Isa felt a pull on her arm and looked down. Laney was pointing to her frothing mouth, toothpaste bubbles spilling out both sides.
“Oh my gosh,” Isa said around her own mouthful of toothpaste. “Yes, go ahead and spit. You’re done.”
Isa waited for Laney to spit and rinse her toothbrush, then did the same.
“Double piggyback to the kitchen?” Laney asked, flashing her a beseeching grin.
Isa looked down at her little sister and smiled. “Of course.”
Laney squealed with excitement, picked up Tuxedo, and wrapped the cat around her neck. Then Isa leaned down so Laney could hop onto her back. Together they went down the stairs, Laney making cat chirping sounds and Tuxedo purring loudly, following the smell of coffee brewing and whole-wheat apple-cranberry muffins baking. And for one moment Isa’s heart grew lighter; she was glad that no matter how weird things got at school and with Benny, she could count on home and her family, always.
* * *
Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney headed to school that morning with Orlando and Isa. Isa offered to bring them by herself, but Orlando insisted on coming along. He had things to discuss with Hyacinth.
Isa watched as Oliver hitched his backpack higher on his shoulders and dribbled his basketball down the sidewalk, expertly navigating it around the uneven cracks.
“You’re going to talk to Coach Mendoza, right?” Oliver said to Orlando. “He can help you get on the Harlem Jets.”
“I’m already pretty busy with cross-country,” Orlando said. “I don’t know if I can do football too.
“But you love football,” Oliver said, bouncing the basketball off the lid of a trash can on the curb, then catching it.
“I do love it,” Orlando said. “But I’m committed to my cross-country team, and I told Mr. B I would help him train for the marathon.”
Oliver frowned. “If you were in Georgia, you’d be on the football team.”
“Yeah,” Orlando agreed. “But I’m not in Georgia.”
“I already told Coach Mendoza that you would talk to him, though,” Oliver said.
Orlando sighed and looked at his watch. “I don’t have time this morning. I’ve got science club right after I drop you off.”
Oliver frowned and jogged to catch up with Laney and Hyacinth.
Isa sidled next to Orlando. “You feeling okay?”
“I haven’t been sleeping so great,” Orlando admitted.
“You’ve got a lot going on,” Isa said. “I know you have Miss Josie to talk to, but remember, Jessie and I are great listeners.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Orlando said. “I’ve been talking to both Miss Josie and Mr. Beiderman.”
“We’re here if you need us,” Isa said.
Isa felt Orlando’s eyes on her.
“You don’t look like you slept well either.”
Isa smoothed her hair. “Yeah. Hey, are you going to homecoming?”
Orlando shook his head. “I don’t like dances.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not my thing,” Orlando said. “But you’re going, right? Don’t you go to all the dances with Benny?”
Isa paused. “I think he wants to go with someone different this time.”
Orlando frowned. “I don’t know Benny that well, but that doesn’t sound right. Maybe you should talk to him.”
Isa breathed out. “That’s a good idea. Thanks.” She looked ahead to where Laney was running to catch up to a large garbage truck rolling down the street.
“Mr. Mark!” Laney yelled. The truck squealed to a stop, and Mr. Mark, who worked for the city sanitation department, hopped off the back.
“Hey, Laney!” Mr. Mark called out. “I’ve got a riddle for you. What starts with the letter ‘T,’ is filled with ‘T,’ and ends with ‘T’?”
“Oh, I know!” Laney exclaimed. “Um, it’s toot. Or a tart. No, that’s not right. Filled with ‘T’? What doess that mean?”
“Give up?” Mr. Mark asked.
“Nope,” Laney said, and looked to her siblings for help.
“It’s a teapot,” Hyacinth whispered.
“Hyacinth knows!” Laney announced, tugging on her arm. “Hyacinth, tell him.”
Hyacinth didn’t say a word.
“Hyacinth, it’s just Mr. Mark,” Orlando said. “You can talk to him. Consider this practice.”
Hyacinth shook her head again.
“You can do it,” Isa said.
Hyacinth looked up briefly, then blurted out, “I like your shoes!”
There was brief silence as everyone glanced at Mr. Mark’s scuffed sneakers; then Mr. Mark smiled at Hyacinth. “Thanks! These are good shoes!”
“The answer is a teapot!” Laney called out. “Hyacinth figured it out.”
Mr. Mark laughed. “I can never trick Hyacinth.” He hopped back onto the garbage truck and hit the side of the hopper to signal to the driver that he was ready to roll. “Have a great day!” he called as the truck roared down the street.
Orlando looked at Hyacinth and put his hand on her shoulder. “That was . . . great.”
Isa nodded. “Good job, Hyacinth.”
“I like how you complimented his shoes,” Laney added.
Oliver didn’t say a word.
“It was terrible!” Hyacinth said, covering her face with her hands.
“You just need practice,” Orlando assured her. “Here’s an assignment for you: at school this morning, I want you to ask someone three questions about themselves. People love talking about themselves.”
“That is true,” Laney said with an air of expertise.
Hyacinth shook her head. “No, thank you.”
“How about we barter,” Orlando suggested. “If you do it, I’ll do something for you. Hey, you can teach me how to knit!”
Oliver made a face. “Honestly, Orlando, I think you’re giving up too much.”
Hyacinth looked at Orlando. “I’ll try your plan for now, but in return, you have to stay in Harlem forever.
“Yay!” Laney cheered.
Oliver whistled. “Master negotiator right there!”
Orlando ran his hand over his head and stopped at the entrance to the elementary school. “I can’t make those types of promises, Hyacinth. I wish I could say for sure what I’ll do, but I can’t.”
“Okay, then you’ll have to promise to strongly consider staying here,” Hyacinth said.
Orlando gave her a small smile. “I promise to strongly consider staying here.”
Hyacinth stuck out her right hand and Orlando shook it. Then Hyacinth stood up tall, grabbed Laney’s hand, and marched into school.
Fourteen
After Hyacinth dropped off Laney, she headed to the cafeteria. The third-grade tables were empty, but a bunch of people were getting breakfast. Hyacinth sat down and resisted the urge to pull out a book.
She drummed her fingers against the tabletop, waiting for someone else to sit down, hoping she didn’t look as scared as she felt. A few minutes later, a whole group of her classmates—including Maria—headed in her direction, and Hyacinth swallowed the panic that filled her throat. She crossed her fingers under the table, hoping that Maria would take a seat next to her.
“Hi,” Hyacinth said as they sat down at her table, Maria taking the seat the farthest away from her.
No one responded, and Hyacinth wasn’t sure if that was because no one could hear her or because they didn’t want to talk to her. She inched her way along the bench to get closer to them. It sounded as if they were arguing about the results of the soccer game at recess the day before.
“You only won because you cheated,” Marcos said to Eliza.
“We didn’t cheat!” Eliza said. “There’s no rule against meowing like a kitten to distract your opponents!”
“It was weird,” Maria said, taking a spoonful of her cereal. “You confused us.”
“That was the point,” Eliza said.
Marcos was closest to Hyacinth, and even though he was
n’t Hyacinth’s first choice of a person to talk to, due to his argumentative nature, she remembered her promise to Orlando. She took a deep breath and said, “Why do you eat breakfast here instead of at home?”
“Your whole team was making illegal moves,” Marcos said to Eliza.
“Yeah,” agreed Andrew. “You also grabbed my arm when I had the ball. You’re not supposed to do that.”
Hyacinth coughed and leaned forward in hopes of attracting Marcos’s attention. “Um, do you always eat your cereal without milk?”
“I call a rematch! Today, at recess!” Eliza announced.
“Yes! Rematch!” the rest of the kids chanted. “Rematch! Rematch!”
Hyacinth drooped in her seat. She had promised Orlando she was going to ask three questions, but Maria was all the way at the other end of the table, and she was the only person Hyacinth really wanted to talk to. So instead she whispered her last question so quietly that even she couldn’t hear it against the roar of her classmates’ chanting.
“Maria, do you want to be my friend?”
* * *
When Isa arrived at school that morning, she beelined to her locker. Sometimes Benny met her there before class, but today he was nowhere to be seen. Isa sighed, then spun the dial on her combination lock. After changing her books out, she checked her phone to see if anyone had responded to the dog-walking posters.
“What’s up?” Allegra said, coming up behind her.
“Just checking to see if anyone wrote to us about dog walking.”
“Don’t be stressed if no one has responded yet,” Allegra said. “It takes time to build a client base. I should know. Remember my nail-painting business? I’d be a millionaire by now if Principal Reynolds hadn’t shut it down.”
“Hold up,” Isa said, showing Allegra her phone. “Check out all these responses!”
Allegra squealed. “How many are there?”
“Thirty-two!”
“Holy smokes!” Allegra said. “Okay, here’s what you do. First, ask them to come by the cat café this afternoon. Second, make sure Orlando is there, because once they meet him they’ll totally want him to walk their dogs. Third, figure out a schedule and rates. Fourth, make all clients sign a contract.”
“Wow, okay,” Isa said, impressed by her friend’s business savvy. “We don’t have a contract, though.”
“I’ll make one at lunch,” Allegra said. “Easy.”
Isa typed out an email, blind copied all the people who had contacted her, and pressed send. “I hope people show up. If this works out, Orlando will be rich!”
Isa said goodbye to Allegra—they had different classes for first period—then spent the rest of morning trying not to think about Benny. It was Tuesday, so they had biology together after lunch. When she got to class, Isa sat at their usual lab table, one eye trained on the door. Ms. Brown was passing out the tests when Benny rushed in, flashing Isa a smile as he slid onto the stool next to her. She tried to smile back, but it felt more like a grimace. Benny didn’t seem to notice. He had already pulled a pen out and started on his test.
Isa, on the other hand, had a hard time concentrating. She kept wanting to glance at Benny, but she didn’t want Ms. Brown to think she was trying to cheat. The sheer amount of concentration it took to keep from looking over made her take a lot longer than usual to complete the test. Benny, however, was done twenty minutes before class was over and got permission to go to study hall for the rest of the period, while Isa had to rush through the last two pages to finish before the bell.
Benny was nowhere to be seen for the rest of the day, which simultaneously relieved and annoyed Isa. She knew she should talk to him about the dance, but at the same time, she thought it would be awkward. By the time the final bell rang, she was exhausted.
“What’s wrong?” Jessie asked when she met Isa at her locker.
“Nothing,” Isa said.
“Hey, ladies,” Allegra said, running up to them and slinging one arm around each twin’s shoulder. “Isa, what’s with the sad face? This isn’t about Benjamin, is it?”
“What happened with Benjamin?” Jessie asked.
“Isa caught him hanging out with another girl yesterday when he was supposed to be working,” Allegra said in a conspiratorial whisper.
“So?” Jessie said with a shrug.
“So?” Allegra repeated, annoyed. “He only has eyes for Isa!”
Jessie shook her head. “Benjamin and Isa are best friends. It’s not mushy romantic stuff.”
“That’s what I told her,” Isa said quickly. “It’s not a big deal.”
Isa felt the penetrative gaze of her twin bore into her, and she occupied herself by flipping through the books in her locker.
Allegra spoke up. “Jessie, think about how it would feel if Orlando started hanging out with other girls.”
Jessie stared back at Allegra. “It would feel . . . totally fine? Wait, was that a trick question?”
“All right, how about this: Are you going to homecoming?” Allegra asked.
“Homecoming? No,” Jessie said with a shiver. “Blech.”
Allegra tilted her head. “What are you going to do instead?”
“Work on my science fair project with Orlando.”
“Ha!” Allegra said, raising her arms above her head as if she had won a critical debate. “You two are totally a couple.”
“We’re a couple because we’re doing a science project together?” Jessie asked. “That makes no sense.”
Isa closed her locker. Her bad mood had just turned from a light drizzle to storm clouds. Because the thing was, she had never thought of Benny as her boyfriend. So why couldn’t she stop thinking about that girl he was hanging out with?
Fifteen
On Tuesdays, the only day no one had an after-school activity or meeting, the Vanderbeekers went to the cat café. It was nice to hang out in the warm café, spend time with the cats, and do homework with a pile of warm cookies fresh from the oven.
Jessie found herself still irritated by her earlier conversation with Isa and Allegra. Why hadn’t Isa mentioned she was having some kind of issue with Benjamin before? Was it because Isa didn’t think Jessie would understand?
Did Jessie not understand things? Was that why Orlando had never told her about his mom and their living situation? Jessie always told Isa and Orlando everything that was bothering her. She started to question why her two best friends were keeping things from her.
As Jessie, Isa, and Allegra approached the café, they were greeted by a sight never before seen on that block. Crowded in front of the cat café were dozens of dogs. Dogs that towered over the fire hydrants, dogs the size of squirrels, yippy dogs, and silent dogs. Some had curly fur and some had straight hair so long that it brushed the ground; some had long, pointy faces while others had square, squashed faces. A few wore bandanas tied jauntily around their necks, while others sported studded collars.
“What the heck?” Jessie asked.
As they drew nearer, they saw Orlando, Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney staring from behind the safety of the café window.
“Are you all here for the dog-walking services?” Allegra asked the crowd.
“We’re looking for some guy named Orlando,” a man said, pulling out his cell phone. “The email said there’s a highly experienced and responsible dog walker named Orlando.”
Allegra pushed her way to the bakery window and gestured for Orlando to come out. His brow creased in confusion, but he made his way to the door, followed by Hyacinth, Oliver, and Laney.
“Folks, here he is!” Allegra announced when Orlando stepped out onto the sidewalk. “The best dog walker in New York City!”
Orlando was immediately mobbed by dog owners asking him his hours and rates. Hyacinth, Oliver, and Laney were shoved to the side in the rush.
“I’m sorry,” Orlando said over the noise. “What’s going on?”
“We’re responding to the posters for dog-walking services,” said a woman with two
chubby dachshunds. “I need someone responsible to walk Fluffy and Petunia four times a day while I’m at work, and since I was the first one here, I should get priority. But before I sign up, I need you to take my dogs on a test walk so I can see if you have what it takes. If they don’t respect you, they’ll start doing stuff they’re not supposed to do.”
“Like what?” Laney asked, intrigued.
“Eat trash, chase bicycles, roll around in puddle water.” The woman put her hands on her knees and bent down to her dogs. Her voice rose two octaves. “Right, sweetie tum-tums? Right, honey buns? Aren’t you my good girls?”
The dachshunds blinked at her, then heaved identical sighs and lay down on the sidewalk, putting their heads on their paws.
“Orlando is very good with all types of dogs,” Allegra said. “Why don’t we discuss his rates?”
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Orlando interjected.
A man wearing basketball shorts, a Superman T-shirt, and flip-flops pushed to the front. “I need someone to walk Frodo of the Shire”—he put his hand on the head of the enormous Great Dane sitting next to him—“around one o’clock every weekday. What do you charge for a sixty-minute walk?”
Orlando peered at the poster the man was holding, then over the heads of the dog owners to seek out Jessie, Isa, and Allegra.
“I had nothing to do with it,” Jessie called, arms raised in innocence.
Allegra beamed at Orlando. “You’re going to be rich!”
Orlando closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he looked at the crowd and said, “I’m so sorry you all wasted your time. Your dogs look, uh, charming, but my schedule is full at the moment. We’ll contact you if spots open up.”
“How did your schedule fill so quickly?” Fluffy and Petunia’s owner complained. “I took a half day off from work to be here!”
“I’m sorry you wasted your time,” Orlando said again. “Good luck with your dog-walking needs.”
The crowd grumbled, but when they realized that Orlando was serious and there was no chance of hiring him to walk their dogs, they eventually dispersed.
The Vanderbeekers Lost and Found Page 8