Double Trouble

by Tina Wells

  * * *

  Zee thought about her best friend’s advice and realized that it made a lot of sense. Chloe and Missy were trying to help out because they were awesome friends. They hadn’t been trying to hurt Zee. She kept reading.

  * * *

  Don’t take this the wrong way, but be careful that you don’t take advantage of Jasper. He’s a really great friend and he would never leave YOU hanging. Besides, lots of study dates could be the perfect way to figure out if you really like him.☺

  Heart,

  A

  * * *

  Zee knew Ally was right. She also knew that she had to make up with Chloe and Missy as soon as possible and set things right. And she couldn’t do it with a text or with an email. It had to be in person.

  As soon as Adam parked in the student lot, Zee flung open the door and scanned the campus. None of her friends were in sight. In fact, hardly anyone was still outside.

  The first bell had rung—and if Zee didn’t hurry, she would miss the late bell, too. She rushed past the rows of solar panels that provided a lot of the electricity for Brookdale Academy, toward the main doors.

  “Don’t bother thanking me!” Adam called behind her.

  “Thanks, Adam!” Zee yelled back.

  The late bell rang just as Zee passed through the doorway to Mr. P’s class. She took a seat near Chloe and Missy. They were turned away from her, so she couldn’t even try to apologize to them now. But the fact that they were purposely ignoring her stung.

  Zee glanced at where Jasper was sitting. By now, he had figured out that she hadn’t sent him her notes for the science project. She was relieved that class was starting and she didn’t have to explain herself to him.

  “Everyone, get your instruments out,” Mr. P called out, “and let’s get started!”

  As Zee snapped open her stars-and-stripes studded guitar case, Landon waved and smiled at her from across the room. Zee waved back but tried not to smile too big. She didn’t want him to think it was a crush-smile instead of a friend-smile. Not long before, just having Landon look in her direction would have made her happy for the rest of the day. Now it only made her feel worse, since she didn’t like him like that anymore. Still, Landon was just about the only person being friendly to her.

  Zee had noticed that Landon had seemed a little lonely in school lately. Kathi didn’t fawn all over him like she used to. And Marcus and Conrad seemed like two halves of the same brain. They were always working as a team to crack everyone up—or protest something together. Their routine often didn’t include Landon, who was Marcus’s best friend until Conrad moved to Brookdale.

  Zee could definitely relate to Landon, since she was feeling more alone than usual these days.

  “When you’re ready,” Mr. P said again, “everyone can begin rehearsing the songs you’ll be playing at Mrs. Carmichael’s Baby Blast.” Students began to move from their seats. “Except Zee. We’ll work on your audition pieces together.”

  “Hey, Mr. P!” Marcus protested. “Why does Zee get special treatment?”

  “Yeah,” Conrad said. “There are way more of us than there are of her.”

  Zee spoke up. “It’s fine, Mr. P. I can just work on my songs by myself at home. Besides, I should rehearse for the Baby Blast, too.” But the fact of the matter was, Zee had not actually even thought about what songs she might perform for her audition, so she was relieved that Mr. P wanted to help her.

  Mr. P put up his hands as if he were about to surrender. Then he said, “Don’t worry. I’ve got this figured out.” He pointed to Zee. “You were discovered at a Beans performance, which means you are representing The Beans at your audition. I just want to go over the songs you want to play to make sure they show off your musical strengths.”

  Mr. P looked around at the rest of the students. “Kathi will lead the Baby Blast rehearsals.”

  Kathi clapped her hands then rubbed them together as if she were a scientist who had just come up with an evil plan. “Does this mean I’m also the lead singer?” Kathi asked. “It’s no prob if I am.”

  “Since Zee has her hands full with the TV show, I think that would be a good idea.” Mr. P looked from Kathi to Zee. “That would be one less thing for you to have to worry about right now.”

  “I won’t be part of the Baby Blast?” Zee asked.

  “Of course you will,” Mr. P responded.

  “She will?” Kathi looked stunned.

  “You just won’t be performing,” Mr. P told her. “Your dad and I decided that at this point it’s probably not realistic.”

  Zee sank into her seat. In less than twenty-four hours, she had lost all control over the Baby Blast—first the planning, and now the music.

  The worst part was that Kathi had been right yesterday. She was now the lead singer and Zee wasn’t even a Bean anymore.

  Actually, the worst part was that Zee’s dad had talked to Mr. P about what was “realistic” or not—without asking her.

  Kathi turned to The Beans. “OK, everyone. Let’s figure out which songs will highlight my voice.”

  Zee glanced over at Chloe and Jasper, hoping to make eye contact so she could give them a sympathetic look. She knew what it was like to be bossed around by Kathi. Instead, neither one looked at Zee at all. They just took their places with the rest of the group so that rehearsal could begin. Missy avoided looking her way, too.

  Mr. P and Zee found a corner of the room where it would be quiet enough for them to work. “I was thinking that for this audition, you probably want to pick a few different kinds of songs so you can show your range,” Mr. P told her. “You could do a couple that you wrote and then a popular song that they’ll recognize.”

  Zee’s teacher continued to talk, and Zee tried to listen, but she kept getting distracted by The Beans rehearsal across the room. Kathi sounded amazing, and with everyone doing exactly what she told them to, so did The Beans. Every so often, Zee would hear Kathi squeal something like, “That’s such a great idea, Jasper!” Whenever she did, Jasper’s face would turn beet red as he grinned from ear to ear.

  Kathi’s behavior might have been tolerable if Chloe had looked over and made a face about it, but she didn’t. Instead, everyone acted as if Zee wasn’t even in the room.

  “When you were in Yes No, did you and the other band members ever fight?” Zee asked Mr. P. She knew that his band had been pretty successful when they were together. They’d even toured Europe and made it onto the cover of Gala.

  Mr. P looked at the other students, then leaned forward. “All the time.”

  “So you weren’t friends?”

  “They were my best friends,” Mr. P said, looking surprised. “They still are.”

  “Then why did you fight all of the time?”

  “I guess because we knew we would always make up because we really cared about one another. But it was also because we all just really cared about the music, and sometimes people who are passionate disagree about the best way to do the thing they’re passionate about.”

  “So how did you figure out who to listen to?” Zee asked.

  “You have to make sure everyone gets a turn being right. No one is right all of the time—or even most of the time. But everyone is right some of the time.”

  Zee let Mr. P’s words sink in. “Maybe it’s a good idea to figure out what it matters most to be right about.”

  “When you’re in a band, sometimes you just have to let people do their own thing. Making a fair contribution is the most important part.”

  “It’s true for science projects, too,” Zee added.

  “Huh?” Mr. P looked confused.

  “Sorry.” Zee laughed. “I’ve got a lot going on, but this helped me figure out a few things.”

  “Ready to think about music now?”

  Zee nodded. “Definitely!”

  As soon as the bell rang, Zee hurried to put her guitar away, then raced into the hall. “Chloe!” she called out, trying to catch up with her friends. Jasper an
d Missy were walking next to Chloe.

  Chloe spun around, but when she saw who had called her name, she said, “Oh, I can’t really talk. I’ve got to get to class.”

  “I’ll walk with you,” Zee said.

  “That’s . . . not a good idea. You’ll be late,” Chloe said.

  “But we have the same second-period class,” Zee reminded Chloe. “Come on, let’s walk together.” Zee took a deep breath. “I have to tell you and Missy something. I am really, really sorry. That was so stupid of me to criticize your ideas.”

  “Really?” Chloe asked.

  “Completely,” Zee said. “I mean, there’s a reason people love to play those games. I was just feeling guilty for not being there for my mom and you guys, and I took it out on you.” She gestured toward her friends.

  “It’s OK,” Missy said. “We should have texted you about what we were doing.”

  “And I should have said thank you,” Zee told her. “We hardly have any time to get the Baby Blast together! I need as many friends to help me plan it as possible, but you two should be in charge . . . if you want to be.”

  Chloe and Missy each gave Zee a hug.

  Then Zee turned to Jasper. “And I need to talk to you, too, Jasper.”

  Jasper’s eyes grew wide. “You want me to work on the Baby Blast?”

  Zee laughed. “No. My contribution to the science fair project has been a fail so far, but if you forgive me and still want me as a partner, I will do better. I probably won’t be able to work on it every single day. But you can count on me to do fifty percent.”

  “You have a deal!” Jasper said.

  “And with Chloe and Missy doing such a fantabsome job on the Baby Blast, I’ll definitely have time.”

  “You can get started today,” Jasper said. “Ms. Merriweather said we could work on it in class.”

  “It’s a date!” Zee said. As the words tumbled out of her mouth, her face turned as red as her hair. “I mean . . . you know . . . I’ll see you in science.”

  Then Zee turned on her heel and hurried to her second-period class.

  10

  Science Friction

  Zee stood up from the lunch table and picked up her tray. “I’ll see you guys later,” she told her friends.

  “Where are you going?” Chloe asked. “There are ten more minutes for lunch.”

  “I know,” Zee said, “but I want to get to science a little early, so I can get started on the project.” She glanced over at Jasper and thought she saw an I’m impressed look on his face.

  “Oh, yeah!” Chloe said. “It’s such a big project. I want to make a schedule so we can be sure to finish in time.”

  “How’s that going?” Zee asked.

  “What?” Chloe asked.

  “Having Landon as a partner?” Zee said more quietly so Landon wouldn’t hear.

  “Oh, it’s fine,” Chloe said quickly. “How’s your project going, Missy?”

  But Zee didn’t register Missy’s response because she was still focused on Chloe. Zee was certain that she saw a blush in Chloe’s cheeks. But she didn’t have time to figure out why—she had to get to science.

  In the lab, Zee turned on a classroom laptop, then created a Bluetopia doc so that she and Jasper could list ideas then make comments about their pros and cons. They would even be able to edit each other’s work right in the document. She was sure that he’d be impressed she had taken the initiative to begin organizing the project.

  Before Zee knew it, though, the bell rang and the other students filed in. Conrad and Marcus placed reusable containers filled with lemons, potatoes, nails, and wires on the lab table. Zee knew that they were making batteries from fruits and vegetables. She just didn’t realize that anyone had gotten all of their supplies already. Chloe and Landon were laying out a skateboard and helmet, measuring tape, different colors of chalk, and a video camera. Their experiment dealt with the science that makes an ollie, a skateboarding trick, work.

  Other partners also had equipment, charts, and books spread out across their tables. Seeing everyone else’s progress made Zee worry. They had done so much in just one day! Then Jasper came into the room, with Kathi by his side. Kathi talked quickly as she followed Jasper to his spot at the table next to Zee. “So Ms. Merriweather said we could freeze the balloons in the school’s kitchen freezer.”

  Frozen balloons? Zee thought to herself. That doesn’t sound very scientific. “What’s your project?” Zee asked Kathi.

  “Oh, hi, Zee,” Kathi said fake-sweetly. “It might be hard for you to understand.”

  Zee just looked at Kathi, waiting for an answer.

  Jasper turned to Zee. “Kathi and Jen are examining how a comet’s size affects how quickly it melts,” he explained. “Their experiment is really quite brilliant!”

  “Do you know what a comet is, Zee?” Kathi asked.

  Zee wasn’t sure what a comet was exactly. But she wasn’t going to admit it to Kathi.

  Zee looked from Kathi to Jasper, then back to Kathi, when Jasper jumped in to save her. “Of course Zee knows that comets are frozen lumps of gas and rock that orbit the sun,” he said.

  “Yup,” Zee said quickly.

  “Mmmhmm,” Kathi said as she crossed her arms and looked from Jasper to Zee. Zee telepathically thanked Jasper, but she also wondered why she liked that he came to her defense. Was it because she was his partner? His friend? His crush?

  “Hey! There’s Jen.” Zee pointed to the door.

  Jen struggled to lift two heavy bags.

  “So we filled balloons with water, rocks, and sand. Then we froze them,” Kathi went on.

  “And Jen is carrying the frozen balloons now?” Zee asked.

  “Uh-huh,” Kathi said, nodding.

  “Should we help her?” Jasper asked, looking concerned.

  Kathi flicked her hand. “Oh, she’s practically at the table. I’ll just wait until she puts all the stuff down there.”

  “Well, Jasper and I need to get started on our project, so . . .”

  Kathi looked down at Zee. “That’s a good idea. I heard you haven’t really gotten much done yet.” Then, to Zee’s relief, she walked away.

  Swiveling around to face Jasper, Zee asked, “Where do we start?”

  “Well, I suppose we should start by figuring out the sort of project we should do.”

  “You mean, like astronomical or physical science?” Zee said, thinking about Chloe and Kathi’s projects.

  “Precisely,” Jasper said.

  Then they talked about their ideas. Jasper suggested something with soccer, but Zee didn’t think she knew enough about the sport to do that. “Besides, Chloe and Landon are doing something sporty.”

  Zee suggested fashion, but when Jasper asked her how that could be scientific, her mind went blank.

  They went back and forth a few times until Jasper said, “How about music?”

  Zee thought about her guitar. “You mean, like how sound is created from vibrations?”

  “Or how music affects people’s brains.”

  “Cool beans!” Zee said. “I love that idea. Let’s do that.”

  “I suppose we should start by thinking about ideas for specific experiments.”

  Zee began clicking on the laptop keyboard, pleased that she had already found a website that organized ideas by topic.

  Jasper peered over her shoulder. “This is quite comprehensive,” he told her. “I’m certain we will find something that suits us.”

  Trying to hide her smile, Zee began clicking on links and reading the experiment descriptions.

  Peeking over the top of the screen, Zee could see Mrs. Sayles, the school secretary, enter the classroom and whisper into Ms. Merriweather’s ear. When Mrs. Sayles turned and left, the science teacher looked directly at Zee. “Zee, please gather your things together and go to the main office.”

  “Won’t I come back to class?” Zee asked.

  Ms. Merriweather shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

&nb
sp; Zee turned to see practically every student staring at her.

  “I’m so sorry,” Zee mouthed to Jasper as she gathered her belongings. She felt guilty about abandoning him again. But mostly, she was scared. Why did she have to go to the main office?

  Everything began to make sense when Zee saw her father waiting in a chair near Mrs. Sayles’s desk. He popped up and rushed toward Zee as soon as he saw her. “I had to pull a lot of strings, but I got you an interview with Jamie Sloan. Zee—congrats!”

  “Who’s Jamie Sloan?” Zee asked, relieved—again—that her father hadn’t come to the school because something bad had happened to her mother, or the twins, or her brother.

  “Jamie Sloan is one of the best agents in the business,” Mr. Carmichael explained as he filled in Zee’s name and the time on the school’s sign-out sheet.

  “This is about the TV show?” Zee asked. She couldn’t believe that her parents had lectured her about making school a priority—and now her dad was actually making her miss school. “Can’t it wait?”

  Mr. Carmichael rushed Zee down the hallway toward the exit. “He has to meet with you now. He doesn’t have another appointment in his schedule for weeks.” He pushed the door open wide. “I promise it won’t happen again.”

  A couple of hours later, Zee’s phone vibrated with a text from Chloe:

  >Missy and I are going to the mall to shop for the Baby Blast. Wanna come?

  Zee texted back:

  >Still at the agent’s office. I had 2 leave science for nothing!!

  >Uh-oh. What happened?

  >Hollywood stuff, I guess.

  Before hitting “Send,” Zee turned to her father and asked, “Since we don’t know if Jamie Sloan is ever going to make it back today, can we leave? I want to meet Chloe and Missy at the mall.”

  “That would be pretty unprofessional.”

  “I don’t think it would be more unprofessional than making people wait for hours,” Zee pointed out.

  Zee’s father gave her a sympathetic look. “I know it’s frustrating, but it’s all part of becoming a star.”