The Friendship Bracelet

by Arlene Stewart

  Quickly, Olivia pulled it off and put it back the right way.

  “OK, quiet. Quiet, everybody,” shouted Ashley. “I have two leftover tags. Where is Kennedy Washington and where is Elin Pierson? That’s spelled E-L-I-N?”

  Ouch! Olivia closed her eyes and thought, I didn’t see that coming. Elin has never been in camp before.

  “Here, we’re right here,” said Elin, strolling over with Kennedy. She was wearing her leopard-print sunglasses and carrying a hot-pink fringe bag over her shoulder.

  “OK, girls,” said Ashley, handing them their name tags. “Can you try to be on time from now on?”

  “Sorry,” said Elin in a breezy voice. “The au pair was running late again.”

  Mu Mu rolled her eyes. “Check out that diva,” she whispered to Olivia.

  “Olivia Jones, Mu Mu Lin, Elin, and Kennedy, you’re Team Unicorn,” shouted Parker. “Can you stand together?” Olivia and Mu Mu shot each other looks and laughed.

  A few minutes later, Team Unicorn was sitting under a tall oak waiting for Parker to finish putting all the groups together.

  “Let me show you my new selfies,” Elin said to Kennedy as she reached into her fringed bag for her phone. “Here’s me with Zoe’s new puppy, Carl.”

  She held up her phone and showed Kennedy the photo. “Cute!” Kennedy gushed. “I love your new earrings!”

  “Oh, and here’s me with Austen. He’s so hot!” Elin continued.

  “Oh, yeah, super hot. Sooo stellar!” Kennedy squealed, giving her buddy a high five.

  “Maybe I’ll see him later for Frappuccino,” Elin said, checking her texts.

  Olivia wanted to die. Right there, right then.

  “Which Austen are you talking about?” said Mu Mu, reaching out for Elin’s phone and flicking through the photos. “Oh, yeah, I know him. It’s Austen Dodd. We were at Meadowlark Elementary together. Yeah, he’s super popular.”

  Austen and Elin—Mr. Super Popular and Miss Super Popular, thought Olivia, looking down at the ground. Makes sense.

  A young camper running their way interrupted her funk. “Who’s Olivia?” she asked breathlessly. Olivia raised her hand. “Ashley wants to see you,” the camper said, trying to make her errand sound important, “over at table six. Right away.”

  Olivia shrugged.

  “Don’t worry,” Mu Mu said with a laugh. “You can’t be in trouble. It’s way too soon. We just got here.”

  Olivia laughed too. “Be right back,” she said and then made her way to the picnic table, where her counselor was talking on the phone.

  “OK, I’ll ask her,” Ashley said. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll text you.” She clicked off, looked at Olivia, and explained, “The five/sixes’ arts and crafts instructor couldn’t make it. Can you fill in and show them how to make some simple friendship bracelets, like that blue-and-white one you’re wearing? Your mother owns the crafts store, right? We figured you would know your way around stuff like that.”

  “Sure,” replied Olivia. “Do you want me to go now?”

  “If you could. Start with table two, over there by the water fountain. Heather, the camp director, will meet you there. Thanks!”

  “I’ll just get my backpack,” Olivia said, pointing in the direction of Team Unicorn. Running back, she was so distracted by the idea of getting away from Elin that she twisted her ankle stepping on an acorn and had to hop the rest of the way to the tall oak tree.

  When she heard the news, Mu Mu was definitely not a happy camper. “You’re ditching me?” she wailed dramatically and loud enough for both Elin and Kennedy to hear.

  Olivia tried to soften the blow and quietly said, “It’s just temporary. I’ll see you at lunch, OK?”

  “No! I’m coming with you,” said Mu Mu, jumping to her feet. “I’ll be your assistant. See you, Elin. See you, Kennedy.”

  Chapter 22

  “My mom told me there’s an old saying that if you wear a friendship bracelet until it falls off, your wish will come true,” said Mu Mu. “Is that true, Miss Ruth Ann?”

  “Well, I can’t be sure that your wish will come true, Mu Mu, but yes, there is an old saying that goes like that. Or maybe your bracelet falls off after your wish comes true? Look up there,” said the shop’s manager, pointing to the two very same mottoes hanging in a frame above the embroidery floss section.

  Olivia had to smile. Who would have thought bold, funny Mu Mu and the very proper Miss Ruth Ann would become BFFs so fast? But when Olivia and her new friend had made their way into Katonah Crafts after camp, it had taken only a nanosecond for Mu Mu to feel right at home.

  “I’ve only been in here once or twice,” explained Mu Mu. “Since we live close to Ridgefield, you know, right over the border in Connecticut, we usually go there. I don’t remember ever meeting you, Miss Ruth Ann.”

  “And I am sure I would remember you, Mu Mu,” replied Miss Ruth Ann with a smile.

  Earlier in the day, the girls’ time as substitute arts and crafts instructors at camp went well, so well that Olivia and Mu Mu were asked to stay on as instructors for the entire week. For one thing, Mu Mu turned out to be a whiz at explaining how to make friendship bracelets. And for another, she soon had the campers laughing.

  “Looks like you’ve got them in stitches,” Olivia had joked, super pleased by how her morning had been snatched from the jaws of disaster. Or at least that was how it had felt at the time.

  One little boy camper, Aiden Sanchez, who had picked up the weaving fast, told them his older sister said the colors had meanings. “Yes, they do,” Olivia had replied. “Would you like to know what they are?”

  Aiden nodded his head up and down.

  “OK, well, tomorrow, we’ll tell you what they all mean,” she said, looking at Mu Mu, who gave her a thumbs-up.

  After the last of their morning sessions, Olivia had suggested that she and Mu Mu visit Katonah Crafts and note down Miss Ruth Ann’s chart of colors. Olivia was going to take a copy of it to camp the next morning.

  They were lucky the shop was quiet. Only a few little girls were over by the bead bins with their mothers, so Mu Mu and Olivia had the entire crafts table to themselves. “Light blue is for loyalty, right?” said Mu Mu, pointing to Olivia’s bracelet. “And white is for peace?”

  “That’s right,” replied Olivia, almost done copying Miss Ruth Ann’s chart. There was plenty of foam-core poster board at home, so Olivia decided that later that night, she’d get out her markers and make her own chart. Hmm… Maybe she’d also make up smaller charts and print out one for each camper.

  Mu Mu thought that was a super idea. “Aiden will love it. He can show his sister,” she pointed out. “You know how kids love to have something to show off.”

  “Really?” said Olivia, copying down that lime green equaled lucky and orange stood for energetic. “Then I’ll bring my markers, and maybe we can write the name of each camper on their chart?”

  “Super idea!” shouted Mu Mu, giving her a high five. “You’re on fire. Team Unicorn, watch out! We may never be back!”

  Olivia started to laugh. “Team Who-nicorn?” she joked.

  “Wow!” laughed Mu Mu, giving her a double high five. “Outstanding!”

  Drawn by their laughter, Miss Ruth Ann started walking their way. “Oh, Olivia, I have some flosses for Ethan. I haven’t seen him today,” she said.

  “Who’s Ethan?” Mu Mu piped up.

  Olivia finished writing that black stands for smart and then folded up her colors list. “Oh, he’s a kid in my class, or was in my class at Village Elementary. He comes in here a lot,” she told her in a low voice, the kind of voice that means “no questions.” But she did add, “He’ll be in middle school in September too.”

  Miss Ruth Ann looked at Olivia for a long moment and seemed as though she was about to say something, but instead she walked over to the bead b
ins to help the young girls.

  Right away, Olivia worried. Hope Miss Ruth Ann doesn’t think I wasn’t being loyal to Ethan. But if I tell Mu Mu about THREADS, she might ask to be in the club. And if I invite someone else, Ethan could freak out again.

  Being torn like that between people was definitely not a good feeling. Now she knew what her dad meant when he talked about being between a rock and a hard place. But unfortunately for Olivia, her downer spell was quickly replaced by another dilemma. The doorbell to Katonah Crafts jingled, and in walked Elin Pierson with Kennedy Washington. Both were carrying plastic cups that said FRAPPE, FRAPPE, FRAPPE on the outside.

  Instantly, Olivia’s alarms began to go off: Uh-oh, when Miss Ruth Ann sees they brought drinks in here, she’s going to come down on them like…like what? She took a few seconds to think of the perfect image. Not like a ton of bricks. Everybody says that. Yes! I’ve got it: like a 9.5 magnitude earthquake, the largest one in history, the one we studied in science. Hmm…maybe that’s over the top, but still, maybe I should warn them?

  “Hey, Team Unicorn!” Mu Mu loudly greeted the girls.

  Elin lowered her sunglasses as if she didn’t recognize them and said, “Oh, hi.”

  Mu Mu laughed and turned to Olivia. “All finished?” she asked.

  “Yup,” replied Olivia, nodding toward the front door. Then, in what she hoped was her nicest voice, she said, “Oh, Kennedy and Elin, there’s no food allowed in here,” and pointed to a sign at the counter.

  “Whatever,” said Elin.

  “Seriously?” Olivia shot back.

  Elin stared at her. Miss Ruth Ann’s head jerked up, and she seemed as if she were about to fly over. Kind of like the way a cannonball flies from a cannon, Olivia thought.

  Olivia held out her hands. “I can put your drinks by the front door for you,” she offered.

  Elin rolled her eyes, but both she and Kennedy gave Olivia their cups.

  “They’re empty!” Olivia said in surprise.

  Elin just smirked.

  Outside, Olivia noticed the litter basket was overflowing, so she tossed the cups in the next one she saw, next to Magic Tresses. And then a great idea hit her. “Mu Mu, it’s still pretty early. Want to come back to my house? We could make brownies before your mom has to get you.”

  “No nuts?” asked Mu Mu, pointing to her braces.

  “No nuts,” laughed Olivia. “Extra chocolate!”

  “I have a new recipe that sounds super. Want to try it? Believe it or not, it has black pepper in it.”

  “Super,” said Olivia.

  Tomorrow after camp, she was going to Dr. Justin’s office herself for her new blue-and-white braces. She decided she might as well start to live without nuts now.

  Chapter 23

  The warm, chocolaty aroma of brownies filled Olivia with joy. What was it like, she asked herself, trying to find a poetic image. Was it like the scent of hyacinths on the first warm spring day? Or maybe, it was like new conditioner she had used that morning, “Sea Salt Spray,” that reminded her of Surfside Beach in Nantucket?

  Mu Mu had picked up on the scent too and stared at the oven with a brightness in her eyes. When the timer went off, Olivia set the baking pan on a rack to cool, but before she could even get out a cake plate, the front doorbell rang. “Be right back,” she promised and rushed to the front entrance, where Sullivan was barking wildly.

  “Now, don’t jump,” Olivia warned him, opening the door.

  Austen was standing there, and behind him on the steps was Ethan. Immediately, Sullivan jumped all over him.

  Wow! What brought these two here? she thought, pulling the dog away.

  “Hey, Olivia, look who came to visit,” said Austen, pointing to the end of the front garden, where Zoe was hovering over Carl, who was busy sniffing the oregano and thyme Olivia’s mom planted last month. Zoe looked so happy and proud.

  “Mu Mu, come here!” yelled Olivia. “You have to see this.”

  Really? thought Mu Mu and reluctantly tore herself away from the brownies and headed outside.

  “Oh!” she gasped when she saw the puppy. Immediately, she plunked down on the walkway and opened her arms. Carl pulled on his leash and scampered over, wagging his tail like they were old BFFs. With a laugh, Mu Mu lifted him up and buried her face in his soft fur, crying over and over, “Carl! Carl!”

  “Guess everyone loves a puppy,” said Zoe, watching with a grin.

  “Hey, do I smell brownies?” Ethan abruptly asked, pointing to the open front door.

  “Oh, right. They’re just out of the oven,” said Olivia. “I’ll get some.”

  Sullivan was so in love with his puppy brother he hadn’t even bothered to pester them for some of the rich, peppery brownies, which dogs can’t have anyway, Olivia explained, because chocolate could be toxic to them.

  But that didn’t stop Ethan and Austen from joining the empty-plate club. Now they were sprawled out on the porch steps. “So, Mu Mu, do you think these Katonah kids can keep up with us at middle school?” Austen asked his old classmate.

  Mu Mu laughed. “No way! Meadowlark is way harder than Village Elementary”

  “Says who?” challenged Ethan.

  From the round table on the porch where she’d been sitting with Carl cuddled on her lap, Zoe watched the back and forth with growing interest. “Oh, so that’s how it is? You guys from different elementary schools compete?”

  “Yep, well, maybe at first. But don’t forget there are all those kids from Titicus Elementary too,” Austen pointed out. “It’s a big middle school, three elementary schools going into one huge sixth grade.”

  “Hey, Ethan, where did you get that skateboard?” Mu Mu suddenly asked. “I like your purple wheels and camo grip tape.”

  “Uh, I made it,” he replied.

  “Wow! Really? Can I take it for a ride?” she asked, pushing back her chair and jumping down the steps.

  For a few moments, Ethan looked as if he were about to say no. But instead, he nodded. “OK.”

  With her right foot on the deck, Mu Mu pushed off and then, crouching down, made the tight turn onto the front sidewalk and zoomed out of sight toward Bedford Road. After a couple of minutes, she sailed back. Without missing a beat, she jumped off in front of Ethan, kicked the board up, and handed it to him.

  “Sweet,” she said. “Thanks.”

  Olivia’s eyes widened. Mu Mu was full of surprises. She thought, We definitely need her in THREADS. She’s not afraid to ask for what she wants.

  “Hey, did I tell you guys that Mu Mu and I taught arts and crafts at Camp Monroe this morning?”

  “Really?” said Zoe. Ethan looked up and Olivia made eye contact with him. “Yep. And Mu Mu is super good at making friendship bracelets,” she continued.

  Mu Mu laughed. “Hey, it was either that or be in Team Unicorn by myself. But it was fun, right, Olivia? We showed the campers how to do simple patterns with two colors, like Olivia’s blue-and-white one,” she said, pointing at Olivia’s bracelet.

  “Cool,” said Ethan and then stood up. He threw his skateboard on the front walk. “Gotta go. See you guys.” Then he pushed off and rolled away.

  Bummer, thought Olivia. Guess Ethan wasn’t going to act on my hint about Mu Mu and the friendship bracelets. She would be lots of fun in THREADS.

  Mu Mu watched him and turned to Olivia. “Was it something I said?” she asked with a laugh.

  “Oh, no,” Olivia hastened to reassure her. “That’s just Ethan and his weird ways.”

  “We should go too, Carl,” said Zoe, picking up her puppy. “Press said not to keep him out too long.”

  “Bye, bye, Carl,” said Mu Mu, giving him a kiss.

  “See you, see you,” Olivia said, waving as the cousins walked away. Fresh from his nap, Carl was yanking his leash every which way.

 
When they disappeared from sight, Mu Mu took a deep breath and said, “Your friends are cool, Olivia.” Then she checked her phone and added, “It’s almost five. My mom will be here any minute. I’ll run inside and get my backpack, OK? We have to pick up my brother from swim practice.”

  Olivia hunkered down on the stoop with Sullivan. When Mu Mu returned, Olivia told her, “I’ll make the color charts tonight.”

  “OK,” Mu Mu said and then glanced down the road, watching for her mother’s SUV. In a very different voice, a serious voice, she added, “Olivia, please don’t mention Zoe’s puppy to my mom, OK?”

  “Zoe’s puppy?” replied Olivia, confused.

  “Please, just don’t mention Carl,” repeated Mu Mu.

  Olivia nodded. “I won’t. Promise. But I don’t get it,” she started saying.

  “A little while ago, Zoe told me that Carl came from Golden’s Bridge. Was the breeder Mrs. Mumford?”

  “Um, yes.”

  Mu Mu blinked and appeared as though she was trying to decide something. Then she faced Olivia and said in a soft voice, “We went there too. Carl was supposed to be ours, but at the last minute…uh, something happened. And Mom was really, really upset. We had gone to visit him every week since he was born.”

  Immediately, Olivia felt terrible. OMG! Mu Mu’s family was the last-minute cancellation Mrs. Mumford mentioned? That’s why Carl jumped all over her like they were BFFs!

  “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I had no idea!” Olivia cried. “That had to be so hard for you. Oh, and Elin and her stupid selfies too!”

  Mu Mu just shook her head, like she was toughing it out. “Look, I don’t want any pity parties. Besides, Mom says there will be other dogs. I just…I just didn’t want you to bring it up ’cause then she’ll feel bad again. So please don’t tell Zoe…or anyone. Oh, here’s Mom now. See you tomorrow!” she said, running toward the car.

  Olivia held on to Sullivan’s collar so he wouldn’t chase after Mu Mu, and then as the car disappeared from sight, she sank down onto the front porch steps. Wrapping her arms around the dog’s big, furry neck, she whispered, “Sully, I am so lucky to have you.”