would be in the band room, practicing with the jazz ensemble. A few minutes before lunch ended, she left the cafeteria and headed down the corridors for the music wing. She camped outside the band room door and waited, glad she didn’t have to chase down a human hamster in there again.
When the bell rang, Dawn came out, flanked by a handful of other tall teenagers carrying their bandinstruments in black cases. Dawn paused in her tracks at the sight of B. Her eyebrows rose slightly. It was code for, “Is everything okay?”
B nodded, then beckoned for Dawn to meet her away from the group.
“Catch up to you guys in a minute,” Dawn said, breaking away from her group. “What’s up?”
“I need a favor,” B said in her sweetest, most pleading voice. “George and I need to go to the zoo today after school. It’s important. Can you take us? Please?”
Dawn frowned. “The zoo? Why today? What’s the big rush?”
“Oh, it’s a project,” B said vaguely. “I’m writing a research paper on zebras and I want to, um, observe real ones, and … take some pictures of them.” B blushed.
It’s true. I am writing a research paper on zebras! I just need to remember to bring the camera.
“I was going to get together with the girls this afternoon,” Dawn said. “You remember Angela, Stef, and Macey?”
B remembered them all right. They were witchesfrom Dawn’s magic class and the ones who first showed B what a bag-cauldron could do.
“Why don’t they come, too?” B said. “I’ve got enough allowance saved to treat you all to ice cream sundaes at the zoo. Deal?”
Dawn shrugged. “I’ll check with them. They probably won’t mind. We’ll leave from home at four, after my softball practice.”
B gave Dawn a quick hug. “Thank you
soooo
much!”
“Ack, you poked me with your tiger nose!”
“Sorry.”
At four o’clock, George and B were waiting on B’s front porch for Dawn to be ready and her friends to arrive. At B’s insistence, George had stuffed his tail down a leg of his jeans. Nightshade, B’s black cat, twined himself in and out between B’s ankles, and she scratched him absentmindedly between his ears.
Dawn’s friends came into view, walking around the corner — Angela, with sleek black hair and ashiny black leather jacket; Stef, with spiky hair dyed pink today, and wearing a rainbow-striped vest and purple high-top sneakers; and Macey, whose long red hair was braided. B suspected some magical needlework had gone into her pretty hand-knit sweater.
“Hey, B,” Macey said. “We haven’t seen you in a while! Thanks for inviting us to come to the zoo with you.”
“Yeah, thanks for the ice cream,” Stef said. “Make mine a triple-fudge caramel banana split.”
“All I want is a diet soda,” said Angela, checking her reflection in a handheld mirror.
“Everyone, this is George, my best friend,” B said. “George, this is Angela, and Stef, and Macey.”
“Hey,” George said, turning a little red when he shook hands with Macey. B looked at him sideways, suppressing a smile.
“What kind of ice cream are you getting, George?” Macey asked.
“Oh, uh, I, er, Coach says not much sweets, I mean, I … think I’ll just have a salad.” His lastwords tumbled out awkwardly. Stef threw back her head and hooted with laughter. “A
salad
? Since when does a kid pick salad over a sundae?”
“He’s just a little health conscious before the big game,” B said, not wanting them to think too much about it.
Just then, Dawn opened the front door, freshly showered and beautified. “Hey, girls!” she cried, hugging all her friends.
“C’mon, let’s hurry or we’ll have to wait for another bus.” They all walked to the bus stop. After twenty minutes and a transfer, they reached the zoo and paid their entry fees.
“Let’s go see the zebras first,” B told George and the older girls. “Then we can get that out of the way and get the ice cream.”
“What’s your hurry?”
When the bell rang, Dawn came out, flanked by a handful of other tall teenagers carrying their bandinstruments in black cases. Dawn paused in her tracks at the sight of B. Her eyebrows rose slightly. It was code for, “Is everything okay?”
B nodded, then beckoned for Dawn to meet her away from the group.
“Catch up to you guys in a minute,” Dawn said, breaking away from her group. “What’s up?”
“I need a favor,” B said in her sweetest, most pleading voice. “George and I need to go to the zoo today after school. It’s important. Can you take us? Please?”
Dawn frowned. “The zoo? Why today? What’s the big rush?”
“Oh, it’s a project,” B said vaguely. “I’m writing a research paper on zebras and I want to, um, observe real ones, and … take some pictures of them.” B blushed.
It’s true. I am writing a research paper on zebras! I just need to remember to bring the camera.
“I was going to get together with the girls this afternoon,” Dawn said. “You remember Angela, Stef, and Macey?”
B remembered them all right. They were witchesfrom Dawn’s magic class and the ones who first showed B what a bag-cauldron could do.
“Why don’t they come, too?” B said. “I’ve got enough allowance saved to treat you all to ice cream sundaes at the zoo. Deal?”
Dawn shrugged. “I’ll check with them. They probably won’t mind. We’ll leave from home at four, after my softball practice.”
B gave Dawn a quick hug. “Thank you
soooo
much!”
“Ack, you poked me with your tiger nose!”
“Sorry.”
At four o’clock, George and B were waiting on B’s front porch for Dawn to be ready and her friends to arrive. At B’s insistence, George had stuffed his tail down a leg of his jeans. Nightshade, B’s black cat, twined himself in and out between B’s ankles, and she scratched him absentmindedly between his ears.
Dawn’s friends came into view, walking around the corner — Angela, with sleek black hair and ashiny black leather jacket; Stef, with spiky hair dyed pink today, and wearing a rainbow-striped vest and purple high-top sneakers; and Macey, whose long red hair was braided. B suspected some magical needlework had gone into her pretty hand-knit sweater.
“Hey, B,” Macey said. “We haven’t seen you in a while! Thanks for inviting us to come to the zoo with you.”
“Yeah, thanks for the ice cream,” Stef said. “Make mine a triple-fudge caramel banana split.”
“All I want is a diet soda,” said Angela, checking her reflection in a handheld mirror.
“Everyone, this is George, my best friend,” B said. “George, this is Angela, and Stef, and Macey.”
“Hey,” George said, turning a little red when he shook hands with Macey. B looked at him sideways, suppressing a smile.
“What kind of ice cream are you getting, George?” Macey asked.
“Oh, uh, I, er, Coach says not much sweets, I mean, I … think I’ll just have a salad.” His lastwords tumbled out awkwardly. Stef threw back her head and hooted with laughter. “A
salad
? Since when does a kid pick salad over a sundae?”
“He’s just a little health conscious before the big game,” B said, not wanting them to think too much about it.
Just then, Dawn opened the front door, freshly showered and beautified. “Hey, girls!” she cried, hugging all her friends.
“C’mon, let’s hurry or we’ll have to wait for another bus.” They all walked to the bus stop. After twenty minutes and a transfer, they reached the zoo and paid their entry fees.
“Let’s go see the zebras first,” B told George and the older girls. “Then we can get that out of the way and get the ice cream.”
“What’s your hurry?”
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