Spirit Week Showdown (15 page)

I
t's Saturday morning, and in exactly four hours, the Fall Festival opens. In my gut, I know the rides are ready, the stage is built, the food is cooking, and the big tent is just waiting to be filled with rodeo fans. I'm up early because Nugget, Fish, Connie, and I made plans to catch the trolley on State Street so we could be the first kids in line for everything. Nugget and I made bowls of cereal for breakfast since Mom is still asleep, and also made snack bags for ourselves, Fish, and Connie while we wait for the festival gate to open.

I even braided my own hair.

Dad strolls in and takes a seat at the table. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I need both of you at the store this morning. I had to rush-order more boots and belt buckles. I even sold out of the hat Buttercup was wearing! And I just got a text from Mr. Crabtree that he told his friends about my corn mix and what it's done for his cattle. Now, three more customers have ordered twenty-five bushels each for their livestock and want it by noon today. I've got to have some help, kids. And I've got a special customer coming.”

Nugget stares at his Froot Loops. My bottom lip shakes.

“I know you had Fall Festival plans this morning. I promise I'll personally drive you to the front gate and buy your tickets when you finish.”

“But Fish and Connie will be here any minute,” I say.

“Give them a call and tell them you have to work,” says Dad. “You can call them from the store when you finish.”

I nod. Nugget nods, too. We both scoot back from the table.

Dad grabs our hands. “For what it's worth, I'm so glad I can count on the two of you.”

“You can always count on us, Dad,” says Nugget.

“Always,” I say.

“Tell Connie and Fish that I'll swing around and pick them up, too, if they want to wait on you.”

Nugget and I shuffle upstairs. I'm dragging, upset that I have to work this morning.

“What am I going to do now? Since I don't have a VIP ticket, I wanted to be at the Fall Festival early so I could be one of the first people in line for the Whipper-Snapper and the Plop-Drop. By the time I get there, the lines are going to be all the way to Oklahoma.”

Nugget holds my shoulders and whispers. “I'll call Fish and break the bad news. You call Connie. Hurry up and get dressed, because we still have to wash our cereal bowls so Mom doesn't have to clean up after us. The sooner we get started at the store, the faster we'll be finished.”

Thirty minutes later, when I open the front door, there on our steps sit Connie and Fish, laughing and talking. Connie's wearing her Tibbs's store T-shirt.

“I was already awake, so I thought I'd come and help you at the store,” says Connie.

Fish stands up. “I know how long it takes to fill those bushels with your dad's corn mix. I've helped you before, remember? I can help you again.”

I give Connie a big hug while Nugget finds Fish
a T-shirt. Dad grins when he sees the four of us dressed and ready to work.

“How about that! Looks like I doubled my help in less than an hour! Let's go!” We pile into Dad's truck. Inside the store, Connie and I open up boxes of boots and stock them on the shelves. Then we open up boxes of buckles and do the same thing. While we're working, I teach Connie a new verse to my song, while she adds a few things to the store display. Soon, there's lots of noise at the front of the store. People are pushing their way in, but there seems to be a bunch of cowboys holding people back.

Connie and I tiptoe down an aisle so we can get a better look.

I hear Dad's voice. “Thanks so much for coming. Right this way.”

We run back to where we're supposed to be, and wait for Dad's special customer. I can hear the conversation between Dad and a lady.

“Mr. Tibbs,” she says, “I was hoping you had a couple of extra workers here who could help me at the festival. One of my ranch hands is down with the flu and I'm short-handed.”

“I wish I could, but I've got my children helping me because I'm short-handed, too.”

Suddenly, the cowboys move. A woman dressed
in cowgirl gear stands in front of me.

It can't be. Jambalaya!

“Cowgirl Claire?”

She looks my way. “Mr. Tibbs, is this your daughter you were telling me about?”

I'm jumping up and down. “Oh my gosh! Connie! It's . . . it's . . . oh my gosh!”

Cowgirl Claire gives us hugs. “It's nice to meet both of you. Young lady, don't you have a brother? What's his name? Niblet?”

“Nugget!” I shout louder than I mean to.

Connie puts up her hand. “I'll go get him.”

Everything on the inside of my body is jumping up and down, but the outside of my body is stuck. Dad's smiling at me. Cowgirl Claire puts her hands on her hips and smiles at me.

“Your father tells me you know how to rope a calf. Is that true?”

“Yes, ma'am! Let me show you!” I grab a rope, make a lasso, and twirl it around.

“Woo-hoo, young lady! That's a mighty fine loop you've got working there!”

Nugget, Fish, and Connie show up. Nugget's eyes widen.

“Greetings and salutations, Cowgirl—”

Before he can finish, I throw that loop at my
brother, and I get him on the first try. I've got his arms pinned to his sides as I run toward him.

He's hollering at me. “Mya! You better not—”

I bull-rush him, knock him down, and hog-tie him on the floor.

“One, two, three!”

I throw my hands in the air. “It's a new world record!”

Fish gives me a high five. “Way to go, Mya Papaya!”

Cowgirl Claire claps and whistles through her teeth. “Would you looky there! Untie Niblet before he starts to moo! Well, I've got to get going. It sure was nice meeting you folks.”

I don't want her to leave. There's so many things I'd love to ask her, and tell her, but my brain has gone to sleep again. I wish I could take this no-good brain out of my head and . . .

The best idea I've had all week forms in my mind.

“Excuse me, Cowgirl Claire, I heard you telling my dad that you're short on help for the festival. My brother and I could help you. We help at the store all the time, and we're both really good with animals. Nugget works in the barn here, and I do a lot of stocking supplies . . . and I help my mom clean up the kitchen after dinner.”

Dad walks over and puts his hand on my shoulder as he talks to Cowgirl Claire. “You know what? Mya's right. I don't think you'll find a better set of helpers in Bluebonnet. This is the team you're looking for, Cowgirl Claire. I'd bet my store on it.”

I'm shaking like a rocket ready to blast off into space. Nugget stands beside me with his hands by his side like a soldier. Cowgirl Claire is staring at us from head to toe, as if she's thinking about what Dad and I said.

“Well, you sure know how to make a good lasso, missy. And Niblet, I could use some strong arms to help with my horses. Okay! Mya, Niblet, you're both hired!”

Connie and I jump, clap, and scream all over Dad's store. Cowgirl Claire chuckles.

“Calm down, girlies! You're going to need that energy for work! While you're getting yourselves together, let me tell you about your job, Mya. You and your brother have to ride with me to the festival so I can tell you about your responsibilities while I'm doing my act. You'll both get Cowgirl Claire Show All-Access Passes, which must stay around your neck so the Fall Festival workers will know you're part of my crew. That All-Access Pass will get you free food, and first dibs on all the rides, shows, and
backstage privileges at the festival since you'll have limited time to enjoy them.”

Connie takes my hand. “It's just like a VIP ticket, Mya!”

I take both of Connie's hands and jump up and down with her. “I'm going to work for Cowgirl Claire. She hired me! Did you hear her?”

I let go of Connie and give Cowgirl Claire a big hug, and she hugs me back. Then she looks me square in the eye.

“Get yourself together, missy. We've got work to do. Round everybody up, Niblet! You can bring your friends with you if you want. I've got a big RV out front, and there's plenty of room, but we've got to skedaddle on out of here.”

I rush over and hug Dad as tight as I can. Nugget does, too.

“I love both of you so much,” Dad says, and tries to give us money.

“We won't need that, Dad,” I say. “Everything's free for us.”

He winks. “I'll pick you up later tonight, when the festival closes for the day.”

I reach into my pocket, pull out a gift, and give it to Connie.

“Here—I made this for you.”

She takes the yellow bracelet and stares at the letters. BRFF.

“Mya, what does BRFF mean?”

I shrug. “When I was making our matching bracelets last night, I put the letters BFF on them, but then I got worried that you would think that meant Best Fake Friends so I changed it to BRFF for Best Real Friends Forever! Do you like it?”

She laughs and then slips it onto her wrist. “I love it. I'll wear it every day.”

I put mine on, too. “Let's sing the song I taught you while we were working,” I say.

“Okay,” says Connie. I put my arm around Connie's neck. She puts her arm around mine and we sing at the top of our lungs.

        
“Connie Tate and Mya Tibbs are best of friends.

        
And they're hoping that their friendship never ends!

        
Connie paints just like Picasso,

        
Mya's awesome with a lasso,

        
Connie Tate and Mya Tibbs are best of friends!”

Acknowledgments

I
thank God for giving me the gift of creative writing. I truly believe I have found my purpose in life.

Reggie, Phillip, and Joshua, your support has been unfailing, and I'm so thankful for “my guys.”

A very special thank-you to my nieces, Sydney Mabray and La'Nique Allen, for their help and ideas. I love both of you very much.

Thank you, Juliet White, Tim Kane, Varsha Bajaj, and Laura Ruthven for your amazing questions and comments, and for reading and rereading Mya until she was just right!

I'm so thankful for all of my family and friends who encourage me, especially Barbara Scott, Christine Taylor-Butler, Donna Gephart, and Neal Shusterman.

Thank you, Alessandra Balzer and Donna Bray, for believing in me, and for the opportunity to give life to these voices in my head!

Kristin Rens, I'm overwhelmed by all that you give. Your guidance, ideas, patience, encouragement, friendship, and belief in my abilities are so golden to me. I will forever be grateful.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge my precious friend and agent, Jennifer Rofé. You are as magnificent and unique as Mya. Thanks for everything you do.

About the Author

Photo by Portrait Innovations

CRYSTAL ALLEN
is the author of
The Laura Line
and
How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy,
which received a starred review from
PW
and was a Junior Library Guild Selection. She currently lives in Sugar Land, Texas, with her husband, Reggie, and two sons, Phillip and Joshua. You can visit her website at
www.crystalallenbooks.com
.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.

Books by Crystal Allen

How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy

The Laura Line

Credits

Cover art © 2016 by Eda Kaban

Cover design by Katie Fitch

Copyright

Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS: SPIRIT WEEK SHOWDOWN
. Text copyright © 2016 by Crystal Allen. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Eda Kaban. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Allen, Crystal.

    Spirit week showdown / Crystal Allen ; illustrated by Eda Kaban. — First edition.

        pages    cm — (The Magnificent Mya Tibbs ; 1)

    Summary: Nine-year-old Mya is excited about participating in School Spirit Week, even making a pinky promise with her best friend Naomi to be her partner, but when she accidentally gets paired with the biggest bully in school, Mean Connie, Naomi is mad at Maya for breaking her promise, so she must learn to work with Mean Connie and try and get her friend back.

    EPub Edition © January 2016 ISBN 9780062342355

    ISBN 978-0-06-234233-1 (hardback)

    [1. Friendship—Fiction.  2. Promises—Fiction.  3. Schools—Fiction.]  I. Kaban, Eda, illustration. II. Title.

15 16 17 18 19
CG/RRDH
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FIRST EDITION