Page 116 of Instant Karma

“What is it with girls and galas, anyway?” asks Jude.

“Funny, Quint asked me the same thing. The question is, what do boys have against them?”

“Tuxedos, for one.”

“What’s wrong with tuxedos?” asks Ari, as if this statement personally offended her. “They’re so sexy!”

He makes a face. “Have you ever had to wear one?”

“Okay, first,” I say, holding up a finger, “the only ‘tuxedo’ you’ve ever worn was for Cousin Johnny’s wedding, and they didn’t even make you wear the jacket. And second, there’s no way tuxedos are half as uncomfortable as Spanx, so I don’t want to hear any whining.”

Jude opens his mouth, hesitates. Then shrugs, knowing I’ve spoken the truth. “Nevertheless, you still haven’t explained how you’re paying for all this. It sounds really expensive.”

“That’s the beauty of planning an event for a nonprofit. I’ve been researching the heck out of this, and if I play my cards right, we won’t have to pay for hardly anything. Not if I can get some local businesses on board to act as sponsors. For example…” I swing my arm toward the bar, where Carlos is vigorously rattling a cocktail shaker. “Encanto! They cough up some money and are repaid with copious praise at the event. Free publicity for them! Plus, we’ll put coupons for tostones in the goody bags, so it serves as advertising, too. Oh!” I click the pen and grab my notebook. I scrawl across the bottom of the list,Goody bags.

“And you’ve talked to Carlos about this?” asks Ari.

“Not yet, but I will. I have a whole list of potential community partners to approach.” I flip a few pages and show them. “I’ll be asking for donations for the silent auction, too. We’ll handle the pickup and transportation of the goods, and I’ll even put them in fancy gift baskets if necessary.”

“Is someone donating the baskets?” asks Ari.

I consider this, then add “Sandy’s Seaside Gifts” to the list of potential partners. “Sandy must sell baskets in her store, don’t you think? I mean, she sells everything.”

“Ventures is on that list,” says Jude, frowning at the notebook. His eyes lift to meet mine. “I’m not sure…”

“I know,” I say. “Not every business is going to be able to donate free merchandise. But I have to at least ask Mom and Dad, right? Maybe we can find a way that they can help sponsor the music or something.”

Jude groans. “Please don’t suggest that Dad bring a record player and act as the night’s DJ. Because I guarantee he would say yes.”

“Oh, that would be neat!” says Ari, pressing her hands to her cheeks.

Jude and I both grimace. “For now, I’m going to stick with my plan for the live orchestra.”

“Hey, it’s my little cadets!” says Carlos, approaching our booth with arms outspread. “Where’ve you been? I thought you were gonna be here every day this summer.”

Ari looks truly regretful. “Sorry, Carlos. We’ve been busy.”

“Oh yeah? What’s kept you so busy you can’t even stop in and say hi?”

“Well, Jude and I are working over at Ventures Vinyl, and Pru is volunteering with the sea animal rescue center.”

Carlos brightens. “Oh yeah! I saw you at that cleanup party. Good for you. It’s nice to see today’s youth making contributions to society.” He winks. “Not that I expect anything less from you three. So, you here for karaoke tonight?”

“Actually, yes,” I tell him, nudging Ari with my toe. “Ari’s been practicing.”

Carlos hoots excitedly. “I knew this karaoke thing was a good idea. You know, it’s actually been going really well. Definitely bringing in some of the tourists on these slow Tuesdays. And Trish is great, isn’t she?” He glances over to where Trish Roxby is setting up her sound equipment. Her outfit is as eye-catching as the first time we saw her: heavy boots; neon-blue leggings; and an oversize black sweater that’s fraying along her rib cage. Doesn’t she know it’s almost ninety degrees outside?

Honestly, I haven’t seen enough of Trish to know whether she’s great ornot, but Ari obligingly responds that she’s fantastic, while I’m distracted by the entry door opening, letting in a stream of sunlight.

I crane my head to see—

Nope. Just a couple of guys in board shorts, their hair still damp from the ocean.

I slump back down against the bench.

Carlos takes our order and moves on to chat up the newcomers.

“This does seem pretty packed for a Tuesday,” says Jude, peering around the restaurant. “Karaoke. Who knew?”

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