Jonah and I tiptoe upstairs to our rooms. We CANNOT let our parents hear us. We’d have SO MUCH explaining to do. And how could we possibly explain?
“It’s kind of chilly,” I say, rubbing my arms as we race to the second floor.
“I know!” Jonah says. “I guess you get used to the humidity after a while.” He tilts his head and looks at me. “See you at breakfast, Pea Princess!”
“Don’t call me that!”
He laughs.
I smile and go into my room and trade my clothes for pj’s, put my watch on my desk, and then slip into bed for ten seconds of rest.
Ah. My bed. My pea-less bed.
Ooh, wait! My jewelry box! I have the most awesome jewelry box, decorated with drawings of fairy tale characters. Every time I return from a story, the drawings change, depending on how the story ended up getting changed.
I turn the box around, looking for Belly, now the princess, if not the princess who felt the pea.
There she is!
Instead of sitting on a bed with a hundred mattresses, she’s sitting on a bunk bed. It’s a three-bed bunk, though. Tulip is on the top bunk. Belly is sitting on the middle one. And Wendy is on the bottom one.
The three of them are so awesome. Bog is going to be a great place to live. Hot, but still great.
I hear my parents’ door opening.
Ahhhh!
I run over to the other side of the room and slide under my covers.
“Morning, Abby!” my mom says as she enters my room. “Time to get out of bed.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say, sitting up.
She looks at me. Then stares at me again. “Wow.”
Oh, no. What’s wrong? I hesitate. “What?”
“What, exactly, did you do to your hair?” Mom asks. “It’s so … puffy!”
Oh, right. I laugh, and get out of bed. “Just trying something new,” I say.
At school that day, Frankie, Robin, and I are sitting on a bench at recess playing jacks when Penny comes over, hands on her hips.
She does not look happy.
“Do you believe that Anisa Najeed turned down my idea for the carnival?” Penny says, narrowing her eyes.
I bounce the ball on the table and scoop up three jacks, then catch the ball. “What was it?” I ask.
“I said we should have a matching contest at the carnival for the two students who are dressed most alike,” Penny explains. “Robin and I would SO win that.”
Penny is always trying to get Robin to match with her. Today they both have their hair in high ponytails. And they’re wearing ruffly yellow shirts and white sneakers with light blue socks.
“It’s a great idea,” Penny continues. “I’d just have my mom take us shopping for two of everything.”
I roll my eyes.
“Do you want to know what Anisa suggested instead of that?” Penny says with a frown.
“What?” Frankie asks, pushing her long dark hair behind her shoulders. She bounces the ball and tries to pick up seven jacks but misses, and the ball goes flying.
“Got it!” Robin says, grabbing the little ball with her hand before it lands in the bushes.
Frankie grins. “Thanks!”
“Hello! Is anyone even listening to me?” Penny complains.
“We’re listening, we’re listening,” Robin says.
“Anisa said she was thinking of having a TALENT contest,” Penny mutters, shaking her head. “Singing, dancing, juggling, playing an instrument, reciting a poem, putting on a skit, anything goes.”
Huh. I love that. And I love that Anisa stood up to Penny.
Maybe I underestimated Anisa. I’ve been doing a lot of underestimating lately. First, I thought Belly was too quiet, but it turned out she was the best leader. Then I thought Tulip was too princessy, but she turned out to be kind and generous. And I thought Wendy was all brawn, when she gets scared just like the rest of us.
“A talent contest is a great idea,” I say. “Everyone’s good at something.”
“What are YOU good at?” Penny asks, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m good at ideas,” I say. “And teamwork.” I bounce the ball, scoop up eight jacks, and catch the ball. “Jacks, too.”
And one more thing. Admitting when I’m wrong.
I see Anisa walking over to the swings. She sits down and tries to get the swing going, but obviously, swinging is not one of her talents.
I run over. “Want a push?” I ask.
Anisa smiles. “Sure.”
“So I heard you want to do a talent contest at the carnival,” I say, giving her a push. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“Really?” she says, trying to pump her legs. She doesn’t get very far.
I nod. “You know, if you’re still looking for a second-in-command, I’d like to help with the carnival.”
She beams. “Great! I was really hoping you’d change your mind. It’s a lot of work, and I can use the help.”
I push Anisa even harder, and she laughs as she soars up high in the air.
Everyone needs help. It’s all about teamwork. I think about an expression I’ve heard my nana use: Sometimes, it takes a village. That means that when people pitch in together, great things can happen.
Sometimes, it does take a village. And I guess sometimes, it takes a kingdom.
With an alligator. And good friends.
So many thank-yous to:
Aimee Friedman, the queen of all editors. Also thank you to everyone else at Scholastic: Olivia Valcarce, Lauren Donovan, Rachel Feld, Tracy van Straaten, Robin Hoffman, Melissa Schirmer, Elizabeth Parisi, Abby McAden, David Levithan, Lizette Serrano, Emily Heddleson, Sue Flynn, and everyone in the school channels and sales!
Amazing agents Laura Dail and Tamar Rydzinski! Deb Shapiro! Lauren Walters and Alyssa Stonoha!
Thank you to all my friends, family, supporters, writing buddies, and first readers:
Targia Alphonse, Tara Altebrando, Bonnie Altro, Elissa Ambrose, Robert Ambrose, Jennifer Barnes, Emily Bender, the Bilermans, Jess Braun, Jeremy Cammy, Avery Carmichael, the Dalven-Swidlers, Julia DeVillers, Elizabeth Eulberg, the Finkelstein-Mitchells, Stuart Gibbs, Alan Gratz, the Greens, Adele Griffin, Anne Heltzel, Farrin Jacobs, Emily Jenkins, Lauren Kisilevsky, Maggie Marr, the Mittlemans, Aviva Mlynowski, Larry Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, Melissa Senate, Courtney Sheinmel, Jennifer E. Smith, the Swidlers, Robin Wasserman, Louisa Weiss, Rachel and Terry Winter, the Wolfes, Maryrose Wood, and Sara Zarr.
Extra love and thanks to Chloe, Anabelle, and Todd.
And to my Whatever After readers: Thank you for reading my books! And remember to eat your vegetables.
Sarah Mlynowski is the New York Times bestselling author of the Whatever After series, the Magic in Manhattan series, Gimme a Call, and a bunch of other books for tweens and teens, including the Upside-Down Magic series, which she cowrites with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins. Originally from Montreal, Sarah now lives in the kingdom of Manhattan with her very own prince charming and their fairy tale–loving daughters. Visit Sarah online at sarahm.com and find her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @sarahmlynowski.
#1: Fairest of All
#2: If the Shoe Fits
#3: Sink or Swim
#4: Dream On
#5: Bad Hair Day
#6: Cold as Ice
#7: Beauty Queen
#8: Once Upon a Frog
#9: Genie in a Bottle
#10: Sugar and Spice
#11: Two Peas in a Pod
Special Edition:
Abby in Wonderland
Copyright © 2018 by Sarah Mlynowski
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This book is a
work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi
Cover illustration by Helen Huang, © 2018 Scholastic Inc.
First edition, May 2018
e-ISBN 978-1-338-16290-5
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