by Annie Bryant
Who was he kidding? Didn’t he know the first thing everyone did was compare grades? I looked at Maeve’s. Ouch! Seventy-five when she’d spent a whole afternoon in the Tower getting ready for it with Charlotte. All I’d done was shoot baskets and I got an eighty-nine.
“Avery,” said Mr. Moore. “Please stop clicking your pen in and out or I’ll have to take it away.”
But as Mr. Moore turned to the board, my pen came apart and the spring and ink cartridge shot across the room. Then the bell rang.
Finally! I scrambled to get my pen guts back and get out of school.
CHAPTER 19
AVERY
Discovery
I saw it first. I was juggling a Hackey Sack around the Tower when Katani barked at me to quit or I’d ruin Maeve’s freshly painted green toenails. Big green deal!
“Do you ever sit still?” griped Katani.
“Not if I can help it,” I answered.
But I figured I’d give her a break, so I climbed up to the telescope where Charlotte was stargazing. It was fun annoying Katani, but I didn’t want to push it. Well, not too much. I lay down near the opening at the top of the ladder and fired a few rubber bands off my braces at Katani. She’d tuned me out like my brothers do.
“Whatcha’ lookin’ at, Charlotte?” I asked.
“I was trying to find Ursa Major, the big bear, but it’s kind of cloudy tonight, so I’m not having much luck.”
“Let’s look at Fenway Park!” I suggested, and swung the telescope in the direction of the ballpark.
“Avery, be careful,” said Charlotte. “This telescope is definitely not a toy.”
“C’mon,” I begged, “let’s see.”
I hopped up and down, because I was excited about the Red Sox’s home field. Charlotte was so fussy sometimes. I mean, what could have happened? How was I supposed to know the board I was hopping on was loose. Just then, the far end lifted like a seesaw, and I dropped like a rock. Thud.
“Whoa.” I grunted.
“Are you all right?” asked Charlotte.
She sounded kinda worried. I was fine. I’ve been through much worse on the soccer field.
“Hey!” hollered Katani. “What’s the yo-yo done now? Is everyone all right?”
And there it was. Right next to my face, in a space under the floorboard: a yellowed envelope. I grabbed it and looked inside.
‘“What is it?” asked Charlotte.
I held out a parchment paper and a small silver key with jewels on it.
“You guys!” I hollered. “You’re not gonna believe this!”
Charlotte picked up the parchment.
“Wow,” she said softly.
“It’s an ancient document or something!” I said.
Charlotte held it carefully, like a newborn baby.
“What’s with the excitement, Avery?” called Katani.
“It’s a parchment!” answered Charlotte.
“And a key with jewels on it!” I added.
That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen Katani move. Her head popped into the opening.
“Say, what?”
I held up the silver key.
“Those look real!” she whispered. “Bring that down here right now!”
We sat in a circle, passing the key between us. It was small, too small to fit a door. The top was curly, with a sparkly blue stone and a deep red stone attached. Katani held it to the light.
“I think it’s a real sapphire and a real ruby.”
Charlotte gently unrolled the dried-up paper and studied it.
“Will you look at this!” she whispered. “What do you think BSG means?”
“Wow,” said Maeve. “It’s really serious and old-fashioned. ‘Never to betray their secrets and sacred trust.’ I like that.”
“Yeah,” agreed Charlotte. “Hey, I think we should have an oath, too.”
“Cooool,” said Maeve. “A secret meeting place needs a scroll or two.”
“What do we want with an oath?” Katani joked. “We don’t have to follow tons of rules, do we?”
“No way, Katani,” I said. “But, I like Charlotte’s idea. Why not update the BSG oath, and really make it ours. It’ll be fun. We get to make our own rules.”
“Like the Declaration of Independence?” asked Katani.
“Hey,” said Maeve, “that’s kinda what this one sounds like: ‘To hold sacred…‘”
“Sort of,” I interrupted. “But it’s more like a special BSG Bill of Rights.”
“I could get into that,” said Katani, “the right to free expression and all.”
“Yeah!” said Charlotte. “Next week let’s put together our own Bill of Rights.”
“Cool,” I said.
KEYS TO WHAT?
“So, what’s the key for?” asked Maeve.
I had totally forgotten!
“Come on!” I said, jumping up. “Let’s start looking for secret doors!”
“Doors!” said Katani. “Avery, this key is too small…it’s for like a box or something.”
“Wow! Maybe there’s a treasure somewhere. Let’s go!” I said.
We searched every corner of the Tower. Nothing.
“OK!” I said. “Now we spread out and search through the whole house!”
“No!” protested Charlotte in a nervous voice. “We can’t.”
“Why?” I asked.
“It’ll wake up my dad,” she said.
“We haven’t managed to wake him yet,” said Maeve.
“OK,” I said. “We won’t search the upstairs. We’ll just search downstairs.”
Charlotte was biting her fingernails like a chipmunk.
“What are you scared of?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said. “I just don’t think we should wander around downstairs so late at night.”
“Charlotte’s right,” said Katani. “Why would the key be here if the box isn’t? I’ll wear the key around my neck ’til then so it doesn’t get lost.”
“Aw. You just want to wear a jewelry key,” I said. “And Charlotte, you’re scared of the dark. What about you, Maeve?”
“Sorry, Avery. I’ve seen too many creepy movies. My parents are running a Twilight Zone series this week.”
I curled up on the pillows on my window seat and pouted. Charlotte covered me with her comforter.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ll check downstairs for you as soon as I get the chance.”
We debated what the letters B-S-G stood for, until we went to the living room to sleep.
CHAPTER 20
CHARLOTTE
Deep, Dark Secrets
Iobviously couldn’t tell the girls Saturday night, but I had no intention of poking around downstairs for treasure boxes or secret locks. What if Miss Pierce found me? My lie about owning the Tower House was getting more complicated by the day. I loved having the girls over and pretending the Tower was mine, but I felt like I was living a big lie. I broke a promise to my dad, too. How was I ever going to get out of this? I’d have to figure something out soon.
At lunch, all we talked about were the letters B-S-G. Avery thought it had something to do with Brookline Soccer, but Katani told her that the key was so old there was no way it could have anything to do with soccer.
“When Grandma Ruby was growing up in Brookline, no girl ever touched a soccer ball. She told me if there’s one thing she hopes she never sees again in our school, it’s dodge ball. That’s all they were ever allowed to play here. She hated it.”
“Your grandmother went here?” asked Avery.
I remembered Mrs. Fields telling me she had grown up here. I couldn’t even imagine anyone being in the same school for that many years.
“Yeah,” answered Katani. “It was a high school then, not a junior high. There were only about half as many kids, too. And it was pretty much all white.”
“Let me see the key again, Katani,” said Avery.
“I don’t have it,” said Katani.
“Whaddya mean?” shouted Avery.<
br />
“You didn’t lose it, did you?” Maeve asked, worried.
“Chill,” said Katani. “It’s in my bureau drawer in my velvet jewelry box where no one can find it.”
“I thought you were going to wear it on your chain,” I said. “Did it clash with your outfit or something?”
“Worse,” said Katani. “Last night, when I went to dinner, I had forgotten to slide the chain inside my shirt, like I’ve been doing. When Grandma Ruby saw it, she almost dropped a pot of mashed potatoes. She gave me the freakiest look and asked me where I got it, like I had stolen it or something. I told her a friend gave it to me, but I don’t think she believed me. She just kept staring and asking questions. We need to keep it hidden.”
“Bring it back to its home in the floorboard, then,” said an impatient Avery.
“I promise,” said Katani. “I’ll put it back at our next sleepover.”
Before she could answer, Ms. Rodriguez came up behind us. “I hate to interrupt you four while you’re discussing deep, dark secrets,” she said, “but the bell rang three minutes ago.”
While I broke into a silly, guilty grin, Katani managed to stay as cool as ever. “No deep, dark secrets, Ms. Rodriguez,” she said. “We’re just discussing current events.”
“Excellent,” said Ms. Rodriguez. “I’m sure Mr. Danson will be interested in hearing all you have to share.”
As we headed toward history, Katani grumbled, “Ms. R is everywhere. It’s like she has superpowers or something.”
Our history teacher, Mr. Danson, is young and very cool. He’s always talking about bands, TV shows, and great restaurants he’s been to over the weekend. The only thing I don’t like is that he tends to call on kids who don’t have their hands up. When he asked what the Oregon Trail was, I knew I should have just raised my hand…but I didn’t…so of course, he called on me.
“A rock band?” I guessed.
Avery and Nick started laughing.
But seriously, how was I supposed to know that? I haven’t studied American history in a long time!
THE LIE GROWS
My new friends still didn’t understand why the grand piano always had a cover on it or why we never used the downstairs. One day, I heard Katani talking to Avery in the Tower when they thought I was still in my bedroom. “If it were me, I’d eat every meal in the dining room underneath that luxurious chandelier. But Grandma Ruby says writers march to the beat of a different drummer.” If being from an odd family of writers was the rumor I needed to cover my lie, that was fine with me.
Every time we came back to the house, it was hard to keep Avery from prowling around looking for the supposed “treasure” downstairs.
“It’s no use, Avery. I already looked everywhere,” I said. “I’m telling you. The box must have been in the Tower and someone’s taken it. Why would a box not be right next to the key? Aren’t you late for soccer practice?”
“Yikes,” she yelped. “You’re right. I’m outta here.”
Avery dashed for the front door. Phew! Saved by the bell. I couldn’t imagine which would be worse—having to tell my friends I lied or having a landlady kick me and Dad out of the place I was starting to love more than anywhere else in the world. That’s the problem with a lie…you can’t relax about things.
To: Sophie
From: Charlotte
Subject: Re: this and that
hi sophie-
i miss you. how is paris? have u been to deux garçons? i miss having a cafe au lait and walking along the Seine. lots is going on here. I have 3 new friends—believe it or not, they’re from my lunch group!…it’s a long story. anyway, maybe u can visit at christmas and meet them if they’re still around. Who are your friends this year? I’m doing ok in school. science is earth science. can’t wait till we do astronomy. math is OK. we’re multiplying fractions, something that i learned in 2 other countries so it’s easy. when we do percents my friend katani can help me. she’s brilliant. nick the boy who always laughs at me is my partner for history. He’s really nice and very smart. we have decided to get married. don’t panic. just in class. we have to cross the oregon trail together with our pretend babies. how embarrassing. that’s all I can think of for now. BFFAE.
love,
charlotte
CHAPTER 21
KATANI
The BSG Is Called to Order
Charlotte spent all week talking about the update to the old BSG oath. Avery was pretty excited, too. Ms. R’s response to her “other” letter had Avery all fired up.
“What we think really does matter,” Avery had said. “We don’t think anyone else will care, so we don’t even try.”
I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem speaking my mind, but not everyone has as cool a grandmother as I do. She taught my mother and all her grandkids that we matter. Having our own Bill of Rights would really be fun.
Saturday we had a fun dinner and hung out with Charlotte’s dad while we made s’mores, but the fun really began after he went to bed. We climbed into the Tower and Charlotte began the first official meeting of the new BSG—whatever that stood for.
“Welcome, fellow members of the BSG,” she said, “to our first official meeting. Tonight’s agenda:
1. Assign official titles for BSG members.
2. Announce official BSG meeting regulations.
3. Write the new BSG Bill of Rights.
“Avery will be President and run the meetings. I’ll be the Keeper of the Records, taking notes at every meeting. Katani will be Chief Personal Problem Solver, in charge of making the lives and looks of her BSG sisters more beautiful.”
“I’d like to be Cruise Director!” interrupted Maeve.
“I had you down as Minister of Fun, Romance, and Entertainment,” said Charlotte.
“Same thing. But I’ve always wanted to be called the ‘Cruise Director.’”
“How can you cruise if you’re not on a boat?” asked Avery.
“Watch me,” said Maeve. She turned and pulled Hawaiian necklaces out of her bag, loaded hula music into her boom box and began to move her hips in a circle. Pretty soon we were all trying to copy her. Except for Maeve, we were pathetic. She must have double-jointed hips or something.
Finally Charlotte gasped, “You can have any title you want, Maeve, as long as we don’t have to hula anymore.”
During a cold cereal break, Charlotte taped this poster on the wall:
OFFICIAL BSG MEETING REGULATIONS
1. Official food: definitely brownies!
2. Official song: Whatever “Cruise Director” Maeve decides fits the mood of the meeting.
3. Agenda: each Saturday’s sleepover meeting will be planned one week in advance.
“So,” said Avery, “how about this Bill of Rights?”
“I thought I might as well start as Keeper of Records tonight,” said Charlotte. She propped a big pad of newsprint on her desk and folded back the cover to show the heading she’d made:
The New Tower Rules
Created by the Newest Order
of the Ruby and the Sapphire
Be it resolved that all girls are created equal…
“Ready when you are,” she said with a big red marker in her hand.
“Oooh, me!” I said. “We, the BSG that is, won’t make any rules that stop us from speaking our minds.”
“But try not to be too annoying,” cracked Maeve.
“I’m not writing down that part,” said Charlotte. “But funny, Maeve.”
“Why don’t you go next, Maeve?” suggested Avery.
“OK,” she said. “Something like: We won’t put ourselves down if we aren’t super-smart, super-coordinated, or a supermodel, because we always do the best we can.”
“Got it,” said Charlotte. “OK, here’s one: We’ll be loyal to our friends and will trust them, even if they make a mistake or do something totally embarrassing.”
“Like getting a tablecloth caught in your zipper in the cafeteria,” said Maeve in a
loud whisper.
Charlotte blushed.
“It’s true,” I said. “And we’re all here, aren’t we? Now, hush up, Maeve, this is good.”
“We should just go for it,” said Avery, “How will we know what we can do if we don’t try? We should stand tall and stay true to our own best selves!”
I couldn’t help it. I had to ask. “Girl, did all four-and-a-half feet of you just say ‘stand tall’?”
“So much for ‘trying not to be annoying,’” snapped Avery.
“I,” interrupted Maeve, “thought of another one. I don’t think we should hang out with nasty people, you know the type, their initials begin with A and J. People who try to put someone down. They have got to go!”
“Ooooh,” I said. “I like that one.”
“Me too,” said Avery.
Charlotte was doing her best to keep up. She was also getting red ink all over herself.
“Ready,” she said.
Avery went next.
“We should, you know, try and eat some healthy food and be active. I mean, how can you chase your dream if you are a couch potato? Now drop and give me twenty, Maeve.”
“I don’t think so,” said Maeve. “I’m resting.”
“We can take care of the planet too,” said Charlotte.
“And help others that don’t have as much,” offered Maeve.
“How about: We will dare to be fashion individualistas—like we should be able to wear white socks when we want to,” I suggested.
“That doesn’t sound as important as some of the other things,” said Avery.
“Well, excuse me,” I said.
“But it’s still good, Katani,” replied Avery. “Let’s do amendments.”
“That’s great,” said Charlotte. “Anything else?”
“I got one,” said Maeve. “It’s OK to veg out sometimes—just because we feel like it!”
“And: We should totally have as much fun as we can,” said Avery.
Suddenly, I remembered my business plan. “We should try to save money so we’ll be able to start a business or buy a house if we want. Dreams are important for girls.”