Ruby Lu Star of the Show Read online

  He was boring.

  When he wasn’t being boring, he would try to be useful.

  He took everyone to the library.

  He learned a little sign language (from a library book and from Flying Duck).

  He let the dog out.

  He boiled things. Pacifiers. Toys. Jewelry. Any-thing that mysteriously fell into the toilet.

  He boiled other things too. Spaghetti. Eggs. Water.

  But he didn’t know how to use the rice cooker. So it was a good thing Ruby and Flying Duck did!

  He couldn’t figure out how much detergent to use in the washing machine.

  And when it came to giving cute little Oscar, who was as slippery as a sea lion, a bath, Ruby’s dad made a complete mess.

  Ruby’s dad wasn’t a loser, but he was definitely not the center of the universe like Ruby’s mom. He wasn’t even the captain of the ship.

  But still, he was Ruby’s dad, and she found many things that she liked about having him at home.

  First, Ruby liked the job applications. Her dad always picked up a few extras, just in case. This meant that Ruby and Flying Duck could fill them out and pretend that they were looking for jobs too.

  Second, Ruby liked the way her dad vacuumed. Instead of vacuuming around everything, he lifted the furniture like a superhero and vacuumed underneath it. He even lifted Ruby, Oscar, and Flying Duck, if they happened to be on the furniture. Oscar liked that a lot.

  “Again!” Oscar shouted. “Again!”

  Third, Ruby liked the way he did the laundry. It was not the same way that her mom did laundry. When Ruby’s mom did laundry, everything always came back the same, except clean. When Ruby’s dad did laundry, you never knew how something would come back. It was a complete surprise. It could be too small, too big, suddenly pink, or totally unrecognizable! It was like having a whole new wardrobe.

  Fourth, Ruby liked the card games. Her dad was a Scrabble maniac, but he was also a card shark. This meant that he was very smart at playing all of Ruby’s favorites like Old Maid, Egyptian Rat Screw, and War. He also taught Ruby and Flying Duck how to play many new games, such as poker, rummy, and bridge.

  But that was not all.

  Ruby’s dad was a big help when it came to dog training. Ruby and Flying Duck had checked out all sorts of dog training books and videos at the library, including:

  How to Make Your Dog Mind Without Losing Yours.

  Train Your Dog Before He Trains You.

  Improve Your Life, Train Your Dog.

  Ruby and Flying Duck read the books and watched the videos over and over again. But they still couldn’t get it right.

  “Heel, boy,” said Ruby, looking at the photographs in a book.

  Elvis jumped on Ruby.

  “Down!” Flying Duck commanded in sign language.

  Elvis got down all right . . . and jumped on Flying Duck.

  But when Ruby’s dad read the instructions to Ruby, something happened.

  “An obedient dog is a happy dog,” read Ruby’s dad. “If you want to train your dog, you must take charge and let him know he has a leader to follow.”

  Ruby tried again.

  “Sit,” she said in her best dog-commanding voice.

  Elvis sat.

  Ruby could hardly believe it! So her dad read some more.

  “Dogs want to obey,” her dad continued. “They are pack animals. Your family is their pack. And every pack needs a leader—an alpha dog.”

  Ruby’s head tilted with the thought. She liked the idea of being a pack of dogs.

  “Dogs feel insecure without an alpha dog,” read Ruby’s dad. “If you are not that alpha dog, your dog will act up and become the leader.”

  “Shake,” Ruby commanded, extending her hand.

  Elvis shook.

  “Dad! I’m an alpha dog!” Ruby cried.

  Her dad laughed. “That you are,” he said.

  But when Ruby read the instructions without her dad, Elvis ignored her again.

  So Ruby knew who the real alpha dog was. It was her dad, and she felt very proud of him.

  But best of all, Ruby liked just being with her alpha dad.

  “Dad,” Ruby said while they were sitting together on the couch one afternoon.

  “Mmm,” said Ruby’s dad.

  “If I wanted to start a business, what could I do?” asked Ruby.

  “Well, you could do anything,” said her dad. “First you’d have to decide if you want to sell a product or a service.”

  “What’s the difference?” asked Ruby.

  “Do you want to sell stuff, or do you want to sell something useful that you do—like walking dogs or raking leaves?” asked Ruby’s dad.

  “I don’t know,” said Ruby.

  “Well, selling a service is a good idea because you don’t need much, if any, money to get started,” her dad advised her. “All you need is to roll up your sleeves.”

  “Roll up your sleeves?” asked Ruby, puzzled.

  Ruby’s dad chuckled. “That’s an expression,” he said. “It means a willingness to work.”

  Ruby smiled. She loved talking to her dad. He knew a lot of things, especially strange expressions like that. And it was easy for her to talk to him, because he was sitting around watching TV all the time now. So Ruby, Flying Duck, and Oscar watched a lot of TV too, unlike when Ruby’s mom used to be home and they never had any time for TV, or for talking on the couch.

  “Could you make more popcorn, Dad?” Ruby asked.

  “Pop!” said Oscar eagerly. “Pop, pop!”

  “Sure!” said Ruby’s dad, going to the kitchen. “Great idea.”

  “Dad,” Ruby called out, “could you stay home all the time?”

  “I am at home all the time,” said her dad.

  “I mean never go back to work,” said Ruby, throwing her arms around her dad when he came back with their snack. “I like having you around.”

  “Thanks, Ruby,” said her dad. “I like having you around too.”

  Surviving hard times was nothing like what Ruby had expected. In fact, it didn’t feel like hard times at all.

  Until . . .

  Ruby’s report card came home.

  Usually, Ruby’s report card showed that she was generally paying attention and was doing A work, and mostly B work for better! But this time there weren’t any As . . . or Bs . . . or even Cs . . . but there sure were a lot of Ds.

  “Oh dear,” said Ruby’s mom, who hadn’t been home to supervise homework.

  “D is for Didn’t Fail,” said Ruby hopefully, but she had a bad, sinking feeling that she hadn’t gotten it precisely right.

  “Ruby,” said her mom, “have you been having trouble with your homework?”

  “Homework?” asked Ruby. “What homework?”

  “Yeah, what homework?” echoed Ruby’s dad. “Third graders don’t get homework.”

  Silence.

  “Do they?”

  Later that night, after Ruby and Flying Duck and Oscar had gone to bed, but the girls were not yet asleep, Ruby heard her mom and dad have an argument for the first time since her dad lost his job.

  “This place looks like a circus!” said Ruby’s mom. She sounded worried about many things.

  And Ruby’s father sounded worried too.

  For a long time Ruby listened to the sound of grown-up voices drifting up into her room. Usually she liked the sound of grown-up voices coming from the kitchen. It was a lullaby at night, and in the mornings, it was an alarm clock. It meant the end of a day or the beginning of another. It was the sound of everything that was right.

  But now, nothing was right.

  “I wish I could do something to help my mom and dad,” Ruby whispered into her moonlit room.

  “Urrrrr,” said Elvis, who was falling asleep at the foot of Ruby’s bed.

  “Oh, Elvis,” said Ruby, wrapping her arms around her dog. “What’s going to happen to us?”

  “Mmmm,” said Elvis. “Mmmmm.”

  Ruby could see his dark, wet eyes looking sadly at her through the denim-colored night. He was giving her all sorts of advice. And she listened with all her heart.

  Elvis told Ruby a lot of things.

  He had lived another life.

  He knew about surviving hard times.

  “That’s it!” said Ruby. She clicked on her flashlight and popped out of bed. In the top drawer of her desk was a long-forgotten list, “How to Survive Hard Times.”

  “I’d forgotten all about this,” said Ruby, slipping back into her warm bed.

  Then by flashlight the two of them looked over the list together.

  “I’m going to start this tomorrow,” said Ruby with as much determination as she could muster after a long day.

  “Urrrrr?” said Elvis.

  “I love you, Elvis,” said Ruby sleepily.

  “Wuuuuv.” Elvis exhaled, covering Ruby’s little feet with his chin.

  Then they slipped into their dreams.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Sneaky, Send Notes Home with Grades

  No one said much at breakfast the next day. No one knew what to say. Ruby’s dad was still in his robe and was glum and silent. Ruby’s mom looked tired and sad and was dressed in a dark suit and had on her Sunday shoes for her job at the mall.

  “I need a spa,” said Ruby’s mom. “I need a massage, I need a haircut, I need to just get off my feet.”

  Clak-clak-clak! went her mom’s shoes across the kitchen floor. Clak-clak-clak! Her shoes came back the other way. Ruby thought about the time she’d gone to a spa with her mom. Her mom had been in a good mood then, not like the crabby mood that she was often in after work or that she was in now. Sluuurp! went Ruby’s cereal. Slurp-SLUUUURP!

  “Ruby, please remember your manners,” Ruby’s
dad said abruptly.

  “And remember to hand in your report card,” Ruby’s mom reminded her. “I also put a note in there for your teacher.”

  “A note?” asked Ruby.

  “It’s a reply to his note,” said her mom. “Your teacher suggested that you stay after school for some tutoring until your grades improve, and I agreed.”

  Silence.

  “What’s tutoring?” asked Ruby.

  “Mr. Yu’s going to help you study,” said her mom.

  “But Dad can help me,” said Ruby.

  “I’m sorry, Ruby,” said Ruby’s dad. “But I’ve got to really focus on my job search now. If you need help with your homework after tutoring, I’ll be here for that.”

  “But I have plans after school,” Ruby protested. “I wanted to join some clubs and then hang out with Elvis and Flying Duck.”

  “Honey,” said Ruby’s mom, “when your grades improve, you can make other plans.”

  “But it’s important,” said Ruby, letting her spoon clink loudly in her bowl.

  Ruby’s mom gave her a look. “Your grades are important, young lady,” she said firmly.

  Ruby felt terrible. Not only had she upset her dad, but now she’d upset her mom. It was not a good sign.

  So Ruby closed her eyes and said her prayers all the way up 20th Avenue South and down the street to school.

  By the time attendance was taken, the entire third-grade class knew all about Ruby’s dismal report card.

  By the time it was morning recess, Ruby’s prayers for Mr. Yu had not been answered. He had not yet been swallowed by a big fish.

  Normally, Mr. Yu was okay. Ruby liked him fine. But this was not normal. Was a report card with all Ds normal? Was sending a note home that Ruby didn’t see normal? Was ruining all of Ruby’s afternoons normal? The more Ruby thought about this, the angrier she became. So she decided that she didn’t like Mr. Yu very much at all anymore.

  During art class, she drew a picture of Mr. Yu trout fishing.

  First came the mosquitoes.

  Then came the sunburn.

  Then came the shark. Snap! Snap!

  “Help me!” Mr. Yu cried in the picture. “I should have been nicer to Ruby!”

  Ruby thought she would feel better, but she didn’t.

  She felt terrible.

  “Ruby,” said Mr. Yu during math class, “what is Flying Duck trying to tell me?”

  Ruby looked at Flying Duck, who was signing that she needed help.

  “She says that math story problems are her favorite,” said Ruby.

  “Great!” said Mr. Yu, giving Flying Duck a thumbs-up.

  Ruby knew that her cousin could not do math story problems.

  But Ruby wasn’t about to be helpful to a mean old teacher who was ruining her life, was she?

  Then, in haiku practice, the topic that came out of the jar was “monsters.”

  When it was Ruby’s turn, she boldly read what she had written:

  “Monsters are creepy

  Sneaky, send notes home with grades.

  Monsters should not teach.”

  Everyone gasped.

  Ruby marched back to her seat. She sat down. She thought the angry haiku would make her feel better, but it didn’t.

  She felt even worse than when she was praying for the big fish.

  And worse than when she drew the mean picture.

  In fact, Ruby felt so bad, she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

  “I’m not going to be a third-grade teacher when I grow up,” she said. “I’m going to be the principal.”

  Silence.

  Time-out.

  “Ruby,” said Mr. Yu, “may I speak with you in private?”

  Ruby shrank. She was really busted now.

  All eyes followed her.

  “Ruby,” said Mr. Yu in the hallway, lowering his voice to a whisper, “I know you’re mad at me.”

  Ruby looked at the floor.

  “And I know you’re going through a lot right now,” said Mr. Yu. “But I hope that you’ll give me a chance to help you do better work in school.”

  Ruby looked at the ceiling.

  She stood on one foot.

  Then she stood on the other.

  What a horrible day she was having! The bad mood at breakfast had followed her to school and gotten worse and worse. Ruby wished she could put the day in reverse and start over again.

  “I’ll tell you what,” said Mr. Yu. “If you’re not ready for tutoring today, we can start tomorrow.”

  Ruby stood on both feet.

  Really? She could hardly believe her ears.

  “Tomorrow?” she asked.

  “Sometimes we just need more time to warm up to a new idea,” said Mr. Yu. “You can come today, or you can wait until tomorrow. You decide.”

  Ruby’s head tilted with this thought.

  She liked it.

  She liked the idea of deciding something for herself.

  “Okay,” she said finally.

  Then, for the first time all day, Ruby felt much better.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Open for Business

  Now that it was her decision, Ruby wanted to go to tutoring almost as much as she had wanted to go to dog obedience school. But of course, she needed to wait a day, just so Mr. Yu would know who was in charge.

  So she rushed home with Flying Duck.

  It was a good thing she did, because there was an emergency meeting of the 20th Avenue Plum Club. They didn’t even have time to go into the house, they climbed right into the tree.

  “You can’t go to tutoring,” warned Christina, from a branch above Ruby. She had overheard Ruby’s hallway conversation with their teacher. In fact, they had all heard it. Whenever anyone got busted in the hallway, the whole class would hear everything.

  “Why not?” asked Ruby.

  “Because it costs money,” said Christina. “That’s how teachers make extra money. And if your dad doesn’t have a job, how are you going to pay for it?”

  “My mom didn’t say anything about that,” said Ruby.

  “Maybe she didn’t want you to worry,” said Wally, hanging upside down from his branch.

  Didn’t want her to worry? Could Wally be right? Her mom and dad didn’t discuss their money troubles with her. She didn’t know if they had any money in the bank . . . or if they were rich or poor. In fact, before Ruby’s dad lost his job, she really didn’t think about money beyond her weekly allowance, which she always spent on candy at Fred’s.

  But Ruby did notice that her parents had become very careful about spending, even more than usual. They bought rice, but they didn’t buy cakes and pies from the bakery anymore. They wrote e-mails, but they didn’t make phone calls to China. They watched TV, but they no longer went to the movies. They quit bowling on Friday nights and stayed home to play mah-jongg, which was also a lot of exercise. And last week, instead of going to the barbershop, Ruby’s dad sat in the kitchen and got his hair cut by Ruby’s mom. Ruby had never seen them do that before.

  “How much money?” Ruby asked.

  “Three hundred bucks,” said Christina.

  “That’s a lot of money,” said Ruby.

  “It’s a lot of dough,” Christina said. “In California, only the rich kids get tutored.”

  “Oh,” said Ruby, hanging on to her branch a little tighter.

  Ruby liked to imagine that she and her friends were little birds in her tree. But today she felt like a bowling pin, and the bowling ball of disappointment had just knocked her over.

  “Well, heck, I would help you if I had the money,” said Tiger.

  “Me too,” said Emma.

  “Not me,” said Panchito. “I wouldn’t help you.”

  “Why not?” asked Wally.

  “No me gusto,” said Panchito.

  “You no me gusto every-thing,” said Christina.

  Christina was right. Panchito was very annoying in that way. He didn’t like anything or anybody. He didn’t even like candy.

  “Then you can just go home,” said Emma.

  “No,” said Panchito. “I want to stay.”

  “Then get with the program,” said Christina, who could be kind of bossy.

  “No quiero hacerlo,” said Panchito.

  “Fine,” said Emma. “Then we’re just going to ignore you.”

  “Fine,” said Panchito.

  And that was the end of that. It was the same way with Panchito at recess. He never went along with the program, and everyone just ignored him.