CHAPTER 2

Mind Your Business

A lot of people think Charlie is just a regular guy with a bajillion freckles, but that’s because he’s shy and doesn’t show people his skills. He’s planning on being an inventor. He also knows a ton of facts because his mom writes those 1000 Weirdest Things on the Planet books. He’s the perfect person to help me start a business because he has the type of brain that thinks about the tiny details. One day I’ll make him my Vice President of Operations.

Our school, Harbor View Elementary, is right around the corner. It’s so close that we can hear the bell from both of our houses, and at mine, it’s louder. But we take a different route to school every day for two reasons:

  1. to avoid certain people (which I’ll explain later)
  2. so that a spy trying to steal* our top-secret inventions wouldn’t be able to follow us

*Just so you know, inventions aren’t safe until they have a patent, which is basically an official letter from the government saying no one can copy you. But patents cost money, so I should add that to my big, long list of things I want to buy.

Every morning since school started a few weeks ago, we decide which route to take to get there. This morning we’re taking the long route because we need all the time we can get to write down the business ideas I’ve had. Mister doesn’t have a say in the route, plus we have a no-fighting-on-the-way-to-school rule, so we go my way.

Wednesday is holding a clipboard with a pencil behind her ear, as she walks to school with Charlie and Mister, who is reading a book.

“I should take notes because I’m great at making lists and I have a clipboard,” I say to Charlie.

“True,” he replies. “Plus you’re better at walking and writing at the same time.”

“Double true,” I say. “And you’re much more of a 3D thinker.”

“Triple true,” he says. But this could go on forever, so I write the title in big letters and underline it. Then I start writing down all the ideas I have, and we even add a few more.

Businesses We Can Start Today (Without A Lot of Overhead*): lemonade stand (check fridge for lemons after school), dog walking (I’d walk my dog for free if I had one), toy sale, car wash, cutting grass, portrait stand (Mister’s idea), catching crickets (Charlie’s idea). *Overhead is a business term for the money it takes to run a business, which I don’t have a lot of, because I only have $31.50 saved in my piggy bank’s butt.

We stop our list right there, but not because we want to. I told you I’d explain later why we take a different route to school every day, and I suppose now’s a good time … Meet Ruby Beautiful.