A Case of the Meanies Read online

  Go with Stuart? Into the party room where Joshua was? I knew exactly what he would say when he saw me: Smella, what are you doing here? I didn’t invite YOU.

  What if he could tell by looking at me that the whole thing was my fault?

  There was no way I was going upstairs to that party room. But I didn’t want to stay where I was, either. If someone from Mrs. Finkel’s class came down to use the bathroom, they’d know I was the girl who wasn’t invited, and I was only there because there was a mess-up at the store.

  “Ready?” Stuart asked.

  I shook my head. “I’m going to go to my dad’s office, if that’s all right,” I said.

  “Oh no, I’m not going down there,” Penny said. “That’s where they put the giant clown.”

  There’s supposed to be a clown mannequin in the candy circus display when you walk into the store. But Penny was really scared of it, so Stuart moved it down to the basement. Now the clown is leaning up against the back corner in Dad’s office. I barely even noticed it. That’s how not scared of it I was.

  “You don’t have to come with me,” I said. “I’ll go by myself—I’m allowed to.” I added that last part so Stuart would know that letting me go to the office on my own was not the same as leaving me home on my own.

  “And I’ll go upstairs with you,” Penny told Stuart.

  She reached for his hand. She gets scared just thinking about the clown.

  “All right,” Stuart said. “But Stel, don’t wander anywhere else, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said.

  I took the elevator down to level C, headed into Dad’s office and closed the door. I didn’t want to look at his desk too closely, in case the order form was there, smack in the middle.

  Except I couldn’t help looking. There were framed photos of our family, Dad’s big calendar, a couple of folders, and a bunch of loose papers. But there was nothing that looked like an order form.

  Where could it be?

  Did I just imagine that it was here once?

  If I made the whole thing up, then it wasn’t really my fault.

  I sat down in the swirly chair. My heart was still thump-thumping, like Pop Rocks were exploding inside of me. Suddenly Penny burst into the room.

  “He’s up there,” she cried. “In the party room!”

  “I know,” I said miserably. “It’s his party.”

  Penny knows just how mean Joshua can be. When I got my hair cut short, he said I didn’t look like a girl anymore. Penny tried to take his candy away from him, but Mom wouldn’t let her.

  “Ah!” Penny cried some more. “But the clown is here! He’s even worse than before! Help me, Stella!”

  She backed up against the door. Her eyes were super wide, so I knew she was really REALLY scared.

  “Penny, it’s okay,” I told her. “It’s just pretend.” I stood up from the swirly chair. “I can show you he’s not so scary.”

  I started to walk toward the clown, but the closer I got, the scarier it looked. I didn’t want to get too near to it. Penny had her eyes shut tight anyway.

  “You have to come with me,” she said. “I can’t go upstairs alone.”

  “Did Joshua say something to you?” I asked. “Did he call you a mean name?”

  What mean thing rhymes with Penny? I couldn’t think of a thing. But I’ll tell you what I was thinking—I was done trying to kill him with kindness. If he hurt Penny’s feelings then I was glad I’d ruined his birthday. He deserved it!

  Penny shook her head. She cracked open her eyes so they were little dark slits, like thin strips of licorice. “No, not Joshua,” she said. “Bruce!”

  Bruce? What was he doing at Batts Confections?

  Penny and I went up to the first floor. “Let’s wait for Stuart here,” I said, pulling Penny toward the register. It was the perfect place, because you can sit to the side of it, and then no one can see you.

  But Penny tugged on my hand. “We have to go to the party room,” she said.

  “I thought you didn’t want to see Bruce.”

  “I don’t want to see him by myself,” she corrected. “I want to see him with you.”

  “But why? I don’t even know Bruce.”

  “You know me,” Penny said. “And you can tell him that I’m not a baby. He’ll believe you because you’re in third grade.”

  Penny thinks I’m really big. I forget that sometimes.

  Upstairs, everyone in my whole entire class was seated around the table. Except not Maddie and not Clark because they couldn’t come. And obviously not me, because I wasn’t invited.

  And not Joshua either. He and his mom were across the room. They didn’t see us come in. Please DON’T turn around, I thought to myself. Please don’t see me. If I had a piece of magic gum right then, I’d wish for Joshua to NEVER see me.

  But I wanted other people to keep on seeing me. Like Evie. She was sitting at the far end of the table, in between Lucy and Talisa. She looked up and smiled, so I could tell she was happy I was there after all. “Hey Stella!” she called out.

  Penny was hanging on my side as I walked over toward them, which made me walk a bit slower than usual.

  “Do you have cards?” Lucy asked me.

  “Cards? You mean a birthday card?”

  There was no way I was going to give Joshua a card if he didn’t invite me to his party!

  “No,” Lucy said. “Cards to play with. We don’t have an activity yet, so I thought we could play Spit.”

  I shook my head. “Sorry.”

  “Joshua doesn’t want to do any of the activities the people keep suggesting,” Talisa explained.

  “It’s getting boring,” Lucy added.

  “Oh look, the baby is here,” a boy said.

  I knew it was the boy named Bruce even before Penny whispered, “That’s him, that’s him.”

  “What are you doing here, baby?”

  Penny squeezed up even tighter to me, sticking to me like she was a piece of caramel. “It’s my store,” she told him. But she said it so soft and mumbly, the way she speaks when she’s scared of something. I didn’t think he could hear her.

  But I wasn’t scared of Bruce. “It’s our store,” I said, loudly.

  “No it’s not.”

  “Yes it is,” Lucy told him.

  “It’s called Batts Confections,” I said. “That’s us. The Batts sisters. Did you see the candy circus downstairs?” I asked. “Penny helped set it up. A baby can’t do that. Actually most five-year-olds wouldn’t have even been able to set it up. But Penny is very mature for her age.”

  “Who are you?” Bruce asked.

  “Stella Batts,” I said.

  “You’re Penny’s sister?”

  “Yup,” I said. “Her older sister. Who are you?”

  “I’m Joshua’s cousin,” Bruce said.

  They were cousins?! Mrs. Finkel was right! Sometimes the writer knows the end of the story before it even happens.

  “Hey Joshua,” Talisa called. “Did you decide on an activity yet?”

  I turned around and there he was, looking right back at me. He came right over and I squeezed myself up tighter to Penny, like I was the little sister, right then.

  “No,” he told Talisa. “This is my worst birthday ever. I wish I’d never even heard of Batts Confections. I’m never setting foot in this place again.”

  It was a mean thing to say, but I felt an eensy weensy bit glad.It was okay with me if he never set foot in the store again!

  “I told you that you had to share that pop with me,” he said.

  “What does the pop have to do with it?” I asked.

  “You owed me something for my birthday,” he said.

  That didn’t make any sense. But suddenly I had an idea.

  “Hey Stuart,” I called.

  Stuart was talking to Mrs. Lewis and he didn’t hear me right away. “Stuart,” I said again.

  “One minute, Stel,” he said. “Mrs. Lewis and I are trying to settle on a party
activity.”

  “This is about the activity,” I told him.

  “Well, come over here then,” he said. I did. Penny followed me and Bruce followed her and Joshua followed all three of us.

  “I have an idea. But first I need to know if we have a good amount of fudge—enough for everyone.”

  “We do,” Stuart said.

  “But there’s a problem,” Bruce said. “I don’t like chocolate and that’s what fudge is made of.”

  “That’s crazy,” Penny said. “Everyone likes fudge.”

  “Especially our fudge,” Stuart said. “But don’t worry, we have plenty of flavors—vanilla, strawberry, maple syrup, to name a few.”

  “Great,” I said. “And fudge is smushable, like clay or marzipan. So how about if all the kids make fudge sculptures. They can put them on a stick to make lollipops and dip them in chocolate.”

  “Ew, chocolate,” Bruce said.

  “Or caramel,” I said. “If you like that better. And decorate them with sprinkles and stuff. That would make the pops look special, right Stuart?”

  “Joshua?” Mrs. Lewis asked.

  “YES!!!!” Joshua said.

  “All right, Stella,” Stuart said. “You saved the day. You must have some sort of candy connection, to think of something so clever.”

  Obviously Stuart was kidding because he already KNOWS my candy connection.

  He got the ingredients and I helped him, Jess, and Claire set everything up.

  “You can sit near me,” Bruce called to Penny.

  “I want to stay with my sister,” Penny said.

  “We’ll squeeze and make room for you guys,” Evie said, scooting over a bit.

  “There’s not really enough room,” I said.

  “Of course there’s room for you, Stella,” Mrs. Lewis said from behind me. “I’m so glad you came after all. We didn’t get your response, so I thought maybe your mom was too busy planning for the new baby.”

  “I never got invited,” I told her.

  “What do you mean? We mailed you an invitation, just the same as everyone else. Joshua, did you know Stella didn’t get the invite?”

  Of course Joshua knew I didn’t get the invite. He was the one who told me I wasn’t invited. He must’ve hidden the invitation, or thrown it away, before his mother could mail it!

  Across the table, Joshua suddenly had a look on his face like he knew he was about to get in trouble.

  There was a part of me that felt glad about that.

  But it was his birthday. And I was done being a meanie. “It was probably just the mail,” I said. “You know even if you mail things at all the same time, sometimes they arrive at different times. I bet the invitation will be waiting for me when I get home.”

  “But you’re staying now, right?” Lucy asked.

  “You invented our activity,” Mrs. Lewis said. “You should stay—your sister too.”

  “It’s fine with me, if you want to,” Stuart said.

  I shook my head. “No thanks,” I said. “We have to go home and wait for my mom to call. She’s in the hospital right now having a baby.”

  “That’s very exciting,” Mrs. Lewis said.

  “It is,” I told her. Then I looked over at Joshua. “Happy birthday,” I said to him.

  CHAPTER 10

  Chocolate Twenty–

  Dollar Bills

  Stuart had a great idea to bring the ingredients home. We both decided to make fudge sculptures for the baby. Penny used milkchocolate and white-chocolate swirled fudge, and I used cookies-and-cream fudge.

  “Mmmm,” Penny said, licking her fingers. “Can you believe Bruce doesn’t like chocolate? I mean, it’s crazy not to like chocolate. EVERYONE likes chocolate.”

  “Not everyone,” Stuart said. “Unless you’re a twenty-dollar bill, not everyone is going to like you.”

  “But a person can’t be a twenty-dollar bill,” Penny said.

  “That’s exactly what I mean,” Stuart said. “Most people in the world are going to love you, the same as most people in the world love chocolate. But you’ll encounter a few people along the way who have different tastes. It may not make sense to you and me, but there isn’t really anything you can do to change it.”

  “Like Joshua,” I said. “He doesn’t like me.”

  “And Bruce,” Penny said. “He doesn’t like me. Except now I think he sort of does, because he knows I have a candy store.”

  “Joshua knew that all along and it didn’t make him like me,” I said. “I tried to be extra nice but it didn’t change his mind. He’s still a meanie to me.”

  “Let me ask you something, Stella,” Stuart said. “Do you think you’re a likeable person?”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “I like you,” Penny piped up. “I love you. You’re the most favorite big sister I ever had.”

  “I’m the only big sister you’ve ever had.”

  “I know!” Penny said. “So that makes you my least favorite, too.” She giggled to herself, enjoying her joke.

  “Do you like you?” Stuart asked me. His voice was pretty serious.

  I nodded.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “I think I’m a nice girl. I think I’m fun and smart.”

  “All right,” he said. “That’s the most important thing. Be the kind of person that YOU think is a good, likeable person.”

  “Stories are like that, too,” I said. “Not everyone is going to like the same stories.”

  “Exactly,” Stuart said. “So you just do your best, and don’t worry about everyone else. You should still be kind to Joshua, because that will make you feel good about yourself. What he thinks in return doesn’t matter so much.”

  “That’s why I was nice to him at the party,” I said. “I wanted to make it up to him after I … after I lost the order form. I put it on the desk instead of the file cabinet with the others. The whole thing was my fault, you know.”

  “Ah, but it wasn’t,” Stuart said. “Your dad put it with the other forms. But then when your mom called and said it was time to go the hospital, he was in such a rush packing up things he needed from the store, he accidentally brought a few order forms with him. Joshua’s just happened to be one of them.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  “Really,” Stuart said.

  “I just thought of something!” Penny said. “What about a chocolate twenty-dollar bill? Would everyone like that?”

  “Maybe so,” Stuart said.

  She held up her fudge sculpture. “I’m done!” she announced. “What do you think?”

  I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I couldn’t tell what she’d made. “It looks like a J,” I said.

  “It is a J!” she said. “For baby Jack! He should be born by now, don’t you think?”

  “Mom and Dad would’ve called,” I said.

  “Maybe they’ll call right now,” Penny said. She turned toward the phone on the counter. “Three, two, one, ring!”

  The phone rang about twenty minutes later, after I’d finished making my own fudge sculptures—a rattle and a little duck.

  Stuart answered. I heard him say, “That’s wonderful, Elaine! Oh yes, they’re right here. Hold on.”

  He handed Penny the receiver because she was closest. But she let me share it with her, both of our ears pressed against it. “Congratulations, girls,” Mom said. “You’re both big sisters! You have a little brother.”

  “Yippee!” Penny said.

  “When can we meet him?” I asked.

  “Daddy will bring you by in the morning. And when you see him tonight, he’ll have lots of pictures. He’s a cute little guy. He looks a little bit like each of you.”

  I felt the eensy weensiest little tears in my eyes. Sometimes being really happy makes that happen.

  “Stella, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you got home today,” Mom said. “I know you were sad about everything with Joshua.”

  “Stuart had to go to the store so I s
aw the party,” I said.

  “Oh honey.”

  “No, it’s okay,” I told her. “It actually wasn’t so bad.”

  “I’m glad,” Mom said. “I love you so much. I love both you girls so much.”

  “Us too,” I said.

  “And baby Jack too!” Penny said. “Tell him we love him!”

  “Oh, I knew I was forgetting something!” Mom said. “His name isn’t Jack. It’s Marco. Marco Benjamin Batts. What do you think?”

  “That’s a great name,” I told her.

  Mom said she had to go, but that Daddy would be home before too long. We said goodbye.

  When we hung up, I noticed Penny eyeing her J-shaped piece of fudge. “Don’t be sad,” I told her. “It’s still smushable. You can just smush it into an M.”

  “I’m not sad,” Penny said. “I was just thinking. Little babies can’t eat fudge. I should eat it for him.”

  She picked up the J and took a big bite. “Yummers,” she said. “This was a good day.”

  You know what? I had to agree.

  “Hey, Penny,” I said. “I have a story to show you.”

  A STORY FOR MY SISTER

  by Stella Batts

  Once upon a time there was a duck–billed platypus named Penelope. In case you don’t know how to say that name, it’s Pa–nell–o–pee. (Not Peen–lope.)

  Penelope went to school and had a bunch of friends. Plus, she had a platypus sister. Her sister was older so they weren’t in the same class.

  But there were lots of other kids in Penelope’s class, all different kinds of animals. Penelope liked them all. That is, until Bruce the Goose started at her school.

  Penelope had played with geese before. She thought it would be just fine. At recess that day, Penelope went to play in the pond. Bruce waddled over and honked to get Penelope’s attention.

  “You need to get out right now,” he told her.

  Oh no! Was there something wrong with the water? Was it a monster?