After everyone left, we had minestrone for dinner. That’s just Italian for vegetable soup.
I am not a big fan of most vegetables, but I am a big fan of vegetable soup. It is one of the great mysteries of the world. Of course, to make the minestrone good, you have to put a big pile of Parmesan on it. That’s the secret ingredient.
I had just had my first spoonful of minestrone when the phone rang. Even though Mom and Dad don’t like it when we answer the phone during dinner, I could not resist. A ringing phone makes me so curious.
Jude always says, “Curiosity killed the cat!”
And I say, “Well, cats have nine lives.”
And Jude says, “Well, it probably killed him all nine times.”
And Mom always says, “Are you really arguing about this? Really?”
I love answering the phone because absolutely anyone could be on the other end. Once, I answered the phone and a voice said, “Congratulations! You have won forty thousand dollars!” I almost fainted with excitement. But when I gave Mom the phone, she said it was a scam.
When I answered the phone that night, it wasn’t a person telling me I’d won a sweepstakes or anything fun like that. It was Matthew Sawyer.
“What’s wrong?” I asked right away.
“Why do you think something’s wrong?” he asked. “Maybe I’m just calling you to tell you everything is perfect and we are all ready for tomorrow.”
“Are you calling me to tell me that everything is perfect and we are all ready for tomorrow?”
“No,” he said. “Something’s wrong.”
“MATTHEW SAWYER!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “WHAT HAPPENED?”
“Do you want the good news or bad news first?”
“Good news,” I said right away. I always want the good news first.
“The good news is that there were plenty of gum wrappers, and the other good news is that I glued every single one on, and the best news is that it looked really, really, really great.”
“So what’s the bad news?”
“After I did all that, I lost the project.”
I was so furious, I stomped my foot down. I stomped it so hard, I thought my foot might go right through the floor.
“This is SERIOUS!” I told Matt. “We need that project first thing tomorrow morning or we’re toast! And not the good kind of toast, with heaps of butter and strawberry jam on it. We’re burned toast. Capisce?”
“I know,” said Matt softly. “I can’t believe I lost it. I bet you think I’m the worst.”
I had sort of been thinking that, but as soon as I heard his voice get so sad, I stopped being furious at him.
“I don’t think you’re the worst,” I said. “And anyway, you’re in luck. I just so happen to be the president of a world-famous group of problem solvers. I can fix this in a jiff. Be right over!”
Then I hung up the phone and raced into the living room shouting, “Code red! Code red! Code red!”
“It’s happened,” Jude said. “She’s lost her last marble.”
Pearl stood up in her high chair, waving her arms and shouting, “CODE WED! CODE WED!” Which would have made me laugh if I wasn’t totally freaking out.
Mom said she’d take me to Matt’s house as soon as we finished dinner, so I sloshed big spoonfuls of soup into my mouth as fast as I could.
Jude insisted on coming, too. I knew it was just because he wanted to talk to Chloe, but I didn’t care. We needed all the help we could get.