Ready! Set! Hawaii!

by Annie Bryant

  “I think the question is, will Franco be quiet?” Avery interjected.

  “Franco want pineapple!”

  “There’s a shocker!” Maeve declared. She was in front of the mirror, putting the finishing touches on her look.

  Isabel checked their mini-fridge. “Franco, you finished all the pineapple last night!”

  “Want pineapple!” he insisted stubbornly.

  Katani checked her watch. “We don’t have time to get down to the dining room and sneak some out,” she said. “We’re supposed to meet everyone down on the dock in half an hour.”

  “We’ll find you more pineapple,” Avery assured the parrot.

  “There’s only one problem,” Isabel said as she closed the room service menu. “There’s no pineapple on the menu.”

  “No pineapple? Impossible!” Maeve declared.

  “Want pineapple!” Franco repeated.

  Charlotte studied the room-service menu. “Hang on, I have an idea.” She picked up the phone on the nightstand next to her sofa bed. “Is this room service? What sort of garnish comes on your tropical fruit smoothies? Mmm-hmm. Good,” Charlotte said into the receiver, “then we’ll have five.” She hung up the phone.

  “Five fruit smoothies?” A quizzical Maeve asked. “But we already had breakfast.”

  “I ordered five fruit smoothies,” Charlotte explained, “that come with pineapple wedges!”

  “Ha-ha-ha!” laughed Franco.

  Just then, the phone rang. Charlotte picked it up. “Dad? Hi! We’re just getting ready for…”

  “Pineapple!” Franco squawked.

  “Oh, um, that was…Avery,” Charlotte fumbled for words.

  “How come we always take the blame?” Avery whispered to Isabel, smiling.

  “Yep, we’re doing fine,” Charlotte continued, a little louder than usual to cover up Franco’s chirps. “Marisol’s taking us to the tour bus in just a few minutes, then Mr. Madden and Andie are chaperoning again…”

  As Charlotte finished explaining their plans to her dad and hung up the phone, room service arrived and Maeve carried the smoothies in on a silver platter, handing them out like she was giving out Academy Awards.

  “Ready to go?” Marisol asked, stepping into the room from her new cabin. “What’s this?” She stared at the smoothies.

  “We’re cruising in style!” Maeve handed Isabel her tall, frothy orange drink and Franco nipped the pineapple right off the rim before it was even out of Maeve’s hands!

  Isabel laughed. “See, Franco? Everyone loves you! Everyone gives you pineapple!” She leaned into Franco’s face and made a kissing sound.

  “Say, ‘Dame un beso, kiss kiss!’” Marisol suggested, laughing.

  Isabel tried it, and to her surprise, Franco kissed her back!

  Maeve shuddered. “Franco can have all of my smoothie. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite!”

  It took all four remaining pineapple wedges to lure Franco into his cage and keep him there while Charlotte shut the door with two locks…the normal one, and one from Katani’s suitcase.

  “I hate to see him locked up like that!” Isabel sighed, but she knew it was the only way to keep him out of sight.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll check on him whenever I have a free minute,” Marisol promised. “Now let’s get you out to the bus!”

  Hello, Hilo!

  An hour later, the girls hopped off the bus in front of Volcanic Bike Rentals—Where Fun Flows Like Lava! Mr. Madden and Andie wore matching red ATS shirts and khaki shorts, which Maeve pronounced “über cute.” Avery was worried that Maeve was right. My dad and Andie act like they’re on a crash course toward…the m-word. Avery gulped back a bitter taste that suddenly rose into her mouth. She didn’t even want to think “marriage,” it was just too scary! At least she had time. Those things…the w-word, weddings, took years to plan, right?

  Mr. Madden clapped his hands, interrupting Avery’s thoughts. “Round up!” Everyone gathered around. “I don’t know if we’ve met, but I’m Jake Madden—”

  “We know who you are, Dad,” Avery complained.

  “Aka, Jake the Snake!” Kazie blurted out.

  “That, too. Now I know our illustrious members of the BSG—”

  “Don’t forget the Kgirls!” Kazie interrupted again, elbowing in between Mr. Madden and Andie. Avery couldn’t believe it! They had been out here for, like, two minutes and already Kazie was demanding to be the center of attention.

  “Yup, of course. But I haven’t met these righteous dudes.” Mr. Madden walked over to where Chad was standing with his friend Will. He held out his fist in a surfer salute, his thumb and pinky sticking out like the letter Y. “Jake Madden. The Snurfman. Jake the Snake.”

  Chad returned the surfer greeting, and then introduced his friend. “This is Cowabunga Will and I’m his surfing partner in crime, Chizzam. Though the girls know me by my alter ego, Chad.”

  I have got to learn this insider surfer lingo! Maeve sighed as “Chizzam” smiled and waved at her. She made a quick mental note: Remember to look cute while bike riding.

  After a quick safety demonstration, everyone was fitted for a bike and helmet, and they began their descent into the lava fields of Hilo. Avery pedaled as fast as she could, wanting to break off in front of everyone to get some peace and quiet. It was a perfect day for a ride. The air was warm with a slight breeze that kept it from being uncomfortably hot. She had to admit, biking through a lava field? Kind of awesome.

  In the distance she could see forests made of ferns, and large, round craters where she was sure she could rock out some of her mountain biking moves. Avery was admiring the expanse of black rock in front of her when she caught a blur of pink whizzing by.

  Kazie!

  “You snooze, you lose!” Kazie yelled.

  “I was just enjoying the scenery,” Avery yelled back. “Everything isn’t a race.”

  Kazie laughed. “That’s what you say when you can’t keep up!”

  Exercise normally cleared Avery’s head, but right now her thoughts were charging ahead like a runaway train. Kazie beat me? No way! She pushed herself harder and pulled ahead of the pink whir. Looking back, she flashed Kazie that same surfer sign her dad had used. Only now, instead of “hello,” it meant “See ya later!”

  Kazie’s face was taut with effort as she willed herself to go faster. She caught up with Avery. “Pretty good…but not good enough! You’re as slow as your scaredy-dog Marty.” Kazie pulled ahead by a nose.

  That one hit close to home. How dare she insult Marty! Avery’s feet blurred as she inched closer to Kazie. “Nope, I think you’re just used to people running away from your Frankencat, Farkle!”

  “Farkle has ten times the courage of your cute widdle puppy dog!” Kazie yelled, as Avery started to pass her.

  “That ‘cute little puppy dog’ has more friends than Farkle, you, and your mom all put together!” Avery almost couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth as she pedaled faster through the black rock. It was like everything that had happened over the past few days was boiling out of her like, well, lava from a volcano. Kazie may have stolen Katani, her Red Sox cap, and her dad’s attention, but she wasn’t going to let her insult her dog or take this race!

  Surf Lingo 101

  “I definitely like horseback riding better,” Katani complained as she and Maeve pedaled slowly over the trail winding through the lava fields.

  Maeve wiped a bead of sweat that trickled down her face. “I don’t know how Kazie and Avery do it; they’re practically flying up there! I can barely make it up this hill.”

  “The ground is flat here, Maeve,” teased Chad as he and Will sped by.

  “Hmmm…I know what I need!” Maeve announced to Katani. “A challenge! Think I can catch up to Chad?”

  Katani nodded and waved her on. Maeve pedaled as fast as she could, but only managed to reach Mr. Madden. Chad, aka “Chizzam,” was pulling farther and farther ahead with Will.

  “Having fun
?” Mr. Madden asked.

  “I can’t tell,” Maeve admitted. “So how do you get a surfer name like Jake the Snake? Are there more secret thingies like that sign you made? Is surfing, like, a secret society?”

  “Whoa, whoa.” Mr. Madden looked like he was trying to figure out which question to answer first, and finally settled for a shrug. “Someone’s got to give you a surf name. The rest? Just go with the flow.”

  “That’s it? You’ve got to be kidding!” Maeve was hoping for some real insider information, but it looked like it wasn’t going to be that easy to break into the surfing mainstream.

  Mr. Madden laughed. “That’s the best part of shredding—whether it’s a powdery white slope or a raging surf or something like the lava fields—you’re just out digging nature and getting your sweat on. Speaking of which, I’m going to sprint on ahead—”

  “So, how did you and Andie meet?” asked Maeve before he could take off.

  Mr. Madden slowed down. “She started working in my store—”

  “Love at first sight!” Maeve said dreamily.

  “Not exactly. We just found out we had mucho in common.” He started to pedal faster.

  “That is so romantic!” Maeve said. “You’re, like, on the same wave.”

  “Right on! She shreds, she’s competitive but also loves to have fun. But in the end, we like to go fast! Get ready for takeoff!”

  Mr. Madden shifted gears and tried to speed up again, but Maeve chattered on. “Chad likes to surf. You know, I think Chad and I have a little of that instant-connection thing going too,” she confided.

  “He’s that Chizzam dude totally tearing it up on ahead, right?” he asked. “Tell you what, I will fly on by and put in a good word for you—”

  “You’re the best! But Chad’s really into surfing, so I thought if I had a couple of tricks up my sleeve that might totally surprise him, y’know? I’m an actress, so it won’t take much. Try me!”

  Mr. Madden glanced one last time at everyone racing up ahead. “Sure,” he said with a sigh.

  Maeve clapped, then grabbed her handlebars as the bike started to wobble. “I’m so lucky I caught up to you, Mr. Madden!”

  “Me too,” he said as he slumped in his seat, “me too.”

  Slowpokes

  Katani pedaled past Andie, who was taking photos of the lava fields. “Hey Katani, are you the last of the pack?” Andie asked, putting her camera away in its carrying case.

  “Pretty much.” Katani waited as Andie hopped on her bike and rode next to her. “You don’t have to slow down for me.”

  “It’s more fun to ride together,” Andie told her. “Besides, it looks like your friend Maeve has stolen Jake’s attention!”

  Jake turned around and gave his girlfriend a mournful look. She waved happily and gave him a thumbs-up. “He’s used to girls like Kazie and Avery,” Andie confided. “And from what I’ve seen of Maeve, she’s another kind of girl entirely!”

  “You got that right.” Katani laughed. Andie didn’t even know the half of it! Maeve was probably reenacting scenes from Katharine Hepburn movies in the hopes that Mr. Madden knew some of the lines.

  “It’s so beautiful here!” Andie suddenly gushed. “Jake got me this new camera a couple weeks ago and I’m not sure if I’m using it correctly. We might end up with photos of my fingertips.”

  They rode on in silence, the warm tropical wind at their backs. Katani remembered visiting Jamaica with her grandmother. I would love to go on a cruise with Grandma Ruby one day! Katani’s grandmother was the principal of her school and always seemed to know how to handle tricky situations. Katani could have used her advice on this trip, that was for sure. The craziness with the Kgirls, and Avery’s issues with Kazie…well, it was a ton to deal with.

  Andie finally broke the silence. “I have to thank you, Katani, for being such a good friend to Kazie this week. She’s so enjoyed spending time with the Kgirls. What a clever name!”

  “Thanks, but…” Katani hesitated a minute. Her grandmother wasn’t here. Who else could she talk to?

  Andie steered around a bumpy piece of terrain. “But what? Are you worried about something?”

  Katani took a deep breath. “I dunno.”

  “When Kazie’s worried, she won’t tell me a thing.” Andie smiled. “We talk for hours when she’s angry or excited, but if she’s nervous, she just clams up. Like after the last snowboarding competition, I had to pretend it was no big deal right along with her, even though we were both biting our nails as the judges read off the scores!”

  “No way Kazie gets nervous!”

  “Of course she does. It happens to everyone. So. Between you and me: What’s the matter?” Andie urged.

  “It’s just this singing thing,” Katani confessed. “I totally can’t sing at all, and Kazie and Kara-Lee want to do karaoke with me!”

  “You girls will be great! Don’t worry about it.”

  “Uh…you haven’t heard me sing,” Katani replied jokingly. “Besides, you’re good at everything!”

  Andie laughed. “Katani, you’ve never tried my cooking!” Andie mouthed the words “Bad, very bad!” and Katani couldn’t help laughing. Avery had told her about the horrendous meal Andie had cooked for her in Colorado.

  “Anyway, that’s what makes friendships fun,” Andie said. “Trying new things together.”

  “But what if they don’t want me in the club anymore when they find out what a terrible singer I am?” Katani worried. “You won’t tell them, will you?”

  Andie smiled and slowed down, coasting on her bike. “Your secret’s safe. But I promise you that the Kgirls like you for you. Not for the stuff you can do, or the competitions you can win, but for you. Trust me on this one.”

  Suddenly Katani felt relieved. Of course Andie was right…definitely!

  Stop and Smell the Volcano

  Avery was beginning to get tired, but pushed herself as hard as she could. She really wanted to stop and check out some of the scenery, like the mist pools that the guide had told them about back at the bike shop. But if Kazie was making this into a race, Avery was going to win! She kicked it into high gear and everything blurred as she sped by.

  All of a sudden, she hit the smooth surface of a volcanic rock that had tumbled onto the path a little too hard and started to lose control! Whoa! Don’t panic! Squeeze the brakes.

  Slowing down, Avery finally regained her balance. Close one.

  Kazie seized the moment and sped past. “Have a nice trip?”

  I would if you’d just go home, Avery fumed. Her knuckles turned white where she gripped the handlebars, and she pedaled like her life depended on it.

  Not too far behind Avery and Kazie’s mad race, Charlotte studied the scenery. “What do you think, Izzy?”

  Isabel shook her head. “It’s amazing!”

  The Hilo Lava Fields were like no place Charlotte had ever seen, and she had traveled a lot! The charcoal-colored ground stretched toward the horizon, and bits of vegetation snuck in through the cracks, peppering the countryside with flecks of greenery. She slowed down her bike long enough to snap a couple of pictures.

  Isabel followed suit, trying to soak in the scenery and commit it to memory so she could paint it later. The small clouds of steam escaping from the ground in the distance actually looked like dragons breathing inside their caves. She could almost see the scaly beasts curled up beneath the black stone.

  “This is like being on another planet, don’t you think?” she asked Charlotte.

  “Brilliant!” Charlotte paused to scribble the phrase down in her journal, along with all the other words that were swimming around in her head: On another planet…desolate, bleak, barren, monolithic stones and winding paths. A volcano rose up on the horizon, towering over the fields. “Isabel! That’s Mauna Kea!” she exclaimed, as she put her book away and got back on her bike.

  “The volcano?” Isabel asked.

  Charlotte nodded, and then saw her friend’s concerned expression.
“It’s dormant. That means that it’s not in danger of erupting.”

  “I didn’t think we’d be biking out here if that thing was about to explode,” Isabel said confidently.

  “Right now I think the only volcanoes that are in danger of erupting are Volcano Avery and Volcano Kazie.” Charlotte sighed.

  Isabel feared Charlotte might be right. “Hopefully those two will stay dormant for the rest of the trip!”

  Crash Course

  Avery and Kazie flew over the lumpy ground of the lava fields.

  “No way you’re gonna beat me, Short Stack,” gasped a winded Kazie.

  “Watch me!” yelled Avery.

  If there was anything that might possibly be worse than insulting Marty, Kazie had hit it right on the nose. No one calls me short and gets away with it! No one. Avery fumed as she barreled ahead of Kazie.

  That’s when the terrain started to slope downward. Avery didn’t think the decline was that bad, but soon realized her mistake as she started to lose control of her bike again! The frame rattled as she tried to hold on and steady herself. She pumped her brakes, but the gears just scraped together in a high-pitched squeal!

  “WATCH IT!” screamed Kazie.

  Kazie slammed into Avery’s bike from behind, sending both girls flying over their handlebars and down the hill. They landed in a tangled up heap, sending up a cloud of thick black dust.

  “Did you see that?” Charlotte yelled to Isabel. The girls raced faster than they thought possible to help their friends. Chad and Will were already off their bikes, trying to help Kazie and Avery up.

  “Dude! DUDES! Are you okay?” asked Chad.

  “It was like, WHAMMO!” Will replied, imitating the crash with his hands.

  Kara-Lee pedaled up. “Is everyone all right?” Her voice sounded more high-pitched and squeaky than normal.

  “Go back and tell Andie and Mr. Madden,” Charlotte instructed her. “Hurry!”

  Isabel rushed over to Avery. “Are you okay?”

  Avery felt around. Her left elbow was killing her. “I’m banged up, but I don’t think anything’s broken,” she said as she wiggled her hands and feet. Avery’s bike, on the other hand, was toast. The fender was bent into the tire, tearing the rubber! “Wish I could say the same for the bike she ruined.” Avery pointed at Kazie, who was sitting up, cradling her knee.