Mia Measures Up

by Coco Simon

  Mom hugged me. “The school is closed today, but I’ll call first thing in the morning.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” I said, my voice muffled because she was squeezing me to tightly.

  She released me and looked me in the eyes. “And I hope you know, Mia, that none of those things those girls are writing are true. You are beautiful and wonderful, and I would hate to see you lose confidence because of some online comments.”

  Tears sprang into my eyes. “Thanks.”

  “We should leave you two alone,” Mrs. Brown said, standing up.

  “Buddd mmmm stillll eating,” Katie protested, her mouth full of egg salad.

  “How can you eat an egg salad sandwich during a touching moment like this?” I teased her.

  Katie shrugged and swallowed. “I can’t help it. Your mom’s egg salad is awesome!”

  She and her mom said their good-byes and left.

  “So does this mean I can get my phone and laptop back?” I asked Mom.

  “I still need to think about that,” Mom said. “I am not saying that what has happened is your fault. But the Internet is not a safe place. I didn’t do a good job of protecting you.”

  I just nodded. I didn’t want to argue, and I had a feeling she was coming around, so I didn’t want to spoil it.

  Then Mom’s face brightened. “Want to go to the mall? I feel like shopping.”

  “Definitely!” I said. “Just let me finish my awesome egg salad.”

  So Mom and I had a fun afternoon at the mall. First, we stopped at the craft store, so I could get what I needed for the birthday cupcakes the Cupcake Club was working on. I had come up some with new ideas, and I just needed the materials to make them real.

  Mom also bought me some new clothes: a cute button-up cardigan that would be great for layering; a long-sleeved knit top with a scoop neck; and a sweet-looking scarf. Plus three more pairs of tights.

  The next morning I put all my new stuff together with a pair of skinny jeans, and I loved how it looked—except for my hair. I was wearing it down, and I wanted something more fun to go with the look. So I put my hair in the low-hanging braids again.

  “Bring it on, Sarrah Sleepz!” I said as I looked in the mirror. I was back to the old Mia—not caring what anyone thought. I felt really good.

  As I strolled through the halls of the school that morning, I tried to keep an eye out to see if anyone was taking my picture. But the halls of Park Street Middle School get so crowded between classes that it was really hard to tell if someone was trying to sneak a pic of me. I would have to wait until lunch.

  “Yup,” said Katie, looking at her phone after we sat down in the cafeteria. “She’s got a picture of you in your outfit this morning.”

  Nice scarf, loser! Sarrah had commented.

  “Wow, she’s not even trying to be clever anymore,” I said.

  “Who’s not trying to be clever?” Alexis asked as she and Emma walked up with their lunch trays.

  “Sarrah Sleepz,” I said. “She’s at it again.”

  “But not for long,” Katie said, and she lowered her voice. “Mia’s mom is going to call the school this morning. So it’s only a matter of time before we find out who she is.”

  “Do you think they can find out? I hope so,” Emma said.

  Alexis looked around. “I hope so too. Everybody is way too interested in this.”

  I followed her gaze. All around us, kids were looking at their phones and then looking at me. A lot of them were laughing. Enough was enough!

  I’d had it. I raised my voice loud enough for other kids to hear. “You know, I wonder why Sarrah Sleepz keeps wasting her time. She must have nothing better to do. And neither does anybody who follows her.”

  My heart was pounding. The cafeteria got a little quiet. Then I heard applause. George and his friends were clapping.

  “You tell ’em, Mia!” George called out.

  Then Sophie and Lucy walked up to our table.

  “Mia, it is totally wrong what is happening to you,” Sophie said.

  “Yeah, totally wrong,” echoed Lucy. “And most people are on your side.”

  “They think it’s mean,” said Sophie.

  I nodded. “Thanks.”

  Sophie and Lucy walked away, and I let out a deep breath. “That felt good,” I said.

  “You are so brave!” said Katie.

  “I can’t wait until they unmask Sarrah Sleepz,” Alexis said. “I hope she gets suspended and this goes on her permanent record!”

  “I just hope she stops being mean to Mia,” Emma said.

  I smiled at my friends. “Have I told you guys lately that you’re the best? Because you are!”

  “We’re your friends. We’re supposed to be the best,” Alexis said. She took out her phone. “So, I don’t mean to change the subject, but we’ve got a busy Saturday coming up. Evan Smith’s party is at three, and Gladys Bailey’s party is at five. I still think we should bake Friday night and decorate Saturday morning.”

  “I can’t help you bake tomorrow night,” I said. “I have the concert. Normally, I’d be with dad anyway this weekend, but he’s letting me stay with Mom since there’s so much going on. So I can definitely decorate on Saturday.”

  Katie looked at Alexis. “We can’t bake on Friday,” she said.

  Alexis frowned. “Why not?”

  Emma nudged her. “We can’t. Remember?”

  Alexis’s eyes got wide, and she nodded. “Oh right. Of course. Sure, we’ll bake Saturday morning. Katie, how early can we come to your house?”

  “As early as we need to,” Katie said.

  At the time I thought all this was a little weird. Were my friends keeping a secret from me? But it didn’t seem like a big deal, so I didn’t dwell on it.

  “My mom and I picked up what we need for the decorations at the mall yesterday,” I said, and I took out my sketchbook and started touching up my finished cupcake designs. They were really cute. I couldn’t wait to see how they’d look on Saturday.

  It was nice to have something else to think about besides Sarrah Sleepz! All in all, it had been a pretty good day. It was the nicest one I had in a while at least.

  CHAPTER 11

  Things Heat Up, but I Keep My Cool!

  When I got back from school that day, there was a note from Mom on the kitchen table.

  Mia,

  I called the school this morning, and they took the situation very seriously. They are looking into it. I have a client meeting tonight, and Eddie is working late. Dan and Sebastian will be around. There is chicken and rice in the fridge that you can microwave and stuff for a salad.

  Love you so much!

  Mom

  PS Don’t forget to feed Tiki and Milkshake.

  My two little dogs were yapping at my feet, trying to climb up on me.

  “How could I forget to feed you two?” I said in that high voice I use when I talk to my dogs. I scooped them up. “You’d never let me forget!”

  I sat down on the couch with the dogs and pet them both for a little while, enjoying the peace and quiet of the house. Then Dan and Sebastian burst in, shattering the silence.

  “That new bass riff is sweet!” Sebastian was saying, high-fiving Dan.

  “I know. We are going to kill it!” Dan countered.

  “Mom and Eddie aren’t here,” I told them. “Mom left us some food to microwave for dinner. She said there’s stuff for salad, so I guess I’ll be the one making it, unless one of you wants to?”

  “Whatever,” Dan said, and then he and Sebastian disappeared into the basement to practice their music. I braced myself for the worst.

  I knew what was coming, and that it was going to be loud, so I went upstairs to do my homework. I put on my headphones and plugged them into my mp3 player. Thankfully, Mom hadn’t taken that away too.

  Around six o’clock I started feeling hungry, so I went downstairs. The sound of heavy metal music was blaring from the basement.

  “I’ll make dinner m
yself,” I told Tiki and Milkshake as I filled their bowls with food.

  Then I made a salad out of bagged lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I pulled out the plastic container of the chicken and rice and stuck it into the microwave. Mom had a note on it that it would take about ten minutes.

  When the microwave bell dinged, I braced myself and went downstairs. Dan was playing bass, and Sebastian was drumming along to a very loud song blaring from Dan’s music player.

  “Dinner’s ready!” I yelled.

  Sebastian turned his head to look at me.

  “I said, dinner’s ready!” I yelled again.

  “Sorry, chica!” Sebastian yelled back. “We can’t stop now. We are on fire!”

  I shook my head. “Whatever.”

  I climbed back upstairs and fixed myself a plate of chicken and rice and salad. It was weird eating alone, so I went into the living room. I hardly ever watch TV anymore, but without my phone and laptop, what else was I supposed to do? I clicked it on and lucked out with a marathon of Real Teens of Southern Cali.

  I hadn’t seen the show in ages, and I’d forgotten how addictive it was. It was all about these rich kids in California who were always fighting with one another and wearing fabulous clothes. The music coming from the basement was so loud that I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying, so I turned on the closed-captioning and settled in.

  I was almost three episodes in when the music stopped and Dan and Sebastian emerged from the basement.

  “We’re starving!” Dan said.

  I nodded toward the kitchen. “You’ll have to heat up the chicken and rice again. And there’s salad.”

  They disappeared into the kitchen, and a few minutes later, I heard pots and pans banging around. Curious, I paused the TV, and then I got up to see what they were up to.

  Dan was holding a carton of eggs, and Sebastian was putting strips of bacon into a pan on the stovetop. I could see that the flame on the pan was up really high.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “We don’t have chicken-and-rice hunger—we have bacon hunger,” Dan replied.

  “Bacon!” Sebastian cheered. He dropped in another bacon slice, and grease splattered out.

  Then the pan caught on fire! Orange flames leaped up, and Sebastian jumped back.

  Dan yelled out a curse word and raced to the sink. He grabbed a pot from the drain board and started to fill it with water. But I’d had enough kitchen time with Katie and the Cupcake Club to know what to do.

  “No!” I yelled. I took a cover from the cupboard and covered the flaming pan with it. “It’s a grease fire. Only oxygen will put it out. Water will make it worse.”

  Smoke billowed up from under the bacon pan, filling the kitchen. Tiki and Milkshake started yapping like crazy. Dan ran to open a window.

  Sebastian looked shaken. He hugged me. “You saved us, Mia!”

  “What is going on here?”

  Eddie and Mom walked into the kitchen. Eddie quickly figured out what was happening and ran to the stove. He lifted up the pot to reveal the burned bacon underneath.

  “I made you chicken and rice! Why were you cooking bacon?” Mom asked. “Mia, didn’t you get my note?”

  I was about to respond when Dan chimed in.

  “It wasn’t Mia’s fault,” he said. “She told us to eat the chicken and rice. But we wanted bacon. I’m sorry.”

  “And Mia saved the day,” Sebastian added. “Dan almost put water on it, but Mia put the pot on it instead.”

  “Right. You never put water on a grease fire,” Eddie said. He looked at the boys. “I’m disappointed in you two. But I’m glad everyone’s all right.”

  “Good work, Mia,” Mom said. “You kept calm and did the right thing.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “It’s a good thing I’m going to the concert with these two. They’ll need someone to protect them.”

  Mom smiled at me, and we all got to work cleaning up the kitchen.

  “You two, microwave yourselves some chicken and rice,” Mom told Dan and Sebastian. “Mia, may Eddie and I please speak with you in the dining room? It’s important.”

  Uh-oh, I thought. Usually, when two parents want to speak with you, it’s never good. But both of them were smiling.

  “Eddie and I have been discussing your phone and laptop,” Mom said. “And now I’m more sure than ever that we’ve made the right decision. I’m very proud of the way you handled yourself tonight, but also for the way you handled yourself with the cyberbully. You didn’t respond back, or try to get revenge, or return mean comments. That was very mature of you.”

  Mature! She had called me mature! I couldn’t believe it.

  “So we’ve decided to trust you a little more,” Mom said. “But I hope you’ll use better judgment when connecting with people on the Internet next time. And we’ll be monitoring your accounts to make sure you’re not getting into any bad situations again.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I understand.” And I did. Friending someone I didn’t know had brought me nothing but trouble.

  “So you can have your phone and laptop back,” Mom said.

  “Now?” I asked.

  “Sure, now,” she replied.

  “Do you mind if I get them from you a little later?” I asked. “I’m watching Real Teens of Southern Cali, and I need to know if Risa and Jared are going to get back together.”

  Mom and Eddie looked at each other.

  “Wow, I thought you’d be scrambling to get them back,” Eddie said.

  I shrugged. “I guess I learned I can live without them,” I said, and then I quickly realized that it was dangerous for them to know that. “But not for too long.”

  “Of course not,” Mom said. She stood up and then came over and kissed me on the forehead. “Oh dear. You smell like bacon.”

  “We all smell like bacon,” I told her.

  “It could be worse,” Eddie said. “I read that there’s a cologne out there that smells like bacon. People like the smell.”

  “Not burned bacon,” Mom said.

  I left them to argue about bacon and returned to the living room to watch one more episode of Real Teens. Then I got my phone back from Mom and took a picture of the pan of burned bacon. I texted it to Katie.

  Saved the house from burning down. Got my phone back. Feel like a superhero!

  Mighty Mia! Katie texted back. Is everyone okay?

  Everyone’s fine, I replied.

  Mighty Mia. I liked the sound of that. Mighty Mia, facing the evil supervillain Sarrah Sleepz.

  Things were almost back to normal, but my adventures were not over. I still had cupcakes to bake—and a supervillain to unmask.

  CHAPTER 12

  And the Real Sarrah Sleepz Is . . .

  So you put the fire out by yourself?” Katie asked me as we rode the bus the next day.

  “It wasn’t so hard,” I admitted. “I remembered what you had told me about grease fires that time we were making maple bacon cupcakes. Dan was going to throw water on the fire, but I covered it with a pot lid instead.”

  Katie leaned over the backseat to look at George. “Did you hear that? Mia is a hero!”

  “Now you’re exaggerating,” I told Katie.

  “Well, you’re my hero, anyway,” Katie said.

  George groaned. “You two are too cute for this early in the morning!”

  The bus pulled up to the school, and I headed for homeroom. I was wearing my braids again, and part of me was still nervous about what Sarrah Sleepz might be posting about me.

  A quiz in first-period math helped me take my mind off things. Then in Ms. Harmeyer’s English class we had reading time, and that helped too.

  Things started to get interesting in third-period gym. We had all changed into our shorts and T-shirts. Ms. Chen had us doing laps around the gym when Mrs. DeCaro, one of the women who works in the front office, came in. She whispered to Ms. Chen.

  “Callie! Bella!” Ms. Chen called out.

  The two girls
broke away from the line of runners and jogged over to Ms. Chen. She said something to them, and then they left with Mrs. DeCaro.

  Alexis caught up to me. “I bet this has something to do with Sarrah Sleepz,” she whispered. “Callie and Bella both commented on those photos of you. They’re definitely suspects.”

  “You sound like a detective,” I told her.

  Alexis frowned. “I wish I were. Then maybe I could solve this for you. But I have a feeling you’ll have your answer soon.”

  She was right. After gym we had lunch, and I had just taken a bite out of my salad when Callie walked up to our table.

  “I need to talk to you,” she said, and she had a serious look on her face.

  “Uh, sure,” I said. I stood up because I got the feeling she wanted to talk to me privately. We walked to an empty table in a corner of the lunchroom. Callie started to nervously twist a strand of her blond hair around her finger.

  “So, listen, I should have told you this sooner,” Callie said. “I know who Sarrah Sleepz is.”

  I wasn’t surprised—just anxious to get to the truth. “Who is it?”

  “Sydney,” Callie replied.

  I was shocked. “Sydney Whitman?”

  Callie nodded. My mind was spinning.

  “Why? I mean . . . how? She was posting pictures of me in the school hallway. And she’s all the way out in California,” I said.

  “Well, Sydney started the Sarrah Sleepz profile,” Callie explained. “She told me and her other friends who she really was. She said she wanted to spy on what was going on at Park Street Middle School without anyone knowing.”

  “Anyone except you,” I said, and Callie looked away.

  “It was fun at first,” she said. “And then she started commenting on your photos, and it got out of hand, I guess. And when you left PicPop, she asked us to help her, so Olivia took photos of you when you weren’t looking.”

  “You realize how weird that sounds, right?” I asked.

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about it anymore, because Bella and I told Principal LaCosta it was Sydney,” Callie said. “She’s calling Sydney’s school. And I think anyone from our school who commented is in trouble. Detention, probably. She hasn’t decided yet.”