Ice Cream Queen, page 3
CHAPTER FOUR 100 PERCENT AWESOME
“Blue skies and sunshine are great, but I’m waiting for a fall chill in the air so I can break out my favorite fall fashion items: cardigans and boots! Here’s a sneak peek at some of my faves that I’ll be breaking out when the temps drop. If you had to give up wearing cardigans or boots for the rest of your life, what would you choose? Comment below!”
I scrolled through the comments on my blog on the bus ride to school. It was a few weeks into the semester, and I still hadn’t convinced Kai to let me ride with him and his friend to school.
The blog comments were overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the boots and ditching the cardigans, but I think if I had to choose to keep one or the other forever, I’d pick cardigans. I think they look cute on me, and they’re an easy way to change an outfit from something casual to more polished.
I hadn’t meant for Tamiko’s Take to be mostly about fashion, but people seemed to like when I posted pictures of clothes or modeled outfits. Even though I did a lot of fashion posts, I also liked doing posts about food, and stuff that happened at school. That was a nice way to mix things up, I thought.
I read the most recent comment.
“Love your blog, Tamiko. You have such an artistic eye! You are so creative!”
I realized that I didn’t recognize the commenter’s name. My blog must be getting popular, I thought. Why wouldn’t it? It’s awesome!
I was in a great mood when I arrived in Spanish class. Ewan smiled and waved at me, but Señora Hernandez walked in before we could talk.
“Buenos días, estudiantes,” she greeted us.
“Buenos días, Señora Hernandez,” we all replied in unison.
“Before we continue with our lessons today, I’d like to give you a short quiz to see how everyone is doing so far,” she said. “This way I can tailor our lessons to everyone’s abilities, and we can find ways to support one another.”
She started passing out the quiz papers while some of my classmates exchanged nervous looks. I picked up my pen and dove right in. The questions were mostly fill-in-the-blank, but at the end we had to write a few lines about something we were wearing or something we’d eaten that day. I looked down at my black jeans, white button-down shirt, and black flats.
Estoy llevando jeans negros y una camisa blanca con botones. Mis zapatos son…
For extra credit I added a line about my red necklace.
… zapatos bajos. Mi collar es rojo.
I looked over my work, and then Señora Hernandez said our time was up.
“While I’m grading these, I want you to write a description of an animal you know. Write about how that animal looks, and what it does,” she announced.
There were a few groans as we pulled out our notebooks. I didn’t have any pets, so I wrote about my Grandma Sasaki’s cat, Sora. I was trying to think of the Spanish word for “peach,” because that’s what color she was, when Señora Hernandez cleared her throat.
“You all did fantastic, class,” she said. “And we even had one perfect paper. Felicidades, Tamiko!”
The other kids burst into applause, and Ewan gave me a thumbs-up from across the room.
“Gracias,” I said, and I felt really proud and happy.
“Some of the material on this quiz will also be on our first big test of the semester next week,” Señora Hernandez continued. “We’ll be reviewing it all week, though, so don’t worry if you found the quiz challenging.”
No problem for me, I thought. I’ll ace the test, just like the quiz!
Sierra had a club meeting during lunch, so MacKenzie and I sat together and picked at our mixed vegetable stir-fry, which honestly looked like it had come from another planet.
I texted Allie a picture of the lunch and added a caption: Guess what you’re NOT missing at MLK!
That looks so gross! Allie replied. Then she sent a picture of her own school lunch. We have a fall harvest bowl today.
I sighed when I saw the colorful bowl of sweet potatoes, apples, greens, and grains. Everything looked so fresh and appetizing.
“Hey!” MacKenzie exclaimed. I looked up from my phone, and she pointed at my lunch with her fork.
I examined my plate and gasped. One of the carrots in my stir-fry was shaped differently from the rest—and it looked just like a heart!
“Wow,” I said. “Who knew something so adorable could exist in an MLK lunch?” I snapped a photo of the heart-shaped carrot with my phone. This was definitely going up on my blog later that day.
“It must be a sign of good luck!” MacKenzie said, taking a photo with her phone too.
MacKenzie must have been correct about the lucky omen, because I had another great moment in science class with Mr. O. We were starting a unit on atoms and molecules.
“Which subatomic particle is charged with negative energy?” he asked.
A joke popped into my head, and I raised my hand.
“Um, my mom and dad before they have their coffee in the morning?” I asked.
Mr. O. cracked up, and I got a rush.
“Nice guess, Tamiko, but I’m looking for subatomic particles, and I’m guessing your parents are about my size,” he said.
“Just kidding,” I said. “The answer is electrons.”
He got a twinkle in his eye. “Are you positive?”
“If I were positive, I’d be a proton,” I shot back, and he laughed again. I looked over at Sierra, who was shaking her head and laughing.
At the end of class a bunch of kids walked up to me. I was a little startled.
“You’re too funny, Tamiko,” Victoria said.
“Yeah, you could be a stand-up comic,” added Ryan.
“I’m not that funny,” I said, but I was just pretending to be modest. I knew I could probably be a great stand-up comic someday, if I wanted to.
Sierra and I left the room together. “Wow, it’s like everyone knows you,” she said.
“That’s how I feel about you,” I told her. “You’re the rock star, remember?”
We made our way to our lockers, and as we passed the school office, the secretary, Ms. Shipman, stepped out. She had a huge grin on her face.
“Tamiko, glad I caught you,” she said. “We just got a special delivery to the school that you need to see.”
I gave Sierra a puzzled look, and she followed me inside. Ms. Shipman walked to a pile of magazines on the counter.
“Bayville Monthly dropped these off, because they thought we’d want to see what one of our students had achieved,” she said. “The issue will be on stands next Wednesday.”
She handed me a magazine. There, on the cover, was my Molly’s Ice Cream collage!
Sierra let out a squeal. “Oh my goodness, chica, you did it!”
I read aloud the blurb on the cover. “ ‘Winner of the Bayville County Youth Arts Contest: Tamiko Sato, a student at MLK Middle School.’ ” Then I began to jump up and down. “I did it! They picked my art!”
A bunch of kids who had come into the office to see what the commotion was about started to clap and cheer. Even Principal Harrison came out of his office to congratulate me.
“Well done, Tamiko,” he said. “We’re very proud of you for winning.”
“Of course I won!” I blurted out. “I’m naturally talented!”
Sierra laughed. “Congratulations, my sassy, confident artist friend!”
Ms. Shipman handed me three more magazines. “Take these home to your family. Now, don’t be late for your bus, superstar!”
“Thanks!” I said, beaming.
As soon as I got onto my bus, I called Allie on video chat. I held up the magazine in front of the camera.
“I won the Bayville Monthly contest!” I told her.
“Wow, congratulations!” Allie cheered. “My mom is going to be thrilled.”
“Tell her to start making more ice cream,” I said. “Business is going to explode!”
Allie laughed. “I sure hope so!”
We ended the call, and I gazed out the bus window, musing. It felt great to win the contest—really great! In fact, it was like everything was going well for me recently. I was totally winning at life!
Why should I stop at being queen of social media or ice cream queen? Why not be queen of everything?
CHAPTER FIVE KAI’S SECRET
I waited until Mom and Dad got home to tell them the great news.
As soon as I heard the front door open, I ran down the stairs with a copy of Bayville Monthly in my hand. Mom and Dad were both thrilled, of course.
“This calls for a celebration! The Satos are going out to eat tonight. You pick, Tamiko!” Mom said.
“Woot!” I replied. “Burger Johnny’s!”
“You sure you don’t want sushi?” Dad asked, because that was his favorite. He thought burgers were junk food, but I knew that Mom would be happy with my choice. Plus, since I was a vegetarian, I didn’t eat most kinds of sushi. Burger Johnny’s had great veggie burgers.
“Burger Johnny’s!” I repeated.
Mom started sorting through the pile of mail. “Look,” she said, handing me an envelope. “There’s a letter for you from Bayville Monthly.”
I tore open the envelope and started reading the letter aloud.
“Dear Tamiko Sato,
Thank you for entering the Bayville County Youth Arts Contest. We are delighted to inform you that, out of the fifty-nine submissions we received this year, your artwork has been chosen for the grand prize.”
A grin spread across my face. Good news never gets old!
“Fifty-nine submissions?” my dad repeated. “That means they chose your artwork over fifty-eight others. That’s very impressive, Tamiko.”
“I didn’t even think of that,” I said, my grin getting wider. Then I continued reading the letter:
“The county of Bayville would like to commemorate your artwork by presenting you with a certificate of achievement at the town council meeting next Tuesday. We hope you will be able to attend.
Congratulations again on your achievement, and thank you for supporting Bayville Monthly.
Sincerely,
Samantha Dubbins
Editor in Chief, Bayville Monthly”
“A certificate of achievement… Isn’t that kind of like an award? In front of the whole town?” I asked.
Mom nodded. “Well, in front of whoever shows up for the meeting. I wonder if Grandma Sasaki will be able to join us. She would be so proud!”
“I’m going to record the ceremony on my phone and send it to Grandpa Sato,” my father said.
“Yes!” I beamed and made a mental note to invite Allie and Sierra to the town council meeting too.
We picked Kai up from his business club meeting before heading to Burger Johnny’s.
When I told my brother the good news, his eyes lit up. “Nice going, Sis!” he said, giving me a fist bump. I almost thought that he was back to being himself, but then he got quiet again. By the time we got to the restaurant and our food had arrived, Kai wasn’t even pretending to listen to our conversation anymore.
We were seated around a table in the very noisy burger restaurant, with oldies music blaring from the speakers. I was not into oldies, but Burger Johnny’s had the biggest, juiciest veggie burgers and the yummiest french fries.
For the first part of the meal, the main topic of conversation was me, of course.
“This is a very nice affirmation of your talents, Tamiko,” Mom went on. “Maybe we need to get you some art lessons, so you can really develop them.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need lessons. I have natural talent. I had a whole year of art last year, and I didn’t learn anything from boring Mr. Rivera.”
“Well, maybe he didn’t help with your creativity, but I think your techniques have improved,” Mom said. “Just think about it, Tamiko. Even creative people need training.”
I ignored her and bit into my burger. “Mmm. Maybe my cover entry for next year will be about this place. Do you think they let you win twice? I mean, why not?”
There was a pause in the conversation, so I nudged Kai. “How’s your blue cheese burger? I’ve always wanted to try that one, but I’m on the fence about blue cheese. On the one hand, it tastes good. On the other hand, it looks like something you blow out of your nose.”
Kai shrugged and didn’t say anything.
I put down my burger. “All right,” I said. “Who are you, and what have you done with my brother, Kai? Because this person sitting here is not acting like Kai.”
“Very funny, Tamiko,” Kai said, rolling his eyes.
“Come on,” I pressed. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on with you?”
Mom and Dad had their eyes on Kai, and I guessed they’d tried to ask him what was wrong before, without getting any answers.
“Nothing is wrong,” he said. “Can’t I just eat my burger in peace?”
“Fine,” I said, but I wasn’t planning on giving up. I knew if anyone could get the truth out of Kai, it would be me!
I figured that he might not want my parents to know what was up, so I waited until we got home. Kai headed right for his bedroom, and I knocked on his door.
“Can I come in?” I asked.
“Can I stop you?” he replied.
I entered. Kai was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. I sat down on his desk chair.
“Listen, Kai, I know something’s bugging you,” I said. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
“I don’t know about that,” Kai said.
“Well, if you don’t talk to me, you’re going to need to talk to somebody,” I told him. “When you become a millionaire businessman—”
“Billionaire,” he corrected me.
“Billionaire businessman, then you’re going to be under a lot of pressure,” I said. “Getting help is a sign of strength, not of weakness. You might as well start practicing how to get rid of stress now!”
There was a long pause. Kai continued staring up at the ceiling.
“What’s going on?” I asked again.
“Promise not to tell Mom and Dad?” Kai said.
I nodded.
He sighed. “I have a huge crush on this girl in my class.”
“That’s why you’ve been acting so weird?” I asked, trying not to sound disappointed. “I thought something was really wrong!”
Kai sat up. “Something is really wrong,” he said, and then he sighed. “I can’t stop thinking about her, and it’s super-distracting! Every time I’m around her, I can’t speak. I can barely even talk about stuff like homework with her. That’s not like me at all! I can usually talk to anybody.”
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“Layla,” Kai murmured, and his face turned redder than the strawberry ice cream we serve at Molly’s.
Now, I was not a big fan of romance, and normally I would have walked backward out of Kai’s room and told him to talk to someone else. But I was on such a roll lately, slaying everything I tried. So I decided to give being a romance coach a go.
“You’ve got the perfect excuse for asking Layla out on a date,” I said. “Your sister works at Molly’s Ice Cream shop. Use that as an icebreaker and then invite her to get ice cream with you. Nobody says no to ice cream!”
Kai frowned. “Do you think that would work?”
“Why not?” I asked. “It’s super-casual, not like going to a movie or to dinner. You could start out by asking if she has any brothers or sisters, and then talk about me and how I work at Molly’s.”
Kai nodded. “It makes sense. But what if I clam up? Every time I’m around her I get tongue-tied.”
“You must have learned strategies in your business club for giving speeches and negotiating and stuff,” I said.
“Yeah, you’re right!” Kai said. “I could apply some of those things to talking to Layla. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you’re not a naturally talented problem solver, like I am,” I said.
Kai raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t argue. “Thanks, Tamiko! Maybe I’ll give it a try.”
I went back to my room, feeling pretty proud of myself. I’d gotten Kai to open up to me, and I’d even given him some advice that he liked!
Feeling confident, I opened up my planner and checked to see what homework I needed to do. There was a social studies worksheet, a chapter to read for English, and a reminder to study for my Spanish test.
I don’t need to bother studying, I thought, and the other stuff won’t take long. So I picked up my phone and tried to find out more about Kai’s crush, Layla. I didn’t know her last name, but I took a gamble that she might be the only Layla in Kai’s grade and searched for Laylas from their high school. It didn’t take long before I found her on SuperSnap: Layla Mercedes.
“Okay, Kai, she’s cute,” I mused out loud. She had curly dark hair and smooth skin without a pimple in sight. Unfortunately, that was all I knew about her, because her profile was set to private, and she didn’t have any public posts. None! “All right, mysterious Layla, you can keep your secrets for now,” I said. “But Kai had better bring you to Molly’s soon!”
CHAPTER SIX I’M A CELEBRITY!
“Tamiko, package for you!”
I ran down the stairs on Saturday afternoon, my head still wet from my shower. I’d finished ninth again in my cross-country meet that morning, and I was getting ready for a chill afternoon of customizing before my shift at Molly’s the next day. At first I couldn’t imagine what the package could be.
Mom had brought in the mail and handed me a small box. “You ordered something?” she asked.
Then I remembered.
“I still had money left on the gift card Grandma got me for my birthday,” I told her, and I ripped open the package. Then I pulled out a pair of black sunglasses and tried them on.
“What do you think?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips and posing.
Mom raised her eyebrows. “They’re… big, Tamiko. What happened to your other sunglasses?”
“This is a knockoff of a brand that all the celebrities are wearing,” I told her. “After the town council meeting my picture will be in the newspaper, and you know, things might get intense.”
“Blue skies and sunshine are great, but I’m waiting for a fall chill in the air so I can break out my favorite fall fashion items: cardigans and boots! Here’s a sneak peek at some of my faves that I’ll be breaking out when the temps drop. If you had to give up wearing cardigans or boots for the rest of your life, what would you choose? Comment below!”
I scrolled through the comments on my blog on the bus ride to school. It was a few weeks into the semester, and I still hadn’t convinced Kai to let me ride with him and his friend to school.
The blog comments were overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the boots and ditching the cardigans, but I think if I had to choose to keep one or the other forever, I’d pick cardigans. I think they look cute on me, and they’re an easy way to change an outfit from something casual to more polished.
I hadn’t meant for Tamiko’s Take to be mostly about fashion, but people seemed to like when I posted pictures of clothes or modeled outfits. Even though I did a lot of fashion posts, I also liked doing posts about food, and stuff that happened at school. That was a nice way to mix things up, I thought.
I read the most recent comment.
“Love your blog, Tamiko. You have such an artistic eye! You are so creative!”
I realized that I didn’t recognize the commenter’s name. My blog must be getting popular, I thought. Why wouldn’t it? It’s awesome!
I was in a great mood when I arrived in Spanish class. Ewan smiled and waved at me, but Señora Hernandez walked in before we could talk.
“Buenos días, estudiantes,” she greeted us.
“Buenos días, Señora Hernandez,” we all replied in unison.
“Before we continue with our lessons today, I’d like to give you a short quiz to see how everyone is doing so far,” she said. “This way I can tailor our lessons to everyone’s abilities, and we can find ways to support one another.”
She started passing out the quiz papers while some of my classmates exchanged nervous looks. I picked up my pen and dove right in. The questions were mostly fill-in-the-blank, but at the end we had to write a few lines about something we were wearing or something we’d eaten that day. I looked down at my black jeans, white button-down shirt, and black flats.
Estoy llevando jeans negros y una camisa blanca con botones. Mis zapatos son…
For extra credit I added a line about my red necklace.
… zapatos bajos. Mi collar es rojo.
I looked over my work, and then Señora Hernandez said our time was up.
“While I’m grading these, I want you to write a description of an animal you know. Write about how that animal looks, and what it does,” she announced.
There were a few groans as we pulled out our notebooks. I didn’t have any pets, so I wrote about my Grandma Sasaki’s cat, Sora. I was trying to think of the Spanish word for “peach,” because that’s what color she was, when Señora Hernandez cleared her throat.
“You all did fantastic, class,” she said. “And we even had one perfect paper. Felicidades, Tamiko!”
The other kids burst into applause, and Ewan gave me a thumbs-up from across the room.
“Gracias,” I said, and I felt really proud and happy.
“Some of the material on this quiz will also be on our first big test of the semester next week,” Señora Hernandez continued. “We’ll be reviewing it all week, though, so don’t worry if you found the quiz challenging.”
No problem for me, I thought. I’ll ace the test, just like the quiz!
Sierra had a club meeting during lunch, so MacKenzie and I sat together and picked at our mixed vegetable stir-fry, which honestly looked like it had come from another planet.
I texted Allie a picture of the lunch and added a caption: Guess what you’re NOT missing at MLK!
That looks so gross! Allie replied. Then she sent a picture of her own school lunch. We have a fall harvest bowl today.
I sighed when I saw the colorful bowl of sweet potatoes, apples, greens, and grains. Everything looked so fresh and appetizing.
“Hey!” MacKenzie exclaimed. I looked up from my phone, and she pointed at my lunch with her fork.
I examined my plate and gasped. One of the carrots in my stir-fry was shaped differently from the rest—and it looked just like a heart!
“Wow,” I said. “Who knew something so adorable could exist in an MLK lunch?” I snapped a photo of the heart-shaped carrot with my phone. This was definitely going up on my blog later that day.
“It must be a sign of good luck!” MacKenzie said, taking a photo with her phone too.
MacKenzie must have been correct about the lucky omen, because I had another great moment in science class with Mr. O. We were starting a unit on atoms and molecules.
“Which subatomic particle is charged with negative energy?” he asked.
A joke popped into my head, and I raised my hand.
“Um, my mom and dad before they have their coffee in the morning?” I asked.
Mr. O. cracked up, and I got a rush.
“Nice guess, Tamiko, but I’m looking for subatomic particles, and I’m guessing your parents are about my size,” he said.
“Just kidding,” I said. “The answer is electrons.”
He got a twinkle in his eye. “Are you positive?”
“If I were positive, I’d be a proton,” I shot back, and he laughed again. I looked over at Sierra, who was shaking her head and laughing.
At the end of class a bunch of kids walked up to me. I was a little startled.
“You’re too funny, Tamiko,” Victoria said.
“Yeah, you could be a stand-up comic,” added Ryan.
“I’m not that funny,” I said, but I was just pretending to be modest. I knew I could probably be a great stand-up comic someday, if I wanted to.
Sierra and I left the room together. “Wow, it’s like everyone knows you,” she said.
“That’s how I feel about you,” I told her. “You’re the rock star, remember?”
We made our way to our lockers, and as we passed the school office, the secretary, Ms. Shipman, stepped out. She had a huge grin on her face.
“Tamiko, glad I caught you,” she said. “We just got a special delivery to the school that you need to see.”
I gave Sierra a puzzled look, and she followed me inside. Ms. Shipman walked to a pile of magazines on the counter.
“Bayville Monthly dropped these off, because they thought we’d want to see what one of our students had achieved,” she said. “The issue will be on stands next Wednesday.”
She handed me a magazine. There, on the cover, was my Molly’s Ice Cream collage!
Sierra let out a squeal. “Oh my goodness, chica, you did it!”
I read aloud the blurb on the cover. “ ‘Winner of the Bayville County Youth Arts Contest: Tamiko Sato, a student at MLK Middle School.’ ” Then I began to jump up and down. “I did it! They picked my art!”
A bunch of kids who had come into the office to see what the commotion was about started to clap and cheer. Even Principal Harrison came out of his office to congratulate me.
“Well done, Tamiko,” he said. “We’re very proud of you for winning.”
“Of course I won!” I blurted out. “I’m naturally talented!”
Sierra laughed. “Congratulations, my sassy, confident artist friend!”
Ms. Shipman handed me three more magazines. “Take these home to your family. Now, don’t be late for your bus, superstar!”
“Thanks!” I said, beaming.
As soon as I got onto my bus, I called Allie on video chat. I held up the magazine in front of the camera.
“I won the Bayville Monthly contest!” I told her.
“Wow, congratulations!” Allie cheered. “My mom is going to be thrilled.”
“Tell her to start making more ice cream,” I said. “Business is going to explode!”
Allie laughed. “I sure hope so!”
We ended the call, and I gazed out the bus window, musing. It felt great to win the contest—really great! In fact, it was like everything was going well for me recently. I was totally winning at life!
Why should I stop at being queen of social media or ice cream queen? Why not be queen of everything?
CHAPTER FIVE KAI’S SECRET
I waited until Mom and Dad got home to tell them the great news.
As soon as I heard the front door open, I ran down the stairs with a copy of Bayville Monthly in my hand. Mom and Dad were both thrilled, of course.
“This calls for a celebration! The Satos are going out to eat tonight. You pick, Tamiko!” Mom said.
“Woot!” I replied. “Burger Johnny’s!”
“You sure you don’t want sushi?” Dad asked, because that was his favorite. He thought burgers were junk food, but I knew that Mom would be happy with my choice. Plus, since I was a vegetarian, I didn’t eat most kinds of sushi. Burger Johnny’s had great veggie burgers.
“Burger Johnny’s!” I repeated.
Mom started sorting through the pile of mail. “Look,” she said, handing me an envelope. “There’s a letter for you from Bayville Monthly.”
I tore open the envelope and started reading the letter aloud.
“Dear Tamiko Sato,
Thank you for entering the Bayville County Youth Arts Contest. We are delighted to inform you that, out of the fifty-nine submissions we received this year, your artwork has been chosen for the grand prize.”
A grin spread across my face. Good news never gets old!
“Fifty-nine submissions?” my dad repeated. “That means they chose your artwork over fifty-eight others. That’s very impressive, Tamiko.”
“I didn’t even think of that,” I said, my grin getting wider. Then I continued reading the letter:
“The county of Bayville would like to commemorate your artwork by presenting you with a certificate of achievement at the town council meeting next Tuesday. We hope you will be able to attend.
Congratulations again on your achievement, and thank you for supporting Bayville Monthly.
Sincerely,
Samantha Dubbins
Editor in Chief, Bayville Monthly”
“A certificate of achievement… Isn’t that kind of like an award? In front of the whole town?” I asked.
Mom nodded. “Well, in front of whoever shows up for the meeting. I wonder if Grandma Sasaki will be able to join us. She would be so proud!”
“I’m going to record the ceremony on my phone and send it to Grandpa Sato,” my father said.
“Yes!” I beamed and made a mental note to invite Allie and Sierra to the town council meeting too.
We picked Kai up from his business club meeting before heading to Burger Johnny’s.
When I told my brother the good news, his eyes lit up. “Nice going, Sis!” he said, giving me a fist bump. I almost thought that he was back to being himself, but then he got quiet again. By the time we got to the restaurant and our food had arrived, Kai wasn’t even pretending to listen to our conversation anymore.
We were seated around a table in the very noisy burger restaurant, with oldies music blaring from the speakers. I was not into oldies, but Burger Johnny’s had the biggest, juiciest veggie burgers and the yummiest french fries.
For the first part of the meal, the main topic of conversation was me, of course.
“This is a very nice affirmation of your talents, Tamiko,” Mom went on. “Maybe we need to get you some art lessons, so you can really develop them.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need lessons. I have natural talent. I had a whole year of art last year, and I didn’t learn anything from boring Mr. Rivera.”
“Well, maybe he didn’t help with your creativity, but I think your techniques have improved,” Mom said. “Just think about it, Tamiko. Even creative people need training.”
I ignored her and bit into my burger. “Mmm. Maybe my cover entry for next year will be about this place. Do you think they let you win twice? I mean, why not?”
There was a pause in the conversation, so I nudged Kai. “How’s your blue cheese burger? I’ve always wanted to try that one, but I’m on the fence about blue cheese. On the one hand, it tastes good. On the other hand, it looks like something you blow out of your nose.”
Kai shrugged and didn’t say anything.
I put down my burger. “All right,” I said. “Who are you, and what have you done with my brother, Kai? Because this person sitting here is not acting like Kai.”
“Very funny, Tamiko,” Kai said, rolling his eyes.
“Come on,” I pressed. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on with you?”
Mom and Dad had their eyes on Kai, and I guessed they’d tried to ask him what was wrong before, without getting any answers.
“Nothing is wrong,” he said. “Can’t I just eat my burger in peace?”
“Fine,” I said, but I wasn’t planning on giving up. I knew if anyone could get the truth out of Kai, it would be me!
I figured that he might not want my parents to know what was up, so I waited until we got home. Kai headed right for his bedroom, and I knocked on his door.
“Can I come in?” I asked.
“Can I stop you?” he replied.
I entered. Kai was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. I sat down on his desk chair.
“Listen, Kai, I know something’s bugging you,” I said. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
“I don’t know about that,” Kai said.
“Well, if you don’t talk to me, you’re going to need to talk to somebody,” I told him. “When you become a millionaire businessman—”
“Billionaire,” he corrected me.
“Billionaire businessman, then you’re going to be under a lot of pressure,” I said. “Getting help is a sign of strength, not of weakness. You might as well start practicing how to get rid of stress now!”
There was a long pause. Kai continued staring up at the ceiling.
“What’s going on?” I asked again.
“Promise not to tell Mom and Dad?” Kai said.
I nodded.
He sighed. “I have a huge crush on this girl in my class.”
“That’s why you’ve been acting so weird?” I asked, trying not to sound disappointed. “I thought something was really wrong!”
Kai sat up. “Something is really wrong,” he said, and then he sighed. “I can’t stop thinking about her, and it’s super-distracting! Every time I’m around her, I can’t speak. I can barely even talk about stuff like homework with her. That’s not like me at all! I can usually talk to anybody.”
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“Layla,” Kai murmured, and his face turned redder than the strawberry ice cream we serve at Molly’s.
Now, I was not a big fan of romance, and normally I would have walked backward out of Kai’s room and told him to talk to someone else. But I was on such a roll lately, slaying everything I tried. So I decided to give being a romance coach a go.
“You’ve got the perfect excuse for asking Layla out on a date,” I said. “Your sister works at Molly’s Ice Cream shop. Use that as an icebreaker and then invite her to get ice cream with you. Nobody says no to ice cream!”
Kai frowned. “Do you think that would work?”
“Why not?” I asked. “It’s super-casual, not like going to a movie or to dinner. You could start out by asking if she has any brothers or sisters, and then talk about me and how I work at Molly’s.”
Kai nodded. “It makes sense. But what if I clam up? Every time I’m around her I get tongue-tied.”
“You must have learned strategies in your business club for giving speeches and negotiating and stuff,” I said.
“Yeah, you’re right!” Kai said. “I could apply some of those things to talking to Layla. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you’re not a naturally talented problem solver, like I am,” I said.
Kai raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t argue. “Thanks, Tamiko! Maybe I’ll give it a try.”
I went back to my room, feeling pretty proud of myself. I’d gotten Kai to open up to me, and I’d even given him some advice that he liked!
Feeling confident, I opened up my planner and checked to see what homework I needed to do. There was a social studies worksheet, a chapter to read for English, and a reminder to study for my Spanish test.
I don’t need to bother studying, I thought, and the other stuff won’t take long. So I picked up my phone and tried to find out more about Kai’s crush, Layla. I didn’t know her last name, but I took a gamble that she might be the only Layla in Kai’s grade and searched for Laylas from their high school. It didn’t take long before I found her on SuperSnap: Layla Mercedes.
“Okay, Kai, she’s cute,” I mused out loud. She had curly dark hair and smooth skin without a pimple in sight. Unfortunately, that was all I knew about her, because her profile was set to private, and she didn’t have any public posts. None! “All right, mysterious Layla, you can keep your secrets for now,” I said. “But Kai had better bring you to Molly’s soon!”
CHAPTER SIX I’M A CELEBRITY!
“Tamiko, package for you!”
I ran down the stairs on Saturday afternoon, my head still wet from my shower. I’d finished ninth again in my cross-country meet that morning, and I was getting ready for a chill afternoon of customizing before my shift at Molly’s the next day. At first I couldn’t imagine what the package could be.
Mom had brought in the mail and handed me a small box. “You ordered something?” she asked.
Then I remembered.
“I still had money left on the gift card Grandma got me for my birthday,” I told her, and I ripped open the package. Then I pulled out a pair of black sunglasses and tried them on.
“What do you think?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips and posing.
Mom raised her eyebrows. “They’re… big, Tamiko. What happened to your other sunglasses?”
“This is a knockoff of a brand that all the celebrities are wearing,” I told her. “After the town council meeting my picture will be in the newspaper, and you know, things might get intense.”
