Perfectly Ridiculous by Kristin Billerbeck Page B

get the broom and take to those.”
    I look up into the corner and see what Claire’s talking about, but I sure never saw it before she said something. She grabs the broom and starts swishing it back and forth on the ceiling. When she can’t reach it, she grabs a chair and climbs atop it. The door swings open and Libby stands there taking in the sight.
    â€œWho’s this?” Libby, who has to be the palest woman in Argentina, stands with her fists on her hips.
    â€œIt—it’s—”
    â€œHey.” Claire jumps off the chair with the broom still in her hand and reaches out to shake hands with Libby. “Claire Webster at your service.”
    A giggle escapes from Libby and she covers her mouth. “Claire? You’re here to help?”
    She giggled!
    â€œ Sí ,” Claire answers. “Here to help you with Vacation Bible School and make sure Daisy goes home with her scholarship. She needs that, you know.” Claire says this like she’s sharing a dark family secret, but somehow it works.
    â€œWe’re going to do everything possible to make sure Daisy goes home with her paperwork, and if she’s paying attention, she might just learn how to cook while she’s here.”
    â€œHer parents can’t afford to send her to Pepperdine, and that’s what she wants.”
    â€œClaire!” I lower my brows. “Ixnay!”
    â€œWell, they can’t. You know, her dad’s disabled. He has his own small business, and it’s hard in the Bay Area. Housing prices are sky-high. I mean, even my parents struggle sometimes, and they have my dad’s salary. He’s a partner in a law firm and does teaching on the side, and my mom inherited money, so they have plenty, but they spend a lot too. I think about some of the stuff she could sell just in her closet and this place could be a palace.” Claire seems beyond wordy—even for her.
    â€œYou don’t say,” Libby says. “Come on and sit down. You girls have been working so hard, so let’s have some strong coffee. We’ve earned it. The classroom is all ready for tomorrow.”
    â€œShe just got here!” I exclaim.
    â€œDaisy, I showed you how to make the coffee this morning, right? The cafetera is right there.”
    â€œI figured it out,” I tell her. “My parents still use a percolator, so it wasn’t that difficult.”
    â€œWell, start up a carafe and I’ll let the boys know we’ve earned a break. I want us to get to know one another. This is going to be so fun, like one big slumber party this week. I think I have one of the best groups I can remember in past years.”
    I hide my confusion as I head to the stove, grab the beat-up aluminum cafetera , and fill it to capacity with generous amounts of ground coffee. I put the teakettle on to boil the water and wait. The whole time Libby and Claire are talking and laughing like they’re old friends, and I’m feeling like I’m in another dimension. As if Inception has come to life and I’m left to make heads or tails of my world.
    â€œSo, Claire, what type of help can you offer me this week? Do you like to cook?”
    â€œHeavens no!” She laughs.
    â€œClaire’s an actress. Maybe she could play one of the parts?” I offer.
    â€œOh, I was going to be Queen Esther, and I wondered how I’d ever get the kids to believe in her beauty.” Libby laughs. “Do you think you could read the lines in Spanish?”
    â€œI can have them memorized by morning.”
    â€œOh my!” Libby claps her hands. “Did you hear that, Daisy? I have my Queen Esther!”
    I try not to be offended that she never thought of me to play the heroine queen, but I take to the coffeepot with a new vengeance. I stare at the two of them, who seem to have become fast friends in a matter of minutes, and I seriously wonder if I’m cursed. Maybe there’s something