I grimaced. Argh. I really was the world’s worst best friend.
I glanced at the clock. I had an hour before I needed to get ready. Sitting down at my computer, I opened Microsoft Word. Then I placed my hands on the keyboard and started to type. A new chapter in the Collin Prince universe. Where a selfish, rotten girl learns a very valuable lesson about friendship—and undergoes terrible consequences for her bad behavior, losing her chance with Collin Prince forever. (Who ends up dating her super-cool, amazing, talented, sweet best friend instead—and falls in love forever.)
When I had finished, I uploaded it to Wattpad, where the rest of the story lived. I knew the website would send her a notification that it was there. I only hoped she’d go and read it.
In any case, now it was time to get ready. I pulled my beautiful princess dress out of the closet and gazed at it for a moment. This was the last time I’d ever wear it, I realized. The thought made me a little sad.
I’d just finished putting the last touches on my makeup when the doorbell rang. A moment later, Kalani stepped into my room.
“Here I am!” she said. Then she collapsed onto my bed.
I frowned, looking her over. “Is something wrong?”
She looked up, a little guiltily. “Why would anything be wrong?”
“No offense? But you’re looking a little green.”
“Oh.” She gave a small shrug. “I’m not entirely sure those tacos last night agreed with me. But don’t worry. I’ll be—”
She stopped short. Her eyes widened into saucers. Suddenly she was pushing past me and running full speed out of my room and down the hall to the bathroom. A moment later my ears caught the worst sound in the history of sounds.
Full-on puking.
I sank down on my bed, my own stomach lurching. Oh no. Not now! Of all times—not now!
Kalani limped back into the room a few minutes later. “Um . . .” she said. “I was hoping I was done with all of that.”
“With all of what? What do you mean? Was that not the first time you’ve thrown up?”
“Technically?” She winced. “It’s the sixth time. I think, anyway. I kind of lost track at one point last night. I blame being delirious from the fever.”
“You have a fever, too?” I fell back onto the bed, staring up at my ceiling. This was bad. This was really bad. “Were you even going to tell me?”
“No. Of course not! I mean, I wanted to. But I didn’t want to let you down.” Kalani gave me a desperate look. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. It only happens every hour or two and . . .” She trailed off. “Oh no,” she said. Right before she puked all over her dress.
“Excuse me,” she whimpered, and ran back to the bathroom.
I rose from my bed, pacing the room, my heart pounding at a desperate rate. There was no way I could bring her to the wedding like this. What if she got everyone sick? What if she puked on one of the guests? Or on a kid!
But what alternative did I have? If I didn’t take her, then I’d be going solo. It was already going to be hard enough to play the part of two babysitters. Now I’d have to play all four? And I couldn’t even cancel now—since we’d already lied about the other two. There was no way they were going to buy that three out of the four of us were suddenly stricken with the plague.
“Ew. It smells like puke in here.”
I looked up to see Ginny hovering in the doorway. The last person I wanted to see. “What do you want?” I demanded.
“Nothing. Mom just wanted me to let you know lunch was ready.”
“Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”
She looked me over from head to toe. “You have a babysitting job today?” she sniffed. “I thought you were done with all that.”
“We are,” I said, not sure why I was even bothering to explain. “We just have to do this one last wedding and—”
“So,” Kalani interrupted, trouncing back into the room. Her dress was soaking wet from being washed and her makeup was all smudged. “That happened.”
I sighed. “Kalani, go home and go back to bed,” I told her. “I’ll call you later.”
“I can’t go to bed! We’ve got the wedding in an hour!”
I could feel Ginny looking from one of us to the other, but I refused to dignify her questioning face with an answer. She’d love it too much—to know what a desperate situation we were in.
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it. Now go get some rest. I’ll call you later.”
“No! Really, Hailey. I’ll be—oh boy!”
I rolled my eyes as she ran out of the room again. Seriously, how much puke could one tiny girl’s stomach contain? I’d have been impressed if I hadn’t been so worried.
Ginny raised her eyebrows. “Looks to me like you’re short a babysitter,” she said.
“I’m short three babysitters, actually,” I replied. “Thanks for noticing.”
She paused for a moment, giving me a considering look. Then she opened her mouth to speak. “Did you . . . need some help, then?” she asked. “I could probably find a dress somewhere. I think Mom has a few in her closet from when she was a bridesmaid. And I know I have a tiara somewhere in my room . . .”
I stared at her, surprised. Was she being serious? And if she was, should I take her up on her offer? After all, I was a bit desperate here. And beggars couldn’t be choosers . . .
But in the end I shook my head. It just wouldn’t work out. She didn’t know the scripts or any of our games. And, most importantly, if I let her help, she’d want a share of the money. And we needed every last penny of that money for this to work.
“Thanks for offering,” I said stiffly. “But I’ll be fine.”
She shrugged, gave me a look that could loosely be translated as Your funeral, and then exited my room. I watched her go, biting my lower lip, wondering if I’d made the right decision. Part of me wanted to call her back, to beg her to join me. Anything to not have to do this alone.
But no. This princess didn’t need a fairy stepsister. She could do this herself.
At least I hoped I could. . . .
27
“HI! I’M HAILEY. REPORTING FOR babysitting duty!”
The woman who answered the door looked behind me. “I thought there were going to be four of you,” she said.
My knees wobbled a little, but I held my ground. “The other three are on their way. I just thought I’d get here a little early to meet everyone and get all the instructions I need for each kid. After all, you’re going to be so busy later, I doubt you’ll even have time to meet the other girls.”
She laughed. “Good point.” Then she held out her hand. “I’m Mrs. Wilding. I’m the mother of the bride. Katarina is really busy getting ready right now, so I hope you don’t mind if we skip all the formalities of introduction.”
I shook my head. I didn’t mind one bit.
“Okay. Great.” She stepped aside to allow me into the house. “Right now we have the girls in the playroom. We’ll have you stay with them there until it’s go time—to make sure they stay clean. Then you’ll bring them outside for the ceremony. Once they do their flower girl thing, you’ll bring them back here to change out of their dresses and into play clothes. Then they can run wild as far as I’m concerned.” Her eyes locked on me. “Do you think you girls can handle that?”
“Oh yeah. Piece of cake,” I declared, stepping into the playroom. Three adorable-looking redheaded triplet girls sat playing in the corner with their dolls. They looked a little like dolls themselves with their perfect curls and dimpled cheeks and pretty, lacy white dresses. When I said hello, they all looked up at me and gave me matching big smiles.
I smiled back. “Hello, girls,” I said. “I’m Princess Awesome. And I am so excited to be here to play with you today.”
They cheered and ran over to give me hugs. I hugged them back and patted each on the head. “We’re going to have a great time!” I assured them. Then I turned to Mrs. Wilding. “So wait. There are only three of t
hem?”
She snorted. “Only three. Now that’s a good one.”
“Okay. So . . . no offense, but why did you hire four babysitters?”
“Well . . .” She glanced over at the triplets. “Let’s just say they’re not always on their best behavior. And it’s really important to my daughter that nothing go wrong. So I figured why not? We’re spending enough on this wedding as it is. Why not spend a little more . . . just in case?”
I nodded. “That’s very smart,” I said, though truth be told, it sounded a little idiotic to me. But hey—if she wanted to waste her money, who was I to say anything? I glanced over at the three girls, looking very relieved. Why, this wouldn’t be bad at all! I could totally do this by myself.
“Okay,” Mrs. Wildling said. “Then I’ll leave you to your princessing.” She smiled. “Great idea, by the way. The princess babysitting thing. I’ve told all my friends about it. They all want to meet you girls tonight.” She grinned. “You may end the night with a lot of new customers!”
Uh-oh. Out loud, I said, “Um, that’s great! But as you know, our first priority will be the girls. So there may not be too much time for meet and greets.”
She beamed at me. “See? I love you girls already.” She glanced at her watch. “Oh my. I wanted to greet the others, but I must get back to my daughter. She’s probably flipping out right now. Do you think you can handle it from here?”
“Absolutely. You go—check on your daughter. The girls and I will be fine.”
Famous. Last. Words.
28
“OKAY, GIRLS!” I GREETED THE triplets with a big smile. “Let’s get this party started, shall we? Does everyone have their masks?”
The three girls cheered, scrambling to grab their little masks from a nearby table. I helped each of them attach the mask to her face before putting on my own. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and smiled. It was perfect. No one would have any idea whether I was playing myself—or one of my friends.
I turned back to the triplets, who were staring up at me expectantly. I smiled. “Okay,” I said. “We have a little time before the wedding. Who wants to see a magic trick?” I sat down and reached into my bag to pull out my Elsa wand. I’d do a little pretend snow to warm them up. Then maybe we could fly the teddy bear on the parachute. And then—
“I have to potty!” cried Triplet #1.
Of course she did. I sighed. “Okay,” I said. “Well, then we’ll start off by playing Go to the Potty!” I rose to my feet and clapped my hands. “Everyone ready?”
Triplets #2 and #3 frowned. “We don’t want to go to the potty,” said Triplet #2.
“We want to stay here and play,” said Triplet #3, crossing her pudgy arms across her chest.
I glanced out of the playroom, biting my lower lip. This was where having at least one backup would have come in handy. But the bathroom was just across the hall—I could see it from here. Surely the other two girls could play by themselves for a few minutes while I took their sister to pee. After all, they’d been playing nicely by themselves before I got here.
“Okay,” I said. “But stay right here. Do not leave this room.”
“Yes, Princess Awesome.”
I let out a breath of relief. Then I led Triplet #1 to the bathroom and helped her inside. It was a very small powder room, and I barely fit with my dress.
“Are you sure you can’t do this by yourself?” I asked the little girl.
“I need to poop,” she said proudly. “I need you to wipe me when I poop.”
Awesome.
I glanced at the door, which I’d left open a crack, to try to keep an eye out for the other two girls. I could hear them giggling from across the hall.
“Okay, fine,” I said. “But hurry up, okay? I don’t want to leave your sisters for too long.”
She gave me a skeptical look. “You can’t rush a poop, Princess Awesome.”
Right. Silly me.
From across the hall I heard a loud crash. I winced. Uh-oh.
“Um, you go ahead and start . . . doing your thing,” I told the little girl. “I’m just going to go check on your sisters. I’ll be back in a second to wipe you.”
“Okay.”
I pushed through the door and dashed across the hall, back into the playroom. Triplet #2 looked up at me with a proud grin. In the approximately three seconds I’d been away, she’d somehow managed to trash the entire playroom—including pulling off every single book from a huge bookcase onto the floor. It would have been impressive had it not been so horrifying.
“What did you do?” I cried.
She shrugged. “I wanted something to read.”
This might have been a believable answer, I supposed, if she had been holding an actual book. Instead she was sitting across the room, playing with two Barbie dolls.
It was then that I realized the bigger problem. “Where’s your sister?” I demanded, praying she wasn’t actually buried under the huge pile of heavy books.
“She went to find you,” Triplet #2 said, matter-of-factly. “She said she had to pee too.”
Ugh. I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated. “Okay. You pick up those books. I’m going to find your sister. Do not leave the room.”
“Yes, Princess Awesome.”
“Princess Awesome! I need to be wiped!” came from across the hall.
Perfect. “I’ll be right there!”
I gave Triplet #2 a warning look, then ran across the hall to the bathroom. But before I could squeeze back inside, an elderly woman with large, thick glasses stepped into my path. She peered at me quizzically, squinting her eyes.
“Are you . . . no. You’re not Kalani,” she said. “Are you?”
“Um. No. I’m Hailey. You, uh, know Kalani?”
“Yes!” The woman beamed. “I’m her great-aunt. I heard she would be here today, helping with the babysitting, and I’d love to see her. It’s been so long!” She peered behind me. “Is she . . . here?”
I swallowed hard. Duh. It was Kalani’s cousin getting married—it made sense she’d have relatives in attendance. “She’s . . . here,” I blurted out, not knowing what else to say. “Um, but I think she’s off helping one of the triplets to the bathroom. And she’ll, uh, be right back!”
“Great! I’ll wait for her, then.”
“Uh, you really don’t . . . I could have her find you . . . I mean, when she . . .”
But Kalani’s aunt was already pushing past me and heading into the playroom. Great. I swallowed hard, my heart pounding nervously in my chest. I should have told her Kalani wasn’t here yet. Or something. Anything.
“Princess Awesome! I need to wipe!”
Right. I dashed back into the bathroom, grabbing a huge swatch of toilet paper in the process. I did the deed, then shooed the triplet back into the playroom. Kalani’s aunt looked up at me. “Did you find her?”
“Um.” I tried to give her a bright smile, but probably came off looking like a crazy person. Thank goodness she was obviously very nearsighted. “Not yet. But I will.” I paused, then added, “Can you watch these two girls for a second while I do?”
“Of course!” she cried. “I would love to! Such sweet girls!”
I let out a breath of relief. “Okay. Be right back.”
I raced down the hall, my gaze darting from left to right, desperate to find my missing charge. As I turned the corner and entered the kitchen, I found her, digging her grubby little fingers into the wedding cake. No!
“What are you doing?” I demanded, grabbing her and yanking her away.
“I was hungry!” she cried, bursting into tears.
“You can eat later!” I frantically brushed the crumbs (a.k.a. evidence) from her dress, then grabbed a knife to smooth over the finger hole in the cake best I could. Then I grabbed her hand and pulled her from the kitchen. “Come on!”
We headed back toward the playroom. Halfway there I remembered that Kalani’s aunt was still waiting. So I pulled the little girl into th
e bathroom with me and shut the door.
“What are we doing?” she demanded.
“Your sister said you had to pee,” I told her, as I pulled off my top dress for a quick changeroo, faster than Superman in a phone booth. Underneath I was wearing Madison’s short pirate princess dress. Not exactly something Kalani would have worn, but her great-aunt wouldn’t know that.
“Why are you changing?” Triplet #3 demanded, giving me a suspicious look.
“Don’t you change your princess costumes?” I shot back.
She considered this for a moment. “Yes,” she said at last. “Once I was even Elsa and Cinderella at the same time.” She looked pleased with herself.
“That must have looked really cool,” I told her, pulling my hair back into a bun. My hair wasn’t as dark as Kalani’s, but hopefully pulled back that wouldn’t be noticeable, especially to a nearsighted aunt. “Right now, I am playing Princess Kalani.” I ushered her out of the bathroom. “Princess Kalani. You got that? Now let’s go find your sisters.”
We stepped back into the playroom. My eyes widened in horror as I found Kalani’s aunt, tied up to the rocking chair she’d been sitting in. To make matters worse, there were no triplets to be seen.
“Oh my gosh. What happened?” I cried. “Um . . . Auntie?” I added, remembering I was supposed to be playing the part of my friend. Not that I was sure it mattered much at this point.
“Oh, nothing! The girls wanted to play hide-and-seek,” the aunt said brightly. “I had to be tied up first. So I didn’t cheat.” She giggled. I stifled a groan of frustration.
“So where are they now?”
“Oh, I don’t know, my dear. I wasn’t paying attention.” She beamed up at me. “Kalani, did you dye your hair?”
“Um, yes?” I dropped to my knees and struggled with her ropes. Who knew a couple of four-year-olds could tie knots like a sailor? It took me nearly a minute to get her free.