Never Grow Up

help write the paper and they would all sign it. After that the matter would be settled.
The Baxter kids would never grow up!

15
The Mystery of the Missing Bracelet
KARI
The talent show was in less than a week and Kari’s mind was jam-packed. She had a swim meet Wednesday. Another practice for the talent show was tonight with Mandy and Liza. She hadn’t started the essay on her future career. And she still didn’t know what that career might possibly be.
It was Saturday afternoon and Kari sat with her notebook and pen in the backyard on a blanket next to Bo. Kari ran her fingers through his soft, furry coat until Bo stood, yawned and circled a few times. Then he curled into a ball beside Kari and fell asleep.
“Oh, Bo.” Kari rubbed his ears. “You have no worries at all.”
She looked down at her notebook. All she had written was
When I grow up, I want to be…
That was it.
She thought about the zoo employees, and the farmer who visited her class. Also a senator who had talked to them, and then the visit to the hospital. But she didn’t love any of those jobs. She was beginning to worry that she’d never get this essay finished.
She jotted something on the paper that she knew the answer to:
8 Days until the meteor shower!
A bird squawked in the distance and Bo lifted his head. He sniffed the air and took off barking. At the same instant, Ashley came outside with a plate of sliced apples.
“Hey.” She set the plate down and took a seat next to Kari. “I think it’s time.”
“For what?” Kari took an apple slice.
“You know.” Ashley leaned back on her hands. “For a sister heart-to-heart talk.”
Kari laughed. “A heart-to-heart?”
“Yes.” Ashley bit into her apple. “You tell me what’s on your heart, and I tell you what’s on mine.”
“Okay…” Kari closed her notebook.
“I’ll go first!” Ashley stared straight at Kari. “I think we need to write a pledge and sign it. All us Baxter kids.”
“A pledge?” Kari had no idea where this was going. “What kind of pledge?”
“Like a contract… a promise.” Ashley chewed her apple and swallowed before finishing her thought. “A pledge to stay young forever. A never-grow-up contract!”
Kari laid down on her side, too. “You mean, make a promise to never get older?” She squinted. “Doesn’t everyone grow up?”
“Usually.” Ashley sat up, more serious. “But if we all agree to stay young forever. To not think about medical school or careers or even middle school…”
“Or what we want to be when we grow up!” Kari jumped to her feet. “I think you’re onto something here.”
“Exactly!” Ashley sat up, too. She clapped a few times. “Now you’re getting it.”
For a while they were quiet. Just the breeze in the orange and yellow trees and the sound of the birds overhead. Kari sighed. “I do wish we could stay this way forever.” She studied the sky. It was bright blue today. Peaceful. “I’m stuck on this assignment for school. We have to write an essay about what we want to be when we grow up.”
“Already?” Ashley sounded shocked. The way she’d sounded when she found out the kids wouldn’t be operating on anyone during Career Day.
Kari nodded. “It’s just… I don’t know what I want to do when I’m older.”
Ashley paused. “I heard Brooke telling Mom that she wants to go to medical school. Which is what got me thinking…”
“About the pledge?” Kari turned to her sister.
“Yes. If Luke, and Brooke, and Erin agree with us to stay young forever, then we’d have to do it. We’d find a way. Somehow.” Ashley’s excitement faded as she talked. “Right?”
“It’s worth a try.” Kari fumbled with the pencil in her hand. “I’ll sign it. I think everyone else will, too. Except maybe Brooke.”
“Okay.” Ashley sounded determined again. “I’ll write the pledge today.”
Kari smiled. “Good.” The pledge was a nice idea. Perfect, actually. But how would it work?
“Kari… Ashley?” Mom called from the back porch. “Come here, please.” The girls hurried to her.
Mom’s face looked worried. “Girls. I’ve lost my bracelet. The one your father gave me on our wedding day.” She rubbed her hands together. “Have you seen it?”
Ashley held her hands up. “I didn’t take it!” She shook her head. “After almost going to zoo jail, I swore off a life of crime.”
A smile tugged at their mom’s mouth. Ashley could make anyone happy. Even in the middle of a crisis. “I’m not accusing you, honey.” Mom took gentle hold of Ashley’s cheeks. “Just asking.”
“Hmm.” Kari began to pace. “Where was the last place you had it?”
Mom thought about this. “In the kitchen, I think…”
“Let’s go!” Kari took her mom’s hand and led her and Ashley into the kitchen. Kari had learned to write down observations at Take Your Child to Work Day. She had a good feeling about this. “If anyone can solve your case, Mother, it’ll be me.” She tapped the counter near the sink. “Was it here?”
“Exactly.” Mom nodded. “I had it on… I was doing dishes. And…” She walked over to the sink. “I took it off to wash my hands!”
Kari turned to the next blank page in her journal. She wrote the first clue:
Took off bracelet to wash hands.
“Got it.” Kari put the pencil behind her ear. She walked a few feet one direction, then the other.
“Kari.” Ashley studied her. “What are you doing?”
“We need to solve the case. The case of the missing bracelet!” Kari crouched superlow, so she could examine the baseboards. “It’s not here.”
Mom sat at the table. “I hope it’s not lost. I’ll go check the van and my room again. Just in case.” She hurried out of the kitchen.
“It has to be somewhere. Right?” Ashley joined Kari on the floor.
“Right. That’s the perfect truth to begin with.” Kari stood up again. “The fact that her bracelet has to be somewhere.”
Brooke came into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water.