Free Prank List by Anna Staniszewski Page B

didn’t totally follow the plan.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œWhen I got to Angela’s room, I went to put the hairball in the middle of the carpet, but then I saw her favorite T-shirt on her chair. You know, the one she got from Disney that she wears all the time? And I thought, the Ladybugs are accusing you of stealing. Why not make people think that they steal things, too? So I…” She lets out a nervous laugh. “I took it.”
    â€œYou stole it?”
    â€œNo! I only moved it. I put it under her bed where she probably won’t find it for a while. So I didn’t steal it. It’s still in her room. But she’ll think the Ladybugs took it.”
    My head starts pounding. Tricking Angela feels wrong, but at the same time, Marisol might be right. Maybe the prank needed to be bigger to really get people’s attention.
    When I tell Marisol that, she grins. “I can’t believe it, but I actually had fun! I felt like James Bond or something.”
    I shake my head. Clearly, I’ve unleashed Marisol’s dark side. I only hope I can stuff it back into whatever dungeon it came from before it does any actual damage.
    â€¢â€¢â€¢
    After dinner that night, I watch Mom slumped at the kitchen table, sifting through a mountain of bills. I can see the frown lines on her face from all the way across the room.
    â€œI don’t understand,” she says. “We were finally doing okay a few weeks ago.” She sounds tired and defeated, which is totally bizarro coming from her, Ms. Optimism.
    â€œWe’ve only been cleaning houses for a few months,” I say. “Maybe we need more time.”
    She sighs. “I wish I knew why we’re losing so many clients. I’ve been trying to spread the word around town, but it doesn’t seem to be doing any good. I think there’s too much competition.”
    I consider telling Mom about the rumors about us, but I can’t imagine how much more defeated she’ll look. Besides, there’s nothing she can do about the rumors. And if she found out that I was playing dirty, too, she’d flip out.
    â€œWould you mind asking some of your friends if they could mention our service to their parents?” she says.
    â€œUm, Mom?” I’m about to remind her that I don’t have friends. Then I shut my mouth, partly because I have more friends now than I’ve ever had before, but also because I want her to see that I’m on her side. “Sure. I’ll spread the word.”
    It hits me that maybe there are different ways of advertising that we haven’t tried yet. It’s not enough to stop losing business. We need to find ways to get new clients, too. Maybe something as simple as putting up flyers around town would help.
    I’m willing to try anything if it means never having to see my mom look so defeated again.

Chapter 18
    When I go over to Marisol’s house the next morning, I’m actually looking forward to seeing Angela Bareli sitting on her front porch. Maybe I’ll get some hint about whether or not our plan worked.
    But, for once, Angela isn’t there. The porch swing just sways back and forth like there’s a ghost sitting on it. I wonder if that means Angela’s off stalking Briana somewhere.
    When I knock on Marisol’s door, she doesn’t greet me with her usual smile. Instead, she’s furiously chewing on her lip.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” I say.
    She shakes her head and waves me up to her room. I barely have time to smile at her mom, who’s hunched at the dining room table with her laptop, before Marisol grabs my elbow and drags me up the stairs.
    â€œI heard Angela freaking out last night,” Marisol says after she’s closed her bedroom door behind us. “She was yelling so loud I could hear it all the way up here.”
    â€œWas it about the T-shirt?”
    â€œI think so,” says Marisol. “She was