Alfie almost giggled, hearing the word “pooper.” But she held it together.
“I didn’t ruin your party,” she finally said.
“Oh, sure you didn’t,” Lulu said, shaking her head. “Like we all believe you!” She turned back to the wide-eyed group. “I think nobody should ask Alfie to a party ever again,” she announced. “All year long. That should be her punishment. Right, you guys? Because she’s such a blabbermouth, and she wrecked my sleepover? The best one ever?”
Nobody said anything.
But now no one would look at Alfie—whose heart was beating hard.
This was the complete opposite of her wish for everyone to be—and stay—friends at the same time.
How could things go so wrong in just four measly days?
“So that’s settled,” Lulu said, brushing her hands together as if getting rid of some pesky dirt. She was acting as if she had just won a huge argument, and the girls were all cheering her on—which they were not. “Party pooper,” Lulu said again as she swept past Alfie.
That was it for Alfie. “I don’t think you can be a party pooper if the party never happens in the first place,” she pointed out in a loud voice. “And don’t you have to be there to, um, poop the party?”
Uh-oh, she thought, her mouth starting to twitch. Don’t laugh, she told herself. That would just make everything worse!
If that was even possible.
But it was too late, because a couple of other girls were already giggling.
And Lulu heard them.
“Like you were ever gonna be invited, Alfie Jakes,” Lulu said, whirling around. “Stop laughing, you guys!” she yelled, stomping her foot—like a kindergarten baby, Alfie couldn’t help but think.
And just like that, she felt sorry for Lulu.
Sure, Lulu had messed up and done something wrong, bragging about her sleepover the way she had.
Making Bella cry.
Hurting other girls’ feelings.
Blaming Alfie for no reason.
And then trying to get the other girls to punish her.
But she knew Lulu Marino. And being laughed at was something that Lulu could not stand.
“I’m sorry about your party,” Alfie called after Lulu as the angry girl stormed her way across the playground. “Really, Lulu! Because it sounded like the best sleepover ever!”
But Lulu didn’t answer.
15 Ready for a Party
“So, it’s over, right?” Alfie’s mom asked that Thursday night as she and Alfie were making dinner. Tuesdays and Thursdays were Alfie’s evenings to help prepare the meal. EllRay got Mondays and Wednesdays. “Lulu’s sleepover has been called off,” Mrs. Jakes said, spelling it out. “Things must have started to settle down today.”
If you say so, Alfie wanted to tell her mom, though rude comments like that did not fly in her house. They led to family meetings, heart-to-heart talks, and, worst of all, “consequences.” Mr. and Mrs. Jakes were big on consequences when their kids did something wrong.
But things had not “settled down” in Mr Havens’s class that day. And Alfie was feeling frazzled.
Lulu still believed that Alfie was the one who had tattled about the sleepover.
And Suzette Monahan was as mad as Lulu that there wasn’t going to be a party.
And Phoebe—one of the upset girls whose parents had made last night’s phone calls—blushed each time Alfie looked her way.
And Arletty, the other upset girl, was sad that everyone else was sad.
And Bella had been jumpy all day.
“Alfie?” Mrs. Jakes was saying, pausing as she peeled a carrot. “Things settled down today once the sleepover was called off, right?”
“A little,” Alfie said from the sink, where she was washing some potatoes. She could not look her mom in the eye. She seemed so hopeful!
But Alfie was determined to keep her “in the loop” a little, at least, the way her mother had asked the night before. Life would just be easier that way, Alfie figured.
Alfie Jakes did not like it when life got tangled-up and complicated.
“Why did things settle down only a little?” her mom asked, taking a seat at the kitchen island. “Sit down, Alfie. Talk to me.”
“But these potatoes—”
“Princess could use a nice warm lap to curl up in,” her mother said. “The potatoes can wait. Speak, sweetie,” Mrs. Jakes told Alfie.
“Okay,” Alfie said, picking up the kitten. “Well, like I thought, Lulu thinks I was the one who told on her and ruined her party,” she reported gloomily. “Even though I didn’t do it. But nothing is ever gonna change her mind. I think some girls even believe her. Suzette does, for sure. And Lulu told everyone never to invite me to a party again—all year long. So there goes second grade.”
“They won’t listen to her,” Mrs. Jakes said. “They were probably just afraid to say anything.”
“But a couple of the girls are mad because they were sure they were going to be invited,” Alfie argued as Princess purred in her lap. “So they figure they missed out on one really fun party. ‘The best sleepover ever.’”
“What about the other girls in your class?” Mrs. Jakes asked, tilting her head.
“I don’t know,” Alfie replied as she stared down at her hands. “Some of them blame me, probably.”
Mrs. Jakes considered what Alfie had just told her. “You girls were really ready for a party, it sounds like,” she finally said. “I mean, you’ve been together for a month now, with a new teacher, and that’s something to celebrate. So it only makes sense that you were all ready for a good time. Celebrate the small things, I always say.”
“I guess,” Alfie said, thinking about it. “It did sound fun,” she admitted to her mom.
“Listen. You know I will do anything I can to help you get through this, don’t you, sweetie?” Alfie’s mother asked after a few silent moments.
“Mm-hmm,” Alfie said, nodding. “Only there’s nothing you can do.”
“Maybe we can come up with some ideas,” her mom suggested.
“We only need one idea,” Alfie said. “But it would have to be a good one.”
“Such as?”
