a great present for Stephanie.
They went to the Pet Parlor downtown. Inside, a
white poodle wagged its tail.
“Aren’t you cute?” Mia asked, scratching the dog’s
head. The poodle barked.
Just then, a young sales clerk walked up to them.
“Hi,” she said, with a friendly smile. “Can I help you?”
“We’re looking for a birthday present for our
friend Stephanie,” Mia said.
27
“We want to get a house for her bunny, Daisy,”
added Olivia.
The clerk led them to the row of bunny houses
Stephanie had looked at earlier that afternoon.
“We have lots of choices,” the clerk said.
Mia and Olivia looked at each house carefully.
They both liked the one with the purple roof. It had
a pretty pink gate across the front.
“This one’s great!” Mia said.
“I love it!” agreed Olivia.
“Does it come with a bed?” Mia asked.
28
“Is it wired for sound?” asked Olivia.
“Or a pillow?”
“Or maybe lights?”
“Is there a shelf for brushes?”
“Um . . .” the clerk stammered. She looked
overwhelmed. “Sorry, it only comes like you see it.”
Mia frowned. “Oh.”
But Olivia’s eyes lit up. “Hey, maybe we could put
in our
own
special touches.”
Mia nodded. “Yeah! Customize it! Stephanie will
love that!”
29
They smiled at the clerk. “We’ll take it!”
Soon Mia and Olivia were walking out the front
door with a big white gift box wrapped with a red
bow. They were so excited. This was going to be the
perfect gift for their friend!
Just then, they heard a familiar voice.
“Mia! Olivia!”
30
The girls stopped in their tracks. Stephanie was
running toward them from down the street.
Mia and Olivia panicked. If Stephanie caught
them, they would have to explain the present they
were carrying. And if they did that, they would ruin
the surprise!
“Pretend we didn’t hear her!” Olivia whispered
urgently. “Hurry!”
They quickly ran around the block and hid
behind the pet shop building.
Stephanie tried to catch up to them. But when
she turned the corner, her friends were nowhere to
be seen.
“I guess they didn’t hear me,” she said sadly.
Olivia peeked around the wall of the building
and saw Stephanie walking away.
“
Phew!
Close one!” she said.
“Yeah,” Mia agreed. “That could have been a
disaster.”
Little did they know, to Stephanie, it
did
feel like
31
a disaster. Her friends lied about having plans. They
had danced at the tree house without her. Now Mia
and Olivia didn’t even stop when she called out to
them. Why were her friends acting this way?
She walked down to Lake Heart and sat on the
dock, dangling her legs over the edge. Swans glided
on the peaceful water. The sun was starting to set.
Stephanie sighed and threw a pebble into the lake.
Suddenly, she heard a soft whinny behind her.
Stephanie turned and saw Lacy trotting up on a
horse from the Heartlake Stables.
“All alone?” Lacy asked. “Where are your
friends?”
“What friends?” Stephanie replied bitterly.
“They lied to me. And then I saw them having fun
and dancing at the tree house.”
“Maybe it’s your dancing,” Lacy teased.
Stephanie sighed. “It’s just weird for them to
suddenly act this way.”
Lacy didn’t reply for a moment.
32
“Friends don’t often give reasons for moving on,”
she said finally. “They just do.”
“Oh,” Stephanie said. Lacy seemed to know what
she was talking about.
“Want to go for a ride?” Lacy asked. “It helps.”
Stephanie shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m
going to figure this whole thing out. Especially since
tomorrow’s my birthday.”
33
Lacy shrugged. “All right.” She trotted away.
Stephanie turned back to the lake and tossed in
another pebble.
I only want one thing for my birthday
, she
thought.
My friends back!
34
Chapter 5:
Hurt Feelings
Saturday morning, Stephanie put her plan into
action. If her friends were really avoiding her, then
there was no choice but to play detective and see
what they were up to!
Wearing a pair
of dark sunglasses,
she hid behind the
fence next to Olivia’s
house. A moment
later, the front door
opened. Olivia came
35
out of the house, carrying an oversize beach bag.
“Have fun at the pool,” Olivia’s mom called.
“Thanks, I will,” Olivia replied. Then she headed
down the sidewalk.
Stephanie waited until Olivia was about a block
away before following after her. She hid behind cars
and trees in case Olivia turned around. So far, so good.
Olivia strolled downtown and stopped at a photo
booth. Emma, Mia, and Andrea were waiting there.
All four girls went inside and closed the curtain.
Stephanie dashed across the street and hid beside
the booth, listening.
The girls didn’t know that Stephanie was spying
on them. They squeezed in, giggling. Andrea leaned
toward the camera, blocking her friends.
“Does my hair look all right?” she asked.
“It looks good from the back,” Emma said. “But,
uh, can we be in the picture?”
Andrea laughed and moved back with her
friends.
36
“Everyone smile!” Olivia called out.
“Cheeeeeese!”
There was a
beep
, and the camera flashed.
“Glamour pose!” Andrea cried.
The girls made their best model faces.
Flash!
“Silly pose!” Mia called out next. She stuck out
her tongue. Her friends all made funny faces, too.
Flash!
They left the photo booth, laughing. Stephanie
watched as they all walked in different directions.
She decided to follow Emma.
Emma headed past the City Park Café, crossed
37
a busy street, and walked down to a row of shops.
Stephanie trailed close behind.
Suddenly, Emma paused. She thought she had
heard something.
Before Emma could spot her, Stephanie quickly
ducked into a clothing store and put on a floppy hat
so she looked like a mannequin.
Curious, Emma walked back to the store. The
cute clothes in the window caught her eye, so she
went inside. Stephanie blended right into the
window display and Emma didn’t see her.
38
Emma browsed around for a minute. “These
shirts are cute,” she said to herself, holding up a
pretty summertime top. Then she shook her head.
She had an important job to do. There was no time
for shopping! She left the store.
Stephanie jumped out of the window display and
hurried to catch up. A few blocks later, she spotted
Emma coming out of the bakery, carrying a big box.
This was Stephanie’s chance. Her friends were
definitely
up to something and purposefully weren’t
including her. She took off her sunglasses and
marched up to Emma.
Emma gasped. “Stephanie! Oh, hi. What’s . . .
up?” She sounded nervous.
“Back at ya,” Stephanie said.
Emma tried to act casual. Stephanie’s birthday
cake was inside the box she was holding! But she
couldn’t let her friend know that.
“Just, you know, did some shopping,” Emma said.
“Got a little snack. . . .”
39
Stephanie eyed the large box. “A
little
snack?”
Emma laughed nervously. “Skipped breakfast.
And now I’m heading to . . .”
“Karate class?” Stephanie asked. She thought she
could catch Emma in another lie.
“No, the library,” Emma said quickly.
“But don’t you get the feeling that today is . . .
special?” Stephanie hinted.
Emma gasped. “You’re totally right!”
“I am? You mean, you know what today is?”
Stephanie asked, immediately brightening. Maybe
Emma remembered it was her birthday after all!
40
“Yes!” Emma replied. “I volunteered to help at
the Art Exhibit today!”
Stephanie’s face fell.
“If I hadn’t run into you, I would have forgotten,”
Emma continued. She inched away. “Thanks a
million, Stephanie!”
Emma quickly walked off, and Stephanie’s heart
sank.
She could forgive her friends not including her
yesterday. But today was her birthday! How could
they be so mean?
41
When Emma arrived at the pool, the other girls
were already busy setting up. Andrea tied bunches
of colorful balloons to the lifeguard tower. Mia and
Olivia hung a big, pink banner with Stephanie’s
name between two light posts. And pretty flowers
ran up the poles by the snack bar.
“Where do you want these, Andrea?” Jacob
called out. He was carrying the box of tangled lights.
“Over there, behind the hot tub,” she replied,
pointing.
“Got it,” Jacob said cheerfully.
Chapter 6:
Getting Ready
42
Emma put the cake on a big table. Olivia was
placing other yummy snacks there, too.
“I ran into Stephanie at the bakery,” Emma said.
Olivia gasped. “Did she find out about the
surprise?” she asked, anxious.
Emma shook her head. “No, but I felt terrible
making excuses to her,” she said. “Stephanie looked
kind of upset. I think she could tell something was up.”
“I know, but it’ll all be worth it when we surprise
her,” Olivia promised.
43
Across the pool, Mia set her magic hat on a table.
She closed her eyes. The squirrel from the tree house
watched her. Would she get the trick right?
“Abracadabra!” Mia said. She opened her eyes. A
shimmering bubble floated out from the hat.
Mia smiled. It wasn’t a rabbit, but it was still nice.
And definitely better than a squirrel!
Then . . .
pop
!
The bubble burst. The squirrel
chittered and scampered away.
Mia sighed. “Gotta keep practicing, I guess,” she
muttered.
Up in the lifeguard tower, Andrea tried to
connect her boom box to the pool’s speakers.
44
“What about this one?” she wondered. She
plugged in one of the cords.
Screech!
Feedback wailed from the speaker. A
little puff of smoke popped up.
“Looks like Andrea might need some help,”
Olivia told Emma. “I’d better go check.”
As Olivia was heading over to the lifeguard
tower, she passed Jacob. He had successfully
untangled all the lights and was carefully stringing
them between two light posts by the hot tub.
“Hey, Jacob,” Olivia called. “Actually, the lights
go on
that
wall.” She pointed to the opposite end of
the pool.
45
Jacob looked over his shoulder. “Are you sure?”
he asked. “Because Andrea said . . .” But Olivia was
already out of earshot.
“Aargh,”
he complained, taking the lights back
far side of the pool.
Meanwhile, up in the tower, Olivia and Andrea
got the speakers working. Andrea pressed Play on
her boom box, and pop music floated through the air.
Olivia and Andrea climbed down and headed
over to Mia and Emma.
“Those speakers are kickin’!” Mia exclaimed.
“They are, aren’t they?” Olivia agreed proudly.
The girls high-fived. Then they looked around
the pool. The balloons, streamers, and banners all
looked great.
“Everything’s just about ready,” Andrea said.
Emma frowned. “Except Jacob’s putting the lights
in the wrong place.” She turned and called out to
him, “Jacob, the lights go over there.”
46
“No, they go behind the hot tub,” Andrea said.
“You mean behind the slide,” said Mia.
Olivia shook her head. “You’re all wrong. They—”
A loud whistle pierced the air. It was Jacob,
whistling through his teeth.
“The lights are here, they stay here!” he said
firmly. “I’m not moving them again.”
The girls looked at each other and shrugged.
“Fine,” said Emma.
47
“What’s up with Jacob?” Mia asked, loud
enough for him to hear.
Jacob slapped a hand to his forehead. “Girls! I
simply don’t get them!” he cried.
Olivia turned to her friends. “I’m so excited.
People will be here any minute!”
“I can’t wait to yell, ‘Surprise, Stephanie!’” Emma
clapped her hands.
Olivia’s eyes suddenly grew wide. “Hey. Just
how does Stephanie know to come here again?” she
asked.
Andrea gasped. “Did we . . . skip a step?”
“You mean, like invite the guest of honor?” Mia
asked. “Then, yep.”
Emma groaned. “Oh, no! We forgot to invite
Stephanie to her own surprise party!”
48
Chapter 7:
The Big
Reveal
On the other side of town, Stephanie walked into
a ballet studio. Inside, dancers in white leotards and
pink tutus danced to classical music. Lacy was there
warming up. She stretched her right arm gracefully
above her head.
Stephanie headed over to her. “I got your text,”
she said. “You wanted to see me?”
Lacy brightened. “I wanted to give you this,” she
said. “Happy Birthday.”
She held out a yellow mixing bowl with a ribbon
around it. Inside were two colorful mixing spoons.
49
“I heard you like to bake,” Lacy said, giving the
bowl to Stephanie.
Stephanie couldn’t hide how happy the gift made
her. For the first time today, she felt like someone
actually cared that it was her birthday!
“Thanks for remembering!” she said with a huge
grin. “I’m glad
someone
did.”
She looked happily down at the bowl. Lacy
had even gone to the trouble of finding out what
Stephanie liked. The gift really meant a lot to her.
50
“Say, maybe we can make a birthday cake or
something,” Stephanie suggested. “We could head
back to my house. I’m sure my mom has some cake
mix in the pantry. It will be fun. And, after all, it
seems like a good day for it.”
“You mean, make it
together
?” Lacy asked
eagerly. Stephanie had never asked to hang out with
her before. She was always so busy with her other
friends.
“Sure,” Stephanie said.
“Okay!” Lacy agreed. Then she paused. “Unless
you have other plans, because . . . I might have other
plans.”
Stephanie shook her head. “I don’t have plans.”
“Yeah, me neither,” Lacy admitted with a grin.
The girls laughed. Stephanie was happy that she
had a friend to spend her birthday with. But there
was still one big problem that needed to be fixed.
“First there’s something I have to do,” she told