Zoe in Wonderland

by Brenda Woods

  Jade rolled her eyes.

  Mom looked at me all twinkly-eyed. “We can. Maybe on Sundays. That’d be nice.”

  “That’d be real nice,” Daddy echoed.

  26

  Grounded

  Later that week, Adam was sitting across from me during lunch—Adam sitting across from me had somehow become an everyday event—and I was wearing the bubble-gum-tasting lip gloss that I’d sort of permanently borrowed from Jade. Day by day it was getting easier and easier to talk to him. Also, my shyness was seeming to show up less and less and less. I supposed having to talk to someone I barely knew every day was why.

  Adam quizzed me about the carnivorous plants in the Wonderland and finally asked if he could see them, and I was about to say yes—until I remembered I was still grounded.

  “I’m grounded,” I told him.

  “Because you ran away from school that day?”

  “Yeah.” Until right then, being grounded hadn’t really mattered and I hadn’t even thought about it. Now Adam wanted to come over, so it mattered. And then I remembered Quincy was coming back this weekend. That made being grounded the worst.

  Maybe the Reindeer parents would let me make it up another time—like a make-up test. I sure hoped so!

  That night, I caught Daddy and Mom together on the sofa. Since their fight, I hadn’t heard any more arguments about money. They were laughing at some TV show and they seemed happy.

  Jade and Harper weren’t around. Jade was out with her friends and Harper was in the garage, deep into his latest science project. So I’d caught the Reindeer parents alone and in good moods—perfect timing to plead my case.

  I smiled my sweetest smile and spoke in my sweetest voice. “Since Quincy’s coming home this weekend, can I be grounded another time?” I asked. “I’ll even be grounded for another whole month,” I pleaded. “Please say yes. Plus, Kendra is finally getting out of the hospital, and I really want to see her. I’m begging.”

  “So you’re willing to extend your sentence for another whole month?” Daddy asked.

  “Sentence? It’s not jail, is it? I’ll even clean the greenhouse for free.”

  They stared at each other hard, like they were using their Reindeer parent superpowers to communicate. Finally, Daddy said, “It’s a deal. Just clean the greenhouse for free and you’re off punishment, but only while Quincy is here, understand?” He had his best Daddy-is-being-serious look on his face. “Understand?” he repeated.

  “Yes,” I replied. “Thank you so much!”

  And I knew I shouldn’t push it any further, but I did. “Also, there’s a boy from school who wants to come over and look at the carnivorous plants. So I was wondering—”

  Mom interrupted, “Not part of the deal, Zoe.” She waved her index finger no. “Not part of the deal.”

  “Thank you. I understand. G’night,” I told them. But before I headed to my room, a thought suddenly popped into my mind. Wait a minute. “Clean the greenhouse for free for how long? Not forever, right?” I asked Daddy. Was one weekend with my best friend worth forever?

  “How about two weeks,” Daddy answered.

  “Okay,” I agreed. Quincy was definitely worth a whole lot more than thirty bucks. “G’night. And thank you again.”

  “G’night, Zoe.”

  I headed to my room, did some homework, and took out the book Ben Rakotomalala had given me. I was more than halfway done. I thought about him being an astronomer with a telescope, gazing at all sorts of stuff in the nighttime sky. Lately, at night, I’d been looking up more and more at the moon and stars, thinking about what was way up there past the Milky Way.

  At that moment, I wondered how much a telescope costs. I’d look it up online tomorrow. Seeing as Daddy was worried about money, asking for one for Christmas seemed out of the question. As soon as I started getting paid for cleaning the greenhouse again, I’d start saving my money to buy one. Ben’s book was getting me more and more curious about all kinds of things. I cracked it and read on.

  Right then, someone turned the doorknob to my room and cracked the door. Harper stuck his face inside.

  “You’re supposed to knock!”

  “Sorry.” He closed the door and knocked.

  “What!”

  “Can I come in?” he asked.

  “Why?”

  “Just want to.”

  Huh? What was the snox up to now? My curiosity won. “Okay!”

  “Hey, Zoe,” he said. His eyes were fixed on the book Ben had given me.

  So that was it. He’d probably been snooping in my room when I wasn’t home and seen it.

  “What’s that book about?”

  I held it up for him to read the title. “Just what it says, genius.”

  “Where’d you get it? I couldn’t find it online.”

  Just like I thought—he had been snooping. “From this astronomer guy named Ben Rakotomalala who’s from Madagascar but works at JPL,” I bragged.

  Harper squinted at me jealously. “The Jet Propulsion Lab? How’d you meet him?”

  “He came into the nursery when I was working there.” I decided to boast some more. “He says people with good imaginations, like me, are sometimes more important than people who have their heads full of facts.”

  “Is that what you’re doing when you zone out . . . imagining stuff?” Harper asked.

  I nodded.

  “Oh. I thought you were just daydreaming.”

  “They’re kind of the same thing,” I told him.

  “I suppose,” Harper agreed, then asked, “What else did that man say?”

  “He calls the sun ‘the star of day.’”

  “The star of day? Wow. Hugely cool.” Harper glanced at the book. “Can I read it when you’re done?” His eyes had that begging look.

  An itty-bitty piece of me wanted to say yes, but most of me was still mad at him for stealing my science project idea and for being such a constantly annoying snox.

  Zoe G. Reindeer thought for a minute. I finally had something Harper desperately wanted. But I wasn’t about to give him something for nothing. “If you help me clean the greenhouse for a month, I’ll let you read it.”

  Harper eyed the book. He hesitated for a few seconds, then said, “Deal.”

  “And one other thing . . . stop snooping in my room. Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  He was at the door when he turned and smiled at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Thanks, Zoe.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “And the next time that man comes to the nursery, can you come get me so I can meet him too?”

  Hmmm. I wasn’t too sure about that. With Harper-geek-super-smart-boy around, Ben might lose all interest in me—even if I am an imaginer. And I really didn’t need one more person treating me like just Zoe. “Maybe.”

  “Okay . . . G’night,” Harper said in a nice way.

  I watched him close the door to my room. “G’night.”

  27

  Zoe and Quincy Together Again

  I, Zoe G. Reindeer, hate to get up really early on the weekends, but last night I set my alarm for 6:00 A.M. I didn’t know what time Quincy would be back, but I wanted to be finished with my chores before he got here. Sleepiness made me press the snooze button, giving me ten more minutes of shut-eye, but finally, like a zombie, I crawled out of bed. Lazily, I put on my work clothes, ate some cereal, and woke up Harper.

  He pulled the covers over his head. “It’s too early,” he whined.

  “You made a deal,” I reminded him.

  He yawned and stretched. “I’m coming.”

  “You have fifteen minutes,” I warned him.

  Of course, birds were already chirping, talking nonstop to one another in bird chatter. One was singing a song.

&nb
sp; BQ, happy birds.

  Daddy was already up, with his head poked inside the hood of his truck, tinkering.

  “Hi, Daddy.”

  “You’re up early for a Saturday,” he said.

  “Quincy’s coming today and Kendra too,” I reminded him.

  “That’s right,” he said, and went back to working on his truck.

  “I’m going to the greenhouse.”

  “Before you go . . . do me a favor?”

  “What?”

  “Get in the truck and turn the key.”

  Me, inside the truck, turning the key? “Okay.”

  I turned the key but the truck didn’t start; it only made a clicking sound.

  “Thanks.” Daddy kicked the truck. “This heap of junk!”

  I got out and went to his side. “Whatsamatter with it?”

  “Everything . . . starter, alternator, transmission, radiator, you name it. But it’s got more than two hundred thousand miles on it, so I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining.”

  I didn’t know much about trucks or cars except when you turn the key they’re supposed to turn on and they need to be fed gas and sometimes they need new tires. “Is two hundred thousand a lot?”

  “Yes.”

  “Just take it to a shop and get it fixed,” I advised him.

  “Costs money, Zoe. Costs money.”

  “Oh.” I grabbed a pen from the truck and did some math on the palm of my hand. There are fifty-two weeks in a year and I get paid fifteen dollars a week to take care of the greenhouse and do other chores around the Wonderland. That equals $780. I’d never realized it was that much money.

  “You don’t have to pay me for a whole year. That’s seven hundred and eighty dollars.”

  At first Daddy smiled, then he started laughing so hard, he leaned against the truck and grabbed his belly.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing, my Zoe.”

  He patted the top of my head and said, “It’ll all work itself out. It just will. Now go on to the greenhouse and finish up so you can have your time with Quincy. And catch a few flies for the flytraps and those others for me, okay?”

  “Okay.” I’d save that job for Harper.

  The first thing I did was check on the baobabs—still nothing. What the heck was wrong? There was nothing for us to start the movie with. I frowned.

  Soon, Harper joined me in the greenhouse. Together we worked and before long we were mostly finished. “Can I please go back to sleep now?” Harper pleaded.

  “Sure.” Being the boss really felt good. As Harper trudged outside, I called out to him, “Thanks, little brother.”

  I’d just finished watering the seedlings and was studying an orchid bud that was about to bloom when, behind me, the greenhouse door opened.

  “Hey, Comet.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears.

  I turned around.

  He was standing in the doorway, same round face and nerd glasses, smiling. Quincy.

  I felt like someone was tickling me from the inside. Silly-happy.

  I didn’t mean to. I really didn’t. But I was so happy that I couldn’t stop myself. I dropped everything, ran to where he was standing, and hugged him tight. Tight like I’d fallen from a boat into the middle of the ocean and someone had thrown me one of those round lifesavers and to keep from drowning I had to squeeze the thing until I almost squished it—that tight.

  He made a fake choking sound. “Can’t breathe, Zoe.”

  I laughed, let go, and stepped back. “Sorry.”

  “I wanna see the baobabs,” he said. I pointed to where they were planted and stood behind him as he examined can after can. “They didn’t grow yet?” he asked.

  “Nope,” I answered. “Something must be wrong. They should have sprouted a long time ago.”

  “Have you been watering them?”

  “Yes.”

  He poked his finger into the dirt. “Did you soak the seeds for twenty-four hours before you planted them?”

  “No . . . I just planted them.”

  “Zoe! The directions said to soak them in hot water for twenty-four hours and then use a nail file or knife to remove part of the seed’s outer shell before you plant them. Otherwise, it takes months for them to grow.”

  “I didn’t know I had to do all that stuff.”

  Quincy poked my shoulder. “That’s what directions are for, Zoe. Always read directions.”

  “We can always buy some more,” I told him.

  “No, that’s okay,” he replied.

  “Sorry you have to wait to start your movie.”

  He shrugged and said, “No problem,” as if he didn’t even care.

  He’s probably got too much other stuff to think about, I figured. Stuff like his mom. “I double swear I will look at them every day, and as soon as they grow, I’ll let you know. . . all right?”

  “Okay,” he replied, then glanced at his watch. “C’mon, let’s go. My dad’s waiting for us in the car so we can go pick up my mom,” he told me.

  “But I have to finish my work,” I told him.

  “Your dad said it’s okay. My pops already talked to him. C’mon.”

  I hadn’t worn gloves, so my hands were grimy, and my blue jeans were filthy, and my work hoodie had holes at the elbows. No way was I going anywhere dressed like this. “I have to change my clothes. It won’t take long. I promise.”

  Quincy checked his watch again and said, “Better hurry, Blitzen.”

  It felt so good to have him near that I actually liked being called reindeer names.

  “Did you know Blitzen comes from a word that actually means ‘lightning’?” Quincy asked as he followed me outside.

  “Of course not, dork-boy.” I snickered.

  He shook his head. “Did you just call me ‘dork-boy’? Is that what you’ve been learning in school, Zoe?”

  “No, I made it up just now.”

  He shook his head again, but he was smiling. In fact, he seemed happier than ever. “Hurry up and change. I’ll go tell my pops.” Quincy zoomed off in one direction and I rushed to the house.

  Two Things I Felt Like Doing Right Then

  Twirling happily in a hundred circles with my arms stretched out.

  Whistling a tune if I could—but no matter how hard I keep trying, I just can’t.

  As quickly as possible, I put on clean clothes and fixed my braids. I was about to put on lip gloss but thought Quincy might think it was weird.

  Nope, no lip gloss for me today.

  “Zoeeee,” Quincy’s dad, Wes, squealed as I climbed in the backseat.

  As we drove, music from the radio played and, as usual, Quincy’s dad sang along. His voice was pretty bad, but I didn’t care. Being with them again reminded me of the summer when I went with Quincy and his dad to the beach at Paradise Cove and we ate burgers in the restaurant there and walked along the beach until it got cold. It almost felt like no time had passed since then—like the summer had never ended.

  The only thing that was different about Kendra, other than her head still being bald, was that she had lost some weight.

  After she hugged and kissed Quincy for a very long time, she turned to me.

  “Your turn, Miss Zoe. Gimme a hug, girl.” She took me in her arms and I realized she was missing her usual perfumy smell too.

  “All finished with my treatments. Docs are saying it’s looking good.”

  Quincy took his mom’s hand and together we walked down the corridor toward the exit doors. On the way, nurses and other people called out to Kendra, wishing her well. Giving her smiles and hugs.

  “Gonna miss you round here,” one nurse told her.

  “Gonna miss you too, but hope never to be back here except to visit, if you catch my meaning.”

&nbs
p; Before we reached the door, Wes took Kendra’s hand and Kendra leaned into him.

  Are they un-splitsville? I wondered.

  Wes and Kendra also acted like they were married again when we stopped at the hardware store.

  “Your parents are sure being nice to each other,” I commented to Quincy as we trailed behind Kendra and Wes’s shopping cart.

  He grinned. “Yeah, I know. It’s kinda awesome.”

  Wes stopped the cart and loaded on a bunch of moving boxes.

  “I hate packing. And I mean hate it!” Kendra proclaimed.

  “Who’s moving?” I asked.

  “Didn’t Quincy tell you?” Wes asked.

  “Tell me what?”

  “I’m selling the house here and moving to San Francisco,” Kendra answered.

  My eyes flew to Quincy. “Huh?”

  “I was about to tell you,” he said. “My mom is going to move in with us because she can work from home anywhere but my dad can’t leave his job.”

  “You’re going to be in San Francisco forever?”

  “Looks that way,” Kendra told me.

  Instantly I went blank inside—like a book with all of its words suddenly erased. I was on the verge of tears.

  “Sorry. But I wanted to tell you in person because I was afraid you’d get all sad and stuff.”

  “That’s why you didn’t get mad about the baobabs, huh? Because there isn’t going to be any movie, right?”

  “Sorry,” he repeated. “But it’s good news that my family will all be back together again. Plus it’s not that far away, Zoe.”

  “And you can come visit anytime,” Kendra added.

  Wes patted my shoulder and smiled. “Plane ride only takes an hour, Zoe.”

  I’m not sure why, but right then this thought showed up from out of nowhere, which I suppose is where thoughts hide. I thought about Adam and all the places he’d been to and how I’d felt like a very boring girl the other day when he’d talked about his adventures—as he called them.

  “It’s not that far away,” I said out loud as if I were trying to convince myself.

  Suddenly, I didn’t feel like a book with no words. Instead, I felt all mixed up, like when you fill your cup with five different kinds of soda. Most of me still wanted Quincy to live right down the street, but some of me was glad he had his parents back together again. Some of me was sad. But some of me was excited to think about taking a plane to visit Quincy. I’d never been on a plane.