Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Acknowledgment

  WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW I DIDN'T KNOW

  Dear New Sister

  WHAT YOU MIGHT SAY IF YOU ARE SURPRISED OUT OF YOUR MIND

  Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu

  Book 7

  All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.

  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children is an imprint of

  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

  www.hmhbooks.com

  The text of this book is set in Dante MT.

  The illustrations are pen-and-ink drawings digitally colored in Photoshop.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Harper, Charise Mericle.

  Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu / written and illustrated

  by Charise Mericle Harper.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Eight-year-old Grace is excited to learn that her best friend, Mimi, is going to become an older sister, but when both try to be "mother's helpers" for a family renting a house on their street, little Lily likes Grace best, causing Mimi to doubt herself and Grace to form a plan to fix things.

  ISBN 978-0-547-15224-0 [1. Interpersonal relations—Fiction. 2. Self-confidence—Fiction. 3. Best friends—Fiction. 4. Friendship—Fiction. 5. Sisters—Fiction.] I. Title. PZ7.H231323Juj 2011 [E]—dc22 2010006768

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  QFF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  4500265471

  A special thank-you to Leah and her mom!

  WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW I DIDN'T KNOW

  Best friends can be full of surprises. I already knew that, but sometimes even knowing something doesn't mean it still can't surprise you when it happens. That's why I was 100 percent surprised when Mimi said she had been keeping a secret from me and wanted me to read a special letter. Even though I had to go to the bathroom I sat right down with the letter. Some things can be more important than nature—plus I'm kind of an expert at holding it.

  Dear New Sister,

  I can hardly wait to meet you. I am so, so, so, so excited! Mom and Dad said I had to not tell anyone about you but my brain was about to explode so they finally said I could tell Grace. Yay! But she has to promise to not tell the world—which of course she can do, because she is a good secret keeper.

  Grace is my best friend in the whole world, and guess what? She lives right next door, so when you get here you can see her every day just like I do. You have to call her Grace, though, and not Just Grace like they do at school. They only do that because when Miss Lois, our teacher, was naming the four Graces in the class, she got confused and named Grace that by accident.

  Grace is great—for sure you are going to like her. Mom and Dad are pretty nice too. They sometimes have rules but I am sure you will get used to them and not mind so much. Mom is really good at reading bedtime stories and Dad is an expert swimmer. When you get old enough you can hold on to his back and he will dive up and down like a dolphin. It's really fun, but first you will have to know how to hold your breath and blow bubbles. You might have to get some lessons for that.

  Mom said I get to pick out some fun stuff for your room. I can't wait to make it super cute for you.

  There are some boys, Max and Sammy, that live near here too, but you don't have to play with them if you don't want to.

  Lots of love,

  Your new big sister,

  Mimi

  xoxoxoxo

  P. S. The boys don't live in our house, but you might see them in the yard sometimes.

  WHAT YOU MIGHT SAY IF YOU ARE SURPRISED OUT OF YOUR MIND

  "Mimi! What? You're getting a sister! OMG. I can't believe it!" I had to whisper the OMG part because Dad says I'm not allowed to say that anymore. It's on his list of improper English-language words. I tried to complain to Mom, but she just said, "That's what happens when you have a dad who studied English in school. Plus it means he cares about you and how you sound." Maybe, but mostly I think he just likes making up rules.

  I had a million and one questions for Mimi. Is your mom pregnant? How come she doesn't look fat? How do you know it's going to be a sister? When is she coming? Do you get to pick out her name? Can I help decorate the room? Wow! I flopped myself back on the bed and rested for a second. Not knowing stuff and being full of questions can really be tiring.

  Mimi was excited to tell me everything. She said her mom wasn't fat because she wasn't pregnant. And instead of her mom getting pregnant and having a baby, her family was going to adopt one. The only thing she wasn't sure about was if the new sister was going to be a baby or one who could walk already. But whatever the sister was, Mimi said she was sure she would be little, sweet, and super cute. And she was 100 percent excited about it.

  I got right to work thinking of some really good girl names, but Mimi said the little sister might come with a name already. Mimi's mom had already made some rules about the name. If the sister was two or three, they had to keep the name she came with. Mimi said they were only going to change it if the sister was still a baby.

  "Wow, Mimi!" I had to say "wow" again, because stuff like a new sister does not happen very often in a life. "I know," said Mimi, and then while she waited lying on my bed, I ran to the bathroom.

  WHAT IS HARD

  Mimi said she could hardly wait to get her new sister, and that the waiting part was taking forever. "When do you get her?" I asked. "Can you go on Saturday?" Mostly my parents did shopping stuff and errands on Saturdays and Sundays. Once when we were getting a new kitchen table and chairs we even had to rent a trailer and stay overnight in a hotel. They were really far away, but Mom loved them, so Dad had to say yes.

  Mimi said she didn't think it was that easy, because her mom and dad were still getting interviewed and tested to see if they would be good parents. Mimi said even though they were a great mom and dad to her, it wasn't good enough. "They still have to take a super-big test," said Mimi. "And write tons of e-mails, fill out lots of papers, and do lots of talking on the phone. Then at the end, after they pass, the tester people are going to come to our house and look at everything. And they'll probably even look in my room!"

  Mimi seemed nervous about that, and she was right to be worried, because Mimi's room is a disaster. She has the messiest room I have ever seen. She was for sure going to have to clean it up. And just when I was thinking that, Mimi said, "I'm for sure going to have to clean up my room." It was like she could read my mind. Good friends are like that.

  WHAT I DID NOT KNOW

  After we had finished with all the new-sister stuff, I suddenly remembered the other part of Mimi's letter that I wanted to talk about. I really love dolphins, so of course I had to ask Mimi about her dad. "Can he really swim like a dolphin? You know—the up-and-down part? How about if you close your eyes—does it feel like you're riding on a real dolphin?" Mimi shook her head no but said, "It's still pretty cool. Plus you don't have to worry about sharks." "Good point," I said. I'd forgotten about sharks. Sharks can ruin everything.

  The wrong fin can ruin your fun.

  Before she went home for supper, Mimi made me promise not to tell her sister secret to anyone—not even Augustine Dupre. This was a hard promise to make. Augustine Dupre is the flight attendant who lives in the little apartment in my basement, and even though she is all grown up, she is still one of my best friends. One of the best things about Augustine Dupre is that she is a great listener. It's always su
per easy to tell her stuff. Sometimes I tell her things that I didn't even know my brain was thinking. The words just come out of my mouth and float straight up to her ears. I thought about it for a moment and then I said, "Okay, I promise!" But inside my head my brain was thinking, It's not going to be easy.

  WHAT MINI RAN BACK TO TELL ME AFTER SHE LEFT

  "Oh, I forgot," said Mimi. "You can tell your mom, because my mom told her so she already knows." So of course as soon as Mimi left again I ran into the kitchen to find Mom. "You knew? How come you didn't tell me? Mom! How could you keep such a super-big secret and not tell me?" Mom looked at me and said, "What secret, honey?" Mom is very sneaky. You can't fool her into telling you a secret just by pretending you already know it. "Mimi's sister secret!" I said. "Oh," said Mom. "That secret. I'm glad she told you. Isn't it exciting? Now she'll be a big sister. She must be thrilled." Mom was so smiling and happy that I mostly forgot to be mad at her for keeping it from me.

  "And guess what, Mom?" I could hardly wait to tell her the next part. "She gets to pick out stuff for the room, and if it's a baby maybe even pick out her name. Isn't that cool? She could call her Vanilla or Jessica or Violet or..." And then I sat down with some paper to make a list because I was super excited and my brain was thinking of all sorts of cool names. Sometimes great thoughts don't stay in your head. That's why it's good to write stuff down. It was a good thing I was doing that, because two minutes later Mom said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you about Mrs. Luther. Did you know she moved away for four months?" I was so surprised that if I hadn't already written down Jasmine, I would have for sure forgotten it. And that would have been too bad, because Jasmine is a really good girl name.

  WHAT I SAID TO MOM

  "Why are there so many surprises all of a sudden? Why can't there just be one new thing at a time? Why do we have to have a hundred new things and changes all on the same day?" Mom gave me her look that means I don't know what you are talking about and Can you please calm down? She uses the same look for two different things. After she does the look she always puts her hands on her hips.

  Sometimes that part makes me smile because I am watching for it to happen, and then when it happens I think, Ah-ha! I knew you were going to do that.

  "Okay, sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Where did Mrs. Luther go?" I tried extra hard not to use my attitude voice. If Mom even thinks I am using the attitude voice she gives me her big talk about attitude. And I didn't want to hear about appropriate voice choices—I wanted to hear about Mrs. Luther. It took Mom a long time to explain the Mrs. Luther story. She added a lot of details that I was not very interested in. Superlong stories can sometimes be tiring, and you might have to move around a lot while listening.

  MRS. LUTHER'S STORY

  Mrs. Luther, my neighbor, had left her house and gone to work at another school for four months. It was a teacher emergency thing. She was like a superhero substitute.

  This part of the story was not very exciting. Mrs. Luther is nice, but I was pretty sure I wasn't going to miss her very much while she was away. I do not go to her house or even see her very often. Mom was still talking, but I was having trouble listening because suddenly my brain was full of thinking about Crinkles. Crinkles is Mrs. Luther's cat, and just about the nicest cat in the whole world. Everyone that meets him just falls totally and madly in love with him.

  I had to stop Mom's story right that minute, even though she was not finished talking. "Mom! What about Crinkles? Did she take him too?" I was asking this because the person who maybe loves Crinkles the most in the whole world lives right downstairs in my basement. If Mrs. Luther had taken Crinkles away, Augustine Dupre was for sure going to have a broken heart!

  Of course Mom didn't know anything about Crinkles. She is not very good about collecting important information. Even though she loves to watch police shows, she would be a terrible detective.

  WHAT MOM DID KNOW

  While Mrs. Luther was gone, a French family that was friends with Augustine Dupre was going to move in. They were going to stay in Mrs. Luther's house so that they could be away from their own house while it was getting a new kitchen. This was the 100 percent exciting part of the story! Augustine Dupre is one of my most favorite people ever, and now we were going to get to live next door to some of her fancy French friends!

  I lifted my arms up and said, "Mom, wow!" This is the new saying I made up for Mom. I only use it when she tells me some thing amazing, or when we are together and something super-good happens. It's special and just for her. She loves it!

  Of course now I was dying to go downstairs and talk to Augustine Dupre. Usually I am not allowed to visit her after six p.m. or dinner, whichever comes first. Mom's big saying is "Grace, Augustine Dupre is not paying rent for the privilege of constantly entertaining a chatty eight-year-old." But this time even though it was after six-thirty, she did not say that. Instead she said, "Okay, go ahead." Maybe it was the power of the MOM, WOW.

  AUGUSTINE DUPRE

  Augustine Dupre has the best apartment ever. It is colorful and glamorous, and every time I see it, she has some kind of new French decoration making it look even fancier. She pretty much gets new stuff from France every week. Augustine Dupre is a flight attendant for a French airline, and if you like to collect nice stuff from France, this seems like the perfect job to have.

  Augustine Dupre always knows when it's me knocking at her door. I made up a special knock so she wouldn't have to get worried and kick Crinkles out. So when I do my knock she always knows right away it's me.

  Augustine Dupre is not allowed to have any pets in her apartment. This is one of Dad's rules, so if Dad is around, she has to shoo Crinkles away and pretend like he was never there.

  As soon as I walked in I saw Crinkles sitting on Augustine Dupre's sofa. I couldn't believe Mrs. Luther had left him. It was like Augustine Dupre could read my mind, because the next thing she said was "I am going to help take care of Crinkles while Mrs. Luther is away." Then she put her fingers up to her mouth and made a shushing sound. I knew exactly what she was meaning. She was saying, "It's our secret—don't tell your dad." Of course she didn't have to worry about me, because I know how to keep a secret. And now I had two.

  I like Crinkles, but lately I have been trying to be more careful about not touching him, so I sat in a chair instead of on the sofa. Mimi is so allergic to cats that even if I just pet Crinkles once, her nose will know about it and start sneezing as soon as I stand near her. Some friends are more important than cats.

  WHAT AUGUSTINE DUPRE TOLD ME

  Augustine Dupre is so smart. Without me even saying a word about it she knew exactly why I was visiting. She said, "I bet you want to hear about Mrs. Luther's house and my friends." She said her friends' names were Yvonne and Francois, and that they had a daughter name Lily. "I am sure you will like Lily," said Augustine Dupre. "She is very energetic. And she will absolutely love you. How could she not?"

  Augustine Dupre gave my hand a little squeeze and then she told me something that was a complete surprise. "I was thinking you might like to help Yvonne by being a mother's helper. I have told her about you and she is interested. Would you like a little job?"

  It was a MOM, WOW-OMG moment, but with Augustine Dupre I try to be more fancy, so I said, "Oh my gosh, that sounds great!" Being a mother's helper was not something I had ever been before, but you don't always have to be a doer to be a knower. And I was pretty much already knowing all about it.

  WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK A MOTHER'S HELPER IS

  If you had never heard about being a mother's helper before you would probably think it was a job where you help a mom do boring mom chores. Things like

  washing clothes

  cleaning the floor

  putting things in cupboards

  folding laundry

  If you thought these things, then you would be wrong. This is not being a mother's helper. This is being a mom!

  A mother's helper is a lot more fun, and that is because mother's helper is a per
son putting things in cupboards who plays with the kids and keeps them having fun. The mom likes this because then she doesn't have to listen to them, and she can do all her mom stuff without getting interrupted. Mother's helpers do things like play fun games with kids,

  eat snacks with kids,

  show kids how to make forts in the living room,

  and keep kids away from the stove.

  THE NUMBER ONE SURPRISING THING ABOUT BEING A MOTHER'S HELPER

  You get paid real money to do it!

  BEING A MOTHER'S HELPER IS EASY BECAUSE...

  The mom is right there in the house in case the kids are naughty, get hurt, or forget to go to the bathroom. It's the perfect nothing-can-go-wrong job.

  WHAT HAPPENED NEXT THAT WAS UNUSUAL

  If I am visiting with Augustine Dupre and Mom wants me to come back upstairs, she usually yells down the stairs, but this time she came to the door instead. We had to shoo Crinkles out of the apartment really fast. He was not happy.

  Augustine Dupre and Mom talked about the new French neighbors, and Mom said she was looking forward to meeting Augustine Dupre's friends. I couldn't help myself—even though it wasn't polite, I had interrupt and tell Mom the exciting news. "Guess what, Mom? I'm going to have a job! I get to be a mother's helper." At first Mom seemed surprised, but then she asked a very good question. "Have you thought about asking Mimi to help you?" She was right. It was a great idea. The job would be a lot more fun if Mimi was going to do it too.