Bella Baxter And the Itchy Disaster

Bella Baxter gazed at the buffet table. She was looking at the chocolate croissant. It was from Bruno's Bakery. It looked sweet and sticky, and lonely. It looked like itwantedBella to eat it. But not all of the guests at Sea Inn had eaten. And Bella knew the rules. Guests ate first.

Sometimes there were leftover pastries. When that happened, Bella could have them. Or at least play Rock, Paper, Scissors with her dad for them. (Luckily Barnaby Baxter always split his winnings with his daughter.) But if the pastries were gone, it was cereal city.

Maybe the last guests would be dieters. Bella moved the fruit salad in front of the pastries. She stacked the dirty dishes. She straightened the newspapers. Then she wiped the tables. Finally she sat down on the stairs to wait.

It felt good to sit. Life had been busy since Sea Inn opened for business. Of course, things were busy before Sea Inn opened too. The old house was in lousy shape when Bella and her family arrived. Turning it into a bed-and-breakfast was no piece of cake -- or pastry, for that matter.

Luckily for her parents, Bella was a girl of action. She knew where to get help. The local library was the perfect place to research house repair. And to make a new friend. Because that's where she met Trudy. Trudy was quick with a card catalog and even quicker with her tools. It took a lot of hard work. But working together they'd gotten Sea Inn ready just in time.

Bella bit her thumbnail. She wished she were with Trudy right now. Bella needed help again. She'd gotten a new idea from one of her mom's books. It said that great bed-and-breakfasts made people feel right at home.

That got Bella thinking. And now she knew what she had to do. She had to make Sea Inn feel like each guest's home! And to do that she'd need to know all about where each guest lived. She'd need to know their hobbies and interests. And she'd need to know itbeforethey arrived.

And that meant she needed to do research -- library research.

Bella slipped into the front hall. She opened the guest registry. In just three days Sea Inn's most important guest, Dr. Frederick Fauna, would arrive. The doctor was a famous botanist from England -- definitely a subject worthy of research. And the perfect guest to receive Bella's special welcome.

Bella picked up a pen and made a quick list of things to do. She didn't have any paper, so she wrote on the palm of her hand:

Clear dishes.

Strip beds.

Sweep stairs.

Begin research.

A rumbling sound interrupted Bella's list making. Was that her stomach? She peeked through the door into the dining room.

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson had finally come to breakfast. Their backs were to Bella. They completely blocked the buffet table. Bella couldn't see a single buttery flake of croissant. But she could hear what they were saying.

"Isn't this lovely?" Mrs. Nelson crooned.

"Mmmph," Mr. Nelson agreed. Bella saw his head bob up and down.

"I don't know what to try first!" Mrs. Nelson bubbled. "It all looks so good."

Mrs. Nelson's mouth sounded full. Bella crossed her fingers.

"This croissant is so buttery it melts in your mouth!" she exclaimed.

Bella let out the breath she'd been holding. She uncrossed her fingers. With a sigh she picked up her stack of dishes.

Au revoir, croissant!Bella bid her French pastry good-bye. She pushed open the kitchen door. In her head she added one more thing to her to-do list:

Stop by Bruno's Bakery.

Text copyright © 2005 by Jane B. Mason and Sarah Hines Stephens

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Excerpted from Bella Baxter and the Itchy Disaster by Jane B. Mason, Sarah Hines Stephens
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.