by Mari Mancusi
“Something like that,” Madison replied. “Now come on. He’s in the upstairs bathroom! Hurry!”
They all four ran upstairs, leaving the front door open, the lights still flashing on the three trucks outside. I wondered if it would be rude to ask them to turn them off before the rescue—you know, so as not to cause more of a scene than we already had. Hopefully they’d be quick.
I followed them upstairs, trying to keep Noah at a safe distance, which wasn’t easy. As the firemen crowded around the bathroom door, I could hear them talking to Liam. But I couldn’t see what they were doing. I paced the hall, waiting, hoping. Feeling pretty helpless, too. What were we going to do if they couldn’t get him free?
“What’s going on? Why are the firemen here? Is there a fire? Where’s the fire?”
I whirled around, my eyes bulging as I caught Mr. and Mrs. Jackson running up the stairs, their faces white and horrified. Oh no! Worst timing ever!
“It’s fine,” I tried to tell them, but my shaky voice was probably not all that convincing. “It’s not a fire. It’s—”
“Liam’s stuck in the toilet!” Noah interrupted proudly. “The firemen are here to get him out!”
“What?” Both parents turned to stare at me. I felt my face go bright red. “Um, yeah,” I said. At this point there was no sense in denying it. “I was, uh, about to call you?”
Mrs. Jackson didn’t reply, just pushed past me, making her way toward the bathroom. Before she could squeeze her way through, Liam stepped out, smiling widely. His arm was red but intact.
“Here he is!” Uncle Mike proclaimed, ruffling the kid’s hair. “All free. Didn’t even have to cut off any fingers to do it!” he teased. Which, in my opinion, was so not funny.
“Liam!” his mother scolded. “What did I tell you about sticking your hand in the toilet?”
Liam scowled. “It was Noah’s fault. He threw my glow stick in there!”
His mother sighed, straightening back to her feet. She turned to the firemen. “Thank you for getting him out,” she said.
They tipped their hats. “All in a day’s work, ma’am,” said Uncle Mike. “You’re just lucky you had such resourceful babysitters. Most kids would have panicked and pulled him too hard—which could have hurt his arm. They were smart to call professionals.”
Mrs. Jackson turned to us, nodding slowly. “I guess you’re right. Thank you, girls,” she said. “It’s good to know the boys were in good hands.”
“Oh, it was nothing,” Madison said, waving her off. “All in a day’s work for Princesses and Pirates, Incorporated.”
I nodded meekly, my heart still thudding hard in my chest.
All in a day’s work . . . but hopefully never again.
19
WHILE IT WAS SAFE TO say the Jacksons were not super thrilled that their four-year-old son had spent a portion of his evening with his hand stuck in a toilet, they thankfully didn’t blame us for allowing it to happen. In fact, they actually apologized for Liam’s behavior. (Evidently the kid had a bit of a history of sticking his arm into places it didn’t belong and getting stuck because of it.) Apologized and gave us a fifty-dollar tip for “doing the right thing.” That made Madison feel a whole lot better.
I would have felt better too, had the incident not completely destroyed my chance to study for tomorrow’s test. Now it was after nine. My stepmother would freak out about my getting home this late on a school night—no way was she going to allow me to stay up even later, especially since she was already mad at me about the plumber thing. I could tell she was this close to cracking down on my babysitting altogether, and I couldn’t let that happen. Not when we were so close to earning enough money for our trip.
And so I went to sleep without studying, setting my alarm for super early the next day. I figured I could at least read over my notes then and maybe have a chance to score a B or something. No big deal.
Instead I tossed and turned most of the night, and when I did sleep, I was treated to nightmarish visions of toilets with big teeth chasing me through the house. It wasn’t until nearly dawn that I finally passed out cold—and then I ended up sleeping through my alarm. My stepmother had to wake me up and harass me into getting dressed. In the end I barely made the bus and missed breakfast altogether. By the time I got to my history class, I was tired, hungry, and completely unprepared. And as the questions seemed to swim across the page to my bleary eyes, I realized there was no way I’d be getting a B today. In fact, I’d be lucky if I passed at all.
Madison looked just as exhausted as I was when I found her at lunch. Evidently, she hadn’t gotten much sleep either. As I sat down at the table, I watched as she picked listlessly at her food, for once in her life seemingly not hungry.
“Where’s Sarah?” I asked, looking around.
“Called in sick,” she replied, not looking up. “Which is what I should have done,” she added. “Seeing that I was up all night.” She groaned loudly, rubbing her eyes with her fists. “I am going to be a total wreck at my game tonight.”
I stifled a grimace. Madison was the star pitcher on her softball team. If she was off her game (no pun intended), it could cost the team their coveted first-place ranking and eventual spot in the playoffs.
“Just eat a lot of chocolate before the game,” I advised her. “I hear it has caffeine.” I pushed my brownie at her. “Here. You can start now.”
I hated giving up a brownie. But it would be even worse to be indirectly responsible for Chase Junior High losing out on making the playoffs. At least I deserved to get a bad grade on my test. Madison’s teammates, on the other hand, were innocent parties to all this.
“Do you think maybe we’re doing too much?” Madison asked, picking out the chocolate chips from the brownie. She chewed them for a moment, then yawned loudly. “Babysitting, school, sports. I feel like I barely have enough time to comb my hair anymore.”
I frowned. “It’s just temporary,” I reminded her. “Until we get enough money for Comicpalooza. Then we can cut back. Maybe even stop altogether if we want to.”
“Stop what altogether?” Kalani asked, sitting down at the table, lunch tray in hand.
“Babysitting,” Madison and I answered in unison.
“What? We can’t stop now!” Kalani protested. “Not when we’re so close to our goal!”
“Actually, we’re only about halfway there,” Madison corrected.
“Exactly! Halfway! Which means we only have halfway to go,” Kalani cried. “Glass half full, people. Glass half full!”
“Do you how many babysitting jobs that is?” Madison shook her head. “I’m sorry. I just don’t think I can keep this up. If I get kicked off the team, then I won’t be able to try out for the varsity team next year in high school. Even the chance to see Collin Prince isn’t worth that.”
Kalani looked horrified. “How can you say that?” she demanded. “This is Collin Prince we’re talking about here! He is worth every sacrifice.”
Madison’s face twisted. She’d looked tired before. Now she just looked angry. “That’s just stupid and you know it,” she snapped.
“Well, maybe I think you’re the—”
“Guys! Please!” I interrupted, jumping between them. “Let’s not fight, okay? We’re all on the same side, after all. I know you’re exhausted, Madison. I am too. And Kalani, no one’s giving up. I promise. We just need to . . . slow down a little. Madison, you can take the week off. Get some sleep. Get caught up. I’ll take your jobs.”
Even as I said the words, I mentally tried to add up in my head how much extra babysitting that would be. But I forced myself to push the thought aside. I’d make it work . . . somehow. Otherwise Madison would mutiny and the entire dream would be over forever. All the work we’d put in so far—for nothing.
Madison stared down at her plate, at first not responding. Then she nodded slowly. “I guess that’d be okay,” she said. Then she looked up at me. “But are you sure you want to do that, Hail? No offense, but you kind of look l
ike death warmed over yourself.”
“I’m fine,” I assured her, trying to give her my best not dead yet look. “You worry about softball, and when you feel ready, you can come back. Even if it’s just on weekends. We started this whole thing together, and we’re going to end it together. And seriously, it won’t be for much longer, I promise.”
“Okay,” Madison said. “We’ll try it this way. But if anything else happens? I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to bail for good.” She gave me a rueful look. “I love Collin Prince. And I love you guys even more. But I can’t bet my entire future on some celebrity sighting.”
I could hear Kalani grunt next to me, but I refused to look at her. “You won’t have to,” I promised Madison. “It’s all going to work out. You’ll see.”
“Okay.” Madison rose to her feet and grabbed her tray. “I’m going to go find a corner in the library to steal a nap before lunch is over,” she said. “I’ll catch you guys later.”
She gave us a salute, then walked out of the cafeteria. Finally I allowed myself to turn to Kalani.
“She won’t quit,” I assured her. “It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
Kalani sighed. I held up my hand to give her a high five. She returned it with something less than her usual enthusiasm. Giving her what I hoped was a reassuring smile, I rose to my feet and headed to the trash to dump my own mostly uneaten lunch. Even though I’d skipped breakfast, I just didn’t feel hungry anymore.
In truth, I was too worried.
20
THAT NIGHT, I STARED AT the computer screen. The blank page stared back at me, as if mocking me with its emptiness. I groaned, scrubbing my face with my hands. Why, oh why had I told Brody I was almost done with this story? When in reality I’d barely even started it? Now he was expecting me to send him something this week to give to his father to read. Which was such a huge opportunity—I didn’t want to miss out. But try as I might, I couldn’t come up with anything I wanted to say.
Sighing, I flipped documents. Maybe I could just work a tiny bit on the new Collin Prince chapter—just to get my creative juices flowing. Sarah had emailed me two more chapters that afternoon—she must not have been that sick after all—and was now impatiently waiting for me to write my next part. Maybe once I did that I’d be all warmed up—and could switch back to the contest story or something.
Sarah let out a gasp as Collin Prince collapsed in front of her. He looked up at her with his wide brown eyes. “I need your help,” he whispered in a hoarse voice.
Her heart melted. She took him into her arms. “Of course,” she whispered. “Just tell me wwwwwwwwwwhkghkwhd’ojwj;ljlkjfop’aej aejfegjaeffafeavfdvsdggfsdfsgfdgf5
“Hailey? Hailey! Wake up!”
“Five more minutes,” I begged, trying to pull the covers back over my head to drown out my stepmother’s nagging voice. It took me a moment to realize there were no covers. Because I wasn’t in bed.
“Not five more seconds,” my stepmother scolded, barging into my bedroom. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at me at my desk. “The bus will be here in ten minutes, and I’m subbing at the high school today, so I can’t drive you if you miss it. I need you to get up, now.”
I blinked my eyes. The inside of my mouth tasted fuzzy—like it was stuffed with cotton. My head was spinning and my stomach was churning. I looked up and realized I must have fallen asleep at my desk. With my head on the keyboard, judging from the long string of garbage typing that filled the screen.
Oh no.
Suddenly I was wide awake. I tried to remember the night before, but the memories were all cloudy. How could I have fallen asleep? I never fell asleep at my desk.
But I had. And I’d lost an entire night. The one night this week I didn’t have a babysitting job. The night I was supposed to get caught up on my homework. Write my short story. Continue the Collin Prince saga. Sarah was going to kill me. My teachers were going to flip out. Brody—Brody was going to know I lied to him.
I forced myself to suck in a shaky breath. Focus, Hailey. After all, panicking wasn’t going to help matters. I rose from my seat and stumbled around the room, searching for something suitable to wear to school. Priority number one: Don’t miss the bus.
But just as I slipped a T-shirt over my head, I heard a squealing noise outside my window. I ran and pushed aside the curtains, just in time to see my bus pull away from the curb.
Of course. The one morning the driver was actually on time.
A moment later my stepmother marched into my room again. Now she looked really angry. “I don’t have time for this,” she growled. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you need to get your act together, young lady.” She huffed. “We’ll talk later. For now I’ll have Ginny drive you so you won’t be late.”
“No!” I protested. No way was I going to sit in the car with Ginny. She’d probably drive me over a cliff at this point, she was so mad at me about the babysitting thing. “I mean, that’s okay. I’ll walk or something.”
“It’s five miles, Hailey. You’d never make it in time.”
“Then I’ll take an Uber.”
“An Uber we will have to pay for? That’s ridiculous, Hailey. . . .”
Argh. Couldn’t she just leave me alone? “Okay, okay! Fine. I’ll let Ginny drive me. Whatever.”
“Oh. You’ll let her drive you, will you?” my stepmother repeated. Her face twisted. “Why how generous of Your Majesty to let your sister go out of her way to do a favor.” Her eyes narrowed in on me. “You know what, Hailey? You need to start acting a little more grateful for what this family does for you. And start treating your sister with some respect.”
I glowered at her, anger burning through me like a fire. Respect? Like Ginny treated me with respect? Like anyone treated me with respect in this house?
“She’s not my sister,” I snapped back. “And I never asked to be part of this family. Go yell at my dad if you’re unhappy with me being here—after all, he’s the one who dumped me on you in the first place.”
I felt tears swim to my eyes and angrily tried to brush them away. It was so unfair. If only Dad were here. He could drive me to school like he used to when I was little. I remembered how we used to swing by the coffee shop on the way there and buy a chocolate coconut donut to split between us. We’d laugh as the crumbs got all over the car—no matter how careful we tried to be. And then my dad would declare loudly, “No more coconut donuts ever!” But by the next week he’d forget and order another—just as crumbly.
I looked up, realizing my stepmother was still standing there, the strangest expression on her face. Suddenly I felt bad about my outburst. After all, it wasn’t her fault that she was stuck with me. She probably thought she’d been escaping single-parent duties when she married my dad—only to end up having her work doubled.
I sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
But she just shook her head and walked out of the room, slamming the door a little too hard behind her. For a moment I just stared at the door, my chest tight. Then I slumped my shoulders and finished getting dressed. I’d have to apologize to her tonight. Tell her I didn’t mean it. That I was just tired. And grumpy. And stressed.
I had barely finished getting my socks and shoes on when Ginny showed up. She entered my room without knocking (of course) and looked down at me, as if I were something she’d just scraped off the bottom of her shoe.
“I hear you need a ride to school,” she said.
“Yeah. Thanks,” I muttered.
She cocked her head, giving me a suspiciously innocent look. “For what?”
Argh. She was going to milk this for all it was worth, wasn’t she? “For the ride,” I said, straightening up. “Thank you for the ride.”
“Oh. But I’m not giving you a ride.”
“What? But Nancy said . . .”
“Mom’s already gone to work. Sorry.”
“Come on, Ginny,” I begged, now feeling a little scared. What was I going to
do if she really wouldn’t take me? “You know I don’t have any other way to get there.”
“Well, maybe you can you use all that money you have from stealing my babysitting jobs and call yourself a cab.”
I drew in a breath, trying to keep my voice steady. “I didn’t steal your babysitting jobs,” I replied. “It’s not my fault the kids’ mother called me instead of you.”
“Which you didn’t even bother to tell me about. I had to catch you leaving their house.”
I squirmed a little. “Look, I’m sorry. It was nothing personal, I swear. We just needed the money.”
“Of course. While the rest of us babysit out of the goodness of our hearts.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, my little self-absorbed sister, you’re not the only one in this family who needs money.” Her voice cracked a little at the last part. I stared at her, puzzled.
“What do you need money for?” I asked in a quiet voice.
She opened her mouth, then shut it again. Giving me a look that felt like daggers straight to my heart. Then, at last, she shook her head, dropping her gaze.
“You know, I can’t believe I once thought it’d be cool to have a sister,” she muttered. Then she looked up at me. “Have fun finding a way to school,” she spit out before turning on her heel and stomping out the door. I watched her go, my tongue tied, not knowing what to say. For a moment she’d looked so upset. Like she was going to cry. But why? What did she have to be upset about?
What did she need money for?
I shook my head. It was probably nothing. She probably just wanted a new pair of leggings or something dumb like that and wanted to make me feel guilty.
I sighed. Well, mission accomplished.
I looked around the room, suddenly feeling really weary. I reached for my phone and scrolled through my contacts list, trying to decide who to call for a ride. I tried Sarah first, then Madison, but neither answered their phones. They must have already been at school. Kalani might have hers on, but she always took the bus ’cause her parents left early for work. I could try Brody, but then he’d ask me about the story and I’d have to go and lie again. And even if he was able to get me to school, then I would have to deal with my teachers and my unfinished homework.