Freaked Out (8 page)

Conversation flew around the table about the movie, then moved to sports, school, teachers, and inevitably to the party.

Avery didn't know whether to be quiet and listen or protest and start another conversation. She realized any mention of the party bothered her, even when she'd resolved it wouldn't. She threw out the idea of Frankenstein playing basketball with the Crow. Soon they were laughing so much, they could hardly eat.

It was a good way to put a finish to the evening, their own impromptu movie and pizza party. Maeve was happy.

W
hen Maeve got home from Charlotte's the next morning, she was feeling much more like her old self. She opened the door to immediately hear the sound of a vacuum. Uh-oh, her mother was on one of her cleaning rampages. When Ms. Kaplan cleaned, everyone cleaned.

“Hi, Maeve,” her mother said, shutting off the noise so they could talk. “Did you have fun?” She didn't even wait for Maeve's answer. “I need you to clean your room and then the afternoon is yours. Don't set that down there! Take it to your room.”

Maeve clutched her favorite
Think Pink
overnight bag to her chest. “Can we go shopping this afternoon? I need something new, even one thing, for the party next weekend.” Maeve wasn't sure this was a good time to ask her mother for a favor, but her mother was so busy during the week, there didn't seem to be very many times when she was available.

“Well, I could use one new outfit for work. And you're so good at picking out clothes that look good on me. But I
don't think I'll have time today. I have to do the laundry, finish cleaning the kitchen, go grocery shopping, and make some lasagna and meat loaf for dinner next week. Maybe I can pick you up one day after school. I just can't believe how I've let everything here go.”

Hoping for the best, Maeve cleaned her room, cleaned the guinea pig cage, and made lunch for her mother and Sam. She had to admit that she felt bad for her mother, who never seemed to have any free time anymore.

After lunch, she called around, but no one was home. Katani was shopping with her mom and sister Kelley. Charlotte and her dad had gone to the Aquarium. Avery was playing basketball, probably shooting hoops with Dillon. Maeve wasn't jealous, since she knew Avery and Dillon were only friends. Avery had a knack for making friends with boys. Maybe it was because they all had sports in common. Isabel said she had to help her mother do her physical therapy today.

Okay, that settles it! I'll go practice my dance moves
, Maeve thought. She had way too much energy left, and if they weren't going shopping, she had to find a way to use it up.

As she entered her room, a rustling sound from her closet made her curious. She looked at Elle and Bruiser. No, they hadn't gotten loose. Maeve had made sure the door to their cage was secure after she'd cleaned. She reached for the closet door.

“Aiiiii!” Sam screamed and jumped out at Maeve. He leaped into a tae kwon do pose and challenged her to fight.

Maeve fell back onto her bed. “Sam, oh, Sam. You gave me a heart attack. What are you doing?”

“I'm Cato. You know, from the
Pink Panther
movies. You know how—”

Maeve took a deep breath. “Yes, I know, Sam. Inspector Clouseau's Asian manservant jumps out at him. But you're the one taking tae kwon do, not me. I don't need to practice with you. Don't ever do that again, you hear? I almost jumped out of my skin!”

“Really? That's neat.” Sam took off running down the stairs. “Aiiiiii!”

Annoying little brothers! Maeve crawled up into bed with her laptop and stared at the ceiling of her room until she decided what she wanted to say.

Sunday

“It's my day to choose,” Sam said at breakfast.

“Yes it is.” Mom was looking through the cupboards and making a list. “It would have been your day no matter what. You're getting your yellow belt.”

“He hopes he's getting his yellow belt,” Maeve pointed out. “And if going around the house jumping in the air, kicking an invisible assailant, and yelling ‘Aiiiii!' will help, he's ready.”

“I scared you, didn't I?”

“Yeah, well, next time I'm getting my black belt so you better watch out.” Maeve poured herself some orange juice. She'd eat something in a minute.

“Maeve, let Sam have some fun.” Ms. Kaplan sipped a cup of coffee. She had a funny look on her face. Was she dreading Family Day, spending time with Maeve's father?

“Whatever.” Maeve took her orange juice to her room. She took a shower and dressed quickly in her best jeans and a hot pink tee. She threaded a colorful scarf into the loops of her jeans as a belt. She applied a glob of styling gel to her hair until it was a shining fountain of fire. Hey, that was good, she preened, kind of a rock star look—big and poofy. She liked having wild red hair. Inspired, Maeve grabbed the tube of toothpaste and pretended she was the newest
American Idol
winner. She shook her head, tossed her hair back, and began dancing and singing around the room. Suddenly, Sam burst in, his hands over his ears screaming, “Make it stop!”

Maeve picked up her pillow and threw it at him. Sam started to laugh hysterically.

“What's so funny?”

He was laughing so hard he couldn't even speak, so he pointed at her hair. Maeve dropped the tube of toothpaste and ran to look in the mirror. Her hair had gone wild. It was as if she had been electrocuted. Maeve did what any self respecting twelve year old would do in her situation…she screamed.

Hearing the ear piercing scream, her mother came running into the room.

“What is going on here?”

Maeve stormed out of the bathroom, grasping at her hair. “Do you see this hair? It looks like a fright wig!”

Ms. Kaplan was speechless. Her daughter's hair was three times the size it usually was. She had to bite the insides of her cheeks to keep from laughing. Maeve's hair looked so…so…atrocious.

Collecting herself, Ms. Kaplan gave her daughter a hug and told her to tie her hair back because they were leaving shortly. She ordered Sam out of his sister's room and told him to stop “tormenting your sister.”

When they left the room. Maeve went back into the bathroom to stare at her crowning glory. Even she had to laugh. She wished the BSG were there to see their friend Maeve starring in a remake of
Bride of Frankenstein
.

Maeve carefully combed her red mop down, wrapped it into a knot on top of her head, letting a couple of tendrils stay loose as if by accident. This was a good style. Casual, as if she didn't care if it was a little bit messy. Hair was definitely more interesting than math. Maybe she could go to hairdresser's school in case the acting/dancing thing didn't
work out. She could see herself creating dramatic hairstyles for celebrity parties and weddings: “Hair by Maeve.” It had a certain ring to it. Of course, she wouldn't make much money unless it was her own business, and to have your own business you needed to understand math. Maeve sighed. She couldn't even get away from math in her own dreams.

She rummaged through her jewelry box for her favorite pair of dangly earrings. She hoped she could talk to Riley soon about singing with his band again.

She fed Elle and Bruiser two pellets of guinea pig chow each. “I'll play with you some night this week, guys,” she said. “There just isn't time left today since I slept so late. Sorry, but at least you have a clean cage.”

The two guinea pigs gave a squeak. Sometimes, Maeve was sure those little pigs were psychic. They understood everything she said to them, and sometimes things she didn't say.

“Are you ready, Maeve?” her mother called. “Your father is picking us up at eleven.” Her hair finally presentable, Maeve went to the kitchen to grab a bagel. Her mother walked into the kitchen wearing a big smile and clothes that Maeve had never seen her wear before.

“What do you think, sweetheart?”

“Mom! You look great. Those jeans are hip and that turquoise tee looks great with that jacket. When did you get so stylish? You look like a mom on a sitcom.”

The colors made her mom look really pretty. As did her new hair style and hoop earrings. She looked, well, she looked happy for a change. And Maeve wondered why…. Could there be a man in her mother's life that she didn't know about?

“Mom?”

“What, sweetie?” she asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

“What am I going to do if I flunked that math test?…I know I did.”

“Your father and I have already talked about it. We have a meeting scheduled with Ruby Fields and Mr. Sherman. I'm going to ask Matt to sit in on the conference with us. We'll work something out.”

“He's here, he's here.” Sam dashed into the kitchen, jumped into the air, and kicked a chair over. He didn't mean to kick the chair—that was just where his foot hit when it flew out.
Bam
!

“Sam, please.” Ms. Kaplan groaned. “Save all that energy for your test.”

“Yeah, I'm going to get my yellow belt today and then work really hard and move up fast. I'll have a black belt by the time I'm ten.”

Maeve shook her head. “I have to brush my teeth again, Mom. Only take me a minute.” She chugged the rest of her hot chocolate, dashed out of the kitchen, and raced up the stairs. You never did know who you might run into at a tae kwon do school.

“Carol, you look lovely,” Mr. Taylor said when they were tucked into the car and ready to roll.

“Why thank you, Ross.” Ms. Kaplan looked out the window, but from right behind her, Maeve could see a tiny smile on her face.

Her mother and father were being weird. Her mother was acting like—well, like a high school girl. Maeve looked
at Sam, who shrugged. Grownups were so impossible to figure out sometimes. Maeve wondered: Could it be that the new man in her mother's life was…her dad? That would be just too weird.

A Super Surprise

The tae kwon do school was so crowded, Maeve's mom grabbed her hand to keep them together. Sam seemed to know where to go. He took off running in a different direction before anyone could stop him.

“Sam, come back here!” Maeve's mother shouted.

“Don't worry, Mom. If Sam gets lost, he'll wander around until he finds his class. Unless he jumps out and surprises someone and gets stomped.”

Next time Sam pulled that trick on her, she was going to let loose with her best
King Kong
lady in distress scream. That should teach him a lesson.

In Maeve's eyes, the gym was a blur of kids dressed in white tae kwon do uniforms, all looking alike. Except that there were different sizes of white-suited people from little munchkins like Sam to, to, hey, teenaged boys. Interspersed were a few teenaged girls, but not many.

She wondered how hard it was to get good at tae kwon do. Maybe if she got her black belt she could add it to her resume and get movie parts that would take her on location to Korea or China or Japan. How exotic! Maeve Kaplan-Taylor, Tomb Raider. Ready to enter the Temple of Doom and save the priceless antique samurai swords of the ancient Bengal hoards. She'd have on khaki shorts and a pink shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Couldn't wear
sequins or they'd sparkle and give away her hiding places. But she'd have stylish, lace-up boots and pink socks. And maybe she would save orphans for the United Nations and help with tsunami kinds of things. Maybe she could win a humanitarian award. That would be nice. Her parents had been so proud of her when she won an award for making blankets for the Jeri's Place homeless shelter. The thought that helping someone is better than getting straight As in math made her feel slightly better about the whole test fiasco.

Maeve followed her mother and father up into the bleachers. She hoped they weren't going to sit there forever. The tae kwon do people should be showing a
Karate Kid
movie or Jackie Chan flick for people who had to wait around all day.

“Did anyone get a program?” Maeve asked. She had already realized she couldn't sit there for hours with her parents. They were whispering like teenagers. And her mother was giggling. Giggling! And totally ignoring her. Boy, was this weird.

“What time is Sam's group going on? I don't think I can sit here much longer.”

Her father looked at the program. “Best I can figure, it might be another hour or more before his group tests.” Dad dug in his pocket. “Here, Maeve, why don't you go see if you can find us something to eat? I didn't have any breakfast.”

“Ross, you didn't eat breakfast?”

“A cup of coffee. I forgot to get groceries. And I usually go out for breakfast before the first matinee.”

Maeve took the fistful of dollar bills. “I'll try, but I don't have too much hope of finding anything.”

She could spend an hour looking around. And once Sam did his thing, they'd leave and get a late lunch. Her father was definitely in a good mood. He was enjoying her mother's company. A big smile escaped onto Maeve's face.