chapter 4
“Manda! Get up!” Molly said happily. “Happy last day of school!”
Amanda sleepily opened one eye and glanced at her sister. “Boy, are you in a good mood,” she mumbled. She sat up in bed, stretching and yawning. “You’re not normally so excited about school.”
“It’s not school I’m excited about,” Molly corrected her sister. “It’s our sleepover!”
“Molls, did you figure out what you’re going to wear today?” Amanda asked. But Molly was already in the twins bathroom, brushing her teeth. Amanda wandered over to her closet. She had spent about an hour last night picking out the perfect last-day-of-school outfit—her new baby-blue capris, a blue-and-purple top with swirls, and purple beaded bracelets.
As the twins were about to leave, the phone rang. It was Shawn.
“I’m running late, so don’t stop by to pick me up.” Shawn told Amanda. “I’ll see you guys at school.”
“Is everything okay?” Amanda asked.
“Sure,” replied Shawn. “See you in a little while.”
Amanda hung up the phone and told Molly what Shawn had said.
“That’s weird,” Molly said, puzzled. “She always walks to school with us. Unless she’s staying home sick.”
Amanda shrugged. “Maybe she had trouble deciding what to wear.”
Molly rolled her eyes.
“Come on!” Amanda said with a smile. “Let’s hurry up. I can’t wait to get my yearbook in homeroom!”
At school, the other students—and even the teachers—were in great moods, laughing and joking around. Many kids were still hanging out at their lockers when the homeroom bell rang, but not Molly and Amanda. They were already seated in homeroom, eagerly awaiting their yearbooks, which were sitting in two tall stacks on Mr. Flint’s desk.
“I wish he would just hand them out already!” Amanda whispered to her sister. But first Mr. Flint insisted on taking attendance, then passing out end-of-the-year notices for the students to take home to their parents.
Finally, it was time for the yearbooks. One by one, Mr. Flint called everyone up to his desk to pick up his or her yearbook.
“Amanda Moore,” he droned in his monotone voice.
Amanda practically flew up to the front of the room. She started flipping through her yearbook before she got back to her desk. Finally, on page 58, she found her and Molly’s pictures.
Her mouth dropped open in surprise.
“What? What is it?” Molly asked when she saw Amanda’s face.
“Our pictures! Our pictures have been switched!” Amanda replied in horror.
Molly flipped to page 58 and burst out laughing as soon as she saw the pictures—hers read AMANDA MOORE beneath it, while Amanda’s picture was labeled AMELIA MOORE. It was easy to notice, because Molly was wearing a plain T-shirt and had her hair in a high ponytail, while Amanda was decked out in sparkly earrings and a blouse with lace trim. She had even curled her hair!
“It’s not funny!” Amanda groaned as Molly laughed.
“Yes, it is!” insisted Molly. She couldn’t stop chuckling. “Don’t worry Manda. Everyone who knows us will see it’s a mistake!”
“Easy for you to say!” Amanda retorted. “The picture of me looks really good! Molls, what happened to your hair?”
“I think I forgot to wash it the night before we took our school pictures.” Molly tried not to laugh again, but the look on Amanda’s face was too much for her. “S-sorry, Manda. I know you’re mad. But it is pretty funny!”
Amanda didn’t say anything for a moment. But then she started laughing, too. “All I can say is that next year, one of us had better be on the yearbook staff to make sure this doesn’t happen again!”
While the rest of the Chef Girls were getting their yearbooks in homeroom, Shawn and her father sat in Coach Carson’s office.
It felt good to tell Dad and Sonia about Angie, she thought, biting her lip. But it’s totally different telling Coach Carson. Usually, Coach Carson was active, fun, and energetic. But as Shawn described Angie’s actions in the locker room, Coach Carson’s face grew troubled, and Shawn realized just how serious the situation was.
“Shawn, did you see what Angie did with the shoes after she defaced them?” Coach Carson asked in a serious voice. Shawn shook her head.
Coach Carson sighed heavily. “The janitor found them in the girls’ locker room over the weekend and left them here for me. I’ve turned them over to Principal Wagner, who, like me, is very concerned. This was a cruel act of vandalism that not only sabotaged Elizabeth, but the entire squad as well. Principal Wagner and I are actually meeting later to discuss this incident.”
Shawn looked squarely at Coach Carson. “I had no idea Angie was going to do this, Coach,” she said earnestly. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw her writing on the shoes.”
“Shawn, I know you weren’t involved,” Coach Carson said reassuringly. “And I can’t thank you enough for coming forward today. I know it wasn’t easy. We won’t tell Angie that you saw her.”
Shawn sighed with relief.
As the first period bell rang, Coach Carson turned to Shawn’s dad and shook his hand. “Mr. Jordan, thank you for coming in. You’ve got a great daughter.” Shawn and her father smiled.
“Thanks—I think so, too,” Mr. Jordan said as he stood up.
Shawn walked her father through the empty hallway toward the door before she hurried off to first period. “Thanks for coming with me, Dad,” she said quietly. Since Shawn’s mother had died a few years before of a long illness, it had been just the two of them. But now Shawn and her dad were closer than ever.
“Baby, I’m so proud of you,” Mr. Jordan replied quietly, squeezing her shoulder. “That was brave—you did the right thing.”
Shawn didn’t say anything for a bit. “I still feel weird about it, Dad. I hate thinking that Angie’s gonna get in trouble because of me.”
“Not because of you,” Mr. Jordan gently corrected her. “Because of her own behavior. Don’t forget that—Angie caused this problem, not you.”
Shawn smiled at her father. “I know, Dad. You’re right.”
The shortened school day flew by with a flurry of good-byes and signing yearbooks, and soon the twins were back at home, getting ready for the sleepover party. Amanda had whipped up a batch of her scrumptious peppermint brownies, while Molly was putting the finishing touches on a big plate of nachos. The girls would all cook dinner together later on.
“Molls, was Justin in your math class today?” Amanda asked. “I wanted him to sign my yearbook, but I didn’t see him all day.”
Molly shook her head. “No, he was home sick. I heard Connor tell Ms. Spontak that he has bronchitis.”
“That stinks,” Amanda said. She thought to herself, Poor Justin! I probably won’t see him now untilAugust. I hope he doesn’t forget about me!
Just then, Shawn and Natasha arrived. They helped the twins carry the nachos, brownies, and a pitcher of Mrs. Moore’s homemade lemonade upstairs to the twins’ bedroom.
“Okay, let’s see those yearbooks,” Shawn announced, pulling some sparkle pens out of her bag. “I brought some art supplies so we can sign em in style!”
“Should we wait for Peichi?” Natasha asked, glancing at her watch.
Molly shook her head. “She’ll probably be here any minute.”
After everyone had giggled about Molly and Amanda’s picture mix-up, they started intently signing and decorating one another’s yearbooks. About fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang. Amanda ran downstairs to answer the door.
“Hi, Peichi!” Amanda greeted her friend. “Come on in. We started the yearbooks already.”
As Peichi followed Amanda into the twins’ room, the other girls looked up to say hello.
“Peichi, where’s your sleepover stuff?” Molly asked, noticing that Peichi wasn’t carrying a sleeping bag or overnight bag.
Peichi flopped down on the windowseat. “My parents are being so lame! They won’t let me sleep over tonight!”
“Why not?” cried Molly and Amanda at the same time.
“Because we’re leaving for China in two days, and they say if I have a sleepover tonight, I’ll start the trip all tired! We’re gonna be on airplanes for, like, twenty-four hours. I toldthem I would sleep a lot on the plane, but they said, ‘No way, Peichi,’ ” Peichi replied with a pout. “That’s why I was late. We were still arguing about it, but I finally gave up. My mom said she’d pick me up at ten-thirty.”
“What a bummer,” Amanda said sympathetically. “But at least you can hang with us for a while. Here, sign my yearbook. That will help get your mind off it.”
“Yeah,” Molly said. “We’ll still have a ton of fun before you go.” Molly tried not to let on, but she felt a little disappointed. She’d really been counting on this sleepover to be the Chef Girls’ last fun time before summer started and they all went away.
“Ugh—my yearbook!” Peichi exclaimed, burying her face in her hands. “You don’t even want to know what Omar wrote!”
“Yes, we do!” chorused her friends.
With a heavy sigh, Peichi reached into her backpack and pulled out her yearbook. “It’s on the next-to-last page,” she said, covering her face again.
Molly grabbed the yearbook and flipped through it. “‘Dear Peichi,”’ she read. The girls giggled. “‘I think you are one of the nicest, smartest girls at Windsor Middle School. And you’re really cool, too. I had a great time when we went to the movie during spring break, and I hope we can go to another one this summer. Here is my phone number. Your bud, Omar.”’ By the time she finished reading, Molly was laughing so hard she dropped Peichi’s yearbook on the floor.
“It’s not that funny,” Peichi retorted, pretending to glare at her friends. But then she, too, started cracking up. “You guys want to know what I wrote in his yearbook? ‘Have a great summer, Omar! From Peichi.’ That’s it!”
“Aww, I bet he was disappointed!” Shawn giggled. “He probably hoped you would write. ‘Dear Omar, you are the man of my dreams. Please whisk me away on your bike this summer for a romantic evening at the Windsor Video Arcade.’” The girls cracked up again.
Molly looked at her friends, laughing, eating the yummy snacks, having a great time... This is the best she thought, briefly wishing that everyone would be staying in Brooklyn this summer, wishing the sleepover was just the beginning of a summer filled with cooking, parties, and fun. But she pushed the thought from her mind and tried to focus on the adventures just around the corner. Summer will still be amazing, Molly thought with determination. And well have so much fun telling one another everything when we get back!
