The Way to the Big Time (Wattys 2013)

Chapter 4: The White Crayon

I woke up to shouting.

"Sissy!" Cierra yelled, running into my room.

"What?" I asked.

"Ella took my crayon!!"

"Which crayon?"

"The white one!"

"Cici, why were you using a white crayon?"

"Because I was drawing on black paper, duh!"

I shook my head, amused. "Ok, I'll get it back from her."

We walked into their room. It was hot pink, and by the huge window was a white wooden bunk bed. Each bed held a zoo of stuffed animals, of course. Bella and Snow were on the pink and purple rug, tearing apart a chew toy. Ella was there, coloring on red paper with the white crayon. It wasn't working.

"Sissy, the white crayon doesn’t work!”

“That’s because you have to color on black paper with white crayons.”

“Well, that makes more sense than it liking Cici better."

“Ella,” I said sternly. “Give the crayon back. Now!”

Ella stuck out her tongue and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. I sighed, then picked up my phone and called Tala.

"Hello?" I heard her voice.

"Hey Tal, it's me. Look, we got a 37 emergency."

"37 emergency?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh! You mean the emergency were

'Ella-stole-Cierra's-white-crayon-and-locked-herself-in-the-bathroom-and-I-need-to-come-over-and-help-right-now'? Or was it the blue crayon, again?"

"White," I confirmed, and she said she'd be right over.

In a few minutes Tala was over, and Cierra was playing with Snow.

"Does Cici even want the crayon back?" she asked.

"Yes!" Cierra shouted.  

"Ok, then." Tala said, sighing. We both went next to the door that connected the bathroom to their room. Tala walked over to the window, and clung to the ivy on the side of our house. I crossed my fingers she wouldn’t fall (we were three stories off the ground, after all) but I knew she had done this before. She shuffled over, and I heard the sound of a window opening, then a soft crunch. All of a sudden, Ella started laughing hysterically and the bathroom door opened. Tala stood there with a white crayon in her hand, and a huge smile on her face.

"Girls!" my mom yelled, coming into our room. "Why did I see Tala on the side of our house?"

"Bye Mrs. Jazz!" Tala yelled, whispered "Bye!" to me, and raced past my mom. I heard our front door slam, and glanced out the window to see Tala running down the sidewalk. I almost laughed, but then my mom said,

"WELL?"

"I have to brush my teeth!" Cierra squeaked, and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door.

“I have to, uh... watch Strawberry Shortcake?" Ella added, but my mom grabbed her before she could run away.

"Tell me the truth!" My mom said sternly.

"She... um," Ella said, trying to twist out of my moms grasp. "Likes to climb?" At that point, she managed to turn out of my moms hand, and ran downstairs. My mom looked expectantly at me, and I pretended to look at my watch. Which, is very weird, because I never wear a watch and my mom knew it.

"Wow! Look at the time!" I said, pretending to care. "This is WAY past my bedtime!" Which, is also weird, because I don't have a bed time. My mom just sighed, though, as I ran past her. I locked myself in my room, and turned on a movie. I managed to sneak downstairs, and grab an ice cream container. I hid in my room, watched movies, and ate ice cream for the rest of the night. After about an hour, I got a text message. It was from Tala. It read:

‘That was close! Did I get you in trouble?’

‘no, my mom was pretty cool about it.’ I texted back.

‘Oh, good!’

‘What’s going on?’

‘Just watching a weird movie called ‘Return of the Astro-Guy’. Why?’

‘Just wondering...’ Her next text surprised me though.

‘Sorry! Gotta go!’

‘Why?’I asked.

‘The competition called for me! hope we make it!’ I knew what she meant. She was the dance team leader, and there was a huge competition coming up. I wished her squad would make it, because they were really, really good. About an hour later I got another text from her.

‘WE DID IT!’

‘GREAT!’ I texted back, and I could almost see her jumping up and down.

‘Will you come?’

‘Wouldn’t miss it.’

‘See you!’I couldn’t wait for her to tell me the date! I was really happy for her, because I knew this was just what she wanted. I decided it was time for bed, and fell fast asleep.