Worst Enemies/Best Friends

by Annie Bryant

  Nick looked confused.

  “I thought you wanted to do homework.”

  “I did! I mean, I do.” I fumbled. “There’s plenty of time for that after the movies.”

  “Uh…I’m not sure, Maeve. I’m kinda busy,” he said.

  I grabbed his arm and pulled him up from the table.

  “Please,” I begged. “My favorite movie of all time is on!”

  I practically had to drag him out of the bakery. But I was sure he’d get into it once he saw the marquee. And he did…

  “Spider-Man!” he exclaimed when he saw the marquee. “Awesome! You didn’t tell me Spider-Man was playing. I am a total Marvel Comics freak. I collect any old comics I can get my hands on. I love this movie. I’ve seen it five times already.”

  This was not going well.

  I had to think fast.

  “Oh, you’d be bored stiff, then, seeing it a sixth time. You’ll really like Gone With the Wind.”

  Nick hesitated. “Isn’t that kind of old? And kind of long?”

  “It’s…” I searched for a good answer. “Technicolor! And it’s great history. You should see Atlanta burning. Buildings in flames…dead people everywhere!”

  Nick didn’t look too sure.

  “If you don’t like it, you can switch to Spider-Man,” I promised him and grabbed his arm. “You’re my guest.”

  My little brother, Sam, was working behind the counter. I had paid him five bucks in advance to keep quiet when Nick and I got to the theater, and for once Sam earned his pay.

  “Who was the kid that got you the popcorn?” asked Nick.

  “What kid?” I said.

  “The one in camouflage clothes who saluted you when he handed you the popcorn.”

  “Never mind,” I said in a hurry. “Showtime. You’re gonna love it.”

  And then, at long last, we were sitting in the balcony and the movie was about to begin. I sighed with relief. Sharing a bucket of popcorn with Nick Montoya in the balcony of a theater showing Gone With the Wind. What could be more romantic? I tried to shift over a little so our knees would touch.

  “When’s the fire?” whispered Nick.

  “In a little while,” I said, patting his hand. Nick yawned, but I figured he was just a little tired from working at the bakery.

  Scarlett and Rhett were about to kiss! My heart started pounding.

  “Is it soon?” whispered Nick.

  How did he know that the kiss was coming? I couldn’t believe we were so in sync. This was it! It was really going to happen.

  Just then Atlanta went up in flames.

  “All right!” an excited Nick exclaimed. “Now can we go to Spider-Man?”

  It was absolutely the most depressing moment of my life.

  Two hours with Katani and half a bottle of hair gel down the drain.

  That’s when it hit me. True romance is wasted on seventh-grade boys. But, after all, I am an actress in training. I know how to keep my composure.

  I stood up and stepped over him.

  “Go ahead,” I told him, flipping back my hair. “Frankly, I don’t give a damn.’”

  That’s my favorite line from Gone With the Wind and I’ve always wanted to use it. At least the evening wasn’t a total waste.

  CHAPTER 27

  CHARLOTTE

  The North Star

  Avery sat cross-legged with Marty in her lap while I looked through the telescope. “Did you know there’s a star named after Marty?” I asked.

  “Where?” said Avery, moving closer. “Show us.”

  “Right there,” I said, aiming the telescope. “Look for the brightest one. It’s Sirius, the dog star.”

  Avery held Marty up to the eyepiece. “Bark if you see the dog star, Marty.” Marty didn’t bark but he did manage to paw the telescope out of position.

  “Hey!” said Avery, pushing it back up. “Isn’t that Maeve coming up the hill? I thought she said the movie was three hours long!”

  I focused the telescope.

  “Oh no.”

  “What’s the matter?” called Katani.

  “Maeve looks like she’s crying,” I said.

  “Oh dear,” said Katani. “I was afraid of that. Avery, don’t say a word when she comes up here. You let her do the talking. Our job is to listen.”

  We scurried about, just to look casual. By the time she opened the trap door, we were all sitting at our window seats pretending to look busy. Her up-do was more of a down-drop. Long strands of red hair hung around her tear-stained face, making her look even more dragged down and sad.

  She took one look at Avery with the dog on her lap, pretending to read it a book, and said, “Nice try. Thanks for not asking, but it was absolutely horrible.”

  Then she began to blubber. Katani led her to the Lime Swivel, sat her down, and handed her a box of Kleenex. Maeve honked her way through five tissues before speaking.

  I brought over a chocolate bar from my stash.

  “Oh, I couldn’t possibly eat at a time like this,” she said, pulling back the wrapper and swallowing a huge piece.

  “You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to,” I said.

  Avery glared at me. She wanted to hear every detail.

  Maeve took another bite of chocolate and began her sad tale. “When it comes to romance, seventh-grade boys are hopeless. Consider the time and money wasted,” she explained. “Three trips to CVS, twenty dollars on lip gloss, blush, mouthwash, deodorant, and perfume. Six hours of shopping for the right outfit. Add four days and nights rehearsing my lines and moves. What a TOTAL waste!”

  “Let’s all go down to my bedroom,” I suggested. “We need to get out of the Tower. Dad will be home soon.”

  We sat out on the balcony, on that cool September night. Orion’s Belt and the North Star shone clear even with the glow of the city lights.

  “It’s beautiful!” said Maeve. “A perfect Juliet balcony! ‘Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?’”

  I could tell Maeve was getting back to her old self. She was over Nick and had moved on to Romeo.

  “Brrrr!” said Katani. “It’s freezing!”

  Avery helped me drag blankets to the balcony. I gave Maeve my special fleece.

  “It’s so soft!” said Maeve. “Thanks, Charlotte.”

  Wrapped in blankets, looking up at the stars, none of us spoke for a minute.

  “What’s that one, Charlotte?” asked Maeve, pointing toward the horizon.

  “The North Star. It’s always in the same place. It’s so steady sailors guide their ships by it.”

  “Like true friendship,” said Maeve.

  “Like our friendship,” said Katani.

  “Thanks for being here,” said Maeve.

  “No extra charge,” said Avery.

  “No prob,” said Katani.

  “Thanks for the cozy blanket, Charlotte.”

  “I’m just glad you’re feeling better, Maeve. We’re not used to seeing you sad.”

  “You’re absolutely right,” she said. “I gotta snap out of it.” She stood up, pulling the blanket around her like a robe. She cleared her throat and sang in a fake opera voice:

  “Blankets and stars are the best.

  With Nick I was obsessed.

  Now I’m feeling better and

  I don’t need a sweater.”

  “There’s that Miss Piggy influence I was talking about,” said Avery.

  “Seriously, girls,” she said. “What would I do without you? What do kids do who don’t have friends?”

  “I’ll tell you what they do,” I said. “They wrap up in blankets and look at the stars by themselves.”

  “But what if they don’t have blankets to wrap up in?”

  “What do you mean?” said Katani.

  “I mean what if a kid is sick, or poor, or homeless, or in trouble?” Maeve paced the balcony gesturing dramatically with one arm, while holding the blanket around herself with the other. Katani and Avery rolled their eyes. “I me
an it,” she said. “Without my BSGs and a warm blanket, I know I’d be really sad. How many kids are homeless or friendless or blanket-less tonight? Her voice built to a dramatic crescendo until she shouted to the sky, “EVERY KID IN THIS CITY DESERVES A WARM BLANKET!”

  Even though we giggled at her dramatic speech, deep down we knew she was right. I thought about Ms. Rodriguez teaching us to change the rules for people and about Mrs. Fields working to follow her Miss Rumphius quote to make the world a more beautiful place. “What should we do?” I asked.

  “So glad you asked,” said Maeve, looking dreamily into the distance. “We, the BSG, are going to blanket the city with love.”

  “Hey girls,” called Dad from the hall. “I’m back! Who wants to eat?”

  As soon as he went to bed, we snuck back into the Tower. I wished I didn’t have to keep secrets from him. Maeve seemed to be recovering nicely from her date and was busy directing activities. “OK, everybody,” she said. “It’s time to PARTAY WITH MARTAY.”

  Marty jumped into her arms and licked her face. “That’s my party guy,” she laughed. “Get ready for Maeve’s dancing lessons!” Marty leapt from her arms and hid behind Avery.

  “Yuck,” said Avery. “Do we have to?”

  Marty trembled and whined.

  Maeve ignored both of them. She put on the soundtrack to Grease. “Now move, everybody, move!”

  One look at our moves and she had to catch her breath. After a half hour of frustration, when we were about to give up, Maeve had a great idea. She turned off the music and imitated her reading tutor.

  “There’s nothing wrong with you. We just have to break the code to your individual learning style. Everyone learns in different ways. You may be pathetic students, but you’re all ‘special.’”

  She took a piece of chalk from my writing supply bag and drew arrows and numbers on the floor. When she finished, we had a complete road map for a simple line dance.

  “What’s this exclamation point?” Avery asked.

  “Every time you get to that place in the circle, Marty needs to run through your legs.”

  “Woof!”

  “Awesome!” said Avery.

  Maeve’s mapping did the trick. By the third time through, even Marty had his part mastered. “We’re ready to go on tour!” said Maeve excitedly.

  “Sorry, everybody,” I said. “This tour’s next stop is my bedroom. Time to close up for the night.”

  “Aw,” said Avery. “Do we have to?” Marty jumped into her arms.

  “’Fraid so, Avery. Even without shoes, we’re making a lot of noise.”

  “But I thought you said your dad slept through an elephant stampede,” she said, cuddling Marty.

  “The elephants sounded like they were on tiptoe compared to you and Katani,” I said, shutting off the light.

  THE BEST PART

  When we finally curled up in our sleeping bags downstairs, Maeve sighed and asked, “Do you think dating ever gets easier?”

  “Nah,” said Katani. “The good news is, it doesn’t matter.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Maeve.

  “Well,” said Katani. “I’ve watched my sisters before and after dates and I’ve decided the whole thing is a lot like trick or treating.”

  “Are we going trick or treating together this year, or are we too old?” yawned Avery.

  “Go to sleep, Avery,” said Maeve. “Keep talking, Katani.”

  “Collecting the candy is OK, but the dressing up before and the dumping the candy out on the floor and comparing it with your friends afterward is the best part. You get what I’m saying?”

  “I think so,” said Maeve.

  “The point is my sisters always have a lot more laughs staying up late comparing their dating horror stories than they do on the actual date. And girls always have more fun getting dressed up together than boys will ever know.”

  I was impressed. I didn’t know any of that stuff. Katani definitely has a future in the advice and attitude business. And Maeve seemed satisfied, too.

  Katani fell asleep, and Marty and Avery were happily snoring within five minutes.

  As I was about to fall asleep, I heard, “Charlotte?”

  “Yeah, Maeve?”

  “Could we look at the stars one last time?”

  “Sure.”

  We traipsed out to the balcony with our sleeping bags wrapped around us.

  “You’re like the North Star,” she said. “Steady and quiet. You’re always there for everyone.”

  The lump in my throat was so big I couldn’t speak. It was the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.

  “Charlotte?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Mind if I wish on it for Billy Trentini to notice me?”

  “No, Maeve.”

  CHAPTER 28

  KATANI

  Tower Power

  When Ms. Rodriguez asked us to write about our favorite place in our journals, Maeve, Avery, Charlotte, and I all looked at each other and smiled. At lunch, we read each other’s.

  At Home in the Tower

  A Poem by Charlotte Ramsey

  It’s a home of my own.

  It’s a view from the top.

  It’s a place where the laughing and talking don’t stop.

  It’s the view of my town. It’s a view into space—

  Books, journals, friends, stargazing—all in one place.

  The best thing about having good friends in my home…

  I’m never unhappy. I’m never alone.

  My Favorite Place

  Avery Madden

  Easy. Tower room—Charlotte’s house. Why? My dog is there. My friends are there. My older brothers are not there. I can see the lights of Fenway. If I get bored, Katani experiments on my hair, Maeve teaches me dances, and Charlotte shows me the book she’s writing about our adventures…starring ME! (Everybody else too.) Best of all, I can curl up with Marty and tickle his tummy.

  Top Ten Things I Can Do in the Tower

  I Can’t Do at Home

  By Maeve Kaplan-Taylor

  10. Tape magazine pictures of hotties on the wall.

  9. Talk to my friends in privacy.

  8. Get a snack without Mom studying the fat content on the package.

  7. Go to the bathroom without Sam jumping from the shower stall in combat fatigues.

  6. Look at apartment buildings through the telescope.

  5. Get homework help from “the girls.”

  4. Entertain three best friends and a dog from my own, private mini-stage.

  3. Get amazing manicure from Katani, while we dish about Billy. (Nick is off my list.)

  2. Paint my wall and windowsill bright pink (or anything that’s not “tasteful”).

  1. Lie around and do absolutely nothing.

  My Favorite Place

  Katani Summers

  You can’t understand what the Tower means to me because you’ve never lived with my sisters. When Candice left for college, Patrice had their whole room to herself. It was so unfair and I still had to share with Kelley. Mom said Patrice had a lot of pressure and needed to keep her grades up for college. Then Patrice “the creep” said Junior High was stupid and doesn’t count and Mom got mad but she still wouldn’t change her mind.

  She says I do the best with Kelley of anyone in the family, which I have to admit is true. I love Kelley. But, sometimes I just need space. That’s why the Tower saved my life. For the first time, I can leave my nail polish out without worrying what Kelley might do to it. I can listen to the radio without Kelley covering her ears and yelling. Best of all, I can give my friends advice and makeover tips I learned from my sisters and grandmother, and my friends think I’m really, really smart.

  Part Three

  BSG: For Worse or for Better

  CHAPTER 29

  CHARLOTTE

  Caught

  I should have known it couldn’t last. How did I think I could hide four girls and a dog in this house? The truth is, you can trick
yourself into believing anything if you want it badly enough, and I wanted the Tower to be for the “BSG” (whatever that meant!) more than I have ever wanted anything. I had never shared so many secrets or laughs as during those Saturday sleepovers. I didn’t want it to ever end.

  I had overslept because of stargazing too late the night before. To save some time, I left the Tower stairs down when I took Marty out. He was friskier than usual, and I couldn’t blame him. The crisp October air quickened our walk. I couldn’t believe how beautiful the trees were as the mist lifted over the park. The whole hilltop was on fire with fall color. New England was turning out to be just like I’d imagined when we moved here. I wanted it to last forever. I wanted Brookline to last forever.

  I was startled out of my thoughts by a voice.

  “Hi Charlotte. I didn’t know you had a dog.”

  “Nick! What dog? I don’t have a dog.”

  Nick raised an eyebrow. What was he doing here?

  “I mean, he’s not mine,” I mumbled, blushing.

  “Where did he come from?”

  “Where did you come from?”

  Nick looked like he was about to laugh. “All right,” he said, “I’ll go first. I was jogging to the bakery. Dad drives my stuff and I get in some hill running for soccer. Your turn. Whose dog?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I said.

  “I might,” said Nick. “Remember, I’ve heard you call ‘The Oregon Trail’ a rock band—which would be a great name for a band, by the way—and I’ve seen you clear a table in seconds. You’re pretty funny, Charlotte.” Then he leaned in toward my face. His lips were so close, like he was actually going to kiss me. I could feel my cheeks turning bright red. This was Maeve’s department, not mine.

  I yanked Marty and turned to walk away.

  “Wait! I meant that as a compliment! Funny is good!”

  “We have to go,” I mumbled, really embarrassed.

  I didn’t realize how late I was until I reached the house and could already hear National Public Radio blaring from the second floor. Darn Nick! Darn this dog! I stuck him in my backpack.