Into the Mix #4 Page 8

  “Sounds like a good idea,” said Molly. “I’ll definitely sign up. ‘Cause Amanda’s been too busy to help me.”

  Chapter 11

  On Friday morning, when the friends got to school, they looked for The Post.

  “It’s supposed to be stacked here in the main hall,” said Natasha. “I guess it’s not ready yet. Rats! I was so psyched to see it.”

  Just then, she saw Ms. Zane. “Hi, Ms. Zane,” she called.

  “Good morning, Natasha! The paper will be out by lunchtime.

  That afternoon, as everyone walked out of the cafeteria, they picked up copies of the paper, which had just been placed on a table during lunch.

  “Here it is! Here it is!” said Natasha.

  “Look! There we are! Hey, the photo looks great!”

  “We’re celebrity chefs!”

  “Wow, Molly, you got your own picture, too!” There were two photos—the group shot and a large one of Molly at the mixer.

  “Cool headline,” Shawn told Natasha.

  “Thanks! I thought of it,” said Natasha proudly, as her eyes quickly scanned the article. She frowned. “It looks really short, though...they must have cut a lot.”

  Everyone was quiet as they began to read the article.

  Peichi looked up. having noticed that the hallway had gotten quiet. “Ohmygosh! Everyone’s gone!”

  “Yipes!” cried Molly. Everyone began to trot to class.

  Then, over the loudspeaker, they heard a deep voice say: “This is a lockout. Any student not in his or her seat has detention for tardiness and must report to the Main Office.”

  The girls began to run faster. One by one, they slipped into class before the teacher closed the door.

  Molly had the farthest to run. She broke into a sweat when she saw the door to her classroom close. “Oh, no!” she cried. She finally reached the door and grabbed the handle, but it didn’t budge.

  She’d been locked out!

  Breathing hard, Molly stood at the closed door. She looked around. The empty hall was eerily silent.

  There was nothing left to do now but head for the Main Office. To get detention, whatever that was. Like I need this, she thought.

  She walked as slowly as she could up the hall. She passed Amanda classroom, where right now, Amanda was safe. Why me? thought Molly. I thought the worst part of this day was going to be Miss Spontak’s quiz.

  She turned right at the corner. There, up ahead at the end of the corridor, was the Main Office.

  Pressing her lips together, Molly went in the door, grim-faced.

  Inside, a tiny woman sat behind a desk, practically hidden behind her computer. Her fingers were flying over the keyboard.

  Molly cleared her throat. “Ahem.”

  The typing stopped, and the secretary peered around her computer. She wore cat glasses—not the new, hip kind like Shawn wore, but old-fashioned ones with little rhinestone chips in them. Her hair was gray and worn in a tight bun. On her black cardigan, she wore a pin shaped like a cat’s head with rhinestone eyes.

  “Yes, dear,” said the secretary. She had a high-pitched, sweeter voice than Molly’d expected.

  At least she called me “dear, ”thought Molly. This can’t be that bad.

  “Um—hi. I got locked out.”

  The secretary rolled her eyes. “Those darn lockouts.” she said sympathetically. She eyed Molly up and down. “Are you a sixth-grader?”

  Molly nodded.

  “Just have a seat, dear.”

  “Have a seat?” asked Molly robotically.

  “Yes, dear. I’ll be right back. Here, why don’t you read this. It’s the school newspaper.” She handed Molly a copy of The Post, then pulled it back. “Oh, you have one. Well, I’ll be right back.” She turned and opened a door that said “Principal” on it, and disappeared inside.

  Molly’s stomach began to hurt. What’s going to happen to me? she wondered. First bad grades, and now this! Amanda’s getting good grades, plus she’s in the play. What’s wrong with me?

  She sighed and stared at her picture in The Post. It was a good picture, she decided, even though she hardly ever took a good picture. Amanda was the photogenic one.

  It was hard to concentrate as she waited for her punishment, but Molly couldn’t help noticing that her name kept popping up all over the article. That’s weird, she thought. It’s like Natasha decided to focus just on me. Why would she do that?

  Just then, the door creaked open. But it wasn’t the principal coming out—just the tiny secretary again, holding a slip of paper.

  “There you go, dear,” she said.

  Molly looked at the piece of paper. It had a signature on it. “Um—what should I do with this?”

  “Oh, just go back to class, dear.”

  “Aren’t I. like, supposed to get detention or something?”

  “Not this time, dear. You’re new here. And I’m sure you didn’t intend to be late for class. Did you, dear?”

  Molly shook her head.

  “So I just told the principal that it was all an accident.” The secretary’s eyes twinkled behind her cat glasses. “Our little secret, you know. That’s your hall pass to get you back to class without any more trouble.”

  Molly smiled gratefully. “Oh, okay. Well, thank you, Miss—Ms.—”

  Miss Hinkle. Now, off to class with you!” She led Molly to the door.

  Molly’s classroom door was still locked. She had to knock on the door.

  When Mr. Bryant opened the door, he gave her a questioning look. Some kids in the class giggled. Molly handed Mr. bryant the hall pass.

  “Oh, all right,” he said. “Have a seat.”

  Molly sat down. Already, the trip to the principal’s office was forgotten. Now she was worrying about something else—why the article was mostly about her...and what the other Chef Girls were going to think about that.

  Chapter 12

  After school, Molly decided to try to find Amanda before she went into rehearsal. She wanted to talk to her about Natasha’s article.

  Heading for the drama classroom, she practically ran into Ms. Barlow. Ms. Barlow was wearing boots with spiked heels, black pants, and a fuzzy pink sweater. Her lipstick matched the sweater exactly.

  “I’m sorry!” cried Molly.

  “Oh, hello, Amanda!” said Ms. Barlow.

  “No, I’m Molly, Amanda’s twin.”

  “That’s right! Amanda has a twin! How nice to meet you, Molly. Why, I just finished reading the article about you in The Post. You’re a star!”

  Molly didn’t know what to say.

  “Ah!” cried Ms. Barlow. “I just had an amazing idea!”

  “Is it about the dinner theater?” asked Molly. She smiled and added. “Amanda told me about that. We were thinking of asking you if we could help with that, but—” She stopped. It was too embarrassing to tell Ms. Barlow about her grades and what Mom had said.

  “Yes!” said Ms. Barlow. She hadn’t even noticed that Molly had stopped herself. “In the past, we’ve used a caterer. Joe Minelli. He sits on the school board. But I’ll tell you what...” Ms. Barlow looked both ways and then said in a dramatically low voice, “I do not care for his desserts. Last year, they were awful! I couldn’t eat one cookie—they were so hard I thought I’d crack a tooth! And the cake! It was like cardboard! If you girls could do the baking—say, some cookies and a cake—you know, a sheet cake, nothing fancy—I’d be thrilled! Really thrilled! We’ll pay you, of course. We can work that out later.”

  Molly froze. And then...

  “Sure”, she heard herself saying. “We could do the baking. How many people come to the dinner theater?”

  “We get about fifty people each night, and there are three performances. So, you’re baking for one hundred fifty people. Okay? Got to run, Mary. Thanks so much! Let me know if you have any questions!”

  “Uh, it’s Molly.” said Molly. “Thanks, Ms. Barlow.” But Ms. Barlow was already clicking her way down the hall, waving at st
udents and fellow teachers.

  Now what have I done? thought Molly. How could I have just said that Dish would do the job when I can’t even help? Oh, well, maybe the others will do it without me. Molly swallowed hard. The day was beginning to feel completely out of control! I’d better get home before anything else happens.

  Just then, she saw Amanda with Tessa, who she knew from gym.

  “Hi!” said Amanda. “You know Tessa, right?”

  “Hi,” said Molly and Tessa to each other.

  “I need to talk to you, Amanda,” said Molly.

  “Oh! Well, we’re just about to meet with the dialogue coach,” said Amanda. “You know, tomorrow’s our speed-through.”

  “Speed-through?” asked Molly.

  “You know. That’s when the whole cast sits around a table, and we go through our lines really fast.” explained Amanda. “It’s to make sure everyone knows their lines by heart.” She turned to Tessa. “Can you believe they’ve finished building the sets already? They’re so cool!”

  “I know!” said Tessa.

  “Sets?” asked Molly.

  Amanda turned back to Molly. Yeah! You know, the scenery for the play. Connor and Omar were on the set crew. They helped build the London street scene. It looks so real!” She turned back to Tessa. ”I can’t wait for tech.”

  “Neither can I,” said Tessa.

  “Tech?” asked Molly.

  Amanda turned to Molly “Tech is a special rehearsal. We run the whole show so that the lighting crew knows their cues to change the lights and stuff. And the sound crew knows when to make sound effects.”

  “Oh,” said Molly, still confused. “Well, anyway, do you have time to walk me out?”

  “Okay. Tessa, I’ll see you in a minute.” Amanda headed down the hall with Molly.

  “So what’s with that article?” asked Amanda.

  Molly looked at her anxiously. “I know. Why did Natasha write so much about me? Why is that picture of me so big?”

  Amanda shrugged. “I don’t know. But I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  “But I am worried about it. What are Shawn and Peichi going to think? This article makes it sound like it was my idea to start a business. But it was Shawn’s idea!”

  “Well,” said Amanda with a shrug, “Shawn wasn’t even around for the interview. And Peichi had to leave. Natasha didn’t have time to interview them separately, so don’t worry about them. But for some reason, I’m not mentioned much, and I was there!” She chuckled. “Oh, well. Maybe she’ll mention me in her article about the play!” She laughed again. “She owes me.”

  Me. me, me, thought Molly. That’s all Amanda thinks about these days. Molly sighed. “I’m going to call Natasha about it tonight. Well, see you later.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Natasha said on the phone later to Molly. “Lena cut my article to fit the space in the paper. She says that there was no time to show it to me. But she practically rewrote it!”

  “Oh!” said Molly. “That’s why it’s so wrong!”

  “Lena changed the facts!” Natasha went on. “She edited out so much stuff. And she’s the one that wanted the big picture of you. I think that’s just a coincidence, but...I just wish that she had let me see the article after she cut it. I would have made her change a few things. Now the article’s practically all about you!”

  “I know,” said Molly.

  “I just hope that Shawn, Peichi, and Amanda aren’t too upset with me,” said Natasha. “Ugh. I finally make some new friends, and this has to happen!”

  “Oh, Natasha, I’m sure everyone will understand when you explain it to them,” said Molly. “Don’t worry so much.”

  “I just hope they give me a chance to explain,” said Natasha sadly.

  Molly showed Mom the article and told her what had happened.

  “It sounds like Natasha’s had her first experience with bad editing,” said Mom. “Don’t worry. The other girls will understand.”

  “Oh, Mom,” said Molly. “I had a terrible day. This article isn’t even all of it. I think I flunked another quiz.”

  Mom did not look happy.

  “But Justin told me about student tutoring,” Molly went on. “Our school has students who help other students. I think I should sign up for a tutor. Don’t you?”

  Mom nodded. “Yes, I do,” she said. “This is getting serious. I want you to sign up on Monday. Okay?”

  “Okay. And—and there’s something else I have to tell you.”

  “What is it?” Mom looked anxious.

  “I—I told Ms. Barlow that—that Dish would make the desserts for the dinner theater for My Fair Lady.”

  “Oh,” said Mom. She didn’t look mad. “Well, that’s not so bad. I just don’t know that you will be able to help with the job.”

  “The play’s still a while off,” Molly pointed out. “If I get my grades up, I can do the job, right?”

  Right. And I know you’ll get your grades back up. You’ll get a tutor at school, and if that doesn’t work, well get outside help. Whatever it takes. Okay, sweetheart?”

  Both Molly and Natasha really wanted to talk to the other girls. They needed to clear the air about the article, and Molly wanted to bring up the dinner theater job.

  But it was harder and harder to get everyone together.

  The next day. Peichi met up with Molly and Amanda, and they walked to Harry’s.

  “It’s been such a long time since we were here!” said Peichi. “I’ve missed this place!”

  “Mmm, so have I,” said Amanda. “I haven’t had one of these blondies since forever.”

  Molly told Peichi about her conversation with Natasha. “...so you see, Natasha wrote the article about all of us, but the editor slanted it differently. You’re not mad at Natasha, are you? Or me?”

  “No, I’m not mad,” said Peichi. “Actually, it’s kind of funny! I’ll call Natasha and tell her I’m not mad. And I’ll tell her how good the article was. It really was! And it was fun seeing my picture. Our picture.”

  The twins smiled at each other. Peichi hardly ever got mad. She was so easy to be around.

  “So I have some Dish news,” Molly announced. “Amanda knows it already, of course. But I talked with Ms. Barlow, and she would like to hire us to do the desserts for the My fair Lady dinner theater.”

  “Tell Peichi why, Molly,” ordered Amanda with a giggle.

  “Oh, yeah! You should’ve heard her! She was talking about this guy, Joe Minelli? He’s on the school board. And he has a restaurant, so he caters the show every year. But she said that his desserts stunk! That she practically broke a tooth on a cookie and that the cake tasted like cardboard! Can you believe she said that!”

  All the girls cracked up.

  “That sounds great!” said Peichi. “And it sounds easy. We can do cookies and sheet cakes no problem.”

  “That’s what I thought,” said Molly. “Of course, I have to get my grades up before I can really say I can help. Hey. where’s Shawn? Isn’t she coming?”

  “Oh, she’s with Angie What’s-Her-Name,” said Amanda, waving her hand in the air.

  “Is Natasha coming?”

  “No, she’s watching a closed rehearsal for the two leads of the play. They’re working on their big scene. Justin’s there, too,” said Amanda. “He’s like the official photographer or something.” She took a mirror out of her bag and put on her lip gloss. “Who wants to read lines with me? I have the script right here.”

  Peichi and Molly groaned.

  “I’m running to get another lemonade,” announced Amanda, “but I’ll be right back. If you could turn to page twenty-two, that’d be a huge help. Thank you, darling!”

  Peichi and Molly giggled.

  “She’s starting to sound like Ms. barlow!” whispered Molly, and the girls cracked up again.

  Chapter 13

  Monday came too quickly for Molly. She was nervous about requesting a tutor. But deep down, something
told her that things were going to get better soon, just like Mom had said.

  Molly put in her request, and the next day after school, she nervously reported to the Main Office once again. This time it was to meet her tutor. What if she didn’t like her? What if the tutor was going to treat her like some dummy?

  Molly opened the door and Miss Hinkle peered from around her computer. She stood up. “Hello, dear!”

  The girl was already there waiting for Molly. She gave Molly a gentle smile. “Hi, are you Molly? I’m Athena Vardalos,” she said. She was very tall for a seventh-grader. Her deep brown eyes were the same color as her glossy, wavy hair.

  Molly relaxed and smiled. “Hi, Athena.”

  “Let’s head over to the cafeteria,” suggested Athena. “No one’s in there right now, and it’ll be quiet.”

  As the girls walked down the hall, they chatted easily.

  “You look familiar,” Athena told Molly.

  “Oh,” said Molly, blushing, “maybe it’s because there’s a photo of me in last weeks Post.”

  “That’s it! You’re the girl who has her own cooking business!”

  “Well—it’s not just me! I do it with my twin sister and three friends.”

  “Oh, right.”

  The girls sat down at a long table in the cafeteria. It was quiet except for a far-off clatter of dishes and the voices of a few remaining kitchen workers.

  “Well, what do you want to work on? Let’s see your last math quiz.” Athena smiled sympathetically. “I had Miss Spontak last year.”

  “Here,” said Molly, handing over the “red” quiz. She knew that Athena wouldn’t laugh at it.

  The next day, Molly sat in the middle of her friends during lunch.

  “I’ve been thinking about the desserts for the dinner theater,” she told them. “You know, it’s coming up soon! Instead of doing sheet cakes, we could make cupcakes, and decorate them with cute little drawings from the play, like the big hats, or flowers. Wouldn’t that be cute?”

  “It sounds like a lot more work than doing a sheet cake,” Peichi pointed out. “We’d have to decorate each cupcake individually.”