Chapter Twenty-Two

In my almost nine and a half years of life, I have never had a big group of kids over. Except my birthday parties in kindergarten and first grade. In my book, those do not count. Back then, Mom always made me invite everyone in my class to come because it’s polite. I even had to invite Jessica Anderson. She even avoided talking to me at my own party!

This time is different. I am over-the-moon excited about having my first big group hangout at home. Everyone who is coming over wants to come over. Nobody is being forced. The best part is that Stanley is going to be there, too! He just got back from Texas. I haven’t seen him yet, but he called yesterday and promised to be there.

Mom had one requirement before allowing me to have everyone come over. She insisted everything in the house be sparkling clean for my club meeting.

“A clean house makes a person feel welcomed,” she says.

I nod my head. I don’t love cleaning, but if this is what I have to do to have my meeting in the house, I’ll do it!

First thing Saturday morning, Mom reviews my tasks before my group comes over.

“Okay, Ms. Sea Musketeer. Will you clean your room and el baño?”

“Yes! I’ll clean my room and the bathroom. I’ll even clean under my bed,” I reply.

As I clean, I find weird things under my bed like one of Biscuit’s dog treats. I guess he has another favorite spot in our home besides our backyard.

By the time I’m done cleaning, Nick comes down for breakfast. He still has a blanket wrapped around him. He drapes himself with a blanket whenever he is sleepy.

“I could hear you two giggling earlier,” says Nick, mumbling.

Nick slumps over on the couch. I’m still a little hurt when I think about the cleanup day. I’ve been sort of ignoring him. It’s been easy since he’s been at work, but then I think about what Mom said, and I decide to give it a try. I walk over to him.

“Nick, could you help me with my club?”

“What club?” he asks drowsily.

My feelings are a little hurt, but at least he’s listening to me.

“My saving-the-oceans club. The kids from the beach cleanup, me, plus Stanley, and Jenny have started a club called the Sea Musketeers. We want to raise money to save the oceans.”

I show him the pledge I designed. It has all the signatures from camp.

“This looks great,” he says, handing it back to me.

“Our first meeting is today. Will you come?”

“Oh…” He rubs his eyes. “I’m going to hang out with my friends from work today. But I’ll be an unofficial member, okay?”

I frown a little.

Nick notices that I’m let down.

“What if … I’m your club mentor. That’s even better than a member. I can help you with ideas. All the best companies have a mentor.”

I smile a little and shrug.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Now pour me a glass of chocolate milk, and we’ll get started.”

Turns out Nick is a pretty great mentor. On the Marine Mammal Center website, he finds a way for the group to create its own fund-raising page. We decide that’s who we are going to donate our bake sale money to. With Mom’s permission, we create a page.

After breakfast, Nick goes back to his room. That’s okay with me, too. Because soon there is a knock on the door. It’s Stanley!

“Howdy, Stella! I’m here for our meeting.”

His skin is tanned from all the time spent outdoors in Texas. I give him a hug even though his hands are filled.

In one hand, he has a box of his M&M cookies.

“Mom and I thought that I might need them since I am meeting new kids.” He grins.

In the other, he is carrying a new book entitled Fifty Ways to Save the Ocean. On the back it has in big letters “Clean, Protect, Conserve—and Enjoy—Our Magnificent Oceans.”

“That’s for our meeting,” he says. “I’ve been doing my own research, too. I also have a crowd-pleasing joke. Want to hear it?”

“Sure!”

Stanley leans in. “What did the Pacific Ocean say to the Atlantic Ocean?”

“I don’t know,” I reply.

Stanley starts giggling. “Nothing. It just waved.”

I groan. The joke might not be the best, but it’s great to have Stanley back.

Jenny shows up next. I give her a super tight hug.

“I made you another best-friend bracelet,” she says.

As I place the bracelet next to the other on my wrist, I know everything is fine between us.

Before the rest of the group shows up, Jenny shows off her completed choreography to Stanley and me. Jenny’s performance is marvelous!

“You’re so good, Jenny!” I say.

She bows. When she lifts up her head, her face is glowing.

“Thank you. We’re going to have our recital next week. Will you come? They’re going to have a big reception and everything.”

“Yes…” Suddenly, I have a bright idea. The biggest and greatest idea.

“Guys, what if we do our bake sale there?”

“At the dance recital?” asks Jenny.

Stanley high-fives me.

Jenny squeals. “Yes! I mean I think we have to check, but there will be plenty of people.”

The doorbell starts ringing. One by one, everyone shows up. Mariel is the last to arrive. I open the door to almost everyone except for Mariel. I was too busy grabbing the snacks for the group. I didn’t even realize she made it until I headed over to the living room to check. I glance over to see Mariel speaking Spanish with Mom perfectly. Mariel even makes Mom laugh!

“I like her. She has such a fun Puerto Rican accent,” Mom whispers to me when I enter the living room.

I feel a little roja, but this time, it’s jealousy. I envy that Mariel can speak Spanish so well with my mom. She can even tell her jokes that make her laugh. The only time Mom laughs when I speak in Spanish is when I’ve made a “cute” mistake. Then I realize maybe if I had tried to speak some Spanish with Mariel I might have learned more about her. Like I never knew Mariel was Puerto Rican, and I was with her all week. I just never bothered to ask her questions like Where are you from? or What is your favorite color? I was just too intimidated and concerned about myself to try.

Mariel is inspecting our home. She picks up my new alebrije from Oaxaca. It’s in the shape of a giraffe and bird. I walk up to her as she studies all the patterns.

“Hi. The meeting is up in my room.”

“What’s this? I like it,” asks Mariel as she touches the wings.

“It’s an alebrije. It’s from Mexico. It’s a fantastical creature that is supposed to be a guide for people in the afterlife.”

“That’s cool!” She smiles, putting it down.

“My mom says you’re from Puerto Rico?” I ask.

“Yup, well my family is. My parents moved to Miami before they had me. I was born there.”

“Cool.”

Then there is a long pause. I’m not sure what else to ask her right now, and the club is waiting.

“Well, let’s go to the meeting,” I reply.

Mariel follows me up to my room, and we launch our first meeting.

Logan begins by asking everyone if they agree on the name Sea Musketeers for the group. We get five yeses and one gigantic “Awesome” from Stanley.

“Now that that’s settled,” I continue, “we might have the perfect location for our bake sale. Jenny’s dance recital.”

“It’s one of the largest dance camps in the city, and many people will be there, too,” adds Jenny proudly.

“Great idea!” says Kristen.

“Should we have anything else at the bake sale besides the pledge?” asks Stanley. I see that he has no problem fitting in. Like usual, he just handed out his M&M cookies. As I pick up a cookie, I begin to feel a little nervous. I don’t have anything else to add. I’m out of new ideas for my group already. I regret hosting the club at my casa. I can’t sneak away from my own house.

“That reminds me,” says Kristen. “My sister started a blog page with the pledge.”

Suddenly, I have something to add.

“Wait, I have a fund-raising page, too. My brother, Nick, helped me set it up,” I reply. I exhale. I guess I do have more to offer the group.

“Perfect, let’s look at them both,” says Logan. I feel relieved.

Mom brings up the laptop so we can look at the pages. Everyone gives feedback, everyone except for Mariel. She’s too busy studying my new tote bag hanging on my door.

“Where did you get that?” asks Mariel.

“That’s a tote bag Stella and I made,” Mom replies proudly. “We’re going to start using them instead of plastic bags.”

“They’re very artistic. What if we sell them at the bake sale? We could sell them for more money than a cookie,” says Mariel.

We gasp. That’s a good suggestion.

“Yes!” we all say together.

“We’ll raise so much money,” I reply. My eyes are filled with dollar signs.

“Thousands,” chimes in Logan.

“Millions,” adds Kristen.

“I doubt millions,” says Mariel skeptically.

“Regardless of the amount, it’s definitely a start,” says Stanley.

Mariel stands up. “We definitely should have at least one other meeting. We need to make all the posters, plan the decorations, and figure out who is going to make what. Let’s do my place next time. My parents already said it’s fine.”

I’m a little annoyed that Mariel is taking over the meeting some, but she has a point. I am very curious to know where she lives. I might even get more clues to who Mariel is, because right now she’s a bit of a mystery.