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

  a great present for Stephanie.

  They went to the Pet Parlor downtown. Inside, a

  white poodle wagged its tail.

  “Aren’t you cute?” Mia asked, scratching the dog’s

  head. The poodle barked.

  Just then, a young sales clerk walked up to them.

  “Hi,” she said, with a friendly smile. “Can I help you?”

  “We’re looking for a birthday present for our

  friend Stephanie,” Mia said.

  27

  “We want to get a house for her bunny, Daisy,”

  added Olivia.

  The clerk led them to the row of bunny houses

  Stephanie had looked at earlier that afternoon.

  “We have lots of choices,” the clerk said.

  Mia and Olivia looked at each house carefully.

  They both liked the one with the purple roof. It had

  a pretty pink gate across the front.

  “This one’s great!” Mia said.

  “I love it!” agreed Olivia.

  “Does it come with a bed?” Mia asked.

  28

  “Is it wired for sound?” asked Olivia.

  “Or a pillow?”

  “Or maybe lights?”

  “Is there a shelf for brushes?”

  “Um . . .” the clerk stammered. She looked

  overwhelmed. “Sorry, it only comes like you see it.”

  Mia frowned. “Oh.”

  But Olivia’s eyes lit up. “Hey, maybe we could put

  in our

  own

  special touches.”

  Mia nodded. “Yeah! Customize it! Stephanie will

  love that!”

  29

  They smiled at the clerk. “We’ll take it!”

  Soon Mia and Olivia were walking out the front

  door with a big white gift box wrapped with a red

  bow. They were so excited. This was going to be the

  perfect gift for their friend!

  Just then, they heard a familiar voice.

  “Mia! Olivia!”

  30

  The girls stopped in their tracks. Stephanie was

  running toward them from down the street.

  Mia and Olivia panicked. If Stephanie caught

  them, they would have to explain the present they

  were carrying. And if they did that, they would ruin

  the surprise!

  “Pretend we didn’t hear her!” Olivia whispered

  urgently. “Hurry!”

  They quickly ran around the block and hid

  behind the pet shop building.

  Stephanie tried to catch up to them. But when

  she turned the corner, her friends were nowhere to

  be seen.

  “I guess they didn’t hear me,” she said sadly.

  Olivia peeked around the wall of the building

  and saw Stephanie walking away.

  “

  Phew!

  Close one!” she said.

  “Yeah,” Mia agreed. “That could have been a

  disaster.”

  Little did they know, to Stephanie, it

  did

  feel like

  31

  a disaster. Her friends lied about having plans. They

  had danced at the tree house without her. Now Mia

  and Olivia didn’t even stop when she called out to

  them. Why were her friends acting this way?

  She walked down to Lake Heart and sat on the

  dock, dangling her legs over the edge. Swans glided

  on the peaceful water. The sun was starting to set.

  Stephanie sighed and threw a pebble into the lake.

  Suddenly, she heard a soft whinny behind her.

  Stephanie turned and saw Lacy trotting up on a

  horse from the Heartlake Stables.

  “All alone?” Lacy asked. “Where are your

  friends?”

  “What friends?” Stephanie replied bitterly.

  “They lied to me. And then I saw them having fun

  and dancing at the tree house.”

  “Maybe it’s your dancing,” Lacy teased.

  Stephanie sighed. “It’s just weird for them to

  suddenly act this way.”

  Lacy didn’t reply for a moment.

  32

  “Friends don’t often give reasons for moving on,”

  she said finally. “They just do.”

  “Oh,” Stephanie said. Lacy seemed to know what

  she was talking about.

  “Want to go for a ride?” Lacy asked. “It helps.”

  Stephanie shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m

  going to figure this whole thing out. Especially since

  tomorrow’s my birthday.”

  33

  Lacy shrugged. “All right.” She trotted away.

  Stephanie turned back to the lake and tossed in

  another pebble.

  I only want one thing for my birthday

  , she

  thought.

  My friends back!

  34

  Chapter 5:

  Hurt Feelings

  Saturday morning, Stephanie put her plan into

  action. If her friends were really avoiding her, then

  there was no choice but to play detective and see

  what they were up to!

  Wearing a pair

  of dark sunglasses,

  she hid behind the

  fence next to Olivia’s

  house. A moment

  later, the front door

  opened. Olivia came

  35

  out of the house, carrying an oversize beach bag.

  “Have fun at the pool,” Olivia’s mom called.

  “Thanks, I will,” Olivia replied. Then she headed

  down the sidewalk.

  Stephanie waited until Olivia was about a block

  away before following after her. She hid behind cars

  and trees in case Olivia turned around. So far, so good.

  Olivia strolled downtown and stopped at a photo

  booth. Emma, Mia, and Andrea were waiting there.

  All four girls went inside and closed the curtain.

  Stephanie dashed across the street and hid beside

  the booth, listening.

  The girls didn’t know that Stephanie was spying

  on them. They squeezed in, giggling. Andrea leaned

  toward the camera, blocking her friends.

  “Does my hair look all right?” she asked.

  “It looks good from the back,” Emma said. “But,

  uh, can we be in the picture?”

  Andrea laughed and moved back with her

  friends.

  36

  “Everyone smile!” Olivia called out.

  “Cheeeeeese!”

  There was a

  beep

  , and the camera flashed.

  “Glamour pose!” Andrea cried.

  The girls made their best model faces.

  Flash!

  “Silly pose!” Mia called out next. She stuck out

  her tongue. Her friends all made funny faces, too.

  Flash!

  They left the photo booth, laughing. Stephanie

  watched as they all walked in different directions.

  She decided to follow Emma.

  Emma headed past the City Park Café, crossed

  37

  a busy street, and walked down to a row of shops.

  Stephanie trailed close behind.

  Suddenly, Emma paused. She thought she had

  heard something.

  Before Emma could spot her, Stephanie quickly

  ducked into a clothing store and put on a floppy hat

  so she looked like a mannequin.

  Curious, Emma walked back to the store. The

  cute clothes in the window caught her eye, so she

 
went inside. Stephanie blended right into the

  window display and Emma didn’t see her.

  38

  Emma browsed around for a minute. “These

  shirts are cute,” she said to herself, holding up a

  pretty summertime top. Then she shook her head.

  She had an important job to do. There was no time

  for shopping! She left the store.

  Stephanie jumped out of the window display and

  hurried to catch up. A few blocks later, she spotted

  Emma coming out of the bakery, carrying a big box.

  This was Stephanie’s chance. Her friends were

  definitely

  up to something and purposefully weren’t

  including her. She took off her sunglasses and

  marched up to Emma.

  Emma gasped. “Stephanie! Oh, hi. What’s . . .

  up?” She sounded nervous.

  “Back at ya,” Stephanie said.

  Emma tried to act casual. Stephanie’s birthday

  cake was inside the box she was holding! But she

  couldn’t let her friend know that.

  “Just, you know, did some shopping,” Emma said.

  “Got a little snack. . . .”

  39

  Stephanie eyed the large box. “A

  little

  snack?”

  Emma laughed nervously. “Skipped breakfast.

  And now I’m heading to . . .”

  “Karate class?” Stephanie asked. She thought she

  could catch Emma in another lie.

  “No, the library,” Emma said quickly.

  “But don’t you get the feeling that today is . . .

  special?” Stephanie hinted.

  Emma gasped. “You’re totally right!”

  “I am? You mean, you know what today is?”

  Stephanie asked, immediately brightening. Maybe

  Emma remembered it was her birthday after all!

  40

  “Yes!” Emma replied. “I volunteered to help at

  the Art Exhibit today!”

  Stephanie’s face fell.

  “If I hadn’t run into you, I would have forgotten,”

  Emma continued. She inched away. “Thanks a

  million, Stephanie!”

  Emma quickly walked off, and Stephanie’s heart

  sank.

  She could forgive her friends not including her

  yesterday. But today was her birthday! How could

  they be so mean?

  41

  When Emma arrived at the pool, the other girls

  were already busy setting up. Andrea tied bunches

  of colorful balloons to the lifeguard tower. Mia and

  Olivia hung a big, pink banner with Stephanie’s

  name between two light posts. And pretty flowers

  ran up the poles by the snack bar.

  “Where do you want these, Andrea?” Jacob

  called out. He was carrying the box of tangled lights.

  “Over there, behind the hot tub,” she replied,

  pointing.

  “Got it,” Jacob said cheerfully.

  Chapter 6:

  Getting Ready

  42

  Emma put the cake on a big table. Olivia was

  placing other yummy snacks there, too.

  “I ran into Stephanie at the bakery,” Emma said.

  Olivia gasped. “Did she find out about the

  surprise?” she asked, anxious.

  Emma shook her head. “No, but I felt terrible

  making excuses to her,” she said. “Stephanie looked

  kind of upset. I think she could tell something was up.”

  “I know, but it’ll all be worth it when we surprise

  her,” Olivia promised.

  43

  Across the pool, Mia set her magic hat on a table.

  She closed her eyes. The squirrel from the tree house

  watched her. Would she get the trick right?

  “Abracadabra!” Mia said. She opened her eyes. A

  shimmering bubble floated out from the hat.

  Mia smiled. It wasn’t a rabbit, but it was still nice.

  And definitely better than a squirrel!

  Then . . .

  pop

  !

  The bubble burst. The squirrel

  chittered and scampered away.

  Mia sighed. “Gotta keep practicing, I guess,” she

  muttered.

  Up in the lifeguard tower, Andrea tried to

  connect her boom box to the pool’s speakers.

  44

  “What about this one?” she wondered. She

  plugged in one of the cords.

  Screech!

  Feedback wailed from the speaker. A

  little puff of smoke popped up.

  “Looks like Andrea might need some help,”

  Olivia told Emma. “I’d better go check.”

  As Olivia was heading over to the lifeguard

  tower, she passed Jacob. He had successfully

  untangled all the lights and was carefully stringing

  them between two light posts by the hot tub.

  “Hey, Jacob,” Olivia called. “Actually, the lights

  go on

  that

  wall.” She pointed to the opposite end of

  the pool.

  45

  Jacob looked over his shoulder. “Are you sure?”

  he asked. “Because Andrea said . . .” But Olivia was

  already out of earshot.

  “Aargh,”

  he complained, taking the lights back

  down. He carried his ladder over to the wall on the

  far side of the pool.

  Meanwhile, up in the tower, Olivia and Andrea

  got the speakers working. Andrea pressed Play on

  her boom box, and pop music floated through the air.

  Olivia and Andrea climbed down and headed

  over to Mia and Emma.

  “Those speakers are kickin’!” Mia exclaimed.

  “They are, aren’t they?” Olivia agreed proudly.

  The girls high-fived. Then they looked around

  the pool. The balloons, streamers, and banners all

  looked great.

  “Everything’s just about ready,” Andrea said.

  Emma frowned. “Except Jacob’s putting the lights

  in the wrong place.” She turned and called out to

  him, “Jacob, the lights go over there.”

  46

  “No, they go behind the hot tub,” Andrea said.

  “You mean behind the slide,” said Mia.

  Olivia shook her head. “You’re all wrong. They—”

  A loud whistle pierced the air. It was Jacob,

  whistling through his teeth.

  “The lights are here, they stay here!” he said

  firmly. “I’m not moving them again.”

  The girls looked at each other and shrugged.

  “Fine,” said Emma.

  47

  “What’s up with Jacob?” Mia asked, loud

  enough for him to hear.

  Jacob slapped a hand to his forehead. “Girls! I

  simply don’t get them!” he cried.

  Olivia turned to her friends. “I’m so excited.

  People will be here any minute!”

  “I can’t wait to yell, ‘Surprise, Stephanie!’” Emma

  clapped her hands.

  Olivia’s eyes suddenly grew wide. “Hey. Just

  how does Stephanie know to come here again?” she

  asked.

  Andrea gasped. “Did we . . . skip a step?”

  “You mean, like invite the guest of honor?” Mia

  asked. “Then, yep.”

  Emma groaned. “Oh, no! We forgot to invite

  Stephanie to her own surprise party!”

  48

  Chapter 7:


  The Big

  Reveal

  On the other side of town, Stephanie walked into

  a ballet studio. Inside, dancers in white leotards and

  pink tutus danced to classical music. Lacy was there

  warming up. She stretched her right arm gracefully

  above her head.

  Stephanie headed over to her. “I got your text,”

  she said. “You wanted to see me?”

  Lacy brightened. “I wanted to give you this,” she

  said. “Happy Birthday.”

  She held out a yellow mixing bowl with a ribbon

  around it. Inside were two colorful mixing spoons.

  49

  “I heard you like to bake,” Lacy said, giving the

  bowl to Stephanie.

  Stephanie couldn’t hide how happy the gift made

  her. For the first time today, she felt like someone

  actually cared that it was her birthday!

  “Thanks for remembering!” she said with a huge

  grin. “I’m glad

  someone

  did.”

  She looked happily down at the bowl. Lacy

  had even gone to the trouble of finding out what

  Stephanie liked. The gift really meant a lot to her.

  50

  “Say, maybe we can make a birthday cake or

  something,” Stephanie suggested. “We could head

  back to my house. I’m sure my mom has some cake

  mix in the pantry. It will be fun. And, after all, it

  seems like a good day for it.”

  “You mean, make it

  together

  ?” Lacy asked

  eagerly. Stephanie had never asked to hang out with

  her before. She was always so busy with her other

  friends.

  “Sure,” Stephanie said.

  “Okay!” Lacy agreed. Then she paused. “Unless

  you have other plans, because . . . I might have other

  plans.”

  Stephanie shook her head. “I don’t have plans.”

  “Yeah, me neither,” Lacy admitted with a grin.

  The girls laughed. Stephanie was happy that she

  had a friend to spend her birthday with. But there

  was still one big problem that needed to be fixed.

  “First there’s something I have to do,” she told