When they arrived back at the SS Lucky Alley, Henry Pearl was already waiting to take Pea home. Before she got into her father’s car, Pea looked grimly at Lou Lou.
“I don’t think we can say our See you tomorrows because I have a feeling that I’m grounded as of twenty minutes ago,” she said.
“I’m so sorry, Pea,” replied Lou Lou.
“It’s not your fault.” Pea pulled a huge glittery blue barrette from her bag and pinned it on the side of her head. She handed a similar red barrette to Lou Lou. “Elsa Schiaparelli said, ‘In difficult times, fashion is always outrageous,’” Pea explained.
From the car, Pea’s father called, “Peacock Paloma Pearl! Time to go now!”
“Buena suerte,” Lou Lou said.
“You too.” Pea nodded in the direction of Lou Lou’s front steps, and Lou Lou turned to see her mom, cross-armed and frowning.
Lou Lou had thought maybe the Pearls wouldn’t report her, but she knew it was unlikely. Parents were often similar to best friends in that they told each other everything.
It was no surprise that Lou Lou also ended up grounded for a week. Her mom called her Louise, a sure sign that she was really mad, and her dad said that Lou Lou’s actions were not those of an honorable sailor and violated the SS Lucky Alley code of conduct. Lou Lou tried to explain their good intentions—that they wanted to reclaim the Bonanza and Pea’s hats, and that they had only accidentally borrowed the diary—but her parents didn’t want to hear “excuses.”
The next few days, Lou Lou was on her best behavior. She helped her dad perfect his monkey’s-fist nautical knot, darned a hole in her mom’s fuzzy bathrobe, and worked hard on her homework. But she couldn’t stop thinking about the Bonanza and all that El Corazón had lost. So Lou Lou was left moping around the crow’s nest.
To make matters worse, on Wednesday, Andy Argyle came to pick up the model of the gazebo from Lou Lou’s school. Lou Lou and her classmates watched their teacher, Mr. Anthem, unlock the hallway trophy case for the vice-mayor.
“We’re certainly sorry to see this go. Everyone was really looking forward to the beautiful new Limonero Park gazebo,” Mr. Anthem said.
“We were going to hold kazoo concerts in the gazebo on sunny days,” one of Lou Lou’s classmates said.
“And I was planning to use it for my pink princess birthday party, just like Sherry’s party in the third Sugar Mountain Sisters book,” said Danielle’s friend.
So much for PSPP tea and scones in the gazebo, Lou Lou thought mournfully.
“Where in Verde Valley do you plan to put the gazebo?” Mr. Anthem asked. “Maybe my students can use it occasionally?”
“Oh, I doubt that,” Andy Argyle scoffed. “And it’s not really any of your business where I put it!” His shiny shoes squeaked as he grabbed the model and walked away. Watching the back of Andy Argyle’s yellow-and-green jacket go out the door, Lou Lou felt a wave of hopelessness. If the diary was a fake, she had no way to prove it now. And she couldn’t think of another way to get back the Bonanza. Plus, if the diary was real—a possibility Lou Lou had to consider—Verde Valley did deserve the Bonanza and the gazebo.
* * *
On Thursday after school, Lou Lou walked to Limonero Park. Even though she was grounded, she had permission from her parents to water the honeysuckle. Lou Lou was finishing up when a voice called out, “Hiya, Lou Lou Bombay!”
Lou Lou turned and saw Jeremy walking toward her.
“Hi! What are you up to?” she asked.
“I came to see you. Peacock thought you might be at the park today.”
“Pea? When did you talk to Pea? How is she doing?” Lou Lou felt a twinge of sadness. It had been almost a whole week since she’d talked to her best friend. This was the longest both she and Pea had been grounded. In fact, Lou Lou couldn’t remember a time when Pea had ever been grounded.
“I ran into her at the bodega. She’s fine,” Jeremy said. “But”—he leaned in conspiratorially—“she says she has news for us. About the diary.” He was whispering even though there was no one around to hear him.
Lou Lou felt her ears tingle with excitement. “What news?” she asked.
“I don’t know the details,” Jeremy said. “She wants to explain it in person on Saturday and suggested you, me, and Comet Cop Kyle meet her at Cupcake Cabana at ten-thirty.”
“I don’t know if … never mind, I’ll find a way to be there.” Lou Lou was technically grounded until the end of first dogwatch on Saturday, which was nautical-speak for six p.m. But she thought she could negotiate time off her sentence for good behavior, particularly since Pea was clearly only grounded through Friday night.
“Bueno! See ya Saturday,” said Jeremy. He started to walk away but then turned back to Lou Lou. “Hey, thanks for not telling on me for the Diary Mission,” he said. “Pretty cool of you, Lou Lou Bombay. Pretty cool. I do feel bad that you and Peacock got in trouble. I’ll make it up to you with some killer caracoles once I get the recipe right.”
“Still working on the caracoles, huh?” said Lou Lou.
“Yeah, Rosa sampled my latest batches. Apparently, turmeric, mustard, and tuna salad aren’t the right ingredients either.”
“I’m not surprised,” said Lou Lou. Tuna salad caracoles sounded worse than beef bouillon caracoles. “Oh, and you’re welcome.”
“Maybe the Diary Mission wasn’t such a great idea,” Jeremy said.
“That depends on what Pea tells us on Saturday!” Lou Lou replied. “If she’s found a way to use the diary to get back the Bonanza, being grounded will definitely be worth it!”