Maggie Malone Gets the Royal Treatment (12 page)

When It's Back to Doughnuts for Me

“Well?” Stella demands, throwing my bedroom door open with a bang and scaring me so badly I knock over the card house I've been building for the last thirty minutes.

“Jeez, Stella, you sure know how to make an entrance,” I laugh, catching my breath and scooping up the cards.

Stella plops down on my bed and pushes a bag toward me.

“I stopped at Dippin' Donuts on the way here,” she says, out of breath. “Got the last two double doozie chocolate doughnuts!”

“Okay, I forgive you for scaring me half to death,” I tell her, pulling out my little ring of heaven and a napkin. My mom doesn't love it when I eat in my room, but as long as I vacuum my zebra rug afterward, she lets me do it without too much fuss.

“Anyway,” Stella says dramatically. “How was the big Pinkerton Imperial Princess Festival or whatever it's called?”

“It's called the Pinkerton Royal Ball and it was a blast,” I tell her. “This girl in a wheelchair got crowned Pinkerton Princess and everybody was crying and everything.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a total blast,” Stella says sarcastically.

“Well, there was a band and dancing and really good food too,” I tell her.

“And what about that Lucy girl?” Stella wants to know. “Has she jumped back on the crazy train yet?”

“Lucy's okay,” I tell Stella. “She just had some stuff to figure out. She actually got up and gave this really awesome speech at the royal ball about how maybe the dukes and princess apprentices aren't such a great idea because they take the spotlight off the prince and princess. I seriously thought Mr. Mooney was going to lose it for a minute, but then she added this part where she thought Mr. Mooney deserved to be called
Sir
Mooney as soon as the royal court was announced—at least until the ball—and he seemed to like that idea a lot. Anyway, Lucy said she's going to run for student council president next year and really shake up the royal court.”

“Mother of a baby squirrel monkey, speaking of royal courts, I almost forgot!” Stella shouts, pulling a
Tween
Scene
magazine out of her backpack. “Did you hear that Princess Penelope and Prince Henry are officially a couple? It says here they're probably going to get married. I mean, not for like fifteen years or something, but it's pretty much a done deal. And look at them hanging out on the royal yacht,” Stella adds, shaking the magazine right in my face. “How lucky can a girl get? Honestly.”

A
girl
can
get
pretty
darned
lucky
, I think to myself with a smile.

Just like I love to try out new lives, I also love to try out new words! Here's a list of some sort-of-fancy words I used in this book that you might not have known before. I included a synonym for each, but you could probably figure out what they mean from the way I used them in the story. Now that you know these words, don't be afraid to use them. Being smart is totally cool.

1. Affair: event

2. Amusing: entertaining

3. Appointed: nominated

4. Apprentices: beginners

5. Beam: radiate

6. Bedazzled: decorated

7. Blubbers: cries noisily

8. Bolts: shoots out from; rushes

9. Brooch: decorative pin

10. Canasta: a card game

11. Christendom: all Christians

12. Clasp: lock; fastening

13. Committed: dedicated; unwavering

14. Complicated: confusing

15. Customs: traditions

16. Desperate: in dire need

17. Diorama: a 3-D model

18. Drones: male honeybees

19. Enlightenment: spiritual wisdom

20. Esteemed: admired

21. Flustered: confused; upset

22. Formal: fancy and old-fashioned

23. Fortress: castle

24. Fury: rage; anger

25. Glares: scowls; looks angrily

26. Glimpse: quick look; peek

27. Glory: honor

28. Halfheartedly: not enthusiastically

29. Hefty: large; muscular; solid

30. Hesitates: pauses; waits

31. Humiliation: embarrassment

32. Impression: feeling; sense

33. Inspect: scrutinize; look closely

34. Inspiring: moving; uplifting

35. Installed: put in

36. Lagoons: small ponds

37. Loyal: faithful

38. Media: news outlets

39. Monocle: single eyeglass

40. Mousse: custard

41. Narrowing: getting smaller

42. Peeved: irritated

43. Pitchfork: long handled fork

44. Plastering: spreading

45. Polar: extreme

46. Pooling: coming together

47. Positioned: arranged

48. Positive: good

49. Precisely: exactly

50. Prosperity: wealth

51. Quashes: suppresses

52. Relayed: delivered

53. Revolutionized: transformed

54. Rhinestone: fake diamond

55. Riot: uprising

56. Rodent: pertaining to gnawing, nibbling animals like rats

57. Sarcastically: scornfully

58. Serf: slave

59. Shock: jarring visual

60. Smirk: sly smile

61. Smug: pleased with oneself

62. Sophisticated: cultured

63. Stampede: rush of animals

64. Stashed: hid

65. Stragglers: lingerers

66. Swanky: fancy

67. Taunted: teased

68. Taut: tight

69. Unhinge: open wide

70. Vile: horrible

Thank you for reading
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Maggie Malone Gets the Royal Treatment
by Jenna McCarthy.

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Maggie Malone
series. Book 3,
Maggie Malone Makes a Splash
, will be available May 2015. In case you missed it, the first book in the series is
Maggie Malone and the Mostly Magical Boots
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Maggie Malone Makes a Splash

Coming May 2015

“It's so not fair,” I tell my reflection in the mirror. “I'm
not
jealous that Elizabeth is a better swimmer than me! Well maybe I am a little tiny bit, but I never, ever lie! If Elizabeth doesn't quit the swim team, that evil Brianna and her ugly swimsuit will make our lives miserable! What am I going to do? How am I ever going to fix this?”

“Are you asking yourself or me?” Frank says.

“AAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!” I scream, tipping over backward in my chair. I land in a heap on my zebra rug, my heart pounding harder than it did that time my brother Mickey and his friend Oliver hid under my bed and waited until I was
this close
to falling asleep before they rolled out, jumped up, and shouted GOTCHA! right into my face. I nearly busted a gut that time.
His.

“Geez, Frank, could you give a girl some warning before you just show up next time?” I ask, pulling myself back up into my chair.

“If I'm not mistaken,
you
called
me
,” Frank-in-the-mirror laughs.

Frank came with my MMBs—Mostly Magical Boots—and the only way I can talk to him is in the mirror. Since I haven't had the MMBs that long, I'm not always sure exactly how it all works. But this is definitely the first time Frank has just shown up like this, practically uninvited. Still, I'm pretty glad to see him. I need
somebody
to talk to.

“Well, since you're here and everything,” I tell Frank, “you got any of that great genie advice you're so famous for? Just please don't tell me that I've got this, okay? Because I obviously don't. Like, at all.” I let out a huge sigh. My heartbeat is slowing to a normal rhythm again, thankfully.

“Which part of this little mess do you want my help with?” Frank asks.

“Well, I... Wait, what's that clicking sound?” I ask, totally distracted by the noise.

Frank holds up a pair of knitting needles and a huge ball of bright blue yarn. “I'm making a beanie,” he says. “What? Knitting relaxes me.”

“You're weird,” I tell Frank.

“Compared to all the other genies you know?” Frank asks with a laugh, click-clacking away.

“Whatever, I just don't know how to make Elizabeth believe me. Brianna said that if I don't convince Elizabeth to quit the team, she's going to make us pay. Elizabeth is brand-new but totally outswam Brianna during tryouts. She's super jealous!” I explain, resting my chin in my hands.

“I hear you,” Frank says, setting his knitting needles aside. “That little whippersnapper's a piece of work. Who peed in her Cheerios anyway?”

“Okay, that's just gross,” I say, cringing.

“Here's the thing, Malone,” he says, leaning in. “You can't control what other people do…or how they act, what they say, or what they believe. All
you
can do is be yourself. Stay 100% Maggie Malone—you know the deal—in every situation. Now
that's
some excellent genie advice, if I do say so myself.” Franks nods, so pleased with himself.

“But that bratty little girl's going to…” I protest.

“Nope!” Frank holds up a hand to stop me.

“And Elizabeth thinks that I…” I plead.

“No ma'am, Pam,” Frank says.

“Wait, who's Pam?” I ask, confused.

“That's just something people say, you know like ‘hop on the bus, Gus,' or ‘slip out the back, Jack,' or…” Frank continues.

“What?” I ask because honestly, genies can be so confusing. “Not to be selfish, but I really don't care about your friends Pam or Gus or Jack right now. As a matter of fact, all I really want to do is crawl under a rock and wait for all this to be over. Or sink deep down to the ocean floor, far away from this mess where the only things I can hear are dolphins and waves and OH MY GOSH THAT'S IT!”

“WHAT'S IT?” Frank looks up because apparently he'd gone back to his beanie.

“Marina Tide! I want to be her!” I explain, jumping up, throwing my hands over my head. “She lives down in Florida...well technically, she lives wherever her big boat takes her, but she's off the coast of sunny Florida right now and it's freezing here so...I'll soak up the sun and swim with Skipper and probably save a coral reef! It's going to be amazing!”

“Sounds like a plan, Stan!” Frank says, again bringing his needy friends into this. “But now remember, her life might not be as easy or perfect as you think it is.”

“Yeah right, Frank!” I laugh. “It'll be tough to decide which of Marina's seventy swimsuits to wear and petting that adorable dolphin and getting a tan all day!”

“Well, anyway…” Frank just shakes his head like he doesn't realize that I've got this one. Piece of cake. “Pay attention 'cause those MMBs might have a thing or two to teach you about this little swim team snafu,” Frank explains, but I'm not really listening to him anymore.

“Uh-huh,” I mumble.

“Alrighty then.” Frank looks at me a little sideways and then jumps up and leans toward me in the mirror. “And don't forget your trusty genie pocket mirror in the drawer there…I'm guessing there aren't a lot of mirrors on Flynn Tide's boat.”

“Right! Good thinking, Frank! TTYL!” I say, thinking there's no way he'll get that.

“OK!” Frank yells back, changing from a clear picture in my mirror to a watery blob. “TTFN!”

I kind of love that genie.

• • •

Not to be full of myself or anything, but I'm kind of getting to be an MMB professional. Last night I laid out my clothes and set my alarm to go off extra early today. (I picked 4:44, because I love it when numbers repeat. On regular school days I always set it for 5:55, even though I don't technically have to be up until 6:15. I'm sort of strange like that.) The alarm blares and I bolt straight up in bed.
It's showtime, folks!

I tiptoe into the bathroom to brush my teeth, then I put on my favorite track suit, the hot pink one with white stripes down the sides. Even though I won't be wearing it when I wake up as Marina, I feel sporty when I wear it so it seemed fitting. Plus it has pockets so I have somewhere to stash my genie pocket mirror. I slip the mirror in the side pocket and zip it up nice and tight. After giving my hair a quick scrunching—there's no sense trying to
comb
it or anything, since I'm sure it'll be wet in like five minutes—I walk over to my closet and pull down the MMBs from the tippy-top shelf. They smell like chicken curry mixed with burnt marshmallows. Don't ask me why, but they do.

I pull on the MMBs and stand up tall. Then I walk over to my mirror. I've got to tell you, beat-up old cowboy boots look pretty funny with my track suit, but I won't be wearing this crazy getup for long. “With these MMBs I choose,” I say to my reflection, “a day in Marina Tide's shoes!”