“Probably by cleaning it out,” said Bella, running a finger through the dust on a shelf. “That is, if my parents let us.”
“Are you going to ask them?” asked Maddie. When Bella nodded, Maddie grinned. “And you know who’s going to be just as excited as we are?”
“Who?” asked Bella.
“Emily! I can’t wait to tell her the news!”
Chapter 5
The Inside Joke
On Monday, Emily got to school early. She wondered if she should have worn a long-sleeved shirt so Maddie wouldn’t notice that her bracelet was missing. Emily hadn’t seen or talked to Maddie since Friday. Her mom mentioned that Maddie had called while Emily was at the tournament, but Emily was so tired on Sunday night that she went to bed right after finishing her homework.
Emily looked up as kids filed into the classroom. Bella waved to Emily, and Maddie flashed her a big grin.
“How’d the bracelet making go?” asked Emily when the girls sat down.
“Awesome,” said Maddie. “Wait until we show you!”
The hands on the clock seemed to be moving very slowly that morning. Finally the recess bell rang and the girls went outside to the playground. Maddie pulled a big box out of her bag and lifted the lid. It was stuffed to the brim with bracelets.
“Wow!” said Emily. “You guys made so many!”
“And we’re not even done yet,” said Maddie. “We’re just getting started, really.”
Emily was about to offer to help when Bella added, “We would have made more if it hadn’t been for—”
“Marco!” Maddie groaned.
“Who’s Marco?” asked Emily.
“He’s my big brother,” explained Bella. “He said we were making them too small. . . .”
“Because he thought they were dog collars, not bracelets.”
“Yeah, he was all—”
“No, no, he was like—”
Bella and Maddie started to talk over each other, laughing the whole time. Emily touched her wrist where her friendship bracelet would have been. It didn’t matter what shirt she was wearing. Maddie certainly wasn’t going to notice that her bracelet was missing.
Chapter 6
Sam’s Big Ideas
When Emily slid back into her seat before recess ended, she was surprised to find Sam already in his seat, drawing. Out of habit, she glanced over to see what he was creating.
She gasped. Sam had created a huge, incredibly detailed city of birdhouses. In the sky he had drawn all sorts of birds. And each bird had a different kind of home!
Emily tapped Sam on the shoulder.
Startled, Sam covered his notebook.
“Sorry!” said Emily. “I just wanted to tell you that I like your picture. Plus, I think it’s extra cool because I’m making a birdhouse in the art room. That’s where it is now.”
“Really?” said Sam.
Emily nodded. “I designed and built it myself. Though it would be cooler if it looked like that!” she said, pointing at Sam’s drawing.
“Maybe I could help you with it,” suggested Sam.
“That would be great!” said Emily.
At lunchtime Emily waited for Sam, and then they headed for the art room together. Sam’s eyes grew wide when he saw Emily’s birdhouse.
“That’s awesome!” he said. “It would be fun to paint the base yellow. And you could make both sides of the roof go all the way down, then curve up, sort of like wings?”
“Great idea,” said Emily.
“Thanks! But it’s already pretty cool,” Sam told her. “I wish I could build things like this. I guess I’m better at drawing and painting.”
“I could help you with that,” Emily replied. She got out some tools, and Sam gathered paints. Together, they worked on adding pieces to the roof. They did sort of look like bird wings!
“Hey, can I ask you something?” Sam said as he carefully painted the base of the birdhouse.
“Sure,” said Emily.
“Where’s Maddie?” Sam asked. “You guys are always together.”
“Yeah . . . ,” Emily said, trailing off. Then she told Sam how Maddie seemed to only want to hang out with Bella now. And how Maddie had made a friendship bracelet for Bella. “And meanwhile,” Emily continued, “my friendship bracelet fell off last weekend and it’s lost forever. So I guess it’s official: Bella and Maddie are friends, and I’m not.”
“Why don’t you ask Maddie to help you make another one?” asked Sam.
“I don’t know,” admitted Emily.
“You should,” encouraged Sam. “And maybe tell her you feel left out. Sometimes people have no idea how you feel unless you tell them.” Sam was now painting designs on top of the yellow.
Emily stood back and admired their work. Sam’s design ideas were really terrific. His friendship ideas were pretty good too. She decided to take his advice and talk to Maddie in the morning.
Chapter 7
Time to Tell the Truth
The next day Emily kept glancing at Maddie’s desk, waiting for her to appear. She’s probably just running late, Emily thought. But by the time the bell for recess rang, Maddie still hadn’t arrived at school.
On the playground Emily saw Bella sitting by herself with a little notebook.
“Do you know where Maddie is?” Emily asked Bella.
“No,” said Bella. “I was going to ask you. Maybe when we go back in we can see if Ms. Gibbons knows.”
“Okay,” said Emily. She was about to walk away when she saw that Bella had been writing something in her notebook. “What are you writing?” she asked.
Bella looked embarrassed. “Oh, just some calculations.”
“Calculations?” said Emily excitedly. “Like math?”
“Part math and part science,” explained Bella. “Have you ever made a potato clock?”
“Um, no,” said Emily. “Tell me more!”
The two girls huddled over Bella’s notebook. They were so focused on their conversation that they both jumped at the sound of Emily’s name.
It was Sam. “What planet were you on, Emily? I must have called your name ten times,” he said with a laugh.
“Sorry!” said Emily. “Bella was just showing me the coolest thing. Bella, this is Sam. He’s an amazing artist and helped me turn my birdhouse
