by Annie Bryant
Before anyone could say anything, Chelsea Briggs approached their table. She seemed hesitant to do so, but Charlotte scooted over to make room for her to sit with them.
“Do you mind if I sit down?” Chelsea asked, smiling.
“No problem,” Katani said. “How’s the photography business doing?”
“It’s good, Katani. I printed up those fliers and one of the teachers asked me to take pictures of her daughter’s birthday party. But I need an opinion here,” Chelsea said as she brushed aside everyone’s congratulations. She still wasn’t used to people being interested in “the fat girl.” Of course, she had lost two pounds since she came home from Lake Rescue. Her brother high-fived her this morning when she announced the loss at the breakfast table. “Slow and steady wins the race, dude,” he said, but not before giving her a friendly noogie on the head.
“Seriously. I really need your opinion about something.”
“Shoot,” Avery said, jumping up and tossing a make-believe basket. “Score three points.”
“Julie didn’t invite me to her party,” Chelsea said, spreading her lunch before her.
“What else is new? I didn’t get invited either.” Avery looked at Chelsea.
“A BSG didn’t get invited?” Chelsea seemed incredulous.
Avery grinned. “Yeah, go figure.”
“It’s really an outrage,” chimed in Katani.
“Go ahead, Chelsea,” encouraged Charlotte.
“Well, then she came to me this morning and asked me to take pictures. It seems the high-priced photographer they had hired backed out on them. He probably got a better job. They can’t get anyone else, so they asked me. I guess I’m good enough to take photos, but not to be a guest. My mother said it was my choice. But the whole thing is so weird I don’t know what to do. I thought I would ask you all…I mean, what do you think?”
At first there was silence around the table. No one could believe how tacky Julie Faber and this whole who is invited, who is not had become.
Finally, Katani shrugged. “No big deal, Chelsea. Consider it a job. There are times when you have to separate business from pleasure.”
Isabel clapped and then all the BSG laughed. When it came to business, Katani was all business.
“Charge them big bucks,” Maeve suggested. “Ask what they were paying the unreliable professional and get at least half that.”
“Why not charge what the original photographer was getting?” Isabel asked.
“Oh, I can’t do that yet. I’m not a professional—someday, but not now.” Chelsea stirred her cottage cheese.
“But they’re in a pinch, aren’t they?” Avery offered Chelsea some almonds. “They need you. That’s when professionals raise their rates.”
“I don’t know…is that right?” Chelsea looked up from her cottage cheese.
“Chelsea has to keep her integrity.” Charlotte took a bite of the spicy lasagna. “Or people won’t trust her business.”
“So you think I should take the job?” Chelsea said, spooning some fruit and cottage cheese onto some crackers.
“Of course. Each job leads to the next.” Katani smiled. “As soon as I started putting a Kgirl label on the little clutch bags I designed, people came to me and asked to buy my stuff. People love original designs.”
“I know. Everybody was talking about your bags in photo class. Maddie Westheimer was showing off her black and pink one. It was so cool.”
Katani blushed but was pleased with the compliment.
“Get a stamp with your name and logo to put on the packages of finished photos you deliver,” Isabel said. “I’ll help you design a logo.”
“Thanks. You guys are great. You should start a company called BSG, Inc.” Chelsea grabbed a carrot. “Oops, I gotta go.” Chelsea jumped up from the table. “I’m meeting with Mr. Sherman. Do you believe how hard that math test was? I almost flunked it.”
Maeve blinked. Chelsea had had done poorly too. She felt bad for Chelsea, but also comforted that somebody she knew was having trouble as well. She didn’t feel so alone. She wondered just how many people flunked the test. She was going to ask around. Maybe they could get Mrs. Fields to start a special after-school group. They could call it “Math Victims No More.”
The lunch bunch broke up. Avery was glad Chelsea had come along to distract them from party talk, or to bring a different kind of party talk.
But they weren’t home free yet. Before the BSG could leave the cafeteria, Anna and Joline crept up behind them. “So what, is Chelsea Briggs going to be in your little club now?” Joline asked.
“Something wrong with having good friends, Joline?” Maeve asked.
“As long as they don’t act like boring old movie stars,” Anna said.
“And can count to ten,” added Joline, giving Maeve a snide look.
Before any of the BSG could think of a comeback, Anna laughed and they both rushed down the opposite hall.
“Wow, I really do look like Rita Hayworth,” Maeve said. “Even those two recognized the incredible resemblance.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and twirled around.
“Do you think late at night, when they think about what they’ve done, they ever feel guilty?” asked Isabel.
Katani, Maeve, Charlotte, and Avery looked at one another. After a pause they yelled in unison, “NOOO!”
Charlotte glanced at Maeve, glad she was in a good mood after yesterday’s disaster. “Are we all getting together this afternoon?”
“Isabel and I have basketball practice,” Avery said.
“And I’m helping my mother with her exercises after practice,” Isabel said proudly. “Her physical therapist taught me how. So I’ll probably talk to you guys tomorrow, then.”
“Oh, that’s so cool, Isabel,” said Maeve. “How is your mom doing?”
“She’s good, thanks for asking, Maeve,” answered Isabel.
“Can I take Marty for a walk after practice, Charlotte?” asked Avery.
“Sure, we’ll be home all night. I have a ton of homework and my dad wants me home for dinner,” Charlotte said as she turned in her lunch tray and the BSG walked out of the cafeteria and into the crowded hallway. “He wants to talk about winter vacation plans.”
“Are you going away for vacation?” asked Katani, just as the bell rang signaling the end of lunch period.
“Come on, Charlotte,” interrupted Avery, “let’s hurry! We don’t want to be late for science!”
Avery grabbed Charlotte’s arm and started booking it for the science lab. Charlotte waved good-bye to Katani, Isabel, and Maeve and tried not to trip as Avery dragged her along.
“Whoa, slow down, Ave!” Charlotte exclaimed.
“We’re using the microscopes today, Charlotte!” Avery said as they turned the corner toward the math and science wing, narrowly avoiding colliding with a group of loitering eighth-grade girls. “I’ve been looking forward to this class all week!”
Avery and Charlotte arrived at the science lab with plenty of time to spare and managed to snag their favorite lab bench by the windows on the far side of the lab. Each bench had two lab stations, a small sink, and four high stools. Today there was a microscope, pipette, and slides at each station. The girls looked around the classroom and noticed eight jars of what looked like dirty water on the teacher’s work bench at the front of the classroom. At the chalkboard, Mr. Moore, the science teacher, was putting the final touches on a drawing of a cell labeled “Amoeba.”
Nick Montoya and Henry Yurt entered the room shortly after the girls, and sat down at the other station at their bench.
“Hi, Charlotte,” said Nick. “How’s it going, Ave?”
Charlotte gave a little wave and smiled, and Avery launched into about how psyched she was to do lab experiments. Charlotte was happy too, because science was one of her favorite subjects; she just wasn’t as vocal about it as Avery was.
“And I also can’t wait to get to the unit on ecology,” continued Avery.
; “I just hope this experiment doesn’t have anything to do with sulfur,” Yurt said. “We could all go home smelling like rotten eggs.”
“Ew, yeah, that would be gross,” said Avery, scrunching up her nose.
The bell rang signaling the start of class, and Mr. Moore called for everyone to sit down.
“All right, class,” said Mr. Moore from his work station at the front of the lab, “last week we started our unit on cells. Today we’re going to be looking at some single-cell organisms from right here in Brookline. Please take out your lab books and turn to page forty-five.”
Avery reached into her backpack and pulled out her book and opened it. At the top of the page in large letters it said: Protozoans.
“Protozoans are single-celled organisms,” Mr. Moore explained as he gestured toward the jars of cloudy water. “For this activity, you’ll work with your lab partner, using your microscopes to identify the protozoans that are found in these pond samples that I collected from Hall’s Pond.”
“Cool,” Nick said out loud. He loved knowing how everything worked.
“First we’ll go over the materials and instructions,” Mr. Moore explained, and then he proceeded to read the instructions from the lab book to the class. When he was finished, he said, “And be sure to draw all the microorganisms that you observe in your lab books. Okay, one partner from each group may now come to the front and get a sample of pond water.”
Avery jumped down from her stool and was the first student to reach the front of the classroom. She grabbed a jar of pond water and returned to the lab bench, followed closely by the Yurtmeister.
“Mmm, smells great,” Henry Yurt said as he took a whiff of his jar of pond water. “Our sample has lots of algae in it. That must be what the protagonists eat!”
“It’s protozoans, not protagonists, Yurt,” Nick corrected with a laugh.
“Well, I suppose a protozoan could be a protagonist,” added Charlotte. “Harry Amoeba and the Goblet of Fire.” The kids liked the idea of an amoeba as the main character of a story.
Suddenly, Mr. Moore appeared by their lab bench. “While I’m glad that you find single-cell organisms so amusing, I’d like to remind you that you only have thirty more minutes to finish this activity.”
“Certainly, Mr. Moore,” said Henry in his best official president voice. “Back to work, classmates!”
Mr. Moore chuckled as he moved on to the next table.
“Okay,” said Charlotte, “first we have to collect the sample.”
“All right, I got that,” Avery said as she picked up a pipette. “Mr. Moore said the best sample would be found at the bottom of the jar.”
Avery used the pipette to collect a tiny amount of water and place a few droplets on the microscope slide. Then Charlotte placed the cover slip over the sample and placed it under the microscope.
“Do you want to look first, Avery?” asked Charlotte.
“Sure!” Avery answered, and she looked into the microscope and focused it by turning the knob on the side. “Whoa! There’s tons of stuff moving around in there! Oh, there’s Harry! Take a look, Charlotte.”
Charlotte looked into the microscope and was surprised to see a little world of busy little organisms. She laughed when she realized what Avery was referring to. In the middle of the view was a blob-shape that was moving across the slide that looked just like the amoeba that Mr. Moore had drawn on the board. It was Harry Amoeba! She could see the nucleus of the amoeba and other organelles inside the cell wall.
“Let’s start making our drawings of the amoeba,” Charlotte said, pulling out her color pencils.
Avery took another look through the microscope when Charlotte started her sketch. “Whoa! I think Harry just ate something! The blob just engulfed some other little microscopic thing!”
The whole class was engrossed in observing the tiny little organisms in the pond water. Avery thought it was amazing that she had never even heard of amoebas or paramecium, and they were swimming around in Hall’s Pond all this time.
“Charlotte, I just thought of something. Once I went swimming in Walden Pond—does that mean I was swimming with protozoans?” Avery wondered.
“Sure, there are microorganisms everywhere, Avery,” answered Charlotte.
“That kind of gives me the creeps,” said Avery.
“Just think of them as protagonists instead of protozoans, Avery,” joked Charlotte. “They’re just little heroes trying to live out their story in the pond!”
“All right, class, time to clean up,” announced Mr. Moore. “I hope everyone observed a variety of protozoans in their sample. Be sure to label the microorganisms you drew.”
Charlotte returned the jar of pond water to Mr. Moore’s desk, and Avery cleaned off their microscope slide in the sink, and the pond water was washed off down the drain.
“Good-bye, Harry!” Avery said with a forlorn expression on her face. Avery loved animals so much, she was even sad to say good-bye to a protozoan!
Queens of the Basketball Court
Even though she was feeling down, Avery tried to stick with her mom’s advice—do things that make you happy. For Avery, that meant putting all her energy into one of her favorite things…basketball. When she was on the court, concentrating on making the next shot or playing defense, Avery forgot all her troubles. That is, until Julie Faber or her friends made a snide comment and she was reminded of the party all over again.
“Hey, Betsy, try to pass it to me next time instead of the red team,” Julie said as she ran by her. The team had spilt into two teams for a full court scrimmage, and unfortunately Coach Porter had put Isabel on the red team and Avery on the blue team with both Julie and Betsy.
“Give her a break, Julie,” Avery said, frowning. “Amanda made a nice play to steal that pass!”
“Focus on the game, Avery,” Coach Porter called from the sideline.
That was one of the most annoying things about Julie—she never got caught by the teachers when she was picking on people. This time, Avery was only trying to stick up for her teammate, and she was the one who got in trouble!
Avery forced her attention back to the scrimmage and to guarding her player. Amanda Cruz passed the ball to Isabel, who dribbled a few steps away from her defender, Betsy, before passing it to a wide open Jenny Pesky under the basket.
Where is Julie? thought Avery as she watched Jenny bounce an easy shot off the backboard and straight through the hoop. Julie should have been guarding Jenny.
Coach blew the whistle. “All right girls, that’s enough for today. Red team wins fifteen-fourteen. Everybody run a cool-down lap and stretch.”
Maybe if Julie hadn’t been so busy teasing Betsy, she would have been paying attention to guarding her player, and the blue team would have won. Mean players were totally bad for team morale, and Avery was beginning to think their team had enough of them to seriously hurt Abigail Adams’s chances for a good season.
After stretching, Avery and Isabel walked into the locker room, and Betsy Fitzgerald hurried to catch up with them.
“Thanks for sticking up for me,” Betsy said earnestly to Avery. “I really didn’t mean to throw the ball away like that”
“It’s no problem, Betsy,” said Avery as she changed into her street clothes.
“And thanks for all the tips,” Betsy continued in a rush. Sometimes Betsy didn’t seem to stop to breathe when she talked. “Are you busy tomorrow? Do you want to come over to my house and practice? I could use some help with the defensive plays.”
“Uh…I don’t know.” Avery glanced at Isabel, hoping she could help her out with an excuse. Working with Betsy at practice was one thing, but Avery didn’t want to hang out with her on the weekend. She stuffed her gym clothes into her bag.
“Didn’t you say your mother had something planned for tomorrow?” asked Isabel.
“Oh, right, that thing my brother and I have to do.” Avery felt a little guilty avoiding Betsy like that, but she really didn’t want to
spend her Saturday listening to the perfectionist seventh grader that drove them all crazy talking about college 24-7.
“Oh, okay,” Betsy said, looking disappointed. “Well, if it turns out you’re free, give me a call.”
“Er, right. See you later Betsy.” Avery hurried out of the locker room, Isabel following close behind.
“Ave?” Isabel said just before they were ready to split. “Are you really okay about not going to Julie Faber’s party?”
Avery took a deep breath. “This whole thing about me being immature really bugs me. Just because I don’t like the same things that Anna and Joline like doesn’t mean I’m immature. I don’t understand why Julie skipped me and invited all the rest of the BSG. She had to know that would make me feel bad. And I can’t understand why someone would want to do that to someone who has never done anything mean to them.”
“Maybe she never even thought about it. Do you think she snubbed you intentionally?”
“It was a pretty obvious snub. I think Anna and Joline put her up to it.”
“Probably. She even invited me, and I’m new to the school. You’ve probably known Julie forever.”
“Listen, Isabel, the last thing I want is for anyone else to know that I’m bummed out about it…you know, it’s embarrassing…but no biggie. I’m over it. I just want it to be next Monday. Promise me you won’t tell the rest of the BSG I said anything.”
“I promise, Avery. I feel so bad that we’re not going to hang out tomorrow. Can you find something else fun to do?”
“Something more fun than baby-sitting?” Avery laughed. “I think I can do that. Hey, if I’m desperate, I can go coach Betsy on her basketball game and make a few dollars.” Avery laughed and gave Isabel a high five. “See you Monday.”
Avery ran the rest of the way home, the wind whipping across her face. She felt like shouting out loud. It was such a great feeling, better maybe than Julie fabulous Faber’s party!