Never Grow Up

by Karen Kingsbury

  “At Dollywood, maybe! Or Branson, Missouri.” Dad gestured like he was reading off a billboard. “The Five Baxters perform their wondrous talents for the world!”

  “I like it.” Brooke giggled. “It would be fun!” She was out of breath from the dancing and drumming.

  The family kept singing through dishes and homework. Kari practiced her “Under the Sea” dance and Ashley ran through her Wendy lines with Luke.

  Before bed, Ashley walked to her parents’ room to say good night and she overheard Brooke talking to Mom about going to medical school. Ashley listened long enough to be nervous.

  Was Brooke going to move out for college? Even before high school? Why was she in such a hurry to grow up? Peter Pan would be disappointed. Which gave Ashley an idea.

  Maybe she should make a pledge for all the Baxter kids. They could agree that no matter what… there would be no college or medical school or finding a career. They would live here forever, doing dinnertime dances and hanging out at their rock and taking adventures in their backyard. Each of them could help write the paper and they would all sign it. After that the matter would be settled.

  The Baxter kids would never grow up!

  15 The Mystery of the Missing Bracelet

  KARI

  The talent show was in less than a week and Kari’s mind was jam-packed. She had a swim meet Wednesday. Another practice for the talent show was tonight with Mandy and Liza. She hadn’t started the essay on her future career. And she still didn’t know what that career might possibly be.

  It was Saturday afternoon and Kari sat with her notebook and pen in the backyard on a blanket next to Bo. Kari ran her fingers through his soft, furry coat until Bo stood, yawned and circled a few times. Then he curled into a ball beside Kari and fell asleep.

  “Oh, Bo.” Kari rubbed his ears. “You have no worries at all.”

  She looked down at her notebook. All she had written was

  When I grow up, I want to be…

  That was it.

  She thought about the zoo employees, and the farmer who visited her class. Also a senator who had talked to them, and then the visit to the hospital. But she didn’t love any of those jobs. She was beginning to worry that she’d never get this essay finished.

  She jotted something on the paper that she knew the answer to:

  8 Days until the meteor shower!

  A bird squawked in the distance and Bo lifted his head. He sniffed the air and took off barking. At the same instant, Ashley came outside with a plate of sliced apples.

  “Hey.” She set the plate down and took a seat next to Kari. “I think it’s time.”

  “For what?” Kari took an apple slice.

  “You know.” Ashley leaned back on her hands. “For a sister heart-to-heart talk.”

  Kari laughed. “A heart-to-heart?”

  “Yes.” Ashley bit into her apple. “You tell me what’s on your heart, and I tell you what’s on mine.”

  “Okay…” Kari closed her notebook.

  “I’ll go first!” Ashley stared straight at Kari. “I think we need to write a pledge and sign it. All us Baxter kids.”

  “A pledge?” Kari had no idea where this was going. “What kind of pledge?”

  “Like a contract… a promise.” Ashley chewed her apple and swallowed before finishing her thought. “A pledge to stay young forever. A never-grow-up contract!”

  Kari laid down on her side, too. “You mean, make a promise to never get older?” She squinted. “Doesn’t everyone grow up?”

  “Usually.” Ashley sat up, more serious. “But if we all agree to stay young forever. To not think about medical school or careers or even middle school…”

  “Or what we want to be when we grow up!” Kari jumped to her feet. “I think you’re onto something here.”

  “Exactly!” Ashley sat up, too. She clapped a few times. “Now you’re getting it.”

  For a while they were quiet. Just the breeze in the orange and yellow trees and the sound of the birds overhead. Kari sighed. “I do wish we could stay this way forever.” She studied the sky. It was bright blue today. Peaceful. “I’m stuck on this assignment for school. We have to write an essay about what we want to be when we grow up.”

  “Already?” Ashley sounded shocked. The way she’d sounded when she found out the kids wouldn’t be operating on anyone during Career Day.

  Kari nodded. “It’s just… I don’t know what I want to do when I’m older.”

  Ashley paused. “I heard Brooke telling Mom that she wants to go to medical school. Which is what got me thinking…”

  “About the pledge?” Kari turned to her sister.

  “Yes. If Luke, and Brooke, and Erin agree with us to stay young forever, then we’d have to do it. We’d find a way. Somehow.” Ashley’s excitement faded as she talked. “Right?”

  “It’s worth a try.” Kari fumbled with the pencil in her hand. “I’ll sign it. I think everyone else will, too. Except maybe Brooke.”

  “Okay.” Ashley sounded determined again. “I’ll write the pledge today.”

  Kari smiled. “Good.” The pledge was a nice idea. Perfect, actually. But how would it work?

  “Kari… Ashley?” Mom called from the back porch. “Come here, please.” The girls hurried to her.

  Mom’s face looked worried. “Girls. I’ve lost my bracelet. The one your father gave me on our wedding day.” She rubbed her hands together. “Have you seen it?”

  Ashley held her hands up. “I didn’t take it!” She shook her head. “After almost going to zoo jail, I swore off a life of crime.”

  A smile tugged at their mom’s mouth. Ashley could make anyone happy. Even in the middle of a crisis. “I’m not accusing you, honey.” Mom took gentle hold of Ashley’s cheeks. “Just asking.”

  “Hmm.” Kari began to pace. “Where was the last place you had it?”

  Mom thought about this. “In the kitchen, I think…”

  “Let’s go!” Kari took her mom’s hand and led her and Ashley into the kitchen. Kari had learned to write down observations at Take Your Child to Work Day. She had a good feeling about this. “If anyone can solve your case, Mother, it’ll be me.” She tapped the counter near the sink. “Was it here?”

  “Exactly.” Mom nodded. “I had it on… I was doing dishes. And…” She walked over to the sink. “I took it off to wash my hands!”

  Kari turned to the next blank page in her journal. She wrote the first clue:

  Took off bracelet to wash hands.

  “Got it.” Kari put the pencil behind her ear. She walked a few feet one direction, then the other.

  “Kari.” Ashley studied her. “What are you doing?”

  “We need to solve the case. The case of the missing bracelet!” Kari crouched superlow, so she could examine the baseboards. “It’s not here.”

  Mom sat at the table. “I hope it’s not lost. I’ll go check the van and my room again. Just in case.” She hurried out of the kitchen.

  “It has to be somewhere. Right?” Ashley joined Kari on the floor.

  “Right. That’s the perfect truth to begin with.” Kari stood up again. “The fact that her bracelet has to be somewhere.”

  Brooke came into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. She had just finished a bike ride around their yard. “What are you two doing?”

  “Mom lost her bracelet.” Kari looked at Ashley. An idea hit her. “The Baxter Kids Detective Agency is on the case.” She smiled at Brooke. “You can join if you want.”

  Brooke seemed slightly amused, but she shrugged. “Can’t. I need to do homework.” She took one last drink of her water and set the cup in the sink.

  “Aha!” Kari returned to the sink. “What if it fell down the sink?” She put her hand down the kitchen drain, feeling around for anything that resembled the bracelet.

  Nothing.

  Brooke started to leave.

  “Wait!” Ashley called out. “Come on, Brooke. Help us. We’re having fun.”
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br />   “I don’t have time for kid games.” Brooke frowned. “I have real work to do.”

  Erin came into the kitchen and sat on the counter. “I’ll help.”

  “See?” Brooke pointed to their youngest sister as she left the kitchen. “You have Erin. That’s plenty of detectives. You don’t need me.”

  Kari and Ashley and Erin watched her go.

  Ashley shrugged. “Fine. Brooke’s right. Who needs her anyway?” She turned to Kari. “Where to next?”

  “I’ve been thinking.” All of a sudden Kari pointed to the cupboard under the sink. “The trash! Let’s check there.”

  “Why?” Erin peered around Kari.

  “Because…” Kari opened the cabinets. “Maybe Mom’s bracelet accidentally slid off the counter and into the trash bin.” Kari pulled the trash can out and set it on the floor. The thing was full to the brim. “Yikes.” Kari plunged her hand into the garbage and sorted through banana peels and empty cans of dog food and apple peelings.

  The smell was ripe.

  “Ew!” Erin held her nose. She backed up a few feet.

  “I’ll help!” Ashley dug her hands in, too. “Let’s find it!”

  “What’re you doing?” Luke bounced the basketball into the kitchen. Kari could feel him standing behind her. “Why are you digging in the trash?”

  Erin was still holding her nose. “They’re looking for Mom’s bracelet. It’s lost.”

  “Awesome!” He dropped to his knees and pushed up his sleeves.

  “Thanks, Luke!” Kari smiled at him. Luke was the best little brother. “You are now officially part of the Baxter Kids Detective Agency. This is our first case.”

  “Great!” He began to sift through the trash. “Which bracelet did she lose?”

  Ashley pulled a bag of moldy grapes from the garbage. “Her gold one.” She peered into the slimy bag. “Not here.” She dropped the grapes back into the can.

  When they reached the bottom, Luke stood and held up his hands. They were covered in slime. “That’s the last of the trash.” He washed his hands in the sink. “Where next, fellow detectives?”

  Kari and Ashley washed their hands, too. Who knew trash could smell so bad? Kari jotted down this detail in her notebook:

  Not in the trash.

  She tapped her pencil to the paper. “I was sure it would be there.”

  Then a thought hit Kari. She walked to the back door. If it wasn’t on the kitchen counter or in the sink… and if it wasn’t in the trash can… then where was it?

  Erin joined her. “Maybe we should look outside?”

  “Why would it be out there?” Ashley came to the door and Luke followed her.

  Kari nodded. “I like it. Maybe it slipped off while she was in the garden.”

  “Let’s go!” Luke led the parade outside to the garden. They checked between the zucchini and squash and carrots. Then they searched the bushes and the flower beds, and around the trees.

  The four of them marched out to the front porch and then to the mailbox, and up the driveway.

  Kari prayed as they searched. It’s a small thing, God. But it matters to Mom. Please help us find it.

  They came full circle to the back porch again. Kari and her siblings sat on the steps like deflated balloons. Hopeless.

  “I really thought we were going to find it.” Kari dug her elbows into her knees and slouched. Being a detective made her tired.

  Luke stood and stared at the vast backyard. His baseball cap kept the sun from his eyes. “It has to be somewhere.”

  “That’s our motto.” Kari stood next to Luke. “It hasn’t helped much.”

  Suddenly Ashley pointed. “What about Bo?”

  “Hmm.” Kari hadn’t thought about that yet. Bo loved shiny things, and he chewed on everything. “It’s possible.”

  “No.” Luke called Bo over. Their dog looked innocent. Luke patted his head. “Bo wouldn’t steal Mom’s bracelet.”

  “Maybe as an accident.” Ashley jumped around. “It’s possible.”

  “Ashley’s right.” Brooke’s voice came from behind them. “We should check Bo’s bed.”

  Kari spun around. Their older sister stood in the doorway. Kari held out her arms. “Brooke!”

  Ashley stood and hugged Brooke. “You made it!”

  “If there’s still a spot for me… I’m in.” She looked a little embarrassed. But whatever had happened before this didn’t matter. Brooke was here now.

  “Of course there’s a spot.” Luke shook Brooke’s hand. “Welcome to the Baxter Kids Detective Agency. This is our first case.”

  Brooke laughed. “I have a lot to do… but I never want to be too busy for you four.”

  “Well, come on, people!” Kari clapped her hands. “We have a bracelet to find.” Kari marched them inside to Bo’s fluffy bed. And there, tucked deep in the fabric, was Mom’s beautiful gold bracelet. Covered in slobber and dirt. But it was there!

  Kari held it up. “We found it! We found it!” Kari and her siblings shouted as they rushed into Mom and Dad’s room with her bracelet.

  “I can’t believe it.” Happy tears filled Mom’s eyes. “I’ve been praying!”

  “Me, too.” Kari handed the dirty bracelet to Mom. Kari shrugged. “I guess God’s the leader of our detective agency.”

  “Good call.” Mom dabbed at her eyes. “He knows everything.”

  Dad smiled. “I’d say your first case was a huge success!”

  Mom took the bracelet to her bathroom and washed it. Then she put it where it belonged. Back on her wrist.

  A few minutes later Kari found a spot next to Bo on the sofa. She still needed to work on her essay. But their detective work had been a great change of pace. Kari’s head didn’t feel so full now.

  “Okay, Bo.” Kari ran her hand over his soft head. “Did you do that on purpose?”

  Bo didn’t say anything, of course. But Kari was almost certain she saw something on their dog’s cute face.

  A happy smile.

  16 Balance Beam of Life

  ASHLEY

  Ashley started the game by drawing a man.

  Mr. Garrett was talking about math shortcuts at the front of the room, but the game was way more fascinating. Ashley passed the picture to Elliot. The plan was for Elliot to add something to it. He would then pass it to Natalie, who would add something. And the drawing would come back to Ashley.

  Natalie hadn’t been sure. “I don’t want to get in trouble,” she whispered.

  “We only get in trouble if we get caught.” Elliot had rubbed his hands together. “This will be intergalactic!”

  If aliens ever invaded Earth, Ashley would want to be on Elliot’s team. She was sure about that.

  Now they were on the game’s sixth round, and the man in the picture was getting funnier each time. He currently had wings, and roller skates, and he wore a helmet. He held a bouquet of balloons and a parrot sat perched on his shoulder.

  “There’s a trick to learning your nines,” Mr. Garrett was saying, “when it comes to multiplication. What you want to do is…”

  Ashley tuned him out. She took the picture from Natalie and stared at it. Natalie’s last turn had added a mustache and glasses to the man. Without meaning to, Ashley let out a sudden laugh.

  It sounded loud, even to her.

  In a flash, Mr. Garrett was directly in front of her desk. His mouth bunched up, like he was eating a lemon. “What is that?” He pointed to the drawing.

  Ashley smiled. “Hi…” She did a slight wave at their teacher. “This…” She folded the drawing and held it close. “Was just a great way to pass the time.”

  “Pass the time?” Mr. Garrett’s eyebrows raised, higher than she had seen a man’s eyebrows go. “This is math, Ashley. Not free time.”

  “It was my idea.” Elliot stood. “I’m the problem here.”

  “Actually, I believe I’m the problem.” Ashley nodded. “Because that seems to be a pattern.”

  Natalie threw her hands up.
“And I tried to stop them.”

  Mr. Garrett reached out. “Let me see it.”

  Ashley pressed the drawing to her stomach. “I’m a bit reluctant to give it up, if I’m honest…” It was kind of a masterpiece. What if Mr. Garrett threw it out? She cleared her throat. “Perhaps I could have a few minutes to decide.”

  “No, Ashley.” Her teacher kept his hand extended. “Give it to me. Now!”

  About that time, Ashley noticed the rest of the class. They were all staring at her. Natalie was shaking her head very fast. Like a warning system.

  Ashley sank a bit. “Fine. I’m sorry for causing a disturbance. Really.” She handed over the drawing. “I would like to state, though, that the drawing is mine. So please… sir, can I at least get it back? Later, maybe? When it’s convenient? Or perhaps as an early Christmas—”

  “Stop talking, Ashley.” Mr. Garrett studied the drawing and Ashley was sure she saw him smile. He folded it up and closed his eyes. He exhaled.

  “Pretty funny.” Ashley whispered. Hopeful. “Yes?”

  Mr. Garrett removed his glasses. “Ashley, you and Elliot and Natalie will stay inside today during recess and clean the chalkboards.” He was still holding the drawing. “Math is not a chance to pass the time.”

  “But…” Ashley remembered something. “I don’t want to be a criminal. I promised myself. And my parents.”

  “You are not a criminal.” Mr. Garrett looked at her. “But there are consequences.”

  “Ha!” Chris called out from the back. “That’s what you get for passing notes!”

  Ashley turned around. Landon covered his face with his hand. Possibly this moment might make him think twice about being friends with Chris.

  Mr. Garrett pointed at Chris. “You will join them.”

  “What?” Chris threw his hands in the air. “What did I do?”

  Mr. Garrett made a sharp turn back to the front of the room. He set the drawing on his desk. “That’s all, Chris. We will now get back to math shortcuts.”

  Landon raised his hand.