by Annie Bryant
Katani shook her head. Before she could say anything else, Anna and Joline walked up.
“Well, I see there are more posters missing today,” Anna said. “Are any of yours missing, Katani?” She made it sound like she not only knew that none of Katani’s posters were missing, but that she also knew why.
Katani shook her head. “But mine are right next to classroom doors,” she explained. “Maybe whoever is taking them is afraid there might be a teacher in the classroom.”
Anna rolled her eyes and looked at Joline. They exchanged a look that said, “No one believes THAT!”
“How long did it take you to think up that one, Katani?” Anna asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, it’s pretty suspicious, girls. Pretty suspicious.” And with that, Anna breezed past Katani and into the classroom.
Before anyone could say anything, the bell rang, and they rushed inside to their seats. As Katani took hers, she couldn’t help wondering if Kelley had been alone in the seventh-grade hall this morning. Oh, please, she thought, don’t let it be Kelley doing this!
As Ms. Rodriguez took attendance, Avery stared at the back of Anna’s head. If only she was one of the characters in a cartoon that had laser eyes so she could bore a hole into Anna’s pea brain. Anna made it seem like Katani was taking down posters. Even though Katani was her competitor, Avery thought it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard in her whole life! Katani Summers would never do something like that.
Besides, if Katani was going to stoop low enough to take posters down, she wouldn’t waste time with Dillon or Henry. Avery was sure that Katani would take her posters down before she’d take down Dillon’s or Henry’s. “I’m her main competition,” Avery said under her breath. Besides, Katani was probably one of the few people in the seventh-grade class tall enough to take Avery’s posters down without a chair. Obviously, it couldn’t be Katani!
As soon as she’d decided that Katani was NOT the one, another thought crept into Avery’s brain. Did that mean that whoever was taking posters down wasn’t taking her seriously? Didn’t the others consider her the leader in the campaign? The one to beat? She suddenly felt sick inside.
“Could I have your attention?” Ms. R said, interrupting Avery’s thoughts. “As faculty advisors for the seventh-grade student elections, Mr. Danson and I have decided to teach you more about the democratic process by holding debates next week. To help students start formulating debate questions for particular candidates, each candidate will make a short five-minute speech at an assembly on Friday.”
A low murmuring rippled around the room. Pete Wexler shouted out, “One in a Million!” Dillon raised his hand in acknowledgment. A few kids clapped.
“Let’s save the campaigning for Friday, shall we?” Ms. R told Pete as she gave him the look.
Avery wished someone had shouted something out about her. She missed having her own cheering section.
“Before we begin,” Ms. Rodriguez said, “I have something to say. I don’t know who is taking down the posters, but I will say this to you all: it’s not right or fair.” There was dead silence in the classroom. Ms. Rodriguez looked around the classroom challenging everyone to think about what she had just said.
Then she continued. “Since I seem to have a handful of candidates in this class…are there any comments from the candidates?” They all looked around at each other. “If you think of something later, don’t hesitate to tell me,” Ms. Rodriguez said.
Avery wrote in giant red letters on the cover of her notebook: Speech. Friday. Assembly! 5 min.
Avery caught Katani looking over at her. Katani shook her head. Katani was writing the dates in her assignment book. Avery didn’t understand why other people liked assignment books so much. They only worked when you had them with you and you looked at them constantly. Random was fine with Avery, because once she wrote something down she never forgot it. Random was a system that worked very well for her.
“Now…for the rest of you, as your classmates are preparing for the speech and debate, you should also be preparing, thinking of what you want to ask the candidates,” said Ms. Rodriguez.
As Ms. R went on about what sorts of questions would be appropriate for a town hall debate, Avery couldn’t help visualizing how the debates would go. She could see herself being able to answer any question—batting them like perfectly hit baseballs into the crowd. She’d wow them. This was a great opportunity for Avery to show her stuff. So far, Dillon was treating the campaign like a popularity contest, Henry as a stage to tell jokes, and Katani as an art project.
Avery was sure that the debates would help her classmates see that she, Avery Madden, was the only true choice for class president. Yes, the debates and speech would finally give her the opportunity to shine.
Good thing she had been the first one to ask Charlotte for help on the speech! She didn’t want to go through again what had happened yesterday when she and Katani had tried to share the Tower. That didn’t make any sense! How did Charlotte think that would work? It was like two opposing teams trying to share the same locker room. From now on, she was going to use her first walk-in closet as campaign headquarters. She was sure Walter wouldn’t mind.
Picture Perfect
“Help!” Maeve called out to Isabel in a stage whisper as she came into the school library during study hall. “I’m so glad to find you here,” Maeve said, sitting down next to Isabel at the library table.
Isabel had her sketchpad open and was working on a cartoon.
“I need help! Isabel, do you think you could spare a minute, or are you in the middle of something?”
“I’m trying to get the cartoons for the next issue of The Sentinel. I don’t have much time…or any ideas,” Isabel said.
“Why don’t you do the cute little birds? I love your birds!”
“Jennifer wants something edgy. She was thinking something about the election would be a good subject. But I’m having a hard time coming up with ideas for political cartoons. I think I’m better with birds.”
“What have you come up with so far?”
“A big fat zero! Well, that’s not exactly true. I’ve come up with some bird ideas.” Isabel showed Maeve her latest bird creation.
“I love it. Love it!” Maeve said.
“Thanks. What did you need help with?” Isabel asked.
“Oh, the ‘My Pet Looks Perfect in Pink’ Contest,” Maeve said, shoving the flyer from Think Pink! in front of Isabel.
“What a cute idea!” Isabel said.
“The deadline’s coming up pretty soon, and I have to have a costume. I was hoping Katani could sew something. I know she’s busy, but maybe if I had the idea of what it should look like and bought the materials, it would be easier for her to put together. I have a few ideas…I just can’t quite sketch them out.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to help,” Isabel said.
Maeve rattled off her list of ideas. As Isabel drew Maeve’s ideas, Maeve pulled out her laptop and made a list of her own.
* * *
Maeve’s Notes to Self
Go through closet and pull out anything pink that would work for a costume.
Ask Charlotte, Isabel, and Katani to do the same.
Don’t ask Avery—there are no teams with pink as a team color.
Talk Mom into taking me to the fabric store ASAP!
Send “chill” cards to Avery & Katani—JK
* * *
CHAPTER 10
Speech, Speech!
As soon as Ms. Rodriguez announced that the candidates’ introductory speeches would be this Friday and the debate would be the following Friday, Charlotte sprung into action. She knew exactly what was going to happen, and she knew she had to be the one to make sure that what had happened yesterday in the Tower wouldn’t happen again. Instead of waiting for Katani and Avery to come to her, she approached each of them before lunch.
Charlotte saw Katani first. “Wanna work on your speec
h right after school?” Charlotte asked. Luckily, she did.
She caught Avery just before social studies. Figuring that Avery would have basketball practice after school, she asked if she could meet her later in the evening. “Would you mind meeting in the Tower after basketball practice? You could join us for dinner?” She had hoped that two hours between meetings would be enough of a buffer.
Katani and Charlotte walked home from school together. After going over the major points of Katani’s campaign, they pieced together a five-minute speech. Katani practiced the beginning. Charlotte admired her poise. The way she stood tall and confident said as much about her capability as the words Charlotte had helped Katani put together.
As Katani went through the speech, Charlotte glanced at her watch. It was getting very close to the time that Avery was supposed to arrive.
“When will you girls be ready for dinner?” Mr. Ramsey called up the ladder steps.
“I don’t know if I can stay for dinner,” Katani said. “I’ll call home and see.”
Charlotte scrambled down the ladder-steps. “Not Katani, Dad. Avery,” Charlotte whispered.
“Oh, sorry,” Mr. Ramsey apologized.
Charlotte nodded and rolled her eyes. Sometimes dads were so clueless!
“Thanks for inviting me for dinner,” Katani said as she climbed down from the Tower, “but my grandma is already on her way to pick me up.”
Charlotte shot her father a look to make sure he didn’t say something stupid like, “We have plenty and your grandmother can stay too.” She turned back to Katani. “We better go clean up,” she said, climbing back up to the Tower.
“Charlotte, what’s this?” Katani pointed to a new quote on her bulletin board.
“Oh, it’s for my social studies report. I picked Abigail Adams because I didn’t know much about her! I didn’t really have a lot of American history in school overseas. She was a pretty cool lady.”
“‘We have too many high sounding words and too few actions that correspond with them,’” Katani read out loud. “That’s a really cool quote, Char.”
“Isn’t it? You know I got the idea for putting my favorite quotes up on a wall from your grandmother…on the first day of school.”
Just then, Mr. Ramsey called up the ladder that Mrs. Fields had arrived, and they heard a beep beep coming from the big, blue Buick in the driveway.
“Thanks for helping me out. I think I’ll be able to piece together a great speech from what we talked about,” Katani said.
The two scampered down the ladder stairs from the Tower, down the stairs to the first floor, and out the heavy front door. Charlotte stood on the porch and waved as Mrs. Fields backed out of the driveway. No sooner had the tail-lights of Mrs. Fields’ car disappeared around the corner, then Mrs. Madden’s white Navigator pulled to a stop in front of the house.
Avery popped out of the SUV. “Thanks, Mom. You can pick me up at nine,” she shouted to her mother before slamming the door.
“You didn’t have to wait for me on the porch!” Avery said to Charlotte as she jogged up the porch steps.
As Avery climbed the stairs, the smell of food cooking got more and more intense. “Mmm! Can we eat first?” Avery asked.
Avery was glad that Charlotte said yes because she was starved!
“Dinner will be ready in about five minutes,” Mr. Ramsey called from the kitchen.
Five minutes! Avery didn’t know if she could wait. “Where’s girl’s best friend?” she shouted. At the sound of her voice, Marty ran out of Charlotte’s room as fast as his little legs could carry him with Happy Lucky Thingy, his favorite toy, dangling from his mouth.
Avery and Marty played a fast-paced game of chase around the couch several times. When Avery collapsed to the floor and flipped onto her back, Marty pounced on her chest, dropped Happy Lucky Thingy, and then began furiously licking her face. Lifting him into the air, the “little dude” twisted and wiggled until Avery turned him loose.
“Dinner, girls,” Mr. Ramsey called.
Marty yapped excitedly.
“Sorry, pal, you’ll have to wait for your dog chow.”
“Mmmmm. Smells good! What’s for dinner?” Avery asked.
“This is Charlotte’s favorite. Croquettes.”
“Croquette? Do I have to eat them with a mallet?” Avery laughed at her own joke.
Mr. Ramsey smiled. “No, this is our most favorite French dish.”
The croquettes were scrumptious. They were ground meat surrounded by a crisp breading and were served with a yummy sauce. Delicious! By the time Avery finished her second, she was stuffed. When she leaned back in her chair, a burp bubbled to the surface.
“Oops. I mean, excuse me,” Avery said, blushing.
“That’s okay. In some cultures, a burp after a meal is the greatest compliment you can give the chef. In fact, the chef is insulted if you don’t burp,” Mr. Ramsey said with a smile.
Charlotte gave her dad a pained look and started clearing the table.
“No, I’ll take care of the dishes tonight. You two have lots to do.” He smiled at his daughter.
As soon as they were up in the Tower, Avery went over all her ideas. Charlotte listened patiently as Avery listed all the things she wanted to include in her speech.
“My father said the most important thing is to start strong and end strong,” Charlotte said. “People tend to forget what’s in the middle.”
They debated which two points were the strongest and then worked to fill in the middle of Avery’s speech. Charlotte wrote down the important points. While she was thinking out loud, Avery wandered around the Tower.
“What’s this?” Avery asked, picking up a knit hat from the floor.
“Oh, Katani must have left her hat here,” Charlotte said.
At first, Avery figured Katani had left the hat there yesterday. Then she remembered seeing Katani wearing her bright hat today.
“Katani was here today?”
“Well, this afternoon…”
“Katani was here this afternoon?”
Avery started looking around to see if there were other things left behind.
“So you know her speech?”
“Well, not word for word. I just helped her decide on key statements and helped her organize her ideas.”
“But that’s what you’re doing for me!”
“Well, yes…”
“Is my speech better than her speech?”
“Well…”
“It’s not as good? What do I have to do to make it better?”
“It’s not worse.”
“But it’s not better? Is that what you’re saying?”
“I’m not saying anything. I don’t want to compare. One is not better than the other, they’re just…different.”
“But the whole purpose of the speeches is for the students to compare the candidates. So, since you’ve already heard both speeches…”
“Please can we just talk about the speech? YOUR speech? You are getting too obsessed with all of this.”
Avery sat quietly looking out the window at the spot where the lights of Brookline blended into the lights of Boston. “This is new,” she said, pointing to the Abigail Adams quote.
“Yes. I’m doing my report for social studies on Abigail Adams. I found out so many interesting things. Did you know Abigail Adams tried to convince her husband that women should have the right to vote over 100 years before it became law?”
“Abigail Adams rocked,” Avery said.
“It’s so cool that our school was named for her,” Charlotte said. “I really like this quote.”
“It IS cool.” Avery read the quote again, just as she heard her mom beep from the driveway below. She gathered her things together, bent down, and let Marty give her one last slurp before she trotted down the stairs and out the front door.
“Thanks, Charlotte! See you tomorrow,” she called back to Charlotte, who was waving to her from the porch.
“Good luck on you
r speech,” Charlotte called after her.
Why did she say that? Avery thought, as her mom backed down the driveway. Avery wondered if her speech was good enough. Maybe it needed a stronger ending, something that would really wow them. Avery really liked that quote she had on the wall from Abigail Adams. The more she thought of it, the more she thought that ending with the Abigail quote would be great. Besides, it would be different, and the school was named after her.
Avery jumped in the car and gave her mother a big grin.
“Mom, I’ve got the best ending to my speech,” she said, her enthusiasm bubbling over.
“Terrific, sweetheart,” her mom answered and reached over to ruffle her daughter’s hair.
“I think I’m definitely going to win this thing,” Avery continued with excitement.
“Well, you know you have my vote,” her mom said, flashing Avery a smile.
There was a brief pause and then Mrs. Madden asked, “How is Katani’s campaign going?”
“Good, I guess. We don’t really talk about it much,” Avery said as she looked out the window.
“You two still pals?”
“Yeah,” Avery said slowly.
“Avery…”
“It’s no big deal, Mom. Katani and I are just concentrating on our own campaigns,” Avery explained impatiently.
“Okay, honey. But remember, Katani is one of your best friends, so don’t get too heated up about all of this. School elections come and go, but good friends are hard to come by. Just be aware.”
Avery leaned her head back on the head rest. There was just so much to think about. She wanted to win really badly. But how badly was the question.
CHAPTER 11
High Sounding Words
Katani looked at her watch and squirmed in her seat. Ms. Rodriguez and Mr. Danson gave the vice president, secretary, and treasurer candidates the option of speaking or not speaking. And of course, Betsy was the only one who wanted to speak, and it went on and on—well over her allotted five minutes. Actually, now that Katani thought of it, she was sure that Ms. Rodriguez had told Betsy she only had three minutes and the presidential candidates had five minutes to speak.