Emily sighed and cleared her tray. Alone, she headed for the art room.
Chapter 3
The
Un
-Friendship Bracelet
The next day Emily brought lunch from home so she could sit down at the exact same time as Maddie and Bella. But once again the other girls chatted nonstop and Emily felt invisible. When Emily finished eating, she went back to the art room.
The following day at lunch, Emily retreated to the art room even sooner. Mrs. Lee often left the radio on, which made the art room feel extra cozy and homey. Plus Emily was really enjoying seeing her birdhouse project progress.
On Thursday, Emily didn’t even sit down in the cafeteria. She just took her lunch to the art room and got to work as soon as she finished her sandwich.
When everyone returned to the classroom after lunch, Emily noticed something new on Bella’s wrist.
“Where’d you get that bracelet?” Emily asked.
“Oh, it’s a friendship bracelet! Just like yours!” Bella said excitedly. “Maddie made this one for me. But she taught me how to make them myself too.”
Emily’s stomach did a flip-flop, but she didn’t say anything. Maddie was teaching Bella how to make friendship bracelets now?
On Friday morning the class had art. Emily was adding a few details to her birdhouse when she heard someone say, “Whoa! That’s awesome.”
She turned and was surprised to see Maddie admiring her work.
“Thanks,” said Emily. “I’ve been working on it all week. See, this is where birds can perch, and then this chamber is for bird food.”
“So creative,” said Maddie. “Want to get together tomorrow? I was thinking we could make friendship bracelets for the charity bake sale.”
When Emily looked confused, Maddie laughed. “Not to eat,” she said. “Cookies are awesome, but wouldn’t it be cool to make something totally unique?”
Emily thought about it. It was a great idea. And she especially liked the thought of working on a project, just her and Maddie. But then she remembered something. “Ugh! I have a soccer tournament this weekend,” she told Maddie. “So . . . I can’t.”
“Can’t what?” asked Bella, coming over.
Maddie explained her idea for the bake sale.
“That’s such a good idea!” said Bella enthusiastically. “Do you guys need help?”
“Actually, Emily has soccer this weekend,” Maddie told Bella. “But I could definitely use some help! Let’s make a plan later!”
• • •
That weekend, at the soccer tournament, Emily felt totally off. I wonder what they’re doing right now, she kept thinking.
“Wake up, Emily!” one of her teammates yelled as the ball and several players flew past her.
When the final whistle blew, Emily trudged off the field. Usually she’d average two or three goals per game. Today she hadn’t scored a single one. She reached for her water bottle—
And gasped! Her wrist was bare. The friendship bracelet Emily always wore—the one that matched Maddie’s, that they’d made together, that represented MAD-ILY—was gone.
Emily searched the field, running up and down it. But the bracelet was nowhere to be found.
You can make a new one, she tried to reassure herself. But she couldn’t help worrying that maybe the bracelet’s disappearance wasn’t an accident.
Maybe it was a sign. Maybe her friendship bracelet was actually . . . an un-friendship bracelet.
Chapter 4
Hidden Treasure!
When the doorbell rang on Saturday afternoon, Bella glanced nervously around the room. Was everything ready? Was everything perfect? Bella was worried that her new home, which didn’t even have all the furniture moved in yet, would look bad and boring to her new friend.
But her worries disappeared when she opened the door and saw Maddie holding a tower of crafting supplies. Bella laughed and led her into the dining room. Maddie spread out her supplies on every available surface.
“I love your house!” said Maddie.
“Thanks!” said Bella. “My parents have been making my brother and me unpack boxes for, like, ever. So . . . let’s see what you brought!”
“Okay,” said Maddie, “I’ve got my bracelet-making materials, but I also brought some other jewelry-making supplies. And I couldn’t forget my button collection—I’ve made some amazing bracelets out of buttons. Bottlecaps, too, see?”
Bella admired all of Maddie’s creations, and the two girls quickly got to work. The afternoon flew by as they assembled bracelet after bracelet in all colors of the rainbow.
“Are you hungry?” Bella asked Maddie.
Maddie nodded. “Is your dad going to whip us up something awesome?”
“He’s at work,” said Bella. “But if we make popcorn, we can put his homemade spice mix on it.”
“Perfect!” said Maddie.
When the two girls had assembled a big bowl of popcorn and two ice-cold glasses of lemonade, they suddenly noticed there was no room to enjoy their snack. The table was completely covered with bracelets and crafting supplies.
“We can sit in the backyard,” suggested Bella, leading the way.
As they stepped outside, Maddie noticed a small, rickety structure behind Bella’s house. “What’s that?” she asked.
Bella shrugged. “I guess it’s a shed? We just moved in, so I haven’t checked it out yet.”
“Really?” said Maddie. “But it could be filled with hidden treasure! Gold or diamonds . . .”
“Or bugs and snakes,” suggested Bella.
Maddie shuddered at the thought.
“But,” said Bella, “we’ll never know unless we look.”
The two girls examined the door to the shed. There was a latch, but no lock, so they were able to get the door open.
Bella fumbled around and then flicked on the light switch. The two girls gasped at what they saw.
It wasn’t snakes or bugs. It was . . . stuff. Ropes, tools, wood, paints, glass jars of buttons, nuts, bolts and other fasteners, bicycle wheels, chains, planters, and so much more!
“Whoa!” said Bella.
“I know!” said Maddie. “I thought there might be treasure, but I had no idea it would be this amazing! Look at all this cool stuff! And so much of it. Where do
