Shake Your Groove Thing Part Two

     Carla was deep in thought when Julia elbowed her in the ribs.
     "Are you gonna say something or..." Julia had a whisper of a southern accent and long (and she meant long!) brown hair. Her eyes twinkled playfully. "Don't go worrying 'bout if you get in or not, I'm in and I put in a good word for you!"
     "But the dance is tonight! And I've barely practiced today!" Carla fretted, playing with her head scarf. "And Cooper is sick so I might not even go if my mom goes out to meet Mr. Grady again. And even if Mom invites Mr. Grady over then I might have to stay home and say hello! But if Cletus gets sick then Mom might have to cancel. And then she might not want me go out in case I get sick." Carla was panting at the end of her rant.
     "Are you done?"
      Carla dropped onto one of the benches in front of Woodchester High and nodded.
     Julia sat down beside her, after making sure the bench was sanitary of course. "You always seem to find the worst situations don't you? Then you freak out over them, girl, you gotta chill once in awhile."
     "Yeah, you're right, Jules." Carla stood up as the school bell rang. "Let's go or we're going to be late."

     "Gimme a S!" Julia jumped up, wildly waving her coral-pink, teal, and white pompoms.
     "S!" The other cheerleaders sang out.
     "Gimme a T!
     "T!"
     This continued until "Stingrays" had been spelled. Of when Julia cried out. "What's that spell?!"
     "Stingrays, Stingrays! Rulers of the Reef! We shall never, ever be beat! Yayyy!" The other cheerleaders jumped around giddily.
     "Far out girls! Take five!" Julia strode over to Carla, who was drooping over after waiting for an hour of chanting and dangerous-looking stunts.
     "Ready to head out?" Carla yawned.
     "What? No applause? That was our best performance yet!"
     Carla glared at her upbeat friend. "The dance off is in two hours."
     "Alright," Julia scooped up her pompoms. "Let's go!"
     The walk to Carla's house was mostly quiet. "So... When you win, milkshakes at Coughman's?"
     "If I win..." Carla started fiddling with her scarf again.
     "When you win," Julia argued and nudged Carla's shoulder.
     "Omf!" Carla banged into school mascot, Coral the Stingray. "Sorry!"
     The stingray lifted off her mask. "It's cool!" she assured and gave a cheerful smile. "I'm Dawn, by the way."
      Carla nodded sheepishly. "Far out, I'm Carla. I didn't mean to bump into you."
      "No harm done!" Dawn bounced up and down. "I'm so psyched to meet you!" Dawn had bouncing blonde curls and a face that looked like a printer had pasted a permanent smile onto it.
     Carla high-fived her.
     Julia suddenly brightened. "Hey, you go to Good Vibes right?"
     "Sure do!"
     Dawn froze as a voice yelled out. "Where's that stingray?!"
     "Peace out! Gotta dash!" Dawn shoved the costume back on and flapped away.
     "So she goes to GVDS?" Carla prodded.
     "Yeah, Dawn's cool." Julia replied. "Now come on! Or do you want to lose that scholarship?"

Good Vibes: Shake Your Groove Thing Part One

     Carla chewed thoughtfully on the end of her pencil. Her green eyes wandered across her flowery wallpaper. She could here thumping coming from below as her younger, twin brothers tried sledding down the stairs, though not very successfully. It was winter, and in the Frizzle house it was just as cold inside as it was out.
     Carla went back to scribbling on the sign-up sheet. She was trying to get into Good Vibes Dance Studio, a place she had wanted in on since she was four. Carla loved to dance, but with her parents' budget she wasn't going anywhere. At least not until she had heard about Good Vibes giving away a free membership to whomever won the dance-off at Woodchester High School. Carla had to win, she had been practicing her routine from dawn to dusk, until it was flawless.
     Carla finished filling out the form, folded it neatly into a envelope, and placed it safely on her dresser. Then she headed downstairs to yell at Cooper and Cletus, who were now attempting to be kings and order each other around.
     "I herby decree that you, Cooper the- um- Crazy, are sentenced to death!"
     "Nu uh!" Cooper demanded back. "I decree that YOU be sentenced to death!"
     "No, YOU!"
     "YOU!"
     "YOU!"
     "Yeah, yeah," Carla hustled her brothers into the kitchen. "I overrule you both, you both die."
     "You can't do that!" Cletus protested, kicking his feet as Carla scooped him up upside down and slung him over her shoulder.
     "Just did." Carla said, ending further argument. Carla's parents were out that night so they had left Carla in charge, not that it mattered, her brothers would still have tried executing each other and sledding down the stairs no matter who was watching them.
     Carla set Cletus down and heard the phone ring. "Don't touch anything." she threatened and went to answer the phone. "Yes? Carla Frizzle speaking."
     CRASH! Carla whipped around as Cooper pointed at Cletus while standing beside an overturned pot with mac 'n cheese spilling out of it.
     "Hold on, Julia," Carla put her hand over the speaker. "What are you doing!" she hissed. "That was dinner!"
     "Cletus did it!" Cooper whimpered, still pointing.
     "Nu uh!" Cletus argued. "I didn't touch it! Like Carly said!"
     "No, YOU did it!"
     "No, YOU!"
     "YOU!"
     "Stop!" Carla slammed the phone onto the receiver, accidentally cutting off Julia. "Go to your rooms!"
     "But we share a room-" Cooper started.
     "GO!"
     "Sorry, Julia. I'll call you back..." Carla realized she was holding air and saw the phone shoved brashly down. Carla sagged into a bright salmon chair and buried her face in her hands. She had to get into that dance/boarding school, or she would be trapped babysitting Cooper and Cletus for the rest of her life.