“Good,” said Ted. “Let me transfer your data for you. Also, since you can now listen to music from this, I’ll give you my old speakers.”
“You don’t need them?” I asked.
“I can’t use them with the new version of the phone, so I had to upgrade those, too.”
“Oh,” I said. It was sweet and super-generous and thoughtful of Ted to give me his old stuff. Which wasn’t even that old. It was pretty new and nicer than what my friends had. And there was the problem right there.
I thought about what this would mean, what would happen if I showed up to school tomorrow with a brand-new phone. It would be fun and exciting probably, showing it to everyone. But was it also too showy? Would Rachel give me a hard time? Only this morning she had asked me if my shirt was new. It wasn’t at all—I’d worn it before in front of her. But she seemed to be looking for things to fight about. She’d convinced herself I’d changed since my move, so everything I did, no matter what it was, somehow became evidence to prove I was a different person now.
Did other kids feel this way too? Did I seem rich, and did that therefore make me a snob? Did simply living in Canyon Ranch change things? I didn’t want to be seen as a shallow snob or as materialistic. If I was getting my stepdad’s old, used phone, why was I even worried about this? It wasn’t like I had even asked for it.
I guess I’d been pretty quiet for a while because all of a sudden Ted asked, “Everything okay, Anna-banana?”
“Fine,” I said. “Thanks for the phone. It’s awesome!”
“And guess what? I downloaded the new Lobster Lips album for you. I know you’re excited about seeing them at the Panda Parade.”
“Ha! If we get to go,” I said. “You heard about the car wash disaster?”
“I wouldn’t call it a disaster,” said Ted. “But yes, I heard it was a bit of a disappointment.”
“We tried really hard to raise the money,” I said. “Some of my friends are hoping all our parents will see that and spring for the tickets. You know, kind of like giving us an A for effort?”
“Well, you definitely get an A for effort,” said Ted. “But we’re not backing down, and I know you girls will figure something out. The concert is still six weeks away.”
As soon as Ted plugged in the iPhone and put on the new song, I got a text on my old phone. It was from Claire.
I am brilliant! she wrote.
And so modest, I replied.
Drop everything you are doing, find some old socks, and come over IMMEDIATELY!!!
Huh? I asked.
Three words: sock puppet monkeys!!!
I texted back two rows of question marks.
Just come, Claire wrote back. I’ll explain in person.
“Mind if you transfer the phone data later? I need to go to Claire’s for a little while. It’s kind of an emergency.”
Ted laughed as he looked at his watch. “What kind of emergency?”
I glanced back down at my phone. “I’m not really sure, but it’s important.”
“Okay, but make sure you’re home before dark. You know—so the vampires don’t get you.”
I smiled at Ted, asking, “Haven’t we been over this already?”
Chapter Twelve
Leave them in Stitches!
I threw a few pairs of old socks into my backpack, hopped on my trusty red ten-speed, and biked over to Claire’s house. By the time I got there, she and Yumi were waiting on the front lawn.
“So what’s the big plan?” I asked as I skidded to a stop, climbed off my bike, and carefully placed it on its side, since my kickstand was busted.
Claire’s cheeks were flushed and her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. “We’ve got to wait until everyone else gets here,” she said.
“I can hardly stand the suspense,” said Yumi.
“Did you bring your old mismatched socks?” asked Claire.
“Of course,” I said, pulling them out of my bag to show her. “I wasn’t sure of how many to bring so I grabbed all the ones I could find.”
“See,” Claire said to Yumi. “My text was perfectly clear.”
“I thought she was kidding,” Yumi explained to me.
“Well, I wasn’t sure,” I admitted. “But I figured it’s better to be safe than sockless.”
“Hey, I learned my lesson. That’s totally going to be my new motto in life,” Yumi said.
“Don’t worry—I’ve got plenty to spare,” Claire assured her.
Yumi adjusted her baseball cap and asked, “How many do we need?”
“A bunch,” Claire said mysteriously.
“Are we making some kind of giant rope out of old socks?” asked Yumi, tilting her head to the side and squinting at Claire as if trying to figure out a puzzle.
Claire laughed. “How would that get us to the Panda Parade?”
Yumi shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea.”
This was getting more intriguing by the second. Luckily, Rachel and Emma arrived a minute later so Claire could finally reveal her big plan.
Wearing the most sparkling smile I’ve ever seen, she stood up, placed her hands on her hips and announced, “We are going to make and sell sock puppet monkeys.”
Claire’s declaration was met with silence. I could tell she was expecting some kind of humungous reaction, but none of us knew what to say. All we could do was stare at her and then at one another, at least at first.
Finally Rachel coughed and asked, “Um, what’s a sock puppet monkey?”
“You know,” said Claire. “It’s a puppet made out of a sock.”
Claire seemed way enthusiastic, but the rest of us were still pretty confused.
“So you think we’re going to pay for the Panda Parade trip by selling old socks?” asked Rachel.
“I told you they’re not just socks,” Claire explained, somewhat frustrated. “They’re totally tricked-out socks. Or they will be. All we’ve got to do is add eyes and a nose and hair and maybe some cute clothes. We’ll decorate them and make them super-cute. They don’t all have to be monkeys, either. We can make sock puppet puppies and bunnies and elephants—even sock-puppet people. I’ve got a ton of old buttons we can use for eyes, and yarn for hair. Also, they don’t have to be puppets. We can just stuff them with a lot of cotton and sell them as custom-made, one-of-a-kind dolls. That might be better, actually. We can experiment—make them whatever we want them to be. It’ll be fun!”
“But who are we going to sell them to?” I had to ask.
“Everyone!” said Claire, throwing out her hands.
“Okay,” Emma said, looking at Claire nervously. It was the kind of look you might give to an insane person, which wasn’t entirely inappropriate at the moment. “But where are we going to sell them?”
“At school,” Claire said, like it was obvious.
“You think our classmates will want them?” asked Rachel.
“If we make them cute enough,” Claire said with a shrug. “Of course. Let’s get started.”
We all looked at one another again. Each of us seemed to be mulling over the idea. I couldn’t tell what anyone else was thinking, and to be honest—I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about the idea.
“It’s too quiet,” said Claire. “Someone say something!”
I forced a smile and shrugged, trying to come up with something to say. “It’s definitely, um, original. And it’s not the worst idea. …”
Emma nodded slowly. “Good point, Annabelle. Plus, it’s the only idea on the table at the moment.”
“I guess that makes it a winner,” said Yumi. “So let’s go for it!”
Claire jumped up and down and clapped. “This is going to be awesome, guys, and I’m not just saying that because it’s my idea. I really think we’re on to something. Come with me.”
We followed Claire into her dining room, where she’d set up all her art supplies. Her laptop was there too. “Okay, you guys. I found this great video on YouTube on how to make sock puppet monkeys.”
“You really did your homework,” said Emma.
“Of course I did—this is important,” said Claire.
Emma nodded with approval. “I think we should make some sock puppet pandas. You know, since we’re going to sell them so we can go to the Panda Parade. It’ll be good luck.”
“Great idea!” said Claire. “You should totally go for it, and I’ve got a black sock for you that’ll be perfect. You can sew a little piece of white circular fabric on it for the panda’s belly. Maybe use a scrap of fabric for a little pink tongue.”
“I’d like to make a zebra puppet with a hot pink mane,” said Rachel. “I brought a black-and-white-striped sock that’ll work for the body.”
“Let’s watch the instructions and then we can get started,” Claire said, pressing play.
We all huddled around the laptop to watch the video. In it, a woman with short dark spiky hair and an Australian accent went through the sock puppet monkey process step by step. Here’s what she told us to do:
1. Choose your sock.
2. Gather your supplies. A needle, thread, glue, fabric and buttons and beads and sequins to use as eyes, noses, and mouths, more fabric for clothes if you choose to clothe your doll, and stuffing if you choose to stuff.
3. Get to work decorating your puppet!
4. Enjoy!
Everything seemed pretty straightforward, and there was nothing stopping us. We had glue. We had googly eyes and tons of yarn in a gazillion different colors and glitter and sequins and fabric scraps. We had lots of creativity and imagination and motivation and time.
We sat down at the table.
I dumped all my old socks out of my backpack, and Rachel and Emma did the same. Claire’s were already there in a pile with the rest of the supplies.
“I can’t believe you all took her seriously!” said Yumi. “Now I feel ridiculous.”
Claire handed her a tube sock with red and blue stripes. “Don’t worry about it. You can start with this.”
“And we can all share,” I added.
“Thanks,” said Yumi.
I picked out a fuzzy, green-and-blue-and-yellow-striped sock and got to work. We all did, sewing in silence, each of us focused on making the cutest sock puppet monkey possible. I wasn’t so crafty in my regular life, but I had to admit, this was fun. Ten minutes later we were all just about finished with our first puppets.
“Check this out!” said Claire, holding up her doll. It was wild and colorful, with one green eye and one blue eye and a miniature black leather jacket and a mop of shaggy blue hair.
“Wow, that looks like it belongs on the cover of Vogue,” said Emma. “I love it.”
“What did you make?” Claire asked.
Emma held up an owl with glasses and a little peach-colored frock.
“She kind of looks like you,” Claire said.
“Hoo!” Emma chirped in her best owl voice.
“She means the doll,” said Yumi.
“Hoo!” Emma said again, smiling.
“Oh, you’re making owl noises,” I said. “I get it.”
Everyone giggled.
“It’s funny how all our dolls say so much about us,” said Yumi as she tried to fashion a baseball cap out of a tiny piece of blue fabric.
“Are all your puppets going to be Dodgers themed?” asked Claire.
“No, I think I’m going to make a tennis player next,” said Yumi.
“My puppet has frizzy hair just like me,” said Rachel, holding up her puppet, which also featured a ski cap in the exact same color as Rachel’s.
We all cracked up.
“You need to add freckles and it’ll be perfect,” said Emma.
Rachel considered her puppet. “Good point. Hey, Claire. What should I use for freckles?”
Claire handed her a brown Magic Marker. “This one’s got an extra-fine point.”
“Thanks. That’s perfect!” Rachel said with a smile, uncapping it and dotting her doll’s cheeks and the bridge of her nose. “Now I have my own mini-me!”
“What did you make, Annabelle?” asked Yumi.
I held up my own puppet, which was a puppy like Pepper—black-and-white and holding a bone in his mouth.
“These are all so cute!” Claire exclaimed. “We’re totally going to clean up!”
I stuffed my puppet with cotton and sewed up the bottom and then fashioned his legs, tying off bits of the bottom with rubber bands, just like the lady had demonstrated on the YouTube video.
After that, I made a jogging puppet with fluorescent running shorts and a white tank top.
“Is that supposed to be your stepdad?” asked Claire.
“Sure,” I said. “I didn’t even realize it while I was making it, but yeah, Ted runs every morning in crazy clothes like these.”
An hour later one of Claire’s moms, Mollie, came home. “You girls are all so quiet, I didn’t even know anyone was home,” she said, giving Claire a hug as she surveyed our work.
“That’s because we’re creating masterpieces,” said Claire. She held up her latest doll.
It was spectacular—with a pink fuzzy body and green googly eyes, and bright blue shaggy hair and a tail made of braided red yarn.
“I love it!” I said. “But what is it?”
“It’s the cutest rat you’ve ever seen,” Claire declared.
“I would totally buy that,” said Yumi.
“Awesome-sauce. That’s the point!” said Claire.
“In fact, I’d like to buy it for my little sister,” said Yumi.
Claire tossed it into the pile of finished sock puppets. “You’ve gotta wait until tomorrow.”
“These are all incredible,” Mollie marveled.
I wasn’t normally one to brag, but I had to agree—the monkeys were amazing-looking. “These totally look like they belong in a toy store,” I said.
“Agreed,” Rachel nodded as she checked her phone. “Uh-oh. My mom just texted me that I have to be home for dinner.”
I glanced at the window and noticed that the sun was going down. “Oh, me too. I didn’t realize how late it was.”
“Wait, before we go, we need to figure out a game plan,” said Emma. “Like what should we charge?”
“Twenty bucks a puppet!” said Claire.
“I think that may be a bit steep,” said Emma. “I mean, I know they’re worth that, but we are dealing with middle-schoolers. And our country is still in a recession.”
“How about six dollars each?” I asked.
“That sounds good to me,” said Yumi, staring at the elephant she’d just finished making. “I’d totally pay six bucks for this.”
“I think that sounds fair too,” said Emma.
“Okay,” said Claire. “So are we bringing these to school tomorrow or should we wait until we have more inventory?”
“Let’s start tomorrow!” said Emma. “I can’t wait!”
“Yeah, it’ll be good to know if people actually want these so we don’t have to waste time making a ton,” said Rachel.
“Of course people are going to want them,” said Claire. “They’re adorable!”
“I like the idea of having a small number to sell at first,” said Emma. “That way, they’re exclusive. Everyone is going to want one, and not everyone can have one. It’ll drive up demand, get people really excited.”
“Wait, before we go, I was thinking. Maybe we should name each of the monkeys?” asked Claire.
“Yes, let’s definitely name them. Great idea!” said Emma. “That way everyone will know they’re one-of-a-kind designer sock puppets.”
“This one is Seymour,” I said, holding up my latest creation. “Because he’s wearing glasses. Get it? He can see more?”
“Hardy har har,” said Emma.
“What if we stitch their names on their backs?” asked Claire. “It’ll be like a tattoo!”
Emma nodded. “Or like a fashion label.”
“What’s yours going to be named?” Yumi asked.
“Alastair,” said Emma, holding her latest puppet up to her cheek. “Because he’s so sophisticated.”
“Mine is named Geoffrey. With a ‘G’ not a ‘J.’ You know, because it’s classier,” said Rachel.
“Hey, how come they’re all guys?” asked Yumi. “I’m naming mine Beatrix.”
“After Beatrix Potter?” I asked.
“No, just plain Beatrix. She is her own sock puppet.”
Claire gave us some embroidery needles and we got to work.
I chose purple string to start with, and even simply threading the needle was tricky. “This is hard,” I said, squinting at my work. “I think I’m going to change the name of my sock to TJ. It’s much easier to stitch out.”
After I gave my puppets initials, I said good-bye to my friends and packed up my stuff.
I was so inspired by the new sock puppet monkey idea that as soon as I finished my dinner, I went back upstairs and cleaned out my sock drawer.
A minute later Ted came in so he could finish transferring my contacts to my new phone. As soon as he handed it to me, it rang. Oliver’s name flashed on the screen, and I felt my heart get all melty.
“Hello?” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too giddy.
“It’s Oliver,” said Oliver.
“Yeah—I know! Your name shows up on my screen.”
“Oh, right. I forgot. Um, where’ve you been?” he asked.
“At Claire’s. We came up with the best new business plan.”
I glanced at Ted and luckily he knew to leave the room. Then I told Oliver all about the sock puppets.
“I remember those,” Oliver said. “My brother and I made a bunch a few years ago. I think I still have one somewhere in the attic.”
“You should find it,” I said. “Because pretty soon they’re going to be in demand.”
He laughed.
“Wait,” I said. “On second thought, don’t find it. It’ll be much better for me if you buy a new one!”
We compared answers on our math homework because even though we’re not in the same class, we have the same teacher. And after I hung up, I went downstairs and showed off TJ to my mom and Ted.
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