Teeny Weeny Zucchinis Page 3

  “I have something to show you,” said Rachel, in her dream.

  She held out her hand, and it had a ring on it. A big diamond ring.

  “Jody gave it to me,” said the dream Rachel. “We are getting married in the bandstand in the park today.”

  Rachel had a long white wedding dress on, and her parents and all the Pee Wees were throwing rice. Mrs. Peters was saying, “Rice is something we harvest in our state!”

  An organ was playing “Here Comes the Bride,” and Mary Beth, Molly’s best friend, was a bridesmaid! She was dressed in a long pink dress and a white apron and she was eating a pumpkin cookie.

  The next thing Molly knew, her dad was shaking her awake and saying, “Molly! Molly! Wake up! You must be having a bad dream. You kept shouting, ‘He likes me! My crystal ball says he likes me!’ ”

  Even though she was still half asleep, Molly was embarrassed. It was embarrassing to talk in your sleep!

  By morning Molly was all worn out. These dreams were warnings! She had to solve her problems right away.

  “What does a gypsy look like?” asked Molly at breakfast.

  “A fortune-teller gypsy has long earrings on,” said her mother. “And a scarf tied around her head. A bright, cheerful one.”

  “And she has a robe on, with long sleeves,” said Mr. Duff. “And lots of shiny rings on her fingers.”

  “You could borrow my bathrobe,” he added. “It has big full sleeves that would do the job.”

  “And I have a bright scarf and some earrings,” said her mom. “I could even find some old rings in my jewelry box.”

  Molly felt better. She gathered the things together and tried them on. The robe was just right because it came down to the floor on her, and the sleeves were big and loose. The scarf had a long fringe and looked just right for a fortune-teller, her mom told her. With the jewelry, she’d be so real she would probably be able to tell real fortunes. People would think she was a real gypsy! But the most important thing of all was that she would have a costume and not be in her underwear!

  “You’ll tell better fortunes than Rachel and Jody,” said Mary Beth when they met later in the day. “They have to make up pictures from those tea leaves. Yours is easier.”

  Molly didn’t want to be competing with Jody. She wanted to be on his side.

  “You need makeup,” said Mary Beth. “I’ll run home and get some.”

  When Mary Beth came back, she had her sister’s bright red lipstick and eye makeup with her. She put it on Molly carefully.

  “Wow!” said Molly, looking into her mirror. “I really am a fortune-teller!”

  When her parents saw her, her dad swept into a low bow and said, “Oh swami, tell me what fate is to befall me, Your Highness.”

  Then he got out the car and they loaded the crystal ball into it. Then they stopped at Mary Beth’s for boxes and boxes of her mother’s cookies. At the festival, the signs were already up in front of the booths.

  “Look!” said Mary Beth. “You’re right next to Rachel and Jody!”

  Rat’s knees, thought Molly. Why did they put two fortune-tellers together? All around the park, people were coming with food to sell. The rides were humming and music was playing. Loudspeakers were saying, “Get your hot dogs over here,” and Pee Wees in uniform wandered about helping people and moving into booths.

  Mary Beth was right across from Molly.

  Tracy’s acorns were next to Rachel and Jody.

  Roger was selling his zucchini bread next to Mary Beth. Molly was glad to see there was no organ playing the wedding march.

  “No one will buy his bread,” Molly said with a sniff.

  “Come and have a cup of herbal tea,” called Rachel to people who walked by. “Buy a cup and let us read your tea leaves free!”

  As people lined up for tea, Roger called, “Eat my bread with your tea!”

  He tried to drag two people to his booth! Mr. Peters had to come and release them.

  Jody was sitting in his wheelchair behind the table that held Rachel’s mother’s silver teapot. He was pouring tea into cups for the customers.

  “Cream or sugar?” Rachel would ask each one.

  Rat’s knees, there was a long line for tea! Why wasn’t anyone at Molly’s stand? Molly stared at Roger’s stand. There was a line of people now, and his zucchini bread was almost gone!

  Mrs. Duff had put her lace tablecloth on Molly’s little table and set the vase on it upside down. Then she and Mr. Duff had gone to play lawn darts. All Molly could do was wait. After a while it felt lonely. She drew little pictures of Jody on her notepad. She wrote his name with hers. Then she put a heart around it.

  As she sat there, Sonny rode by. He was pulling a wagon that was decorated like a motorcycle! The wagon held two children. Sonny was making motorcycle noises. He stopped at Roger’s stand and tried to get the zucchini eaters to take a ride.

  “Get out of here, Stone!” yelled Roger. “Quit stealing my customers!”

  “You stole our customers!” shouted Rachel.

  Sonny rode off.

  “Vroooom, vrooom!” he screamed as he left.

  Mary Beth was pointing for Molly to look. Sonny’s ride was worse than being on a bike with training wheels! He didn’t even have a cycle!

  “At least he has customers,” grumbled Mary Beth, looking at Rachel and Jody’s long line. “I only had three people.”

  “I haven’t had any,” said Molly. “One fortune is enough for people, I guess, and they get tea to drink too.”

  Now Roger was shouting, “My zucchini bread is all gone! Look at all the money I made!” Roger ran his hands through the coins. They jingled. “Hey, I’m a millionaire!” he said.

  As the day went on, things did not get any better for Molly. She had one customer. It was Tim Noon.

  “But I don’t want to go on a boat trip,” he said. “I’m scared of water! I want my money back. You’re not really a gypsy anyway—you’re just Molly.”

  “Wait,” said Molly, holding up her hand.

  “I read the wrong fortune. Let me look in the ball again.”

  Tim looked doubtful.

  “I see, I see …,” said Molly. “I see wheels. It’s a car. A race car! No, I see two wheels, not four. It’s a motorcycle! There is a motorcycle in your future, Tim!”

  Tim brightened up. Then his face fell.

  “How could I buy gas?” he said. “I don’t have any money.”

  “Rat’s knees! It’s got gas in it, Tim! Lots and lots of gas,” said Molly.

  But Tim was drifting down to the acorn necklaces now. Tracy was saying, “Buy your Christmas presents early, folks!” After every sentence she sneezed, but that did not keep business away.

  Roger now had a tray of very small, fresh zucchinis in front of him.

  “Teeny weeny zucchinis!” he called out.

  “Use them for jewelry, folks!” he said. “Or cook them and eat them!”

  The teeny weeny zucchinis were selling as fast as the bread had.

  “Rat’s knees!” said Molly. She was on the verge of tears.

  Jody pushed his wheelchair away from the tea-leaf stand and rolled over to her booth.

  What does he want? thought Molly.

  Is he going to tell me to move somewhere else?

  Is he going to tell me he wants Rachel for his girlfriend?

  He didn’t have to tell her that, she thought. She could see it with her own eyes!

  What in the world was Jody going to say to her?

  CHAPTER 7

  Teamwork

  “Hi,” said Jody. “Will you tell me my fortune?” He held out a dollar bill.

  Did Jody feel sorry for her? Is that why he had come over?

  Well, she couldn’t say no. He had paid, and he was entitled to a fortune.

  Molly looked into the crystal ball. She looked and looked. She didn’t know what to say.

  At last she blurted out, “I see a girl. A girl who likes you. She has brown hair and brown eyes. S
he wants to come over to your house sometime. She wants to be your girlfriend.”

  Was she being too bold? Maybe Jody didn’t like bold girls.

  “Good,” said Jody. “I like to have lots of friends. The more the better. That was a good fortune!”

  That’s a good sign, thought Molly. It didn’t sound as if he was marrying Rachel! Rachel had black hair.

  Jody went and bought one of Mary Beth’s cookies and then came back.

  “Do you know what you should do?” he said. “You should put your fortune stand and the cookie stand together. Teamwork. I think the reason we have so many people at our booth is because they get two things for the price of one. Tea and their fortune. What if you gave them a cookie, plus a fortune from the crystal ball?”

  Jody made sense! But why was he helping her? Didn’t he know they were competing? He didn’t seem to care. Maybe he liked her after all! Did he notice she had brown hair and brown eyes?

  “It’s just a thought,” said Jody. “My dad’s in marketing. He says people go where they get the best deal. And teamwork is always better than working alone.”

  Jody’s dad must be right. His family was very well off.

  Mary Beth ran over and joined them.

  “What do you think?” she said. “Jody told me his idea. It sounds good, doesn’t it?”

  “Great,” said Molly. “Let’s try it. Bring your cookies over here.”

  Molly made room for trays of cookies to stand beside the crystal ball. Mary Beth got her cookies and her sign, and the girls stuck both signs up onto one booth while Jody held the tape.

  “Over here!” he called. “Two-for-one sale, over here!”

  “Good luck,” he called as he wheeled back to his tea stand. Rachel was frowning.

  “Of course we’ll only get half as much money,” said Mary Beth.

  “No, we’ll get twice as much money, if it works,” said Molly. “Half is twice as much as nothing!”

  More people were coming to the festival now. Lots of them were eating because it was almost noon. The ones with hot dogs stopped to get a cookie for dessert.

  “Are these really homemade?” asked Lisa’s mother.

  “In our own kitchen,” said Mary Beth, collecting the money.

  Mr. and Mrs. Peters came by with baby Nick. Molly wasn’t sure how to tell her Pee Wee leader’s fortune! But at last she thought of something.

  “I see a new little baby,” said Molly.

  “Is it baby Nick?” asked Mrs. Peters.

  “Is it a new Pee Wee?” said Mr. Peters.

  Molly shook her head and looked into the ball again.

  “It’s a brand-new baby from the hospital,” she said. “It’s a baby girl.”

  “Oh my goodness,” said Mrs. Peters. “That is a surprise!”

  Now there was a long line of customers! Molly could hardly think fast enough. She depended on her imagination, and it wasn’t easy to imagine something when people were crunching cookies in her ear. She wished Mary Beth could help her tell fortunes. It was definitely easier to sell cookies than to predict the future.

  “Roger’s in line,” whispered Mary Beth. “With his dad!”

  What would Molly tell Roger?

  “Tell him no one likes him,” Mary Beth went on in a whisper. “Tell him he’s a bully.”

  “That’s no fortune!” whispered Molly back. “That’s the truth!”

  “Ha,” said Roger when his turn came. “Read my palm.” He held out his hand. “Tell me what a good businessman I am!”

  “I don’t read palms,” said Molly. “I look into my crystal ball.”

  When Molly looked into the ball, she could see Roger’s reflection. He was making faces at her.

  “I see a church, I see rice, I see a wedding,” said Molly.

  “Ho, you don’t see mine!” cried Roger. “I’d never marry any dumb girl.”

  “No girl would marry you,” said Mary Beth. “You don’t have to worry.”

  “No, I see the groom.… It’s not you.… It’s … your dad! Your dad is walking down the aisle.… Your dad is getting married!”

  “No, he’s not!” said Roger, turning red and angry. “My dad’s not marrying anybody!”

  Roger’s dad was smiling.

  “I guess that takes care of my fortune too,” he said with a laugh. “Two for the price of one.”

  Molly wondered how Roger could have such a nice father and be such a bully himself.

  Roger began pummeling his father on the chest and crying. Other people in line moved up and held out their money. Sonny gave his friend a push and said to Molly, “Tell my fortune. And don’t tell me my mom is getting married. She already did.”

  Sonny was easy. Almost anything would be good to tell Sonny.

  “I see a bike,” said Molly, looking into the ball. “A bike with no training wheels! It’s your bike! Your two-wheeler!”

  Everyone who knew Sonny laughed. “Good for you!” said Larry, his dad. “I’m glad to hear that!”

  Mrs. Kelly came by, and Mary Beth asked her to bring more cookies. Tray after tray was being sold. And more and more fortunes were being sold too.

  By the middle of the afternoon, Molly’s voice was getting weak.

  But the money was overflowing the box her mother had given her! Mary Beth’s was full too! What good ideas Jody had!

  Tracy came by, and Molly said she would get shots for her allergies.

  “I already do,” grumbled Tracy.

  “And your booth is going to be a success,” added Molly.

  Tracy stamped her foot. “I know that,” she said. “It already is a success. I’ve sold lots of acorn necklaces.”

  “I can’t think of any more good fortunes,” said Molly to Mary Beth when Tracy left.

  “Yes, you can,” said her friend. “They can’t all be as good as the one you told Roger. Tracy is just too fussy.”

  Molly took her earrings off. They were pinching her ears and made her cross. And it was too warm, wearing the scarf with the fringe. She took that off too.

  “I thought you were a gypsy,” said Tim when he ran by.

  “I am,” said Molly, frowning.

  The next customer was Kevin. She had to have a good fortune for Kevin!

  She looked into her crystal ball and said, “I think I see an election. A sign says ‘Moe for president!’ The votes are counted, and you win!”

  “Wow,” said Kevin. “President of what?”

  “The United States!” said Molly.

  “What about mayor and governor?” asked Kevin, eating his cookie.

  “I don’t see anything about that,” said Molly. “Just president.”

  “Good,” said Kevin. “I love politics.”

  When Kevin left, Molly told her dad he would win the lottery.

  She told Lisa she would get a dog for a present.

  And she told Rachel she would be moving out of the state—maybe even out of the country.

  Molly was hoarse. This was the hardest she had ever worked for a badge!

  But the festival was a success! Everyone was sold out! And thanks to Jody and his teamwork, so were she and Mary Beth!

  CHAPTER 8

  “What Good Deed?”

  Finally the line at their stand came to an end, and Molly sat down on the grass to eat a cookie. Music was playing nearby, and small children carried cotton candy and panda bears their fathers had won tossing rings onto a wooden bear’s tail. Mr. Duff came by and said he would watch the stand if the girls wanted to check out the rest of the festival.

  “You can’t read a crystal ball!” said Molly, laughing.

  “Just let me have a chance,” said Mr. Duff. Then he put on Molly’s earrings and robe and scarf and gazed into the ball.

  “I see, I see, I see someone with a new badge.… It’s a Harvest Fest badge! It’s Molly!” he said with a laugh.

  Molly and Mary Beth walked around the park. They stopped at all the stands. They drank cold drinks and ate hot dogs.

/>   “Should we take a ride on Sonny’s motorcycle?” said Mary Beth, laughing.

  “He’d dump us out on the street,” said Molly.

  “I wonder if any of the fortunes you told will really happen,” said Mary Beth. “I mean, like Mrs. Peters’s baby. Do you think she’ll really have one?”

  “I don’t think so,” said Molly. “Crystal balls aren’t real. I just made the stuff up. But it would be nice if my dad won the lottery!”

  At five o’clock the girls sat down and listened to a concert in the bandstand. After that the fest was over. All the Pee Wees helped clean up the park and take the stands down. It was time to go home.

  As they left, Molly noticed that Rachel was not with Jody. Instead, she and Ashley were walking out of the park with two boys in third grade. They were laughing and talking. It looked as if Rachel had a new boyfriend!

  Molly ran and caught up with Jody’s wheelchair.

  “Thanks for the help,” she said. “If you hadn’t thought of putting the stands together, we wouldn’t have done very well. Teamwork was much better.”

  “That’s okay,” said Jody. “I’m glad it worked. Say, I’m having a party at my house next week. Can you come? It’s on Saturday.”

  Jody did like her!

  “Yes,” said Molly. “Is it your birthday? Do I bring a present?”

  Jody shook his head. “It’s just a back-to-school party,” he said. “We’ll play games and stuff. And we’ll have Chinese food.”

  Molly never had Chinese food at home. Except egg rolls. But she didn’t care what they ate at the party. She was just glad she was invited.

  “See you next Tuesday,” said Molly when she left.

  At home, in her own room, Molly took off the rest of her costume. She was about to take a bath and get ready for bed when she noticed a piece of paper on her desk. She picked it up. It was her list. It said, “Get Jody back” and “Costume.”

  She had done both of those! She crossed them both off the list. Sometimes Molly thought her mother was right. She worried too much. Things had a way of working out. And on Tuesday she would get her new badge. And she would see to it that she reported her old good deed at last.