Clover's Parent Fix

by Ahmet Zappa

  By then it was getting late, and the crowds were thinning. Clover found the movie theater, handed in her flyer, and walked into the lobby. A good number of people were already there. They were all Wishlings around Clover’s age. Too bad Ruby isn’t here, she thought.

  She went to the concession center and decided on white fluffy food called popcorn, crispy chips with yellow sauce called nachos, and some root beer, whatever that was. Clover hurried into the theater, carefully balancing her treats. She settled into a seat in the back row. The snacks were good, she thought. But she wasn’t so sure about the movie. A strangely pale teenage boy with two sharp teeth kept chasing people.

  Was it supposed to be scary? Funny? Clover couldn’t tell. She was more interested in the lack of technology. There was an actual screen, onto which flat moving pictures were projected. She thought how different it was from home, where everything seemed so real and solid, floating in the air right in front of your eyes.

  After the film ended, she filled out the questionnaire as best she could. People around her had seemed to enjoy the movie, so she held back her own opinions. Maybe she couldn’t be the best critic, coming from another world and all.

  She wandered around the mall, thinking about a plan to help Ruby and wondering what to do next. And there, right in front of her, like a dream come true, was a furniture store with a bedroom display in the window. The bed looked so inviting and comfy that Clover wanted to crawl under the covers and close her eyes. And she could, she realized, with the help of a little mind control.

  Quickly, Clover stepped inside.

  “I’m sorry,” said a woman with a name tag that read LINDA. “We’re closing up.”

  “That’s okay,” Clover told Linda. “I’m going to stay overnight…as part of a focus group…to test the bed in the window.” She looked deeply into the woman’s eyes.

  “You’re going to stay overnight to test the bed,” Linda repeated as if in a trance, “as part of a focus group.” Then, in a more normal voice, she added, “I think I’ll stop off at the bakery and pick up some chocolate croissants. For some reason, I feel like I can smell them right now!”

  Clover grinned. It was hard to believe that adult Wishlings would do what you said just because you made them smell favorite treats from their childhoods. But clearly, it really did happen!

  “I’ll turn off the lights,” Clover said.

  “You’ll turn off the lights,” Linda said. Then she left, locking up behind her.

  Alone in the store, Clover walked through displays of dining rooms, living rooms, and bedrooms. She stopped in front of a full-length mirror to say her Mirror Mantra to herself: “Keep the beat and shine like the star you are.”

  Immediately, her reflection began to sparkle and she felt more focused, ready to refine the plan she’d come up with earlier.

  The goal: to get Ruby’s parents to see she was a young adult so they would stop treating her like a baby.

  The strategy: to help Ruby prove herself and show her parents she was mature and responsible. Being responsible herself, Clover knew exactly what was involved. And she believed that helping Ruby prove herself was surely the way to go. She was still a little fuzzy, though, on how to do it. Suddenly, her eyes fell on a picture frame for sale. It held a generic family photo—two parents, three young children.

  That was it! Ruby could babysit. She would earn money, and then she could open her own bank account. Not only would she prove she was capable and steady, but she’d have money to buy her own clothes.

  The plan was complete! Now, Clover thought, I can rest. She changed into a comfortable pair of violet pajamas with the help of her Wishworld Outfit Selector and slipped between the sheets of the comfy bed in the window. Within minutes, she fell fast asleep.

  Clover slept soundly. Hours passed, and she stirred a bit, her eyes still closed. Then she stiffened. For some reason, she felt like someone was watching her.

  “Astra?” she murmured. Then she remembered: She was on Wishworld. In a bed. In a store window. Starf!

  Clover opened one eye. A crowd of people stood in front of the store, pointing at her. Linda was pushing past them, opening the gates by the door. “Here is the first tester from our focus group,” Linda announced. “Let’s see if she’s satisfied!”

  Clover hopped up, hurriedly straightening the blanket. She stood in front of the crowd in her pajamas, feeling slightly silly.

  “I love the bed!” she said loudly as the crowd surged into the store. “You saw for yourselves! I slept better last night than I have in starweeks…I mean, weeks!” She smiled widely.

  Linda beamed.

  “I was watching that girl for over half an hour,” one woman said. “She absolutely slept like a baby. I want to try it out.”

  “Me too!” called a man.

  People pressed closer to Linda, eager to put their names on a list. Clover slipped away from the crowd with a final smile and a wave and ducked into the restroom. She emerged in a new Wishling outfit of purple leggings, an oversized black off-the-shoulder sweater, and purple-fringed ankle boots. A black fedora completed the outfit. She stole a glance in a full-length mirror in a bedroom display. Perfect. Looking at the Wishworld clock on her Star-Zap, she hurried to the food court.

  Ruby was already sitting at a table, her long hair entirely blond—not a bit of purple left. It was really too bad, Clover thought. But Ruby was smiling, happy to see her.

  “I got us some muffins!” Ruby said.

  The muffins tasted similar to astromuffins, and Clover had two. While Ruby chatted about her friends—which ones were going to Westlake, which ones to Eastlake—Clover checked her Countdown Clock. She gulped. It was really, really getting late. In order to succeed, she’d have to do everything in record time.

  She only hoped it was possible.

  After breakfast, the girls headed to Take Note, which was the “dopest place to buy school supplies,” according to Ruby.

  “Not the sickest?” Clover asked.

  Ruby nodded. “That too,” she said.

  Clover grinned. She couldn’t wait to tell her fellow Star Darlings she’d picked up a new Wishling word!

  At Take Note, Clover gazed around in astonishment. Paper! There were notebooks, pads, stationery, envelopes, and stacks of paper everywhere. Unbelievable!

  And what about those things called binders? How did Wishling students fit them into their backpacks? They were so large and bulky. Everything in the store was strange and fascinating—especially those writing sticks called highlighters that, disappointingly, didn’t even light up.

  She and Ruby loaded up their carts, and Ruby declared they were done.

  Mrs. Marshall met them by the checkout, where employees stood behind clunky machines and customers passed them small plastic cards to pay with. The line snaked almost to the back of the store. While they waited, Ruby’s mom reminisced about her first day of high school—back before students used what she referred to as “laptops.” Ruby rolled her eyes, but Clover noticed she was actually listening.

  Finally, they were next. Clover, who had no Wishling money, had a plan. She faked receiving a text. “Look at that!” she said. “Good old Mom. She already bought all my supplies for me!” She turned to Ruby. “Now I don’t have to carry them home. That’s ill of her.”

  Ruby gave her a funny look. “I think you mean ‘sick.’”

  “Of course,” said Clover. “Totally dumb.”

  “Dope,” corrected Ruby’s mother. She laughed. “Guess I’ve been paying attention!”

  Mother and daughter checked out while Clover put all her school supplies back. She wished she could have kept the pack of loose-leaf, with its straight lines and perfectly placed holes. Or the purple composition notebook. That was hard to return to the rack.

  “Mom,” said Ruby as they left the store, “can you take my stuff home so Clover and I can hang out a little here?”

  Ruby’s mom paused. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I have to get ba
ck and I don’t want you to walk home alone. I’ll just drive you back.”

  Clover got into the backseat, and Ruby slid next to her. “My mom won’t let me sit up front,” she explained. “Still! My cousins are allowed to and they’re younger than me! I bet even the ones in preschool will beat me to the front!”

  During the drive, Clover shared her idea with Ruby, whispering so Mrs. Marshall wouldn’t hear: babysitting, money, bank account.

  “Sounds good!” Ruby agreed happily, speaking in a low voice. “My neighbor Mrs. Howard has little twin girls. They’re adorable! And she just told my mom that her babysitter moved away and she’s looking for a new one.”

  “Sounds perfect!” said Clover.

  Mrs. Marshall dropped them off in front of Ruby’s house, then went to run more errands. “At least she leaves me home alone,” Ruby grumbled. “Finally!”

  “Let’s go talk to your neighbor now,” Clover suggested, glancing worriedly at her Countdown Clock. “You can line up a babysitting job and then we can tell your mother your plan.” Ruby agreed.

  Mrs. Howard was in her backyard. She was holding a hose as two little girls in bathing suits ran around in the spray. They were about three Wishworld years old, Clover guessed, with short curly hair and little round bellies. They weren’t identical, but they looked very much alike.

  Ruby waved to Mrs. Howard. “Won’t be too many more summer days!” the woman said as Ruby and Clover walked closer. “I want to get them outside as much as possible.”

  “Oh, sure!” said Ruby. She introduced Clover, then explained that they were available for babysitting.

  “Great!” Mrs. Howard said, putting down the hose. “If you’re free right now, I could really use the help. I need to go to the grocery store, and it’s so much easier without the girls.”

  Clover looked at the wee Wishlings. The girls were little angels, really, playing together nicely and amusing themselves. The babysitting job would be a snap.

  Moments later, Mrs. Howard left, while the girls—Joelle and Michaela—waved good-bye cheerfully. The first hour was a breeze. Ruby and the girls played games with funny names, like Red Rover, Freeze Tag, and Kick the Can. The girls then decided to run through the sprinkler, so Ruby turned it back on. The twins laughed and shouted with glee. One of the girls busied herself next to the sprinkler. Then Joelle stood up with the hose in her hand. “Let’s play!” she cried.

  The next thing Clover knew, the nozzle, which must have been loose, fell off. The hose began to snake and buck like Clover’s shooting star. The little girl was having trouble holding on to it.

  “My turn!” shouted Michaela, grabbing the hose, too. They both spun around as the hose twisted and turned, soaking first Ruby, then Clover, then spraying a stream of water right into the house through an open window.

  The girls fell to the ground and rolled over each other, crushing a neat row of flowers and coating themselves in a thick layer of mud. The hose slipped out of their hands and continued to spray the yard.

  Joelle and Michaela burst into tears. The yard was a muddy mess. So were they.

  Clover and Ruby stood frozen in place, looks of panic on their faces. It had all happened so quickly they hadn’t even had time to move. And now Clover didn’t have the starriest idea what to do. Her littlest relatives would be thrilled to have a muddy playground, and a little water never fazed them. They’d be laughing, not crying.

  Suddenly, Ruby went into action. She raced to the side of the house and turned off the faucet. The hose slowed to a dribble, then stopped.

  She scooped up both muddy girls, then held them tight and murmured comforting words. “There, there. It’s all right. You’re okay. It’s fine.”

  The girls quieted, sniffled a bit, then stopped crying altogether when Ruby tickled them.

  “Okay,” Ruby said cheerfully, setting them on the ground. “Let’s see what we can do to clean up around here!”

  “Don’t want to clean up!” Joelle opened her mouth to cry again.

  But Ruby said quickly, “Did I say ‘clean up’? I meant, what can we do to have fun around here? I say let’s turn on the hose again—on low!—and watch all that mud disappear from your bodies.”

  She waved at Clover to twist the faucet and held the hose carefully away from the twins as she splashed water on them. They laughed hysterically. Then she moved the lawn furniture around so the muddy spaces would be in direct sunlight. “That should dry pretty fast,” she said.

  Next Ruby led Michaela and Joelle to the garden area, gave them shovels, and showed them how to pat down the mud and dirt while she replanted the flowers.

  Clover edged over to Ruby and whispered, “What about all the water that went inside?”

  Ruby nodded. “Now!” she said, standing up. “Let’s check out your house and see what we can do there!”

  Everyone wiped their feet on the doormat. Then they stepped through the door and into the living room. It doesn’t look good, Clover thought.

  Toys had been knocked over by the blast. Water still dripped from the open window, and there were puddles of water on the wood floor. The place was a disaster. Clover didn’t even know where to begin, and meanwhile, the girls were racing around, making even more of a mess.

  Ruby found some small towels in the linen closet and showed the twins how to “house skate” by placing their tiny feet on the towels and sliding around, mopping up the wet floor. They thought it was great fun.

  Meanwhile, Clover dried and organized the scattered toys.

  “Now what, Ruby?” asked Michaela as she handed Ruby her towel. “We skate in the kitchen? Wash that floor?”

  “The girls want to clean?” Mrs. Howard said, walking in at that moment. “Ruby, you’re incredible!”

  “Ruby is a real gem!” Clover giggled, remembering Wishworld jewels, but she meant it, too. Her Wisher had taken charge, and clearly the little girls loved her.

  Mrs. Howard paid Ruby with paper money, thanking her again while the twins begged her to come back and play. Smiling, Ruby and Clover left through the back door. They paused for a moment, admiring the good-as-new backyard.

  “Now,” Clover said, switching gears for the next step of her wish-granting plan, “we just find a bank, hurry over, and set up an account for you.”

  “Slow down!” Ruby laughed. “The nearest bank is about three miles away. And we can’t just walk in and open an account!”

  “You can’t?” Clover asked. Ruby pulled up some information on her phone and showed it to Clover. “Oh, no,” Clover groaned. “You need to be accompanied by a parent, with proof of address, plus identification.

  “Can we manage all this?” she asked Ruby.

  “Well, my mom could go with us,” said Ruby. “But we’d have to ask. And if we really need ID, I’d have to wait until school starts. They hand them out on the first day.”

  “When is the first day again?” Clover asked.

  “Thursday.”

  That meant next to nothing to Clover. “Um, how many days from today?” Maybe if it was the next day, they could work things out.

  “Today’s Monday, so in three days.”

  Clover sighed. That was way too late. Her plan was too complicated. It would take too long to complete, she realized. Why did she always do that? Just like the circus idea and the trip to Mount Glint—she made everything too involved. She wanted so much to succeed, to prove herself! And she thought the more complicated the plan, the better and smarter it was.

  Then Clover remembered the words she’d heard at the beginning of her journey to Wishworld: Sometimes the simplest solution is the most powerful one. She hadn’t been thinking simply. But maybe she could now.

  Simplify! Clover told herself. Simplify.

  Just then Ruby’s phone rang. She looked at the screen and then quickly put it away. “It’s just my mom,” she said.

  “Ruby! Answer it!” said Clover. “Talk to her!”

  Reluctantly, Ruby swiped the screen. “Hi, Mom.”


  Mrs. Marshall’s voice came through the speaker loud and clear. “Where are you?” she said in a panic. “You’re supposed to be at home!”

  “Mom! Calm down! I’m just next door. I was babysitting Michaela and Joelle.”

  “What? Why didn’t you ask permission? Why didn’t you—”

  “Mom! I’m hanging up. I’ll be right home.”

  Ruby hung up and didn’t move. Her mouth turned down in a pout. “I can’t believe she doesn’t trust me when here I am babysitting, earning my own money. She doesn’t get it!”

  Across the yard, Clover could see Mrs. Marshall peering anxiously from her back door.

  This is definitely not helping! Clover thought. Ruby is proving she’s the opposite of mature and responsible. She should have told Ruby to ask her mom about the babysitting. And Ruby should have asked her about the hair color, too, before she dyed it. She didn’t talk to her. So of course her mom got angry.

  Now she’d never get her wish—unless Clover could come up with another idea. Something simple and—

  Ruby interrupted her thoughts, saying, “Let’s go to my room. I’ll show you the outfit I want to wear on the first day of school. Of course, I’ll have to show it to you online, because my mom won’t buy it for me.”

  “Okay.” Clover wouldn’t give up! She’d stay on Wishworld with Ruby until the very last starsec.

  Together, the girls went into Ruby’s house. Mrs. Marshall was nowhere to be seen. But the door to the master bedroom was closed tight.

  Ruby opened her door and walked inside, but Clover stood in the doorway in shock. Ruby’s bedroom looked like a starclone had blown right through it.

  Clothes littered the floor like a second carpet. Every surface was covered with papers. Clover could barely see the desk, dresser, or nightstand. Drawers hung half-open, with more clothes falling out of them. A jumble of shoes, blankets, and coats spilled out of the closet. The garbage can overflowed onto the rug. Dirty dishes were piled on the desk.

  Clover couldn’t even bring herself to walk into the room. Maybe she would just wait outside.