Two Friends, One Dog, and a Very Unusual Week, page 5
And then she was going to go upstairs and tell Rani’s parents. Except, of course, that there wouldn’t be any parents upstairs for her to tell.
Emily had to do something.
She and Rani were friends, right? Rani had said so.
Emily had a feeling that it was going to turn out to be a lot of work, having Rani as a friend. But even so, Emily couldn’t let Mrs. Pinkney find out that Rani lived all alone in an attic and slept in a hammock and had a big black dog who looked after her.
How was Emily going to warn Rani, though? There was no way Emily could run upstairs. Her dad and Mrs. Pinkney stood in the doorway, talking and talking and talking.
Emily’s gaze traveled to the window of her bedroom.
If she were Rani, she could throw on a climbing harness and scale the wall up to the fourth floor. But she didn’t have a harness. And she wasn’t Rani.
Could something else go up that way, maybe? Something that wasn’t Emily?
Emily leaped to her desk and grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen. She scribbled a quick message on the paper.
Don’t open the door.
Then she snatched the string of Rani’s balloon and tied the message to it. She rushed to her window and flung it open.
“Rani!” she called as loudly as she dared—which wasn’t very loud. “Rani!”
Surely Rani would not hear her over the rasp rasp rasp of what sounded like a saw biting deep into wood. But miraculously, the attic window right above Emily’s inched open.
A black muzzle poked out.
“Otto,” Emily whispered. “Catch!” She let the string of the balloon go.
It was a silly thing to do. Emily knew it the moment the balloon drifted out of her reach. It was the kind of thing Rani might do, expecting a dog to catch a balloon…but she was Emily, not Rani.
The purple balloon floated up to the window. Otto didn’t move.
How could Emily have been so stupid?
The dangling string was now in front of Otto’s nose. Delicately, he nipped at it. Then he drew his head back inside the window. The balloon went with him. Emily’s father knocked on her door.
He opened it without waiting for an answer.
“Emily,” he said. “What exactly happened at the store this afternoon? Riding scooters around the aisles? Playing with vacuum cleaners? Knocking down half the shoe department?”
Emily turned away from the window. “I wasn’t riding the scooter,” she said to her dad. “Rani was. She didn’t know she wasn’t supposed to. And she was just using the vacuum to clean up.”
“To clean up what?”
“The popcorn she spilled.”
“She spilled popcorn?”
“But she paid for it. And she found Jonah Pinkney when he was lost!” she added. “I bet Mrs. Pinkney didn’t tell you about that!”
Then Emily had to backtrack and explain everything that had taken place between Rani and Jonah.
“Well,” Emily’s father said when she was finished. “I think I should probably talk to Rani’s mom.”
“She’s in Patagonia,” Emily said, more or less automatically.
And then she wished she hadn’t.
After Emily told her dad where Rani’s mom was, there was a lot more talking. In the middle of it, Emily’s mom came home.
So then her dad talked to her mom. Her mom talked to Emily. All three of them went to talk to Mr. Armand, who was out back feeding the chickens.
There was a new contraption inside their pen, a whirligig of shiny metal and fluttering flags. Mr. Armand was pouring a cupful of grain into a funnel. The seeds trickled down a metal chute and spilled into a circular tray. Red flags spread out to catch the breeze and the tray slowly revolved.
The chickens came over to inspect their dinner.
“Patagonia, yes,” Mr. Armand agreed. “Rani’s mother asked if Rani could stay in the attic. All fine.”
Emily watched Araminta, Betty, and Carlotta nibble their rotating meal. The spinning tray had a little mirror propped up on it. Araminta pecked at her own reflection each time it went past.
“Did Rani build that?” she asked.
Mr. Armand nodded. But Emily’s mother wasn’t interested in chicken feeders.
“She’s only a child!” Emily’s mom said. “Living all alone in that attic? She’s a little girl!”
Mr. Armand stroked Carlotta’s feathery head.
“A little girl, yes. But not an ordinary little girl,” he said. “I met her first when she was three months old. Even then, I could tell. I assure you, Mrs. Robbins, Rani is as safe in that attic as she would be inside a fortress. All is most assuredly fine.”
Emily watched the chickens eat as the grown-ups talked and talked and talked. Finally Emily’s mother threw up both hands.
“School, then,” she said. “At least she has to go to school.”
Mr. Armand nudged Carlotta forward to be sure she got her fair share of dinner.
“School,” he said thoughtfully. “Yes. I can see that school would be important. Very well. I will talk to Rani. Tomorrow she will go to school.”
* * *
Emily woke up on Friday morning feeling a flutter deep inside that was half nervousness and half excitement. Last evening her mom had spent a lot of time on the phone, and everything had been arranged. Rani would come with Emily to the Henrietta Minnow School.
Emily changed into her school clothes and pulled on the new red shoes just before her mom opened the door.
“Oh, good, you’re up,” she said. “Go get Rani and tell her to come down here for breakfast. At least we can be sure that poor child gets a decent meal!”
Emily thought that “poor child” was not exactly the way she’d describe Rani. But she was glad of an excuse to run up to the attic. She needed to talk to Rani before the school day started.
When she knocked on Rani’s door, there was no answer. But surely she was there. Where else would she be?
“Rani!” she called. “It’s me! Open up!”
Rani’s voice drifted out from inside the attic. “Oh! Are we done playing Don’t Open the Door?”
Emily sighed.
“Yes, we’re done!” she told Rani. “Hurry up!”
The door swung open. Emily took one step inside and stopped.
There was a trampoline. It was made of stretchy white material and near the center was a squashed face with a long, thin, orange nose and a flattened top hat.
“The snowman!” she said. “From the dumpster! Rani, you went back and took the snowman?”
“Sure thing,” Rani answered. “Rich helped me.”
Rani had spread out the fabric of what had once been an inflatable snowman and fastened long, thick springs all around its edges. Ropes stretched from the springs to the walls. She tightened up a carabiner attaching one of the ropes to the hook holding it taut.
“Try it out!” she said. “I need a test subject.”
Emily took another step into the room. “You want me to be your guinea pig?”
“Don’t be silly. A guinea pig wouldn’t enjoy a trampoline at all. Come on!”
Emily knew that her parents were waiting with breakfast downstairs…but surely a few jumps wouldn’t take that long.
She climbed onto the trampoline, bent her knees, and pushed off. Her hair lifted slightly and then whooshed back down over her shoulders when she landed.
Rani took a turn and did her best to touch the ceiling with her outstretched fingers. Today she had on a purple blouse with a floppy collar, and she’d tied a bright orange scarf around her waist. Her pink skirt swirled with each jump, allowing Emily a glimpse of the frilly, knee-length, lime-green pantaloons Rani had on underneath.
Then Emily jumped again, higher than before. Dust motes swirled around her, golden in the light from the tall windows.
But breakfast and school were waiting. Emily flopped down onto the stretchy material. It quivered under her and then steadied.
“Listen, Rani,” she said.
“Yes?” Rani was tightening one of the ropes. “Higher. We definitely need to go higher.”
“Really, Rani, you have to listen,” Emily insisted. “Mrs. Pinkney was at our apartment. She wanted to come up here and talk to your mom.”
“Oh.” Rani gave the rope a final tug. “She would have been disappointed, because my mom’s—”
“In Patagonia. I know! But, Rani, you can’t tell Mrs. Pinkney that.”
Emily’s parents already knew that Rani was living by herself in the attic. But Mrs. Pinkney didn’t. And Emily was positive that she had better not find out.
“She’s not going to understand,” Emily told Rani.
“I could show her Patagonia on a map,” Rani offered.
“No!” Emily groaned. “Rani, just trust me, please. Don’t tell Mrs. Pinkney your mom’s not here. You’re coming to school with me, and Penelope Pinkney’s in my class. You’ve met Penelope, right?”
Rani nodded. “She says dogs are unsanitary.”
Emily refused to be distracted by the topic of Penelope and dogs. “Just don’t talk about Patagonia at school, okay? Or Penelope will tell her mom all about your mom for sure.”
Rani’s forehead wrinkled. “But I don’t see why Mrs. Pinkney should miss my mother so much. I’m the one who misses her. Mrs. Pinkney doesn’t even know her.”
Emily blinked.
“Rani, you miss your mom?” she asked.
It sounded like such a silly question. But Rani was always so cheerful. She never seemed worried or lonely or scared. So Emily hadn’t thought about how it must feel to be Rani, up in the attic with just Otto for company.
“Of course I do,” said Rani.
Emily listened to the quiet that filled up the attic. And she began to understand that, even though Rani was the most unusual person Emily had ever met, she was still a kid. A kid who missed her mom.
“Anyway,” Emily said after the quiet had gone on long enough. “My mom says you should come downstairs for breakfast. It’s probably oatmeal.”
“Oatmeal!” Rani’s wide grin lit up her face. “I love oatmeal!”
* * *
Rani insisted that oatmeal was best with honey, raisins, chocolate chips, and frozen peas. Emily found most of these things in the cupboards or in the freezer.
When she shut the freezer door and turned around with the bag of peas in her hand, she saw Otto nudge open a drawer with his nose and reach inside to pick up a bunch of napkins between his teeth. He walked over to the kitchen table and laid a napkin at each place.
Emily hadn’t even realized that Otto had come downstairs with them. He could be very quiet for such a big dog.
Her father seemed startled to see Otto as well. He stood holding a travel mug of coffee in one hand and a pile of math papers in the other.
“How did you train him to do that?” he asked, staring at the dog.
Rani shrugged. “I didn’t. He just has very strict ideas about etiquette.”
“Eat your breakfast, girls!” Emily’s mother had poked her head in the kitchen door. “Rani, are you all set for lunch?” Rani nodded as Emily’s mom rubbed her eyes. “Let’s go, shake a tail feather, has anyone seen my good black shoes?” She caught sight of Otto and sneezed.
“Allergies,” Emily explained to Rani.
Otto was sent back upstairs with his own bowl of oatmeal. Rani found the good black shoes under the sofa. Emily’s dad left while Emily and Rani were finishing their breakfasts. They gulped down the last mouthful just as it was time to go.
“Shake a tail feather!” Rani bellowed, and she was off down the stairs with her red backpack bouncing on her shoulders.
Emily scurried to catch up.
Her friend was going to need a lot of help at the Henrietta Minnow School. Emily knew that she couldn’t let her guard down for a minute. No matter what happened, she’d have to stick close to Rani all day long.
When they reached school, Rani started to climb the wall around the playground again, but Emily snagged the orange scarf around her waist and tugged her back down. She and Rani walked around to the gates and entered the playground just like everyone else.
The bell rang. Kids swept inside as teachers called out reminders to walk, to form lines, to head straight to classrooms. “I’ll take you both in,” Emily’s mother said as she caught up to them.
“Are you coming to school too?” Rani asked.
“Well, no.”
“Isn’t there anything you need to learn?”
Emily’s mom smiled. “Quite a lot, actually. But right now I just have to talk to the office.” She led the way through the front door. Rani skipped behind. Her silver shoes twinkled in the gloom of the hallway.
Emily caught hold of Rani’s arm. “You have to walk,” she told her.
“Sure thing!” Rani flipped over to walk on her hands. Her pink skirt fell over her face. Her legs in their lime-green pantaloons waved in the air.
Kids on their way to classrooms turned to stare.
“On your feet! Walk on your feet!” Emily cried out, but Rani had moved quite a way down the hallway. She didn’t seem to hear.
Emily’s mom had already gone into the office. Rani followed through the open door. Emily got there in time to see Rani flip over into a neat backbend and come up on her feet right in front of the principal’s desk.
Her skirt settled down over her knees as Mr. Cleary looked up from his computer. He shook hands with Emily’s mother and they talked over what had already been decided—that Rani could come along to Emily’s class for the day.
“As a prospective student,” Mr. Cleary said. “To see how everything…” He paused. “Suits.”
Rani nodded happily. “What kind of a suit? A bathing suit?” She began to rummage in her backpack.
Emily snagged her hand. “No suit. Come on, Rani. Let’s go.”
* * *
On Fridays, Emily’s class went to the library for first period. Since they’d missed attendance and morning meeting while in the office, Emily took Rani straight there.
Rani paused in the doorway with wide eyes.
“Wow,” she whispered.
Emily glanced from side to side. She saw the shelves of books, the fuzzy orange rug where her class was already gathered, the reading corner with the three beanbag chairs, and the display of books on insects with the poster that read What’s Bugging You?
She liked the library, but it had never struck her as so amazing that she’d need to stand in the doorway and stare. “Over here,” Emily told Rani. She hurried toward the rug. “Sit by me.”
But there was no answer. “Rani!”
Emily spotted Rani’s silver shoes in the reading corner. The rest of Rani lay on her back in a beanbag chair. She’d snagged a book off one of the shelves, but she didn’t seem to be reading it. It was open over her face, as if she were trying to block her eyes from the light.
“Who’s that?” Anson Crutcher asked. He was twisting around on the rug to get a good look at Rani.
“My new neighbor,” Emily told him. She raised her voice a little—just a little, because it was the library, after all. “Rani!”
Rani didn’t stir. Had she fallen asleep? Could anybody fall asleep that suddenly?
“She’s weird,” Anson said. There was admiration in his voice.
“She’s very weird,” Penelope Pinkney said with no admiration in her voice at all. She was sitting directly across from Anson. Penelope usually made it a point to sit as far away from Anson as possible.
Emily started toward the reading corner, but just then Ms. Moreno, the librarian, got up from the chair behind her desk. Emily hesitated and then slowly sank down on the rug beside Anson. Her whole body felt tight and hot. Would Rani get in trouble before first period even began?
“Good morning, everyone,” Ms. Moreno said.
Emily liked Ms. Moreno. She smiled a lot and had glossy black hair that she usually wore up in a bun on the back of her head, and she kept a bowl of peppermints on the desk next to the slot for returned books. Emily did not want Ms. Moreno to get annoyed at Rani before she even got to know her.
The kids who were fidgeting or talking or wiggling into comfortable positions settled down. Maureen Kenilworth, who’d flopped onto her back to study the ceiling tiles, sat up.
Rani didn’t stir.
“The office just let me know that we have a prospective student here today,” Ms. Moreno went on. “So let’s all—hmmmm. Where is she?”
Penelope’s arm snapped out to point at Rani.
“Ah.” Ms. Moreno’s eyebrows went up. She studied a note in her hand. “Excuse me. Rani? Is that your name?”
“What kind of name is that?” Penelope whispered, loud enough for the kids around her to hear but too quiet for Ms. Moreno to notice.
The librarian went on. “What are you doing with that book, Rani?”
“Experimenting.” Rani’s voice came from underneath the book still propped over her face.
“Experimenting how?”
“With the words. To see if they’ll soak right into my brain.”
“I see.” Ms. Moreno’s mouth twitched slightly.
“I think it’s working,” Rani went on.
“Well. Could you come and take a seat for now and continue your experimentation at home, please?”
“Sure thing!” Rani hopped up, tossed her book into the beanbag chair, sashayed around a fern in a pot, paused to plant a loud, smacking kiss on the glass of the fish tank, turned a cartwheel, and ended up next to the rocking chair on the orange rug.
“Where would you like me to take this seat?” she asked Ms. Moreno.
