CHAPTER 7
DIORAMA DISASTER
Daddy sat down at the kitchen table and took a sandwich from the platter Mama had put on the table. He took a great big bite. “Mmmmm,” he said.
Mama giggled and stood up. “I better get to work,” she said. “I sure am glad I took tomorrow off.” Then she grabbed her planner and her chef uniform and left.
I let out a sigh. I’d been hoping for Mama’s help.
Once we were alone, Daddy turned to me. “What’s up?”
This was the first chance I’d had to talk to Daddy about the zoo and my extra credit assignment. First, I told him all about my field trip. Then, I said, “Now I get to make a diorama. I’m making a tiger habitat.”
“Wow!” said Daddy. “Can I see it?”
“There’s nothing to see,” I said.
I updated Daddy on our not-so-lazy Saturday, and about Greenie. He listened to every single word I said. That was my favorite thing about Daddy. He was a very good listener.
“Well, I guess you better hop to it,” he said. “The house is nice and quiet now.”
I went to my room and put my list on my desk. Then I pulled out the art mat Auntie Sam had bought me for my birthday. The mat helped keep my desk clean.
Next, I got out blue and green paint, a paint brush, and my clay. Then, I put my smock on over my clothes so they wouldn’t get dirty. Auntie Sam had given it to me with the mat.
Finally I sat down at my desk. I was ready. First, I painted half of the box blue. That would be the sky.
Then, I painted the other half green. That would be the grass. I didn’t want the outside of the box to look like a shoebox, so I painted the whole outside black.
Finishing that step made me feel better. I put the box to the side to dry. I crossed step one off my list. Step two was going to be the most fun: making the clay tiger.
I pulled out the postcard I’d bought at the zoo’s gift shop. It had a picture of Nikita on the front. I was extra glad that I’d bought it before we left.
I started to shape the clay. It wasn’t as easy as I thought. First, it looked like a rock with legs. Then, it looked like a dog. Finally it was just right.
Just then, Tiana came crashing into my room. She didn’t even knock.
“Let’s look for Greenie!” she yelled, barreling toward me.
Before I could even set my tiger to the side, Tiana bumped my desk and knocked Nikita onto the floor. When I picked her up, Nikita was ruined. One side of my tiger was squished flat. Two legs and one ear had come off. Every single little whisker I’d made had fallen off too.
“Look what you did!” I shouted. I stood up, grabbed Tiana’s hand, and pulled her to the door. “Get out!”
Tiana did her baby-elephant cry again. “Owwwwww,” she whined.
“Get out!” I yelled. “You broke my tiger!”
I pulled Tiana all the way out of my room. Unfortunately, I ran right into Daddy. I quickly let go of Tiana’s arm.
Daddy looked at us. He had a pencil behind his ear and was wearing his glasses. I knew he had been in his office working. Tiana and Greenie were interrupting everyone’s day.
At first I thought I was going to have some explaining to do. But Daddy walked right past me. He went into my room and picked up the tiger pieces. He stared at them for a minute. Then he put them on the desk and walked over to Tiana.
Daddy bent down so his face was very close to Tiana’s face. “What do you need to say to your sister?” he asked.
Tiana frowned. “But, Daddy, I only wanted—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Daddy said firmly.
I was glad to have Daddy on my side. My diorama was just as important as Greenie. Tiana had a whole toy box full of stuffies.
Daddy repeated his question: “What do you need to say to Azaleah?”
“I’m sorry I broke your tiger,” Tiana mumbled.
I nodded, but I did not forgive her. Not for one second. Nikita was ruined. She needed a veterinarian.
So much for step two, I thought.
Daddy said, “Azaleah, see if you can fix your project.” Then he led Tiana away and shut my door. Even though the door was closed, I heard him tell Tiana not to interrupt me again.
I sighed. Sometimes having a baby sister was very annoying.
* * *
By the time I finished fixing my tiger, it was time for dinner. On weekends, we usually had leftovers from Avec Amour since Mama needed to be at the restaurant.
Daddy heated up the food and put it on the table. Today Mama had left us macaroni and cheese, glazed ham, and candied yams. She’d also left some homemade rolls.
A few minutes later, Nia walked back in from her rehearsal. She was all dressed up in her Dorothy costume, and she had on very long fake eyelashes. Her Afro was nice and round.
The whole time we ate, Nia pretended like she was Dorothy. If anyone talked to her, she gave an answer that didn’t even make any sense.
Daddy asked, “Nia, how was your rehearsal?”
“I’m on my way to find the Wiz,” said Nia. “I have to find my way back home.” She bent down and picked up the stuffed Toto from the floor. She hugged him and stared into space.
Daddy laughed, but Toto must have reminded Tiana of Greenie. She started crying again. “I want Greenie!” she wailed.
“Ugh, Tiana!” said Nia. “Give it a rest. Nobody wants to hear any more about Greenie.”
Of course, that made Tiana cry more. I wished Tiana could go spend the night at Auntie Sam’s this weekend. Maybe she could stay at Kevin’s house. I didn’t care where she went. It was worth a try.
“I think a slumber party might cheer Tiana up,” I suggested.
Tiana stopped crying and grinned. “Maybe I can have a slumber party with you!” she said.
I shook my head. I did not want to spend one more minute with my little sister, even if I did have a mystery to solve. I needed to do three steps today and three steps tomorrow if I wanted to finish my diorama. Thanks to Tiana, I had already spent way too much time on step two. I had to get step three done before bed.
“No way,” I said.
Tiana went back to crying.
Lazy Saturday had quickly turned into crazy Saturday. Daddy wiped his mouth and scooted his chair away from the table.
“Everyone is going to bed,” he said. “Now.”
I started to cry. I tried not to, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t go to bed. I had to make my paper grass.
“Dad,” said Nia. “It’s six o’clock.”
“I don’t care,” Daddy said. “This is ridiculous.”
Nia stomped upstairs with Toto. I looked at Tiana. This was all her fault. She didn’t even look like she felt sorry. She was smiling.
“Daddy,” she said, “can I have a slumber party with Azaleah?”
“You have caused enough trouble for one day,” Daddy said.
Tiana gave Daddy her sweetest smile. “Pleeeeeeeaaaase?” she begged.
Daddy thought for a long time. Finally he looked at me and winked. I knew what that meant: He had a plan.
“If I let you have a slumber party in Azaleah’s room, do you promise not to bother her tomorrow?” he asked Tiana.
I smiled at him. Daddy was smart. We had to go to bed either way. If Tiana agreed and came with me, I’d have all day tomorrow to finish my diorama.
Tiana grinned and nodded. “Yes, Daddy. I promise.”
Finally, I’ll have some peace, I thought. And tomorrow, I’ll have an awesome diorama.