Awkward

The next morning in homeroom, the art club talks about how the science club seems panicked. Peppi, who has the remote in her bag, is nervous that Maribella hasn’t arrived at school yet. When one of the science club boys comes into the room, claiming that the art club took the remote, Miss Tobins tells him to “cease these groundless accusations” (164). She asks Mr. Ramirez to keep an eye out for the remote in case it was misplaced.

In science class and lunch, Peppi can’t stop thinking about the remote in her backpack. The launch has been canceled until the science club finds their remote. The science club accuses the art club again at lunch of stealing their remote.

Later, during art club, Peppi asks Mr. Ramirez where Maribella is, and he says he thinks she’s sick. Jenny and Akilah rush in: Someone has hacked the school paper website to write: “Art club sabotaged the launch of the solar plane. They’re liars and cheats!!!” (168). The art club is furious. They get paint to “hack [the science club’s] posters to say something else too” (168). After school, Peppi bikes to Maribella’s house. A neighbor sees her knocking and explains: There was a big fight yesterday with “a lot of yelling and screaming” (170), and then Maribella and her mother left with packed bags.

After dinner, Peppi bikes to Jaime’s house to secretly return the remote, so she doesn’t become the liar and cheat the science club have accused the art club of being. Jaime sees her walking away. He is hurt that she'd steal the remote after his club worked so hard. Peppi says she didn’t steal it; she can’t say who did but promises that they’re a good person who made a mistake, like her when she pushed him. Jaime is deflated. He thanks her for returning it and goes inside.

The next day, the solar plane launches. Jaime told people he found the remote in the library. The art club are sure they won’t win, but the principal announces on the PA that “due to unsportsmanlike conduct displayed by both sides…neither of you will have a table at the club fair” (180). He suspends all club activities until he can figure out how to solve their “disdain and even outright hatred of each other” (180). As the art club leaves, they run into the science club in the hall. They argue, accusing the other side of ruining things. Fed up, Peppi screams at them to stop fighting because all it’s done is get both clubs suspended. She bikes home distressed and sees an unfamiliar car outside her house. It is Maribella and her mother.

Maribella has come for the remote; she is relieved when Peppi says she gave it back. The accompanying illustrations show Maribella looking exhausted and frazzled. Peppi asks her what happened. Maribella says that she and her mother are going to stay with her grandma two states away and she doesn’t know when she’s coming back. Before she leaves, she asks Peppi if she can write to her.

The next day, both the art and science clubs are quiet and gloomy. After school, Peppi sees Miss Tobins, who compliments her for doing so well in both art and science classes. She tells Peppi about Leonardo da Vinci, who was both an artist and a scientist, like Peppi. Miss Tobins wishes their clubs could learn that art and science aren’t so different.

That weekend, Peppi works furiously on a new idea. Jaime arrives at her house to apologize for yelling at her when she returned the remote, and he laments that the principal still thinks the art club stole it. She explains her idea to Jaime. He thinks it’s excellent and agrees to team up. 

After school on Monday, Peppi proposes a joint project to the art and science clubs. Everyone is resistant and insists that scientists and artists can’t work together, but Peppi explains that art and science aren't historically that different, and Jaime reminds the science club that working with Peppi helped them find their geocache. Peppi shows them a diagram for “a D.I.Y indoor planetarium” (198). After spending “several centuries” (201) convincing the sides to work together, Peppi gets them all to sign up.

Miss Tobins and Mr. Ramirez are thrilled; they take the idea to the principal, who allows their clubs to meet and work on their project. They work overtime to build an amazing planetarium, and both get tables at the fair on the principal’s condition that they’re side by side.

Later, as Jaime and Peppi plan next year’s project and she draws a spaceship, the mean kids take her sketchbook and tease them about “planning [their] honeymoon…on the mooon” (207). Together, the science and art club confront the mean kids, standing up for Peppi and Jaime. Both groups sit at the same cafeteria table.