Piper's Perfect Dream by Ahmet Zappa Page A

been the best thing Piper had ever tasted. Other Star Darlings had talked about soda and chocolate milk, but she doubted anyone else had had one of these on her mission. “What is it called?”
    â€œIt’s a chocolate egg cream. I know, I know,” Olivia added quickly. “It doesn’t have eggs or cream. So don’t ask me why it’s called an egg cream. And I’m not surprised you don’t know it. Hardly anyone outside of New York City has heard about it.”
    New York City?
The place name meant nothing to Piper. She supposed it was a very small town in the middle of nowhere. It had to be, for hardly anyone to know about this wonderful drink.
    Piper reached for her trusty menu to find the listing. “Oh, you won’t find it there,” Olivia said. “People wouldn’t order it, anyway. It’s just a New York thing. You know my parents are from there.”
    â€œOkay, girls,” said Alice, reaching to clear Piper’s empty glass. “It’s getting late. Time for you to head out.” She looked at Piper. “Is someone coming to pick you up?”
    Piper concentrated. Staring into Alice’s eyes, she said solemnly, “Why don’t I sleep over at your house?”
    Alice sniffed the air. “There’s that rhubarb pie smell again. How strange. Pete isn’t even baking today!” Then she looked at Piper. “Why don’t you sleep over at our house?”
    Olivia looked surprised but not upset. A favorable sign, Piper thought.
    â€œSounds good,” said Piper. “I’m sure my grandma won’t mind.” Holding in her laughter, she pretended to place a call on her Star-Zap. Her family had no idea she was on Wishworld. But she felt sure that if they had, they’d have been fine with her spending the night with this nice family.
    The two girls cleared the rest of their dishes, then made their way to Olivia’s home. It was just around the corner from the diner, on a street very much like the one she’d walked down earlier, with snug little houses and big leafy trees.
    To open the front door, Olivia used a metal tool, twisting it into a hole below a knob. The inside of the house was just like the outside, Piper thought: cozy and colorful, with shaggy rugs covering brightly polished hardwood floors, small rooms, and lots of knickknacks spread on shelves and cabinet tops. In one alcove, framed photos and awards covered the wall. Piper examined them all closely.
    In most pictures, Olivia posed with an older girl who had the same deep blue eyes. “Is this your sister?” Piper asked.
    â€œYup,” said Olivia. “Isabel.”
    Isabel’s awards took up more space than Olivia’s, Piper noticed. But that was probably because she was older. She’d finished more school years. “You both are excellent students,” Piper observed.
    Piper meant it as a compliment. She expected Olivia to say thank you or at least acknowledge the comment in some way. But Olivia leaned over her backpack as if she didn’t want to continue the conversation. She pulled out some textbooks and said, “I’ll do my homework now if you don’t—”
    â€œMind,” Piper finished for her. “Why would I mind? You feel like I’m a real guest, I know, and like you’re responsible for me. But I basically invited myself. Do your homework.”
    Olivia finished her homework at the dining room table while Piper browsed through her schoolbooks. She couldn’t get over the feel of them. They were heavy, true, but wonderful, too. The textbook pages were so smooth and shiny and fun to turn. After about an hour, Alice came home from the diner and announced, “Bedtime!”
    Olivia pushed aside dozens of stuffed animals on her bedroom floor and set up a blow-up bed for Piper. She opened a drawer to show Piper pair after pair of pajamas. Piper lifted a gauzy scoop-necked nightgown, the color