Piper Morgan Plans a Party Read online

  She checked the window one more time, then looked at Emmy and Kylie, who were skating by themselves. Then she sent a group text. Immediately, she got a text back from one of the moms.

  “Emmy told her mom it was moved to the ice rink,” Mom said. “The other moms took their kids there.”

  “Ice rink?” I said. “But Kylie doesn’t like ice-skating. She said she doesn’t know how.”

  Mom was thinking hard, though. I knew her thinking-hard face. I’d seen it lots.

  “I think Emmy sabotaged the party,” Mom said.

  Now I had my thinking-hard face on. I knew what “sabotage” meant. It meant Emmy did something to make it not go well. She told everyone to go somewhere else so nobody would show up for Kylie’s party.

  “I’ll get them here,” Mom said. “Then we’ll deal with Emmy.”

  We didn’t have to deal with Emmy together. I wanted to talk to her. I would talk to her.

  I skated out to catch up with them.

  Confetti Fact #8

  Roller-skating has been a favorite American pastime. For hundreds of years people have been putting wheels on their feet and skating around. It wasn’t always a big rink where people skated in circles. It actually started in the 1700s, when John Joseph Merlin showed up at a masquerade party wearing wheels on his shoes. He fell in front of everyone.

  These days, roller-skating is mostly popular for families and kids. It’s a great place to have a birthday party or go for a fun day out. But did you know it’s also healthy? Plus, it’s more fun than some other types of exercise.

  CHAPTER

  9

  “Emmy!” I called out. I had to call that out because she was still ignoring me.

  After skating a few steps, she slowed to a stop and turned to face me. You could do that when you were one of only three skaters on the floor.

  “What?” she asked in a not-nice voice.

  “We need to talk,” I said.

  I said that in the same voice my mom used when I was in trouble. Emmy was in trouble.

  “So talk,” she said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

  “Alone,” I said. “It’ll just take a minute.”

  I said that last part to Kylie, who shrugged and skated off. She left the floor and went to the party room. I hoped Mom wouldn’t say anything about what Emmy had done. It might hurt Kylie’s feelings.

  “The party has changed places?” I asked.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked. But she didn’t look at my eyes when she said it. I thought that meant she was nervous about what she was saying.

  “I know you told everyone to go to another skating rink,” I said. “One of the other moms told my mom. You’re sabotaging the party.”

  I worried for a second that Emmy wouldn’t know what “sabotaging” meant. If she didn’t, she didn’t mention it.

  “You can’t prove it,” she said.

  “Everyone’s on the way here,” I said. “My mom will speak to one of their moms. You could be in big trouble.”

  For the first time ever, Emmy looked like she might actually not be in charge. I kind of, sort of liked her when she looked like that. With that look on her face, she might be nice to me.

  But then I remembered what she’d done to Kylie. That wasn’t very nice.

  “Okay,” she said finally. “You’re right.”

  “You sabotaged the party?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  Now the important part. “Why?”

  She didn’t answer for a very long time. It seemed like half a song played before she said something. I looked around nervously, but other kids weren’t showing up yet. We still had a little time.

  “You took my best friend,” she said loudly.

  I was so surprised, I didn’t know what to say. I thought quickly, trying to figure out what to say next.

  “I was just helping Kylie plan the party,” I said. “We aren’t best friends. You’re her best friend.”

  “She talks about you all the time,” Emmy said. “She likes you better than me. I just wanted her to see that I’m her best friend, not you.”

  “By being the only person who showed up for her birthday party?” I asked. “That would hurt her feelings.”

  “I know.” She looked down at the ground. I could still see her face, though, and she had a sad expression. “I didn’t really think about that.”

  “You have to make it up to her,” I said.

  She lifted her head. “There’s something else,” she said. “I haven’t been very nice to you.”

  I was surprised again. Was Emmy actually . . . apologizing?

  “I didn’t want you to take my best friend,” she said. “I was mean. I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you,” I said with a smile.

  “People are starting to show up,” Emmy said, pointing to the door, where a group of kids now gathered. “I’ll go apologize to Kylie.”

  “No!” I said. “Don’t. Just help me make this the best birthday party ever. That’s all you have to do.”

  Emmy nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  We skated toward the party room. I let Emmy tell Kylie all her other friends had arrived. We helped them bring the presents into the party room, then invited everyone to skate.

  I stood by Mom as they all rushed out to skate. It was okay if they skated without me. The important thing was that Kylie got to hang out with her friends.

  A few seconds later, though, Kylie stuck her head back in the room.

  “Aren’t you coming?” she asked.

  I looked at Mom. She nodded, and I skated as fast as I could to catch up. Emmy was waiting outside too. Together, the three of us skated toward the rink, holding hands.

  Confetti Fact #9

  Did you know you could have your birthday party in all kinds of places? Roller-skating rinks are great, especially if they have party rooms. Here are some other places that might have party rooms:

  #1 Family fun centers

  #2 Zoos

  #3 Movie theaters

  #4 Bowling alleys

  #5 Trampoline sports places

  #6 Bear-building shops

  #7 Aquariums

  #8 Restaurants

  CHAPTER

  10

  “That was a success,” Mom said as we pulled out of the parking lot. “Any party where you have a request to help plan another party is a success.”

  “Then we’ve had two successes!” I said with a ginormous smile. “Both times, someone asked us to plan a party.”

  “That’s right,” Mom said. “And my boss is going to be excited to hear that.”

  “Does that mean we can stay?” I asked.

  Mom looked at me. “Is that what you want?”

  I looked out the window. We were stuck in the middle of a line of cars, waiting at a traffic light. I liked my new friends. Really, I did. It would be nice to go to school with them in the fall and have sleepovers and do all those fun things.

  But then I wouldn’t get to have new adventures.

  “Do you think we could work at a candy shop?” I asked. “Or maybe the North Pole at Christmas! It’s probably really cold up there, though.”

  Mom laughed. “I can’t really promise any of that, but it sounds like you want to keep working in new places.”

  I thought about that for another second, then nodded. “I think I do. I want to see where we get to go next. Plus, I’m starting to get better at this ‘making friends’ thing.”

  “Friends are good to have,” Mom said. “But it’s important to be able to have them for a long time. Maybe Emmy and Kylie could be your real best friends.”

  “Emmy’s okay, but I really like Kylie,” I said. “I want to hang out with her more. Can we do this just a little longer?”

  Mom smiled. I knew I’d told her I wanted a forever home, but it was only because I wanted a puppy. I wanted a best friend, too. But the longer we did this, the more I felt like I was having more fun with my mom’s different
jobs. If we still lived at our old place, I’d just be hanging out with my friends all summer. I wouldn’t have gotten to play with elephants at the circus or work in a principal’s office or plan these fun parties.

  “Just a little longer,” Mom said. “And then we’ll find our home.”

  Mom reached her hand back toward the backseat. I reached forward and put my little hand in hers. That was like a secret handshake. We had a plan. And a promise.

  About the Author

  Stephanie Faris knew she wanted to be an author from a very young age. In fact, her mother often told her to stop reading so much and go outside and play with the other kids. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University, she somehow found herself working in information technology. But she never stopped writing. When she isn’t crafting fiction, Stephanie is indulging her gadget geek side by writing for online technology sites. She lives in Nashville with her husband, Neil.

  Lucy Fleming has been an avid doodler and bookworm since early childhood. She studied art and practiced drawing every day, and in no time, went on to graduate from the University of Lincoln (UK), having specialized in illustration. She leaped straight into a career as a professional children’s book illustrator and hasn’t looked back since. She lives and works in a small town in England with her family and a little black cat.

  STEPHANIEFARIS.COM

  ALADDIN

  Simon & Schuster, New York

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  SIMONANDSCHUSTER.COM/KIDS

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Stephanie-Faris

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Lucy-Fleming

  DON’T MISS ANY OF PIPER’S ADVENTURES!

  Piper Morgan Joins the Circus

  Piper Morgan in Charge!

  Piper Morgan to the Rescue

  Piper Morgan Makes a Splash

  ALSO BY STEPHANIE FARIS:

  30 Days of No Gossip

  25 Roses

  Best. Night. Ever. (with six coauthors)

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN

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  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Aladdin paperback edition November 2017

  Text copyright © 2017 by Stephanie Faris

  Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Lucy Fleming

  Also available in an Aladdin hardcover edition.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  ALADDIN and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  Book designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena

  Jacket designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena

  Jacket illustrations copyright © 2017 by Lucy Fleming

  The text of this book was set in New Baskerville.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2017940876

  ISBN 978-1-5344-0386-4 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-0385-7 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-0387-1 (eBook)