Katani nodded. "Sally was way cool too," she added. "I feel like telling my grandmother to start a car maintenance cla.s.s at school. I mean, how can you really be independent if you don't even know what to do when your car breaks down?"

"I don't know," Maeve said. "It sounds great, but"-she glanced down at her soft, pink sweater-"angora-wool blends really don't match with car grease."

"Well, someday I am going to take a cla.s.s like that," Katani declared. "I never want to be stuck by the side of the road again!" She dug out the notebook she kept for business ideas and carefully noted down Sally's suggestion. That one was a keeper!

CHAPTER.

9.

If I Can Make It There...

It was almost eleven o'clock and completely dark by the time the Taylors' station wagon reached the streets of Greenwich Village in New York City. "We should be right around the corner," Maeve whispered rea.s.suringly to Katani. "I can't wait. I'm so tired I could fall asleep right here!" True to her word, in about a minute Maeve had completely dozed off. Sam had been asleep since they left Connecticut.

"What's the address again, Katani?" Mr. Taylor called.

Katani looked at the directions her mother had written down. "It's on Morton Street, just off of Houston Street," Katani told him. "I think it's about five minutes away." She read the address out again, but it took more than five minutes for Mr. Taylor to negotiate the streets. Twenty minutes went by, and she realized they were good and lost. To make matters worse, it was getting really late. If they didn't get to Mich.e.l.le's soon, she would be too exhausted to do anything in the morning!

"Katani?" Mr. Taylor asked, taking out his cell phone. "Would you mind calling Mich.e.l.le and asking for more specific directions? I am not really familiar with the Village."

He handed Katani the phone and she punched in her cousin's numbers.

"Mich.e.l.le?" she said when her cousin answered sleepily. "It's Katani. We're driving around the Village right now and we can't find your street."

Mich.e.l.le let out a giant yawn and answered, "That's the problem with my neighborhood. The entire rest of Manhattan is a numbered grid, so it's hard to get lost there. But not the Village!"

"I can see that...Okay, I am going to give the phone to Maeve's dad so you can tell him where to go," Katani said as she handed the phone back to Mr. Taylor.

Mich.e.l.le was right. The streets seemed to be some kind of paved over cow paths, thought Katani. Mich.e.l.le kept asking them to give her cross streets so she could "locate" them. After ten more minutes of cruising aimlessly, Mr. Taylor had an idea. "Thanks for all your help, Mich.e.l.le. We should be there soon," he said and hung up.

"Did you figure it out?" Katani asked.

"Not really," he answered. "But I have an idea..." Mr. Taylor pulled the car to the side of the street right in front of the bright lights and open windows of a Korean deli. "The only way we are going to find her place is by asking a person to point out the way. Now Katani, since these two are out like a light, would you mind hopping out and just asking the clerk for directions to Morton Street? I can keep an eye on you from right here."

"Sure." Katani got out and walked inside the brightly lit store. She had heard that New York was famous for its delis and now she knew why. The air was rich with the smell of cured meat and spices. There was an elderly man working at the cash register and a woman stocking the shelves. The man looked up at the sound of the bell that rang when Katani walked in. "Excuse me," she said in a friendly tone, "we just came in from Boston and we're kind of lost. We're trying to find Morton Street, but we keep missing it."

She showed the man Mich.e.l.le's address neatly written in her business idea notebook.

The clerk looked at her as though she were crazy, and pointed behind her.

"What?" Katani asked.

"One block away. You turn right at this corner, you're there." He waved his hands at her.

"Are you serious?" Katani asked. After all this time driving around, they were only one block away from Mich.e.l.le's house?

"Yes. Yes, that's it." The clerk smiled at her thunder-struck expression. "Have a good evening."

Katani smiled gratefully at him. "You too! Thanks."

Five minutes later, they were in front of Mich.e.l.le's apartment building. When they told the doorman their names, he gallantly held the door open and said comfortingly, "Ah yes, Mich.e.l.le is expecting you." Sam helped Maeve lug in her two enormous suitcases. Katani managed just fine with her small black carry-on bag.

Once in Mich.e.l.le's building, Maeve was eager to be on her own. "Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Sam," she said. "I think we're all set here. "See you Sunday! I'll call you. Ciao!" Katani snorted. Maeve loved to pretend she was in a foreign movie. Tonight she was in her Italian mode.

"Hold your horses, young lady," her father said. "I'm not leaving until Katani's cousin comes down to meet you."

"But Daaaaad...We're not eight!" Maeve whined. She looked at Sam, who was sleepily slumped on a bench against the wall beside them.

"I don't care if you're twenty-eight. I'm your father, and I will be waiting!" He raised his eyebrow, which Maeve knew was his sign that he meant business.

At first, Katani thought that Mr. Taylor was being a little overprotective. Then again, after everything else that had happened today, waiting for Mich.e.l.le was probably not a bad idea! She used Mr. Taylor's cell phone to call Mich.e.l.le and ask her to come down.

Two minutes later, Mich.e.l.le, in fluffy slippers and a yellow bathrobe tied hastily around her, shuffled off the elevator. As always, she was smiling. "Hi, everyone! You must be Maeve of the famous Beacon Street Girls. Katani's told me so much about you!" she said. Maeve glowed. "And you must be Mr. Taylor. Thanks so much for bringing them."

"It was no trouble at all," he said, winking at the girls. Maeve and Katani gave each other a look. No trouble? "Maeve, take my cell phone. In case of emergencies, call your mom. And have a great time. I'll see you back here on Sat.u.r.day." Mr. Taylor kissed Maeve on the forehead and collected Sam, and they were on their way.

"So how was the trip?" asked Mich.e.l.le once they'd wrestled Maeve's suitcases into the elevator and were riding up. Katani looked at Maeve, who just giggled and said, "Oh it was...interesting." Maeve and Katani took turns telling Mich.e.l.le all about the Merritt Parkway, the flat tire, Mr. Taylor's bad back, and Sam's funny but useless attempts to help.

Mich.e.l.le listened attentively as she led them into her fifth-floor apartment. "Wow, look at this place. It's amazing!" Maeve gasped, breaking off in the middle of the story to stare around the huge room. With high, arching ceilings and big windows overlooking the Village, the apartment seemed absolutely enormous even though it was really quite small. There was even a fireplace at one end of the room that would light up by pressing a remote control. "Too cool!" Maeve whispered.

"It's sooo fabulous, Mich.e.l.le," Katani enthused. Katani couldn't wait to have an apartment like this.

"Well, I'm glad you like it. All right, girls, follow me. You're going to sleep in the study." Mich.e.l.le led the way down the narrow hall and opened a door on the right. "The couch is a pullout bed, but it's really comfy. You can ask any of my girlfriends from college. Most of them have spent a night at Hotel Mich.e.l.le. You guys must be exhausted after your crazy trip, so if you want to go right to sleep that is A-okay by me-" She stopped and looked at them doubtfully. "Or do you want to eat something?"

"We stopped at a little diner back in Connecticut, so I'm all set," said Katani. "I think if I don't get into bed this minute, I'm going to sleep standing up."

Maeve nodded. "Me too. I've never been so tired in my whole life!" she said, collapsing on the fluffy couch.

"Sleep tight, girls." Mich.e.l.le said as she turned off one of the lights and closed the door.

"Katani, this is the greatest place!" Maeve whispered. "And Mich.e.l.le is awesome! She's so together, you know? I bet she can handle anything!"

Katani took off her coat and laid it carefully across an overstuffed chair in the corner. "She can. That's why she got promoted so quickly at Teen Beat. Everyone's really impressed with how professional she is."

Maeve strolled around the room, admiring Mich.e.l.le's computer desk, the neat stacks of papers and files, and the rows of framed photographs of her and various celebrities on the walls. As Maeve walked, she dropped her jacket on the middle of the floor, kicked her pink boots against the wall, then unsnapped her favorite jeans and tossed them on a chair. Maeve put on her pj's and a minute later she lay diagonally on the pullout couch, sprawled over the blanket, and was fast asleep.

Katani stood frozen in dismay. She couldn't leave this study so messy, with Maeve's clothes lying all over the place like confetti! Mich.e.l.le was as orderly as Katani, and would hate to see her once-meticulous study looking like a hurricane hit. Since Maeve was her friend, Katani herself felt responsible. After all, they were guests.

Slowly, she began to pick up Maeve's coat, boots, and jeans. She folded the clothes on a low table and neatly placed the boots underneath. Then she wearily took off her own clothes and put them back in her suitcase where they'd be out of Mich.e.l.le's way.

Maeve was already sound asleep on top of the bed and blanket, so there was no way to make it up properly. Katani pulled a clean pillowcase over a fluffy pillow and crawled over Maeve, who had taken up most of the mattress. She wrapped herself in another blanket and squirmed around until she was finally comfortable.

Even though Katani was tired, she had a difficult time falling asleep. Too much had happened that day, and she needed to sort it all out in her mind. Maeve was so sweet and supportive. If it wasn't for Maeve, Katani never would have had the chance to go to New York in the first place. But Maeve could be so disorganized. Charlotte and Isabel are always so much neater, she thought. Would she have been better off bringing a different member of the BSG on her New York adventure? Maybe Maeve was just too tired to pick up after herself, Katani thought. Was this going to happen on the whole trip, or just tonight?

Katani tried to push those thoughts out of her mind as she finally drifted off to sleep. She and Maeve were awesome friends, and they were going to have a wonderful time. This trip would be the real start of her great career in business and fashion. She couldn't wait until tomorrow!

CHAPTER.

10.

The Museum Leech

On Friday, the Abigail Adams seventh-grade cla.s.s finished their second day of apt.i.tude tests at precisely eleven o'clock. Ms. Rodriguez came back into the cla.s.sroom with a smile. "All right, boys and girls. We're off to the Museum of Fine Arts!" Almost before Ms. R uttered her last syllable Dillon was out the door followed by the Trentinis and the Yurtmeister. They chanted "Field Trip! Field Trip!" all the way down the hall.

It was sunny outside under the high blue sky. "Perfect weather for a trip to a museum. Not! We should be going to the park for a cla.s.s soccer game!" Avery exclaimed. She, Charlotte, and Isabel lined up in front of the bus that was waiting to take them to the museum.

Isabel shifted nervously from one foot to the other.

"What's wrong, Iz?" Charlotte asked.

Isabel shrugged. "Nothing really. I was just thinking about that test...I don't know if I did that well on the math part. All the problems with X's and Y's really confused me. I don't think I got more than half of those!"

"I wouldn't worry too much," Charlotte rea.s.sured her. "Apt.i.tude tests are just to see what you can and can't do. That way, school teachers know what they need to spend more time working on."

Avery was jumping to get to the front of the line, eager to obtain a choice seat on the bus. "Come on, can we not talk about tests anymore? This is supposed to be fun time!"

Isabel nodded. "I know, but that math..."

"Don't worry, Iz. I don't know if I did that great either," said Charlotte, hoping to rea.s.sure her friend.

"Isabel and Charlotte!" Avery interrupted, placing her hands on her hips. "Iz, do you want to be a famous artist or a math teacher?"

Isabel began to grin. "Well, an artist but..."

"And Charlotte," Avery continued, "you know you are good at math and reading. You know more about astronomy than anyone at our school, and everybody loves reading your articles for The Sentinel."

"You're right," said Isabel. "I'll just have to wait to get the results and be surprised..."

"Speaking of surprises..." Avery motioned at a young woman walking toward the bus.

"Omigosh!" Charlotte said. "Look who's coming on the field trip with us!" She nodded at a young woman talking to Ms. Rodriguez.

"Ms. Weston!" Isabel exclaimed. "You don't think she's going to guide us around the museum, do you?"

"If she is, we might not make it home." Avery giggled. All three girls laughed, remembering their adventures at Lake Rescue with the directionally challenged student teacher, who couldn't seem to find her way around a parking lot, let alone the wilderness.

The bus ride to the museum seemed much shorter than it actually was. Everyone had way too much energy after being cooped up all morning taking tests. Now the bus was rocking with noise and laughter. "Hey, a truck! Let's get him to honk!" Henry Yurt yelled from his seat in the back. Nick and Dillon were ready for action. The three boys pumped their arms up and down as a Mack truck approached from the side. "Honk! Honk! Honk!" chanted the back of the bus. The driver took note of the squad of overexcited students and reached up and pulled down a lever.

"WONK! WONK!" bellowed the truck. It was more like the foghorn of a ship than a car. Some students covered their ears in surprise. The truck driver zoomed past and honked his horn one more time for good measure as he gave his bus of fans a friendly wave. The entire bus cheered loudly and waved back.

"I think I lost my hearing!" Isabel moaned as she clasped her hands over her ears.

Avery giggled and motioned toward Riley, who was sitting in front of them. Riley had headphones on and was bopping along to the tunes in his head, completely oblivious to the earth-shattering truck horn only moments before. "Hey Riley, how are the eardrums holding up?" Avery tapped his shoulder.

Riley, startled, pulled his earphones out and looked up. "What up?" Because he was part of a rock band called Mustard Monkey, most of the time there was some sort of loud musical noise blaring in his ears. "Are you talking to me?!" he asked in an overly loud voice.

"Never mind..." Avery shook her head. She sat back next to Charlotte and began tapping her feet against the floor. After the morning-long test, Avery was just one of the many kids in Ms. Rodriguez's cla.s.s who had a lot of leftover energy. "I wish we got to go on a field trip to a rock-climbing gym." Avery pretended to climb in place.

"Avery, this museum has mummies in crypts," Charlotte rubbed her hands to together gleefully.

Avery clapped. "Mummies! Now we're talking! Remember that scene in Return of the Mummy when..."

Isabel shuddered. "I really don't want to see the mummies," she said, sounding adamant.

"Why not, Izzy?" asked Charlotte.

"Yeah...they've already been dead for about, I don't know, a thousand years," Avery said with a mischievous grin. "What do you think they're going to do, crawl out of their sarcophaguses and change their minds?"

Isabel tried to glare but giggled instead. "Ha ha, you are sooo funny, Avery." She reached under her seat and produced a straw handbag, which held a sketchbook and a box of colored pencils. "Oh well. I have plenty of stuff to do at the museum that will help me steer clear of mummies AND their sarcophaguses. There'll be some beautiful Egyptian art I can copy there. I've always thought Egyptian urns and murals were really cool. You know, the pictures on them all tell stories. I wouldn't mind just being by myself and sketching today. Am I the only seventh grader whose idea of an awesome day is looking at vases at a museum?"

"Umm..." Avery began to drum her fingers together as she made a funny face at Isabel.

"No, no, no," Charlotte said quickly. "I'm excited too! I have a Sentinel a.s.signment to work on today. Jennifer asked me to do a piece about our field trip for the paper."

"You're doing a piece for the paper?" The BSG turned around. Betsy Fitzgerald sat behind them, and now she was looking at Charlotte unhappily. "I wonder why Jennifer didn't ask me to write it? I told her that I am a real Egyptophile and I know everything about Egypt already. Remember I was telling you both about that really big essay contest I won in third grade when I wrote about the pyramids?"

Charlotte shifted awkwardly in her seat. "Yes...," she said, looking uncomfortable.