I walked toward the door. But before I left Ro’s room, I said to him, “Stop it, okay? Don’t ruin my second sleepover! It’s not funny, so just stop it.”
He turned around slowly and whispered, “What?” and made a face like he had no idea what I was talking about.
“I’m warning you. Leave us alone!” I shouted before I ran out of his room. I slammed the door so hard the walls shook. I could hear him laughing that mean and nasty laugh all the way down the hallway.
I just couldn’t understand why Ro enjoyed making me miserable.
“I don’t know about you girls, but I’m going to try on that fancy green jacket and those darling brown shoes,” Teresa said as we stormed Ma’s closet.
“Take your time, girls,” Ma called out while she arranged the jewelry. “I like what you junior divas are putting on. You girls look too fierce.”
It had been almost thirty minutes since we busted up in Ro’s room. I wasn’t so mad anymore. Plus, the stinky smell was gone. My sleepover had started out fun, and I wanted it to keep going. One bad prank by Ro wasn’t going to stop me and my girls.
“Would I look amazing in this lovely feather hat, or like a movie star in this pretty pink scarf?” Mona stared at herself in Ma’s big mirror.
“Mona, you look good in anything, girl,” I said.
“Ruby, you sure know how to put these clothes on the right way,” Teresa said. I modeled for them and pranced around like the star I am.
“On my feet I have sparkly ruby red slippers. This beautiful brown dress was made in Italy. The raspberry beret, Paris. And this unforgettable smile, right here in Bellow Rock. And don’t you forget it.”
Mona and Teresa pretended they had cameras. They flashed and flicked a gazillion shots of me on the runway.
“Come here and try on a matching necklace and bracelet set of your choice,” Ma announced.
We swayed over to Ma’s jewelry box in our fancy outfits. Mona had on a pair of sunglasses. She really thought she was a superstar.
“I’ll take the green-stone-looking set, Ma. You know I love that one,” I said, pointing at the necklace and bracelet.
“They’re called emeralds, baby. Try them on.” Ma put them on for me.
“Well, I’ll take that shiny, smooth, brownish-gold necklace, Mrs. Booker,” Teresa said, and pointed at the one she wanted.
“That, my dear, is called a tigereye stone,” Ma explained. “You’ll look absolutely, positively divine. A very good choice, Teresa.”
“Mrs. Booker, could I please try on those black diamond-looking things? Wouldn’t they look great on me?” Mona claimed the ones she wanted.
“Onyx and silver look really regal, Mona.” Ma also helped Mona put on her set.
“You’ve just gotta take a few pictures of us with our outfits and jewelry on,” I said to Ma. “I want to take the pictures to school on Monday. We’ll show everyone what they missed.”
“That’s an awesome idea, Ruby. Those fourth- and fifth-grade girls, especially Toya and Iris, will be begging to be at your next party,” Teresa said.
I ran to my room to pick up my cute little digital camera. When I got back to Ma’s room, the girls were already posing and ready to take a few pictures.
“Okay, Ruby, jump in there and give me your best billboard pose,” Ma said as she got ready to snap my picture. We were so happy and were having so much fun.
“We’re ready, Ma,” I said while Mona, Teresa, and I posed against the room’s big window.
“Instead of saying cheese, Mrs. Booker, would you mind if we said something else?” Mona asked Ma before Ma pushed the button on the camera. “Don’t you think that saying cheese is so played out?”
“Whatever you say, Mona,” Ma responded. Mona was right.
“How about we say Chill Brook Three?” I suggested.
“Sounds good to me,” said Teresa.
“CB Three it is. On three — one, two, three,” Ma counted.
“Chill Brook Three!!!” we shouted. Ma pushed the button, but nothing happened.
“What’s wrong, Ma? Push it again.” I kept on my picture-taking face.
“Okay. I’ll push it. Uh-oh!” Ma dropped the camera. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. When she pushed the button the second time, a big cloud of yellow powder shot out at us. Even though we weren’t completely covered, it was just like we were with that yellow-green stuff in the pool at my first sleepover. Ro had done it again. I just knew it.
“Maaaaaa! What is this stuff? Ah-choooo! Ah-choooo!” I couldn’t stop sneezing. Teresa was sneezing, too. Mona was sneezing even more.
“Wait a minute, baby. The yellow cloud smells like baby powder.” Ma ran around with tissues for us to blow our noses with.
“It’s Ro who did this, Ma. I know he must have gotten one of those powder joke cameras. It’s Ro. Ah-choooo!!! Let’s go get him.” I wiped my watering eyes and runny nose. Also, when I looked down at the camera, I could tell that it wasn’t mine. I should have known.
We all stormed back down to Ro and Ty’s room. The door was shut, but I didn’t even knock. I just kicked it. When it opened, Ro was sitting on the floor, humming and polishing his church shoes. His side of the room was clean (it never is). That boy is a professional snake.
“Back again? How can I help you ladies?” he asked with that fake nice-boy voice.
“Where’s the powder, chump?” I barked.
“Ruby! Don’t call your brother that,” Ma told me.
“Ma, you know he’s at it again. Tell Daddy to lock him in his room until he’s a hundred years old.” I was boiling mad.
“Ruby, he’s already in his room. There’s no proof that he did anything wrong.” Ma shrugged her shoulders. I could tell she couldn’t understand how Ro was doing all of his stunts from his room. “But to be safe, you stay put, Ro.”
“Ah-ah-ah-chooooo!” Teresa and Mona super-sneezed.
“Okay, Ma,” I sniffed. “We’ll head back to my room and go to bed. Good night.” I put on my saddest puppy-dog face ever.
“Sweet dreams, girls,” Ro said. “I’ll keep an eye out for whoever did those mean things. You can count on me.” He gave us a wink and a thumbs-up.
“Your daddy fixed your DVD player, removed that stinking basket, and fixed your door. Good night, girls,” said Ma. We gave her back her clothes and jewelry, then we slowly dragged ourselves into my room. I shut the door and locked it.
“I can’t believe your brother would do this to you again. What’s his problem, girlie?” Teresa sounded so ready to go home. Ro was chasing my best friends away.
“The question isn’t what’s his problem, but what are you gonna do about it, Ruby?” Mona sounded like she couldn’t take any more. She has brothers, too, but she’s the oldest. I may be the youngest, but now Ro had gone too far.
“Good question, Mona. I prepared just the thing in case Ro pranked us again,” I said, rubbing my palms together.
“So what’s the plan?” Mona questioned.
“I hope you’ve got something good, and something downright wicked!” Teresa looked at me and winked. She wanted to fight back, and so did Mona and I.
“As long as you girls have my back, follow my lead, and go along with my plan, we’ll get him back,” I explained. “He’ll not only leave us alone, but he’ll never ruin a sleepover again.”
I went to my closet and pulled out a big bag of tricks from the top shelf. I emptied everything out onto my bed. Teresa and Mona had no idea what they were looking at, but I did.
It was the end of Roosevelt Booker’s sleepover-destroying career.
I looked at my cute orange-and-purple fake-diamond watch. “We’re right on time. Ro usually washes up and brushes his teeth around nine-thirty. It’s nine-twenty now.”
“So what’s the plan, girl?” said Mona. She was ready to do whatever I had planned.
“Teresa, I’m going to need you to go down to the boys’ bathroom and swipe Roosevelt’s toothpaste.”
“Which one is his, and why am I taking his toothpaste?” Teresa asked.
“It’s the tube with the motorcycles and whales on it, and I’ll explain when you get back. Now, go!” I shoved her out the door. She tiptoed all the way down the hall and back to my room.
“You did it! Good job, Teresa.” We saluted each other like we were secret spies.
“That was exciting. That was close. That was sneaky. Yay!” Teresa enjoyed her part in the plan.
“So what are you going to do with Ro’s tube of toothpaste and that other one in your hand?” asked Mona.
“This toothpaste isn’t really toothpaste. It’s a prank I got from the party store last Halloween. It’s called Chomper Cheese. It smells and tastes like toothpaste, but it turns your teeth the color of cheddar cheese for a whole week.”
“I love it!” cheered Mona. “It sounds good, but can’t he just wash it out?” she asked.
“Yes, he can wash it away, but it will take a few days to get the Chomper Cheese off of his chompers.”
“Now I really love it. Let’s do it.” Teresa cheered.
“Shhhh, girl. Are you trying to give us away?” I nudged Teresa. “Since you want to be so loud, you sneak back down the hallway and put the Chomper Cheese where Ro’s toothpaste was. We only have a minute left,” I told Teresa.
“Okay, okay. Here I go again.” She took off, tiptoeing down the hallway, but faster. As soon as she made it back to my door, Ro came slithering out of his room. We ducked back in my room and waited.
“I know his routine. He washes his face first. Then he uses mouthwash,” I said, looking at my watch. “Right about now, he should be brushing his —”
“WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING TO MY TEEEEEETH?!!” Ro yelled like he was on fire. Everyone came running out into the hallway. Marcellus stopped practicing his upright bass and ran out of his room. Ma and Ty came from the family room. Daddy came rushing upstairs from his office.
“What’s that in your mouth, Ro?” said Ty.
“It looks like you brushed your teeth with nacho cheese.” Marcellus laughed, then we all did until we were rolling on the floor in the hallway.
Even Ma cracked up when she stood behind Ro in the bathroom mirror. “It’ll be okay, Ro. Maybe it’ll just wash out.”
“I tried to wash it out, Ma, but my mouth still looks like I flossed with an orange crayon,” Ro whimpered.
“Well, what happened? Where did you get that toothpaste?” said Daddy. He held back his laugh a little bit.
“I’ll tell you what happened, Daddy. It was Ruby and her crazy little friends. They did it to me,” Ro cried, and pointed at us.
We looked at him like we were clueless. Then Teresa said, “Whatever do you mean, Roosevelt? We were in our room doing girlie things.”
“Yeah, Ro. Maybe you got one of your prank gadgets mixed up with your real toothpaste.” I winked at him like he does at me. Man, that felt good.
“Well, I’ve got some more work to do in my office. Stop all of this hollering up here, guys,” Daddy said before he rumbled back down the stairs.
“I’m going back to my room to finish practicing,” Marcellus said. “Maybe I’ll put on my headphones. See you later, Ro Nacho.”
Ty went back downstairs with Ma. Ro stared in the mirror and gargled with anything and everything he could. The girls and I headed back to my room to plan part two of the payback.
Ro stuck his big head and cheesy teeth out of the bathroom door and said to me, “I know you did this, Ruby. Pranking is not your thing. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
“And neither do you,” I turned around and answered. “I’ve been nice for too long, but no more.” Then I marched back down to the bathroom and stood right in his face and said, “You’re gonna wish you’d kept your stupid little stunts to yourself when I’m through.”
He gulped really hard, like he knew I meant business. “Whatever, girl. Quit playing.” Then he went back inside the bathroom, shut the door, and washed his mouth out for another twenty-five minutes.
For my next prank, I needed Ty. It’s a good thing I had Mona.
“You want me to do what?” Ty couldn’t believe that I was asking him to help us pull the second and biggest prank on Ro. I hated to use my sweet brother Ty, but it was time to do something useful with the crush he had on Mona. Plus, I knew that he would love to see Ro get a taste of his own medicine.
“You know what strawberry shortcake does to him, Ty. All we need you to do is take some in the room and get him to eat it,” I told him. He didn’t seem to want to be a part of our plan.
“What are you gonna do to him once he’s — forget it. I don’t want to know.” Ty refused to help me. “I don’t think so, Rube. If he finds out I helped you girls, he’ll be super mad and will play a trick on me.” Little did Ty know that my secret weapon was about to walk through the door.
“Anybody order this?” Mona came into my room holding up two desserts like she was a waitress. They looked good, too. I made the desserts myself, but I knew that if Mona gave some to Ty, he would say yes to helping us.
“Ummm-ummm-ummm … I did. I mean, I love, I love, I love, straw-straw-straw …” Ty stuttered.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. But will you help us?” I asked as I leaned against Mona.
“Now, Tyner, are you telling me that you have to think twice about helping us poor little helpless girls?” Mona batted her long lashes and then fed Tyner one of the strawberries on a spoon.
He closed his eyes and said, “Divine and d-d-d-delicious.” He chewed the strawberry like he had never had one before.
I asked him again while he was in a Mona trance, “So, Ty, are you gonna take it in there and give it to Ro? As much as he pranks you, I would think that you would really help us.”
He didn’t even open his eyes. He just kept chewing slowly and said, “You’re right, Rube. Sure. No problem.” Mona handed Ty the tray with two pieces of strawberry shortcake on it.
“As soon as you’ve given him the cake, lean out of the door and give us the thumbs-up, okay?” I said to Ty.
“Sure, Rube. Anything for M-M-Mona.” Ty strolled out of the room and down the hallway.
“So, tell me again what strawberry shortcake does to Roosevelt? I’m just not following your plan, Ruby.” Teresa said.
“Well, I don’t know if it’s the whipped cream, the cake, or the strawberries, but one of them knocks him out like a hibernating bear,” I explained as I gathered makeup from the same prank bag where I had kept the Chomper Cheese.
“Well, why does that matter?” Mona said as she went through the different shades of lipstick I had.
“It matters because Ro has been in need of a nice makeover for a loooong time.” I winked at the girls.
“Oh, no, you’re not, Ruby Booker — I LOVE IT!” Teresa exclaimed. “We’re gonna make Roosevelt look so pretty in pink, right?”
“You’ve got it. As soon as Ty gives me the signal, we’ll go in and paint that snake up like a supermodel — or a superclown,” I told the girls.
We eased out of my room with makeup in our hands. We tiptoed softly down the hallway like our feet were made of cotton balls. When we got to Ty and Ro’s door, all three of us stuck our ears to it so we could hear what they were saying.
“Can you believe what those girls did to me?” I heard Ro say.
I had to shush! Teresa. She looked like she wanted to giggle, and I didn’t want to get caught.
“I can’t walk around with my teeth looking like this,” Ro continued.
“I don’t know, Ro. Maybe it was somebody else,” Ty said.
“Who? Marcellus? You? You two wouldn’t do that to me,” Ro grumbled. “Later for those girls — what is that you have in your hands, man?” I could hear his lips smacking. Even though he knows strawberry shortcake makes him sleepy, he just can’t resist it.
“Oh, this? It’s just a couple pieces of strawberry shortcake I found in the refrigerator. Want one?” Ty aske
d.
“You know how that stuff knocks me out, but I can’t say no.” Ro gave in. I heard his fork scrape a plate, and that was it. He sucked that cake up like a vacuum cleaner.
“Dang, Ro. You want mine, too?” Ty offered.
“Why not, runt. I’ll take it.” Ro attacked the second piece, and it was gone in seconds. He let out a big, disgusting burp! I could even hear him smacking his belly.
“Was that enough, greedy?” Ty chuckled.
“Oh, yeah. I’m good. Ro Booker’s gonna sleep tonight, baby!” He sounded full and happy.
Then Ty said to Ro, “There’s two more in the refrigerator. I’m going to get one. Want me to bring you another one?”
“Nah. Two was enough,” Ro said.
“I’ll be back,” we heard Ty say as he walked toward the door. The girls and I scampered to the hallway next to Ro and Ty’s bedroom.
Ty peeked around the corner, saw us, and then gave us a thumbs-up. It wouldn’t be long. Ro usually falls asleep within fifteen minutes. So we waited.
After a while, Ty nudged the door open slowly and peeked in the room. And just like I thought, Ro was on the floor, snoring like a bull.
It was showtime!
“Come on, girls, let’s move,” I said to Teresa and Mona.
I had the pink blush, Teresa had the sparkly purple powder, and Mona had the red-hot lipstick. We propped Ro up against the side of his bed, surrounded him, and went to work.
“What are you guys doing? I didn’t know you were going to put makeup on him! This is going to be so funny!” Ty laughed. I knew he would love it.
“Now, Ruby, are you sure he’s not going to wake up?” Teresa wanted to know before we got started.
“Don’t you hear that loud snore? Watch this.” I pinched Ro’s nose. I pulled his ears. He didn’t move.
The Slumber Party Payback Page 3