Jerome arrived first, with a can of bug spray in his hand. “What’s up, Ziggy? Need me to check for bugs?”
“You always do anyway, mon,” Ziggy said with a grin. “Poor bugs don’t have a chance with you around!”
Rashawn and Rico, who were racing each other through Ziggy’s huge backyard, could be heard long before they got to the clubhouse.
“The raccoon path is always the fastest!” Rico shouted as he got to the door first. “Raccoons know what they’re doing!”
“But I’m smarter than a raccoon!” cried Rashawn, touching the door seconds later. “That ought to count for something!” His dog Afrika, a Siberian husky with one blue eye and one brown eye, had, of course, beaten both boys running, and sat waiting for them.
“Smarter maybe, but not faster.” Both boys laughed and grabbed a couple of the bottles of cold water Ziggy’s mother had provided for them.
“Passwords?” Jerome asked. When the boys had first started the club, they had decided to use a secret password to begin each meeting. The password meant nothing, really, but it added a sense of mystery to their club.
“Uh, let’s see,” Ziggy said, scratching his head. Ziggy never seemed to be able to remember the password. “I know! It’s mosquito, mon! Jerome and his bug spray made me remember!”
The boys got comfortable in the clubhouse, munching on the brownies that Rico’s mother had made for them. “Nothing better than chocolate,” Rashawn said with his mouth full.
“Unless you add olives!” Ziggy said cheerfully.
“Ugh!” Rico said. The other boys watched with disgust as Ziggy plopped a dull green olive on top of each brownie before he gobbled it up.
“Yummy, mon!” Ziggy said, laughing at the looks on their faces. “You guys have no sense of adventure!”
They could hear birds singing from a tree in Ziggy’s yard and the sound of a distant lawn mower as someone cut his grass. It was a perfect morning.
Rico finally asked what the others probably wanted to. “So, how’s Tulip?” he asked Jerome casually, munching on another cookie. “How long are she and her mom gonna sleep on your sofa?”
“Granny left with them this early morning to look for a place for them to live,” Jerome said. “Tulip’s mom got the job at the flower shop, so I guess things are looking up for them.”
“That’s great news, mon,” Ziggy said. “That girl sure can sing!”
“And run. And do math. And science. And English,” Rashawn said.
“It is amazing how good she is at stuff,” Jerome said, agreeing. “But she’s so nice about it, most of the kids don’t seem to mind.”
“Do you think she’ll beat us at the talent show?” Rico asked.
“No way, mon!” Ziggy said. “We’ve been practicing for weeks!”
“She’s awfully good,” Rashawn said, doubt in his voice. “What if she beats us?”
“You think she could?” Jerome asked. “That would be awful.”
“Let’s not focus on that. What can we do to make our performance better?” Rico asked, trying to sound positive.
“Let’s add background music!” Rashawn suggested. “With drums!”
“Real music and drums have got to make our dance moves better,” Jerome said with excitement. “Let’s plan our costumes, too.”
“How about doing something funny, mon?” Ziggy suggested. “Let’s put some sparks in those stars!”
“Good idea!” Rico said. “Remember when we were little and we used to sing ‘Fooba Wooba John’?”
“I don’t think it will work for this show, but it sure was fun, mon,” Ziggy said. They all started singing at the same time, each one acting out a verse. Ziggy stood up on a chair, pretending to kick at a tree.
“SAW A FLEA KICK A TREE,
FOOBA WOOBA, FOOBA WOOBA,
SAW A FLEA KICK A TREE,
FOOBA WOOBA JOHN.
SAW A FLEA KICK A TREE,
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA.
HEY, JOHN. WHOA, JOHN,
FOOBA WOOBA JOHN!”
The voices of the four boys, loud and silly, echoed in Ziggy’s backyard. Rico jumped up next, pretending to be swimming.
“SAW A SNAIL CHASE A WHALE,
FOOBA WOOBA, FOOBA WOOBA,
SAW A SNAIL CHASE A WHALE,
FOOBA WOOBA JOHN.
SAW A SNAIL CHASE A WHALE,
ALL AROUND THE WATER PAIL.
HEY, JOHN. WHOA, JOHN.
FOOBA WOOBA JOHN!”
Rashawn, his long legs sticking out crazily, got down on the floor and pretended to jump like a frog. He knocked over the bicycle, and the others could barely sing for all the giggling.
“SAW A FROG CHASE A DOG,
FOOBA WOOBA, FOOBA WOOBA,
SAW A FROG CHASE A DOG,
FOOBA WOOBA JOHN.
SAW A FROG CHASE A DOG,
SITTING ON A HOLLOW LOG.
HEY, JOHN. WHOA, JOHN.
FOOBA WOOBA JOHN!”
Jerome, trying to be a cow and a cat and a dog, had all the boys of the floor, doubled up with laughter.
“HEARD A COW SAY ‘MEOW,’
FOOBA WOOBA, FOOBA WOOBA,
HEARD A COW SAY ‘MEOW,’
FOOBA WOOBA JOHN.
HEARD A COW SAY ‘MEOW,’
THEN I HEARD IT SAY ‘BOW WOW.’
HEY, JOHN. WHOA, JOHN.
FOOBA WOOBA JOHN!”
The boys worked for the next couple of hours—laughing, planning, singing, and dancing. They ate all Rico’s mom’s brownies, then gobbled the cookies that Ziggy’s mom brought back to them a little while later. They added a new section to their song, and jazzed up the whole thing. When they finished they were worn out, hot, and sweaty, but very proud of themselves.
They were just about to call the meeting to a close when a knock sounded on the door.
“More food?” Jerome said, holding his stomach. “I’m stuffed!” He opened the door of the clubhouse, expecting Ziggy’s mom. Instead, standing there with a smile on her face, was Tulip.
“Can I come in?” she asked.
Jerome was so flustered he shut the door in her face.
“It’s Tulip!” Jerome said, turning to his friends in confusion. “What should I do?”
“Why did you leave her standing there?” Rashawn asked.
“I didn’t know what else to do!” Jerome kept wiping his hands on his T-shirt.
“You think maybe you should open the door?” Rico asked Jerome.
“We’ve never had a girl in here before,” Jerome said nervously.
“So what? No girl has ever asked before, mon,” Ziggy replied, trying to sound reasonable.
“It’s a mess in here!” Jerome said, looking around at the candy wrappers, old soda cans, and pizza boxes that Ziggy had swept into a corner. Brownie crumbs decorated his dirty tennis shoes.
“It’s always a mess—what difference does that make?” Rashawn said, chuckling a little at Jerome’s distress.
“Are you just going to leave her standing out there, mon? Do something!” Sitting on the floor, Ziggy gobbled the last olive.
Tulip walked around to the side of the clubhouse, and stuck her head through the hole in the wall of the clubhouse that served as a window. “You know, I can hear everything you’re saying,” she said with a pleasant laugh.
Jerome looked even more embarrassed and said nothing. He sat down in one of the chairs, looking at his shoes.
“Come on in,” Rico said. “The door isn’t locked.”
“I’ve only got a minute,” she said, as she left the window and came around the corner. She opened their little door and walked into the clubhouse. It seemed suddenly smaller to the boys who sat there; they were a little overwhelmed.
“Well, this is it!” Rashawn said, his arms outstretched.
“We built it ourselves,” Rico told her with pride.
“Awesome!” she said, looking around. “I like clubhouses.”
“We’re still working on it,” Jerome
said. “It’s got a couple of rough spots. We’re planning on doing lots of improvements after the talent show. If we win, that prize money will make this place off the hook.”
“It’s just perfect,” she said with genuine admiration. “You guys are so lucky.”
“You know, you’re the first girl to ever set foot inside the clubhouse of the Black Dinosaurs!” Ziggy announced.
“That makes me feel really special,” Tulip said with a smile. “Why do you call your club the Black Dinosaurs?”
“Well, when we first started the club, Rashawn had been interested in dinosaurs and archeology and stuff,” Jerome explained.
“Yeah, he had this big old plastic dinosaur with him the day we started building, so we decided to name our club the Black Dinosaurs,” Rico continued.
“That’s it over there in the corner, hanging by that string,” Rashawn said. He pointed to a dust-covered model of an apatosaurus.
“Cool!” Tulip said.
“So, what are you going to sing for the talent show?” Rico asked. “The same song you did for tryouts? You’ve got a great voice.”
“Isn’t it supposed to be a surprise?” Tulip replied with a grin. “What song are you guys doing?”
“She’s right, mon!” Ziggy said. “Secrets rule!”
“I like the fact that Mr. Cavendish has made the theme of the show Stars and Sparks,” Tulip said. “I haven’t had much to laugh at lately, and this is going to be fun.”
“It must be rough,” Rico said, kicking at the dirt with his shoe, “not having a place to live and stuff.” He stopped talking, not sure of what to say.
“It’s no picnic,” Tulip said. “Everything I ever owned got washed away in the flood waters. Our house was under ten feet of water. Everything was destroyed. My clothes. My stuffed animals. Things you don’t think about like underwear and towels and toothbrushes. Plates and forks. My books. Pictures of me and my grandma. All gone.”
“I don’t know how I would have made it through all that,” Rico said softly.
“You do, because you have no choice,” Tulip replied. “But it was hard. They put you in a shelter with a hundred other people, and give you clothes that don’t fit, and you feel like you’ll never find your real self ever again.”
“Deep.” Rashawn sighed.
“We watched all the storm coverage on TV,” Jerome said. “We even sent a collection from our school to the Red Cross.”
“Lots of people tried to help,” Tulip said, “but it was a rougher situation than anybody could imagine. So I’m glad to be in a place where I can laugh.”
“It’s great to be crazy sometime,” Rico said, trying to lighten the feeling in the small cabin.
“Like that poem you recited in English class, mon,” Ziggy reminded him, seemingly glad to change the subject. “But wait until you hear my poem on Monday! Nothing could be crazier!”
“Do you know the song, ‘Boom Boom, Ain’t It Great to Be Crazy’?” Jerome asked suddenly.
Tulip looked excited. “Yeah, I used to sing it at campouts with my friends at my old school.”
“That ought to be my official theme song!” Ziggy said as he burst into song.
“BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?
SILLY AND FOOLISH ALL NIGHT LONG.
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?”
Rico, Jerome, Rashawn, and Tulip joined in then.
“A HORSE AND A FLEA AND A COUPLE OF MICE
SAT ON A CORNER, EATING RICE.
THE HORSE HE SLIPPED AND FELL ON THE FLEA.
‘WHOOPS,’ SAID THE FLEA, ‘THERE’S A HORSE ON ME!’
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?
SILLY AND FOOLISH ALL NIGHT LONG.
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?”
Tulip started the next verse, and the others followed.
“WAY DOWN SOUTH WHERE BANANAS GROW
A MONKEY STEPPED ON AN ELEPHANT’S TOE.
THE ELEPHANT CRIED, WITH TEARS IN HIS EYES,
‘WHY DON’T YOU PICK ON SOMEBODY YOUR SIZE?’
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?
SILLY AND FOOLISH ALL NIGHT LONG.
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?”
Ziggy gave them the words to the last verse, and they all sang the chorus as loudly as they could. With Tulip’s strong voice, and the combined voices of the four boys, it was amazing how good they sounded, even singing that silly song.
“I CALLED MYSELF ON THE TELEPHONE
JUST SO I COULD HEAR THAT GOLDEN TONE.
I ASKED MYSELF OUT FOR A DATE,
SO I SAID I’D BE READY ’BOUT HALF-PAST EIGHT!
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?
SILLY AND FOOLISH ALL NIGHT LONG,
BOOM, BOOM, AIN’T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY?”
The five kids cracked up as they finished. The sound of a car horn could be heard honking not far away.
“That’s my mom,” Tulip said, a big grin on her face. “Wow, I haven’t laughed like that in a long time. I just wanted to thank you guys for looking out for me. Especially you, Jerome, for offering us dinner and a place to stay. That was awfully nice of you.”
Jerome looked flustered, but managed to say, “Uh, you’re welcome. Granny likes to help folks.”
“Well, she did lots more than that,” Tulip said. “She helped my mom find a job, and this morning we found a place to live. It’s not as nice as our old house, but it’s a whole lot better than living in a car!” Her laughter was light and almost musical.
“That’s great news,” Rashawn said.
Tulip left then, waving good-bye, and headed back through the tall grass in Ziggy’s yard to where her mother waited for her in the car.
“She’s a nice girl,” Ziggy said after Tulip left.
“Yeah, she is,” Jerome said softly.
“She can still blow us away in the talent show, don’t forget,” Rashawn warned. “She’s an awfully good singer.”
“And she could use the money,” Jerome added, sounding guilty.
Rico frowned. “But we’ve worked so hard to win this! I’m going back to my house now, and work on the CD of our background music,” he told them. “There is no way the Black Dinosaurs are gonna get beat in this contest! Besides, we really need the money also. Look at this clubhouse.”
“Yeah, mon!” Ziggy said, gazing at the broken chairs they sat on. “I’m going to get the drum music for you to add to the CD,” Ziggy said.
“And my mom is going to help with our costumes,” Rashawn said.
“And I’ll keep working on our dance routine,” Jerome added, getting back into the spirit of the competition. “We’ve got a lot to do. The talent show is Saturday!”
The rest of the boys agreed, and each one headed home to work on his part for the show.
Tickets for the talent show went on sale first thing Monday morning at school. Everyone who wasn’t participating was eager to see those who were going to be in the show. Students lined up outside Mr. Cavendish’s room to buy their tickets, some of them buying blocks of tickets for family and friends. A parent volunteer was helping with ticket sales, and lots of parents showed up to buy tickets as well.
Ziggy, Rico, Rashawn, and Jerome stood a little distance away, watching. “We’re gonna have a big crowd for the show,” Rico said.
“You scared about performing on stage?” Jerome asked.
“I’m not gonna be scared, mon!” Ziggy boasted. “I hope thousands of people show up!”
“It’s different, you know, performing in front of real people instead of a room full of empty chairs,” Rashawn reminded him.
“Yeah,” Rico said. “We won’t be able to see the people in the audience because the lights will be off. But we’ll be
able to hear them laugh or cough or clap.”
“Hopefully there will be lots of clapping,” Rashawn said.
“Well, we can be pretty sure Tulip will get lots of applause,” Jerome said. “She might even win.”
“She’s good, but that doesn’t mean she’ll win the competition,” Rico said reasonably.
“Mr. Cavendish said the show was more about performing than winning,” Rashawn reminded them.
“Yeah, but the money sure would be nice, mon!” Ziggy said.
“We can spend our whole summer vacation fixing up the clubhouse,” Rico said.
Jerome thought out loud. “Four brand-new chairs and a card table. A cooler to keep our soda in. Nice.”
“I wonder how much a gallon of paint costs,” Rico mused.
“What color should we paint it?” Rashawn said as the four boys headed to English, their first-period class.
“Purple on the outside and green and orange on the inside!” Ziggy said.
“No way, Ziggy!” Jerome said with a laugh.
“Okay, okay,” Ziggy said, pretending to give in. “We’ll make it orange and green on the outside and purple on the inside!” He ran ahead of the others so they couldn’t punch him, but they chased him down the hall anyway.
“No running in the halls, boys,” Mrs. Powell called as she watched them approach.
They slowed down, still giggling, and went to their seats.
“Make sure we don’t put Ziggy in charge of buying the paint!” Rico said as he sat down.
“We’re not gonna let Ziggy even touch the paint!” Rashawn said.
Tulip walked into the room just as the bell was ringing and she smiled at the four boys as she slipped quietly into her seat. She wore blue jeans and a pale blue T-shirt.
Mrs. Powell took attendance, passed back some papers from the week before, and took time to talk about the talent show.
“I’m really excited to see the show this weekend,” she told the class.
“Wait till you see us perform,” Ziggy said. “We’re dynamite!”
“I’m sure all the performers will be wonderful,” Mrs. Powell replied.
“Did you know first prize is two hundred dollars?” Rico asked.
Stars and Sparks on Stage Page 4