Picture Perfect #4: Between Us

by Cari Simmons

  “It’s Name That Tune,” Hannah told them.

  Vivi groaned. “I’m gonna be so horrible at that.”

  It was kind of true. Tess always got the names of books and movies and songs a little off. Like instead of World War Z, she would say World Warz.

  “They’re only going to have two people from each class play this time,” Hannah said.

  “That’s a relief. I wouldn’t want to ruin it for our grade,” Vivi answered.

  “How’re they choosing?” Bailey asked.

  Hannah shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

  The principal stepped out into the middle of the room. When she announced the game, she got big cheers. Bailey bet everyone was going to want to play!

  “Raise your hand if you want to represent your class,” Principal Lopez told them. Bailey thrust her hand into the air, along with almost everyone in the cafeteria. Bailey was amazed at how many sixth grade kids were wearing the baby bracelets.

  “Hannah should be one of ours,” a girl Bailey didn’t know called out. She had one of Hannah’s bracelets on her wrist.

  “Yeah, Hannah!” Penelope agreed. “We won the costume challenge today because of her.”

  “And Daniel,” someone else yelled. “He knows every song ever.”

  “Daniel, Daniel, Daniel!” a couple of kids began to chant.

  When Hannah and Daniel stepped into the center of the room, everybody in the sixth grade cheered. Bailey made sure to cheer louder than anyone, even though it was so disappointing not to be able to play for the second day in a row!

  Daniel might have known every song ever, but he didn’t get the chance to prove it. Neither did the seventh or eighth graders. Hannah was fast on the buzzer. She beat the other kids all but a few times. And out of all the songs she gave titles for, she only got one wrong.

  A different chant started up, slowly at first, then faster and faster, louder and louder. Instead of “Daniel, Daniel, Daniel,” it was “Hannah, Hannah, Hannah!”

  “I still can’t believe how awesome Hannah was,” Olivia said when she met up with Bailey at her locker after school. “The sixth grade won the day because of her.”

  “Well, I brought those pacifiers,” Bailey muttered.

  “Oh, right! That definitely helped too,” Olivia answered.

  Helped too? Hannah wouldn’t even have had the idea to bring something for kids who didn’t wear costumes if it wasn’t for Bailey. And Bailey’s mom blabbing to Aunt Caitlin.

  “Maybe I should bring something for tomorrow,” Olivia said. “It’s Summer Day. I could bring life jackets from the boat. And I bet we have extra pairs of sunglasses.”

  “That would be great.” It’s not like she could say that Olivia was stealing Bailey’s idea—just like Hannah had. “You should bring your blow-up sea horse,” Bailey suggested, reminding herself again that, really, the most important thing was for her grade to win, not for her to be voted MVP.

  “I should!” Olivia exclaimed. “I definitely will.”

  “I’ll text you a reminder,” Bailey said.

  “Thanks, Bails,” Olivia answered. “So off to Emmy’s, right? We have some celebrating to do. I already told Hannah.”

  “What?”

  “Hannah winning the lunch competition is definitely Emmy’s worthy,” Olivia said. “Italian sodas all around.”

  Bailey felt as if Olivia had just slapped her. Celebrations at Emmy’s were their thing. Just theirs. It wasn’t even something they did with Tess and Vivi.

  “I’m not sure I can,” Bailey answered. What she really didn’t think she could do was sit at Emmy’s with Olivia and Hannah. How could Olivia think it was okay? She’d even asked Hannah without checking with Bailey.

  “Well, ask,” Olivia urged.

  Bailey sent her mom a quick text and got a yes back. She decided that was a good thing. It was going to be bad enough to have Hannah glomming on to something that was supposed to be a Bailey-and-Olivia best-friend thing. But it would be even worse to be sitting at home, knowing that Hannah and Bailey were drinking celebratory Italian sodas at Emmy’s without her.

  “You ready to leave?” Hannah called as she headed down the hall towards them.

  “Uh-huh. Congratulations again,” Bailey forced herself to say. It was the right thing to do.

  “You’re going to love Emmy’s,” Olivia told her as they walked towards the exit. “They have about a million flavors of soda. Raspberry, blueberry, watermelon.”

  Hannah crinkled up her nose. “Do they have any flavors that aren’t fruit? I don’t really like fruit drinks.”

  “You said you loved the watermelon lemonade I made on the day you first got here!” Bailey protested. They stepped outside and started for downtown.

  Hannah blushed. “I liked that you made it for me,” she told Bailey. “Really.”

  She was so fake. Such a liar. Why did Olivia want to hang around with her?

  “No worries,” Olivia answered. “They have vanilla bean, and hazelnut, oooh, and butterscotch. I think I’m going to try that one today.”

  “Seriously?” Bailey couldn’t help bursting out.

  Bailey always had blueberry and Hannah always had raspberry at their celebrations. Always.

  “Yeah, I love blueberry, but I thought it would be fun to try something new. Butterscotch on sundaes is yummy, so it should be yummy to drink,” Olivia answered.

  “Whatever,” Bailey mumbled under her breath, giving a shrug.

  “I can’t believe you knew that Bad Rabbits song in the competition, Hannah. I’ve never even heard of them. They were picking some really hard ones at the end,” Olivia said.

  “It’s cause my dad was stationed near Boston for a while, and the Bad Rabbits are from there,” Hannah answered. “They’re great. They combine all these different styles. I’ll send you links to some downloads if you want.”

  “I want!” Olivia answered. “Have you heard the Avett Brothers? They’re from Concord. They do a great mix of stuff—indie, country, pop, rock, everything.” She pulled out her iPhone. “You’ve got to hear this one.” She stuck one of the earbuds in her ear and handed the other one to Hannah.

  Bailey listened hard. She was able to make out the song. It was “Living of Love.” Olivia hadn’t even heard of it until Bailey played it for her. Olivia hadn’t even heard of the Avett Brothers until Bailey came back from a concert with her dad and told her about them. Now Olivia was acting like she had discovered them, so she could impress Hannah!

  Hannah and Olivia didn’t take the earbuds out until they got to Emmy’s, which was so completely rude. Bailey didn’t feel like talking to either of them by the time they sat down at their table.

  “Blueberry and raspberry, right?” Suzette, their waitress, wearing her usual cap with the cat ears on it, asked.

  “I’m actually switching it up. I’m having butterscotch today,” Olivia announced.

  “Feeling adventurous, hmmm?” Suzette asked. “What about you, Bailey?” she added.

  “Same as always for me. I’m loyal,” she said, shooting a hard look at Olivia. Olivia didn’t seem to notice.

  “And who’s this new person?” Suzette asked.

  “Hannah Sullivan,” Hannah told her. “I moved here a few weeks ago.”

  Bailey noticed Hannah hadn’t bothered to say she was Bailey’s cousin.

  “So what are we celebrating today?” Suzette smiled. She didn’t seem to think it was weird that there was this new person at the table, when celebrating at Emmy’s was a Bailey-and-Olivia tradition. Had been for years. Just the two of them.

  “Hannah won the Spirit Week competition today.” Olivia wrapped her arm around Hannah’s shoulder. “The sixth grade is going to decimate the older kids, thanks to my friend here.”

  CHAPTER 15

  HOW NOT TO BE JEALOUS

  1.Think about your own good qualities.

  2.Make a list of things you’re grateful for.

  3.Don’t compare yourself to other people. />
  4.Don’t assume you know what people are thinking (like that Olivia likes Hannah more than you).

  5.Even if you feel jealous, act like you don’t feel jealous.

  Bailey studied herself in the mirror, then gave a nod of satisfaction. She definitely looked beachy. She had a pair of hot-pink floaties on her arms and matching bright-pink zinc oxide on her nose. A huge straw hat was on her head, and a huge pair of sunglasses covered her eyes. She wore her dad’s ugliest Hawaiian shirt. It had not one, but four, truly ugly patterns on it. With the plastic lei on top, it was hideous. She loved it!

  She wasn’t going to let Hannah ruin Spirit Week for her. Okay, not Hannah, Bailey forced herself to admit as she started the walk to school. Her jealousy of Hannah. It wasn’t as if Hannah had done anything wrong by winning the contest yesterday. Bailey wanted the sixth grade to win.

  And Olivia—well, Olivia was being nice inviting Hannah to Emmy’s. Bailey just wished Olivia had chosen a different place. She didn’t understand why Olivia didn’t understand that Italian sodas at Emmy’s was their special thing. She should. It wasn’t like they’d ever invited anyone to come along before.

  Bailey pushed the thoughts aside. She was going to have fun today, and being mad at Olivia and jealous of Hannah was absolutely not fun. Hannah wasn’t waiting on the sidewalk when Bailey got there, the way she usually was, so Bailey went up and knocked on the door.

  Her grandmother laughed when she opened it. “Bailey! You look fabulous. The way your nose matches your floaties—it’s perfection.”

  Bailey smiled. She’d missed her grandmother. She hadn’t been coming over to visit as much because she hadn’t wanted any more Hannah time. That wasn’t Hannah’s fault either. That had been Bailey’s decision.

  Impulsively, she wrapped her arms around her grandma and hugged her tight. “It’s good to see you.”

  “You too, sweetie.” Her grandmother had to push the brim of Bailey’s huge hat away from her face so she could speak.

  Her grandfather appeared behind her grandmother. “I’ll be chauffeuring you today,” he announced.

  “Hannah’s costume is a little hard to walk in,” Grandma explained.

  “We have to pick up Olivia too then. She’ll be waiting for us,” Bailey answered.

  “Of course, Olivia too,” Granddad told her. “Where there’s Bailey, there’s Olivia.”

  Bailey smiled. Everybody knew Olivia was her best friend. That hadn’t changed just because Olivia had gotten all involved in that conversation about music with Hannah, or because Oh had invited Hannah to Emmy’s. Or even because Olivia had called Hannah her friend. Olivia and Bailey both had lots of friends. That didn’t mean they weren’t best friends.

  “Here she is.” Grandma turned and smiled at Hannah.

  Bailey’s chest went tight. It felt like someone was squeezing her ribs together. Hannah was dressed as a mermaid, totally glamorous in a long emerald-green dress with seashells glued to the hem. Bailey recognized the dress. She’d never seen her grandmother wear it in person, but there was a glam picture of Grandma wearing it when she was in her twenties. Bailey loved that picture. It felt wrong to see that dress on Hannah.

  And the seashells! She was almost positive they were from her grandfather’s collection. He gathered shells every time he went on vacation near a beach.

  Even if you feel jealous, act like you don’t feel jealous, Bailey coached herself. “You look awesome, Hannah,” she told her cousin.

  “Thanks. You too. Your outfit is hilarious,” Hannah answered.

  Hilarious is what Bailey had been going for, but now she just felt . . . ugly. As ugly as her father’s ugly Hawaiian shirt.

  “Let’s get you two to school,” Grandpa said.

  “And Olivia,” Hannah reminded him.

  “Of course Olivia. How could I forget Olivia when she’s such a good friend to both my granddaughters?” he answered.

  Hannah hardly knows Olivia, Bailey thought. But she didn’t say the words aloud.

  “Did Hannah tell you I’m getting close to finishing the mural?” Granddad asked after they all got in the car. “The meadow idea really inspired me.”

  My meadow idea. My meadow, Bailey thought sourly.

  “It’s going to be amazing!” Hannah exclaimed. “Granddad and I came up with a way to make some of it 3D.”

  “That was all you,” he told Hannah.

  “Too bad you won’t get to see it much,” Bailey blurted out. Hannah and Granddad stared at her. “I mean, aren’t you and your mom going to be getting your own place soon?”

  “We decided to stay until school’s out, then see,” Hannah answered.

  “Your grandma and I convinced them,” Grandpa said. “It’s been too long since we’ve spent any time together.”

  “Yeah, of course, that’s great.” Bailey was glad she had on her big dark glasses. That way Grandpa and Hannah couldn’t see the tears that had appeared in Bailey’s eyes. She had no reason to feel like crying. Of course her grandparents were happy to have Aunt Caitlin and Hannah living with them. They got to be with Bailey and her parents all the time. She was sure they missed their daughter and granddaughter.

  “That’s really great,” Bailey repeated, trying to act like she wasn’t jealous. Or hurt.

  “Today’s competition is called Pretty Kitty!” Mr. Paulson, one of the gym teachers, announced. “We’ll do a round with each grade, then the winners from each grade will compete for Spirit Week points. Sixth graders first. If you want to play, sit in a circle over here.” He gestured to the open space in the middle of the cafeteria.

  Bailey, Olivia, Tess, Vivi, and Hannah all got in the circle, along with about twenty other kids.

  “Okay, here’s how it works. I’m going to choose someone to be the pretty kitty. The kitty will go up to someone in the circle and that person has to say “pretty kitty” three times—without laughing. If you laugh, you’re out. If you don’t laugh, the kitty is out, and I pick a new one. Got it?”

  After he got a bunch of nods and yeses, Mr. Paulson walked around the circle and tapped Alan, who Bailey had known since kindergarten. “You’re up.”

  Alan got on all fours and crawled toward Samantha, who’d also gone to their elementary school. Good choice. Samantha was a giggler. She didn’t get out even one pretty kitty. She was laughing before Alan got all the way over to her. Mr. Paulson jerked his thumb back in a you’re-out gesture, and Samantha left the circle, still laughing.

  Alan crawled over to Allison next. Another good choice. Allison only managed the “pre” of pretty kitty. When Alan shifted around and started toward Bailey, she knew he was out. The last thing she felt like doing today was laughing.

  “Pretty kitty, pretty kitty, pretty kitty,” she said calmly. And Alan was out.

  I’ve got this, Bailey thought.

  She got a little worried when Olivia was picked as the kitty a few rounds later. Oh could always crack her up. She expected Olivia to try her first, but Olivia went to Hannah instead. As soon as Hannah looked at Olivia, she started squeaking with suppressed giggles. Her face turned red, then she let out a huge bray of a laugh. Olivia started laughing too.

  Mr. Paulson gave Hannah the out thumb. Neither Hannah nor Olivia noticed. They were laughing too hard. Laughing like they’d forgotten they were in the middle of a game and everyone was waiting for them. Laughing like they had a huge inside joke. Laughing like they were best, best friends.

  “Hannah, you’re out!” Mr. Paulson had to say it twice before Hannah and Olivia got control of themselves.

  Hannah left the circle, and Olivia crawled over to Bailey next. After seeing Olivia and Hannah cracking up together like they’d been friends for a million years, it was easy for Bailey to stay serious.

  Even when Olivia rubbed her head against Bailey’s knee and gave loud purrs, Bailey didn’t feel like smiling. “Pretty kitty, pretty kitty, pretty kitty,” she said. Her tone came out sharper than she’d meant it to. Oh well. Everyone wo
uld think it was because she was trying so hard not to laugh.

  Even when she won the game, she didn’t feel like smiling.

  Even when she won against the seventh and eighth grade winners, she didn’t feel like smiling. She did smile, though. She was good at acting, and that included acting as if it didn’t feel like her world was falling apart.

  “You feel like making your extreme mac and cheese?” Bailey’s mom asked that evening. “Hannah’s coming over. She’s going to have dinner and spend the night. Your grandfather’s been painting her room, and the fumes are too potent for her to sleep in there.”

  If Bailey was acting as if she wasn’t jealous—and as if the world didn’t feel like it was falling apart—she would say yes. So she said yes.

  She continued her performance all through dinner. She joked around with her dad about serving him the “heart attack special,” as he called her version of mac and cheese. She even described Hannah’s mermaid costume to them, telling them how cool it looked.

  “You should have seen Bailey at today’s competition,” Hannah said when Bailey had finished telling how amazing Hannah had looked in their grandmother’s dress. “She won the whole thing. Fifty points for the sixth grade! We’re tied with the eighth graders now!”

  “What did you have to do, Bailey?” her father asked. When Bailey described the game, her father raised his eyebrows. “I’m impressed. I’ve seen you and Olivia laugh at absolutely nothing many times.”

  “Olivia made me laugh just by looking at me!” Hannah exclaimed. “I couldn’t help it. Neither of us could.”

  Bailey couldn’t take anymore. She’d been acting all day. “I’m finished. I have a ton of homework. I’m going to go get started,” she announced. She hurried into the kitchen with her plate before her parents could say anything.

  She got only about fifteen minutes of privacy before Hannah came into her room. Hannah pulled her math book out of her backpack. “Want to do the math homework together?” she asked.

  “I finished it already,” Bailey answered. Lie. “I think I’m going to go take a bath.” She wasn’t ready for more Hannah time yet.