Bling It On! (5 page)

A
re you ready
yet
?” Brooke shouted up the stairs. Aly and Brooke were in the kitchen, but their parents were still upstairs.

While they waited for their parents to drive them to the carnival, Aly was busy double-checking the wheelie suitcase that was filled with:

balloons

streamers

Scotch tape

polishing tools like emery boards and hand cream

exactly 498 glittery hair elastics

Aly pulled out the list of nail polish colors they had packed the night before:

Carnival Polishes

Cherry on Top (red)

Orange You Happy (orange)

Cheer Up, Buttercup (yellow)

Oscar the Green (green)

Deep Blue Sea (blue)

We the Purple (purple)

Cotton Candyland (pink)

Silver Celebration (silver)

Golden Oldies (gold)

Witches' Brew (black)

They were all there, two bottles of each.

“Mom and Dad, I said, are you ready yet?” Brooke called up the stairs, louder this time.

Still no one answered, so Brooke went marching up the steps.

Aly checked on the beautiful and sparkly poster Brooke had made, which was carefully rolled up so it wouldn't crease.

Then Brooke came back downstairs, with Mom and Dad following. “They're finally ready,” she announced.

“We are,” Dad said, laughing. “Are you girls ready for your big day?”

“It's not
such
a big day, Dad,” Brooke said. “It's not like the day we opened the Sparkle Spa.”

“Still, it's not every day you run a booth at a carnival,” he answered.

Aly smiled. “You're right, Dad,” she said, and
handed Brooke the poster to carry outside. “I'm so glad it's happening when you're home.”

Aly and Brooke's dad traveled all the time—usually from Mondays until Fridays—but sometimes he worked on Saturdays and Sundays too. Aly felt lucky he was home this weekend so he could see the booth.

The Tanners piled into the car.

“Are you sure you have everything?” Mom asked.

Aly nodded. “I double-checked twice,” she said.

“Does that mean you checked
four
times?” Brooke asked.

Aly counted. “Three,” she said. “I checked once, then double-checked, then double-checked again.”

“I think you triple-checked,” Brooke said.

The whole family laughed.

Once they got to Auden Elementary, the girls' carnival team had a meeting with Principal Rogers.
The boys were on the other side of the field, meeting with AP Amari.

Principal Rogers wore the same outfit she wore each year for the carnival: Auden's school colors, a purple shirt and gold pants, and purple sneakers with gold soles. She raised her voice above the chattering girls. “Good morning, girls. We've got a busy day today, so please listen carefully. All of the girls' booths will be on the right side of the field, and all of the boys' booths will be on the left. You'll have thirty minutes for setup. The carnival begins at ten o'clock and will end at three o'clock.”

Principal Rogers continued, “Do you see those thermometers over there?”

Aly saw a big painted thermometer with dollar signs on it. One was painted purple and the other was painted gold.

“Ours is the gold one, girls,” Principal Rogers said.
“Every half hour, please have someone from your booth bring me whatever money you've made that last half hour. I will tally it on our thermometer. I'm so proud of your ideas this year. I truly believe you can win it.”

Aly and Charlotte exchanged looks and crossed their fingers.

Principal Rogers handed out the carnival maps. When Brooke looked at the paper, she squealed, “We're next to cotton candy!”

Aly nodded. “I think that's a great spot. Everyone loves cotton candy. I bet we'll get a lot of traffic.”

“Kids might even walk over for a braid while they're still eating cotton candy,” Lily said.

As the Sparkle Spa team was heading to their spot, Principal Rogers asked, “What did you girls decide to add instead of the photo booth?”

Aly looked at Brooke. “Actually,” she said, “we couldn't think of anything.”

“That's too bad,” their principal said. “But if you happen to think of anything else during the day, please let me know and I'll give you permission.”

Once the girls reached their spot, they quickly taped up their sign, blew up balloons, and decorated with streamers for the party theme. Sophie and Brooke set up two manicure stations, and Charlotte and Aly set up two braiding stations.

“If more people want manicures than braiding, I'll go back and forth,” Aly said, reminding everyone of the plan.

“Right,” Brooke said.

Lily had brought the teal strawberry donation jar from the Sparkle Spa and was holding it carefully. “I'll collect all the money and bring it to Principal Rogers every half hour.”

At 10:00 a.m. sharp, AP Amari blew a whistle into a bullhorn. The gates opened and kids and
parents came rushing onto the school field.

Boys and girls rushed over to the carnival booths—Wheel of Chance, Soccer Score, and Win a Fish. Luckily, a few walked straight toward the Sparkle Spa booth, and soon Sophie and Brooke were polishing and Charlotte and Aly were braiding as fast as they could.

“Can I have a Dutch braid?” a fourth grader named Eliza asked.

Aly nodded. “No problem. Please give Lily two dollars, and come sit down.”

As Aly was finishing Eliza's braid, Clementine, a third grader in Brooke's class, came over. “Can you give me two braids, one on each side?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” Aly told her.

Clementine handed two dollars to Lily and waited patiently until Aly snapped the rubber band around the bottom of Eliza's braid.

As Clementine sat down, Aly looked over at Brooke and Sophie. “How's it going with the manicures?” she shouted to them. There were so many people at the carnival, she practically had to scream to be heard.

“We're fine,” Brooke and Sophie both answered.

Mom and Dad came by, eating cotton candy. Mr. Tanner had won a box of golf balls from the Sports Trivia booth.

“The Sports Trivia booth?” Brooke asked. She was busy polishing the nails of Tuesday Martin, another third grader. “That's a
boy
booth! You're raising money for the boys, Dad! That's the wrong side! Quick—go to another girl booth.”

“What's going on?” the girls' dad asked their mom.

“It's a competition,” Mom said. “Remember, the girls told you last night at dinner? If the girls raise
more money than the boys, they get to go to Water World for free. If not, the boys do.”

“That's right,” Dad said. “Now I remember. Sorry, Brookie. How about if I go . . . decorate a cookie over at that booth?”

Aly looked over at Talia Lieber's booth. Cookies in fun shapes like robots, dogs, and stars looked like they might be as tasty as Joan's. Aly hadn't forgotten for one second about Cameron and Charlotte's bet. She sure hoped carnival-goers were visiting more of the girls' booths than the boys' booths.

“Good plan, Dad,” she said. “Maybe you and Mom should decorate two . . . and share with us.”

“Actually,” Mom said, “I think we'll decorate one for each of your team. Five cookies, coming up. Let's go, Mark.”

Lily ran the Sparkle Spa Celebration money to Principal Rogers while Aly gave a French braid to
Jayden Smith and Sophie polished Marla Goodman's nails with Orange You Happy.

Brooke had just finished a Golden Oldies manicure when AP Amari blew his whistle. He was also dressed in purple and gold from head to toe, and was standing next to the thermometers with a can of red paint.

“I have an announcement to make!” he bellowed. “Right now the boys have made three hundred twenty-four dollars.” Yelps and cheers of “Boys rule!” were heard from the boys' side of the field.

The assistant principal went on. “And the girls have made three hundred two dollars. Good work, everyone! I'll be painting the money onto the thermometers so everyone can see how they're doing!”

Brooke groaned. “The boys are winning. I wish I could polish faster. And that Dad didn't give that dumb Sports Trivia booth a dollar.”

Charlotte groaned too. “
I
wish we could come up with one more thing for our booth, like Principal Rogers said. There are two problems, though. One, we can't think of anything. And two, we'd need someone else to do it, because we're all so busy.”

Jayden jumped off the chair, and Hannah and Parker Stevens, twins in Mrs. Wexler's fourth-grade class, asked about braids.

Aly had started braiding Parker's hair in a fishbone when she saw Suzy Davis walk by with her sister and her dad. And all of a sudden, Aly had a fantastic idea.

A
ly quickly finished Parker's braids and walked to the other side of the booth, where Brooke was polishing Zorah's pinkie with Cherry on Top.

“Brooke,” Aly said, “I need to talk to you over here.”

“I'm in the middle of a manicure,” Brooke said.

“I know,” Aly said. “But this is very important. I have an idea. For something to add to our booth.”

“Okay, okay, I'm coming,” Brooke said. She turned to Zorah. “I'm really sorry, but I'll be back in
two seconds. Well, maybe ten seconds. But as fast as I can. I promise.”

“Suzy Davis is the answer,” Aly said to her sister. “I think we should add Suzy Davis and Suzy's Spectacular Makeup to our booth. She can do all the makeup, and we'll make more money for the girls' side. Hopefully, we'll win and get to go to the water park.”

“
Suzy Davis?
” Brooke said, tugging on her braid. “But we spend all our time trying to get
rid
of Suzy Davis!”

“I know, I know,” Aly replied. “But Suzy's Spectacular Makeup actually
is
a good idea. People really liked it on Picture Day, remember? Plus, even if she makes one dollar, that's one more dollar for the girls' team we didn't have before.”

Brooke ran the end of her braid back and forth across her cheek. After a few seconds, she said,
“Okay, you're right. It'll help us win the water park. So I vote yes.”

Aly hugged her sister and then went and told Charlotte and Lily the plan. She knew Brooke would tell Sophie.

Aly ran from Roll a Hole in One to Paint Your Face, from Balloon Darts to Soccer Score. No Suzy. For a minute she was afraid Suzy had already left the carnival, but she finally found her leaning against a tree, eating popcorn.

“Hey, Suzy,” Aly said.

“Aren't you supposed to be at your Sparkle Spectacle booth, or whatever you called it?” Suzy answered, popping a kernel into her mouth.

“I am,” Aly said, “but I . . . uh . . . I have an idea that I think you can help me with.”

Suzy crunched the popcorn. “Why would I want to help you?” she asked.

Aly let out a huff of breath. “Because Charlotte and Lily and I helped you on School Picture Day. And because you want the girls to win and go to Water World.”

Suzy stood up a little straighter. “I'm listening,” she said.

Aly swallowed. She needed to convince Suzy, fast. “Remember how Principal Rogers told us we couldn't have the Sparkle photo booth?”

“Yes, because Aubrey's was better,” Suzy said.

“Right,” Aly said. “It was. But anyway, she said we were allowed to add a third thing for our booth. When I saw you walking by, I remembered how popular your makeup was on School Picture Day, and I thought maybe
you
could be our third thing. If you want to add Suzy's Spectacular Makeup to our booth, I think we could beat the boys.”

Suzy ate another piece of popcorn. “Let's say I
wanted to do this,” she answered. “I don't have my supplies here.”

Aly thought for second. “Maybe you could pick them up from home. I saw your dad before. He could drive you home. Or your mom could bring your supplies here.”

“My mom's working today,” Suzy said.

“But your dad?” Aly was really hoping Suzy was going to say yes soon. There wasn't any time to waste.

“Okay. I guess I could ask my dad,” Suzy finally said. “And just so you know, I'm only doing this because I love water parks.”

“Of course,” Aly said. She headed over to Principal Rogers to tell her their plan. On the way, she passed the boys' Tattoo You booth. A long line with everyone from first-grade girls to sixth-grade boys was wrapped around the booth.
Oh, boy,
Aly thought,
we've really got work to do.

She hurried back to the Sparkle Spa Celebration booth, filled in the girls about Suzy, and returned to braiding and polishing.