FOR BEING AN EXTRAORDINARY FRIEND
AND HUMAN BEING AND FOR
HELPING TO MAKE THE WORLD
A BETTER PLACE!!!!
* * *
“So what I want to say,” Maeve said, clearing her throat, “is thank you. Thanks for helping to make the blanket project such an amazing success. And thank you for helping me through these past few weeks and for being such great friends. And thank you for understanding even when I blew it and told you guys something that wasn’t true. Most of all, thanks for being my best friends in the world!”
Everyone clapped like crazy, and the girls fought to take turns jumping up to the “pretend” microphone to give their own versions of acceptance speeches. Eventually, that turned into playing charades, and that turned into Twenty Questions, and that turned into Truth or Dare, and finally it was almost midnight and Charlotte’s father was knocking on the door to the Tower, telling them that they HAD to go to sleep.
The girls opened their sleeping bags up and put them in a circle, heads facing in.
“G’night,” Charlotte whispered, beginning to nod off.
“G’night,” Isabel murmured.
Maeve had a sudden, overwhelming feeling of contentment. She loved being here. It felt like everything was truly okay again.
“You know what?” she said, snuggling into her sleeping bag. “You guys are the best friends on earth!”
CHAPTER 22
Apologies with Swedish Fish
Maeve was the one who came up with the plan to go to Irving’s the next day.
“It’s because of your Swedish Fish obsession,” Katani teased her.
But everyone guessed that Maeve was really still trying to make it up to all of them.
“Come on, you guys. It’s my treat today,” she insisted, pulling a wad of one-dollar bills from her pocket. “I emptied my piggy bank.” She giggled. “Or should I say, my GUINEA piggy bank. And I found some old money I made from baby-sitting for Sam last month.” She gazed ruefully at the dollar bills. “’Course, if I’d known I had this, I would’ve spent it already…But it’s much better this way,” she added hastily, linking arms with Katani and Charlotte. Avery and Isabel fell into step beside them, and soon the five girls were chattering away as they walked from the park toward Irving’s, the tiny candy and gift store near school. The girls loved it for two reasons: the best penny candy anywhere, and the store’s proprietor, Ethel Weiss.
“Ethel’s kind of like the resident grandmother around here, don’t you think?” Katani asked as they drew near to the store.
“Or great-grandmother,” Charlotte suggested. “My mother told me that she’s been here for over sixty-five years,” Avery said. Ethel was a friend to almost every kid who went to Abigail Adams—as well as their younger brothers and sisters. Sometimes Maeve thought Ethel knew her almost as well as her own parents did. After all, she and Ethel went way back. Maeve had been coming to her store since she was in second grade. The girls loved everything about the store—the crowded aisles, the wonderful array of sweets and candies, and the sight of Ethel herself manning the cash register.
Today, Irving’s was crowded as always. But the Beacon Street Girls made their way inside, waving hello to Ethel, who came forward to greet them with a wave and a big smile.
“Okay, girls,” Ethel said, pulling up a stool and letting herself sit for a moment. “What can I get for you today? I know what THIS one wants,” she added, eyes twinkling as she looked at Maeve. She reached for a bag of Swedish Fish, and Maeve giggled.
Soon everyone was finding candy, and Ethel started to ring up their purchases.
“I’m paying,” Maeve said proudly, taking out her money.
Ethel looked at her quizzically.
“I owe them,” Maeve said simply. “I kinda let them down about something important.”
Ethel’s bright eyes took in the other girls. “Candy is nice,” she said simply, “but sometimes a good, old-fashioned apology is good, too, Maeve.”
“She already did,” Katani smiled, putting her arm around Maeve. “To be honest, I think she really just wanted to get us in here so she could get a Swedish Fish fix.”
Ethel laughed. “Maeve, you always do the right thing in the end.”
Several minutes later, the girls had left the store, trading candy with each other and hanging around outside the shop for a few minutes before each headed in her own direction. “Ethel’s amazing,” Katani said, shaking her head.
“She’s not afraid to say it like it is,” Avery added.
Maeve nodded. “It’s like she takes care of all of us. We’re all like her grandkids. I love that.” She blushed again. “Even if it means getting in trouble…again!”
“Hey, speaking of trouble,” Avery said, “I just found out that I’m getting stuck being a ref for that fourth-grade soccer team I was telling you about the other day—the ones with the crazy soccer parents?”
“Ouch,” Katani said. “You mean that mom who always yells no matter what call you make?”
“The very one,” Avery said with a sigh. “Maybe I better go talk to Ethel again. I need some advice about diplomacy. Or a full suit of armor to protect me from those parents.”
Everyone laughed.
“I’m not too worried,” Charlotte said affectionately. “If anyone can stand their ground, you can, Avery Madden.”
Maeve popped the last Swedish Fish into her mouth. She felt better than she had in a long, long time. Okay, she’d made some stupid mistakes lately, really stupid mistakes, but thank heavens, her family and her friends had stood by her. She had learned that when she trusted herself and listened to her own heart, she could stand up to anything.
Letters from the Heart
BOOK EXTRAS
Book Club Buzz
New Tower Rules
Amendments
Trivialicious Trivia
5 QUESTIONS FOR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS TO CHAT ABOUT
How does Maeve react to her parents’ decision to separate?
In what ways did Maeve handle the situation well? What mistakes did she make?
Who does Maeve turn to for guidance with her complicated family situation?
Who do you turn to when you need advice or guidance?
Why does Avery love the phrase “what we keep”?
THE NEW TOWER RULES CREATED BY THE NEWEST ORDER OF THE RUBY AND THE SAPPHIRE
Be it resolved that all girls are created equal!
We will speak our minds, but we won’t be like obnoxious or anything.
We won’t put ourselves down, even if we aren’t super-smart, super-coordinated, or a supermodel.
We’ll be loyal to our friends and won’t lie to them even if they make a mistake or do something totally embarrassing.
We will go for it—how will we know what we can do if we don’t try?
We will try to eat healthy and stay active. How can you chase your dream if you can’t keep up?
We won’t just take from people and the planet. We’ll try to give back good things too.
AMENDMENTS:
We can add as many amendments as we like.
We will dare to be fashion individualistas—like we’re all different so why should we dress the same?
Sometimes we’ll veg out—just because we feel like it!
We should have as much fun as we can.
We should try to save money so if we ever want to we can start a busines
s or something someday.
We will try to keep an open mind about new people.
Note from Maeve
Proposed new amendment:
7. When in doubt…phone home!
What’s the vote?
Avery—this is a no brainer!
Isabel—absolutely!
Charlotte—two thumbs up!
Katani—do you even have to ask?
letters from the heart trivialicious trivia
Where is Avery’s second hiding place for Marty? A. under her bed
B. the laundry room
C. the carriage house
D. her closet
Name the two people, besides Maeve and Dillon, who went on the Celtics game date. A. Dillon’s mom and Dillon’s brother
B. Dillon’s sister and Maeve’s brother
C. Dillon’s dad and Maeve’s brother
D. Dillon’s dad and Dillon’s brother
How did the girls get the tickets to the Red Sox game? A. they won a raffle
B. they got them from Maeve’s father
C. they found them on the street
D. they bought them at the ticket booth
Why did Anna and Joline chase Henry around the science lab? A. he stole their science project
B. they wanted to tell him something
C. he threw water at Anna
D. he threw water at Joline
What is the name of Maeve’s tutor? A. Matt Kierney
B. Brendan Ryan
C. Ruby Fields
D. Ross Taylor
