"But no matter what, you can't tell Katani yet," cautioned Maeve in a quiet voice.

"Oh, I know. But we can tell the rest of the BSG. Look, there's Charlotte!"

Charlotte jogged over with her braided pigtails bouncing against her shoulders. She was wearing one of her favorite Paris T-shirts, the one with Vive La France written in sparkles in front of a picture of the Seine River. "What's going on?" Charlotte asked after one look at Maeve's happy face.

Isabel and Maeve stumbled over each other to tell the story. Charlotte gave Maeve a huge hug. "Oh, Maeve, what a smart idea!"

"Smart?" Maeve said weakly.

"Yes." Charlotte shook her a little. "You figured out how to turn a difficult situation into an amazing opportunity for a friend! That's smart, Maeve."

Maeve didn't think she could deal with more praise, but she got more when Avery bounced up and learned Maeve's idea. "Leah Kim, Leah Kim," Avery began to sing, right on the school steps. "And all because of Maeve!" The others laughed.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Avery," Charlotte warned.

"Let her!" Isabel laughed. "I think Maeve really figured out the solution, and it's going to work! Now whether or not Avery gets to meet Leah Kim, well, that's another story." The girls laughed as the bell rang, and students began to stream into the double doors. Avery, Maeve, Isabel, and Charlotte looked around. This was the second time in just four days that Katani was late. It wasn't like her!

"There she is," Charlotte whispered, nodding at the walk. Katani came up the steps slowly. Her face was expressionless.

"Hi, everybody. Guess we'd better get to cla.s.s." And without waiting for them, Katani went inside.

Kgirl Returns Katani went through the morning like a robot, hearing only half of what her teachers said. She dutifully got out her notebook when the rest of the cla.s.s did and checked her homework when asked, but she was just going through the motions. In the back of her mind was a little voice that drowned out everything else. It kept repeating, "You're not going. You're not going. You're not going."

Katani told herself to put her chin up and stop moping. I mean, New York will always be there. But she couldn't seem to follow her own advice. Get with it Katani! she said to herself. Self pity isn't going to get you anywhere!

She knew her friends were giving her encouraging nods in every cla.s.s, but she couldn't bring herself to meet their eyes. She hated that everyone was feeling sorry for her; she already felt sorry enough for herself. And the other girls were being so understanding it made her want to cry even more. She wished she had a horseback riding lesson this afternoon. That always cleared her mind.

When the bell rang for lunch, Ms. Rodriguez called her over. "Katani, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

What now? Katani thought miserably. She feared that Ms. Rodriguez had noticed her negative att.i.tude and was going to speak to her about it. Not that she didn't deserve it, Katani admitted to herself, but right now she didn't know if she could handle any more disappointment...especially in herself.

Katani shuffled listlessly to the teacher's desk as the bell rang and the other students emptied out of the room. "I have some news for you, Katani," said Ms. Rodriguez.

She paused as Katani's big brown eyes looked up at her. Katani said nothing. "There's been a change of plans," Ms. Rodriguez went on. "Katani, on Monday you may take the apt.i.tude test with the students who are taking it untimed. You will still have to abide by the same timing rules as you would have if you had taken it on the scheduled dates. The good news is that you can have the long weekend off, as you originally planned."

For a minute, Katani didn't think she'd heard right. "Oh!" she sputtered. "I...I...thank you, Ms. Rodriguez!"

"Don't thank me." Ms. Rodriguez winked. "It was Maeve's idea. She ran it by Mrs. Fields this morning, and it's already been approved."

Katani gaped. Maeve had gone to Grandma Ruby? And Grandma Ruby had gone to bat for her and changed her testing schedule? It was too good to be true! She couldn't think of the words to express the joy that was suddenly flooding into every cell of her body. She felt like a tremendous boulder had rolled off her back. The sun seemed to be shining right in the cla.s.sroom. She, Katani Summers, felt like dancing...and that was something!

Her teacher was smiling. "This must be a pretty important weekend."

"You have no idea!" Katani breathed. She quickly told Ms. Rodriguez all about Mich.e.l.le, Teen Beat magazine, and the fashion show.

Ms. Rodriguez nodded approvingly. "That'll be a wonderful experience for you," she said. "I think it's great that you're already thinking about your dreams. I have a feeling that you're going to be very successful one day, Katani."

Katani's smile spread from ear to ear. Her eyes shined joyously. Then just like that her smile faded.

"Hey there? Why the long face?" asked Ms. Rodriguez. "You should be celebrating."

"I know." Katani sighed as she thought of her four loving friends. "But now I've got a big decision to make."

The teacher glanced at the clock. "Well, I'm available to talk about it. But it has to be pretty soon, or you won't have time for lunch. It's up to you, Katani."

Katani nodded. Suddenly all she wanted to do was tell her friends all about the miracle that had just fallen in her lap...and thank Maeve, of course!

"Thanks, Ms. R. I think I gotta go to lunch!" Katani gathered her things and scuttled out of the cla.s.sroom.

The other girls were eating at their usual table. When they saw Katani come in, a huge grin erupted on Isabel's face. "I knew it!" she cried. "It worked, didn't it, Katani?"

"It sure did," Katani confirmed. She squeezed each girl so hard she left marks on their skin. "I am going to New York! Thanks to you, Maeve," she added, giving the red-haired girl an extra squeeze. "It's really going to happen!"

The girls were so happy they crowded around Katani for a group hug, which left even more marks on everyone's skin, but n.o.body cared. "This," Isabel declared, "calls for a BSG cheer. Hip, hip..."

"HOORAY!".

"Hip, hip..."

"HOORAY!".

"Hip, hip..."

"HOORAY!!!".

"I just can't believe that it all worked out," Maeve said, the happiness visible on her face. She looked like she wanted to jump up and down. Avery was already jumping up and down as she shouted, "Go Katani, it's your birthday, we're gonna party like it's your birthday!" with each jump.

Katani laughed. "This is better than my birthday. You guys, what do I wear in New York? What kind of clothes will they be showing at the show? What will I really be doing to help Mich.e.l.le? How much time will I have for sightseeing? And-oh..." The smile faded from her face as she looked at her four best friends.

"...and who gets to go with you?" Isabel finished.

Avery pushed away her salad, which didn't have more than a couple of bites left on the plate.

Maeve opened her fringed pink purse and began searching for a pen, just for something to do. She really wanted to go on this trip.

"Look," Charlotte said, "we know you'd like to take all of us, Katani. So don't get upset at yourself or feel sad about this just because you can't. And yes, we all have our own reasons for why we'd like to go, and they're all good ones."

"The Metropolitan Museum," Isabel said dreamily.

"Broadway," Maeve breathed. "Celebrities..."

"Journalistic experience," admitted Charlotte.

"Ellis Island and Leah Kim," Avery said hopefully.

Charlotte looked at all of her friends and added, "Plus we'd all love to go to New York City with you." The BSG nodded. She continued, "But the truth is, Katani, there's really only one fair choice, and we all know who."

Katani looked confused. "There is? We do?"

"I mean one person made this possible for you, and she's the one who deserves to go. Of course the rest of us want to, but it wouldn't be right. You should take the one who saved the day. She's the real heroine here."

No one said anything, but one by one, they turned to look at Maeve. Maeve's face grew bright red, and she dug down even further in her fringed handbag to avoid everyone's eyes.

"Charlotte is right," Isabel said. "Maeve does deserve it."

Even a very disappointed Avery nodded. "She gets my vote. Plus, she doesn't have to worry about getting out of the test. She's taking it on Monday anyway."

Charlotte nodded too. "It's just the right choice. Period. The end."

Katani hugged Maeve, who couldn't believe her luck and was still fake-looking for a pen. "Welcome aboard, girlfriend."

"Woo-hoo!" Avery whistled. "Maeve and Katani hit the Big Apple-a recipe for adventure!"

Maeve finally ceased the pen search, looked up, and met Katani's wild grin. "You really want me to come?"

Katani felt overjoyed, happier than she had felt since she got that fateful call. "Want you to come? I can't wait! It's going to be so awesome, Maeve. Just think-five more minutes of lunch, and less than two weeks 'til we take off for New York!"

Maeve slapped the girls high-five and gleefully cried, "Yee-haw! Broadway, here I come!"

Maeve's Notes to Self: Sooo glad Katani can go to NY after all-and wow, she picked me to go with her! Does "totally thrilled" cover it? I'm going to visit my favorite city where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks fell in love in Sleepless in Seattle and where West Side Story happened. Too magical!

Remember to bring back totally cool gifts for BSG who are staying here, esp. Char, because she insisted Katani pick me. Char, you're way cool!

Something from Metropolitan Museum for Isabel?

NY shirts to add to Charlotte's international T-shirt collection (she has a lot from Paris, so...) Or a journal with a NY landmark on it?

For Avery-tuff one. Anything by Leah Kim? Or sports? Who knows!

CHAPTER.

6.

The Bare Essentials

Maeve, I have three words for you-OUT OF CONTROL!" Charlotte exclaimed.

It was the Wednesday night before Katani and Maeve were scheduled to hit the road for New York City. Maeve figured her dad's car could hold at least a dozen suitcases.

Charlotte was standing in the middle of Maeve's bedroom, but it was hard to tell where the floor ended and the furniture began, because there were clothes flung everywhere-atop the dresser, on the floor, draped all over the furniture. Five pairs of pink shoes, from sandals to boots, were tossed on the bed. A bright pink quilted jacket lay on the pillow. Boxes full of earrings and hair accessories were heaped on the floor. Maeve was sifting through a pile of blue, pink, and purple shirts at the bottom of her closet.

Charlotte was absolutely overwhelmed by the chaos. "You're going for a weekend, not a month!" she reminded her friend.

Maeve looked up. "Obviously!" she said. "Why do you think I'm only taking coordinating outfits? See? It might look like a lot, but it's really just staples, Char. Bare...ugh...minimum!" She heaved, slapping down a dozen colorful shirts on her bed.

"Bare minimum! Maeve, you couldn't wear all this stuff if you changed your outfit eight times a day!" Charlotte cried shaking her head. "You're taking enough clothes to run the fashion show yourself!"

Charlotte had come over, at Maeve's desperate request, to help her pack for the trip. Since Charlotte had lived all over the world, she knew all about packing efficiently. But right now Charlotte didn't even know where to begin. Maeve seemed to think that she was taking the Queen Elizabeth 2 luxury cruise to Europe instead of making a weekend trip to the Big Apple.

Maeve had three large suitcases lying carelessly on the floor. One was already full, the second more than half full, and the third contained only cosmetics, jewelry, three large hats and half a dozen bottles of shampoo and conditioner. All of them were full-size, not travel size, and would take up tons of room in the suitcase.

Charlotte took several deep breaths and sat down on the only edge of the bed that wasn't completely covered with clothes. Packing Maeve for a weekend trip to New York was a bigger challenge than packing for the safari she and her dad took in Africa! Where do I even begin? Charlotte asked herself. Perhaps she could help by getting Maeve to think logically about what she needed.

"Look, what are the things that you absolutely have to take?" Charlotte asked. "You know, just put together the necessities. Let's make a list."

Maeve bounced up from the floor, nodding happily. "Yeah, I did that. They're all in those suitcases, see?" Maeve pointed to the mounting piles. "I have my daytime outfits there, nighttime outfits there, and in this bag I did formal and semi-formal." Suddenly Maeve gasped. "Oh no! I completely forgot about casual! I figured I'd only take my best, since New York is full of ritzy restaurants and stuff, but what if the fashion show is supposed to be comfy-casual...or wait...what if it's bohemian-chic? I wouldn't want to embarra.s.s Katani!"

Charlotte gazed at a very fl.u.s.tered Maeve. She had such a good heart. But oh, she got so carried away sometimes! "Okay," she said carefully. "Where are your formal outfits?"

Maeve nodded toward the first suitcase. "Three long dresses, two short dresses, and one skirt, in case it's okay to wear skirts."

Charlotte coughed. "Okay Maeve, this isn't going to be easy. Now I want you to choose one. Just one. You might not even need that," she added. "This is a working weekend for Mich.e.l.le, remember. And I seriously doubt that you are going to eat at fancy restaurants. I mean, my guess is some hamburger places or Thai food."

Maeve looked crushed. "But what if...?"

"ONE," Charlotte repeated firmly. "Which do you like the best?"

Maeve took almost three minutes to decide. "The blue dress. I think."

"Great." Charlotte picked up the dress. "Now you can put aaaaaall that other stuff back," she instructed.

"But Char-"

"Put it back, I say!" Charlotte ordered, desperately trying not to laugh.

Maeve reluctantly removed the extra skirts and dresses.

"That's great, Maeve. Now where's your warm jacket?"

Maeve frowned. "Huh. I didn't think about that," she admitted. "You really think I need one?"

Charlotte nodded. "Definitely. New York is pretty much the same as Brookline, and you know how cool it gets at night."