I snapped my fingers and spun on my heels. Poor Zaddy. I’ve been neglecting his needs all morning.
“Everything okay, Zaria? You forgot about your responsibilities with Zaddy, and you’re turning down breakfast. Unlike you.”
I smiled. “I’m working on a new project in my room, and I want to finish it. That’s all.”
“All right. Don’t work too hard. Maybe about another hour. Then you need to come back downstairs to eat.”
“Yes, sir.”
Finally, away from everyone and back in my room, I shut the door, flung off my shoes, and threw my jacket across my bed. I happily skipped back to my desk to finish what I’d started.
“OH MY GOD!” I shrieked in panic.
A colorful banner flashed across my screen with the words VIDEO UPLOADED. I banged on the delete button, hoping to erase it.
“How did this happen?”
I instantly heard familiar giggles nearby. I stormed to my bed and yanked back the cover.
“ZION!” I yelled his name so loud that he jumped and hid his face in his hands. “What did you do?”
“I only pressed a button,” he said, uncovering his face and completing a frontward flip off my bed and onto the floor.
“Uggghhhhh! What button? Show me!” I was so mad. “Show me the button!” I demanded.
He pouted and started in the direction of the door.
“I’m telling Mama you’re being mean again,” he whined.
I could not let that happen. I softened my voice.
“Baby brother, I’m so sorry. I’ll be nicer. Please don’t tell Mama. Just show me what you did,” I said as politely as I could.
Zion spun in circles on his knees until he made it to my desk. He looked around and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Ugggghhhhh! Figures. Stay out of my room, you little RAT! You’re always doing too much.”
“I’m tellinggggg . . .”
At this point, I didn’t care. I was over it. When the door pushed open, I already knew it was going to be bad for me.
“What’s going on in here? Zion said you were yelling at him.”
“Not really. I only raised my voice a little.”
“Do you have any kids?”
I frowned. “No, ma’am.”
“So, you have no right raising your voice at Zion or anyone. That is not how we raised you. You are to speak respectfully to everyone you encounter, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What has Zion done that was so bad that you felt a need to yell at him?”
I swallowed hard. I thought about the nail salon conversation again. Hopefully, I’d get a pass for telling the truth.
“I made a video for fun, and when I took Zaddy out, Zion started messing around on my computer and accidentally uploaded it.”
Mama put both her hands on her hips. “What kind of video?”
“It wasn’t a bad video.”
“What . . . kind . . . of . . . video, Zaria Chanel Carter?”
“I had a dream that I was a contestant on Shark Tank Junior, and I woke up and kind of put the plan in motion.”
Mama’s hands were squeezing her hips tighter, and that look that she gives had grown stronger. She was demanding answers without moving her mouth to ask for them.
“I invented a product to help me keep up with my glasses. The Junior Sharks thought it was a great idea, and I thought so too. When I woke up, I planned it out in the journal Gran-Gran gave me and . . .”
Mama held up a finger. “Where is this so-called product? Let me have it.” She held out her hand, and I gave it to her. After she examined it, she asked, “What is this, Zaria?”
“Well, the necklace part will have trackers, and an app will be included with it. Just press a button, and it locates the missing item.”
“And this video? What was it uploaded to?”
“FunnyBones,” I admitted and dropped my head.
Mama shook her head. “Play it.” She watched the entire video without any reaction.
I dropped my head even further into my chest. I’m dead.
“You know how your father and I feel about using technology irresponsibly, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And you broke our internet rule and uploaded a video we hadn’t approved of to a social media website I’ve never heard of.”
“I’m sorry, Mama. It was fresh on my brain, and I wasn’t thinking about the rules.”
“Well, that’s okay. Hand it over, young lady.”
I reluctantly gave Mama my tablet.
“Can you please figure out how to delete the video before anyone sees it? I was just goofing around.”
Mama started scrolling through my tablet. “The video cannot be deleted for at least seventy-two hours, Zaria.”
My mouth dropped open.
“With this FunnyBones app, it’s automatically made viewable. FunnyBones now owns the video, and the only way to have it taken down is to pay a fee, which can only be done after the video has been up for seventy-two hours. We trusted you, Zaria.”
Mama was so disappointed in me.
I wasn’t the one who uploaded it, but I was being punished. Where was the justice?
“And by the way, when your father and I decide to return your tablet, there will be no more FunnyBones.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Could my days get any worse? Friday was bad. Saturday was the break that I needed, and now I’m in trouble on Sunday. I wondered what Monday would bring.
Chapter 11
The second I walked into art class, it felt like a frog had hopped into my throat. Principal Edwards stood at the front of the class with Mrs. Scott. Their faces shared the same expression. Cassidy and I eyed each other, and our faces shared the same expression. There was trouble in the Scottmosphere.
Principal Edwards rarely came into our classroom, and when he did, it was only to pop his head in to greet us. I couldn’t help but think his presence had something to do with Piper and the stolen paper. I looked around, and she was nowhere in sight. There went her perfect attendance streak.
Usually, when the bell rang, Mrs. Scott would have to tell us to settle down before giving three students a chance to share their weekend adventures with the class. But because Principal Edwards stood front and center like some classroom security guard, everyone kept quiet.
“Good morning, class. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.” Mrs. Scott’s voice was full of cheer. Okay, so maybe we weren’t in trouble after all. “Principal Edwards is joining us this morning to discuss a situation that happened on Friday.”
On second thought, we were definitely in trouble. Cassidy looked at me with wide eyes and her bushy scattered eyebrows. I thought about raising my hand and asking for a pass to the restroom, but my arms and legs wouldn’t budge. McKenzie looked like she wanted to make a roll for it, but her motor wheelchair was still in the shop. She told me her “days of living in the fast lane” were cut short for a while. She was back in her manual wheelchair, and unluckily for her, stuck with the rest of us.
My stomach rumbled like I hadn’t eaten a bowl of oatmeal. Friday is when Piper stole that paper, plus she’s missing from school today, so what if she had gotten suspended, or worse—expelled.
“Good morning, class.” Principal Edwards jammed his hands into his pants pockets and got right down to business. “An item went missing from this classroom on Friday. Does anyone happen to know what I’m referring to?”
Shaking heads and nos swirled within the four walls.
“Well, I’m afraid if no one returns the item, we will have no choice but to cancel the Acrylic Artistry Tour,” Principal Edwards added.
The class groaned.
“But that’s not fair,” Ian challenged. He crossed his arms and slouched
in his chair. “Why is the whole class being punished for something we didn’t do?”
“Tell me about it,” I mumbled, thinking back on how I was recently punished for something Zion did.
“There’s one way to settle this. If the student wants to come forward and admit to taking the paper, the tour resumes. If not, unfortunately, the activities will have to be canceled. At A. J. Stanly, we encourage honesty. So if any of you know who took the paper, I encourage you to speak up.”
Cassidy cleared her throat and glanced my way. I almost fainted when she raised her hand. She was going to rat Piper out—and in front of the entire class. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Cassidy was going to snitch!
“Yes, Cassidy,” Mrs. Scott said.
“What’s going to happen to the student who stole the paper?”
Mrs. Scott smiled. “That’s a great question.” She removed her glasses and placed them on top of her head. “Stealing is a serious offense so that individual will have to face the consequences.” She paused, and her face softened. “I know you all are really looking forward to the tour. So Principal Edwards and I have agreed to give the student a chance to correct their mistake by returning it before the end of the day.”
Cassidy raised her hand again. I became stiff as a board.
“Yes, Cassidy.”
“If someone returns the paper tomorrow, will the tour be back on?”
Mrs. Scott looked over at Principal Edwards for an answer. I crossed my fingers, and the entire class started begging. “Pleaeeaasssseee!” I joined in. He held a hand up, and we got quiet.
“Only if the paper is returned by 2:45 p.m. today,” he said finally. Principal Edwards walked over to the door and then turned back around to address us. “Stealing will not be tolerated. So do make special note that if anything like this happens again, the guilty party will face charges.” His eyes landed on each one of us and then back at Mrs. Scott before his exit.
“Okay, everyone, I have a doctor’s appointment I have to get to,” Mrs. Scott said. “So I’m going to walk you over to Mr. Howard’s, who you’ll sit with until your next period. So please grab your backpacks and quietly line up.” Mrs. Scott waddled around her desk. She grabbed her bottle of water and her purse.
Everyone began lining up.
“Whoever has Mrs. Scott’s paper needs to give it back. She’s always nice to us, and it’s not cool to steal from the nicest teacher in the whole school,” Ian said.
“Yeah, who steals from a pregnant lady!” McKenzie added.
Mrs. Scott thanked them for their support and reminded us to move quietly. I was silent, but Cassidy wasn’t. She walked alongside me and whispered, “You need to tell Mrs. Scott, Zaria.”
“Piper is our friend, and I don’t want her to be in trouble,” I shot back.
She bucked her eyes and tilted her head to the side. “But you’re okay with the class getting into trouble?”
“Nooooo. I hope I can convince her to do the right thing.”
“You’ve already tried that, and it didn’t work, remember? Piper needs to own up to her mess. How much of a friend is she if she allows us to all go down for something she did? You heard Principal Edwards. We only have today to handle this, and since Piper isn’t here, we’re counting on you!” Cassidy walked away from me and stood beside Ian, who was near the front of the line.
Great! So now the pressure was on me. I was stuck between protecting Piper and doing the right thing. McKenzie rolled up beside me while I was in deep thought.
“Zaria, will you please push me to Mr. Howard’s class?”
“Sure.” I slung my backpack on both of my shoulders, and McKenzie and I headed to our next destination.
Chapter 12
“How was school?” Mama asked as soon as I got into the car.
“Horrible.” I flipped my hood over my head and fastened my seat belt.
Mama glanced at me through the rearview mirror before pulling out of the carpool lane. “Horrible? What happened?”
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Honey, if it has you this upset, we need to talk about it. Now, what’s going on?”
I sighed and threw my hands up in the air. “Life!”
Mama chuckled a little. “Zaria, you’re nine. How bad can life be right now?”
“Stressful!” I had thought long and hard about my new request and figured I might as well go for it. “Can I transfer to another school?”
“Absolutely not! What’s going on? You love school. You love this school.”
“Not anymore,” I confessed.
“It’s just one bad day, Zaria. We all have them. Besides, if you take the rest of the week off, you’ll miss the Artistry Tour you’ve been looking forward to.”
I hesitated. “It was canceled.”
“Cancelled?” Mama sounded like a broken record.
Principal Edwards came over the intercom at exactly 2:46 p.m. and informed us during the afternoon announcements. Everyone was upset, especially Cassidy. She didn’t even say bye to me. And as tough as Wes Bevins always bragged on being, I even caught him crying.
“Part of it is my fault. I should have said something. Now, everyone is upset. Cassidy probably isn’t my friend anymore either.”
Mama’s car came to a stop. I thought we were already at Zion’s school, but she had pulled over and into a nearby parking lot. She turned all the way around to look at me.
“Zaria, I really need for you to tell me what happened today.”
Like Wes, I started to cry.
“Piper stole something from Mrs. Scott’s class, and now the tour is canceled because of it,” I admitted.
“Are you positive? That doesn’t sound like something Piper would do.”
I nodded as tears poured from my eyes.
“I saw the paper in her backpack, Mama. I told her to return it, but she wouldn’t listen.”
Mama handed me a Kleenex from the glove box.
“How is any of this your fault, baby?”
“Because Mrs. Scott and Principal Edwards gave the responsible student a chance to return the paper or for any witnesses to speak up, and I didn’t say anything.”
“Well, why didn’t Piper do the right thing and return it?”
“She wasn’t at school today.”
Worry lines grew in Mama’s forehead. “Wait a minute. Piper wasn’t at school?”
I shook my head. “I was the only person who could’ve saved the tour, but I chose not to because I didn’t want Piper to get into trouble.”
Mama faced forward and drove off.
“None of this is your fault, Zaria. So we’re going to fix this. I’ll get in touch with Piper’s mom and see what’s going on.”
I felt a sense of relief knowing Mama had my back on this one. Before I knew it, my tears had dried up, and I could finally breathe again until I heard the car speaker say, “Calling Piper’s Mom.”
“Hey, Queen!”
“Good afternoon, Lisa! I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time. It’s Zaria and I, calling from the car.”
“Oh, hey, there, Zaria! And it’s the perfect time to talk. I’ve actually been meaning to call you about what’s been going on with Piper.”
My heart raced, and my armpits started to tingle.
“Zaria mentioned she was absent today, and we were concerned. Is she feeling okay?”
“Well . . . no. Piper hasn’t really been herself since Julius and I separated. It’s been really tough on us all. But that doesn’t excuse any of her behavior as of late.”
“So you’re aware of their friendship drama?”
“I’m afraid I am. Piper has been acting out at home, and sadly, it’s spilling into her school and social life. I didn’t realize how much of an impact this was having on her until I received an email today from Mrs. S
cott explaining that the art tour had been canceled due to someone stealing something from her classroom. When I questioned Piper about it, she admitted that she’d taken it.”
My eyes grew as big as frisbees.
“Lisa, I hate that you’re going through this.”
“It’s a challenge I hope to get through soon enough. The three of us started seeing a family therapist today. That was the reason for her absence.”
“Therapy is a great help. And you know what else is?”
“What’s that?”
“Frappuccinos on me!”
“Hey, I’m not turning that down!”
“Can you and Piper meet us in an hour?”
“You betcha! And thanks again, Queen. I know I’ll always have a friend in you.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ll see you ladies soon.”
When we made it to Starbucks, I couldn’t wait to place my order. I knew exactly what I wanted. Mama and I walked over to a table and waited for Piper and Mrs. Anderson. A few minutes later, it felt like the air had been vacuumed from my body when I laid eyes on my bestie. Piper ran over and hugged me.
“I’m so sorry, Zaria, for being mean to you. I’ll figure out a way to make it up.”
I smiled and squeezed her tightly. “You definitely owe me big time!” I said. “I’ve been through some things.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Piper said.
“Anything?”
“You name it!”
“Let’s go order our drinks, ladies!” Mama said.
Piper grabbed my hand, and we hurried to the front to place our order with a barista. We returned to our own table, and I caught Piper up on everything. She even shared what the experience was like for her meeting with a therapist for the first time. It felt great seeing her back to herself. And I felt even better with all of that pressure off of me. Gran-Gran had answered my prayers. Finally, I had my friend back. Now all I needed to work on was earning back my tablet.
Chapter 13
I felt a lot better about being at school. I was excited to tell Cassidy that Piper and I made up and that she would admit to taking the paper and beg Principal Edwards and Mrs. Scott to reconsider the tour so that the class wouldn’t suffer behind her bad judgment. I expected Piper not to be at the locker because she was supposed to be in Principal Edward’s office, but it was unlike Cassidy not to be standing there snapping a few selfies before the bell rang. I thought maybe she was running late, so I waited. I rechecked my watch and decided to get moving before I was tardy.
The Shortest Boss in the Room Page 5