by Annie Bryant
“The fever’s almost gone. Dr. Steve says he’ll let me out once it breaks.”
“Really?” Charlotte shifted from one foot to the other. “Do you think…it might break before seven o’clock?”
The karaoke dinner started at seven. The rest of the BSG and the Kgirls were still running around like crazy trying to get ready in time, but Charlotte had to squeeze in a quick visit to her dad. Just to let him know.
But now that she saw how sick he still looked, she didn’t want to make him feel bad.
“What’s at seven?” Mr. Ramsey asked.
“Just a pirate-themed dinner and karaoke,” Charlotte said with a shrug. “But it’s okay. You just need to get better.”
“Marisol’s taking good care of you?”
Charlotte turned and smiled at their chaperone. “She’s the best!”
Going for Pirate Gold
In the center of the vast dining hall, Captain Bob stood decked out in his pirate best: a ruffled white shirt, black pants, and an eye-patch. On his shoulder sat a stuffed parrot.
“Why am I not surprised that it’s a pirate theme night?” Katani asked as the BSG made their way through tables decorated with fake parrots and small treasure chests filled with chocolates covered in gold foil.
Isabel stared at Captain Bob’s fake parrot. If he only knew!
“Ye got a problem wit’ pirates?” Captain Bob sauntered over to their table.
“Not a bit!” said Maeve, giggling.
“Good,” he responded. “Cause if it’s complainin’ I hear, I’ll have ye thrown in the brig!”
“Aye-aye, Captain!” Avery said, saluting. “So what’s your parrot’s name?”
“I call ’im Squawk,” he responded.
“That’s better than Franco,” Maeve blurted out. She slapped her hands over her mouth and looked at Charlotte and Isabel apologetically.
Captain Bob peered at them over his eye patch. “I think Franco would be a fine name for a bird.” He winked at Isabel. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some more piratin’ to do at the other tables.” Captain Bob bid them farewell, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“Sorry,” Maeve apologized. “I don’t know what I was thinking. It just came out!”
“We just need to keep him a secret just one more day,” Isabel reminded her. “Tomorrow we take him to the bird sanctuary.”
“That’ll be a relief to have him safe and sound,” Katani breathed. She was tired of that bird messing up the inside of her closet! And it was getting a tad annoying when Franco woke them up with random squawks in the middle of the night.
“Yeah. I guess,” Isabel replied. She wanted Franco to be safe, but she hated the idea that she would never see him again.
Avery squeezed her hand. “I know how you feel. This is almost like when we thought we’d have to give up Marty! That was the worst.”
“He’ll be safe and cared for by people who know what they’re doing, and that’s the important thing,” Charlotte consoled her.
“Hey, is your dad going to make it tonight?” Isabel asked, changing the subject.
Charlotte shrugged. “He still didn’t look great. But Dr. Steve says he’ll be out maybe by tomorrow morning, and definitely by tomorrow afternoon.”
“Maybe they’ll make a recording of the contest, and we can buy one for your dad!” Maeve suggested.
“Hey, everyone, it’s starting!” Katani pointed to the middle of the dining room, where Captain Bob stood with a microphone.
Kara-Lee and Kazie joined them at the table, and everyone scooted over to make room. “Are y’all ready?” Kara-Lee asked.
“Totally psyched,” Kazie replied.
The lights in the dining room dimmed, and Captain Bob stepped into the spotlight. “Evenin’ all. I’d like to welcome you all to Aloha Cruise Line’s Pirate Treasure Feast and Karaoke Extravaganza!”
The room erupted in applause. The captain waited for the clamor to die down, then continued. “We’ve got a heck of a show for you tonight, but let’s first give it up for our favorite onboard astronomer, Vivianne Grace, who will be working the music!”
Miss Grace waved from behind a laptop computer, which was hooked up to the speakers and connected by a long wire to the microphone.
Captain Bob pulled a stack of note cards from his pocket and began to read. “Tonight we’re starting off with a cute couple who are going to make it all official on board tomorrow—with the help of Captain Bob, that is. Let’s give it up for Andie and Jake!”
Everyone clapped as Mr. Madden took the mic from Captain Bob. He was dressed in khakis with a blue shirt and a black tie with red Jolly Rogers pirate flags printed on it. He turned to Andie. “I’d like to dedicate this song to my bride-to-be.”
Andie blushed. “Thanks, darling!”
Maeve turned to Isabel. “Isn’t that the most romantic thing ever?”
Avery rolled her eyes. “Maeve, you think everything is the most romantic thing ever!” She held up the butter dish. “Butter! Isn’t it romantic?”
Kazie snorted with laughter, and Maeve threw her napkin at her. “You’d think you two would be enjoying this, since those are your parents.”
Kazie shuddered. “Don’t remind me!”
Avery laughed. “Exactly. Could they be any more corny?”
As Mr. Madden and Andie crooned together, “…to the one I loooove!” Kazie made ridiculous faces as Avery stared at the butter dish like it was her long lost soul mate.
It was all Maeve could do to keep her straight face focused on the happy couple! Mr. Madden and Andie stared into each other’s eyes as they took their bows and left the makeshift stage, handing the microphone back to Captain Bob on the way out.
“That was Jake and Andie!” Captain Bob cheered. “Let’s give ’em a big round of applause!”
As the servers brought out plates of salad followed by spaghetti and meatballs, a trio of elderly ladies took the stage. Then a group of little kids with their mom, another two couples, and a group of college boys dressed in hilarious pirate-like business suits entered the stage one after another.
“How can we possibly follow them?” Katani wondered, admiring the college boys’ sophisticated yet silly costumes.
None of the BSG or the Kgirls had even touched their spaghetti.
“Next up, we have”—Captain Bob peered at his note cards under the spotlight—“Me! Singin’ the classic sea shanty, “The Pirate Song.”
Katani groaned. “Does this ever end?”
Maeve swatted her. “I appreciate that he’s staying in character. It’s a lot of work.”
“Think of it this way,” Kara-Lee whispered, “it’ll make us stand out even more!”
Katani wrung her hands nervously. With Maeve’s help, she was ready to perform, but she didn’t know how much she wanted to stand out!
“Shhh!” cautioned Charlotte. “We’re next!”
The music slowed to a stop and Captain Bob bowed, even giving his fake parrot Squawk his own curtain call. The girls crept up to the side of the stage.
“Everyone ready?” Maeve asked.
“And do you have your shirts?” Isabel added.
Everyone nodded. “The shirts are amazing, Izzy,” Charlotte confided.
“I’m so glad I had time to make them this afternoon!” Isabel whispered as her eyes sparkled.
Captain Bob caught his breath and used his eye-patch to mop up a bead of sweat on his forehead. “Our last act,” he said into the microphone, “well, our last act hails from all over. I seen ’em practicing on the beach, and these girls ’ave some talent. Performing Janey G’s song ‘BFF,’ let’s give it up for PARROT TALK!”
The girls burst into the spotlight. They were wearing denim skirts and T-shirts hand-drawn by Isabel. Each t-shirt had a different parrot on the front—scarlet macaws, blue-and-gold macaws, amazon parrots and, on Isabel’s shirt, an African Grey that was the spitting image of Franco.
Charlotte pointed to Miss Grace, who no
dded and with a click of her mouse, Janey G’s song filled the dining room. Avery sat off to the side and kept the beat on a drum made out of an overturned bucket, while Charlotte, the backup singer, stood next to her. Maeve sang in the mic.
“You’ve been there for me,
I’ll be there for you.
Whatever we need—
It’s what BFFs do”
Charlotte and Avery joined Maeve for the chorus.
“Best Friends
Best Friends Forever
BFF!
Best Friends—
Best Friends Forever”
Maeve danced over to Kara-Lee and Kazie and handed them the mic. Kazie and Kara-Lee held the microphone between them and began to sing.
“Sometimes we argue—
We don’t always agree.
But we’re BFF’s!
And we’ll always be!”
The crowd clapped along to the beat of Avery’s drum. The girls gathered around the mic.
“Best Friends—
Best Friends Forever
BFF!
Best Friends—
Best Friends Forever”
“Did you know they were up to this?” Andie asked Mr. Madden.
“Not a clue!” he responded.
Kara-Lee danced over to Katani and handed her the microphone. Katani took it, and swallowed the lump in her throat. She looked at Maeve, who winked at her. Katani took a deep breath, and began to rap into the mic.
“Hangin’ together—
Best Friends Forever!
Don’t matter whether,
We’re all together!
“Near or far away,
no matter what they say!
Best friends today,
and that’s how we’ll stay!”
The crowd loved it, jumping to their feet to clap along with Katani. She couldn’t believe it! They were cheering her!
“I say best friends, you say forever!” Katani rapped, her voice strong and sure. Maybe she couldn’t sing, but she sure could talk with the beat! “BEST FRIENDS!”
“FOREVER!” yelled the crowd.
“BEST FRIENDS!”
“FOREVER!” the crowd chanted back.
Katani handed the mic back to Maeve, and the girls gathered around to sing the final chorus.
“Best Friends—
Best Friends Forever
BFF!
Best Friends—
Best Friends Forever!”
The girls struck a final pose…the speakers went silent…and the crowd exploded.
“We did it!” screamed Maeve. “Take your bows, Parrots!”
Each of the girls bowed, but the applause grew even louder. Captain Bob took the microphone from Maeve. “I’d say from the sound of it that we have a winner! Ladies and gents, may I present to you Aloha Cruise Lines Karaoke Contest Winner! PARROT TALK!”
Marisol stepped out from backstage with official Aloha Cruise Lines T-shirts and baseball caps for each of the girls!
Kazie took her cap and put it on right away. So did Avery. “That’s the style!” The soon-to-be-sisters congratulated each other.
As the lights came up in the dining room, Andie and Mr. Madden rushed up.
“You were amazing!” declared Andie, hugging Avery and Kazie.
Mr. Madden high-fived everyone. “You girls rocked it out!”
“We’re not bad,” Kazie admitted.
“What do you mean? We’re totally bad!” Avery cheered. Yesterday we were worried about losing to the Kgirls, thought Avery, and today we won with them.
“You know what’s awesome?” Kazie said. “This time we both got to win.”
She held her hand up and Avery high-fived her. “Crazy,” replied Avery.
“Excuse me,” barked a woman in a stylish Hawaiian skirt and huge sunglasses as she made her way through the crowd.
“Who’s that?” Avery whispered to Kazie, who only shrugged.
“Allow me to introduce myself.” The woman held out a hand adorned with several glittering rings and long fuschia fingernails. “Yvonne Marshall. Music producer.”
Avery just stared in surprise, so Katani shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“You girls were simply a-mazing up there. And you know, I’m always looking for talent!” As if by magic, the hand suddenly held a glittery, purple business card. Katani took it, stunned.
“Call me.” Yvonne winked, and disappeared into the crowd.
Maeve was the first to recover. “OMG! That was sooo totally, like, wow!” And she started hugging everyone in sight. She couldn’t believe that they had pulled a performance together in less than a day. Now a famous producer has discovered us, and we’re headed for stardom!
Then, out of nowhere, she felt someone flip off her new cap. It was Chad!
He smiled and gave her a surfer salute before handing back the cap. “That was gnarly!” he said. “Like, totally incredibly cool! I can’t believe how good you are!”
Maeve blushed. She was used to receiving compliments like this, but not from boys she liked!
“Thanks! I take a lot of dancing and singing classes. My vocal coach says that I’ve got the best voice in seventh grade!” She couldn’t help but brag a tiny bit. She wanted Chad to be impressed!
His eyes grew wide. “Really? I totally thought you were in sixth,” he confessed.
Sixth grade? Now she was confused. “No, I’m in seventh. Like you.”
He shook his head. “I’m in fifth.”
Maeve’s jaw dropped. “But…” Her voice trailed off.
“I’m just tall for my age,” he explained. “I get that a lot.”
Maeve couldn’t believe it. Chad was a fifth grader? That meant he was practically her little brother’s age. How could that be? Her leading man was, in fact…just a kid!
“Maeve, are you okay?” Chad asked, concerned.
Maeve remembered that when she first met Chad, there was something about him that reminded her of her little brother. Now she knew why! “Earth to Maeve,” Chad said, interrupting her thoughts.
What have I been thinking? All that time in the sun must have made her a little dizzy. Riley back home was her true crush! Chad was more like another little brother.
Maeve smiled at Chad. “I’m perfect! You’ll have to meet my little brother Sam some time, though. Let’s go find some ice cream!”
“Now you’re making sense!” Chad exclaimed.
The Real Parrot Talk
“I’m just too jazzed to go back up to my cabin,” Kara-Lee chirped as the girls gathered their belongings from the dinner table. “Do all y’all want to do anything?”
“Sure!” replied Charlotte. Avery and Isabel both gave her a look. “But we have to stop by our cabin first,” Isabel protested.
She was thinking about feeding Franco, but Avery had to get back to the cabin and call her mom. There hadn’t been a single free second amidst all the karaoke preparations to grab her phone and make the call.
“We can meet you somewhere,” Kazie offered.
Isabel looked to Charlotte and Katani, who both nodded. “Can you keep a secret?” she asked Kazie and Kara-Lee.
“Yes,” said Kara-Lee.
“Totally!” said Kazie.
“Want to know why we called the group ‘Parrot Talk’?” Isabel whispered.
“I thought it was because of Captain Bob’s wacky costumes?” Kara-Lee guessed.
Izzy grinned. “Nope, we have a real parrot. Hiding in our cabin.”
“No WAY!” Kazie yelled, and then covered her mouth. “No way!” she said more quietly.
“Way,” said Avery, thinking that the more people there were in the room, the less anyone would notice if she took off with her cell phone. “So zip it and let’s motor!”
CHAPTER
18
The Bird is Out of the Bag!
I can not believe you guys have been hiding a parrot in your room!” said Kazie as she shook her head back and forth. “That is way beyo
nd awesome.”
Everyone stood in the hallway outside their cabin door while Charlotte fumbled for her room key.
“Remember to keep it down,” Isabel instructed them, “so you don’t startle Franco.”
Charlotte finally located the key card in her book bag and held it up for everyone to see. “Voilà!” She slid it through the lock and opened the door.
“DAD?” Charlotte cried out.
Mr. Ramsey and Captain Bob were sitting in their room…with Franco!
“Girls…,” Mr. Ramsey started to say.
“HOLA!” Franco squawked from his favorite perch.
“A parrot! However did a parrot get in here?!” Maeve exclaimed in mock horror.
“An Academy Award–worthy performance, Maeve, but we need the truth.” Mr. Ramsey countered.
Charlotte bit her lip, unable to meet her father’s eye. The doctor said he wouldn’t be better until tomorrow! As much as Charlotte was glad to see him back to normal, she really hoped they’d get a chance to explain. He’ll understand…. “We weren’t really lying—” She nodded to Kazie and Kara-Lee that they could leave now if they wanted, but the two girls stood their ground.
“But you broke the ship’s rules.” Mr. Ramsey sighed.
“I’m sorry,” Charlotte whispered as her dad continued sternly. “About an hour ago, Dr. Steve gave me a clean bill of health. Imagine how excited I was to come back to my room and surprise you guys! But when I got here, I found…this, this bird…”
“FRANCO!” Franco squawked again.
“…Franco perched on the TV.”
“He doesn’t like to stay in his cage,” a morose Katani muttered.
“Yeah, and he’s super friendly,” Avery offered. “And smart.”
“And not ours.” Mr. Ramsey raised his eyebrows for emphasis.
“This is where I come in,” Captain Bob explained. He was still dressed in full pirate gear, but he must have left his accent behind at the karaoke contest. He stared each girl in the eyes. “Mr. Ramsey was pretty sure that he didn’t check in with a bird.”
“He’s an African Grey,” Isabel declared, stepping forward. “And he’s mine.” She felt parrot-sized butterflies flapping all over inside her stomach as she spoke, but there was no way she would let Marisol lose her job! She was just too sweet, and she’d only been trying to do the right thing and find a safe home for Franco.