Spirit Week Showdown (12 page)

T
hursday morning, I wake up scared, shaking, and totally nervous. I already know that today may not be a good day. But I've made up my mind. I've got to tell Connie the truth. She's got to know what I did, even if I have to ask someone else to tell her.

And I've already figured out who can do that for me.

There's a really good reason why I'm not wearing braids today. It's better for my hair to hang down and be free, loose, like animal hair. I tie the bandanna made out of fake leopard skin around my
head. My pants are made out of the same leopard-skin material, and they have big belt loops so I can hook my rodeo rope on them. Last night I made two bracelets with green and black beads. It's time to put them on.

As I stare into the mirror, my big guardian wings, covered with the same material as my bandanna and my pants, give me courage and make this costume worth a thousand Spirit Week points. This is the best outfit Mom's ever made.

But right now, I need to switch from the scared me to the brave me. If I'm going to be a superhero, I need to start by telling Connie the truth, and I've failed twice.

But I know who can do it.

I reach down on my dresser, grab my brown cowgirl hat, and gently place it on top of my head, over the bandanna. Slowly I look up and stare at the mirror, because today I am no longer Mya Tibbs.

“Good morning, Animasia,” I say to the mirror.

Downstairs, Mom makes a big deal out of the way I look. She's got a peanut butter–and-onion sandwich in one hand as she hugs me with the other. When Dad and Nugget step out of the garage, they take white masks and goggles off their faces.
Nugget is barefoot and dressed in a pair of raggedy brown shorts and a dark-blue shirt, with the rest of his body, including his hair and face, painted dark blue. Mom and I laugh. Nugget flexes his tiny muscles. “Planet Man is in the house!”

“If you're Planet Man, why are you blue?” I ask.

“Our planet is mostly made up of water. My brown pants represent land. I protect both.”

Girl Guardian Jade-Iris already has that covered, but I'd never tell Nugget to his face. He puts his shoes on and we leave for school. Just as we cross the street, Nugget breaks the news.

“I'm meeting Solo in front of the school instead of the park. He's Solar System Man. I don't have any idea what his superpowers are supposed to be, but that's what he chose. Anyway, I'm late, so I'm going to run ahead, okay? See you at lunch.”

“Whatever,” I say.

A few moments later, I hear a familiar voice. “Mya Papaya!”

My smile gets bigger when I see Fish dressed in Superman gear, except he has a big
F
painted on his shirt instead of an
S
for Superman, and fins on his sides. He turns to me, and holds up his hand. “Happy Teddy Bear Day! Whoa, you look awesome!”

“Thanks, Fish, but call me Animasia, Guardian of the Secret Woods. And happy Teddy Bear Day to you, too!”

Fish keeps talking. “Did you know that Teddy Bear Day is named after President Theodore Roosevelt? Check this out. President Roosevelt liked to hunt, but one day he didn't shoot anything. Somebody brought him a real baby bear to shoot, but he wouldn't do it. A toymaker read what happened and brought out a stuffed bear called Teddy's Bear. The rest is history!”

I give Fish his high five. “What a cool story! What's the
F
on your shirt for?”

He slaps his chest. “Meet the Fabulous Fish Man, protector of every fish under the sea!”

I give him another high five for being the best Fish Man in Bluebonnet.

“Bobby Joe is going to be Thunder Boy. He booms so loud that it scares off his enemies,” says Fish.

I nod. “Sounds like a great team. I hope you win the big points today.”

PSST!

I stop and listen. There it is again.

PSST!

“Animasia! Over here, behind the bushes!”

Ka-clunk, ka-clunk, ka-clunk.

“Who's there?” I ask.

“Queen Angelica.” Connie walks out from behind the bushes.

Fish stares. “Connie, you look uh . . . I don't know. Geez, I've never seen you in a dress before. What's the opposite of ugly?”

“Pretty,” says Connie with a grin.

Fish nods. “Yep, I agree. See you at lunch.” He runs toward school with his fins flapping back and forth.

We yell together. “Bye, Fabulous Fish Man!”

Connie runs her hand across her long dress, then looks back at me.

“I'm not wrinkly, am I?”

“No, you look perfect,” I say. “But I need to talk to you about—”

Connie puts her hands up. “Please. Don't say anything else, Animasia. Whatever you have to tell me can wait. This is the most perfect morning I've had in two whole years. I even feel like Queen Angelica! Let's just walk to school together, okay?”

Good gravy.

I nod. “Okay. Let's go.”

We walk to school, side by side, in silence. Students stare at us, smile at us, wave at us, some even speak to us. But we stay silent, focused. Like
warriors. Today, Animasia and Queen Angelica are real superheroes.

Finally we reach Mr. Winky. Nugget's standing at the door beside him.

“Where's Solo,” I ask.

Nugget shrugs. “He didn't show up, so I thought I'd wait on you guys. That outfit is boo-yang cool, Connie.”

She finger-combs her hair. “Seriously? Thank you.”

Mr. Winky's dressed like some jungle man with a fake monkey on his shoulder. He beats his chest when we approach and hollers like Tarzan.

“AAAAWWWWAAAWWWAAAA.”

He points at my brother. “Me, Winky Man. You, Nugget Man!”

I pet the monkey on his shoulder and think about freeing it since I'm Animasia today.

“Cool outfit, Mr. Winky,” says Connie.

He points at Connie and me, and then switches back to a Mr. Winky voice.

“Take a look at the two superheroines. Absolutely beautiful! Yes, yes, yes! It doesn't matter if you're super ‘he'-roes or super ‘she'-roes; we're having a super Spirit Week at Y.E.S.!”

I'm so proud to be standing next to Connie. She
doesn't look like Mean Connie Tate. Right now, she looks like the prettiest girl in Bluebonnet. “Let's go,” I say. “We've got to model our outfits down the K3 hall. They're going to love them!”

Just as we turn the corner, we see Starr taking a picture of Naomi near the water fountain. We both stand as still as statues while Naomi gawks at Connie. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this happening.

Crowds of kindergarteners and first, second, and third graders look at Connie, then at Naomi. Students fill the hallway and I can hear the whispers.

Naomi has wings. So do Connie and Mya
.

Naomi frowns. “Who are you supposed to be, Connie? I'm the Angel of Beauty. I change ugly things into beautiful things.”

I roll my eyes. “More like the Angel of Cootie.”

Connie pushes my shoulder. “Cool it.”

Naomi ignores me. She's eyeballing Connie, frowning.

“You remember what happened the last time you tried to be better than me?”

As I glare at my ex–best friend, she seems to get uglier by the second. After hearing Connie's story yesterday, I could just walk over to Naomi and rip
her wings off. I can't let her ruin Connie's chances of winning again, like she did in the pageant.

I've had enough of Naomi Jackson. I'm tired of her being mean to me and my Spirit Week partner. It has to stop, and I'm going to stop it right now.

Today, I'm Animasia. My job is to protect my queen.

I step in front of Connie and stand strong. “Let me handle this.”

T
he crowd keeps growing, but I've got only one thing on my mind. I raise my hands and speak loud enough for everyone to hear. “I am Animasia, guardian over all animals in the Secret Woods. Citizens of Young Elementary, I give you Queen Angelica, leader of the Girl Guardian Court. You should bow to her.”

Some of the first, second, and third graders take a knee, but Naomi scares them.

“Don't bow to her! Connie couldn't be queen of anything! She doesn't know how!”

“Wrong, Queen Cootie! You're the one who's
fake, phony, and full of baloney,” I say.

Connie frowns and pushes my shoulder again. “No name calling!”

Naomi hollers at me. “Why do you care? You don't even like Mean Connie Tate!”

“Stop calling her that! Her name is Queen Angelica,” I say.

Naomi steps closer to me. “Mean Connie needs to hear the truth.”

I fight back with a whisper only she needs to hear. “You're just mad because you like my brother, but he doesn't like you.”

I know those are fighting words, but it's the only thing I could think of to say to make Naomi leave Connie alone. Naomi's eyes squint, her nose wrinkles, and I know she's about to blow. In my head, I encourage myself to be strong.
I am a warrior. I am Animasia. Naomi Jackson can't hurt me anymore. I won't let her. And I won't let her hurt my queen.

Naomi points at me. “So, Mean Connie, you think you know your Spirit Week partner?”

Connie frowns at her. “I don't think I do; I know I do!”

I bump fists with Connie for joining in the fight, but it's far from over. The fear I had this morning is
trying to come back. I tell myself again to be strong.

I am a warrior. I am Animasia . . .

Good gravy. It's not working.

Naomi smiles at Connie. “You're such a sucker. Mya totally double-crossed you.”

I quickly turn to Connie. “Please, you have to listen to me. I have to tell you something before it's too late!”

Connie looks down at me. I look up, and her eyes seem to ask why this is happening. I'm sure mine are asking for forgiveness.

Naomi's almost in between us. “Connie, why do you think I was dressed like Bo Peep on Tuesday? It's because your Spirit Week partner told me what you and her were going to wear. She even offered to tell me other things if I would take her back as my best friend.”

Connie fires back. “I don't believe you, Jackson. I know Mya and she wouldn't do that.”

Sirens, bells, whistles, fire, ice, rocks, everything loud, everything painful, is beating, slicing, twirling, and destroying my insides like the world's worst battle. It's over. All I can do is stand here, in the middle of the hall, while Naomi trashes me in front of the whole school.

“Mya Tibbs is a Spirit Week snitch! She told me and my partner everything she and Connie were going to do for Spirit Week.”

Connie taps me on the shoulder. “Mya, you told her about the GGC?”

My body thumps with fear. “No! She's lying!”

Connie stomps her foot. “I don't believe you, Jackson! Mya's not like that.”

Connie's fighting for me. She's fighting for our friendship. But Naomi just smiles. Those green eyes of hers that I used to believe were so beautiful now twinkle evil. Then she comes back with a bigger lie—one that I didn't see coming, and can't defend against.

“It's totally true. Why else would I be wearing an angel costume like yours?”

Connie looks at Naomi's dress and then her own. Slowly she faces me. I don't have an answer, so I shrug and guess. “Maybe she was spying on us, or maybe it's just by chance that she's dressed like an angel—you know, like a coincidence—but I swear I didn't tell her.”

Connie sends me a stink eye that I can almost smell. “First, you gave away our Bo Peep idea. And then you did it again? You dirty double-crossed me . . . Tibbs.”

She called me Tibbs. Oh no. I step closer to her. “It's true that I told her about Bo Peep, but that was all! I didn't tell her about the GGC! I didn't tell her about today, I swear!”

Naomi interrupts me. “Don't listen to her, Connie. She's the biggest liar in Bluebonnet.”

Connie bolts down the hall. The wings on the back of her costume flap like she's going to leave the ground. I know where she's going, but I'm not finished with Naomi.

“
You're
the biggest bully in this school, not Connie,” I say.

Naomi stares down the hall. “I bet she's on her way to go scare the poor kindergarteners.”

“No she's not!”

Naomi crosses her arms. “How do you know, Mya Tibbs Fibs? She's probably changed you into a bully, too! There's no other reason for her to go down that hall.”

I frown. “Yes there is! If it weren't for Connie, we wouldn't have all these awesome posters for Spirit Week. She painted all of them!”

Everybody checks out the posters. I hear them whispering.
“Mean Connie drew this?” “No way!” “Maybe Connie did draw that picture during the talent challenge in the cafeteria!”

I keep talking. “Yeah! And that's not all. She's got a room full of awesome things she's created. She's got more talent in her fingers than Naomi Jackson has in her whole body!”

“Mean Connie's got her own art room? I need to see this! Come on, hurry, everybody,” says Naomi.

Somebody pushes me against the wall. Students shove by. Others run.

It's a stampede.

I've ruined everything. If only these wings were real, I'd fly away and never come back. What am I saying? I'm Animasia! I'm supposed to protect Queen Angelica, no matter what. I can't protect her leaning against this wall. I take a deep breath and shout down the hall.

“Stay away from Queen Angelica's castle, Naomi! Stop!”

I'm at the back, pushing, trying to get through. “Move, please. Excuse me.”

Naomi's leading the herd. I can't let her trash Connie's art room. I can't let all these kids push their way inside and knock over her paints, and break her colored chalk. It will crush her. But worst of all, she'll blame me for snitching again.

I don't have much time left. It's now or never.

I yell one last time. “Naomi, leave her alone!”

She holds up a fist. “You can't stop me, Mya Tibbs Fibs!”

I have to do something, but what can I do? I try to run faster, but my arm keeps banging against something on my costume. I look down.

Jambalaya!

I pull my rodeo rope off of my belt loop, close my eyes, kiss my rope, and then talk to it.

It's up to us. Don't miss.

I make the best lasso I can, then shout at the crowd. “Get out of my way!”

For the first time since I stopped being popular, students move, open up a clear path, and watch as the rope glides through the air. I belt out a rodeo yell. “Yippee-ki-yay!”

The loop drops over Naomi and down to her waist. I pull it tight. “Gotcha!”

“Hey, what's going on? Where did this rope come from?” yells Naomi.

The crowd stops and watches Naomi wiggle to get loose.

“Let go of me, Mya Tibbs Fibs!” she screams. “Skye, go get Mrs. Davis!”

I dash over to Naomi and tackle her to the floor,
and as I rope her arms and legs together, I count it off—“One, two, three, four”—then throw my hands into the air.

Starr and Skye rush to me and check their watches. I hear them talking to each other.

“Four seconds is fast,” says Skye.

“Blazing fast,” says Starr.

“Got her on the first try, too,” says Skye.

“On the very first try,” say Starr.

I yell to the crowd. “Four seconds! It's a new Bluebonnet rodeo record!”

Students clap and whistle, ignoring Naomi screaming on the floor, hog-tied and helpless. I take my hat off and bow to the crowd. “Call me Animasia, Girl Guardian over all animals wild and tame in the Secret Woods, and protector of Queen Angelica.”

Naomi yells at Starr. “I said go get Mrs. Davis!”

The twins frown. I don't know if anyone else can see it, but to me, they're glowing. Maybe it's the sun shining through the windows. Maybe it's how they look when they're angry.

Or maybe they really are aliens.

Skye disappears into the crowd. Starr leans over Naomi. “It took Mya four seconds to tie you up. Let's see how long it takes you to get loose! One, two,
three, four, five . . .”

Fish Man pats me on the back. “Nice job, Animasia.”

“Thanks, Fabulous Fish Man,” I say.

Down the hall, Connie stands at her door. I hold my fist in the air. “Hail to the queen!”

Fish lifts his books. Others lift books, backpacks, fists, jackets, whatever they have, and shout, “HAIL TO THE QUEEN!”

Connie puts her fist over her heart, and I bow. Fish drops down to one knee. Others do the same. Holy firecrackers.

Naomi hollers again. “She is
not
a queen! Untie me, Mya Tibbs Fibs!”

Starr's still counting. “Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four . . .”

Nugget shows up. “Whoa! I've never seen a Junior Miss Lone Star get calf roped before. I'd ask for your autograph, but you seem to be a bit tied up at the moment.”

Solo pushes his way through and tries to untie Naomi. He glares at Nugget. “Dude, what's wrong with your sister? She's crazy, just like Connie! They're both losers.”

Suddenly, Solo topples over Naomi's tied-up body. Fish Man stands over him. “Don't ever call
Animasia and the queen losers again, Solo!”

Starr breathes out a mouthful of air. “Sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine . . .”

A whistle blows. I know Mrs. Davis's whistle when I hear it. Fabulous Fish Man grins, then rushes off into the sunset like all heroes do. Solo scrapes himself off the ground and runs, too. Nugget stands with me. There's no way I can untie Naomi before Mrs. Davis sees her.

I don't care. I defended my queen. I protected her castle. I did my job.

But now, I'm in big, big trouble.