The Posh Puppy Pageant

by The Posh Puppy Pageant (retail) (epub)

  “We can’t wait,” Mandi called.

  Back in the car, Jess smiled at JoJo. “Doesn’t it feel good to help people?” she asked.

  “Yeah! And to make new friends,” JoJo agreed. “I’m so excited to take Mandi and Lila to the Kids’ Choice Awards!”

  “I’m thinking we’ll have a little pre-party at our house beforehand for all your friends who are coming with you,” Jess said. “We’ll order pizza, get dressed up, hang out …”

  JoJo and her mom discussed the awards the whole way home. It was going to be a blast. Every occasion with her friends was a great time, but the Kids’ Choice Awards were extra-special fun, and they were only a few days away. JoJo even had the perfect outfit picked out for it. It was orange and green, custom-made, and sparkly all over, with a bow to match. And BowBow had a matching dog jacket. JoJo could hardly wait!

  A few mornings later, the Siwa kitchen was stocked with boxes of doughnuts, cupcakes, and sparkling juice. It was eleven o’clock, and JoJo was still yawning the sleep away—she was not a morning person. But her friend Dee, who always did her hair and makeup for performances, was there. JoJo had just settled into the chair in her bathroom, getting ready for Dee to work her magic, when the doorbell rang.

  “Hang on, Dee!” JoJo leapt out of the chair and rushed downstairs to see which of her friends it was.

  “Surprise!”

  JoJo yelped and jumped back—it was all of them! Even some of her friends from the town where she grew up in Nebraska had flown in to surprise her. Miley, Grace, and Kyra were holding balloons. And Louis and Jacob were holding a giant box between the two of them. JoJo could see some of her YouTube friends standing behind them too. And there were Mandi and Lila, her guests of honor.

  “Oh my gosh, you guys!” JoJo was so excited, she nearly cried. “I didn’t know you were all coming today!”

  “We thought we’d throw together a real party,” her mom said, coming up behind her. “I knew you’d want all your favorite people together on your special day! So I flew in a few of your friends from Omaha.”

  JoJo threw her arms around her mom. “You thought right,” she said, grinning from ear to ear. “I could not be happier. This is the best surprise.”

  “Maybe not the best,” Jacob said, coming inside the house with the giant box. “Because what Louis and I have in here is the best surprise!”

  “What is it?” JoJo peered at the box, which was so big, Jacob could hardly see over the top of it.

  “Open it and see,” Louis said.

  JoJo opened the box—and gasped. Because inside it was the biggest, most colorful, most beautiful cake she’d ever seen in her entire life. It was orange and green and three tiers high, with edible sparkles and a giant edible Nickelodeon blimp on top.

  “We made it together …” Louis began.

  “… with the help of a pastry chef from Fortune’s …” said Jacob.

  “… who’s going to be teaching workshops at our school’s brand-new cooking lab!” finished Louis. “And that blimp is filled with chocolate custard. It’s really an éclair masquerading as a blimp.”

  JoJo jumped up and down, squealing with excitement. “That is amazing!” she said. “And that sounds delicious. But when did you find out you’d met your fund-raising goal?”

  “Last week,” Jacob admitted. “Just about a week after we held the fund-raisers.”

  “But none of us wanted to spoil the surprise,” said Miley. She helped Jess and JoJo take the cake from Jacob and set it gently on the kitchen counter.

  “You guys are the best friends ever,” JoJo said. “And this is shaping up to be the best day ever. I love you guys!”

  “We love you, too, JoJo,” Miley told her, giving her a huge hug.

  “Do you kids want some pizza before we start getting ready for the awards?” asked Jess. “It’s nearly noon now—your dad and Jayden should be back any minute from the pizza shop.”

  “No way,” said JoJo. “We’re starting with cake!”

  A few hours later, stuffed to the brim with cake and pizza, JoJo, her family, and her special guests—Kyra, Grace, Jacob, Miley, Mandi, and Lila—were ready to go. The rest of the group planned to hold down the fort until JoJo returned for a post-party sleepover! JoJo was nervous, but in a good way. After all, the Kids’ Choice Awards were her favorite day of the year. Next to Christmas. And her birthday. And BowBow’s birthday … well, she had a lot of favorite days. But there was nothing she loved better than performing in front of her fans with all of the people she loved there to support her. And if she won an award—that was just the cherry on top! JoJo skipped over to the back door and hit the button for the garage. They needed to get going if they were going to be on time.

  “JoJo, what are you doing?” her mom asked. “The car’s out front.”

  “No, it’s not,” JoJo said, looking into the garage, where her family’s car was parked.

  “Not that car,” JoJo’s dad said. “The other car. The one we got for your big day! Go see.”

  “What did you do?” JoJo asked. She ran to the front door, her friends trailing behind. Her family was the best at planning surprises, and this time was no exception. There was a bright orange limousine idling in the driveway out front! JoJo couldn’t help herself. She screamed.

  “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” BowBow barked and hopped around at her feet. “You guys! This limo is the coolest! I can’t believe you found one in orange—it’s perfect for Nickelodeon.”

  “We thought you’d like that,” JoJo’s brother, Jayden, said. “Now come on—there are more surprises waiting inside!”

  “I wish you could come, BowBow,” JoJo told her dog, cuddling her close. “But this time you have to stay back. Don’t worry—when I get home, I’ll tell you all about it!” She offered BowBow a treat from the jar they kept in the front hall, then grabbed her phone and headed straight for the coolest, fanciest ride she’d ever seen.

  The group heading to the awards piled into the limo. JoJo giggled at Lila, whose eyes were wide. Sure enough, the limo was decked out with streamers in slime-green and Nickelodeon’s signature orange. “Hold the Drama” was blaring through the speakers. The interior lights were flashing as though they were in a dance club, not a car. There was a mini fridge stocked with all kinds of soda and sparkling water, and on top of it was a tray piled high with all of JoJo’s favorite candies.

  “You guys!” JoJo said. “Did the limo come like this?”

  “Of course not,” Miley said. “I got here early and helped your dad and Jayden decorate, while your mom set up inside the house. It was a team effort.”

  JoJo hugged her friend.

  “Turn it up!” Miley shouted toward the front. “Please, I mean.”

  “You got it,” said the driver. And they all sang along to “Hold the Drama.” Even Mandi joined in.

  “Mandi, I didn’t know you were a fan,” Jacob told their new friend.

  “Lila got me into JoJo’s music,” Mandi said. “I even know some of the choreography!” She acted out some of the moves, as best she could with her seat belt buckled. They all laughed and danced along, filled with the buzz of excitement.

  Before they knew it, the group had arrived at the Kids’ Choice Awards.

  “Aw, man,” Jacob said, disappointed. “I could have stayed in that limo forever.”

  “The fun is only just starting,” JoJo told her friends. She knew the drill—she’d been to the awards before. “First, we’ll walk the red—err, orange—carpet, and then you’ll meet all my other friends, before we have to be seated for the awards.”

  Time flew by from there. JoJo loved seeing her friends go wild over all the stars of their favorite Nickelodeon shows. And JoJo introduced them to everyone she knew—some of the kids from School of Rock, her costars from her TV movie, and even some YouTube friends. Everyone was having a blast—most of all Lila, who held JoJo’s hand as they walked down the orange carpet, beaming for every photo.

  Then it was time fo
r JoJo’s big performance. Nickelodeon had asked her to perform some of her newer songs—“Every Girl’s a Supergirl,” “High Top Shoes,” and “Only Getting Better”—along with some of her hits like “Boomerang” and “Kid in a Candy Store.” JoJo squeezed Lila’s hand and gave her parents a smile just before walking on stage to thunderous applause. JoJo had butterflies—the kind that came right before she did the thing she loved the most in the world. She could hardly see the crowd through the bright lights that were trained on the stage. But she knew the thousands of people in the audience were smiling and ready for her biggest, best performance yet. The lights dimmed, the crowd quieted … and then a spotlight switched on, illuminating JoJo and making the crowd go wild.

  “Maybe you noticed something about us …” JoJo began. “The things we do so well, we do it better when we’re together, and everyone can tell.” JoJo let everything go, fueled by the crowd’s cheers. As she threw herself into the song and the choreography that had become second nature, she let herself think back to the afternoon that had brought them all together. The fund-raiser had been a success in the end because it was a team effort. Even Louis’s trick with the blue shampoo had been a hit. She realized she believed more in her lyrics now than she ever had before.

  “Every girl’s a supergirl!” JoJo finished, throwing her arms into the air. The lights dimmed, and she could finally see her audience through the spotlights. Everyone was on their feet. Then they were chanting JoJo’s name. This feeling—making people happy, doing what she did best—it was what JoJo loved more than anything.

  When she returned to her seat, she high-fived Lila and Mandi. “I am so glad you guys could come,” JoJo said. “It wouldn’t have been the same without you!”

  “JoJo! Don’t sit down yet,” her dad told her, his voice thick with pride. “They’re about to announce the winner in your category!” Just as he was saying it, JoJo heard her name blaring loud over the sound system.

  “Looks like she’s a little distracted,” said the presenter, laughing, and JoJo saw her own shocked face on the JumboTron hovering high above the amphitheater. “I repeat: Our winner is … JoJo Siwa!”

  “Ahhhh!” All of JoJo’s friends leapt out of their chairs, cheering and hugging JoJo. JoJo couldn’t believe it. She ran back to the stage, high-fiving everyone she passed, and accepted the orange blimp the presenter offered her. This one, she thought to herself with a smile, was undoubtedly not an éclair. As she cradled her trophy in one arm and waved at the crowd with the other, she realized she had everything she’d ever wanted.

  “Get ready … to … get … slimed!” the presenter shouted, playing to the crowd.

  Maybe it really was the best day ever. Or maybe, thought JoJo, waiting for the green gunk to fall from above, this is only the beginning!