Dog Show Disaster Read online

  Kendall kept her eyes closed for a minute and dug her elbows into her pillow.

  “Kendall, am I boring you to sleep?”

  She popped her eyes open. “No! I was just thinking about what you just told me.”

  I threw my hands up in the air.

  “And?”

  “And . . . I don’t know. Maybe you are panicking a little. It probably just seems worse since you lost Mrs. Mellon as faculty advisor.”

  “It is worse.”

  Kendall laughed. “Oh, yeah.” Then she got serious. “Hmmmm. I think you should talk to Mamaw.”

  My mood lightened. “That’s a good idea. I wish we were out at her place right now.”

  One side of Kendall’s mouth curved up. “Allie, she’s downstairs watchin’ chick flicks with our moms.”

  “What? Mamaw’s here? I didn’t know that! When did she get here?”

  “When you were texting, about an hour ago. I guess you were more focused on that than I was on writin’ my song, which—by the way—do you want to hear it?”

  I jumped up off the bed. “Not now.”

  Kendall gave me a frowny-face.

  “I’m sorry. I just have to talk to Mamaw.”

  I flew down the stairs, and in seconds I was wedged between my mom and Mamaw on the couch. They and my Aunt Kassie were munching on popcorn and watching an old musical.

  I reached forward, grabbed the remote from the coffee table, and pressed pause.

  “Allie! We were watchin’ that!” Mom tried to wrestle the remote away from me.

  “Yeah, but don’t you need a snack break? I want to talk to Mamaw for a minute.”

  “I need Milk Duds,” Aunt Kassie said, and she got up and headed for the kitchen.

  Mom put up a finger. “Ten minutes. You know how I love my musicals.” Then she headed toward Kassie and the Milk Duds.

  Mamaw grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and spread it over both of us.

  “What’s goin’ on, Allie-girl? You still worried about the carnival?”

  I pulled the blanket up to my neck. “Yeah. I think I’m getting stretched, like Papaw warned me about.”

  “That’s uncomfortable. I’m sorry, darlin’.”

  I rested my head on her shoulder. “I’m mostly worried about Madison Doonsberry.”

  “Well, you should be. She’s jealous of you, and that causes people to be real nasty.”

  I sat up straight. “Jealous? I don’t think so.”

  “Well, I do. That girl’s been through some pain, and the only one who can heal her is our Heavenly Father. But until she lets him in, she’s got a God-shaped hole in her heart. So, like I said, pray for her, but stay alert.”

  “That isn’t really soothing my spirit, Mamaw.”

  Mamaw put her arm around me and hugged me tight. “I’m sorry, sweet girl. But your family will always be here. No matter what happens, we’ll always protect and support you. Got that?”

  Warmth creeped from my toes all the way up to my cheeks. “Thanks, Mamaw. I feel much better now. I’m so glad you were here tonight.”

  She kissed my forehead. “God’s timing is always perfect.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Monday Mayhem

  Lola didn’t show up for church on Sunday. Aunt Janie said Madison’s party went a little later than planned. And then Lola slept the rest of the day away, so I didn’t get to talk to her at all.

  God must have known I needed the time to regain my perspective, because by the end of Sunday, I felt energized, and ready to start a new week.

  On Monday, I jumped out of bed an hour early, which startled Kendall, who jammed her pillow over her head.

  “Allie, when is your new house going to be ready?”

  “Oh, come on! I’m not that bad as a roommate. Who are you gonna get to sing with you when I’m gone?” I began to hum one of Kendall’s new melodies.

  Kendall sat up. “You’re chipper this morning.”

  “Well,” I began smoothing my blankets on my bed and choosing my outfit for the day. “We have a steering committee meeting today after school, so I’m hoping we’ll get some things back on track. I’m focusing on giving all my cares and worries to God.”

  “But first there’s school,” Kendall said. “And Mr. Vicker told us that we actually have to work this week.”

  I turned and pushed my hands out from both sides of my face, forming a tunnel that pointed toward Kendall. “Focus, Kendall. 1 Peter 5:7.”

  She yawned, stretched, and finally managed to stand. “Gotcha. Hey, maybe I’ll get paired with Parker for the science project.”

  I sighed and shook my head. “You are shameless.”

  “And now that I’m up, I’m also hungry. I hope Hunter hasn’t eaten all the cereal.”

  It was my mom’s turn to take us all to school, and I wanted to sit by Lola, so I jumped in the back seat of the SUV instead of riding my normal shotgun.

  “You sit up front,” I said to Hunter

  “Cool!” Hunter jumped up in his seat and held up his cardboard tube. “Made some more adjustments to the Dimple-Dunk 5000. We almost had to change the name to the Dimple-Dunk 6000!”

  “What are you talking about, Hunter?” Mom asked.

  “It’s a plan to bring in money for the animal shelter. Lots of it! Can I present my idea to the committee today, Allie? Mr. Dimple needs the go-ahead soon so he can start building.”

  “Let me see what’s on Miss Lewis’s agenda when I get to school, and I’ll let you know.”

  We pulled up to Ruby and Lola’s house, and I gestured to Lola to sit by me in the way back.

  “So, how was the party?”

  Lola slouched, and ran her hand through the pink streak in her hair. “It was all right.”

  “All right? That’s all?”

  Lola settled in and buckled her seatbelt. “Pretty much. The girls were nice. We played games, ate a bunch of junk food, sang karaoke, and danced.”

  I stared her down.

  “Oh, yeah, and we gave each other manicures.” Lola held up her hands to show me her magenta-colored nails. “See?”

  “Okay, so did you take any pictures of Madison’s room? I’m dying to see what they did after they knocked the wall out.”

  “Yeah, I did. I remembered right before the party was over and I asked Madison if she could give me a tour of the house. She was happy to let me take pictures. Wanna see?”

  Lola wiggled her eyebrows up and down, and pulled the phone out of her jacket pocket.

  “Of course, I want to see!”

  Lola poked her screen and frowned. “What are these pictures?”

  She scrolled and then showed me about twenty selfies of the girls I met by the pool on Saturday.

  “Those sneaky girls,” Lola said. “They must have gotten a hold of my phone. I thought I lost it Saturday night, but then Veronica said she found it under a pillow in the morning. They must have had it that whole time, taking selfies.”

  “No wonder you didn’t return my texts.”

  “You should really put a password on your phone, Lola,” Ruby said.

  “I guess so. But no one’s ever messed with it before.”

  Lola scrolled past the selfies and finally got to a couple of pictures of Madison’s room. I gasped. It looked a lot like the room Kendall and I stayed in at the movie star home in Hollywood a few months ago. White quilt, white lace curtains, and a coffee table.

  A coffee table—in a girl’s room.

  “Well, she wasn’t kidding when she said she made improvements. It’s beautiful.”

  Lola shrugged. “It’s fancy, and I like all the style and detail, but it lacks the coziness and charm it used to have when you lived there.”

  “And clutter,” Kendall added.

  “Okay, I’ll take that as a compliment—from both of you.” I stared closer at the picture. “Where’s all her stuff? Doesn’t she have any books? Stuffed animals? Souvenirs? This looks like a hotel room.”

  “Uh, she
has a huge walk-in closet,” Lola said. “But I mostly saw clothes in there, so who knows?”

  “Did you see Parker?” Kendall asked.

  I rolled my eyes at her.

  “No. Madison banished Parker and her dad to the game room. I heard some bomb blasts throughout the night. Madison said they planned to watch guy movies and eat stacks of pizzas.”

  “That’s what I would do,” Hunter said.

  “And did she like her gift?”

  Lola reached up to touch the matching necklace she had on. “Yes. And she wanted us both to wear them today. I’m not really into doing the twin thing, but it seemed like it meant a lot to her.”

  “I meant the Bible verse. Did she like that?”

  “She didn’t really say. But it doesn’t matter. I just pray she’ll keep it and that it will encourage her. She’s been going through a lot, with the divorce and the move and all.”

  I love Lola’s heart.

  Hmmm. Maybe I’ve been a little harsh, calling Madison “Mad-girl.”

  “Did you know that Madison’s mom is a clothes model?”

  “Really?” I hadn’t ever given a thought to Madison’s mom before. “That must be why she’s drawn to you, then. You could be a model.”

  “Madison said that’s why she lives with her dad, because her mom travels so much. But I guess she’s taking Madison to Paris for the whole summer. It’s practically all she could talk about all night.”

  “Is Parker going too?”

  Ruby pointed her thumb at Kendall. “Does she have a crush, or what?”

  “Ya think?” I bopped Kendall in the back of the head.

  “Parker’s not going,” Hunter added from the front seat. “He said that would be the most boring thing he could think to do in the summer. He’s stayin’ here and we’re gonna hang out and explore the woods together.”

  Kendall sighed. “Oh, good.”

  When we pulled into the parking lot of the school, Madison was waiting on the curb. She was wearing another flowery dress—this one purple with pink flowers all over. And, of course, bracelets.

  “Hi, Lola. I wore my necklace.” She pulled it away from her neck with both thumbs. “I really, really love it.” Madison ignored every other person who piled out of the SUV.

  “I’m glad,” Lola said.

  “Do you want to walk to class together? I’ll show you some of the pictures we took at the party.” Madison turned toward the quad and took her phone out of her backpack.

  “Yeah,” Lola said. “And I have some photos to show you too.” They walked away, toward the dreaded room 220—to brave a whole Monday with Miss Lewis.

  I spent every free moment that morning working on Bark Fest details. Mr. Vicker didn’t make it very easy with all the work he was assigning. By lunch, I felt like I needed to go to the library and work some more, instead of hanging out with my cousins, so I’d be ready for the long meeting after school. The more I worked on the carnival details, the more excited I got about the whole thing. This Bark Fest really was a good idea! At one point, I took my phone out to check Madison’s funding page. It still read the same as before—promising the winner an appearance on her dad’s show—and the donations were up to five-thousand dollars!

  Lord, please help me know what to do about this. I’m giving this worry to you. Madison’s the fundraising chairperson, so help me to focus on the other stuff.

  I dialed the animal shelter, and Mr. Felix answered.

  “Hello, Mr. Felix? This is Allie Carroway . . . Yes, I know . . . The Bark Fest is going to be great . . . that sounds wonderful . . . I’m sure Mr. Dimple could help you design plans for all those upgrades. Mr. Felix, I was wondering if you reserved the Kiroli dog park for the 15th . . . You did? That’s great! Okay, then I’m going to have some flyers made up and get those handed out to all the kids at our school . . . Yes, I’m very excited. Also, do you think your employees would be willing to be judges for the dog show? . . . Awesome. Thanks, Mr. Felix. . . . You, too. Bye.”

  I sat there at the little table in the deserted library and took in a deep breath.

  So far, so good.

  I finished up my school day with choir and math. Mr. Vicker brought his boards, and I got to kick one. It had been such a productive day that by the time the bell rang, I was ready to stroll into that steering committee meeting and grab the wheel.

  On my way over, Lola stopped me. She looked white as a marshmallow.

  “Allie, I have to talk to you. Something’s up.”

  I took my heavy backpack off and set it on the ground.

  “What’s going on, Lola? Are you sick?”

  She grabbed her stomach, and looked down at the ground. She breathed in, blew it out, and then looked up at the clouds. Her eyes filled with tears.

  I was sure someone had died, or was on their way to being dead.

  I grabbed her by both shoulders. “What? It’s okay, you can tell me.”

  Lola started all-out crying then. I picked up my backpack and led her to a table in the quad.

  We sat there for a few minutes. Lola was inconsolable. Where were the other cousins? I was going to have to leave for my meeting soon.

  Finally, Lola looked up at me and spoke. “Allie, your skit is on the Internet.”

  She might as well have been speaking French, because what she said made no sense.

  “What are you talking about? What skit?”

  “The one from Comedy Night. The Lewis-Beetle skit. It’s online. And there’s already been tons of hits and shares and comments, and people are so upset . . .”

  “The Lewis-Beetle skit? You mean the one I did for our family? You must be mistaken. No one would put that online. It was private.”

  Lola just looked at me and wiped her nose with a napkin that had been left on the table.

  My heart began pounding faster and faster. This couldn’t be true, could it? The only one who videoed that silly skit was Lola.

  “Lola, I know you wouldn’t post that video, so it can’t be online. I mean—how could that happen?”

  Lola took out her phone, sniffed some more, and pulled up her FriendClips app. She opened to a girl’s page named “Frenelope.” Then I saw it. A post titled “SPM mocks FPM. Can she be trusted?” There was a video attached, and the start screen showed a picture of me, standing in my Aunt Kassie and Uncle Wayne’s living room, about to begin my Lewis-Beetle performance. A start arrow covered my face.

  “Do I dare click this?” I asked Lola. “Is the whole skit on this video?”

  Lola nodded and her shoulders heaved up and down.

  I clicked, and watched in horror as I detailed the flaws of Miss Lewis—our Faculty Project Manager—and then I got hit in the face with the pie.

  It was the hilarious turned horrific. Out there for all to see.

  One thousand ninety-one views so far. And 541 comments.

  “Who is this Frenelope? And how did she get this video?”

  All Lola could do was shake her head and cry.

  But then I knew.

  The party. The “lost” phone.

  Mix that with a trusting cousin and a bully in the bayou who wanted to see me drown.

  I should have kept my eyes open wider, Mamaw.

  “Allie! There you are!” Ruby came running over. “Have you seen . . .”

  I put my hand up to stop her words. She froze and put a hand over her mouth when she saw her sister drowning in a puddle of tears.

  “Did they steal the video from your phone, sis?”

  Lola didn’t say anything.

  “Oh, no! How can anyone be so cruel?” She sat down next to Lola and put her arm around her shoulders.

  Kendall was next to arrive. She looked around at the messy scene. “Everyone’s seen it. I can’t believe this is happening. Just like wildfire and peanut butter.”

  “Can we take it off?” Ruby asked. “Is there a way to delete it before it spreads anymore?” She scrolled on her phone and poked the screen a couple of times. “I d
on’t know how to do that, do you, Allie?”

  I shook my head, and in the distance, I saw Miss Lewis heading to the library.

  I looked at the time on my phone. Steering committee meeting in ten minutes.

  God, help!

  I stood, and straightened myself up. “Okay, I have to go to a meeting.” I put my hand on Lola’s back. “Lola, I know you would never do anything to hurt anyone—especially me.”

  Lola looked up and wiped some more tears with the soggy napkin.

  “On your way home, try to find out if there is a way to delete the video. Maybe we can figure out who this Frenelope is and ask her to please take it down. I bet it’s a fake account started by one of the girls at the party. Until we figure it out, we’ll just have to pray that it all dies down.”

  “Do you think Miss Lewis knows about it yet?” Kendall asked.

  I glanced toward the library. “I bet she doesn’t. She’s all business. Probably doesn’t have time or interest in social media.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Ruby said.

  Me too.

  CHAPTER 20

  Burgers and Indigestion

  My outlook on the meeting had changed in an instant. I was no longer looking to grab the wheel. Now I just hoped to buckle my seatbelt and hang on for dear life.

  When I entered the library, there sat Madison, Samara, and Ronnie. There were a few other kids too—recruits we were supposed to bring on this day. Miss Lewis had her back to me—making some copies on the machine in the corner.

  My classmates stared at me as I approached the table. Had they seen the video? Then I noticed all their phones sitting on the table, among the spiral notebooks and pencils.

  Yes, of course they had seen it.

  Miss Lewis turned and walked back to the table with the copies. “Carroway, I’m glad you’re finally here so we can get started.”

  Madison held a post-it note up in my direction. It said “Lewis-Beetle” and there was an arrow pointing toward Miss Lewis. She smirked and then she crumpled it up and shoved it in her backpack.