Karen's Puppet Show

  I tried watching the movie. There were no puppets. And I did not know what was going on. Yawn. I tried to stay awake. Maybe the movie would get better. But my eyes kept closing.

  I must have fallen asleep for a minute. I shook myself awake.

  “What happened? What did I miss?” I asked.

  “The space creatures are taking over,” said Sam.

  That sounded exciting. I tried watching some more. But I felt my eyes closing again. I shook myself awake.

  “What did I miss?” I said.

  “Karen, are you watching or sleeping?” asked Charlie.

  “Watching,” I said.

  But my eyes closed again. The next time I opened them, the movie was over and the credits were rolling.

  Doing Fine

  “Who wants a midnight snack?” asked Sam when we got home. “I am going to toast some marshmallows.”

  I was sleepy. But I love toasted marshmallows.

  “I want some,” I said.

  Sam toasted two marshmallows for each of us. They were gooey and good. My hands and face were all sticky when I finished eating them. Ugh.

  “It is time for you kids to wash up and go to bed,” said Kristy.

  “I am too tired to wash,” I said.

  “Too tired,” said Andrew.

  “Me too,” said David Michael.

  We went upstairs and got into bed, sticky hands and all.

  “I guess being a little sticky does not matter,” said Kristy as she tucked me in.

  The next thing I knew it was morning. I felt stuck to my pillow and did not know why. Then I remembered. Marshmallows. Even my hair and eyelashes were sticky.

  “Breakfast!” called Kristy.

  “I will be down in a minute,” I called. I wanted to wash up.

  “Please come right now. We do not want your breakfast to get cold,” called Sam.

  “Oh, all right,” I said.

  I went down to the kitchen. Everyone was there.

  “Ta-daa! Blueberry pancakes,” said Charlie. “Just like Nannie makes.”

  I looked at the plate of pancakes. They did not look like Nannie’s. They were broken into little pieces.

  “They stuck to the pan,” said Kristy. “But they will taste good.”

  I took a bite of pancake. “This tastes weird,” I said. It felt mushy in my mouth. Ugh. I swallowed some milk.

  “When is Nannie coming home?” I asked.

  “Tomorrow,” said Charlie. He took a bite of pancake. “This does taste a little funny.”

  Kristy looked at the counter.

  “Uh-oh. We used baking soda instead of baking powder. Sorry,” she said.

  “I will make some toast for us,” said Sam. “With cream cheese and jelly. I promise I will not ruin it.”

  The toast was burned. The cream cheese was too thick. There was not enough jelly. But I was hungry. So I ate three slices.

  I excused myself to go work on my play. The camp show was less than a week away.

  I was halfway up the stairs when the phone rang. I heard Kristy answer it.

  “Hi, Mrs. Hsu. Mom said you would call. We are doing fine,” said Kristy.

  I rolled my eyes. So far we had had really gross pizza, a really boring movie, a really sticky bedtime, pancakes no one could eat, and really burned toast. Fine? I did not think so.

  Hide-and-seek

  Saturday was rainy, so I spent most of the day in my room. I wanted to work on my musical. I also wanted to hide from my big brothers and sister. But I had to see them at suppertime. That turned out okay, though, because we went to the mall. I ordered a cheese burrito, just the way I like it. And a big lemonade.

  By Sunday I had written one very good song for my play. It was going to be the opening song, when Sharon, Hannah, and Francy agree to go to camp together.

  I am going to arts camp, the smart camp.

  It is what I want to do!

  I am going to arts camp, the smart camp.

  I am going to camp with you!

  I was singing the song into my tape recorder when the phone rang. I heard Charlie answer it. I thought it was going to be the Kilbournes checking in. It turned out to be Elizabeth.

  “That is great, Mom. We will see you soon,” said Charlie.

  Hooray! Daddy and Elizabeth were coming home!

  “Who wants waffles?” called Sam from the kitchen.

  “They taste good. We did not ruin them,” said Kristy.

  I went to the kitchen and tried the waffles. Kristy was right. The waffles were not ruined. But they still were not as good as the ones Nannie makes.

  When I finished eating, I could not decide what to do. I was tired of writing. I wished Hannie were home and I were not mad at her. She could have come over. Nancy too. They would think it was cool that the grown-ups were away. I would have fun with them. Boo and bullfrogs. I was getting mad at them all over again for being meanie-mo deserters.

  Then I thought of something. I thought I should be having fun even without Hannie and Nancy. I should be having fun with David Michael and Andrew. The grown-ups were gone for a whole weekend and we were blowing it. We were acting like boring babies. I had to do something fast.

  “Psst! David Michael. Psst! Andrew,” I whispered. “Meet me in the den.”

  The three of us slipped out of the kitchen while Kristy, Sam, and Charlie were cleaning up.

  “We are missing our chance to have fun,” I said. “We need to do something we are not allowed to do before the grown-ups get home.”

  “You are right,” said David Michael. “We need a plan.”

  We put our heads together and decided to play a game of hide-and-seek with Kristy, Sam, and Charlie. We wrote a note and taped it outside the kitchen door. It said, “We are in the house, so do not worry. Just try to find us in a hurry.” (Guess who wrote the poem.)

  We hid outside the kitchen, then watched the big kids find the note.

  “All right, guys, where are you?” called Sam.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” said Kristy.

  “We better split up. It will be easier to find them,” said Charlie.

  As soon as they were gone, we slipped into the kitchen. We listened to Kristy and Sam and Charlie call our names while we giggled and ate chocolate-chip cookies. We are allowed only three cookies each when the grown-ups are around. But they were not back yet. So we ate as many cookies as we wanted.

  We were halfway through a giant bag when we heard a car pull into the driveway.

  “What do we do now? We lost the kids!” said Kristy.

  She sounded worried. We did not want our sister and brothers to get into trouble. So we burst out of the kitchen.

  “We are here!” we said.

  “Thank goodness!” said Kristy.

  Just then the door opened. With big smiles and plenty of crumbs on our faces, we ran to greet Daddy and Elizabeth.

  Greetings

  On Monday the big house was back to normal. Well, as normal as it ever gets. Nannie and Emily Michelle had had a great time at the shore. And Elizabeth’s friend Kate was feeling better.

  Someone else was back from a trip too. On my way to camp I saw Hannie.

  “Hi, Karen!” she called from across the street.

  “Hi,” I said back. I did not run across the street to see her.

  “Did you get my postcard?” called Hannie.

  “Yes. Thank you,” I said. “I have to go now. I am in the middle of a very important project at arts camp.”

  I heard Hannie call good-bye after me. But I made believe I did not hear. And I did not look at her as Charlie drove down the street.

  When I got to camp, I put a few finishing touches on my Hannah puppet. I made her look even sillier than before.

  Then I wrote a funny new song for my play. It went like this:

  Eenie, meanie, miney, mo.

  Two deserters say, “I won’t go!”

  Are they friends?

  I don’t think so.

&nbs
p; Eenie, meanie, miney, mo.

  I needed to write just two more songs for my play. The rest of it was already written. I had made Hannah and Francy into two really silly meanie-mo puppets. I was doing a good job of getting back at my exfriends.

  That afternoon when I returned home, I saw Hannie and Nancy in Hannie’s yard.

  “Hi, Karen,” called Nancy.

  “Hi,” I called back. I still would not cross the street.

  “Did you get the present I left for you?” asked Nancy.

  “Yes. Thank you. I have to go now to work on a camp project. It was so much fun, I took it home with me.”

  I hoped they felt bad about the good time they were missing. I felt bad seeing them together when I was by myself.

  But wait. I did not have to be by myself. There were lots of other friends for me to call. I ran to the phone. I called Melody.

  “Do you want to come over and play?” I asked.

  “I cannot come today. But thank you for asking,” said Melody.

  “Sure,” I replied.

  I hung up the phone. I thought about calling some other kids. But I decided to work on my play instead. It was getting grumpier and sillier by the minute. That was just the way I wanted it to be.

  Tickets for Sale

  Tuesday was extra fun at camp. Here is why. We made special costumes that we would wear when we sold tickets for the art show. Claudia said we could use any materials we wanted.

  “The more attention your costumes get, the better. We want to sell as many tickets as we can,” she said.

  If anyone is good at getting attention, it is me. I had learned to do a lot of new things at arts camp. I was going to use a few of the things I had learned to make my costume.

  I had learned to make a paper helmet. I made one out of shiny green paper. To make sure it got plenty of attention, I glued two tinfoil antennae to the top. I colored my cheeks green so I looked like a creature from outer space.

  I had also practiced writing fancy letters. I made a big cardboard sign to hang around my neck. I put lots of sparkles on it. Then I wrote in my new fancy handwriting:

  When I finished, I modeled my costume for Kristy.

  “How do I look?” I asked.

  “You look great!” replied Kristy. “I would definitely buy a ticket from you. In fact, I will. One ticket to the Stoneybrook Arts Camp Art Show, please.”

  “Really?” I said, smiling. “But you do not have to buy a ticket to the show. You can go for free because you are a counselor.”

  “That is okay. It only costs a dollar. And it is for a good cause,” said Kristy.

  She handed me a dollar. I had sold my first ticket. Yippee!

  When everyone was ready, we split up into groups and went door-to-door in Mary Anne’s neighborhood.

  I sold four more tickets.

  “Try to sell as many tickets as you can by Friday,” said Claudia. “This is going to be a great show and we want lots of people to see it.”

  At home that afternoon, I went door-to-door selling tickets. (Sam went with me since I am not allowed to do that alone.) But there was one door I would not knock on. That was Hannie’s.

  Later, I sold tickets on the phone. But there was one number I would not call. Nancy’s.

  By bedtime I had sold five tickets in my neighborhood, eight more tickets to people in my big-house family, and two tickets to Mommy and Seth.

  That made twenty in one day. Pretty good for a green-cheeked creature from outer space.

  Shannon, How Could You?

  It was Thursday afternoon, the day before the show. I carefully wrapped up my puppets and took them home for a dress rehearsal.

  After dinner I lined up Sharon, Hannah, and Francy in a row on my bed. Sharon was wearing a snow-white dress with pink buttons down the front. A big smile was on her face. Hannah and Francy were dressed in purple and green. They were frowning. My puppets were perfect.

  “Please do not pinch me,” I said in my sweetest Sharon voice.

  “Too bad,” I said in my mean Hannah voice.

  “Take that!” I said in my mean Francy voice. The Francy puppet knocked the Sharon puppet on the head.

  I rehearsed the entire play before I went to bed.

  When I opened my eyes the next morning, I was very excited! I put on a clean camp T-shirt. I put a white barrette in my hair. (I made sure not to wear purple or green.) Then I went downstairs for breakfast.

  “Karen, you can come early with me today to set up if you want,” said Kristy.

  “All right!” I replied.

  I gobbled my breakfast. Then I ran upstairs to pack up my puppets.

  “No, no, Shannon, stop! Bad dog! How could you?” I shouted when I got to my room.

  Then I burst into tears. David Michael came running. The rest of my family was right behind him. Shannon had already run out of my room.

  “What is wrong?” asked David Michael.

  I held up what was left of my Sharon puppet. Shannon had chewed the puppet stick into pieces. Sharon’s white dress was a torn, soggy mess. And her head was bent.

  “I am sorry,” said David Michael. “Shannon likes to chew sticks. She did not know it was a puppet.”

  “She is your puppy. You are supposed to watch her,” I said, even though I knew it was not really David Michael’s fault.

  “Do not worry,” said Kristy. “You have time to fix your puppet. Do you have everything you need here at home?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Then you stay here. I will set up the puppet theater at camp. You can start your show as soon as you get there,” said Kristy.

  “I will help you,” said Elizabeth to me.

  “I will make sure Shannon stays outside. And I will bring you a new stick,” added David Michael.

  Everyone was being very nice. I stopped crying and looked for the things I needed to fix my puppet.

  Surprise Guests

  Making the puppet the second time around was easy. When I finished, Elizabeth drove me to Mary Anne’s.

  It was a beautiful day, so the show was set up outside on the lawn.

  “Look how many people are here!” I said to Elizabeth.

  “It looks like the show is a big success,” she replied.

  I knew it would be an even bigger success once I put on my play.

  “See you later,” I said.

  I saw Kristy. She was waving me over to the barn. That is where I was going to put on my show. The puppet theater was all set up.

  “Just let me know when you are ready,” said Kristy. “Then I will tell everyone to come inside.”

  I was so excited, I could hardly stand it. I was rehearsing a few scenes when I saw Mommy and Seth.

  “Hi, honey,” said Mommy. “Kristy told us you were here. We came to see your puppets.”

  “You will have to wait a little bit longer,” I said. “I want my play to be a surprise.”

  “We will be sure to get front-row seats,” said Seth.

  I kissed them good-bye. Then I practiced a little more. Finally I told Kristy I was ready.

  “Attention, everyone! It is show time in the barn!” called Kristy.

  This was so cool. I got my own special announcement.

  Slowly people filed into the barn. Kristy and her friends had set up lots of chairs. Soon they were all filled. We had a full house.

  I peeked out into the audience so I could wave to everyone.

  Daddy, Elizabeth, David Michael, and Andrew were sitting in one row. Behind them were Sam, Charlie, Nannie, and Emily. I smiled and waved.

  Mommy and Seth had found front-row seats just like they said they would. I waved to them too.

  I saw my fellow campers and the counselors sitting together on one side. We waved to each other.

  I was looking around to see who else had come. That is when I saw them. In the center of the audience were Hannie and Nancy. Oh, no!

  The Show Must Go On

  I slipped out of sight behind my puppet theater. I
could not put on my show. I could not let Hannie and Nancy see it. They would know it was about them. They would never speak to me again!

  “Psst! Kristy! Kristy!” I called.

  “What is it, Karen? I am about to introduce you,” said Kristy.

  “I cannot put on my show. Hannie and Nancy are in the audience.”

  “I know Hannie and Nancy are there. I sold Hannie the tickets the other day,” said Kristy. “I thought you would be happy to have your friends at the show.”

  “But they are my ex-friends,” I replied. “They will be very upset if they see my show.”

  “They said they were looking forward to it. They want to see what you have been doing at camp,” said Kristy.

  Yipes. All this time they had been trying to be nice to me. Hannie had sent the postcard. Nancy had given me the mug. And now they were coming to see my show.

  “Karen, everyone is waiting,” said Kristy. “You cannot back out now. The show must go on.”

  I took a deep breath. Kristy was right. I had to put on the show no matter what. Maybe somehow Hannie and Nancy would understand.

  “I am ready,” I said.

  “Thank goodness. I will introduce you now,” said Kristy. She stepped in front of the audience.

  “Presenting Karen Brewer’s original play with music and homemade puppets,” said Kristy.

  “Here we go,” I said to my puppets.

  I held up a card with the title of my play, The Meanie-mo Show. Then I brought out my Sharon puppet.

  “Welcome, everyone. I am Sharon,” I said in my sweet Sharon voice.

  I brought out my Hannah and Francy puppets next.

  “Do not forget to introduce me. I am Hannah,” I said in my mean Hannah voice.

  “And I am Francy!” I said in my mean Francy voice.

  A few people in the audience started giggling. That was a good sign.

  “It is almost summer,” said Francy.

  “I hear there is a good arts camp in town,” said Sharon.

  “We can all go together!” said Hannah.

  The three puppets danced together in a circle while they sang “Arts Camp is the smart camp.” After, they sang “I am going to camp with you!” I made them take a bow. Everyone clapped for the wonderful song-and-dance routine.