Promises, Promises

by Annie Bryant

  As she waited for the other BSG, she applied pale pink lip gloss and adjusted her multi-colored knitted cap as Isabel walked toward her.

  “Cool cap,” Isabel said.

  “Thanks!” she said, twirling around for Isabel to see. Katani had knitted the cap herself in alternating stripes of bright violet, in-your-face kelly green, and her signature sunflower yellow. It was the perfect complement to her bright violet hoodie. “Kgirl, that is the coolest yellow,” Isabel enthused, pointing to the bright yellow stripe in Katani’s hat. “It reminds me of the color in Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings,” she added.

  “Yeah, isn’t it awesome? I couldn’t believe it when I found the yarn,” said Katani.

  “You have to teach me to knit sometime. I want to make a bunch of cool scarves this winter. Maybe something in Valencia orange and sage green,” Isabel added, carried away with the colorful vision in her head.

  “No problem. Scarves are easy to knit. I know…I should teach all the BSG how to knit. We could do scarves for Maeve’s shelter. The kids would love it,” exclaimed Katani.

  “Great! We could call ourselves the BSG knitwits!” laughed Isabel.

  Isabel and Katani chatted for a few more minutes about violet and yellow—how it was such an awesome color combination. The other BSG sometimes thought they were a little obsessive about the topic, so Isabel and Katani decided to keep their “colorful conversations” just between the two of them.

  As soon as Maeve and Charlotte joined them, they headed to the top of the bleachers. It was the last round-robin soccer tournament of the season.

  Katani loved to watch Avery play. Avery was the youngest player on the Brookline U-14 team. Today she was playing left midfield, racing up and down the field playing offense and defense. Avery had great soccer instincts, full of endless energy and motion. Even when the ball was on the other side of the field, Avery never stopped cutting to get open or running back to mark the opposing players. Not great at sports herself, Katani enjoyed watching her friend play.

  “Whoa! Did you see that shot on goal?” Charlotte nudged Katani and pointed. Charlotte wished she was on Avery’s team, but played on the U-12 team.

  Katani shook her head. Today, she was having too hard a time concentrating on the game; she was so preoccupied by the upcoming class election. She just couldn’t shake what Kelley had said about the list…“These are Katani things.” But how would Avery feel if she decided to run? Avery could be sooo competitive…

  “OOOhh,” the crowd let out a collective groan, but the Brookline fans and the other BSG were standing and cheering loudly.

  “What happened?” Katani asked, her attention jarred back to the game.

  “Avery just stole the ball from #7 on the red team!” Maeve said. “Wow! If Avery hadn’t gotten there, #7 probably would have scored. Anyone want some hot chocolate from the concession stand?”

  “Yes, please,” answered Charlotte.

  “That sounds good. I’ll help you. Come on, Maeve,” Isabel volunteered. “Want some too, Katani?”

  Katani nodded.

  Isabel and Maeve got up, slid past the fans sitting in the bleachers to their left, and trotted down the bleacher steps.

  As soon as they left, Katani and Charlotte turned their attention back to the game. On the field, the ball sailed toward the sideline and into the crowd of spectators.

  “Char, I need some advice,” Katani said as the players on the field waited for someone to retrieve the ball and throw it in. “About running for class president.”

  There, it was out. That was the first time that Katani had said it out loud. The words rang in her ears and gave her goose bumps. She was both proud and embarrassed at the same time.

  Charlotte didn’t say anything at first, but Katani could tell she was surprised by the idea. Charlotte took her eyes off the field and looked directly at Katani. “But what about Avery?” she asked.

  Katani looked away from Charlotte and watched Avery as she dribbled the ball past midfield and passed it forward to her teammate Amanda Cruz, who was playing left wing. “I’d never run if Avery was running…but since she can’t…”

  Charlotte and Katani both watched intently as Amanda dodged two defenders and took a shot on goal. When the goalie dove for the ball and made a great save, the crowd cheered and jumped to their feet.

  Katani was silent, waiting for Charlotte to answer. “Well?” she finally asked. “What d’ya think?”

  “You’re right. Avery made it clear in her IM that her mom said no way,” Charlotte said.

  “You know I’d never run if Avery was running; I’d never do that to a friend,” Katani repeated. “It’s just that all the things we talked about last night got me thinking about leadership and the class budget. I have so many ideas! And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I could do a good job.”

  This time Charlotte didn’t hesitate. “Katani, you’d be great! You did so well as the manager for the Talent Show. You’re very good with budgets. You’re as organized as Betsy. I think the seventh-grade class would be lucky to have you for class president.”

  “You don’t think Avery will be mad?”

  “Are you kidding?” Charlotte said. “How many times did she say, ‘Maybe someone else will run?’ She’ll be thrilled to have a quality candidate to vote for. To represent the seventh-grade class. To represent her! This way, her voice will be heard, too.”

  They both laughed. There was no way Avery’s voice would ever not be heard.

  Katani took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and smiled for the first time since she started this conversation. She spied Isabel and Maeve weaving in and out of the crowd as they returned, each carrying two cups of hot chocolate.

  “Thanks, Charlotte. You’re the best! Let’s keep this between us, okay? I’ll tell everyone myself tomorrow.” She gave Charlotte a quick hug before turning her attention back to the game, just as Maeve and Isabel returned to their seats.

  Even though Avery’s team was winning, Katani couldn’t wait until it was over so she could go home and e-mail Ms. Rodriguez that she, Katani Ida Summers, was going to run for president of the seventh-grade class. The very thought sent a wave of excitement through her. With the Beacon Street Girls behind her, she knew that she had a good chance—no, a GREAT chance—of making it! Kelley was right. President Katani had a certain ring to it.

  Under the Wire!

  Avery didn’t have a chance to get Coach Graber alone after the game so she didn’t know if he’d gotten her phone message. She’d just e-mail him later. Besides, she was so caught up in the after-game celebration and pizza that she kind of forgot.

  When Avery finally got home, she took a quick shower and went to her room.

  Between the soccer games and the BSG sleepover, her room had become a pit stop. In fact, that was a great way to describe her room—it was a pit. Even though she had two walk-in closets, almost every piece of clothing she had worn in the last week was on the floor. On top of that, all her soccer equipment was piled up—and it wasn’t pretty.

  Her mom used to try and get Avery to clean it up every day, but now all she did was walk by and shake her head. Avery’s clutter made her “neat freak” mom a little uneasy, but Mom and daughter both agreed that if Avery promised to pick up once a week, Mom would ignore “the pit.” The arrangement worked for both of them.

  It was clear that Avery had plenty to clean up today to get ready for the week ahead, but she decided to spend some quality time with her pet snake, Walter, first.

  “Hey Walter,” she said, tapping the glass. Walter was coiled up inside his hide box. She kept the aquarium in her other closet because Carla, the housekeeper, freaked whenever she saw the snake. Avery would gladly have traded Walter for a furry companion if her mom wasn’t so allergic to everything with fur. Watching Maeve’s guinea pigs a few weeks back had been fun, but what she really wanted was to have Marty full-time. Her mother’s allergies made that impossible.

  Still,
Walter had his plusses. Avery loved the way he stuck out his tongue at her. When she picked him up, Walter coiled around her arm and raised his head, his little black tongue going in and out at regular intervals. He was getting ready to shed his skin again. She could tell because his eyes were getting milky.

  Avery wished she could shed some of her own responsibilities, but she didn’t know which ones she would shed. She liked—no, LOVED—doing all those things. She hung her head, wishing there was a magic solution to this dilemma.

  There was a tap at the door, and Avery’s oldest brother, Tim, who was in college, stuck his head in. “I’m going to shove off…back to school. Great game today.”

  “Good night. Oh, and thanks for coming to the game.”

  “Hey! You look like your best friend just died. What’s up?”

  “Nothing. I mean, nothing that I can do anything about.”

  “Talk to me, kid,” Tim said, coming in the door, and picking up a Nerf ball off the floor. Pushing a pile of clothes out of the way with his foot, he sat down on the floor next to Avery.

  “How’s the snake doing?” Tim asked, tossing the Nerf at Avery’s head.

  “Better watch out, I’ll sic Walter on you.”

  Tim grimaced. He was not a big fan of snakes. Neither was her other brother Scott.

  “So what’s going on, shorty? You look kind of glum,” Tim continued.

  “Seventh-grade class elections…I want to run for class president, but…”

  “Go for it! You’ve always been interested in stuff like that.”

  “That’s just it. I want to run, but Mom says I can’t. She doesn’t want me to get ‘overextended.’”

  “Got a lot going on?”

  “Basketball, soccer, and the soccer club fund-raiser. I told Coach Graber I’d be in charge of it.”

  “Whoa! What are you—the Energizer Bunny? It’s no wonder she said chill!”

  “But she said I could run if I gave up something else. The problem is I don’t want to give up anything else. Well, I’d give up the fundraising thing but…I promised Coach G. I’d rather give up schoolwork.”

  Tim laughed. “That’ll work. I can see Mom really going for that!”

  “Yeah…I know.”

  “So no President Madden!”

  “I guess not.”

  “Tough break, kid. And I think you had it in you,” Tim said, tousling her hair, careful to avoid contact with Walter. “Well, gotta go. Maybe next year for President Avery.”

  As he got up to leave, Tim bounced the Nerf ball off her head.

  Avery put Walter back in his aquarium and made sure the wire cover was securely in place. Then she checked on her other pet, the Frogster, who was sitting on his rock staring into space. The Frogster was into relaxation. Or as her friend Nikki liked to say, he was “chillaxing.”

  Suddenly, Avery felt really tired. It had been such a busy weekend. Maybe she would go to bed early, and clean up in the morning. She grabbed her favorite pjs and got ready for bed.

  The lights had been out for a half hour before she shot up and turned her computer back on. She couldn’t sleep. All she could think about was running for class president. Why had she forgotten to talk to Coach G after the game? She decided to make a last-ditch effort to ask Coach exactly how much time the soccer club fund-raiser would take. Maybe it wasn’t as much as she thought. She sent him an e-mail asking how much time was involved and exactly when he would need her. With that out of the way, she was finally able to fall asleep.

  As soon as she woke up, Avery rushed to her computer to see if Coach Graber had responded. She clicked on the newest e-mail in her inbox.

  To: 4kicks

  From: Coach Graber

  Subject: Soccer Club Fund-raiser

  Avery—

  Glad you e-mailed. I’ve been meaning to call you for days and forgot to talk to you after the game yesterday. I have a big project at work so we’re going to have to postpone the soccer fund-raiser until late spring. Hope that works for you. I’ll keep you posted.

  Coach G.

  “Yes!” Avery cheered as she raised both arms in the air. Ms. R had said to e-mail her before class on Monday, hadn’t she? Immediately, Avery tapped out an e-mail. She could barely contain her excitement. After their talk the other night, she knew she could count on her friends to support her. At least she knew she had four votes. That was a great start.

  CHAPTER 3

  And The Race Begins

  Your style of one-frame cartoons is perfect for the layout of the paper,” Jennifer Robinson, editor-in-chief of the Abigail Adams Junior High School newspaper, said to Isabel when she called her at home. “We want something edgy that reflects current issues at school. Are you up for that?”

  Isabel, of course, had said yes—who wouldn’t want to be on the staff of The Sentinel?! But Isabel had tossed and turned all night, wondering if she’d be able to follow through. What if she couldn’t do it? She loved drawing cartoons, but usually hers featured cute little birds and what she thought of as “everyday kid smarts.” What if she couldn’t come up with “edgy”? Edgy was for kids like Anna and Joline. She was more…cute.

  Jennifer’s words echoed in Isabel’s head as she got dressed this morning. “Something edgy that reflects current issues at school.” Isabel wanted to do this, but felt like she needed advice to get started on the right foot.

  When she told her mother about being asked to draw cartoons for the paper, her mother had been excited and proud of her. Isabel didn’t want her to see that she was nervous about whether she could be edgy. Plus, edgy to a mother meant a belly shirt!

  “Wait up!” Isabel called out when she caught sight of Charlotte’s vintage denim jacket halfway down the hall. Charlotte didn’t hear her and continued on. Isabel ran after her weaving in and out of the students in the seventh-grade hall.

  “Charlotte!” she called again. Charlotte turned and stopped when she saw Isabel. “Charlotte, I’m so glad I caught up with you. I desperately need your advice. I got a call from Jennifer last night. She wants me to be on The Sentinel…as the official cartoonist. I’m so excited…but, I don’t know if I can do it. I’m so nervous…cartoons on demand…edgy cartoons on demand…maybe it’s too hard.”

  “Oh, Isabel, you can do it!” Charlotte said as she hugged her. “Your cartoons are so awesome! I wish I could draw like you. My doodles are almost as bad as Avery’s.”

  “No way, Charlotte. Your drawings are good. They’re like the kind you see in travel books.”

  “Thanks, Isabel. I feel flattered hearing that from such a great artist as yourself,” Charlotte grinned as Isabel gave her a playful punch on the arm.

  “I am so glad you recognize genius,” Isabel added in a snobby accent.

  Charlotte and Isabel continued to walk slowly down the hall, their classmates hurrying past them on either side. “But, seriously, Charlotte, I was up all night trying to think of ideas. Cartoon ideas come so easy to me when I don’t have to think of any. Now that I know I need two cartoons by the end of the next week, I’m completely and totally blank. It’s like I can’t think of anything.”

  They had stopped at Charlotte’s locker, and she was busily working her combination. Charlotte paused. She wanted to say something encouraging to Isabel who was sounding really nervous.

  “I think the best thing to do, Isabel, is to listen to what everyone’s talking about,” Charlotte said as she jerked her locker door open. “Maybe it will spark some ideas.”

  “Okay, I can do that,” Isabel answered, leaning back against the locker next to Charlotte’s.

  She closed her eyes for a moment and focused on the hall talk around her. Isabel trusted Charlotte. Charlotte understood things that other people didn’t. Maybe, thought Isabel, it was because her friend was really smart and had been all over the world.

  Charlotte hung up her jacket and took out her books for her morning classes while Isabel tuned in to snatches of conversations as kids passed in the hall. As s
oon as she was finished in her locker, Charlotte slammed her locker door and leaned back to join Isabel in eavesdropping.

  “…Dillon as president…”

  “…class president…”

  “…Betsy Fitzgerald is running for treasurer.”

  “…would make a great secretary…”

  “What’s that?” Charlotte asked, pointing to the neon green sticker on Josh Trentini’s shirt.

  Four more classmates passed wearing the green stickers somewhere on their shirts. Isabel stopped the next person wearing one, who happened to be Josh’s identical twin, Billy. “What’s your sticker say?”

  Charlotte and Isabel both stared at the sticker on his collar.

  “Yurt Alert?” Charlotte and Isabel asked at the same time.

  “Yeah, Henry Yurt is running for class president,” Billy Trentini said before he continued down the hall.

  “Hmmm. I think I see a theme. Class elections?” Isabel asked.

  “I think you have a winner with Henry Yurt,” said Charlotte. “The Yurtmeister should make for some very interesting cartoons.”

  Charlotte, Isabel, Katani, and Maeve arrived at homeroom simultaneously, just as the bell rang. Avery was already in her seat and smiling. Isabel figured yesterday’s victory had soothed Avery’s disappointment over not being able to run for class president.

  “Let’s take our seats,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “We have a lot to go over this morning.”

  Ms. R usually kept homeroom relaxed and easygoing. On Mondays, she often gave the students a chance to talk about what had happened over the weekend. But not today. Today, she asked them all to take their assignment books out. Quickly, she went over a whole list of upcoming events at school, ending with a reminder that the slate for the upcoming election would be posted on the main bulletin board at the end of the school day.

  “I’m pleased to say we have a full slate of candidates. I’m looking forward to an exciting campaign,” she said as the bell rang. “Don’t forget to turn in your book reports,” she reminded them all.