LEGO Friends: The Birthday Surprise (Chapter Book #4) Read online

  SCHOLASTIC INC.

  Adapted by Tracey West

  The Birthday

  Surprise

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  10012.

  eISBN 978-0-545-76620-3

  LEGO, the LEGO logo, and the Brick and Knob configurations are trademarks of

  the LEGO Group. ©2014 The LEGO Group. Produced by Scholastic Inc. under

  license from the LEGO Group.

  Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks

  and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  First printing, January 2014

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Secret Surprises ................. 5

  Chapter 2: A Misunderstanding . ......... 12

  Chapter 3: Party Planning ..................... 18

  Chapter 4: A Quick Getaway .................. 26

  Chapter 5: Hurt Feelings ........................ 34

  Chapter 6: Getting Ready ...................... 41

  Chapter 7: The Big Reveal .................... 48

  Chapter 8: Best Friends Forever .......... 57

  Chapter 1:

  Secret

  Surprises

  5

  Briiiiiiing!

  The final bell of the day rang in Heartlake High.

  Classroom doors burst open and students rushed

  out, excited that it was Friday.

  Stephanie and her friends had just finished their

  last-period history class. Andrea did a happy twirl in

  the middle of the hallway.

  “School’s out for the weekend, girlfriends. Yes!”

  she cheered.

  “Oh my gosh, I’m

  so

  happy it’s Friday,” Olivia

  agreed.

  6

  Even though the girls shared classes together, the

  weekend was when they really got to hang out and

  have fun.

  Andrea did another little twirl and held her arms

  out wide. “No school. No rules. So cool!”

  Her friends’ eyes suddenly got wide.

  “Andrea . . . behind you,” Olivia whispered.

  Andrea slowly turned. Their history teacher, Mr.

  Arkin, was standing right there.

  7

  “Oh, hi, Mr. Arkin,” Andrea stammered. “I was

  just saying . . . um . . . that I can’t wait for Monday’s

  history test. In fact, I’m off to study right now!”

  The teacher raised an eyebrow.

  “Mm-hmm,”

  he

  said. Then he walked away, shaking his head.

  Andrea sighed. “He’s going to call on me in class

  on Monday. I just know it.”

  “Oh, but Monday is still two days away,”

  Stephanie said with a wave of her hand. “What

  should we all do together this afternoon?” She

  pointed to a nearby bulletin board with fliers

  hanging on it. “In no particular order: puppy-sitting?

  Art exhibit? Maybe a rock concert?”

  Stephanie expected her friends to all be as excited

  as she was. But to her surprise, the girls glanced at

  one another nervously and shook their heads.

  “Um, I can’t. I have karate class,” Emma said.

  Stephanie’s face fell. “Oh, you do?”

  Emma nodded. “Sorry, Steph. I really have to

  practice. My side kick looks more like I stepped on

  8

  a banana peel.” She demonstrated by kicking her left

  leg high in the air.

  “Hi-ya!”

  Emma cried. Then she lost her balance

  and fell backward.

  Her friends cringed.

  “

  Oof.

  She does need practice.” Mia nodded.

  “And maybe some light first aid,” Andrea teased.

  Emma jumped up. “I’m okay! But I’ve got to go.”

  “Me, too. I have horses to train,” Mia said quickly.

  9

  “And my voice teacher is waiting,” Andrea added.

  Olivia shuff led her feet. “And, um . . . Aunt

  Sophie needs help at the vet clinic. If only cages

  would clean themselves.”

  Stephanie was disappointed. All day long she had

  been looking forward to hanging out with her friends.

  But she didn’t want them to see that she was upset.

  “Oh, no worries. I’m totally booked, too,”she

  fibbed. “I don’t know

  what

  I was thinking with all

  this fun stuff for us to do. I have to check on the

  bunny I rescued.”

  “Oh, okay, bye!” Andrea, Mia, Emma, and Olivia

  quickly hurried away.

  Stephanie watched them go. She couldn’t help

  feeling a tiny bit hurt. She and her friends always

  hung out on Friday afternoons. They hadn’t

  mentioned any other plans before.

  Stephanie shook her thoughts away.

  I’m sure

  we’ll have fun tomorrow,

  she told herself.

  After all,

  tomorrow’s my birthday!

  10

  Outside, Mia, Olivia, Emma, and Andrea

  breathed sighs of relief.

  “I’m glad we were able to get away from

  Stephanie,” Andrea said.

  “Me, too,” agreed Mia.

  The friends smiled at one another.

  “Now we can plan her surprise birthday party!”

  Emma exclaimed, her green eyes shining.

  11

  The four friends had been talking about

  throwing Stephanie a big surprise birthday bash for

  days. It wasn’t easy keeping their plans secret. But it

  was the only way to surprise her.

  Olivia motioned for the others to follow her.

  “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go to the tree house. We

  have a lot of work to do.”

  They had so much to plan—and Stephanie’s

  birthday was tomorrow!

  12

  Chapter 2:

  A Misunderstanding

  A short while later, Stephanie strolled through

  downtown Heartlake City. Cradled in her arms was

  the bunny she had rescued, named Daisy. The little

  rabbit had fluffy white fur and a soft pink nose.

  For Stephanie, it was bunny-love at first sight. Now

  Daisy needed a nice, comfy rabbit house.

  “I’m sure the Pet Parlor will have something

  perfect,” Stephanie said. She pushed open the shop

  door, and a tinkling chime sounded.

  Colorful pet houses lined the walls. One house

  had a cute pink roof. Another had pretty flowers.

  13

  “These ar
e definitely the right size for you,

  Daisy,” Stephanie said. “But which one should we

  get?”

  She looked down at the little rabbit. Daisy

  twitched her whiskers.

  “I can’t decide, either.” Stephanie shrugged.

  “They’re all nice. But none of them are perfect.”

  Then, through the window, Stephanie saw a

  karate studio across the street.

  “Hey, that’s Emma’s karate class,” she realized.

  “Emma knows everything about style, even pet-

  house style. Let’s go see what she thinks.”

  14

  Inside the karate studio, students in white

  uniforms practiced punches and kicks. Noah, a boy

  who taught the class, instructed them how to do the

  moves correctly.

  “Hi-ya!”

  he called as he kicked a big, leather

  punching bag. He was so focused, he didn’t hear the

  karate studio’s front door open.

  “Hi, have you seen Emma?” Stephanie asked,

  walking up behind him.

  “Huh?” Noah asked, startled. He spun to look

  at Stephanie and forgot to kick the punching bag. It

  swung back and knocked him down!

  “Oops.” Stephanie cringed.

  15

  Noah laughed and jumped back up.

  “It’s all right,” he said, brushing himself off.

  “And, no, I haven’t seen Emma. Her next class is on

  Wednesday.”

  “That’s weird.” Stephanie frowned. “Emma said

  she had class today. That she needed to practice her

  side kick.”

  “Emma? Practice?” Noah asked, surprised. “She’s

  the best student I have.”

  “Oh, well. Thanks,” Stephanie said.

  Her shoulders sagged as she left the karate studio.

  16

  She was starting to get a weird feeling. Emma

  had definitely said she was going to karate practice,

  but she wasn’t there. It wasn’t normal for her friends

  to fib about what they were up to. Was something

  going on?

  Stephanie was still lost in thought when a girl

  named Lacy came up to her on the sidewalk. Lacy

  was a pretty classmate in their grade who wore fancy

  clothes and lived in a big house with her family. But

  she wasn’t exactly the friendliest person.

  17

  “Who’s taking karate?” Lacy asked, nodding at

  the bunny. “You or her?”

  Stephanie shook her head. “Neither of us.

  Actually, I was looking for Emma. She said she’d be

  here, but she isn’t.”

  “Huh. And I thought that you two were friends,”

  Lacy said.

  “I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding,”

  Stephanie replied.

  “Of course,” Lacy said as she walked away. But

  she didn’t sound convinced.

  Stephanie sighed. She wasn’t sure if

  she

  believed

  it herself. Why would Emma lie about karate class?

  She had never lied to Stephanie before.

  “Come on, Daisy,” Stephanie said. “Let’s go

  home.”

  Chapter 3:

  Party Planning

  18

  A few blocks away, Olivia, Mia, Andrea, and

  Emma were relaxing in Olivia’s tree house. The tree’s

  big leaves shaded them from the warm afternoon

  sun. A curious squirrel skittered along one of the

  branches in search of nuts.

  “Hmmm.”

  Olivia cupped her chin in her hands.

  “Where should we have Stephanie’s surprise birthday

  party? It’s got to be someplace cool.”

  The friends all thought hard.

  “Cool . . . pool,” Emma said slowly. “Hey! What

  about Heartlake City Pool?”

  19

  Olivia’s brown eyes lit up. “A pool party! That’s a

  great idea!”

  Andrea grinned. “I’m feeling that!”

  Olivia started to tick off items on her fingers.

  “Let’s see . . . We’ll need guests, a cake, presents,

  decorations . . . Oh, man, we’ve got a lot to do!”

  “Stephanie usually does all that stuff,” Emma

  pointed out.

  Her friends knew that she was right. Stephanie

  was a natural leader. She loved to organize all their

  plans.

  “We can totally handle it,” Andrea said.

  20

  Then she noticed Mia out of the corner of her

  eye. Mia was holding an old, black top hat and

  staring at it intently.

  “What are you doing?” Andrea asked.

  Mia held up the hat. “Working on a magic trick

  for the party,” she said. “And I’ve finally got it.”

  “Show us,” Emma urged.

  “Sure,” Mia said. “Watch as I pull a rabbit from

  this ordinary black hat.”

  She waved

  her right arm

  dramatically.

  “Abracadabra!”

  she cried. Then

  she put her hand

  into the hat . . .

  and pulled out the

  curious squirrel!

  “Eeeeek!”

  Mia shrieked. The other girls cried out,

  too, as the squirrel darted away.

  21

  “Is that part of the trick?” Emma asked.

  “Oh, I get it,” Olivia said. “It’s a

  comedy

  act!”

  The girls giggled. Mia blushed, embarrassed.

  “No, it’s not,” she said. “I guess I need more

  practice.”

  “You’ll get it, Mia,” Olivia assured her.

  “Speaking of practice, let’s rehearse our dance,”

  Andrea said. “It’s got to be perfect for the party.”

  She climbed down the tree-house ladder and

  landed on the grass. Her friends followed her.

  Andrea had shown them the dance once, but they

  were still learning it.

  Emma, Olivia, and Mia lined up next to one

  another. Andrea pressed a button on her boom box

  and cranked up the volume.

  “Five, six, seven, eight . . .” she counted. “Now,

  left!”

  Mia and Emma took a step to the left . . . and

  Olivia took a step to the right.

  “Your

  other

  left, Olivia!” Andrea called out.

  22

  Olivia took another step to the right . . . and

  landed on Mia’s foot!

  “Sorry,” she said. She closed her eyes, trying to

  concentrate. “Left, left . . . right, right.”

  Soon Olivia got into the groove with her friends.

  “See?” she said, smiling. “This is why we have to

  practice!”

  They all laughed.

  Little did they know, Stephanie was walking

  down the road right past Olivia’s house. She really

  missed being with her friends. It felt so strange to

  not be together.

  23

  Suddenly, Stephanie heard music echoing from

  the tree house. The pop-song lyrics

  “Me and my girls,

  we’re best friends forever!”

  echoed down the block.

  Stephanie walked closer and gasped. Andrea,

  Emma, Olivia, and Mia were all together. They were

  dancing and having fun—without her! />
  Stephanie ducked behind a bush. “Why am I not

  a part of this?” she asked herself, annoyed. “They

  must have texted me.”

  She took out

  her phone. “Yeah,

  one text!” she said.

  Then her smile

  faded. “From Mom.

  About chores.”

  She peeked

  up over the bush

  again.

  They’re dancing, and they didn’t invite me,

  Stephanie thought.

  Does this mean I’m not their

  friend?

  24

  Part of her wanted to march right up to them and

  ask what was going on. But the other part of her felt

  a little afraid. What if they really

  didn’t

  want to be

  her friends anymore? What if they had left her out

  for a reason?

  They must not have wanted me to be with them,

  Stephanie thought sadly.

  I should get out of here.

  She hurried away.

  The moment Stephanie was around the corner

  and out of sight, a boy skateboarded down the road

  toward Olivia’s house. He had wavy brown hair and

  blue eyes. He skidded to a stop in front of the tree

  house and hopped off his board.

  “Looking good, girls,” he said, giving them a

  thumbs-up.

  “Thanks, Jacob.” Olivia waved, smiling.

  “I got your text about Stephanie’s party,” Jacob

  said. “What can I do?”

  “Keep it a secret,” Emma replied.

  “I mean besides that,” Jacob said, rolling his eyes.

  25

  “Can you be in charge of lights?” Andrea asked.

  “They’re over there in that box.”

  “I’m on it,” Jacob said. “I helped stage a concert

  one time so I’m pretty good with lighting.”

  “Awesome!” said Olivia. “Let’s get to work. We

  still have a lot to do!”

  26

  ter 4:

  Cha

  p

  A Quick

  Getaway

  The girls made a list of everything they needed

  for the party. Olivia and Mia volunteered to pick out