Claudia's Big Party

by Ann M. Martin

  I knew that was a mean thing to say. I wished I could take it back. “Janine!” I called. She acted as if she hadn’t heard me. I called again. Then the vacuum cleaner roared to life, drowning out my voice.

  I sighed, grabbed a trash bag, and started stuffing it full of paper plates and napkins.

  So much for this party solving all my problems.

  Finally, some good news from the Korman battleground. At the Monday BSC meeting Mary Anne filled us in on how her sitting job had gone.

  “Bill is still grounded,” Mrs. Korman said as soon as Mary Anne arrived on Sunday.

  Mary Anne was holding Skylar as Mr. and Mrs. Korman prepared to leave for an afternoon movie. “It’s such a nice day. Is it okay if Bill plays outside?” she asked.

  “Certainly,” Mr. Korman answered. “Just keep an eye on him and Melody.”

  Mary Anne nodded, remembering everything that Kristy and Abby had told her.

  “We’ll be home by dinnertime,” said Mrs. Korman. And then they were gone.

  Still carrying Skylar, Mary Anne went upstairs to say hi to Melody and Bill. She knocked on Melody’s door first.

  “Hi, Melody. It’s Mary Anne. Everything okay in there?”

  Melody opened her door a crack and peeked through. “Is Bill out there?” she whispered.

  “He’s in his room,” Mary Anne said, realizing things were worse than she’d expected. “Why?”

  The door opened a little wider. “Bill is an old meanie,” Melody said, her eyes filling with tears. “At lunch he said that I was dumb and stupid and wouldn’t ever learn multiplication. We haven’t even had multiplication in school yet. Could you help me learn?”

  “We can work on that later. It’s warm outside today and I thought we’d take Skylar for a walk. Does that sound like fun?” Mary Anne asked.

  Melody nodded slowly. “What about Bill? Is he going too? He’s grounded.”

  “Your mom and dad said he could play outside if he wanted to,” Mary Anne said.

  “If he’s going …” Melody hesitated.

  “Let’s give it a try. Maybe a walk is just what we all need.”

  Melody still looked uncertain.

  “Bill might not even want to go. Let me talk to him. You find a jacket and meet us downstairs. In fact, could you find a jacket for Skylar too?”

  “Sure,” Melody replied. “May I push the stroller?”

  Mary Anne smiled and nodded. She shifted Skylar to a more comfortable position and moved down the hall to Bill’s room.

  “Hey, Bill! It’s Mary Anne,” she called as she rapped on his door.

  The door flew open. “I knew you were here. I heard Mom and Dad telling you I was still grounded,” Bill said, scowling.

  “But you can go for a walk with us if you want. Your parents said that would be okay.”

  Bill looked over his shoulder. Mary Anne could see tiny action figures spread all over the floor. “I’m sort of in the middle of something.”

  “The plan is for all of us to go,” Mary Anne said firmly.

  Bill started to close the door, but Mary Anne grabbed it. “You can walk on one side of me and Melody can walk on the other. You don’t have to talk to each other at all. You can talk to me instead. Have you ever heard anyone say that if you can’t say something nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all? We can use that as a rule for conversation between you and Melody today.”

  “Then I won’t have anything at all to say to her,” Bill said.

  “Okay, sounds like a plan,” Mary Anne replied. “Find a jacket and meet us outside.”

  Mary Anne scribbled a note saying they were going for a walk around the block, in case Mr. and Mrs. Korman returned early. Then she stuck a key in her jeans pocket, and zipped up her jacket. Melody joined her, carrying Skylar’s jacket, and handed Skylar a set of plastic keys. A play steering wheel was attached to the stroller, and Skylar pretended to put the keys into the ignition. Then she dropped them into the stroller seat and grabbed the steering wheel, making motor noises.

  Bill finally arrived and stood a few feet away from the girls.

  “Ready?” Mary Anne asked. He nodded.

  Mary Anne checked to make sure the lock on the doorknob was turned, then pulled the door tightly shut. “Let’s walk around the block,” she suggested.

  Melody grabbed the stroller handle and took off. Mary Anne stayed behind with Bill. People were out in their yards, raking leaves. Pickup ballgames were going on. Bill walked a little slower each time they passed one.

  “Hey, Bill! We could use a third baseman,” David Michael yelled when they walked by the Thomas/Brewer house.

  Bill looked up at Mary Anne and she shook her head.

  “Can’t right now,” he yelled back, then stuck his hands in his pockets. Mary Anne watched the muscles in his jaw tighten as he stared at Melody walking ahead of them. But he didn’t say anything.

  When they turned the corner to head back to the Kormans’, Skylar started fussing.

  “I think it’s time for her juice,” said Melody, “then her nap.”

  “We’ll be home in a minute,” Mary Anne said. “Thanks, Bill, for not arguing about staying to play with David Michael,” she said in a low voice.

  “I wanted to,” Bill said with a shadow of a smile.

  Melody pulled the stroller close to the back door and started to unfasten the straps around Skylar.

  Mary Anne stuck her hand into her coat pocket. “Hold on,” she said. “Where’s the key? I put it right here in my pocket.” She tried the back door, but it wouldn’t open. Then she pulled her pocket inside out. “Oh, no! There’s a huge hole in it! The key must have fallen out.”

  Melody scrambled to her feet, leaving Skylar sitting in the middle of the patio, her cries growing louder by the minute. “Bill, go see if the front door is locked too.”

  Bill ran around the side of the house while Melody tried the garage door. She entered through the side but came out again, shaking her head. “The door to the house is locked,” she said.

  Mary Anne picked up Skylar and settled in a patio chair, rocking her until she quieted.

  When Bill returned, he was shaking his head too. “Locked up tight,” he announced. “I knew it would be.” He looked at Melody.

  “What are we going to do?” Melody asked.

  “I’ve managed to quiet Skylar, so I hate to move. What about checking the windows?” Mary Anne suggested.

  Bill and Melody talked quietly, then Bill headed to the front of the house, while Melody took off around the other side.

  Skylar felt heavy, and when Mary Anne looked down, she realized that she had fallen asleep.

  After awhile, Bill and Melody returned together, their heads close. Mary Anne put her finger against her lips as they approached, then pointed to Skylar.

  “Maybe we should get the ladder and see if any of the windows upstairs are open,” Bill whispered.

  “That’s a good idea, but maybe you should try to find the key first. It must have dropped out someplace along the way. You could walk together along the route we took,” Mary Anne said.

  “I’ll look on one side of the sidewalk and you can look on the other,” Bill said to Melody.

  “We’ll find it, Mary Anne,” Melody said as they left together. “Don’t worry.”

  Mary Anne smiled. She wasn’t a bit worried.

  As soon as Bill and Melody were far enough away, Mary Anne held Skylar in one arm, then eased her free hand into her jeans pocket, and dug out the key. She tossed it gently into Skylar’s stroller, then settled back to wait for the kids to return.

  After a few minutes, Bill and Melody reappeared. As they walked around the side of the house, they examined the ground carefully. When they reached Mary Anne, they sat in lawn chairs nearby. “We didn’t find it,” Bill said.

  “But we have another plan,” Melody added, looking at her brother.

  “We know that it’s not the best idea, but we don’t think Mom and Dad will mind that m
uch.” Bill leaned forward. “We’ll break the glass in the back door, reach inside, and unlock it. That way you can put Skylar to bed.”

  “And we can go to the bathroom,” said Melody, wriggling in the chair.

  Mary Anne pretended to consider the plan. She chewed on her lip for a while, then nodded. “I guess that’s what we’ll have to do. Why don’t the two of you take Skylar’s stroller to the garage and put it away, then try to find something we can use to break the glass in the window.”

  “I saw this on TV once,” said Bill. “The guy took his shoe and wrapped it in a towel.”

  “What about a hammer?” suggested Melody. “We don’t have to be quiet or anything.”

  “The main thing is that we don’t want anyone to end up hurt by the broken glass,” Mary Anne put in.

  “Right. I’ll do it with a hammer,” Bill said to Melody.

  They rose together and Melody grabbed the handle of the stroller. As she whirled it around, the key fell off the seat and clattered onto the cement patio.

  “Oh, man!” Bill smacked himself across the forehead with his hand. “We should have looked in the stroller.”

  “Skylar loves keys,” said Melody, leaning down to pick it up.

  “At least we found it before we broke the window,” Bill said to his sister. She nodded.

  Mary Anne told me later that she wanted to say something about how well they’d worked together, but she hesitated to break the spell that had settled over them. They were even laughing about how hard it was to see things right in front of them.

  Melody unlocked the door and held it open for Mary Anne, Bill, and Skylar.

  After Skylar was settled in her crib, still asleep, Mary Anne hurried downstairs to find Bill and Melody in the kitchen spreading peanut butter on crackers and pouring juice for the three of them.

  They were finishing their snack when Mr. and Mrs. Korman arrived.

  “It’s very quiet in here,” Mrs. Korman said, her eyes fixed on Bill and Melody sitting side by side at the kitchen counter.

  “Skylar is napping,” Mary Anne said, “and we’re finishing up our snack. We’ve been on a walk — together.”

  “Together?” Mr. Korman asked.

  Bill looked at his empty plate, then at his sister. “You had some good ideas when we were locked out of the house,” he mumbled. “I guess you’re not so dumb after all.” He paused, then continued, “I’m sorry I’ve been so mean, Melody. I’ll try to be nicer.” He looked sideways at his parents.

  Mr. and Mrs. Korman beamed.

  “Thank you, Bill. I accept your apology,” Melody said in a very grown-up voice.

  “Let’s go play rescue nine-one-one upstairs in my room. You can be the dispatcher and I’ll be the firefighter trying to help the mom escape from the locked house,” Bill said to Melody. “Is that okay?” he asked his parents.

  “Fine. Or you could play outside for a little longer if you want. I thought I saw David Michael and Karen in their yard when we drove by. Maybe they’d like to join you,” said Mr. Korman.

  “You mean I’m not grounded anymore?” A big smile appeared on Bill’s face.

  “As long as you are considerate of your sister …”

  “Come on, Melody, let’s tell David Michael how we rescued Mary Anne.”

  The Kormans turned to Mary Anne and she began to explain.

  “Claudia, wake up! We still have cleaning to do before Mom and Dad come home.” Janine was leaning over my bed, shaking my shoulder.

  “What time is it?” I mumbled, pulling the blankets over my head.

  “Time to rise and shine. Right now. I’m not going to pick up your mess all by myself,” Janine said.

  I threw back the covers. “But I’m sure you have some good ideas about how I should do it.” I climbed out of bed, stretched, and looked around for something to put on.

  “This is what you need to do: Clean up the dining room, making sure that you remove every cookie crumb, then vacuum the front hallway, and clean all the debris from the den.”

  “And what will you be doing?” I asked, yawning.

  “I’m going to fix a special dinner for Mom and Dad.” She turned and began to leave my room.

  The dinner sounded like a good idea, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. I looked at the clock. It was early. I wondered if Josh was up yet. I felt awful about yelling at him. I reached for the phone.

  “Claudia,” Janine said sharply.

  I froze.

  “No speaking on the telephone. Stick to the task at hand.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I said. She left before I could salute.

  As soon as I dressed, I went downstairs. Janine was in the kitchen hunched over a cookbook.

  The dining room was the most visibly wrecked. Every step I took crunched. Crumbs followed me into the kitchen as I grabbed the broom and dustpan out of the closet — neither looking at nor speaking to my sister.

  After I swept, I returned to the kitchen to empty the dustpan. Janine passed by me as if I weren’t there.

  In the den, I found the garbage bag I’d left there the night before and started gathering the remaining trash. The living room needed vacuuming. I turned on the stereo in the den loudly enough so that I could hear it in the next room. I was dancing around, picking up trash to the sounds of Blade, when I ran into Janine standing in the middle of the room, her hands on her hips.

  She turned and walked out of the room. The music ended abruptly.

  I rushed to the den. “Why did you do that?” I asked.

  “You’re to concentrate on work,” Janine informed me.

  I wanted to say “You’re not the boss of me,” but Janine didn’t give me a chance. She was gone before I could open my mouth.

  I threw trash into the bag until it wouldn’t hold any more, then twisted it tightly closed, thinking of Janine’s neck as I did.

  The doorbell rang. I wondered if answering the door was off-limits for me too? When Janine didn’t answer it, I did. I looked out the peephole and saw Stacey on the porch holding a bag. She waved at me.

  “Hi! I didn’t expect to see you today,” I greeted her, standing back so she could come inside.

  “We have something for you.” Stacey held out the bag.

  “What is it?” I slowly opened it. Inside was a vase identical to the one that had been broken the night before. I pulled it out. “This is wonderful! Where did you find it?”

  “I thought I remembered seeing the vase in a store downtown. After the party, we felt bad that you were in trouble with your aunt and uncle, and we knew that the broken vase was only going to make things worse. I called everybody and we all agreed to chip in to pay for a new vase and I volunteered to bring it to you.”

  I hugged Stacey. “The BSC is the best!” I said.

  “Not only the BSC,” Stacey said. “Joanna, Jeannie, Shira, and Josh want to contribute too. So do Greer, Rick, Austin, Pete, Emily, and Erica.”

  I stared at the vase. It would be a permanent reminder of how wonderful my friends were, and how they could work together.

  “We talked about coming over to help you clean up, but we weren’t sure that Janine would let us,” Stacey said in a low voice.

  “You’re right about that. I can’t talk on the phone or watch television or anything.” I looked toward the kitchen. I was waiting for Janine to come and chase Stacey away.

  “If you have a chance to call, I’ll be home later,” Stacey said.

  “Thanks again,” I replied, keeping a tight hold on the vase.

  Stacey ran out to her car. Mrs. McGill waved as I shut the door.

  “Who was that?” Janine asked.

  “Stacey. Look.” I held the vase out for my sister to see.

  “Hmmph!” Again, she turned around and walked away.

  “Janine! They went to a lot of trouble to find the vase and bring it to us. They were worried about what Mom and Dad would say —”

  “They were worried you’d be in trouble,” Janine interrup
ted.

  I set the vase on the table in the hallway. I’d take it into the living room in a minute, after I carried the trash bag outside. I opened the front door.

  “Where do you think you’re going now?” Janine demanded.

  I whirled around — and heard a sickening sound as the vase hit the ground.

  Janine and I jumped back at the same time. The vase twirled, rocked, then lay there, still in one piece. I dropped the trash bag and picked up the vase, searching for cracks and chips.

  “Is it okay?” Janine asked in a whisper.

  I nodded, then let out the breath I’d been holding. When I finally faced my sister, she was massaging her forehead, her eyes closed.

  “Janine, what is going on with you?” I asked. “You haven’t been the same since you and Jerry broke up, which was a good thing, remember? He wasn’t right for you. Why are you still acting so weird?”

  Janine sat down on the hall floor, running her fingers through her hair. “You’re right about Jerry. But he was my boyfriend for quite awhile and we spent most of our free time together. I lost touch with my other friends and I don’t know how to reconnect with those people.” She clasped her hands in her lap and looked at me.

  I couldn’t help smiling a little. “Why don’t you throw a party?” I asked.

  We laughed together, then Janine reached out and gave me — and the vase — a quick hug. I realized I could have been more sensitive to what Janine was experiencing, if I hadn’t been so wrapped up in my own problems. Maybe now we could come up with some ideas — together.

  My first suggestion was a special sister activity.

  “I’d like that, Claudia,” Janine replied. Her eyes glowed. “We’ll discuss the details later. But, I’d like to know more about art.”

  “And I’d like to know more about computers,” I admitted.

  We were still in the hall, brainstorming ways that Janine might reestablish some of her old friendships, when Mom and Dad opened the door.

  Mom looked at the big bag of trash, then at Janine, then at me. “Hello, girls,” she said.

  I pulled the trash bag behind me. “Mom, Dad, you’re back!”

  We exchanged hugs all around.