Emily pointed at Bella’s notebook, but as she did, Bella noticed Emily’s wrist.
“Emily, where’s your friendship bracelet? The one you always wear?”
Just then the bell rang.
“I . . . uh . . . ,” Emily stammered, getting up. “I lost it at soccer last weekend. I looked all over, but it was gone.”
“Want me to make you a new one?” offered Bella.
“That’s okay,” said Emily. She knew Bella was just trying to be nice, but what she really wanted was her special MAD-ILY bracelet. The one she and Maddie had made together.
After school Emily’s mom picked her up. She agreed to drive by Maddie’s house so Emily could check on her.
When Emily rang the Wilsons’ doorbell, the door swung open. There stood Maddie in her pajamas.
“Hi!” said Maddie, hugging Emily. “Don’t worry. I’m not contagious.”
“Where were you today?” Emily asked, relieved to see that her friend was okay.
“I woke up feeling yucky,” Maddie explained. “But by lunchtime I was okay. My parents kept me home just to be on the safe side. And I’m sooo glad to see you!”
“Me too,” said Emily, and she meant it. Maddie’s mom invited Emily’s mom in for tea while the two girls caught up.
“I’ve been feeling a little yucky lately too,” Emily admitted. “Not sick, though. Just . . . left out.”
“You have?” Maddie asked in surprise. “Why?”
Emily took a deep breath and explained everything.
“Wow,” said Maddie. “Emily, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to make you feel left out at all.”
“I know,” said Emily. “You would never do that on purpose.”
At that moment the phone rang. It was Bella. Emily felt the flip-flop feeling return to her stomach as Maddie chatted happily. But she reminded herself that she’d had a lot of fun with Bella at recess.
Maddie hung up the phone. “Guess what?” she said excitedly. Then she told Emily all about the shed full of treasures. “And Bella just invited both of us to start cleaning it out!”
“Cool!” Emily exclaimed. Then she had an idea. “Can we make one stop on the way?”
When Maddie nodded, Emily borrowed a phone and their classroom directory.
“Hello, Sam?” she said. “Are you busy? There is something my friends and I want to show you.”
Chapter 8
Crafty Cleanup!
“So, what’s in this thing?” said Sam, peering inside the shed.
“You’ll see!” said Bella, flipping on the light.
“Ohh. I love creepy, crawly— Whoa!” cried Sam. “This is even better than I could have imagined!”
“It’s amazing,” agreed Emily. Everywhere she looked there were tools and pieces of scrap wood, chicken wire, metal, and other building supplies.
“Let’s get started!” said Bella. “This shed is not going to clean itself, as my mom would say.”
So the kids decided to sort everything into piles. Building supplies in one, tools in another, paints in another, knickknacks in another, and so on.
“Where should I put this sketchbook?” asked Maddie, holding it up.
“Oh, that’s mine,” said Sam.
“Can I see?” Bella asked. Sam shrugged and opened it to a random page. A jungle burst forth, with tropical plants, insects, and monkeys.
“That is so cool,” said Bella as Emily and Maddie joined them.
Sam flipped through the sketchbook, feeling more confident now and describing his inspiration for the art inside.
Maddie pointed out a bright butterfly. “I sewed a butterfly costume for my little sister for Halloween last year,” she said.
Bella pointed to some gears Sam had drawn. “I think we have some gears like this in the knickknacks pile. I bet I can figure out something to make with them!”
Emily smiled. This day sure was turning out better than it started.
• • •
It took the kids the rest of the week to clean out the shed. On Saturday afternoon a ray of sunlight came pouring through the shed’s windows, filling the space with a happy glow.
“Wow, look at it now!” said Bella.
The other three kids nodded in agreement. The space had been transformed. It seemed a lot bigger empty. And all their treasures were sitting in bins and bags, just waiting to be used.
“Hey, Bella?” asked Emily. “What’s the shed going to be used for now?”
Bella shrugged her shoulders. “Beats me. Why?”
Emily looked around thoughtfully. “Well, it looks to me like the perfect crafting studio. That is, if you know any kids who like to draw and build and sew and make stuff. . . .”
“We do!” Maddie, Bella, and Sam all shouted at once.
By the time everyone went home for dinner, they had a plan. Over the weekend Bella would ask her family for permission. If the answer was yes, they would all meet at recess on Monday to discuss and draw up plans for their awesome new studio.
Chapter 9
Sew, Paint, Build, Repeat
At school on Monday, Maddie, Emily, and Sam ran to greet Bella.
“So, what did your parents say?” asked Maddie excitedly.
Bella frowned. “They didn’t like the idea,” she said.
“Oh no!” said Emily.
Slowly, the corners of Bella’s mouth turned up. “They didn’t like it,” she repeated. “They loved it!”
Maddie, Emily, and Sam stared at Bella for a moment. Then they realized what she had just said and they started cheering.
The kids spent recess brainstorming ideas for the studio: everything from a chalkboard wall to an indoor swing to a foldout desk with room for sewing and working on a computer.
After school they gathered at Bella’s house.
“Okay, what should we do first?” asked Maddie.
“Worktable?” suggested Bella.
“I’m on it!” said Emily. She showed the others how to measure twice, sand surfaces, secure corners, and determine if the top was level. “Ta-da!” she said finally. “Ready for a coat of paint.”
“I think I can handle that,” said Sam with a smile. “Speaking of painting, what if we did a mural on one wall?” He showed them a sketch.
Maddie clapped her hands with excitement. “I know
