“Okay, everyone,” Miss Johnson said. “People are starting to come through. Here are your clipboards and fanny packs. Fanny packs have a base of fifty dollars for change. Clipboard is for the stickers. Take the tag off each item you sell. Any questions, flag any of the teachers down.”
“Oh, cute, fanny packs!” Aanya squealed. “I’ll wear it, Grace, since you’re one handed.”
Cue the kick to the stomach. Guilt hammered down on me. I saw Grace flinch, too, but she didn’t say anything.
“I’m not doing the money, man,” Oliver said. “Unless you want things screwed up.”
“Fine by me,” I said as I clicked the pack around my waist.
“These are coming back, aren’t they?” Grace asked Aanya.
“Totally.” She clapped her hands together and did a little jump. “Let’s do this.”
The first customer walked up to a filing cabinet, and I hustled toward her.
Grace jumped in front of me and reached her first. “Hey there, what can I help you find?”
I gave off a fake growl, and Grace smirked at me.
“Hey, what’s your dad doing here?” Oliver asked as he was scoping out a book on the shelf.
“Dude, don’t shop. Sell! Come on, we can’t let them win,” I said.
“Hey, Preach. How are things going?” Dad asked as he approached.
“Just starting. What are you doing here?”
“Checking out some desks for the office,” he said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “You two did all this?”
“Got all the stuff cleaned up and ready, priced it. Yeah.”
“Nicely done.” He gripped my shoulder. “Now show me some desks.”
After looking at a few, I ended up selling him two. Oliver was pulling his weight, too, bringing me sale after sale. But I’d seen Grace and Aanya racking up a few sales, too.
This was going to be close.
But whether I won or lost, it still meant ice cream with Grace. It wasn’t a date, but it meant spending time with her. And I couldn’t wait.
“Well, that was a big sale,” Grace sang out as she strutted by me and showed me her clipboard. “Six filing cabinets and two shelves to the public library.”
Dang. That clipboard was already half filled with stickers.
“Double scoop of chocolate ice cream with hot fudge.”
“Huh?” I responded.
She grinned. “Oh, I was just giving you my order, because I’m obviously kicking your butt from one side of this yard sale to the next. Just sayin’.”
I winked and glanced down at my full fannie pack. “Oh, we’ll see about that!”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Grace
“I think you need to add a double scoop of chocolate ice cream with hot fudge to your post-run routine from this point forward,” Aanya said as she ran up to me.
“Oh, man, that was so good.” I rubbed my tummy. Yesterday, when we’d beat the boys, Preach held true to his word and bought me the mammoth ice cream treat from a cute little place in Twin River.