The Slumber Party Payback

  To Naeemal: You know what it’s like putting big brothers in check.

  —D.B.

  To the Brantley, Curry, Garrett, Jean, Key, and Newton Clans. For the future of Zoe, Ben, Chyna, and Isabel.

  —Auntie V.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1: Toads and Vinegar

  Chapter 2: Okay, Let’s Try This Again

  Chapter 3: Are You Surprised?

  Chapter 4: Ro-proof Fun

  Chapter 5: Oh, the Horror!

  Chapter 6: The Last Straw

  Chapter 7: Say Cheeeeese!

  Chapter 8: Pretty-boy Ro

  Chapter 9: Who’s Laughing Now?

  Chapter 10: When a Prankster Makes Good

  Chapter 11: He’s Still My Brother

  Sneak Peek at Ruby Flips for Attention

  About the Author

  Card Page

  Copyright

  No matter how many times I try to forget, I just can’t. It seems like only yesterday….

  This June, I hosted my very first sleepover. It was the second day of summer. My daddy had just put a new swimming pool in the backyard for us. All of my friends, all seven of the girls I invited, seemed to show up at the same time: Teresa Petticoat, my best friend; Mona Sweetroll; Claudia, Sarafina, and Toots, three girls from my old school; and the Piccolo twins from up the block.

  Daddy had burgers and hot dogs on the grill. My big brother Marcellus was the DJ. Also, almost all of the girls were drooling over him … as usual. Another (and sweetest) big brother, Tyner, was helping Ma fill up the cooler with peach, grape, and mango sodas.

  Everybody was having a great time, but there was something wrong. Things were going too-too-too well. All of my friends were about to get into the pool when I heard Teresa scream, “GOODNESS ALIVE! TOADS! SLIMY, SNOT-COVERED TOADS!!!” And that was the beginning of the end.

  I looked down. A million toads started hopping out of the grass and onto our patio. Yuck! They were every color of green that girls don’t like, from dried-up booger all the way to funky foot fungus.

  Daddy was doing everything he could to run the toads back into the grass, but more kept coming. Ma and Ty jumped on one of the picnic tables. Marcellus helped Daddy.

  The toads had pushed me and my friends closer to the pool. We all plunked into the water with a big splash to escape the gross little green monsters. The toads couldn’t leap high enough to get into the pool.

  I thought everything was fine until I looked over at my friends. Everybody had turned the color of a tennis ball. Their hair and skin were bright yellow-green. I looked down at myself and I was green, too!

  “Ruby, what is this? What’s wrong with your pool water, girl?!!” Mona Sweetroll yelled. At first I didn’t know. When we jumped in, it was clear. All of a sudden, we were floating in what looked like a pool full of lemonade. Then I remembered that stuff called Pool Prank that you buy at the party store. It’s a harmless juice that people put in their pools to play tricks on swimmers. It washes off after you get out of the pool, but it’s still a mean trick. I started screaming then. I could put up with some stinky old toads, but yellow-green hair? That was too much for me to handle.

  “Daddy, Daddy, is it okay for us to get out? Are the toads all gone?” I cried.

  “It’s fine, Ruby. You girls will be okay,” my daddy said while he helped us out of the pool one at a time. He sprayed us clean with the hose, then he ran the toads out of our backyard with the hose water. “Someone put Pool Prank in the water,” Daddy said.

  All the toads seemed to have disappeared. Ma and Ty hopped down off the table. I looked over at my friends. They were mad, they were crying, and they were not having fun anymore.

  Something told me to look up at the house, so I did. Standing in his bedroom window was my other, other big brother, Roosevelt. He likes to call himself Ro Rowdy. It should be Ro Rotten, because I knew he had something to do with this mess.

  He looked down at me with a mean smile and waved. He had the look of a villain on his face. Then he held up his other hand and used his dirty fingers to count down from five.

  Five … four … three … two … one.

  At the number one, the sprinklers in the backyard came on. Just like that. All of my friends were running around and screaming. The worst part of it all was that the sprinklers weren’t spouting water. They were spraying vinegar!

  I don’t know how Ro made that happen. What I wondered the most as I stood there smelling like a great big yucky Easter egg was why Ro had done this to me.

  My teacher, Miss Fuqua, called out to me. “Ruby Booker! Ruby Booker! I think you dropped this. Put it in your pocket or in your fancy guitar book bag, superstar.” I was running out to after-lunch recess. School had started again.

  Miss Fuqua handed over one of my special slumber-party-sleepover-jam invitations. I’d made them myself. Ma had mailed them on Monday, and I’d brought extras to school. I was hoping everyone would come. Who could say no? Who in their right mind wouldn’t like my invites?

  Ruby’s Slumber-Party-Sleepover-Jam

  Friday, September 6, 5 p.m. — Saturday, September 7, 10 a.m.

  5388 Chill Brook Avenue

  RSVP by September 4

  Your Fabulous Hostess:

  Ruby Marigold Booker

  Can’t wait to see you all!

  “Hey there, girlie. I got mine yesterday,” my best friend, Teresa Petticoat, bubbled. She was peeking over my shoulder. I finished reading the invite and slid it in my sock. The yellow sock, not the red one.

  “My ma gave an invite to your ma on Monday, Teresa. How come you’re just now reading it on Wednesday?” I asked.

  “You know how things just slip my mind, Ruby,” Teresa said. “Besides, it doesn’t matter. You know I’m going to be there. I wouldn’t miss your slumber party for the world.”

  “I hope everybody else feels that way. Remember the last slumber party, when Ro played those mean jokes on us? What a mess,” I said.

  “That was months ago. I don’t even think any of the girls remember what Ro did. At least I hope not.” Teresa shrugged.

  “Don’t remember? I still have nightmares about my last sleepover.”

  “Me, too,” Teresa said quietly. Then she asked, “So why are you having another one?”

  “You know me, T. I’m not going to let one bad time keep me down. Ro, or a snowstorm, or even a backyard full of toads couldn’t stop me,” I said.

  “I have to admit, Ruby, I shiver every time I think about those toads. You know how much all animals make my skin crawl.”

  “I sure do. Remember when we had that lady from the zoo bring those orangutans to school?”

  Teresa nodded fast. “Girl, I could not come out from under the desk.”

  “Don’t worry, T. There will be no orangutans at my next slumber party.”

  Teresa looked relieved. “Have any of the girls from our old school answered your invite?” she asked. “How about the Piccolo twins?”

  “Nope. I haven’t heard from any of the girls who came to the last party,” I said. “Actually, the twins haven’t spoken to me since the last sleepover.”

  Teresa looped me by the arm and led me to the jungle gym, where the fourth- and fifth-grade girls hang out during recess. “Don’t worry, Ruby,” Teresa said. “I know you invited Toya Tribbles and Iris Solo, two of the really nice and really popular fifth-grade girls. Let’s ask them now if they’ll be coming.”

  “I don’t know, T. Maybe we should just wait and see if they say anything about my party.” I pulled away from Teresa. I didn’t want to be turned down by a bunch of older girls, especially to my face.

  “Come on,
Ruby. It couldn’t hurt to ask.” Teresa started pulling at me again.

  When Teresa and I walked over to where the big girls were hanging out, Toya and Iris were there. They live up the block from us. We have known each other for what feels like forever. Toya Tribbles goes to our church, and Iris Solo gets dance lessons from my ma.

  Toya came up to us first. “Hey, girl. Cute socks,” she said.

  “Thanks, Toya.” Most of the time when people say something nice about my outfit I say something nice back. It’s only right. “Your top is cute, too. You know purple is one of my favorite colors.”

  Iris came over and said, “Hey, y’all. Ruby, are you coming to dance practice tomorrow with your ma?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll be there. You know I’m not a good dancer,” I said. Teresa nudged me. She wanted me to stop stalling and just ask them about the invites. “What I was really wondering was if you guys got the slumber party invites my ma sent out.”

  Toya looked away. Then Iris looked down at her cute pink sneakers. Finally, Toya said, “Look Ruby, we like you. You know that, girl. But I don’t think we’ll be coming.”

  “Why not?! It’s going to be fun. You won’t forget it,” I said. I couldn’t believe they were turning me down!

  Iris said, “Well, we heard just how fun your parties are. Your brother Ro made sure of that.”

  “How’d you know about that? It’s going to be different this time. Promise.” I really wanted them to come.

  “I don’t know about you, but I don’t like frogs, I hate the smell of vinegar, and they tell me that some of those girls still have that yellow-green stuff in their hair.” Iris rolled her eyes.

  “Toads,” I mumbled. I was starting to bubble over with anger.

  “What?” Toya remarked.

  “They were toads, not frogs!” I grabbed Teresa’s arm and stormed away. I wasn’t really mad at Toya and Iris. I guess it was Ro who had me steaming.

  “So what are you going to do now, Ruby?” Teresa asked.

  “I don’t know. It looks like it’s going to be just you and me, T,” I grumbled.

  “You’re not acting like the Ruby Booker I know,” Teresa said, waving a finger at me. “Ruby, if you have any more of those invites on you, we could pass some of them out. Your party’s two whole days away. Plus, there’s still Mona Sweetroll.”

  “Oh, yeah! I almost forgot about Mona. I haven’t heard from her at all,” I said. Recently, Mona and her family moved off the block to another town, where she goes to a different school. It hasn’t been the same ever since she left Bellow Rock. Mona is so funny and cool. I sure miss her! I wish I could call Mona on the phone, but it’s long distance, and that costs money. Daddy reminds me of this every time I pick up the phone and start to dial Mona’s number. To make it worse, Mona has no e-mail address. “There’s always the old-fashioned way,” Daddy says. “Letters.”

  I hope and pray Mona got the invite I mailed with a letter begging her to come.

  “So what do you say about passing out the rest of those invites?” Teresa asked.

  I thought about it for a minute. The people I wanted to invite hadn’t answered yet. Asking girls to come to my party now, only two days away, would look like I couldn’t get anyone to come. But the truth was, I couldn’t get anyone to come, and I really wanted to have a good party!

  I ran over to my guitar-shaped book bag, which hung on the fence, and pulled out the rest of the invites.

  We asked two girls from our third-grade class. First, there was Sammie Wingtips. We caught her right before she went down the slide. She looked at my invite and giggled like somebody was tickling her feet. Then she said, “I don’t think so, Ruby Booker. I heard you can catch warts if a frog rubs up against you. And your parties have frogs!”

  “Toads, not frogs!” I squawked.

  “Well, put Sammie down as a big fat no,” Teresa said.

  Next, there was Cleo Washington. I knew she was going to say yes. She was new to our third-grade class, and she probably hadn’t heard about the disaster at my last party.

  I tried to get Cleo excited about my sleepover. “So, how ’bout it, Cleo? It’s gonna be the jam. You won’t want to miss it, girl.”

  She took the invitation, then handed it back and said, “I think we’re going out of town this weekend.”

  I didn’t believe her. She looked like she was trying to back out of the party like Sammie did. So I asked her, “Where are you and your family going, Cleo?”

  “Uhhhh … to the moon,” she said quickly. “Yeah, the moon. My daddy works for the space company, and we’re going to be the f-f-first …” She stumbled over her words. I knew she wasn’t telling the truth.

  I stopped her so that she wouldn’t have to make up anything else. “You know what — that’s okay, Cleo. Have a good time on the moon.” I guess she didn’t want to hurt my feelings. Teresa and I walked away with our heads down.

  Cleo yelled out behind us, “Vinegar breaks me out in hives, Ruby. Plus, I have enough troubles at home with my two brothers. I hope you understand.”

  I didn’t even turn around, but I sure did understand. Ro is always messing stuff up for me. That’s what he’s really good at. Making me miserable. We didn’t even ask anyone else. I thought they would probably turn me down, too.

  “Cheer up, girl,” Teresa said. “It won’t be that bad. If Mona says yes, it’ll be us hanging out again like old times. The Chill Brook Three.” Teresa smiled.

  A sleepover with only three people is not really a slumber party. It’s just two people spending the night at your house. If Mona came all the way from Wallace Park, the sleepover would be special. But I hadn’t heard a thing from Mona.

  Well, it was finally Friday, the day of my sleepover. Teresa and I were waiting by the fence after school. Daddy was going to pick us up and take us somewhere before we went home to begin my sad and sorry party.

  “Ruby, I have never seen such a droopy face before. Maybe on my grandpa’s bloodhound, but I think you might even have him beat,” Teresa joked.

  “I’m sorry, T. This was supposed to be the thing that would make me popular,” I told her.

  “Well, to me, Ruby Booker, you’re always a star,” Teresa said cheerfully. She’s so nice. I guess that’s why I love her so much. “Even though it’ll be just you and me at the party, we’re going to have more fun than a whole heap of sleepovers rolled into one.”

  “Girl, you always know what to say.”

  All of a sudden, my daddy pulled up in his van and honked the horn three times. He always does that. It means “Let’s get a move on.”

  “Come on, Daddy. I can’t wait to get my party started,” I said with a big jumbo-jet smile on my face.

  “Well, look at you,” Daddy said. “This morning, you were all down in the dumps. Now you’re grinning from ear to ear. That’s what I like to see!”

  “Mr. Booker, I’m excited about the party, too,” Teresa said. “Ruby told me you have some surprises for us. So whatcha got?” Teresa folded her arms.

  “It’s a surprise you two won’t believe,” Daddy said as he leaned out of the van window.

  “Try me,” I told him.

  “Okay, girls. Cover your eyes,” Daddy said.

  Teresa and I stood on the curb with our hands over our eyes. Suddenly, I heard the van door unlock automatically. It does that when Daddy pushes one of those little buttons in the front. Then I heard Daddy say, “Okay, look!”

  When we put our hands down we couldn’t believe what we saw. It was Mona Sweetroll!

  “Who’s gonna give me a hug first?” Mona said. She stood in front of the door rolling her eyes for a second and then opened her arms super-wide. Teresa and I gave her a big group hug, just like old times.

  “Hey, Mona. It’s so good to see you. How is it living over in Wallace Park?” I asked her.

  “Don’t you know I love it? Can you believe it reminds me of Bellow Rock?” she said. That’s what’s so cool about Mona. She says thin
gs in a question.

  Plus, her braids are always neat, and she likes cute clothes, just like I do. We shared clothes all the time when she lived on the block.

  Teresa giggled. “I know we’re going to have a good time now.”

  “Don’t we always have a good time when we’re together? What’s going to change that?” Mona said.

  “NOTHING! The Chill Brook Three are back together again!” Teresa and I said at the same time.

  “Come on, ladies. Let’s move on to our next surprise,” Daddy said. We all hopped into the van and headed out.

  I wasn’t sure what the next surprise was going to be, but I didn’t really care. I was with my girls, and that’s all that mattered.

  * * *

  We rolled down Chill Brook Avenue singing “Sweet Tooth,” a song from the new Crazy Cutie Crew CD. Things were just like old times. Mona sang the loudest. Teresa sang out of key. I sang the best. But together, we sounded just as good as the Crew.

  “Those chocolate chips

  Are calling me.

  Those lollipops

  Won’t leave me alone.

  Those candy apples

  Are calling me.

  Corn Crispy Treats

  Won’t leave me alone.

  My teeth are hurting me so,

  but I

  JUST CAN’T SAY NO!”

  We passed our house and then turned onto Fifty-fourth Street. On the corner was my daddy’s store, The Booker Box. We pulled in to the parking lot, and Daddy turned off the van.

  “What are we doing here, Daddy? I know you’re not going to put us to work,” I told him. He laughed.

  “As a matter of fact, the store is closed,” Daddy said before he pushed the button to let us out of the van. We got out and walked toward the building.

  “Closed? The store is never closed on Friday. We need to go in and check this out, Daddy,” I said.

  “I guess we should. This is your second surprise,” Daddy announced.

  Teresa led the way. “Let’s stop stalling. I say we go in and check it out, Mr. Booker.”