by Annie Bryant
“Are you singing?” Katani asked. “And you didn’t even tell us. No wonder it was so important to have a new outfit.”
“I had no idea.” Maeve shook her head, denying keeping a secret from Charlotte and Katani. “And, no, I’m not singing.”
“Mustard Monkey may be just what the party needs.” Katani smiled.
“Go, Riley,” Maeve said as she and Charlotte stepped close to Nick and Dillon. “How about some hula music with a rapper beat?”
Charlotte enjoyed Maeve’s enthusiasm, but when she looked at Dillon, she could see that not everyone at the party was so glad to see Riley Lee. Dillon was definitely jealous of Riley. Riley was talented and had a big crush on Maeve. Her sparkly, friendly personality made it so fun to be around her. And the red hair…even the boys knew that there was something special about red hair. Now Dillon and Riley stared at each other, each wishing the other were somewhere else.
CHAPTER 16
Crash
Just think,” Charlotte whispered, “Riley Lee got his start writing a music column for the newspaper. Look at him now.”
“Yeah, he’s gotten really awesome,” Maeve said. “But he’s been taking music lessons for years, and he practices all the time. He’s a really dedicated musician.” Charlotte could tell that Maeve admired Riley.
“This is still a secret, but Riley suggested I help him write lyrics to some of his original songs.” Charlotte thought it would be fun to hear some of her poetry set to music.
“You’re kidding.” Katani looked at Charlotte. “You gave him some stuff, didn’t you?”
“A few things. He told me they were getting more gigs than they can handle, and he doesn’t have time to write lyrics. But, he likes to do original music to stand out.”
Riley hadn’t said anything more about using Charlotte’s poems, though, even the last one she’d given him. She assumed he didn’t like it, or it didn’t qualify for music lyrics. In fact, she’d gotten so busy, she had forgotten about what he was doing until he performed at the election dance. And, lo and behold, Maeve had shown up, singing one of Riley’s songs with the band.
The band had graduated from jeans to hip hop baggy pants and mustard-colored T-shirts with monkeys printed on the back. Riley cut his long hair and now had it styled so it stuck up all over his head. Charlotte was impressed with Riley for taking the chance to do something he believed in. And for not letting anyone tell him he couldn’t start a band.
Chelsea Briggs snapped some photos as soon as the band got going.
Riley didn’t play much rap music. Charlotte happened to know that Riley was a hard-core rock fan. A song that Riley had written called Baby Blue Eyes had an awesome beat—enough to really get the party loosened up.
Dillon grabbed Maeve and pulled her onto the dance floor. Nick danced with Charlotte. Henry Yurt pulled Anna out to try to keep up with him. Some people were still content to watch, but Charlotte smiled to see Pete Wexler invite Katani out onto the floor. Charlotte knew Katani, as popular as she was, could also be shy, especially around boys. But Pete was so outgoing, he’d get her talking to him.
Riley played two other numbers that had everyone sweating. A master of timing, Riley slowed the pace down and took the mike. “Since this is Julie’s birthday, we have to have a birthday song. But since Julie’s theme is Hawaiian, I’ve chosen tonight to introduce a new ballad, the words written by someone who is here tonight. She calls the piece ‘Lonely Nights Are the Same All Over the World.’”
Charlotte caught her breath and held it until she felt light-headed. This was her poem! The one she thought Riley had forgotten about or maybe even thrown out. Hardly aware, she gripped Nick’s hand tightly.
Full moon shines in the Outback,
You wake in your tent alone.
A kookaburra laughs at empty dreams,
His voice leaves a haunting tone.
The orange cat strays at midnight,
Rain mist hides his escape.
You search alone, clothed in fog,
Wonder what path to take.
Beach waves pull me to you,
Safe shadows whisper, “Hide.”
Friends are pulled from beneath your feet
And wash out on the tide.
The world thinks you are sleeping.
You cannot close your eyes.
For you the day is safer.
You need blue sunshine skies,
You need blue sunshine skies.
Riley nodded to Charlotte, without saying her name or introducing her, thank goodness. Nick put an arm around her shoulders.
“Charlotte…your song…” Katani said. “It’s wonderful.”
“Are you crying, Char?” Maeve hugged Charlotte. “That was beautiful. I wish he could sing it again.”
The rest of the room was silent, and obviously Riley had chosen to end his set with that piece.
Julie exploded. “Oh! Riley played someone else’s song at my party? Why didn’t he play a song for me at my own party?” Julie had forgotten he’d dedicated the song to her. Riley probably hadn’t realized that singing Charlotte’s ballad at the party would upset Julie.
“How rude! Riley does something nice for her and Julie totally ranks him out. I can’t believe it!” Katani exclaimed.
“What should I do?” Charlotte turned to her friends. “Riley probably didn’t realize he was going to upset her.”
“There’s nothing you can do, Charlotte,” Nick said. “Just enjoy that your words were set to music. Julie will be okay in a minute. She’s a drama queen. You know, she loves all the attention!”
Charlotte was surprised at how insightful Nick was. Julie did like drama. It was probably why she didn’t invite Avery—because she knew everyone would be talking about Julie, the party, and who was coming and who wasn’t for weeks.
It was comforting for Charlotte to be friends with a boy who seemed so aware of how other people really were. She could have danced with Nick Montoya forever. And maybe Riley should have played one more slow number, or any kind of song to finish. Instead, the band looked as if they were leaving.
“Stay for the party, of course, Riley,” Julie said, recovering from her anger. She ran over to Riley. Maybe she realized that Riley and his band had saved a sinking ship. “And plan to play some more. I’m so glad my parents invited you.” Julie probably hoped her fake enthusiasm made up for her earlier rudeness. Riley looked confused. He didn’t understand girls like Julie. One minute, they acted one way, the next minute, another. Riley shook his head.
“But Riley,” squealed Julie, “you can’t leave before cake.”
But Mrs. Faber was coming down the stairs carrying a huge birthday cake with pink coconut frosting, Hawaiian figures on the top, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY spelled out with pink icing. Mr. Faber followed with several buckets of ice cream. Choices of flavor were coconut, mango, pineapple, and strawberry. Riley and the band decided to stay. After all, cake was cake!
Julie looked half embarrassed, half pleased when everyone gathered around, sang, and watched her blow out fourteen candles—one to grow on—which took her two tries, and a half dozen photo opportunities.
“You left two candles. You won’t get your wish for two years!” Anna McMasters teased.
After Mrs. Faber cut the cake, served the ice cream, and made sure everyone had plenty to eat, she and Mr. Faber went back upstairs to their own party.
“Where’s Maeve?” Charlotte asked Katani.
Katani nodded her head toward where the band had performed. Maeve had left Dillon with them and was laughing and talking with Riley Lee and two more Mustard Monkeys. Dillon was watching Maeve, and it didn’t take a mind reader to tell that he was jealous.
“Hey, Dillon,” Henry Yurt said, not even trying to keep his voice low. “Maybe you need to start a band.”
“Chill out,” Katani said to the boys. “Maeve can talk to anyone she wants.” Katani grabbed Charlotte’s hand. “It’s time for a break.”
Katani and Ch
arlotte scooped up Maeve by each arm and headed up the stairs, looking for another bathroom. The house was big enough to have several.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Maeve asked, trying to shake off her captors.
“Riley needed to play another set. And we need to talk.”
As soon as they found another bathroom, this one twice as big as the one downstairs, Katani said, “Dillon is jealous.”
“Well, I’m sorry.” Maeve put her hands on her hips. “Has he invited me to a movie or anything since we went to the basketball game? No. And what kind of date is one where his father and his big brother go along and all of them totally ignore me?”
“Wow,” Charlotte said, putting up both hands. “Calm down, Maeve.”
“I’m calm!” Maeve let herself out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
“She’s right,” Katani said. “She and Dillon aren’t together. And even if they were, she could talk to other people.”
By the time Charlotte and Katani got back to the basement rec room, Riley and the band were playing again. Someone had started the Hershey Mitten Game. A holdover from sixth grade, the Hershey Mitten Game continued to be a huge fave with Abigail Adams chocolate fanatics, which was just about everyone.
“How do you play?” Charlotte asked Katani as they watched. She had never heard of the game.
In the center of a table sat a huge Hershey’s chocolate bar.
Katani explained. “It’s cool. People take turns rolling dice until someone rolls a double. Whoever rolls a double puts on a knit hat, a scarf, and a pair of mittens.”
About that time, Pete rolled a double. As soon as he had on the hat and scarf and mittens, he cut a piece of chocolate off the big bar with a knife and fork and started eating. Soon a big chocolate smile spread across his face. Chelsea snapped a photo, either for Julie’s photo album or for blackmail, or maybe both. Although the way Pete was laughing, he probably didn’t care who saw the picture.
“My turn.” When Maeve rolled a double, she took the hat, scarf, and mittens from Pete and put them on. She cut off another piece of chocolate and chewed fast.
“Whoever eats the last piece of chocolate wins.” Katani laughed. “And is sick. Want to play, Char?”
“I think I’d rather dance.” Charlotte waved at Riley, who nodded to her and smiled. Then she looked around for Nick, but he seemed to have disappeared. A boy named Andy, who she didn’t know well, asked her to dance. Her father told her once that it was sometimes really hard for a boy to get up the courage to ask a girl to dance. So, if she felt comfortable, she should try to honor the request. Right then it was okay with her. She really liked the song and wanted to dance some more.
While they spun around the room, Charlotte heard the crowd cheering Maeve on. “Go, Maeve, go! Go, Maeve, go!”
Charlotte stumbled over the boy’s foot and was about to apologize when Nick cut in. “I agree with you, Char. I think I’d rather dance.” He grinned as the music got faster and they bounced to keep up.
Riley and his band paused between numbers just as Charlotte and Nick, and Katani and Pete reached the far end of the room. A door opened right beside them. Cool air suggested it led to a garage and then outside.
Five boys busted into the room, laughing, talking, and pushing each other. Charlotte smelled something funny as they walked past.
“Is that beer I smell?” she asked Nick.
“I think so.” Nick looked worried.
One of the boys was swigging from a Coke can. Charlotte’s dad had warned her that some kids put liquor in soda cans to hide it from grown-ups. “Uh-oh,” Pete said, putting his arm around Katani and pulling her farther into the corner. “This could be trouble.”
Nick and Charlotte moved back against the wall. “Who is that?” Charlotte asked.
“Julie’s brother Bobby and Tim Cole, and some other boys I don’t know,” Katani said.
“They’re eighth graders, right? They look like trouble.”
“Yeah. They’re acting really stupid. Julie looks like she’s going to explode,” Katani said. “Remember what Elena said about them?”
Charlotte’s eyes met Katani’s, and then both of them turned to watch what was going on.
The boys were fake wrestling with each other and knocking things over. Tim drop-kicked his empty Coke can, which smashed into the wall.
“What do you think we should do?” Charlotte asked.
“Nothing…for now,” Nick advised. “Julie must know how to handle her own brother. Or maybe they won’t want to stay at a seventh-grade party.”
Not so.
“Look, I told you guys this would be a blast. Look at the babies eating chocolate with mittens on. And look who thinks he can have a band. It’s Riley and the Mustard Boys.”
Bobby, who was a big kid, grabbed Riley around the head and gave him a noogie. Riley wrestled to get away. “Hey, let go.”
Bobby laughed and headed across the room, walking with a swagger. His buddies followed, calling out insults to anyone who’d listen.
And the party had stopped. Everyone had frozen like statues, listening and watching to see what would happen next.
CHAPTER 17
Cake, Ice Cream, and a Little Something Extra
Bobby,” Julie said, her voice wavering. “I’m going to tell Mom. You’re not supposed to be here. This is my party.” She stamped her foot at her brother for emphasis.
“But, Jules,” he goofed on his sister, “I missed the hula cake and ice cream and the really mature mitten game. Besides,” he looked around at the rather subdued atmosphere, “it looks to me like this party needs some attitude…. You know, a little action.” Bobby looked for and got the backup comments he wanted from his too-cool-for-words eighth-grade buddies. To Maeve’s surprise, one of the gang included Tim Cole, her favorite hip hop partner. Tim was an eighth grader, but she hadn’t known that he was a friend of Bobby Faber’s. Things were looking up, thought Maeve. This party had been a little boring.
“Yeah, so how’s it going, Jules? Let’s dance!” Larry Parker took Julie’s arm and pulled her out in a clear space to dance. “Why has the band stopped playing? Play, Mustard Boys.” He waved his arm like a band director.
Riley glared at him, and then turned to look at his band. He gave the signal to start another number. He didn’t much care about Julie’s party, but these guys looked like they were just looking for trouble. Riley scanned the room, and he noticed that Dillon, Pete Wexler, and Billy Trentini were looking a little weirded out as well. “Geesh,” Riley whispered to his band. He felt a little hot all of a sudden.
“Julie has a serious crush on Larry,” one of Julie’s friends whispered to Charlotte. “I’m sure I don’t know why. He’s such a loser. So is Bobby. They think they’re so cool ’cause their soccer team has the best record in the city. But they’re so not. They’re totally annoying,” the girl added.
Katani asked, “Should we go get Julie’s parents?”
“I think that’s up to Julie,” Charlotte said. “It’s her party. But maybe we should leave. Shall I call my dad?”
“Let’s see what Maeve thinks. I’ll go get her.” Katani made her way through the crowd, her parents’ warning running through her head: “Any sign of trouble, you come home immediately.” Katani found Maeve hanging around the refreshment table, chatting with several girls from their class.
“Charlotte and I think we should go, Maeve. These eighth-grade boys aren’t supposed to be here, and they’re acting kind of funny. Let’s get going, okay?”
“Leave? Now? It’s just getting fun. Tim Cole just asked me to dance.”
“Tim Cole?” Katani stayed right beside Maeve.
“Tim’s in my hip hop dance class. He’s not only the cutest guy in the class, he’s the best dancer. Besides me, of course.” Maeve smiled at Tim, who was walking toward them.
“But Maeve—” Charlotte, who had walked over to join them, watched Tim smile at Maeve. He was cute, Charlotte had to admit
. But something just didn’t feel right. Tim smelled like beer when he walked past Charlotte.
“It’s okay. Chill, you guys. I’ll be fine, just go back to Nick and Pete.”
“What about Dillon?” Katani said.
Maeve walked away so fast she didn’t hear Katani.
She joined Tim, who was already showing off some of the latest moves. She tapped him on the arm, flashed a smile, and began dancing…following Tim’s lead some of the time, but challenging him with her own style, too. The music got faster. Maeve and Tim matched their steps to the bouncing beat. Soon a small group surrounded them to watch their moves. Maeve was in her element. But Tim…Maeve could see that his dancing was a little sloppy. What was the matter with him?
The next minute, Tim stumbled and almost fell. He laughed to cover his clumsiness and took Maeve’s arm, pulling her off the dance floor.
“I need to rest, Maeve. That’s hard work.” Tim laughed and leaned on the refreshment table, almost losing his balance in the process.
Maeve caught her breath, but was sorry to stop dancing. She felt as if she could dance all night. Especially with Tim. It seemed weird to stop all of a sudden. She’d seen Tim Cole dance for an entire hour at class before.
“Could you get me a glass of water?” Tim wiped his brow and then the rest of his face with a palm-tree napkin. “I don’t feel so well.”
Maeve poured punch into a cup, since she didn’t see any water. The punch was very sweet, but it was wet. She hurried back to Tim.
“Here, I didn’t see any water, but have some punch. Are you okay?”
“Sure, Maeve. Why wouldn’t I be okay? You’re okay, too, you know. You look really great tonight.” He reached over and grabbed one of her curls. “Pretty hair, I’ll be ready to dance again in a minute.”
Tim took the cup of punch with one hand and Maeve’s arm with the other. He held onto her arm while he tossed back the sweet liquid, then he burped. “Whoa, that’s better.”
Now closer to Tim, Maeve wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, what’s that smell? Have you been drinking? That is so gross.” Maeve started to walk away.