Freestyle with Avery

by Annie Bryant

  Kazie’s baby pictures cluttered the tables, and boarding trophies were randomly stuck on different shelves. It reminded me a little of Charlotte’s house, and how her dad kept tons of pictures of her around. Except Kazie was the polar opposite of Charlotte … in more ways than one.

  I wondered what it was like for Char and Kazie, only having one parent. I felt pretty lucky that I had two people to turn to. Even though Dad was far away most of the time, he was always there for me on the phone to make me laugh if I had a bad day or talk me through a sticky situation. I remembered once when Dad took a red-eye flight at three a.m. all the way from Telluride just to get to Boston in time to see my soccer tournament on Saturday morning. He’d been my biggest fan that day too. He cheered so loud that all the kids kept looking up in the stands to see what the racket was all about. I figured Kazie and I were both lucky that our parents thought we were totally awesome.

  Kazie told me about how Andie was a total art nut and how all the pieces of artwork were gifts from her friends who she went to art school with. “Mom’s into photography too,” Kazie explained. “Which is why …” she used her hands to frame her head and smiled like she was in a picture.

  “Picture overload!” I exclaimed.

  Kazie laughed. “Exactly.”

  As we walked back into the kitchen, a strange (and scary) odor hit me right away.

  “So I gotta warn you,” Kazie began, “My mom’s not exactly the greatest cook in the world.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I choked out. I had to choke it out because the smell coming from the kitchen stove was so weird I was trying not to breathe through my nose. “What did she make for dinner?” I asked, my voice sounding like Kermit the Frog on account of my no-nose-breathing rule.

  Kazie fanned her face and shook her head. “It’s too gross to say. Honestly, I’d tell you, but I’m afraid you’d run away right now. I told Mom to order Chinese food or something, but noooooo, she wanted to do a ‘home-cooked meal.’ News flash: We’re in deep trouble!”

  I shivered. That horrible smell made me think that Kazie knew what she was talking about.

  “Jake’s an awesome cook though, huh?” Kazie said.

  “Who’s an awesome cook?” asked Andie. She and Dad walked into the kitchen, and I couldn’t help but feel a little bad when I saw the huge smile on Andie’s face.

  “Um, my brother, Scott,” I answered quickly.

  “Nice save!” Kazie mouthed. She even walked behind me and slapped me five! Weird … was she being really, truly nice to me, or was it my imagination? I couldn’t keep up with Crazie Kazie’s program.

  Pretty soon it was time to sit down to dinner. While Andie was in the kitchen slamming cabinet doors and banging pots and pans, Kazie was in the dining room trying to convince Dad and me to make a run for it. “I’m serious, guys. If we leave now, we might make it.”

  “Kazie …” Dad warned, but I could tell he was definitely laughing on the inside.

  “Think about it, Jake! The Snurfmobile can be our getaway car. And Farkle can be our attack cat! It would totally work. Pleeeeaase?”

  At that moment, Andie used her back to push open the kitchen door. She didn’t look as clean and put-together anymore. There was a streak of flour smudged across her forehead and her white blouse looked kind of like one of those abstract splatter paintings that was hanging in the front hall. Andie was holding something with pot holders in her hands. “I hope you brought your appetites!” she said proudly and plunked the dish in the middle of the table.

  “Oh, Andie, this looks fabulous!” Dad gushed.

  I felt someone kick me underneath the table. “Liar!” Kazie coughed, pretending to clear her throat.

  Luckily, Andie hadn’t noticed. “Well, I remembered that Avery isn’t crazy about red meat, so I made my mother’s famous tuna noodle casserole.”

  At the same time the three of us—Dad, Kazie, and I—all leaned in to see what the food was that we were supposed to eat. Inside a white rectangular dish was the single most disgusting thing I’d ever laid eyes on … as far as food goes. It was like a combination of every leftover on the face of the planet. The only parts I recognized were macaroni and cheese, peas, and tuna fish chunks. I guess those things alone wouldn’t have been too bad, but together? And to make matters worse, there were these random splotches of mayo floating in it. The little noodles at the top were brown, rock-solid burned crusties and … could it be? Were the peas still frozen?

  Kazie must have been thinking the same thing, because she used her spoon to scoop up a little blob, picked out a single green pea, and ate it. “Oh, man! Mom, this pea’s still cold!”

  Andie turned beet red and laughed nervously. “Hehheh, well I forgot to add the peas until five minutes ago. Maybe they haven’t fully defrosted yet. I’d put it all back in the oven but …” The obvious “but” was the fact that the noodles were the color of coffee grounds and practically fossilized after their stay in Andie’s oven.

  Dad gave a big “AHEM,” and grabbed the serving spoon. “Who wants first dibs?” When no one spoke, he said, “Avery?” I reluctantly handed my plate over while my stomach flopped around. I was afraid to even look at the food in front of me … let alone digest it.

  But maybe I was in luck. Dad was chipping away at the top layer of the casserole and still hadn’t been able to break the hard noodle shield. “Ugh, ugh!” he grunted as he tried to shove the spoon into a block of cheese. “Should we try a knife?”

  Andie shook her head and looked up at my dad, her face full of worry. “No, Jake … it’s supposed to slide right in.” She just seemed confused—like she didn’t know why the casserole wasn’t working! Oh, man….

  Suddenly Kazie sniffed the air. “Hey, do you guys smell that? Is something burning?”

  “MY BISCUITS!” Andie leaped up. Kazie banged her head down on her empty plate.

  A minute later Andie returned with a basket of tiny black-and-brown dough balls. She placed them on the table next to the casserole and sat down again, looking upset with herself. Dad reached over and rubbed her back. “They might be a wee bit on the well-done side,” he said in a soft voice.

  Without a word Kazie stuck her hand into the basket, pulled out a little burned-up biscuit, and chucked it on the ground. It rolled with the speed of a baseball, straight under the legs of a cowboy statue in the other room. “Score!” Kazie cried. “Hole in one!”

  Dad made a laugh-snort and covered his mouth. Then I had to cough to cover up mine. That did it. Andie burst out giggling. Soon we were all hysterical at the idea of actually eating a bite of the food that Andie had made.

  “It’s pretty bad, isn’t it?” she asked, dabbing her eyes from laughing so hard.

  “I gotta tell you, Mom,” Kazie said. “It ain’t good.”

  “Well, you know what they say,” Dad said, winking at me. “It’s never too late … for pizza. This one’s on me.” He took out his cell phone and dialed the number for The Brown Dog Pizzeria.

  “You want to see my room?” Kazie asked while we waited for the pizza.

  “Sure.” I was a little surprised but happy, too. Pizza was coming and things were looking up!

  I followed Kazie upstairs, where she hadn’t taken me during the earlier tour. Now she seemed pretty excited to show off her stuff.

  “Whoa!” I exclaimed once the door to her bedroom opened. Kazie’s walls were covered with posters and magazine cutouts—and they weren’t snowboarding pictures. They were animals! Kazie is an animal nut like me, I thought. There were tigers on the ceiling, walruses taped to the closet, crocodiles over her bureau, and a moose on her door. And, she had the little critters too, like cats, dogs, hamsters, bunnies, you know … the pet crew.

  The real-live animal (that would be Farkle … Marty’s nemesis) was lying on Kazie’s bed, fast asleep. Kazie saw me looking at Farkle and laughed a little. “I know he’s kinda crabby.”

  My mouth hung open. “Kinda?”

  Kazie sat in her desk chair and s
pun herself around. “Well, it’s not totally his fault. He’s a stray, you know? I found him wandering alone by a river back when we lived in New Hampshire. Farkle was just a kitten and he was all wet and dirty. I knew his mom was long gone. So I took him in and took care of him. He’s always been grouchy with other people, but I kinda think it’s because he didn’t have anyone when he was a baby. He only trusts me.”

  I guess it made sense. Sure, Farkle seemed scary (and evil), but it’d be hard if you were just a little kitty left alone to find your way in the wild. Kazie was pretty cool to give a cat like that a lot of love.

  “Marty’s a stray too,” I told her.

  Kazie tilted her head and smiled. “No way! He’s so sweet though.”

  “I know, well, that’s Marty for you. My friends and I found him in a garbage can. He was wicked dirty, but after we bathed him and he was so cute, we all wanted to keep him. But we put up posters and stuff to try to find the owners, just in case.”

  “And no one answered?” Kazie seemed fascinated.

  “Nope!”

  Kazie got out of her chair and snuggled on her bed next to Farkle. She was way into my Marty story and still waiting for me to keep talking. “So how’d you get to be the one to keep him?” she asked.

  “Ugh, I didn’t,” I admitted with a shrug. “My mom’s allergic to dogs, so Marty usually lives with my friend Charlotte. But we all take care of him.”

  “Errrr!” Kazie pretended to be aggravated for me. I laughed. Was I actually starting to like this girl? “I’d be so bummed if my Farkly-Warkly had to live with, like, Tessa or Siobhan or something! How do you stand it?”

  I glanced at a rainforest poster above Kazie’s bed and knew my next piece of news would be pretty impressive. “Actually, I’ve got other pets too. Frogster. He’s a—”

  “Lemme guess,” Kazie interrupted. “A panda?” Her mouth cracked into a smile.

  “And I got Walter, and he’s a …” I paused to let Kazie guess this one.

  “No clue!” she said.

  “Snake,” I declared proudly.

  “Whoa, dude! Your mom let you have a snake? That’s off the hook! I always wanted to have a snake.”

  “Did Andie say no?” I asked.

  “I said no!” She pointed at the furry feline snoozing on the bed beside her. “I didn’t trust that guy.” We both laughed at this. Think about it! A cat that’s scarier than a snake … yikes!

  Just then we heard the door creak open downstairs. Kazie sat upright and wrinkled her nose, purposely acting like a dog on the scent. Sniff, sniff. Sniff, sniff. “I smell … cheese … tomato sauce …”

  “GIRLS! DINNER!” Dad hollered.

  “Yes!” we exclaimed at the same time. We dashed out of the room and pounded down the stairs to the warm box of pizza waiting for us in the kitchen. This was dinner number two for me, but I had plenty of room after all my hardcore boarding.

  Kazie and I dove for the two biggest slices, drenched with cheese and covered with mushrooms and grilled barbecue chicken. Andie took a piece next and smiled after her first gigantic bite.

  “Mmm! Now this is what I call dinner!” Dad looked happy and put his arm around Andie’s shoulders. I could see why he liked her. Besides trying to make sure that I had food to eat, she was even chill about her cooking disaster. Andie was a really great sport.

  Dad suddenly tapped his watch. “Hey, Avery. It’s seven forty-five—better get a move on.”

  “Oh, man! I gotta go!” I wasn’t sure what to do first—grab my coat or shove the pizza into my mouth in one huge bite!

  “Go where?” Kazie asked.

  Oops! I’d promised Dad that I’d invite her. He raised an eyebrow at me. Before I’d been dreading it, but Kazie and I were suddenly having so much fun that it completely slipped my mind. “I’m going to the museum tonight to a storytelling thing. Wanna come?”

  “Legends and Lore? That’s tonight? Mom …” Kazie looked at Andie. “Can I?”

  Andie glanced at Dad and I saw them smile at each other. “I don’t see why not,” she said.

  “Yesssss!” Kazie bolted out of the room and when she came back she had both of our coats. “Let’s take our pizza on the road, Avery.”

  That was fine with me. Kazie moved like a tornado. She ran to the counter, got paper towels, and on her way back to the pizza managed to high-five Dad and give her mom a kiss good-bye. I felt dizzy just watching her. My eyeballs were bouncing back and forth!

  “Sweeeeet dude! Let’s rock!” Kazie galloped out the front door.

  “Bye, Dad!” I called. “See ya later, Andie.”

  Dad grabbed my hood as I was running so for a second there I was like the Roadrunner. My legs were going but I wasn’t moving an inch! “Just one second, young lady,” Dad said.

  “Aw, what now, Dad?”

  He slipped his digital camera into my hand. “Take some pictures of you and Kazie tonight, okay? Remember, I can never get enough!”

  I rolled my eyes but slipped the camera in my pocket. “Byeeee!” I sang and ran out the door.

  On the way to the museum, Kazie and I had energy to spare. We jogged all the way to the end of the block. Kazie stopped, panting, and pointed up to the ski resort, where the trails were shimmering like white ribbons. “See that thick one up there?” she said. “That’s the pipe. Doesn’t it look so cool at night?”

  The pipe was the thickest of the lit-up trails. Kazie was right. Its light was almost a gold color. My heart beat faster just looking at it. That’s what happened when you truly loved boarding, I thought.

  “I can’t wait for the Snurfer,” Kazie declared. “Aren’t you sooo excited?”

  She seemed to have forgotten our awkward moment on the mountain earlier that day. Or maybe with Kazie it was all kind of a joke—all competition. “I’m pretty pumped,” I said carefully.

  Kazie started walking again, like she was in a daze. “It’s going to be so off the hook, dude. Do you know how many TV stations are going to be covering this? Siobhan said that ESPN might even be there! If my first-place victory makes it onto ESPN, coaches all over the country will want me. I’m telling you, Avery … I’d be set.” She turned to me with wide eyes.

  My stomach flopped a little, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. What did she expect me to do, root for her to win? I was glad that we were kind of starting to be friends, but it was still pretty annoying that she totally dismissed my boarding skills. But then, she hadn’t really seen what I could do, and was it even a good idea to be making friends with my biggest competitor? I didn’t really know what to think.

  CHAPTER

  16

  Rodeo Flip

  Kazie and I turned the corner to the museum and almost walked smack into Tessa and Siobhan. “Kazie! We were looking for you!” Tessa laughed. They looped their arms over Kazie’s shoulders so she was in the middle of them both. I stood there waiting, wondering if anyone was going to bother with a “Hey, Avery,” or something. Nope! I automatically reached into my pocket and felt around for the charm key ring and pen from Charlotte. Still there. Phew. I suddenly missed my friends more than ever.

  “Hey, guys,” said Kazie. “We’re headed to the museum for the storytelling thing. What’s up?”

  “The whole crew’s going night sledding in Town Park,” Siobhan told Kazie. “And you are totally coming.” The girls started to walk Kazie away in the other direction, but Kazie managed to wiggle herself away.

  “Hold on, hold on,” Kazie commanded. She took a deep breath and looked at me. “My mom thinks I’m going to this storytelling thing with her.” She nodded in my direction.

  I felt my cheeks burn. So that’s how it was going to be! One second we were friends and the next I was “her”—just an unimportant ant that was getting in the way of her hanging out with the crew.

  “So just call your mom and tell her there’s been a change of plans,” Siobhan suggested.

  Kazie grinned. “Yeah … okay!” She began to dial the numbers. “
You in?” she asked me.

  I shook my head. “No, thanks,” I told her. “I’m meeting Jason at the museum.” Kazie’s eyebrows lifted. Tessa looked like she’d gotten the wind knocked out of her. Oops. I guess I hadn’t explained that part of the plan to Kazie back at the house.

  “You’re meeting Jason?” Tessa gaped. “Is it, like, a date?”

  I rolled my eyes. What was up with these kids always thinking that just because you hang out with a guy friend it means you’re out on a date? Hello! “Date” and “Avery” were two words that had never—in the history of my life—been used in the same sentence. Wait till I told the BSG about this one. “Date? Um, no. Definitely not. We’re just friends, guys. Seriously.”

  Tessa turned up her nose and sniffed in a know-it-all voice. “Okay, I believe you.” She turned to Siobhan and Kazie and explained, “We already know that Jason’s really not the dating type. Obviously.” She tossed her stick-straight red hair over her shoulder. “Right, Kazie, right?”

  Kazie was on the phone with Andie. She covered the receiver. “Come on, dude. Don’t worry about Jason. He and Avery are friends.”

  I almost died. One second ago I was an ant, and now Kazie was defending me? I couldn’t nail this girl down! One second she could be so annoying and the next she was sweet as pie.

  “Okay, Mom. Yup. I will.” She flipped down the phone. “Avery, are you cool with me going?” she asked.

  I could see the museum a block ahead. “Totally,” I told her. “Catch you later.”

  Then Kazie did something way unexpected. She put her fist out to do the weird, complicated secret handshake that I’d seen her do with Dad … with me. Kazie didn’t say a word—just made the motions and I followed her lead. “Later, dude,” she said and turned to cross the street.

  “Bye, Avery!” called Siobhan as they went away.

  “Hmph!” Tessa snorted. She was still mad about me hanging out with Jason, but I didn’t care at all. Kazie turned around once and gave me a thumbs-up and a wave. I guess we were starting to be friends after all.