Ruby Reinvented

by Ronni Arno

  “Please tell me we’re not going to take this to the school tomorrow.”

  “You don’t like it, Bea? Such a beautiful car.”

  “It’s not that.” I bite the inside of my cheek. “I just don’t think that most of the kids who go to Midcoast Academy ride in limos.”

  “Mmmm.” Ellie nods her head. “I see.”

  “I just don’t want to seem too weird.”

  Ellie’s still nodding. Even though she doesn’t say anything I feel like I should keep talking.

  “It’s not like at home, Ellie. These kids are normal. Normal kids don’t ride to school in limos.”

  “You want to be normal, Bea?”

  I look down at my hands. “Sometimes.”

  “Mmmm.” Ellie nods again. “But remember to be proud of who you are.”

  As much as I love Ellie, she doesn’t understand. I’ve grown up hearing the stories of her childhood in Russia. She grew up poor, with eight brothers and sisters in a tiny house. Her mother died when she was five years old, and her father was really mean. She’s always telling me how lucky I am to have parents who love me and can afford to give me nice things.

  The car ride is taking forever. I’m not sure if I can’t sleep because I slept on the plane or because it feels like there are a million butterflies in my stomach. I stare out the window, amazed that I see nothing but darkness. No streetlights, no cities. I don’t even see any other cars on the road.

  I’m definitely not in Los Angeles anymore.

  The car slows down and pulls into the driveway of what looks like a gigantic house.

  “Did we rent a house?” I squint out the window.

  “This is a bed-and-breakfast,” Ellie explains. “Only a few blocks from the school.”

  “You mean we could walk there?” I practically squeal since that means I won’t have to show up in a stretch limo.

  “I suppose so. Let us see what the weather is like tomorrow.”

  I’m not sure what the big deal is until I get out of the car. The wind cuts through my jacket and bites my skin. Nope. This is definitely not LA.

  Ellie checks us into the bed-and-breakfast, which is toasty warm thanks to a big stone fireplace in the middle of the house.

  A woman with short gray hair takes us up to our rooms.

  “So you’re here to look at Midcoast Academy?” she says, even though it sounds like she says So you a heeya to look at Midcoast Academy?

  “Yes,” I answer politely. “We’re going to tour the school tomorrow.”

  “Well isn’t that nice.” She pulls a key off a giant key ring and unlocks the door. “The school is wonderful.” Which sounds like wondah-full.

  My room is attached to Ellie’s, with a bathroom in between. Ellie’s room is decorated in moose paraphernalia. There’s a lamp with a moose base, framed pictures of moose on the wall, and a red bedspread with moose in different poses. My room is a sea theme, with pictures of lobsters, starfish, and sailboats lining the walls.

  I glance at the clock on the wall, which has lighthouses where the numbers should be. It’s almost midnight, and we have to be at school at eight thirty. I yawn. After a quick shower, I pull on the warmest nightgown I own, white flannel with pink tulips, and crawl into bed.

  The next thing I know, Ellie is knocking on my door.

  “Bea, time to get up, sweetheart.”

  I open my eyes, barely, blinking until I get used to the light.

  “Okay, okay. I’m up.” I throw the blankets off me and stretch my arms above my head. I manage to get myself into a seated position and rub my eyes.

  “You have half an hour to get ready,” Ellie says.

  I drag myself out of bed and shuffle to the bathroom. My hair’s way too curly and crazy for a comb, so I add some gel and fluff it up with my fingers. I have no idea what kids wear at Midcoast Academy, so I play it safe with a pair of jeans and a bright orange hoodie with shiny silver zippers up the sleeves. The jeans show that I’m approachable, while the hoodie makes the look uniquely “me.” I add the ruby necklace my parents gave me, then brush my lips with the strawberry lip gloss that Sophie got me for my birthday. Even though Sophie’s a horrible friend, at least she has excellent taste in lip gloss.

  Ellie and I find breakfast waiting for us in the formal dining room. My stomach gets more gurgly by the minute, but I manage to stuff my face with the most mouthwatering blueberry pancakes I’ve ever tasted.

  Thank goodness Ellie decides the weather’s decent enough to walk to the school. The air is super cold, but the sky is bright blue and sunny.

  “Button up your coat,” Ellie says as we step onto the sidewalk. “It’s cold here in Maine.”

  I breathe in deeply. When I let it out, I can see my breath. “I think it’s refreshing.”

  Ellie chuckles. “You have a young person’s bones.”

  We follow the sidewalk as it passes by Victorian houses with giant front porches. Most of the trees are still bare, but there are tons of them. I recognize the pines and oaks and maples from my science class. Huge evergreens line the yards. I take a deep breath—it smells like Christmas—and there’s not a palm tree in sight.

  Soon the houses disappear and are replaced by little shops. We pass a chocolate store, a coffee shop, a bookstore, too many restaurants to count, and about three ice cream places. I’m in love already.

  And just when I think things couldn’t get any better, we turn the corner and find ourselves in front of a quaint park overlooking a marina crowded with boats of all shapes and sizes. The water beyond glimmers like diamonds. Sure, we have tons of marinas in Southern California, but this is different somehow—like an old-fashioned painting. There’s nothing old-fashioned back home.

  The wind whips at my hair so it stands straight up, and I pull my hood onto my head. Ellie is wearing a wool hat, scarf, and gloves, and she’s still complaining about the cold. I think Ellie’s been in Southern California too long.

  I see the sign before she does. The gold letters glisten in the sunlight. MIDCOAST ACADEMY.

  “We’re here, Ellie, we’re here!” I jump up and down and pull her arm so she’ll walk faster.

  I practically skip down the sidewalk as Ellie shuffles along behind me. The campus is made up of what looks like a bunch of big houses with winding pathways between them. Kids with backpacks stroll along the pathways, talking and laughing. I spot a building that says MAIN OFFICE above the door. I glance back at Ellie, and she nods for me to go inside.

  A tall lady with bright red hair peeks up from behind a desk in an office to our right and stands when she sees us.

  “Hello.” She walks over and extends her hand, which I shake politely. “You must be Ruby.”

  “Hello,” I say.

  “I’m Mrs. Kearney,” she says. “I’m the admissions director here at Midcoast.”

  I think it’s funny that Mrs. Kearney is dressed in a fancy business suit, but she has purple duck boots on her feet. Nobody in Hollywood wears purple duck boots, and I decide right then and there that I must get a pair.

  “Come sit down.” She ushers us into the office she just came out of and closes the door behind her. “Can I get you some coffee, tea?”

  I almost agree to coffee when I notice she’s looking at Ellie and not me. I wonder if kids around here don’t drink coffee.

  “How about you, Ruby? Would you like some water, or hot chocolate?”

  There’s my answer.

  “No thank you,” I say, deciding not to ask for coffee.

  There’s a knock on the office door, and Mrs. Kearney opens it.

  “Hello, Summer. You’re right on time.” She turns to me. “Ruby, this is Summer. Summer, this is Ruby. Summer will be showing you around today.”

  “Oh, that is so nice, Bea,” Ellie says. “A student will give you the tour.”

  “Yes, I think Summer will be much more interesting than me.” Mrs. Kearney laughs and then turns to Summer. “Go ahead and get started. We’ll catch up.”


  Ellie and Mrs. Kearney talk, and Summer opens the door for me. I follow her out of the office and back into the entryway. She totally looks like a Summer. Her windblown hair is dirty blond with lighter blond streaks, and she has a splash of freckles across her nose. She’s wearing a pink skirt over purple tights with yellow polka dots, and on top of those she’s wearing knee-high socks that don’t match. A pair of flowered rubber boots cover her feet. I could never wear something like that, but she pulls the look off perfectly.

  “Is your name Ruby or Bea? ’Cause Mrs. Kearney said Ruby, but your mom said Bea.”

  “Oh, that’s not my mom,” I say.

  “Who is she, then?” Summer asks.

  “My nanny,” I say.

  Summer blinks but doesn’t say anything. My face heats up. What if normal kids don’t have nannies? Did I just blow it with her, talking about my nanny? I have to fix this immediately.

  “I mean my nana. She’s my nana.” The words spill out of my mouth.

  “Oh, I have a nana too. She lives in New Jersey.”

  I exhale.

  “So how come your nana brought you and not your parents?”

  “My parents couldn’t bring me,” I say. My palms are getting sweaty, and I wipe them on my jeans.

  “How come?” she asks.

  I wasn’t expecting this question. I can’t tell her the truth, that my mom’s the host of the number-one-rated TV show America’s Next Cover Model and my dad’s the most popular player in the major leagues, and by the way, did I mention that my mom is Celestine Cruz and my dad is Zack Miller and the only reason you’ll want to be friends with me is to meet them?

  “I don’t have parents.” I have no idea why I say that. This conversation is happening too fast.

  “What happened to them?”

  “They died.”

  What am I doing? Why was that the first thing that popped into my head? Lines of sweat are dripping down the back of my neck, and I feel like my face will melt off any second.

  “Oh.” Summer looks me right in the eyes. “I’m really sorry. I hope you’re okay.”

  “I’m—fine,” I stammer. “It was—it was a long time ago. I barely remember when it happened.” Which is probably because it never did happen.

  She nods. “Well, I think you’ll really like it here.”

  “You do?” I ask, grateful that we’re done talking about my parents, who apparently I don’t have.

  “Oh yeah. The kids are a lot of fun, and the teachers are really nice. I mean, math is still math and it’s still really boring, but art and PE and drama are awesome.”

  Summer leads me outside, and we walk on a path that winds between buildings. “So should I call you Ruby or Bea?”

  I’ve never thought about that before. Only my family calls me Bea. But this is a new place. New friends. And now, I decide, a new name.

  “My full name is Ruby, but I like to be known as Bea.”

  “Okay, Bea.” Summer gives me a smile. “What do you want to see first?”

  Chapter

  6

  MIDCOAST ACADEMY IS amazing.

  Summer shows me the middle school classrooms, the gym, the theater, the art room, the garden, and the soccer fields. We meet some of her friends, and everyone is super sweet. Ellie and Mrs. Kearney are following us, but they’re busy talking with each other.

  “Summer,” Mrs. Kearney calls. “Why don’t you take Ruby to the dorms and show her around?”

  “Sure, Mrs. Kearney,” Summer says. “But she wants to be called Bea.”

  “Okay then.” Mrs. Kearney smiles. “Take Bea to the dorms and show her around.”

  I glance back at Ellie. She looks at me, eyebrows raised, but I see that her lips are curling into a small smile.

  I follow Summer into a bigger building. This one doesn’t look anything like the others we visited. It’s more like a motel, complete with a lobby and a couple of vending machines.

  Summer swipes a card next to a glass door and pulls it open. I follow her, and the door clicks shut behind us. We step into a long hallway with doors on each side, just like in those motels you find off the highway. I went to one once when my mom’s manager booked her in the wrong place. I follow Summer up a flight of stairs, and then down another long hallway.

  “So everyone who goes to the school lives here?” I look around at all the doors, each one decorated differently.

  “Not everyone.” Summer bounces down the hall, which is pretty quiet since kids are in class. “But a lot of us. This is the middle school dorm. The girls are in one wing and the boys are in another. The high school dorm is in another building.”

  Summer stops at a door with a hot pink corkboard. There are Post-it notes tacked all over it, some with pictures of smiley faces, some with just writing. Summer puts her key in the lock and pushes the door open. Half of the room is an explosion of hot pink. There’s a hot pink fuzzy rug, a hot pink beanbag chair, and a hot pink bedspread. Another hot pink corkboard hangs from the wall above the bed, this one ten times bigger than the one hanging on the door. It’s covered with postcards and photos. Posters of puppies and kittens hang on either side of the window, which faces out into a courtyard.

  “This is my room. And your room, if you decide to go here.”

  “Really?” I can’t help but smile. “We’d be roommates?”

  “Yep.” Summer kicks her boots off and bounces on her bed. “I had a roommate last semester but she left. She was really homesick. Want to jump?”

  “On your bed?” I eyeball the twin bed and wonder if it would fit both of us.

  “No, on your bed!” Summer laughs.

  I glance over at the empty bed on the other side of the room. I carefully take my shoes off, put them by the side of the door. I climb onto the bed and lightly jump up and down.

  Summer cracks up. “That’s not jumping. Your feet are barely moving.”

  I bounce a little harder and go a little higher. A giggle escapes my lips, and within seconds I’m laughing harder than I’ve laughed in months.

  “Your hair looks so crazy right now!” Summer says. “It’s standing straight up.”

  “So is yours!” I laugh even harder when I try to picture Sophie jumping on a bed. As if Sophie would ever do anything to mess up her hair.

  Summer stops jumping and flops down on the bed. “That was fun. I guess we should keep going, though, or Mrs. Kearney will think we got lost or something.”

  We head back downstairs, but instead of going out the main door, we go out a different one that leads into the courtyard I saw out Summer’s window. Tables and chairs cover a stone patio, and benches sit underneath tall oak trees.

  As we’re about to go back to the main campus, a bunch of kids come pouring outside. They’re led by a man with shaggy brown hair and a short beard. The man waves us over.

  “Summer, why don’t you introduce us to your new friend?”

  “Sure, Mr. Desmond.” Summer takes me by the hand, and we take a few steps toward the group.

  “This is Bea. She’s visiting Midcoast today.” Summer then motions to the man. “This is Mr. Desmond, my science teacher. And these are the kids in my class.”

  Everyone talks at once. They’re all smiling and welcoming me. Some even shake my hand.

  “Okay, okay,” Mr. Desmond says. “Let’s give Bea some breathing room.”

  I look down at the ground and smile. It feels weird to have everyone staring at me, but not bad weird like when I’m out with my parents.

  “Well, Bea.” Mr. Desmond smiles at me. “I hope you’re enjoying your tour, and maybe we’ll see you here soon.”

  “Yes, thank you. I hope so.” I’m still looking at the ground.

  “Summer, we’ll see you when you get back to class,” Mr. Desmond says to her.

  “Okeydokey,” Summer says. “See you then.”

  Some of the kids say stuff to her as they walk by. I notice a boy stops to talk to her for a longer time. She’s whispering to him, and he’s nod
ding, his light brown hair falling into his eyes. He smiles, and I notice that he has huge dimples just like Damon Gorman. My stomach flip-flops a little.

  Nice teachers, a totally fun roommate, three ice cream shops nearby, a place where nobody knows who my parents are, and cute boys?

  I must sign up immediately.

  Chapter

  7

  MOM’S AND DAD’S faces appear on my ipad.

  “So, tell us all about it.” Mom’s grinning. A good sign.

  I tell them about Summer and the campus and the dorms. They smile and nod, but I don’t get the green light yet.

  “Why don’t you let us talk to Ellie?” Mom says.

  The bathroom door that separates our rooms is open, and I can see that Ellie is going through her suitcase.

  “Ellie!” Mom and Dad both cringe a little when I yell. “Can you come in here?”

  Ellie stands behind me at the desk. I get up and let her sit in the chair so Mom and Dad can see her. Before I move behind her, I give her a pleading look with my eyes, praying she understands. I cross my fingers behind my back for extra luck.

  “Hi, Ellie,” Dad says. “How’s Maine?”

  “It is cold.” Ellie pulls her sweater tighter. “But maybe not as cold as Siberia.”

  Dad laughs. “What did you think of the school?”

  I cross another set of fingers.

  “It was very nice, Mr. Zack.”

  “I did a little more research,” Mom says. “It seems Midcoast Academy has an excellent academic reputation. Everything I’ve read about it sounds great, but sometimes research doesn’t tell the whole story. Did you get a good vibe, Ellie? I really hate being so far away for a decision like this.”

  “Oh yes, Ms. Celestine. Everyone was very nice and Bea liked the other students. Mrs. Kearney told me that they have an immediate opening and Bea can begin once the papers are signed.”

  “So it has the Ellie stamp of approval?”

  I hold my breath.

  “Yes, I approve.” She wraps her arms around herself. “But brrrr—it is cold! Reminds me of Russia.”

  I exhale and do a little dance behind Ellie. My smile is so wide that I think it may push my ears behind my head. I switch places with Ellie so my parents can see my face.