Cleo Edison Oliver in Persuasion Power

by Sundee T. Frazier

  Friday, Cleo turned in her book report on The Great Gilly Hopkins. She’d tried to stop reading it, but she couldn’t. She needed to know whether Gilly’s birth mom had come back. When she’d gotten to the end, Cleo had been so mad she’d thrown the book to the ground. She’d wanted to rip out the last few pages, but the book was the school library’s, and Ms. Tomasello would make her pay for damages.

  Reading Gilly had made her wonder even more if she should say yes to meeting her birth dad. What if it went horribly? What if he appeared only to disappear again and never return? She still hadn’t told her parents what she wanted to do, but they weren’t rushing her, and besides, she had her ad to finish. Even more important, she had Fortune’s attention to get!

  Saturday came, and Cleo was ready. They met at the park, everyone except Lily and Rosa, who had conflicts. Miraculously, the playground was empty. The skies were sunny and blue, and the air was perfectly warm. Surely these were all signs that today’s shoot would be a success. If any strangers showed up to play, Cleo was prepared to ask them (politely, of course) to stay off the equipment until they were done—and if there were parents with girls, she would sell them Passion Clips. The proof of their product’s quality (not to mention their popularity) was everywhere that morning!

  The girls fixed each other’s hair and made sure their clips were easy to be seen. Tessa wore her horses; Mia her chef hat and spoon; Anusha her sparkling star. Jasmine had in her soccer balls, Steffy sported her pink balance beams, and Amelie wore her microphones.

  Caylee had chosen her Tye-Dye the Hamster clip, and she’d brought two new Passion Clips for Cleo: a fun spider with black pipe-cleaner legs and a glittery, silver spiderweb. Persist was written in black puff paint across the face of the web.

  “Itsy-Bitsy!” Cleo exclaimed.

  “You’re passionate about spiders?” Tessa asked.

  “It’s not just any spider. It’s Itsy-Bitsy. Because I never give up, of course!”

  “Ohhh!” they all said at once. Everyone agreed it was perfect for Cleo.

  Cleo and her mom had put Cleo’s hair into two pom-pom puffs that morning. Caylee carefully removed Cleo’s lightbulb barrette and replaced it with Itsy-Bitsy on one side of her part and the spiderweb on the other.

  “Thanks, Jelly.” Cleo put her arm around Caylee, grateful for her forever friend.

  “Are we ready?” E.J. asked. He palmed his handheld videocam.

  “Did you turn off your phone?” Cleo asked. Thankfully, the phone was nowhere in sight, but she didn’t want it ringing in the middle of the shoot. Knowing Ernie Junior, he’d pick up the call and they’d have to start all over.

  He pulled the phone from his pocket and powered it off.

  “Thanks,” Cleo said. “I guess we’re ready. Except Lexie’s not here. She told me yesterday she was coming. Did she say anything to you, Mia?”

  Mia shook her head. “No.”

  She probably changed her mind, Cleo thought. Oh well, I tried. She was about to call, “Places, everyone!”—this time, she’d tell people to go wherever they wanted on the playground—when a silver Jaguar pulled up to the curb.

  The car sparkled so brightly in the sun it hurt to look at, but they stared anyway. Lexie Lewis was in the backseat, looking like a movie star being chauffeured. Cleo took a deep breath and reminded herself she had invited the girl to join them. The past was the past.

  Lexie got out and Cleo spied a little girl sitting in a car seat behind the driver. That must be their cousin, Neecie. Lexie shut her door and the front passenger window slid down. “Sparkle and shine, baby! You’re a star in the making!”

  Lexie barely looked back. “Okay! Bye!”

  As soon as she got to the edge of the playground, the other girls (except Mia, who’d probably seen Lexie’s mom and car before) were all over her: “Was that your mom?” “She looked like a model!” “Your car is so fancy!”

  The jealousy bug was biting, but Cleo had determined she wouldn’t let it get the best of her. “Wow, Lexie. Your mom is beautiful!” she burst out. Cleo had caught only a glimpse, but the woman was movie-star gorgeous, for sure.

  Lexie rolled her eyes. “So I’m always told.” She wore a gauzy, angel-sleeved, fuchsia top over a white camisole and white capris pants. The blouse’s neckline sparkled with opalescent sequins. Her Hollywood star Passion Clip sparkled in her pressed-straight hair.

  “Is your mom an actress?” Amelie asked.

  “I guess. Bit parts. She’s more focused on managing my career than her own, at this point.”

  Was Lexie bragging again? Or had Cleo detected a hint of resentment in what Lexie had said?

  “Okay, everyone!” Cleo refocused on the group. “Today, we’re here to have fun. I promise. So turn on your charm and let your passion shine! We’re going to get Ms. Fortune A. Davies to notice us!” She turned to Caylee. “Music, please.”

  Caylee tapped on her iPad screen to bring up the playlist that she and Cleo had created to inspire them during the shoot. Music came from the mini-speaker Caylee had also brought.

  “Passion Clips FortuneTube ad—take two,” Cleo said, jumping into position on the jungle gym. “And … ACTION!”

  The girls danced and swung and slid and bounced to the music. E.J. circled the jungle gym and wove in and out of the swings and around the seesaw, getting footage of them all. When they were done, everyone was breathing hard, but they were all giggling and smiling.

  “That was awesome!” Steffy said.

  “Totally fun,” Tessa agreed.

  Even Lexie Lewis gave the shoot two thumbs-up.

  Eventually all the parents stopped by to pick up their kids. Except for Lexie’s. They waited and waited, but still her mom didn’t come.

  “I need to get going,” E.J. said, “if you want me to have this edited by tomorrow night.”

  “Definitely!” Cleo blurted.

  “And I have to go with him,” Caylee said. “Mom made me promise.” E.J., Caylee, and Cleo had walked over from their street, which was only four blocks away.

  Cleo had planned to use E.J.’s phone to get permission to go straight to Caylee’s so she could be there to oversee E.J.’s editing job, but she knew she shouldn’t leave Lexie at the park alone.

  “Go ahead. I’ll wait here with Lexie,” Cleo said.

  “I can take care of myself.” Lexie’s head waggled. The skin between her eyebrows was bunched together. She crossed her arms. “Anyway, I’m used to waiting.” This time Cleo definitely had heard resentment.

  “My mom would be mad if she found out I left you here on your own. And you wouldn’t want to meet my mom when she’s mad.” She thought of how angry Mom had been when she’d heard what Lexie had said about Cleo’s birth mom giving her away.

  Lexie shrugged. “Whatever. It’s your choice.”

  “Call me when you get home,” Caylee said. “Maybe you can come over.” She waved good-bye.

  Cleo waved back, and then suddenly, it was only Lexie and her, sitting on a square picnic table, their feet resting on the attached bench. Cleo couldn’t think of a single time when she had been alone with Lexie, this girl who had been a thorn in her side from the first day she’d arrived at New Heights Elementary in the middle of fourth grade.

  She shifted on the table. She had no idea how to bridge the difference between her and Lexie, whose family’s lifestyle was obviously so much more opulent than Cleo’s family’s, and whose parents were much, much more glamorous than Cleo’s parents. The distance between them felt enormous. Uncrossable.

  They’d never cleared the air after their run-in a couple of weeks before. Sure, they’d each said sorry in Principal Yu’s office, but only because they’d had no other choice. Cleo wasn’t planning to bring it up at this point. Everything had gone well at the shoot, and they were putting it all behind them. Turning over a new leaf. Enjoying a new beginning. Right?

  Except, there was something she felt compelled to
get cleared up.

  “I heard Cole telling some boys your dad played professional baseball?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “You said in Mr. Yu’s office, you know, a couple of weeks ago …”

  Lexie widened her eyes and gave her a look that said, Spit it out already.

  “You said your dad was a lawyer … who could sue my family?”

  “He is a lawyer. Do you think I would just make that up?” Her eyes narrowed into slits.

  Uh-oh. And they had been making such progress. Did Cleo think she’d lied? “No! I don’t know. I was just wondering.”

  “He’s a sports lawyer.” Lexie sighed. “And he probably wouldn’t have sued you. But I was mad.”

  Cleo nodded. “So … did he play professional baseball?”

  “Yes! My brother’s not a liar either. Our dad played in the minor leagues, on a farm team for the Phillies.”

  “Farm team? Like in a field with cows and chickens?”

  Lexie threw back her head and laughed. “No! A farm team just means the place where players are groomed to play in the majors.”

  “Ohhh …” Cleo had a funny thought. “I was imagining a row of chickens laying baseballs.” She giggled.

  Lexie covered her mouth and snickered. “And cows catching fly balls!”

  They looked at each other and laughed loudly.

  Lexie sighed again, more lightheartedly this time. “Seriously, though, I think he spent one season playing in the majors. And it was before we were even born.”

  “I’ve never known anyone who played professional baseball, even for one season.” Cleo grabbed Lexie’s arm. “Hey, could I get your dad’s autograph? My brother Josh is a huge baseball fan. He’d probably do nice things for me for a couple of months if I got him your dad’s autograph.”

  Lexie looked doubtful, but then she smiled. “Sure, I guess. If you really want it.”

  Cleo nodded quickly. “Thanks.”

  The quiet stretched between them again. Cleo scanned the streets for the silver Jaguar. The sun made the exposed skin of her hair part feel too hot. “So, what movies has your mom been in? Any I would know?”

  “Hardly,” Lexie spluttered.

  “I know lots of movies!” Cleo said defensively. Why was this girl bent on putting her down?

  “I meant ‘hardly,’ as in she hasn’t been in any movies. Just TV.”

  “Oh. Well, like what?”

  “Specter. Criminal Case. Neighborhood 9-1-1.”

  Cleo shrugged and shook her head. “Never heard of ’em. But that’s no surprise. My parents don’t let me watch nighttime dramas. I mainly just watch Fortune.”

  Lexie chewed on her bottom lip. She looked as if she wanted to say something more, but instead she looked off into the distance.

  “Do you want to be on TV shows too?” Cleo asked.

  “Of course.” Her voice rose up and down, as if the answer was obvious. “I like doing auditions. I’m good at them. And shooting the juice commercial was fun. It’s just …” She looked at her hands again.

  “What?”

  Lexie shrugged. “It’s just lately I feel like the only time I have my mom’s attention is when we’re going to an audition. And then all we talk about is what I should do and shouldn’t do. It’s like all she cares about is me getting TV spots. Not me.”

  Cleo nodded, even though this wasn’t something she could relate to at all. From what she could tell, her mom was nothing like Lexie’s. She for sure wasn’t the Hollywood type.

  “It’s like I’m her project and Neecie is her daughter.”

  “But she’s actually her niece, right?”

  “Yeah, but she treats her more like a daughter than she does me. They’re going to adopt her.”

  Cleo felt her eyes widen. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Where are her parents?”

  “My aunt Denise, my mom’s sister, died pretty soon after my cousin was born. She had cancer while she was pregnant, but she didn’t do chemo because she didn’t want it to affect her baby. My uncle tried, but he couldn’t take care of little Denise on his own, so my mom’s parents had her for a couple of years. But then my grandma died too, and there was no way my grandpa could take care of a two-year-old. So my mom took her in.”

  “Wow. That’s really sad … about your aunt, I mean.”

  “Yeah.” Lexie nodded, keeping her eyes on her hands. “I know I shouldn’t have said what I said …”

  Cleo was confused. Did she mean she shouldn’t have told Cleo her feelings about her mom? Or she shouldn’t have talked about her family and Neecie?

  “About your birth mom giving you away. I shouldn’t have called you a freak.”

  Cleo sucked in her breath. “Oh!”

  “I’m sorry.” Lexie’s words hung in the air, a half bridge that Cleo had to decide whether to complete.

  The apology was genuine. Cleo could hear it in her voice. Suddenly, Lexie was a different girl, sitting there stooped with her hands clasped between her legs.

  Cleo took a deep breath. Lexie Lewis had been so far out of line Cleo didn’t think she could ever get back in line. “I’m sorry too … that I hit you.” She couldn’t believe she was apologizing.

  “You got me good.” Lexie rubbed her chin as if remembering the hit to her mouth.

  Cleo wanted to say, “You deserved it,” but instead she said, “I never hit anyone like that before.”

  “I guess no one ever made you that mad before.”

  “That’s for sure.” Cleo looked at her sideways. “But why are you apologizing now?”

  Lexie looked up at a bird squawking in a nearby tree. The leaves rustled as the bird took off. “Like I said, I don’t always like having my cousin around. Everything has changed since she came. I’ve been mad a lot since we changed schools—at my mom, at other kids, at Neecie. But then, I know she couldn’t help what happened with her mom … and neither could you.”

  Cleo gripped the edge of the table. As soon as Lexie had mentioned Neecie’s mom, Cleo had felt as if she were leaving her body and floating away.

  “I guess I’m just tired of being so mad … and mean. I’m tired of being enemies.”

  Cleo’s whole self was there again, sitting next to Lexie, a real girl with problems and struggles, and not just a girl who wanted everyone to notice her or to be at the center of the universe. “Yeah, it’s a lot more tiring than being friends.” She held out her hand. “Apology accepted.”

  Lexie grasped Cleo’s hand. “Me too.”

  They smiled at each other.

  “So, you’re going to have an adopted sister soon,” Cleo said. “Hey! Maybe I could be a like a Big Buddy to Neecie, since I know what it’s like to be adopted.”

  Lexie looked away.

  “Of course,” Cleo added hurriedly, “she probably won’t need that because she’s going to have such a splendarvelous big sister to look out for her.”

  Lexie’s eyebrows arched. “Splendarvelous?”

  “Yes.” Cleo bobbed her head. “Splendid and marvelous.”

  Lexie gave her a crooked half smile. “An adopted Big Buddy … yeah. Maybe you could come over to my house some time and play with her.”

  “And with you, of course!”

  Lexie smiled more fully at that.

  “I know! We could watch Fortune! Fortune’s a big dreamer, you know, just like us.”

  “Yeah … just like us.” The silver Jaguar pulled up to the curb. “See you at school, Cleo.” She hopped off the bench and walk-skipped toward her mom’s car.

  “See you at school!” Cleo called. Wow. She was pretty sure she had just experienced an actual miracle. Lexie Lewis had apologized. Cleo had apologized in return and meant it.

  Yes. It was a miracle.

  That night, after her brothers had gone to bed, Cleo sat with her parents in the family room, on the couch under their family portrait on the wall. The mouse ha
d been caught earlier in the day—in a “smart trap” that Cleo wished she’d invented. The see-through, green little house had a way inside to the saltine-cracker bait lying there, but once the mouse was in, there was no way out, except when and where the house owner decided.

  Cleo had missed all the action. Dad and the boys had already released the little prisoner, but Josh and Jay had been more than happy to fill her in on the details. The Pest Zoo was officially closed.

  It was quiet, except for the sound of Barkley’s panting. He lay on her feet and looked up at her as if he sensed the big thing she had decided and was about to say—after she told them about Lexie.

  “You’re not going to believe what happened today,” she looked back and forth between her parents.

  Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Let’s see … you secured a venture capitalist for your latest business?”

  “No, but I will. This, I never saw coming.”

  Mom’s eyebrows popped. “Our daughter the visionary didn’t see something coming? Tell me more.”

  “You won’t believe it, Mom. It was a miracle. Maybe not as flashy as the Bible kind, but still, a miracle.”

  “Okay, you’ve got me. What happened?”

  “Lexie Lewis apologized.”

  “That’s great,” Dad said.

  “Do you think she really meant it?” Mom asked.

  Cleo nodded vigorously. “Even more amazing, I apologized for hitting her. And I really meant it.”

  Mom put her arm around Cleo and squeezed. “Honey, any time two people make up and mean it, that is definitely a miracle.”

  “There’s more. Her family is adopting.”

  “Really?”

  “That’s what I said!” Cleo laughed. “They’re adopting Lexie and Cole’s cousin, Neecie. Denise. Named after their mom’s sister.” Her voice got quieter. “Who died.”

  Barkley whimpered as if he understood what Cleo had just said. Mom and Dad stayed quiet.

  Cleo squirmed under Dad’s gaze, which was so full of love she didn’t know what to do with it all. And she didn’t know if she could go through with what she had planned to say: that she wanted to meet her birth dad. That she sometimes felt like an alien child who’d come from outer space or like that teeny-tiny girl in the story Mom used to read to her, Thumbelina, who appeared magically out of a flower. Without people to whom she could attribute her presence in the world, without a story about where she came from before the foster mom’s house, she felt cut off. Like a branch disconnected from its tree.