Free Maeve on the Red Carpet by Annie Bryant

smiled lovingly. “Well I thought the old caterpillar was a beautiful actress just the way she was.”
    “I think she looks pretty,” Sam piped in. I couldn’t believe my annoying little Army-obsessed brother would actually be able to come up with such a nice compliment. I ran over to give him a hug, but he pushed me away with a big “Yuck!”
    “Aren’t you going to have some cereal?” Mom asked, still staring at my hair.
    I shook my head. “No time. I have to go. I told Maddie I’d meet her at camp early today to practice our scene.”
    “All right,” Mom agreed. “Let’s head downstairs to the Movie House together.”
    Looking around, she asked “Where did Sam go?”
    “He must have gone down already,” I answered as I primped my hair. I simply could not believe how fabulous it looked. Shampoo commercial here I come!
    Typical early-bird Sam was waiting by the theater door, his camera ready. As soon as Mom got into her car and pulled away, I told Sam to go on inside and meet Dad. “Why? Where are you going?” Sam asked suspiciously.
    I told him the truth. “I’ve got to run to Montoya’s super quick.”
    Sam squinted and folded his arms decidedly. “Fine. On just one condition.”
    I groaned. “Yes?”
    “Can you bring me back a muffin too? Please? The kind with the cinnamon chips—it’s my favorite.”
    “Fine,” I agreed.
    Sam shook his finger. “And don’t forget, Mrs. Frankenbutterfly.” Sam turned on his heels and I zipped down to Montoya’s.
    It was a very sunny warm day for February, so I wore my enormous white sunglasses right into the store. When I wore sunglasses inside, I felt like a real celebrity trying to stay away from all the pesky cameramen. Thankfully the pesky cameraman at my house (Sam) was going to camp with Dad that morning.
    “Wow, Maeve, you look so … different,” said Nick Montoya when I got to the front of the line. “What’s up?” Nick was in Ms. Rodriguez’s class with me at Abigail Adams Junior High School. His family owned Montoya’s Bakery, and theBSG loved meeting there for delicious drinks and pastries. Nick had dark hair and was cute enough to be a teen star. Too bad he wasn’t into acting. (True confession—I used to have a crush on Nick at the beginning of the year, but it didn’t work out—he just wasn’t a true romantic … like me.)
    “Good morning, darling,” I greeted him with a little wave.
    Nick looked behind him then his eyes widened. “Oh wait, are you talking to me?”
    “Well of course I am, darling! Who else would I be talking to?”
    Nick looked way confused. “I dunno. You usually don’t call me ‘darling’ so … I wasn’t sure.”
    “Yes, I picked it up from Maddie. Isn’t it divine? Everybody feels special when they’re a ‘darling,’ don’t you think?”
    “Sure, I guess. So what can I get you?”
    “Two hot chocolates and two of your fabulous blueberry muffins, darling.”
    Nick nodded, looking impressed. “Wow, Maeve. Hungry much?”
    I tipped my head forward so my huge glasses slipped down my nose. “Please, darling. They’re not
just
for me. It just so happens that I’m getting breakfast for Madeline Von Krupcake … THE Krupcake Princess,” I said for emphasis. “She loves Montoya’s.”
    “That’s funny,” Nick said as he placed two warm blueberry muffins in a white bag. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this Maddie person in Montoya’s.”
    I nodded. “That’s because she’s never been in Montoya’s. Maddie has this weird condition where she
can’t
wait in lines.”
    Nick raised his eyebrows. “Oh really?”
    “Yeah. I saw her faint once when she had to wait in line for the bathroom. She’s very fragile.”
    Nick put two cups and the white bag of muffins on the counter. “Well, it’s really nice of you to get her breakfast then.”
    “That’s what friends are for,” I handed Nick five dollars. “Do you know what the kids at camp call us? M&M! Isn’t that fabulous?”
    “Oh