“It’s so pretty!” Louise said. “She’ll love it.”
“And it’s not that expensive,” Jillian said.
“It feels very grown up to me,” their mother stated, and they had to agree. It seemed like something anyone would like, not just a little girl. “Do you know—has anyone bought one of these in the last few days?”
“This is the only one we had in stock. It’s been discontinued.”
“It can be exchanged? It’s going to be a gift.”
“Yes, I can give you a gift receipt.”
As the clerk rang up their purchases, their mother said, “After you buy a nice item, you wrap it as elegantly as possible, along with a sophisticated card. So next stop, a card shop.”
* * *
Louise drifted through the Hallmark store, looking at all the bright displays competing for attention. The gift-wrap aisle had animated wrapping paper. Racecars silently roaring down ribbons of asphalt for boys. Galloping unicorns for girls.
Louise paused to finger the unicorns wistfully as they raced in elegant circles, manes and tails blowing on sparkling magical wind. The only thing that Louise held against Ella was that once a week she took horse-riding lessons at a farm in New Jersey. On Elle’s profile on the school’s secure social network site were pictures of Ella doing English dressage on a beautiful gray mare with black mane and tail. The mare was prancing, ears forward, neck arched, right front leg and left back leg cocked high in mid-step. It was the most beautiful thing Louise had ever seen and she wanted with all her being to know what it was like to commune with such an animal.
Jillian came around the corner and shoved a card into Louise’s hands.
“Two cards?” Their mother followed on Jillian’s heels.
“She invited both of us.” Jillian snatched up the unicorn paper. “And we’re only giving her one present. It’s like one of us is going without a gift. If we go with only one card, then it’s like one of us is twiddling our nose at her.”
“The Pondwaters know that you two are at Perelman on a scholarship. They know we’re not at their level…”
“Yes, Elle’s parents know, but Elle is the one we have to live with and she’s nine.” Jillian bumped against Louise to get her to back her up.
Louise raised an eyebrow at her twin. Normally Jillian would have been glad for a chance to twiddle her nose at Elle. Jillian was up to something. “It’s just a little more for a second card.”
“Do you want us to look like welfare kids?” Jillian added.
“It’s the price of having us at a private school.” Louise checked the back of the card and winced. Between the barcode and copyright information was the price. It was more than a few dollars. This required work. “You should see the website of the party planners for this. It’s going to be a dress-up tea party like we’re a bunch of first graders. There’s going to be roses on every table, real china and silver candelabras and people dressed up like the characters from the movie.”
“And silk ball gowns and crowns for us to wear.”
“And a hair stylist and someone to do our nails.”
Their mother visibly melted. “Oh! That’s sounds so wonderful. You’re going to be so cute!”
“Mom!” they both cried.
Their mother sighed, shaking her head. “I swear, you two were never little girls. It’s like I gave birth to teenagers.”
As they headed for the checkout counter, Louise looked at the card in her hand. She half-expected it to be some odd joke card. It was surprisingly elegant. It took her a second to register that it read “Happy Birthday to Our Sister.”
“She turns eighteen on May first,” Jillian whispered. “Shutdown is next week and then again on May eighteenth. So if we want to get it to her anywhere close to ‘on time,’ we have to mail it today. Postage to Elfhome is going to take all our savings, so Mom needs to buy the card.”
Louise went breathless with the idea. They were actually sending their older sister a birthday card. She’d open up the envelope and be so surprised. There was no way she could know about them because their parents had stolen their embryos. Would she be just as excited as they were? Would she want to see them? At eighteen, she would be free to travel back and forth between Elfhome and Earth.
It was thrilling to think they might actually get to see their sister someday, maybe even someday soon because of the card. Still, Louise couldn’t help feeling as if the birthday card was a terrible idea.
9: LEMON-LIME FLAVORED FAME
Iggy was blown away by the video when they showed it to him. “This is awesome. I can’t believe you did this. But that’s Gage. And Mason.” He named their classmates as they appeared. The Lost Boys reached the Jolly Roger and there was a pan-over to show the pirates.