Alexis and the Missing Ingredient (2 page)

Pause.

“Can we come out and help you?”

Dylan walked in and stood next to me, and we watched our mom talk on the phone.

Who?
mouthed Dylan.

My mom stared blankly at us.

“Okay, well, please call me as soon as she comes back and I can drive out there later this morning. Thanks so much, Jim. Give her a huge hug from all of us.”

Dylan and I looked at each other in shock. Grandma?

My mom hung up the phone and sat heavily at the kitchen table.

“Mom?” I asked quietly.

She looked up, and her eyes were teary. “It's fine. It just caught me off guard. Sorry. It's Grandma but they think she's going to be okay. She fell down the last step to the basement and bumped her head, so they took her to the hospital to make sure she was okay.”

“Oh!” My hand flew to my mouth.

My mom smiled. “Well, you know Grandma can be a little clumsy. Jim said it could have been a lot worse, and she's in very good hands. They really think she's going to be fine. They're keeping her at the hospital for observation, just to be safe. She'll need to rest and take it easy for a few days.”

“That's scary, Mom,” said Dylan, reaching over to rub my mom's back. I wished I'd thought of that.

“Poor Grandma!” I said. “You're going to see her later?”

My mom nodded. “Jim said I didn't need to come, but I hate to think of him out there at the hospital all alone. I'll go into work for a bit this morning, then head straight out and probably spend the night at the house. And you girls can—Oh, Lexi! I just realized! It was your special trip today. I'm so sorry, honey!” She got up to give me a hug.

“That's okay,” I said into her shoulder. “Do you want me to come with you to the hospital, anyway?”

She let go and smoothed back my hair. “No, but thank you. I think I'd better go alone. Maybe Dad could take you girls out for a treat tonight, since you're missing your trip, Lexi.”

I nodded. “Okay. And maybe we could watch a movie.”

“Sure,” she said. She picked up her cell phone to look at her day's schedule and then she called my dad to tell him the new plan.

Dylan and I looked at each other. “Well . . . ,” she said.

“I'm going to just do my homework today,” I said.

I could see her relief. “Okay, are you sure?” Dylan asked. She stared at me for a moment, making sure I wasn't really upset.

“Totally,” I said. Nobody wants to go where they're not welcome.

“Okay.”

And that was that.

A
day is kind of a long time to fill all by yourself, and, really, a person can only do so much work before they have to go watch reruns of
Celebrity Ballroom
.

Here's what I did: I made note cards for Latin; I did all my math homework for the upcoming week; I wrote the first draft of an English essay I have due next week; I studied for my history quiz; and I balanced the books for the Cupcake Club, updated our website, and sent out some e-bills to a few late-paying clients. My room was already very clean and my school stuff was organized, so I didn't need to do any of that.

After all that it was only eleven forty-five in the morning.

I watched TV for a good hour, forcing myself to relax and to enjoy the downtime. Then I had a P-B-and-J sandwich, folded the laundry, and went online, and by then it was only one thirty.

It occurred to me I could call Mia and Katie to see what they were doing. I knew they were planning to go to the city to stay with Mia's dad at some point, but I felt like a bad friend because I hadn't really made a mental note of when they'd actually be going. I'd feel like a loser if I reached out to them and they were already there and I was busted for not remembering their plans. Plus, there was a little of the PTA fight awkwardness still out there. I decided not to call them.

My mom called to check in, and I practically lunged for the phone, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice when I heard it was her, even though I didn't really expect Mia or Katie to call me. The good news was Grandma was going to be fine. My mom said my grandparents couldn't stop talking about how badly they felt that they'd let me down and how they would have to make it up to me. I smiled, looking forward to that, but obviously not feeling sorry for myself compared to the situation my grandma was in. I didn't have the nerve to tell my mom how bored I was, and I didn't
want to burden her any more than she already was, anyway. I told her I was fine, and she seemed happy with that answer and told me to have fun tonight with my dad.

My dad called to say he'd be home by five, so I should pick a movie and find the showtime and then decide where I wanted to go to dinner and if I wanted to eat before or after the movie. This is the kind of planning I hate to do, but with all this time on my hands, I did it just to fill the day. (Argh! It was only one forty-five.)

I do have other friends from school, like from my classes and Future Business Leaders of America, and also some friends from summer camp who might be around, but no one I would just cold-call to hang out. I thought about it a bit. It was weird, I guess. I did everything with Emma. I wondered if this was normal.

Sitting around listening to the kitchen clock tick, I thought about how my mom always told us only boring people get bored. I don't really think that's fair to say, especially if you live in the suburbs. There just isn't much to do, especially if you're a kid on your own. I got out my bike and went for a ride around my neighborhood, and I didn't see a soul. I was a little scared to go much farther by
myself, so I kind of circled the same blocks a few times, then went back home. I usually think the girls who are always dreaming up social stuff for the weekends are silly—after all, there's always work that could be done, isn't there?—but I was starting to see I'd really just been lazy all these years, letting my friends come up with plans or letting my teachers' assignments fill my days.

Humph.

For a little while after I got home, I worked on my life lists. These are the lists I keep in my planner, things like places I'd like to visit, cupcake recipe ideas, things to do in New York City, and wardrobe staples to find. My lists were pretty up-to-date, though, so I quickly grew tired of them.

By four o'clock I was dressed for my night out with my dad, sitting on the sofa, clicking through channels on the TV. And then an awful thought hit me: Today was bad, but what about tomorrow?
And the day after that?
What was I going to do to fill all this time? I really missed Emma, and not just because I was lazy.

I looked at the phone. Should I call Katie or Mia? I felt nervous thinking about it, which I knew was silly. But what were they doing right now? Weren't they already in the city? Maybe I could
call, and if no one picked up, they'd never know. I wouldn't leave a message. But if they did pick up, well . . . maybe they'd want to come to the movies or do something in the morning if they weren't going to the city then.

So who to call first? Mia was a tiny bit intimidating, I had to admit. She's stylish, she grew up in the city for most of her life, she has lots of other friends there. . . .

So . . . Katie! I knew her number by heart, which is kind of weird, because I don't really call her that much. I reached out for the receiver, then shied away from it, tapping my chin with my finger instead. Should I? What would I say if she was there?
Oh, hey, my trip got canceled and I'm done with every scrap of homework, so what are you up to?

That wouldn't be so bad, would it?

I reached for the phone again, and then I heard the front door open. “Hello! Anyone home?”

“Dadddyyyy!” I jumped up and ran to hug him.

“Whoa, tiger!” He laughed. “How did I get so lucky to deserve a greeting like this?”

“I'm just happy to see you!” I declared. He didn't know I'd have been happy to see any other living, breathing soul at that point, but I wasn't about to put it to him that way.

He changed, and we went to the mall, where we had an early dinner at Spatinis (yum!) and saw a seven o'clock showing of the newest James Bond movie, which was really good. When we got home at around ten, Dylan was already there with one of her best friends, Meredith, who was sleeping over, and they kind of let me be in the same room as them for an hour or so before I went to bed. That was a thrilling social interaction, let me tell you. It mostly consisted of the two of them Facebooking and IM'ing on Dylan's computer while alternately shushing each other and giving me meaningful looks. What
ever
. Like I cared or had any idea who they were talking about. I finally went to my room, and I don't think they even noticed I had left.

In the morning, my dad came in to say good-bye before he left for work. He told me he had asked Dylan last night if she'd keep an eye on me during the day today and that he or my mom would check in soon to see what our plans were. I rolled over and decided to go back to sleep for a few minutes. When I next woke up, it was already nine thirty, which is like sleeping half the day away!

I jumped out of bed and went into the hall just as Dylan opened her door, fully dressed and
followed closely by Meredith. Dylan stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me.

“Uh-oh,” she said.

“What?” asked Meredith.

“What?” I echoed, looking down at my pj's. Was it something I was wearing? I felt my hair. Did I have bed head?

Dylan frowned. “I forgot that I told my dad I'd babysit Lexi today. Ugh!”

“ ‘Babysit'?” I said scornfully. “Seriously?”

“Well, ‘
include
' was the word he used, I think. Hmm. This changes things.”

“I don't know what it changes for you, but I've got to use the bathroom and brush my teeth, so I will see you downstairs,” I huffed. As if I was going to stand there and listen to those two discuss how I'd ruined their plans for the day.

I got dressed and made my way to the kitchen, sure that I'd find a note like, “Hey, had to dash. Will check in later!,” but they were actually sitting there in their jackets. Dylan surveyed my outfit critically.

“What?” I asked, pouring myself a bowl of some sawdusty health cereal my mom buys.

“Just . . . you really can't wear that.”

I looked down. Jeans, T-shirt, sneakers. “Why?” I didn't see anything wrong with it.

Dylan looked at Meredith and rolled her eyes. “Because you need to look a little more stylish if you're going to hang out with us. It can't look like we have my little sister along for the day.”

“But you do!” I protested.

“But I might
not
, if you don't cooperate!” snarled Dylan.

I took a huge bite of my cereal and chomped loudly, getting out all my aggression on those little bran pods.

“Listen, we are going to the mall to meet . . . well, maybe to meet . . . this cute guy who works at Sneakerocity.”

I swallowed. “A shoe salesman?”

“Very funny—not. It's the new skateboarding store in the mall, and a guy from one of my classes works there. Mike Turnbull. And we are going to very casually be available for lunch with him on his break—if we time it right. Therefore, we cannot look like we are hauling around a kid with us.”

“Why are you leaving now?” I asked, looking at the clock. It was a quarter to ten.

Dylan and Meredith rolled their eyes at each other. “Because we don't know what time he gets off for lunch. We need to be available at any possible time.”

“We've been planning this for weeks,” added Meredith.

I put down my spoon and sighed. The day loomed ahead of me, long and empty. No more homework, no more Cupcake business to attend to. Just me and the ballroom dance reruns. I sighed again.

“What do I have to wear?”