Blaire Cooks Up a Plan (American Girl Read online

  “A fantastico morning to you!” Marco said.

  “Hi!” I said, suddenly nervous. “Welcome to Pleasant View Farm!”

  “I’m humbled to be here. My name is Marco.”

  “I know … we’re, uh … big fans,” I said. “I’m Blaire, and this is my friend …”

  “Theodora Dimitriou,” Thea said, in the most grown-up voice I’d ever heard her do. Since she couldn’t shake his hand, she raised her egg-filled pajama top as if it were a ball gown and curtsied. “Charmed.”

  Marco bowed deeply from the waist. “Miss Dimitriou,” he replied. Turning to me, he said, “Miss Wilson. Young event designer. It’s an honor to meet you.”

  Wait. Marco Gonzalez knows my name? And he called me an event designer!

  Marco looked at our big Victorian house, nodding his approval. “This is a stunning home, like a work of art. Built in the 1880s, yes?” Then he turned to the freshly painted barn down the hill. “And the renovated barn looks just perfecto!”

  “You’ve heard about that, too?” I asked.

  “Oh yes, I’ve read all about it!” he said, then smiled, a twinkle in his eye. “Thanks to Empire State Weddings.”

  “Whoa!” I exclaimed. “The new issue is finally out?” A writer from the magazine had come to Cat’s wedding to take pictures and write about our event space. We’d been anxiously waiting to see it. “What does the review say?”

  “I have an advance copy right here,” Marco said, tapping his saddlebag. “And the review is … wonderful!”

  “Wonderful? Really? Wow … that’s so … exciting!” I stammered.

  “I’m just starting a renovation at a historic house in Bluefield,” Marco said. “When I read this article and saw the photos, I had to come see Pleasant View Farm for myself. Perhaps someone could show me around?”

  “Absolutely!” a voice said from the porch. It was Dad. Grandpa stepped out of the house behind him. “I’m Daniel Wilson. This is my father-in-law, Ben O’Connell.”

  “This is Magazine—er, Marco!” I said. “He has an advance copy of the motorcycle. I mean, magazine! With the Pleasant View Farm review in it!”

  Grandpa came down the steps carrying a wire basket. “I saw you from inside, Blaire. It looks like you need a bit of help,” he said, unloading the eggs from my shirt. He winked at me before gathering the eggs that Thea was holding.

  Grandpa left the eggs on the porch, and Dad led the way to the barn as he explained all the renovations we’d done.

  “Blaire helped me plan the space,” he said, “and she put in a lot of elbow grease to have it ready in time for Cat’s big day.”

  Marco smiled at me. “Way to go, elbows.”

  I blushed. “Thea helped, too. She even made up a rap while we were working.”

  “You wanna have a wedding where it’s warm and cozy?” Thea began to rap, throwing herself into the performance. “Come party right here, and everything will be rosy!”

  Marco laughed and started dancing to her song. “I love it,” he said as we got to the barn.

  “We’re working on decorations for a one-hundredth-birthday party next weekend,” I said, sliding the door open and ushering Marco inside.

  “SUPER-BONITA!” he exclaimed, and Thea and I couldn’t help giggling. That’s a catchphrase he uses when he thinks something really works.

  And it did look super-bonita. I pointed to the ceiling and told Marco we’d tied exactly one hundred white ribbons above us to make a canopy over the space. There were ten tables, and each represented a different decade. I’d finished a few of the centerpieces. The one for the 1920s was gold and black, with feather boas and toy jazz instruments. The 1950s table had a mini-jukebox and old records, and the 1970s was all tie-dye and peace signs.

  “Grandpa and I researched the decades,” I told Marco.

  “Oh excellent, that’s fun, fun, fun. I like this a thousand percent,” Marco said, circling the tables and taking it all in. “You’ve put so much creative thought into this event.”

  Thea nudged me and grinned. I grinned back. Here was a professional designer I really admired, saying nice things about my ideas!

  Marco wanted to see the rest of the farm, so we led him past the herb and kitchen gardens. We showed him the growing fields and greenhouse in the distance, then walked under the white wooden arch to the orchard, to the gazebo by the creek where Cat and Gabe’s wedding ceremony was held.

  When we got to the animals, Marco fell in love with the chickens. “These Silkies have style!” he exclaimed. “Pleasant View Farms is even better in person. It feels mágico.”

  “Thank you,” Dad said. “Do you have time to come in and have some breakfast?”

  “I always have time for breakfast. And I can show you the magazine review!”

  “Finally!” Thea cried, saying what I was thinking.

  In the restaurant dining room, we introduced Marco to Mom. I saw my mother blush for the first time in, like, ever. She loves watching Room Revolutions with me.

  Thea and I whipped up some eggs while Mom made apple pancakes. We all sat at a big wooden table on the restaurant patio. While we ate, Marco spread open the Empire State Weddings issue. There it all was: photos of the ceremony at the gazebo by the creek, Cat and Gabe riding a tandem bicycle down the pathway lined with luminarias, the barn at sunset, a table setting with Mom’s beautifully plated meal, Gabe’s mother’s bubble machine, and Cat and Gabe holding a pair of chickens dressed like a bride and groom.

  When we told Marco the story of the chickens invading the barn, he was delighted. “You know what I always say,” Marco exclaimed. “If there’s no drama—”

  “There’s no fun!” Thea and I finished one of his favorite sayings for him.

  “This is such a great review,” Mom said as she read through the article. I could hear both excitement and relief in her voice.

  “I couldn’t have wished for better,” Dad agreed, putting his arm around her.

  “You know, Marco,” Grandpa said. “It was my idea to restore the barn and start hosting big events.”

  Marco looked confused when Mom, Dad, Thea, and I burst out laughing. “Grandpa was dead set against the barn all summer,” I explained to Marco. “He didn’t come around to the idea until he saw how wonderful Cat and Gabe’s wedding turned out.”

  Marco clapped Grandpa gently on the back. “Well, whoever had the idea, it was a good one. Marco’s prediction: Your farm will be busy with big events for a long time.”

  “More decorating!” I announced.

  “Slow down, junior designer,” Dad said. “It was one thing to help with Cat’s wedding during the summer. You’re in school now. That’s your priority.”

  “And you still have plenty of chores,” Mom reminded me.

  “Don’t be sad,” Marco said. “You get to live here! I wish I could stay here instead of at some boring hotel.”

  Grandpa pulled a chicken feather from my hair. “It’s almost never boring around here.”

  “We just had a cancellation for one of our rooms,” Dad said, “so you could stay here.”

  At exactly the same time, Marco, Thea, and I said, “Super-bonita!”

  “Jinx!” Marco said to me and Thea. Then he turned to Dad. “That’s an offer I won’t turn down. Muchas gracias.” Marco jumped up from his chair. “Excuse me while I go call my producer. She’ll take care of the arrangements.” Marco headed inside, but he paused at the door and turned back to Thea and me. “Would you girls like to come visit the house I’m renovating?”

  My mouth dropped open. “That. Would. Be. Awesome.”

  Marco nodded and left. I turned to Thea. “I can’t believe it. Room Revolutions is working on a house right here in Bluefield AND we’re going to visit the set AND Marco Gonzalez is staying at Pleasant View Farm!”

  “Believe it, dahling,” Thea said. “But say good-bye to things getting back to normal.”

  Ms. Lewis clapped her hands three times.

  “Ready to rock?”
she called.

  Everyone in our class clapped three times and shouted back, “Ready to roll!”

  “Okay!” she said. “Monday Madness starts now!”

  Every Monday morning, Ms. Lewis lets us have a party to talk about what was going to happen during the week at school. She said she didn’t know why everyone always had class celebrations on Fridays, because Mondays were when you really needed a party. “Besides, our classroom is a community,” she explained. “And our community needs a chance to connect before starting the week.”

  Today, Amadi, Rosie, Sabrina, Thea, and I came together instantly, like magnets, and flopped onto a pile of pillows in the corner.

  “I still can’t believe Marco from Room Revolutions is staying at your B and B,” Amadi said to me. “That is epic! When can I meet him?”

  “And when will there be another animal pajama party?” Sabrina asked.

  Before I could answer, there was a knock on the classroom door.

  “Perfect timing,” Ms. Lewis said as she got up to open it. “We’re getting a new student.”

  Everyone turned to see our principal, Ms. Cheeger, walk in with a boy. He had dark hair and was wearing a T-shirt with a cartoon of a cat eating a taco. It read TACOCAT SPELLED BACKWARD IS TACOCAT.

  “Good morning, kids!” Ms. Cheeger announced. “I’d like to introduce you to Eli Carr. Eli just moved here from California. I hope you’ll all make him feel very welcome at Bluefield Elementary.”

  “Hi, Eli,” I said, with a wave. “Welcome.” Everyone else did the same kind of thing. But Eli just stared at the floor.

  Ms. Lewis went over to Eli and offered her hand. “Eli, I’m Ms. Lewis. So happy to meet you!”

  Eli finally looked up, shook Ms. Lewis’s hand, then scanned the room. He didn’t smile or meet anyone’s eye.

  “It must be freaky, being the new kid,” Thea murmured to me.

  “Yeah,” I whispered back. “Especially with everyone staring at you. I’d be nervous.”

  Thea and I had lived in Bluefield our whole lives. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to walk into a classroom full of strangers.

  After Ms. Cheeger left, Ms. Lewis led Eli to the carpet and said, “Eli, would you like to share a fun fact about yourself?”

  Eli’s eyes traveled all over our classroom, taking in the posters on the walls and the giant solar system Ms. Lewis had hung from the ceiling. Then he sighed as his gaze settled on the big map of the United States above the whiteboard. “Okay. I’ve lived in eight different states, and I’ve visited seventeen others.”

  Whoa. That’s a lot of traveling. I’d only ever been to Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Living on a farm, and running a restaurant and B and B, meant that my family stayed close to home. I felt like I traveled a lot because I spent so much time talking to our guests about where they were from. But Eli was a true traveler. I couldn’t wait to ask him about that.

  “That is a fun fact, Eli,” Ms. Lewis said. “I hope you’ll tell us more soon. Now find yourself a spot on the carpet. We were just about to have a snack.”

  My stomach twisted. This was the moment I was dreading.

  Ms. Lewis said, “We’re all taking turns bringing the Monday Madness snack, and Joey is starting us off.”

  As Joey jumped up to get a paper grocery bag from his cubby, Ms. Lewis turned to me and said, “Blaire, would you help me with napkins?”

  I got up and followed her to the back of the room. “I want to show you where I keep the items your mom sent in,” Ms. Lewis said quietly. “Feel free to come get these any time you need to switch out a snack, okay?”

  Ms. Lewis opened a cabinet, and there were the dairy-free cookies and granola bars Mom had bought, plus some of the trail mix we make at home. “Thanks,” I whispered. I grabbed a stack of napkins and looked to see what Joey had brought.

  Two boxes of bright orange cheese crackers, filled with cheese spread.

  A definite no for me.

  I sighed, turned back to the cabinet, and pulled the container of trail mix from the shelf. I put the napkins on top, hoping no one would notice my separate snack.

  “Do you want to tell the class about your lactose intolerance?” Ms. Lewis asked quietly.

  I shook my head quickly. “Maybe some other time.”

  Ms. Lewis smiled and squeezed my shoulder. “You just let me know when you’re ready.”

  At the carpet, Joey passed out bowls and then sent the boxes of crackers around the circle that had formed. I sat next to Thea and tucked the trail mix between us.

  As she handed me a bowl, Thea winked and said, “We got this. Don’t worry.”

  Rosie was sitting on the other side of me, and when she started to hand over the box of crackers, Thea leaned in front of me and took it. “Pour the trail mix now,” Thea whispered to me.

  I took the lid off my trail mix and shook some into my bowl. My eyes darted around the circle, and then I smiled at Thea. She was right. No one noticed.

  Almost no one.

  “Ah-hem.” Joey cleared his throat. He was standing in the middle of the circle with his hands on his hips. “Chef Blaire? Is my snack not gourmet enough for you?”

  A couple of kids laughed, and my face went red-hot. Everyone was staring at me, and I didn’t know what to do. It was the moment I’d feared, but a thousand times worse.

  “Here, Amadi,” Thea said loudly, passing the cheese crackers without taking any. Thea held her bowl out to me. “Can I have some of your trail mix?” she asked.

  Before I could answer, Thea reached into the container and grabbed a dried cherry. She threw it into the air and tried to catch it in her mouth. She missed, and the cherry bounced off her nose. Everyone laughed, and Thea grinned from her spot on the carpet.

  “Blaire’s swapping out a snack from home,” Ms. Lewis said. “Joey, thanks for these crackers. Have a seat. Let’s all talk about what’s coming up this week.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered to Thea as Ms. Lewis started to talk about our science project.

  “Any time,” she said, popping an almond into her mouth.

  After going through a short list, Ms. Lewis put her notepad aside and leaned into the circle. “The most important thing I want to talk about right now is the Fifth-Grade Community Service Challenge.”

  “Here it comes!” Thea whispered in my ear, nudging me.

  “You’re now the oldest students at Bluefield Elementary,” Ms. Lewis said. “And you’ve grown and learned so much since you started school. The Community Service Challenge is about taking all that learning and turning it into something that helps our community.”

  Thea and I exchanged a thumbs-up. Bring it on!

  “This goes beyond our classroom and school community,” Ms. Lewis continued. “This is about our larger Bluefield community. What do you care about when it comes to our city and your neighbors? How can you contribute to something that matters to you personally?” She paused, glancing around at us.

  I shook the trail mix in my bowl, mixing the different ingredients around. I always thought of the guests at the B and B, the restaurant staff, and the farm crew as my community. So much of my world was about the people at my home and the people who came through there. I’d always been able to contribute to that community. Now I wondered what I could do for the Bluefield community.

  “Keep in mind that community service comes in different shapes and sizes,” Ms. Lewis told us. “It doesn’t have to be big or take up tons of time.”

  I stared out the window, my mind spinning. I love doing things big. Now I had a chance to make a big difference. I couldn’t help but think of the display case in the hallway. How awesome would it be if one of my big ideas became a permanent part of Bluefield Elementary?

  I looked at Thea and grinned. I’d never done anything like this before, but I couldn’t wait to try.

  “The animal shelter,” Sabrina said as she hung upside down on the giant spiderweb on our playground at recess. “I’m going to see
if my parents will let me foster kittens.”

  “Maybe I could help my mom coach the little kids’ soccer team,” Rosie said. “Ten five-year-olds plus ten soccer balls? She could definitely use an assistant.”

  “Some people from my Greek dance troupe perform at senior centers and hospitals,” Thea said. “I should find out if I can join them.”

  “What about you, Blaire?” asked Rosie. “You’re always good at ideas.” The wind kicked up a bit, and Rosie tugged on the sleeves of her shirt, trying to pull them down. “Urgh, I told my mom this was too small! I had a growth spurt over the summer and none of my clothes fit anymore.”

  “Same here,” Thea said. “I had to buy a bunch of new pants for school.”

  POP! I had a brainstorm. I called them idea-sparks when they came all of a sudden but at just the right moment.

  “Hey!” I said. “My brother and I have a ton of stuff we’ve outgrown, too. I could collect all the clothing my family doesn’t need anymore and give it away. My mom always brings things to the Bluefield Helping Hands Center.”

  “Make sure the clothes are in season,” said an unfamiliar voice. “No one’s looking for summer stuff right now.”

  We all spun around. The new kid, Eli, was sitting in the wood chips underneath the slide, with a tablet on his lap.

  “Hey!” Amadi said, dropping down from the spiderweb. “We’re not allowed to have devices at school.”

  Eli turned his tablet off but didn’t say anything else. I hopped down from the spiderweb.

  Grandpa always says, It only takes one kind word to make someone feel welcome. That was his motto at the B and B.

  “That’s good advice,” I said. “Thanks.”

  Eli looked up for only a second, then back down.

  “I’m Blaire. This is Sabrina, Amadi, Rose, and Thea.”

  “Okay,” he mumbled.

  “I like your T-shirt,” I continued.

  “My dad has socks with taco dinosaurs,” Thea added. “You know. Tacosaurus.”

  I saw a quick smile cross Eli’s face, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Maybe no one explained the rules about devices,” I continued. “They’re not allowed.”