by Tina Wells
Mackenzie Blue and Her Crew
Contents
Mackenzie Blue and Her Crew
1. The Big Move
2. The Plan
3. Somebody That I Used to Know
4. Blast Off!
5. The Big Break
6. Howdy, Partner!
7. Say “Cheese”
8. Somebody That I Used to Know: The Sequel
9. Ally’s Advice
10. Science Friction
11. The Big (Screen) Test
12. Do-over
13. Mind Over Matter
14. Science Test
15. Special Delivery
16. Little Things
17. Chloe’s Surprise
18. And the Winner Is . . .
Online Glossary
Excerpt from Mackenzie Blue
About the Author
Books by Tina Wells
Back Ad
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
1
The Big Move
“Ummm . . . Zee?” Chloe Lawrence-Johnson raised an eyebrow as she held up an old sock with a googly eye and a Magic Marker mouth. She had found it while cleaning off the top of a bookcase in the bedroom of her best friend Mackenzie Blue Carmichael.
“Cool beans!” Zee said. “I was wondering where Mr. Sock Puppet was!”
“For how long?” Chloe asked. She stared at Zee from the top of the step stool she was standing on. “Five years?”
“Probably.” Zee rushed over to take the puppet. She shook off the dust. “When I move into my new room, I’m going to make up for lost time and give him a place of honor where everyone can see him.”
“Uh-huh,” Chloe said skeptically. “Until he gets buried in an avalanche of clothes.”
“No way! I’m turning over a new leaf,” Zee said. “Now that I’m going to be a big sister to twins, I’m going to have to be way more responsible. Out with Zee the Messy, in with Zee the—”
“Well, it is true you’re not going to be the baby of the family anymore,” Chloe said, smiling. She glanced around Zee’s room. Zee’s school uniform lay on the floor, and her comforter was heaped in a pile in the middle of Zee’s unmade bed. “But it’s hard to change overnight.”
Zee adjusted the bright-green bandanna that she had wrapped around her short red hair. “It doesn’t need to be overnight. The twins aren’t coming for a few weeks!”
“If you say so,” Chloe said, picking up a headless Barbie that was jammed between the bookcase and the wall. “All of your books are boxed up. What do you want me to do now?”
Zee began to peel her Jonas Brothers poster from the wall. “Can you help me take this down?”
“Are you going to get rid of it?” Chloe reached up to loosen a corner. “It’s autographed!”
“I’ve had this poster forever. It belongs in Old Zee’s room.”
“What will New Zee put up?”
Zee raised an eyebrow as she thought. “Maybe I’ll get a Dakota Morning poster—since she’s my favorite actor.”
“Do you think you can get her to sign it, too?”
“That would be amazingly incredible!” Zee said. Once the poster was off the wall, Zee scanned the room. Her eyes fell on the closed closet door. “How about if we start packing up the closet together?”
As Zee flung open the doors, Chloe’s mouth dropped open. Every shelf was piled high with clothes, games, and art supplies. “Zee! Don’t you ever get rid of anything?”
“I’ve never had to,” Zee answered with a shrug. “I’ve lived in this room my whole life.” She grabbed a stuffed zebra from a shelf. “Besides, how do you throw away memories like Mr. Zebra?”
Chloe smiled. “I know what you mean. When we moved from Atlanta last summer, my parents made me give away a ton of stuff from my childhood.”
“No way! Do you miss it?”
Chloe shrugged. “I thought I would. But now, not really.”
“That’s good.” Zee took a box down from a shelf. “You can help me decide what to keep and what to throw away or donate.”
“Knock, knock!” Ginny Carmichael, Zee’s mother, called out as she stepped into Zee’s room.
“We’re in the closet!” Zee called to her mother, and then shouted, “I don’t believe it!”
“What is it?” Mrs. Carmichael hurried over to the closet to find Zee clutching a tattered old blanket and a furless stuffed bunny.
Chloe pointed at the bunny. “Lemme guess. That’s Mr. Rabbit.”
“No,” Zee said, hugging the animal tighter. “Mr. Long Ears.”
“And your baby blanket!” Mrs. Carmichael said.
Chloe reached into a half-full box. “And here are your baby shoes!” she cried, pulling out a pair of small white leather boots.
“And my baby album,” Zee said, lifting an album stuffed with photos and paper out of the box. “Let’s look at it together!”
Sitting between her mother and Chloe on her bed, Zee began turning the pages and commenting on the photos. Some were taken before she was even born. In the first picture, Mrs. Carmichael was still pregnant. “I’d forgotten how enormous I was with you!” Zee’s mother said with a laugh.
“Look at how long your hair was, Mom!” Zee exclaimed.
“Oh my gosh, Mrs. Carmichael! Is this your baby shower?” Chloe pointed to a picture of a pregnant Mrs. Carmichael sitting in a comfortable armchair, surrounded by women and a stack of presents. A giant pink cake with a white stork in the center sat on the low table in front of her.
“My best friends threw me showers for both Zee and Adam,” Mrs. Carmichael explained. “That was before we moved to California. Do you remember visiting them in New York, Zee—Monica Flores and Joanne O’Neill?”
“Oh, yeah!” Zee said. “When I was about five, right?”
“That’s right! Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten to see them much since then, but we’ve stayed in touch.”
“Are they going to throw you a shower again?” Chloe wondered.
Mrs. Carmichael looked at both Zee and Chloe and shook her head.
“It’s not traditional to throw a shower for the third”—Zee’s mother looked down at her large belly—“or fourth baby.”
“But with twins, there’s twice as much to celebrate!” Chloe cried. “No offense, Zee.”
“That doesn’t offend me at all,” Zee said. “Actually, that gives me an idea!”
“What?” Chloe and Mrs. Carmichael asked at the same time.
“We’ll throw you a baby shower!”
“Oh, Zee, you’ve got so much going on already,” Mrs. Carmichael said.
“Don’t be crazy! The only things I have to worry about right now are school and The Beans,” Zee said. “It’s way doable!”
“Hey!” Chloe’s high ponytail swung around her head. “The Beans could perform at the shower!”
“Cool! This is going to be the best baby shower ever!” Zee exclaimed. “It won’t be a regular shower at all—it’ll be a Baby Blast!”
“Can I help you plan it, Zee?” Chloe asked.
“Definitely! Let’s go get some snacks and start coming up with our ideas.”
The girls started to leave Zee’s room when Mrs. Carmichael called, “I thought you were going to clean your closet!”
“I will. I promise!” Zee called back. “We just need to talk about a few ideas first—for the most fantabsome baby shower in the history of the world!”
“How about if we decide on a theme, then plan everything else around it?” Zee said, grabbing a handful of popcorn from a nearby bowl. She was stretched out on the couch in her family’s TV room.
Chloe sat on the floor with her back against the sofa. “Awesome!” she agreed. “We just hav
e to figure out what your mother likes.”
“She likes to cook,” Zee said.
“Yeah! It could be a cooking party!”
“Except I wouldn’t want to make her cook at her shower.”
“True. We should keep thinking.”
Zee tried to focus, but her mind kept wandering. The day before, she and Chloe had performed with their band, The Beans, at Brookdale Day, a huge festival in town. The event also featured Bluetopia, the social networking site that their best friend Jasper Chapman had created. Kids all around the world had signed up for the site. But there was a glitch, and a lot of the users’ secrets were revealed—including Zee’s maybe-crush on Jasper. Zee and Chloe hadn’t discussed the revelation all morning, and Zee really needed her best friend to help her sort it all out.
“This is so much fun, right?” Zee blurted out. “You and me. Me and you. Just us girls. Planning a shower.”
“Uh-huh,” Chloe said suspiciously, and turned her head to look at Zee.
“It’s good for it to be just us—you know, without any guys—like Jasper.”
“But we do things all the time without Jasper,” Chloe reminded Zee. “He never comes to Wink with us when we get manicures.”
“True. Guys and girls really are incredibly different.”
Chloe shrugged. “I don’t know. We also have a lot in common.”
“I guess I’m just wondering if a girl can ever really be best friends with a guy. Ever wonder about that?”
Chloe stared at Zee without blinking. “Nuh-uh,” she said matter-of-factly. “He’s one of my best friends—just like you. It’s not like with Marcus—or Landon.”
Chloe had had a crush on Marcus Montgomery since she met him at the beginning of the year. And Zee had had one on Landon Beck since she could remember. They’d both started at Brookdale Academy in preschool. And lately it had been clear that he liked Zee, too. The only problem was, Zee didn’t really feel that way about him anymore—which the Bluetopia blowup also revealed.
“But I’m sure Jasper would rather spend the day fixing Bluetopia than planning a shower,” Chloe continued. “Although he’s such a neat freak, he probably would have loved the chance to finally clean up your disgusting room.”
“Hey!” Zee playfully knocked Chloe in the head with a sofa cushion. “It’s not that bad,” she said, then sheepishly added, “is it?”
Zee slipped the list inside her diary.
* * *
Baby Blast Themes
Western—Mom’s afraid of horses (although I look cute in cowboy hats!)
Beach—Brookdale is right near the ocean, so that’s not so exotic for us
Pajamas—This probably wouldn’t be as much for Mom’s friends as it would be for mine
Wacky hats—See “Pajamas”
* * *
Hi, Diary.
As you can see, that’s the list of themes that Chloe and I came up with for the Baby Blast. And as you can also see, none of them work. Mom deserves something special—really special. (After all, she’s the greatest mother in the world!) We’ll keep thinking, but we better figure it out soon. Before you know it, those babies will be here. Which means . . .
Good News
• I’m going to be a big sister very soon!
• I’ve got Chloe.
Bad News
• I need to plan a shower—fast!
• Chloe didn’t say one thing about everyone finding out that I MIGHT have a crush on Jasper. (OK, that has NOTHING to do with twins or planning a shower, but I didn’t know how else to bring it up.)
Chloe, Jasper, and I are like peanut butter and jelly—and bread. We go together. So it would be really weird if I had a crush on him. Or would it? I mean, maybe Chloe didn’t talk about it because she doesn’t think it’s such a big deal.
I used to think Landon was the cutest boy ever. I could barely think straight when he was around. But now I don’t think I like him that way anymore. He’s cute, but we don’t seem to have anything to talk about. It’s all pretty confusing and weird. Isn’t it?
Zee
* * *
2
The Plan
Zee got down on her hands and knees and reached under her bed. “Gotcha!” she said, grabbing the Converse sneaker she had designed herself. It had a classic green inner top and a purple tie-dye pattern on the outer top. The outside folded down to reveal a purple lining.
Now where’s the other one? she wondered, gazing around the room. Zee and Chloe had planned to get to school early to talk to Mr. Papademetriou, their first period instrumental music teacher, to ask if The Beans could play at the Baby Blast. But Zee had a lot of other stuff on her mind. She usually turned to her BFF Ally Stern when she was upset. Because Ally had known Zee since they were in preschool, she always had the best advice. But the Sterns had moved to France over the summer. It was a completely different time of day where Ally was! She wasn’t even available to help on Skype. Zee decided to send her an email instead. Ally might not read it until later, but Zee knew it would help to write her thoughts down.
* * *
Bonjour!
Today is the first day I’ll see Jasper and Landon since Bluetopia went ka-blue-y (LOL! Get it?). What am I going to say to them? “Hi, guys. Remember all that secret stuff that no one was ever supposed to know about? Just pretend you didn’t find out about it.”
OTOH, I would have been way too chicken to say anything to them myself, so it’s kind of good they found out. Sort of. Mostly, it’s just confusing.
Well, I have to finish getting ready for school now.
Wish me luck!
Your freaking-out friend,
Zee
* * *
As Zee hit “Send” and watched the email disappear into cyberspace, she realized that she hadn’t solved her problem yet. She still had to face the boys, and she had no idea what she would do. Mostly, she just wanted someone to talk to.
Just then, a text from Chloe appeared on Zee’s phone:
>Don’t 4get we r going to talk to Mr. P 2day.
Of course! Zee thought. Chloe! That’s who she could talk to. Just because her conversation with Chloe hadn’t gotten very far the day before didn’t mean Chloe wouldn’t have great advice if Zee just asked for it.
Zee typed quickly:
>Let’s ride our bikes 2 school 2gether.
>Corner of Cranford and Chestnut?
>Sure! See you in 30 minutes.
Zee grabbed the other Converse sticking out from under her dresser and headed down to the kitchen for breakfast. Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael were already there with Zee’s eighteen-year-old brother, Adam.
“You look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” said J. P. Carmichael, Zee’s father.
Zee grabbed a banana from the bowl of fruit in the middle of the breakfast table. “Chloe and I have to talk to Mr. P about the Baby Blast, so we need to get to school early,” Zee explained.
Mr. Carmichael looked at the large clock on the kitchen wall. “We’ve got plenty of time, even if we have to leave a few minutes early,” he told her. He often drove Zee to school since it was on his way to work.
“Ummm . . . well . . . Chloe’s coming, too, so we’re just going to ride our bikes.” Zee didn’t want her dad to overhear her talking to Chloe about boys.
Mrs. Carmichael put a bowl of oatmeal at Zee’s place at the table. “I’m sure Adam would be happy to drive you a little early and pick Chloe up on the w—”
“No!” Zee cut her off. “I mean, no, thanks,” she added.
Adam looked at Zee curiously. “I smell seventh-grade girl drama.”
“Drama? What drama? My friends don’t have drama!” Zee spoke so quickly, all of the words strung together into one.
“Oh, how about when Bluetopia exploded?” Adam teased.
Mrs. Carmichael flicked her hand in the air. “Oh, I’m sure everyone will forget all about that. The Beans made up and gave an incredible performance.”
Adam stood up. “Wh
en it comes to Zee and her friends, back to abnormal is more like it.”
Zee rolled her eyes. “I just don’t know why I wouldn’t want you to drive me to school,” she said.
“Suit yourself,” Adam said. “I’m not exactly heartbroken, although I would like to find out which ‘cute boy’ you’re so desperate to talk about—as if I didn’t already know.”
Zee could feel the heat of embarrassment rise in her face. She felt like she was on fire.
“Are you sure you’re OK riding your bike to school, Zee?” Mr. Carmichael asked.
“Of course. I’m fine,” Zee said as she pulled her sneakers on and laced them up. “I’m just excited about seeing my friend, getting exercise, asking Mr. P about The Beans performing at the Baby Blast . . .” Zee stood up and headed toward the door that led to the garage, grabbing her backpack on the way.
“Bye, Zee!” Mrs. Carmichael called.
“Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!” Zee yelled back. She heard her father’s phone ring as the door shut behind her.
Zee rode her bike down her driveway and toward the corner where she was going to meet Chloe. She still had a few minutes to plan what she was actually going to say to her friend.
“Hey, Chloe,” she said to herself, rehearsing her lines. “You know Jasper?”
No—that was no good. Of course Chloe knew Jasper.
She started over. “What do you think of Jasper?”
Ugh! That wouldn’t work either. Zee already knew Chloe thought Jasper was great. That’s why the three of them were best friends.
When Zee was about halfway to the corner, her phone sang with a text. Not now! Zee thought. She needed to meet Chloe soon. Still, she pulled her bike over to check the message—especially since it might be one of her parents.
When Zee looked at her phone, though, she saw that it was a message from Chloe. And when she read it, her stomach dropped to her feet.
>Jasper is at the corner with me. We can all ride 2gther.