Stacia Deutsch

Girls Who Code

The Friendship Code by Stacia Deutsch Grosset & Dunlap

Chapter One

“Lucy . . . Lucy . . . Lucy . . .”

“What? Huh?” I was so excited for the bell to ring that I didn’t hear my teacher calling my name. “Oh.” I raised my head, glanced at the long, sprawling math problem written across the whiteboard, and said, “Four.”

Mrs. Clark stared at me for a moment, then looked over her shoulder at the numbers she’d written. “Correct . . .” She grabbed an eraser. “That’s all for today, class. No homework, so use your time to review today’s lesson.” The bell rang. “Have a good af—”

I missed the “—ternoon” because by the time she finished, I was already down the hall.

I’d been waiting for this moment since the day I saw the posting on the Halverston Middle School website, and now here it was. I was finally in sixth grade. I was finally going to my very first coding club meeting!

I waved hello to my best friend, Anjali, as I passed her in the hall. She was rushing to film club in the opposite direction. “Text me,” she called out, though she didn’t have to say it. I would have texted, anyway.

I tightened my backpack straps and took off running. I’d already picked out my seat in the computer lab. I wanted to be front and center. I was going to get started right away on an app that would help my uncle and change the world— Oof!

“Watch where you’re going,” Sophia Torres scoffed, blocking the way into the computer lab. Tall and fit, she filled the doorway when she spread her arms across it. There wasn’t room for me to squeeze past.

“Sorry,” I said, looking down at her brand-new tennis shoes. I didn’t want to start a fight. I just wanted her to move.

“Geek,” Sophia muttered under her breath.

It stung a bit, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t the first time someone had called me that, and I wasn’t going to let anyone ruin coding club for me. There were a few kids at school who intimidated me, but Sophia wasn’t one of them. I puffed out my chest. “Shouldn’t you be doing sportsy stuff or something?” I was pretty sure Sophia was managing the boys’ football team this fall. But we’d barely spoken in months, so I wasn’t positive.

She rolled her eyes at me. They were as dark as her hair. “I’m taking Mondays off for this.”

I heard footsteps behind me. If I didn’t move past Sophia immediately, other kids wouldn’t be able to get in the room, either.

I dodged left to pass her. She blocked my path and laughed.

“Come on, Soph,” I said softly, calling her the nickname she’d had since preschool. “You know how important this is to me.”

“It’s important to me, too,” she answered. And with that, Sophia turned and hustled into the room, throwing herself into the seat I wanted. She planted her hands in front of the computer that I’d had mental dibs on.

Sighing heavily, I took the seat at the end of the row and tried to ignore Sophia as the classroom filled with students. Even though we were ex-friends, there was no reason we couldn’t be in coding club together. At least that’s what I told myself.

A bunch of other kids came into the room before Mrs. Clark arrived. She tipped her head at me. “Well done, Lucy. You made it here in record time.”

I smiled. Mrs. Clark was my favorite teacher, and I was glad she was in charge of the club. She was born in Lebanon, went to England for college, and then came to the US. She had such interesting stories about traveling the world and the things she did before she decided to become a teacher. Her stories almost made me want to be a teacher like her . . . but only almost. I was going to be a computer programmer, just like my mom. Anjali always joked that my first word wasn’t Dada, but rather data. She was probably right.

“Alicia Lee . . .. Maddie Lewis . . . Mark Lewis . . . Bradley Steinberg . . ” Mrs. Clark called roll off the club list. When she hit the name Maya Chung, I whipped my head around. I hadn’t seen Maya come in and wondered what she was doing here. Maya was a seventh-grader, and unlike Sophia, she was one of those kids who scared me. Not because she was mean, but because she was really, really cool. She was the president of the student council and wrote a fashion column for the school newspaper. I’d never talked to her, or even made eye contact before, because honestly, what would I say?

I glanced down at my Doctor Who T-shirt. Maya would never wear a T-shirt and jeans, at least not without accessorizing with a scarf in her short black hair, or something bold, like a big necklace or earrings. That’s what her last column said. I always read it.

Looking at me, no one would guess I was interested in fashion. It’s not like I spent a lot of time getting ready in the morning, but I liked reading what Maya wrote and doing some of the things she suggested, like painting my nails light pink. I loved the way they shimmered.

“I’m here,” Maya announced with a groan, as if this was the last place on earth she wanted to be. I figured if she wanted to learn coding, she could have started last year—it was offered to sixth-graders and up. I wondered why she was starting now.

Feeling self-conscious, I smoothed down a wrinkle in my T-shirt. Mrs. Clark was still reading names. “Grace Rahman . . . Sammy Kantor . . . Ellie Foster . . . Leila Devi . . .”

When were we going to start coding? We were ten minutes into the club time, and Mrs. Clark was still on roll call.

When she finished, something finally happened.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

This was not the something I was hoping for. I looked around for a minute before realizing that the noise was coming from my backpack. And it wasn’t a soft, buzzy type of beep that could blend into classroom noises, or an echoing kind of beep that I could pretend was coming from the hall. It was a loud, annoying blast that made everyone in the club look in my direction.

“Lucy,” Mrs. Clark said with a stern expression. “You know the rules about phones at school. The same applies to after-school programs.” She pointed at my bag. “Turn it off, and turn it over. I’ll keep it for the rest of the club.”

My heart was racing, and my face felt like it was on fire. I reached into my bag to find the phone, sure I was having a heart attack. My phone had been on silent all day, like the school rules said, so I had no idea what was going on.

After what seemed like an eternity, I found my phone, flipped it around, and desperately tried to turn it off. But the screen stayed dark, and the beeps got louder.

“Put it on vibrate,” Maya said, with an exasperated look. It was horrifying that this was the first thing she’d ever said to me.

“I tried, but it’s not working,” I answered, feeling my face redden even more.

“Try turning it off,” Bradley said. He chuckled, his red freckles seeming to twinkle. He clearly thought this was hysterical.

I glared at him. “I’m trying, but nothing’s working.”

“Try slamming it on your desk,” Bradley suggested, snickering to his friends.

I ignored him.

The beeping continued to echo through the classroom as kids shared their ideas. It felt like everyone was shouting at me, which only made my heart beat faster.

Mrs. Clark came over to my desk. With her usual calm, she tucked her long dark hair behind her ears, pushed up her glasses, and held out her hand. I handed her my phone.

For some reason, it finally opened to my main screen. She started swiping around, and I could tell she was looking through my apps.

Suddenly, the beeps stopped. I took a deep breath, and my heartbeat settled.

Mrs. Clark gave me a meaningful glance. “Looks like someone who knows a thing or two about coding made a fake game and downloaded it onto your phone. It’s programmed to beep and not turn off.”

“I . . .”

How was that possible? I hadn’t even noticed!

I began to say I had no idea who would do that. It would have to be someone who had access to my phone. And someone who liked to play tricks on me.

“Oh.” I knew exactly who had messed with my phone, and from the look on Mrs. Clark’s face, she did, too. Two afternoons a week, he was her student.

Mrs. Clark gave me a sympathetic smile. “Say hi to Alex for me when you see him.”

“I will,” I said, but we both knew that when I got home I was going to have a lot more than “hi” to say to my brother!

Boxcar ChildrenScience Fair SabotageBy Stacia Deutsch

Pre-Edited. Published October 2020, Albert Whitman

Chapter OneOn the River

“My arms are tired, Henry.” Six-year-old, Benny Alden, set down his oar across his legs. “I don’t want to row anymore.”

“Benny, we need the resistance from your paddle to keep the kayak straight,” his fourteen-year-old brother, Henry said. “You’re an important part of the Alden Kayak Team. We need your help.”

Twelve-year-old Jessie added, “This is the roughest patch of water on the river, Benny. You can rest as soon as we are through.”

Benny pushed sweat-soaked hair off his forehead and flexed his bicep. “I’ll do it for Team Alden!” Smiling, he picked up his oar. Before Benny could set the blade in the river, the kayak jolted to the left.

Suddenly, the boat spun round in a small whirlwind of water.

“Watch out!” Ten-year old sister, Violet, called to her siblings. She was paddling furiously. Water splashed into the boat. “We’re headed directly towards that big rock!”

A black glistening boulder stuck high out of the water. If they hit it, the kayak would flip over, dumping them all into the stream.

“We’re going to crash!” Benny shrieked, dropping the oar to cover his eyes. The oar clattered to the bottom of the boat. “Crash position!” He dropped his head between his legs.

“We need to paddle together,” Henry called out to his two sisters. “Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!” The three of them worked double-time to turn the boat back on course. Soon, the rock was behind them and the danger had passed.

“Whew,” Violet said as the kayak straightened. Using the back of her hand, she smoothed out her straight brown ponytail. “That was close.” The boat moved into calmer water.

“I was so scared,” Benny told his siblings, sitting up. “I think we all deserve a snack!” He looked all around the small, rented kayak. “Is there a cooler hiding somewhere? Maybe we could have some yummy cheese sticks? Or carrots?”

“No. Sorry,” Henry said. “This was a short trip. Grandfather is waiting for us to have lunch together at the Lookout Café.” The restaurant was near the place where they’d take the boat out of the water.

Jessie, Violet, Henry, and Benny lived with their grandfather After their parents died, they ran away and hid in a railroad boxcar in the woods. They heard that Grandfather Alden was mean. Even though they’d never met him, they were afraid. But when Grandfather finally found the children, they discovered he wasn’t mean at all. Now the children lived with him. Their boxcar was a clubhouse in his backyard.

“How much further to the end? Benny asked, then before Henry could answer, he asked, “Henry, do you have a sandwich in your life jacket pocket?”

“Life jackets don’t have pockets, silly,” Henry said, laughing.

“It’s good we were wearing life jackets,” Violet said, pulling on the straps to tighten the bright orange vest around her middle. “We almost tipped over.”

“Ugh,” Benny moaned. “Don’t remind me. We were nearly swimming with the fishes.” He suddenly realized something important. Benny looked at Violet, and asked, “If we fell in, what would happen to your camera? It would get wet!”

Violet held up her new digital camera which was in a black waterproof sack. “I brought this cover, to keep it dry.” There was a special cover for the lens so she could take photos and not worry about splashes.

“It’s important to be prepared.” Henry poked Benny in the thickest part of the orange vest. “Sometimes things happen that no one can control.”

“Being prepared is important.” Benny repeated. He thought for a long moment, then said, “I think I’ll invent a life jacket with a special pocket for a sandwich.” Then he thought some more and added, “I’m also going to invent a machine that rows the boat for me, so my arms don’t get tired.” He went on, “Then, we need an air conditioning umbrella to cool us down. A waterproof boat pillow to rest my sleepy head.” Benny’s eyes brightened as he added another idea to the list. “And a special dog-kayak seat for Watch.”

Watch was the family dog, a wire-haired terrier. Grandfather Alden and Watch were at the Lookout Café. The man who rented them the kayaks had said that no dogs were allowed in the boats.

Benny had been upset not to bring Watch along. Now, he was excited about his idea. “I could make a doggie life vest too!” He clapped his hands. “With a pocket for dog treats!”

“Maybe I should use one of Benny’s ideas for my Science Fair Club project,” Jessie said. It was fall and school had just begun. This was Jessie’s first year in her new school. She’d been looking forward to joining Science Fair Club all summer.

At the first club meeting, she got really lucky. Her assigned partner was Claudia Vasquez. Claudia had won the competition last year.

“You’re going to invent a dog life vest?” Violet asked, brown eyes wide with surprise.

“With a treat pocket,” Benny put in. “That’s the most important part.”

Jessie giggled. “No. I don’t think Claudia would want to make a dog vest.” She gave two big strokes with her own paddle in the river and then said, “Claudia and I get along great. We’ve got so much in common. We just can’t come up with a good idea.”

“You’ve only gone to one meeting,” Henry said. “These things take time.”

For a few minutes the children didn’t talk as they paddled the kayak around a tight bend. Henry convinced Benny to help by promising him two sandwiches at the end of the trip.

“And ice cream?” Benny asked, before lowering his oar into the water.

“I’d never forget dessert,” Henry assured him.

“We don’t have much further to go,” Jessie said. She’d looked at the route on her computer before they’d left home. “I read online that this next stretch of river has a lot of colorful birds. We should be on the lookout.”

As they came to another calm area where they could float along, Violet carefully took her camera from the waterproof bag. She took a quick picture of a mallard duck hat Benny spotted.

Jessie continued talking about Science Fair. “Claudia and I want to do something that will make a difference,” she said. “We have to decide soon so we can get busy doing the research.”

Benny pointed at a great blue heron. While Violet shot a few pictures, he told Jessie, “You’ll find an amazing project soon.” He added, “I’m a hundred and two percent positive.”

“I’ve got my fingers crossed one hundred and two times,” Jessie joked.

“It’s nice we have this river and so much nature this close to Greenfield,” Violet said, peering through her longest lens. “Maybe there’s a river project you could do, Jessie?”

“I wonder...” Jessie began to think about it.

Henry spotted a few more birds for Violet. “Look. Right above us!”

Violet snapped some pictures. “I think one of those was a loon. I’ll look it up at home when I put the pictures onto the computer.” Violet aimed her camera towards the shore and squinted through the lens. “What’s going on over there?” She focused the viewfinder.

“What do you see?” Henry asked.

“Nothing,” Violet said. “But I hear a strange clanging sound.”

“It sounds like construction,” Jessie said, looking where Violet was pointing. “I don’t see it either, but I can hear truck engines.”

Violet said, “I thought no one could build around here. This area is supposed to be protected for animals and nature.”

“Seems to me the construction is pretty far away,” Jessie said. “I mean, we can’t even see it. The rule against building must be working.”

“Remember when the river was so polluted no one came?” Henry reminded her. “There were no birds. The water smelled weird. Everyone used to joke there was so much pollution in the stream that the fish had three eyes and webbed toes instead of gills.”

“Mutant fish?” Benny said, trembling a little. “Are you telling me that the fish in this stream are monsters?” He peeked over the side of the kayak to see if he could find any strange fish creatures. “We almost fell in! Swimming with fishes would be bad. Swimming with mutant fishes would be…” he thought about the right word, then said, “horrible.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.” Jessie noticed a pier just past the building site. Some children were fishing off the dock. She waved. They waved back. One of the children had a fish hanging from a hook.

“Don’t eat that!” Benny shouted to the fishing children. “It might have extra eyeballs!”

“I don’t think the fish are mutants. The whole river was cleaned up,” Henry said. He changed the subject. “We need to paddle.” The place they were supposed to pull over was on the right side of the riverbank and it would take teamwork to get there. “All together Team Alden! Stroke. Stoke. Stroke.”

While they paddled, Jessie said, “Five years ago, the water here was very dirty because of the farms and the factories along the banks.”

Violet said, “But, thanks to the citizens’ hard work, the government of Greenfield solved the problem.” She pointed up and all around and took a deep breath. “We saw birds. And people fishing. There’s no bad smell anymore.”

“I still think we’re lucky we didn’t fall in,” Benny said, peeking over the side of the boat. “Maybe if I touched the water, I’d have three eyes too.”

“Benny,” Violet assured him, “it’s just a story.”

“What are you going to do for the Science Fair?” Henry asked Jessie, changing the subject.

“I don’t know,” Jessie said, dragging her oar across the water. “I hope Benny is right. The perfect project is just around the corner.”