Millionaires for the Month

by Stacy McAnulty

  “Not like I had a choice.” Benji didn’t hate Felix, but just about any other guy at Stirling would have been more fun.

  “You should have told Laura Friendly that you and me found the wallet.” Aidan sighed. “I’m sure you’ll make it up to me, Barney.”

  The bell rang, and Aidan rushed off to homeroom. Benji stayed to make his phone call. He found the number for Little Italy Pizza and Pasta and ordered two hundred pizzas to be delivered to the school at 11:00 a.m.

  “Some cheese, some pepperoni, some meatball, some onion and pepper. Just no mushrooms. Got it?”

  “Some people like mushrooms,” the woman replied.

  “I don’t understand how people can eat fungus. But fine, one mushroom pizza. Just one.” Benji pulled out his debit card. “And can you make this a standing order? I need pizzas every day—or every school day.”

  “As long as you’ve got the money, honey, I’ve got the pies. I can probably get you a discount—”

  He cut her off. “No discount.”

  “Fine by me. That’ll be $2,398 plus tax and tip.”

  “No problem.”

  “I gotta say, I don’t know if this is a wise use of your money.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Benji said. “Just keep ’em coming until December first.”

  * * *

  • • •

  Benji beamed as he looked around the cafeteria. His free pizza lunch was a success. Students smiled and laughed. Teachers chatted and didn’t care about the noise level for a change. Every slice spread happiness and joy. Maybe his pizza initiative would wipe out bullying and homework at Stirling Middle School.

  But then Alma Miranda walked past him and didn’t stop for pizza. He’d always considered Alma unique—maybe even weird. Her mouth was constantly moving like she was singing to herself, but she didn’t make any sound. She could touch her tongue to her nose. (Though he hadn’t seen her do that since fifth grade.) And she wore the same thing every day—a black shirt, black jeans, and some kind of strange hair thingy. Today, a purple headband with a unicorn horn held back her dark curls. He imagined that her hair smelled as pretty as it looked.

  “Hey, Alma. You want some pizza?” he asked, his voice cracking. “It’s free.”

  “No, thank you. I brought my lunch.” She held up a bag shaped like a cocker spaniel.

  “But it’s pizza.” He gestured. No lunch from home could compete with pizza. No food—other than maybe desserts and, occasionally, a cheeseburger—could compete with pizza.

  “Yes. It is.” She gave him a look like she was talking to a four-year-old. He’d never noticed how brown and warm her eyes were before, like hot chocolate.

  Alma took a seat at an empty table in the back of the cafeteria. Benji followed and plopped onto the bench across from her. Then, as if his body was new to his brain, he didn’t know what to do with his arms or what to say.

  “Have you ever tried pizza?” What kind of question is that, Benji?

  “Of course.” She laughed, and his face felt warm.

  Then he noticed the NUT-FREE ZONE sticker on the corner of the table.

  “Are you allergic? To dairy or crust?” he asked hopefully. “I’m going to order pizza every day, and tomorrow I can get you whatever you want.”

  “I’m not allergic. I just don’t like to waste food.” She opened her lunch bag and pulled out a green wrap filled with more green stuff. It looked like something his mom would eat.

  “It’s good pizza.” Benji couldn’t control the words coming out of his mouth.

  Stop talking about pizza!

  She snorted. “Why are you pushing the pizza so hard? Do you get another million dollars for every slice we eat?”

  “No.” He flinched at the suggestion. It wasn’t exactly accurate, but there was some truth to it.

  “You okay?” She squinted at him.

  “Yeah. Enjoy your lunch.” Benji got up from the table.

  “You too,” she said. Then she took out a book. It felt like every other kid in the cafeteria was eating the lunch Benji had bought. Some were eating two lunches—pizza and cafeteria food. But Benji could only focus on the one person who’d turned it down.

  Felix

  “Felix, you be a captain,” Jeremy Hollands suggested.

  “Okay.” Felix stepped forward, and for the first time, he got to select his basketball team. But he couldn’t pick Benji (not that he would anyway), because Benji was also a captain. And while there were six teams for the three courts, everyone wanted to see Team Felix and Team Benji go head-to-head.

  Benji sank the first shot of the game. It was the only time his team led. Felix’s guys scored on nearly every possession. Benji got a few more baskets and blocked half a dozen shots, but he fouled just as often.

  “Good game,” Felix said at the end, and offered Benji a high five.

  “Was it?” Benji asked, not slapping Felix’s hand. “Let’s go. Reggie and your dog are waiting in the parking lot.”

  Felix grabbed his stuff and ran to the Volkswagen. He hadn’t forgotten he had a dog, but he still couldn’t believe it. He pulled open the back door and was greeted by a mutt that looked and smelled much different than he had in the morning.

  Freebie’s fur was short, and he even had a few bald spots. His big brown eyes were no longer covered with doggy bangs. He smelled of baby powder and wore a plaid bandanna and a leather collar.

  “Whoa? You sure this is the same dog?” Benji asked as they crawled into the backseat.

  “Freebie needed a flea dip, a bath, and a full buzz cut.” Reggie reached into the backseat and gave the dog a treat, and handed Felix a receipt for $169.17.

  Freebie’s half tail whipped in excitement.

  “Also took him to the vet. Your dog needed shots and medicine for worms. Wasn’t cheap.” Reggie handed them more papers. “And finally, you detailed my car. Nice, right?” A receipt for $471.26 from the vet and $99 from the car wash.

  “Yeah,” Benji said. “I’ll call the troll. Get you paid.”

  “So where to, boss?” Reggie asked.

  “I live at the Mayfield Apartments,” Felix said. “It’s near—”

  “No,” Benji interrupted. “I told you at breakfast. We need a nice place to stay for a while.” He leaned forward. “Reggie, take us to the Grand Regency.”

  “You got it. Put on your seat belts.” Reggie drove out of the school parking lot.

  “If I’m not going home, I guess I should tell my mom.” Felix pulled out his phone to text her. He didn’t want to say he was checking out a fancy hotel, but that was the truth.

  FELIX: I’m hanging out with Benji

  FELIX: We’re going to the Grand Regency

  FELIX: Can you meet me there after work please

  His phone buzzed a few seconds later. He braced himself for the reply.

  MOM: Why are you going to a hotel?

  MOM: What’s going on?

  Felix didn’t answer. Instead, he opened the camera app and tried to get pictures of Freebie, which was impossible to do in a moving car with a moving dog.

  “You played good today,” Benji said. “What did you have? Forty points?”

  Benji was exaggerating. Felix had only scored sixteen.

  “Thanks. You did good too.”

  Benji grunted. “No, I didn’t. I played better last week when we were on the same team.”

  “Yeah. Maybe.”

  “We’re here,” Reggie announced a few minutes later. “Do I need to open the door for you? I’m new to the chauffeur business.”

  “Don’t worry. We got it,” Benji said.

  Reggie handed Felix a leather leash that matched Freebie’s collar. “He’s a runner. Keep him tight.”

  “Thanks.” Felix attached the leash. Then he went to grab the
door handle, but someone pulled it open from the outside.

  “Good afternoon, welcome to the Grand Regency. Checking in?” a man in a dark suit with gold buttons asked.

  Freebie barked like he’d never seen a doorman before, which could totally be true. Felix had only seen them on TV.

  “Yeah, checking in,” Benji answered, getting out on his side. “Reggie, come with us. We’ll probably need an adult.”

  They walked through the lobby with its shiny white floor, giant chandelier, and fish-filled pond. Freebie pulled desperately toward the water. Felix didn’t know if the dog wanted to go swimming or fishing.

  Benji spoke to the woman behind a marble counter about rooms. She didn’t take them seriously until she realized they were Laura Friendly’s millionaire boys. After that, things were simple.

  Benji booked the Presidential Suite for himself—though he offered it to Felix first. Felix got the smaller Capital Suite, which allowed dogs for a fee, and they rented Reggie a deluxe room because Benji figured they might need him at a moment’s notice. They paid for all three in full through December first.

  “Let’s check out our new home,” Benji said, taking his key.

  A bellman retrieved their backpacks from the car and led them to Benji’s Presidential Suite on the top floor. When he pushed open the double doors, Felix felt like they were entering a new world.

  The living room had three leather couches, a TV bigger than a SMART Board, a glass bar with six stools, a grand piano, a fireplace in which a fire was already burning, and a life-sized marble horse statue. And the windows! There seemed to be no outside walls, just windows. The Albany skyline in one direction, the sun just setting, and rolling hills in the other.

  The bellman explained some of the suite’s features. There were buttons for everything—to lower the blinds, to change the lights from normal to blue, to call for a butler!

  “This must be where the president or YouTube stars stay when they visit Albany.” Benji jumped from one couch to another, then to the third.

  Felix dropped Freebie’s leash and let him run around the room. He too jumped from one couch to another.

  “If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call,” the bellman said as he left the room.

  “Hey, take my picture,” Benji said as he tried to climb onto the marble horse.

  “Okay.” Felix pulled out his phone, and he noticed five missed calls from his mom. He snapped a few pictures for Benji, then called her.

  “Where are you?” she asked.

  “At the Grand Re—”

  She cut him off. “What room, Felix?”

  “Our room is fourteen-oh-five.”

  “Our room? I’m coming up.” She didn’t say goodbye.

  “I gotta go.” Felix grabbed Freebie by his leash and took the elevator down one floor. He used his key card to open his door. His suite was half the size of Benji’s presidential palace, and he only had a minute to look around, but he knew it was the nicest place he’d ever stayed.

  His mom knocked—more like pounded—on the door. Freebie barked and lunged.

  “Calm down.” Felix held the leash tight as he pulled open the door.

  His mom stood in the doorway in her maroon scrubs, her dyed hair pulled into a ponytail. She was short, but still a few inches taller than Felix.

  “Whose dog is that?”

  “Mine. This is Freebie.” Felix pulled Freebie close and scratched him under the chin until the dog calmed down.

  “Felix, what’s going on?” His mom slid into the room, staying next to the wall to keep out of Freebie’s reach. “Why do you have a dog?”

  He shrugged. “I wanted a dog.” It was a two-year-old’s response but also the truth. A real pet had never been possible before.

  “And I want a house on the beach in Hawaii. ‘I want’ is not an acceptable answer.”

  “Freebie needed a home.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “And why do you have a hotel room?”

  “Um…”

  The hotel had been Benji’s idea, but looking around, Felix liked the place. The living room had a huge television. The balcony looked toward the city. There were two bedrooms, which meant two beds.

  “I don’t want to sleep on a couch anymore,” he mumbled.

  In an instant, his mom’s face transformed from angry to sad. Felix felt guilty and wished she would go back to angry.

  “I’m sorry, Mom. I should have asked first,” he said. “But it’s just temporary. We have a lot to figure out. And why not do it somewhere nice?”

  His mom dropped into a leather chair. Freebie inched closer, smelling her shoes, and she reached down to pet his head.

  “Temporary,” she repeated.

  “I promise.” If she only knew how true that was.

  Benji

  Benji’s parents were not impressed by the Presidential Suite. He even generously offered them the bigger of the two bedrooms. They only wanted to know the cost.

  “I rented it for the month and got a great deal,” he said. “Just a couple thousand bucks. That’s nothing.” He rounded down—way down. So basically, he lied.

  “Oh, Benji, that’s a waste,” his mom said, and his dad mumbled under his breath.

  Benji shrugged. “I thought this would be a nice surprise for you guys. They have a spa that will cover you in mud. And while we stay here, you can get the floors at home redone and the downstairs bathroom remodeled. Mom, you keep talking about it.”

  She heavy-sighed.

  “Felix prepaid for it all, so we can’t get our money back.” He didn’t mean to blame Felix, but he knew it would shorten the lecture.

  “You need to talk to us before making big decisions,” his dad said.

  Benji was quickly realizing that millions of dollars didn’t really give a twelve-year-old independence. Parents were still ultimately in charge.

  “It’s not like I bought the hotel. It’s just a room.” He gave them his most charming smile, which had worked better when he had missing teeth and dimples than now with braces and pimples.

  “Maybe the timing will work out,” his mom said. “I’ll talk to the contractor tomorrow.”

  Then they went to the hotel restaurant for dinner, where they argued over who would pay the bill. Benji lost the battle and didn’t get to pick up the hundred-dollar tab. He also didn’t get to order what he wanted. His mom made him get roasted chicken and a plain baked potato.

  Now Benji lay on his hotel bed and worried that his parents were going to ruin this for him. He dug out his iPad to do some damage control.

  November 3

  You’re not going to believe this. I’m a millionaire! Laura Friendly gave Felix and me five million dollars. It’s so, so awesome but also very complicated because Felix and I have to share the money. We decided to get rooms at a hotel for about a month so we can figure things out, like how to buy stocks and invest wisely.

  I went to school today, and that was fine. Then I went to open gym to play basketball, and that was great. I still don’t know if I’ll make the team. But I really want to, and I will try my best.

  Also, Felix adopted a stray dog. I’ve always wanted a dog. Maybe I should get one too. I’m off to do homework.

  Over and out,

  Benji

  Homework could wait. Benji wanted to do something fun—he needed to. He decided to visit Felix. Honestly, Felix wasn’t much fun, not like his other friends. If anyone else was his co-millionaire, they’d probably be in California right now, riding roller coasters and eating corn dogs. But Felix was close by, just one floor below.

  Benji slid on his shoes and got into the elevator. When the doors opened on the fourteenth floor, Felix stood there in red shorts, a Nintendo T-shirt, and hotel slippers. He must have gone home to get clothes and stuff. Freebie barke
d hello.

  “Hey,” Benji said. “Were you coming to see…Where are you going?”

  “The pool.” Felix stepped into the elevator.

  “Me too.”

  “Really?” Felix asked, staring at Benji’s outfit—joggers, a hoodie, and Converse.

  “Yeah.” Benji didn’t have a bathing suit with him, but he was a millionaire—if he wanted to swim in his underwear, who could stop him?

  Benji, Felix, and Freebie had the jelly bean–shaped pool to themselves. Wicker chairs surrounded the sides, and each had a freshly folded towel waiting.

  “We’re not supposed to be here. It says minors need to be accompanied by adults.” Felix pointed to a giant sign on the wall. “We’re breaking most of these rules. No pets. No minors. Shower before entering. Swimwear only.”

  “Relax, buddy. We’re just bending the rules.”

  “Breaking,” Felix insisted. “Maybe we should leave.”

  Benji made a sputtery sound. “Geez. Look at it this way. If you add our ages together, we’re not minors; we’re one adult. Freebie isn’t a pet. He’s a hotel guest and family member. And I showered after basketball.”

  “I don’t know.”

  While Felix contemplated having fun, Benji pulled off his sweatshirt and his joggers. Then he jumped into the pool quickly so he wouldn’t be standing on the deck in his boxer shorts. Benji didn’t dive. It was one of the few rules he obeyed.

  “Are you going to make me bend the rules alone?” he asked when he reemerged.

  Felix secured Freebie’s leash to one of the chairs. The dog pulled against it, trying to get to the pool.

  “He wants to swim. Let him,” Benji said.

  “No.” Felix stared at Benji like he’d said something offensive. “He might drown.”

  “Dogs are born knowing how to swim,” Benji said, assuming it was true. He’d seen plenty of dog-in-water pictures and even a dog on a surfboard. “It’s why they call it the doggy paddle. They do it naturally.”

  Felix took off the T-shirt and folded it. Then he kicked off his hotel slippers and put them neatly under the chair.