Allie, First at Last Read online

  “I have to get in there,” I grunt, and I tip the wooden platform of my volcano onto the table.

  “What are you doing, Allie?” Sara says.

  Clumps of green slime, vinegar, baking soda, and dish detergent dribble from the volcano onto the table and floor. I scoop up a clumpy glob of green goo. My perfectly measured ingredients should have mixed and turned into an epic lava. Instead it looks like an outtake from an old sci-fi movie. Green goo has killed my volcano. My chance to win the science fair at Sendak has been slimed!

  “Allie, that’s what I was trying to tell you,” Victor says. “I thought it’d be cool if the volcano had some gooey lava dribbling outside of it. I didn’t think it would ruin it.”

  “Yes, because that makes so much sense. A volcano dribbling green slime!” I hiss. “He admits the sabotage!” I point at Victor and look to Mr. Gribble and Mrs. Wendy for swift punishment. Both of them are shaking their heads in disbelief. Victor steps back.

  “Victor, why would you touch another student’s project?” Mrs. Wendy asks a little too nicely for me. She should be furious. I’m furious. Now is the time for being furious.

  “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I really thought it’d be cool. I thought you’d like it, Allie.”

  “Like it? Do you think Junko Tabei would have liked an avalanche as she climbed Mount Everest?”

  “Junko what?”

  “Don’t play dumb, Victor.” I glare at him. Just then, the gymnasium doors open, and parents and students arrive.

  “You helped me with my project. You added more water to my green slime, and I just wanted to help you.”

  “You added more water to his project?” Mrs. Wendy asks. The way she says this reminds me of traffic lights signaling drivers to proceed with caution. It’s a yellow-light question.

  “Just a little bit.” I shrug. “While he went to the bathroom.”

  “Okay, students, that’s enough.” Mr. Gribble holds up his hands. “Parents are here, and I am officially closing the science fair competition. I think we’ve seen and definitely heard everything we need to hear.” He turns to Victor. “Victor, you’re disqualified. Pack up your stuff.”

  Victor’s head drops. I don’t feel sorry for him one bit.

  “What about me?” I ask.

  Mr. Gribble gazes over my tipped volcano and soaked table. “Allie, you should clean up.”

  “What about my project? It would have erupted if Green-Goo Garcia over there hadn’t messed with it.”

  “But, Allie …” Mrs. Wendy starts. “You left your table, right?”

  “Well, yes, but that was just a quick run to cheer up Sara,” I say. “She was sad.” Surely, they wouldn’t hold that against me. “I was only gone for a minute. I was here before you even noticed.”

  Mrs. Wendy looks over at Sara’s table. Sara’s parents have arrived, and she’s all smiles showing off her magnets.

  “She seems to be doing fine.”

  “Well, sure, now she’s fine, but you should have seen her—”

  “Sorry, Allie, but if you had stayed at your table as everyone was instructed to do, Victor wouldn’t have had the opportunity to mess with your project,” Mr. Gribble says. My face feels suddenly hot. “And your volcano would have worked as you intended. You’re not disqualified, but you’ve lost points. Take it as a lesson learned.”

  “But Sara was packing up her stuff …”

  Mr. Gribble and the judges walk off toward the podium and the trophy table. I watch them take a seat and share notes.

  “You see that, Victor?” I snarl as I pull paper towels out of my bag. “They’re counting scores for the best project, which should be mine.”

  “I said I was sorry …”

  “Don’t talk to me,” I mutter. Victor is packing his stuff into a cardboard box, when his family arrives. It’s a regular Garcia family reunion: his mom, dad, grandparents, and four younger brothers and sisters jump around him like he’s the ice cream truck. His father in crisp-ironed jeans, black shirt, cowboy boots, and hat, picks up some of the green slime, laughs, and pats Victor on the back. “Mi hijo, el futuro científico!” I feel a little bad when Victor lowers and shakes his head and says, “I have a long way to go to be a scientist.”

  Although they are mostly speaking Spanish and I don’t always understand everything, I hear Victor squeak out the whole story and mention me. His father’s voice is suddenly deeper. He’s giving Victor a good talking-to in Spanish. When they see me watching, all of them become silent, and they look at me with sad, apologetic eyes. I turn back to my table and do my best to wipe up vinegar and baking soda.

  “Allie?” Victor walks over to me with his hands in his lab coat pockets. His family follows behind. “We’re leaving now. I just wanted to say I’m sorry again. I feel really bad.” His entire family nods. Just a few minutes ago, they were laughing, playing with green goo, calling him a scientist. They were so proud. Now, not so much. My chest aches.

  “My son is very sorry,” his mom says with a thick Spanish accent. She gives me a warm hug and then takes the paper towels from my hands and cleans up the floor where vinegar spilled. Then his grandma hugs me and picks globs of clay and slime off my lab coat. His grandpa makes apologies in Spanish for Victor. His kind smile reminds me of my bisabuelo, my great-grandpa. I wish he were here right now. If he were, he’d put his arm around me and tell me everything will be all right.

  I think the lovefest is over, when Victor’s four brothers and sisters mob me with hugs. His toddler-age sister holds my hand and tells me I’m “pretty.” Finally, Victor’s father shoos the children away from me with his cowboy hat.

  “Please forgive our son for ruining your project,” he says. “You worked very hard. We raised him better than that. Lo siento mucho.”

  I bite my lip. I know I should smile and say I forgive Victor, but it’s so hard. What about me? It was my chance to be a champion. It was my last chance to make my mark at Sendak before I graduate. I glance toward the trophy table, and then back at Victor. He’s removed his lab coat, and it’s wadded up in his hands.

  I read online that Junko almost died when she climbed Mount Everest. While camping, she and her guides were blindsided by an avalanche. Even though they were buried in snow, they still survived, and a few days later, she reached the top. I think about what Junko Tabei would do at a moment like this. From everything I read about her, she seems like a humble, kind, and determined woman. Junko would find another way to climb again.

  “It’s okay, Victor,” I finally say.

  Then the hugs start all over. Victor is smiling, and his father pats him on the head. “See, she is a nice girl. She forgives you. You are lucky,” his father says. This makes me smile.

  “Thanks, Allie,” Victor says. We shake hands. Victor and his family leave as loudly as they arrived. As they exit, my parents and three siblings approach.

  The closer my family gets to my display, the more my palms sweat. I wipe them against my lab coat, but it’s no use. I was supposed to be the first Velasco to win the Sendak Science Contest. When they’re finally in front of what’s left of my volcano, their mouths gape at the mess. Even Adriana, my favorite sister, can’t hide her shock. Aiden whistles like a torpedo has been launched and I’m the target. Instead of an explosion, I get Ava. She steps forward in her purple soccer uniform and shakes her head.

  “Looks like no celebration dinner tonight.”

  At our house, we have a bookcase in the living room filled with glassed-etched awards, towering gold-plated trophies, and a slew of silver and gold medals with colorful ribbons that my family has won. It’s the trophy shelf.

  The largest trophy on the shelf belongs to Adriana. She won the national high school debate championship last year. She traveled all the way to Miami and argued her way to the top until all her competitors were argued out. All of us flew down to Miami to be with her, and I got chills when my sister held the giant gold trophy over her head. She held it the same way Sara is hoisti
ng the first-place science fair trophy over her head right now. She won with the magnet project. The crowd of parents, teachers, and students is going wild with applause for her.

  Although my parents have chosen to abandon me and stand with Sara’s parents at her winning magnet display, Adriana hasn’t left my side. She puts her arm around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze.

  “Try to be happy for Sara,” she whispers to me. That’s when I realize my arms are crossed and I’m pouting. Ava and Aiden are up in the bleachers on their phones texting and cackling. I’m pretty sure they’re sending snarky texts about me. They always do. When Ava notices me looking, she sticks her tongue out like the eight-year-old reptile she is.

  “Ignore her.” Adriana rolls her eyes. “She just got another commercial deal. We found out before we got here. She’s been nonstop unbearable. More than usual.”

  “Another commercial?” I ask. Ava already has a recurring commercial gig with a local used-car dealership. The owner wears a big Mexican sombrero and yells things like “No money down!” and “These deals won’t last long!” At the end of every commercial, he points at the camera and shouts, “Are you going to buy your next car from Sifuentes Auto Mart?” That’s Ava’s cue. The camera pans to her sitting in a pink convertible, wearing a pink dress and a big pink smile. She throws up her fist and shouts, “Sí for Sifuentes Auto Mart!” She’s been doing commercials for Mr. Sifuentes since she was four years old. When we’re out grocery shopping or at one of Aiden’s soccer games, people fawn all over her. They tell her how cute she is and how she’ll be a big movie star someday.

  Adriana sighs. “This time, she’ll be doing commercials for the new water park. Part of her contract includes free passes whenever she wants.”

  “Free passes?” I shriek. I would love to have free passes to the new water park. I wonder if the passes include family members. I hope so.

  “We should be happy for …” Adriana’s phone beeps. She looks at the incoming text and then glares up at Ava and Aiden on the bleachers. I lean in to see the text and manage to glimpse my name and loser before Adriana deletes it. “It’s nothing. Like I said, we should be happy for her, but she makes it impossible.”

  I am so doomed. Adriana is leaving for college next year. Her junior year, she announced to the entire family that she was only applying to Ivy League schools, which made me itch because anything with ivy in it can’t be good. Last summer, I had a nasty case of poison ivy and had to put socks on my hands to keep me from scratching. Adriana will be the first in our family to go to an Ivy League school. And I’ll be at home left to deal with Aiden and Ava on my own.

  “C’mon, let’s go congratulate Sara,” she says, and loops arms with me.

  With every step, I think of what I’ll say to Sara. I don’t want to sound like the dork that lost the science fair. I need to be cool. I should act like it doesn’t bother me. I should be happy for her. I could really use some of Ava’s acting skills right now.

  When we approach, Sara’s parents immediately hug me.

  “Allie, we never see you anymore!” her mom exclaims, and gives me a hug. I want to tell her it’s because Sara barely talks to me, but I just smile. She runs her hands over my hair. “I love your side ponytail.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Lopez.”

  “Sara told us what happened with your volcano. What a mess,” Mr. Lopez says.

  “Oh,” I say. I’m stunned at how fast Sara has told her parents. I bet she’s probably texted the whole school about it. At Sendak Elementary, gossip doesn’t spread like burning lava—it flies like a tornado. Somehow, I always forget that. “It’s okay. I’m happy Sara won.”

  “You’re a good friend.” Mrs. Lopez pats my head.

  “She’s one in a million,” my dad says, and pulls on my ponytail, which annoys me. “But she puts too much pressure on herself.” Sara’s parents look sympathetic, and I want to hide under the nearest table. “And like Bon Jovi sings, ‘It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not. We’ve got each other and that’s a lot for love.’ ” My dad is always quoting ’80s music. Mr. and Mrs. Lopez laugh, but I wish they wouldn’t. It only encourages him.

  “No, I don’t,” I mumble. Before he can respond with more wisdom from the ’80s, I escape to where Sara is talking to a few of our classmates. She has the first-place trophy tucked under her arm. If that were my trophy, I wouldn’t stick it in my armpit. I’d polish it every night. That prize would be the shiniest award on our family trophy shelf.

  When Sara sees me, she pulls me next to her.

  “Allie, what happened? Did Victor get in trouble?” she asks. Then she looks around at all the other students. “Victor totally sabotaged her volcano.” Everyone shakes their heads. “He should be kicked out of school.”

  Sara’s reaction takes me aback. It was my project that was ruined. Not hers. She won. Why is she so bothered? Maybe she’s feeling loyal to me? That’s definitely a good sign that maybe we’re friends again. Still, it’s harsh saying Victor should be kicked out of Sendak. He just got here.

  “He apologized,” I answer. “In fact his entire family apologized. It was sweet—”

  “I saw his family when they arrived,” Hayley speaks up. I hadn’t noticed her before, but of course she’d be there. These days, she and Sara are always together. She tosses her long brown hair behind her shoulder. “They were dressed up like they were going to a rodeo, not a science fair. Did you see the hat and boots his father was wearing?” Hayley does a little rodeo dance. “We’re here to round up the green goo!” she jokes. Everyone laughs, including Sara, which surprises me. Why would she laugh at that? Why is that even funny?

  “Well, anyway, good job, Sara,” I say, trying to change the subject. The whole conversation makes me uncomfortable. “Congrats.”

  Adriana comes over and drapes her arm around my shoulders. “Say your good-byes. Mom and Dad are ready to go.” All my classmates gasp in awe. My big sister is a rock star to my classmates. Even Hayley steps back shyly. This makes me feel better. When Adriana was at Sendak Elementary, she made history by being the first Sendak student to win the Mayor’s Youth Power Award for the It Takes a Village tutoring program she started. Usually it’s awarded to middle and high school students, but she won it her last year at Sendak. And if that wasn’t enough, she’s also fashion-magazine beautiful. Her picture, along with a few other notable Sendak alums, is up on the wall in the school office.

  “Are we still going to Cosmic Taco?” I ask.

  “Of course!” Adriana smiles.

  “Sara …” I start. Hayley locks arms with Sara and pulls her closer like they’re both magnets, which stops me cold. I press on. “Did you still want to go for tacos?”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize you guys were still going,” she says coolly. “Hayley invited me to get pizza and since you didn’t win … I mean … I’m sorry, I just figured the whole Cosmic Taco thing wasn’t happening. I’m going with Hayley’s family now.”

  Ouch. Could this day get any worse? I want to say something, but if I open my mouth, I’ll bawl.

  “Thanks, though,” Sara adds.

  I look up at Adriana for strength.

  “No problem,” Adriana says with a big smile. “We’ll go together another time.” Adriana takes me by the elbow, and we zoom away. Adriana should really wear a cape. She saves me all the time.

  We go out to eat, but we don’t end up at Cosmic Taco. When I didn’t win the science fair, Ava made reservations at her favorite Italian restaurant. And my parents always go along with whatever the future movie star, Ava Velasco, wants. After all, she is going to be famous. More famous than Junko Tabei. More famous than our great-grandpa. More famous than I’ll ever dream to be.

  When we’re seated at the table, Adriana takes a chair next to me and pushes the menu away from her.

  “Mom and Dad, I don’t think this is fair to Allie. So in protest, I will only be having a glass of water.”

  I gulp hard. Sure, I wanted Cosmic Ta
co more than anyone, but I hope that doesn’t mean I am supposed to refuse to eat too. Today has already been lousy. Plus, I’m really hungry and can’t resist melted-cheesy breadsticks.

  “Don’t be angry, Adriana,” says Dad, all matter-of-fact. “The deal was that if Allie won, we’d go to Cosmic Taco to celebrate, but things changed and Ava was begging for Italian.” He opens a menu to deflect Adriana’s cold stare. The waiter brings glasses of water and a basket of warm breadsticks.

  “I told everyone, even Sara, that we were going to Cosmic Taco,” I say. It comes out like a big, fat gripe, and Aiden looks up from his phone to scoff.

  “Who ordered the whine?” he says. I shrink into my chair. Why do I even open my mouth?

  “Hey, watch it!” Adriana points a fork at him. Ever since Aiden made the All-Star city soccer team this year, he’s been a snot. He’s the youngest to be recruited for the team. He has the newspaper announcement pinned up on his wall surrounded by posters of his favorite soccer players. Someday, I’m sure he’ll be on a poster in some kid’s room. He’s that good.

  Mom follows with a stern look for Aiden and then turns her gaze to me. “Look, Allie. Honey Bear.” She smiles and uses her and dad’s little nickname for me. The truth is, I turn to mush when she smiles at me, and I’m not the only one. Her smile is the reason she is the number one news anchor in Kansas City. “It can’t be all about you …” she starts. I bite down on my bottom lip and try to remember when there was ever a day devoted entirely to me. Maybe the day I was born? “You know that Ava signed a new commercial contract today. It’s very exciting.” She winks at Ava. “You’re her big sister. You can handle it. What’s the harm, anyway? You love Italian Gardens.” She grabs the basket of breadsticks and passes it to Aiden.

  I don’t even get first dibs. This day just keeps getting better.

  “What’s the harm?” Adriana pounds the table with her fist. “You promised her last night in the dining room. All of us were there. You and dad said to her—”