CHAPTER 14

Ximena

As Lucy looked for her next victim client, she found Ximena sitting at her desk quietly sketching flowers.

“What do you want to be famous for?” Lucy asked. “What’s your talent?”

“I don’t have any talent,” Ximena said. (Which was a silly thing to say, as every child is good at something, whether they know it or not.)

“Everyone has something that can be exploited used,” Lucy said. “For instance, your art. Let me see those sketches.…”

“I like to draw flowers,” Ximena said as Lucy flipped through her sketchbook. Each and every page was covered in sketches of flowers.

“I’ve seen enough,” Lucy said. “You’re coming to New York City with me. Time for the modern art world to meet their newest sensation: Ximena!”

Once Ximena got to New York City, Lucy put her up in a studio and told her to draw until she couldn’t feel her hand. And that’s exactly what Ximena did. She drew big flowers and small flowers. She sketched fat flowers and skinny flowers. She painted bright flowers and dark flowers.

After only a week, she’d made thousands of pictures of flowers. Lucy LaRoux framed them and put them up in a gallery. They were going to have the biggest art opening ever.…

Ahem. Can I interrupt the story for a second? Believe it or not, your ol’ pal Honest Lee here has been to a few art openings and knows a thing or two about the snooty art world. Let me explain how it works for you:

There is free cheese at art openings. Eat as much as you want. There’s always more. Don’t let them tell you otherwise. Even if they say, “Honest Lee, leave some for the other patrons!” Eat all you want. Cheese is awesome—unless of course you’re lactose intolerant.

It was Ximena’s big night, so she wore her favorite flower dress, which her abuela had made for her. She only expected maybe twenty people to show up for her show. Instead, hundreds came! There was a line out the door of people trying to get in. The art world loved her flowers. And, more important, they loved Ximena.

“She’s so nice,” they said.

“And easy to talk to,” others said.

“And her art? The flowers are more real than… real flowers!”

Millionaires paid millions for her artistic renderings of flowers. “I can’t even tell what kind of flower this is,” one rich man said, “which means it’s obviously the best and I need to buy it at any cost.”

“Sold!” Lucy shouted, counting the piles of cash.

Yes, art types and critics alike loved Ximena’s portraits of flowers. She was the newest artist of her age, and the best part was, this was only the beginning.

The next day, Lucy said, “Okay, things in the art world are always moving and changing, so what are you going to draw next?”

“More flowers, I guess,” Ximena said. “That’s all I know how to draw.”

“Surely you can do more than just flowers,” Lucy said. “Try to draw a person. Or a puppy. Or some stars!” Ximena drew a person, a puppy, and some stars. But they all looked like flowers.

“Try a robot, or a cowboy, or some skulls!” Lucy said. Ximena drew a robot, a cowboy, and some skulls. They all looked like flowers, too.

“Try a house, or an ocean, or some saltine crackers!” Ximena drew a house, an ocean, and some saltine crackers. They, too, all looked like flowers.

“I give up,” Lucy said.

“Oh, I can do kittens!” Ximena said.

“Yes, do that!”

Ximena drew a kitten, but it looked like a flower, too.

“If you can’t draw anything else, your art career is over,” Lucy said. Ximena shrugged. She didn’t mind. She really liked drawing flowers.