CHAPTER 1

Roberto was waiting under the streetlight.

“Are you ready?” Jazmin said.

Roberto nodded, and turned a little to show her the heavy backpack he was carrying.

“Where’s the rest of the gang?” he asked.

“They’re already there,” Jazmin said. “We’d better get going, or they’ll start without us.”

The other Fixers were waiting for them, outside the empty, abandoned building.

“You’re late,” Makayla said.

Jazmin made a face.

“Gramps was acting up again. Sorry.”

“It’s all right, Jaz,” Connor said. “Is Gramps OK now?”

“Yeah, I managed to get him to bed.”

“So,” Sage said brightly, “now that our Bossgirl is here, shall we do what we came to do?”

“Hey, I’ve told you not to call me that,” Jazmin said. “No nicknames in the Fixers. We use each other’s real names.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Sage said. “You’re our boss, and you’re a girl…”

The others laughed. But Jazmin was serious.

“Even if it’s meant as a compliment, a nickname pins you down. What if someday I don’t want to be the boss any more?”

“If you’re not the boss,” Makayla said, “you don’t get to tell us what we can say.”

Jazmin stared at her. Then she saw the mischief in Makayla’s eyes, and laughed.

“All right. I’ll be the boss. Let’s get on with it.”

She pushed open the door.

It was dark inside the building, and smelled nasty. A tall figure loomed out of the shadows.

“Out! Get out of here!—Oh, it’s you. Hi.”

One of the homeless people who had been living in the building recognized Jazmin.

“Hi, Andre,” Jazmin said. “Why are you sitting in the dark?”

“The electricity went out again,” Andre said.

A flashlight flicked on nearby. Sage was examining the circuit breaker box.

“Ha, thought so,” she said.

The lights came on.

“The circuit just tripped,” Sage said. “Come over here, Andre. Let me show you. It’s something you guys can fix yourselves.”

Andre shuffled over to her and stood meekly for his lesson. It made Jazmin laugh, since he was about two feet taller than Sage, and thirty—forty?—years older.

Jaz looked round the room. There were five homeless men and women lying on the floor in sleeping bags.

“Where’s Shelley?” she asked.

“She got picked up by the cops,” Andre said.

“At least she’ll be warm and safe tonight,” Connor said.

One of the women got up. Even inside the sleeping bag she had been wearing a long, grubby coat and scarf.

“Have you brought any food?” she asked.

Roberto heaved the backpack off his back and set it on the ground. He started taking out cans of soup and loaves of bread.

“Connor, can you get the portable stove?” Jazmin asked. “You’re going to be the cook today. Roberto, I need you to have a look at the bathroom. It stinks in here again.”

“There’s a leak in the roof over there too,” Andre said.

“OK,” Jazmin said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Jazmin was apprenticed to a carpenter, working for him while she learned her trade. She soon found the hole and stopped it up with sealant.

“That will keep you dry for now,” she said. “How’s the bathroom, Roberto?”

Each of the Fixers had their own set of skills. Roberto was training to be a plumber, Sage an electrician, and Makayla was apprenticed to a painter. Connor’s skills as an auto mechanic weren’t much use here, so he heated soup on the stove and handed out steaming bowls.

The room soon filled with warmth and chatter. Jazmin was glad to see her homeless friends relaxing, beginning to feel safe. Then a voice broke in:

“What are you bums doing on my property?”

A stranger was standing in the doorway. His hair was slicked back and he wore sunglasses, even indoors.

“Your property?” Jazmin said. “No one owns this place. It’s been empty for years.”

“Well, I own it now,” the man said. “The name is Albert Snide. My great-aunt passed away, and left it to me. So get out, or I’ll call the cops.”

Andre and the others started picking up their belongings, but Jazmin stopped them.

“Wait a minute,” she said. “These people have rights. You can’t just throw them on the streets.”

“Rights?” the man sneered. “They’re criminals. Breaking in here, damaging my property—”

Sage interrupted.

“Hey mister!” said Sage. We’ve fixed up your property, me and my friends. We repaired the roof, hung new doors, got electricity and water connected…”

The stranger stared at them, as though seeing the teenagers for the first time.

“Who are you anyway?” he said. “Why do you care about these hoboes?”

“We’re the Fixers,” Jazmin said. “This place was a wreck when we found these people living here. Now they’re warm and safe. Look, if you’re going to do something with this old building, great, but no one was using it, and they’ve been here for years now. Just give us a couple of weeks to sort out something else for them, and then we’ll clean it up and hand it back to you, better than before.”

“Out, now, all of you,” the man said. “Or I’ll come back with the cops and you all go to jail.”

“Jaz, we ought to go,” Andre said nervously.

“No way,” Jazmin said. “Everybody stay where you are. You’re going to be fine, I promise.”

The stranger was furious, and stomped off.

“Hey, eat up,” Jazmin said. “Your food’s getting cold.”

But Andre and his friends were tense again, their eyes full of fear.

CHAPTER 2

After an hour or so the police arrived with Mr. Snide.

“Hi, Officer Li,” Jazmin said.

“Oh, hey Jaz,” said Officer Li.

Snide frowned when he heard them greet each other like old friends.

“Mr. Snide here says you’re trespassing on his property,” Officer Li said.

“That’s not right, officer,” Jazmin said politely. “Mr. Andre here and his friends are squatters, not trespassers, and we’re their guests.”

“They’re housebreakers!” Mr. Snide complained.

“There was no door on this building,” Jazmin said. “They just walked in. That’s not housebreaking. Those doors? We put them there. Here are the keys to the locks.”

“She’s right,” Officer Li said to Mr. Snide. “There’s no crime here that I can arrest anyone for. You’ll have to get a court order to evict them and make them move.”

“What if I get a gun and do it myself?” Snide snapped.

“Then I’ll be throwing you in jail instead,” Officer Li said. “You know, if they’ve been here long enough, the court can say the building belongs to them.”

“Don’t worry,” Jazmin said quickly, “we don’t want to take your property. We’re just asking you to be fair.”

“I’ll show you fair,” Snide said, and left.

The Fixers cheered, though Officer Li looked worried.

“You be careful,” she said to Jazmin. “Don’t get in any trouble.”

“Don’t worry,” Jazmin said. “I know—”

Her phone rang. She answered it, and heard a trembling voice.

“Annie? I need you—I can’t find…”

“Gramps!” Jazmin said. She turned to her friends. “I have to go, right now.”

“I’ll drive you,” Connor said.

Sometimes Jazmin was jealous of Connor’s trade, because he had fixed up his own car from a wreck. But she loved working with wood. She loved the smell of it, the warmth, and the way she could use it to make people safe and comfortable.

They didn’t speak as they sped through the night. Jazmin was too worried about what might be happening at home. But as they pulled up outside her block, Connor said:

“Hey, Jaz.”

“What?”

“Say hi to your Gramps from me.”

Jazmin thought he was going to say something else, but changed his mind. She nodded and hurried inside.

As she turned the key in the lock, she could already hear Gramps crashing around in the kitchen.

“Annie?” he called out. “Annie, is that you?”

“It’s Jazmin, Gramps,” she said. “Annie was your wife and I’m your granddaughter, remember?”

He squinted at her, as if she was talking nonsense. She hated when he looked at her like that, like she was a stranger he’d never seen before.

“I… I can’t find the keys to the boat,” he said. He looked around the apartment in confusion. “I don’t know where I am.”

“We sold the boat, Gramps. It’s not much use in the middle of the city. You moved here to look after me when Grandma passed away, remember? And now I’m looking after you.”

She guided him gently towards his bedroom, and helped him into bed.

“We sold the boat?” he said.

“Go to sleep now, Gramps.” She stroked his forehead. “It will all be OK in the morning.”

She hoped it would be OK in the morning. She couldn’t afford any more time off work to take care of him.

When she woke the next day however, she could smell bacon frying.

“Morning, Jaz,” Gramps said as she joined him in the kitchen.

He grinned at her, and she sat down in relief. Her Gramps was back…for the time being at least.

As they ate breakfast she told him about Mr. Snide and the homeless people. His eyes glittered.

“That’s my girl,” he said. “Don’t get mad. Just get your own way.”

There was a knock at the door. They looked at each other.

“Is that your ride to work?” Gramps said.

Jaz shook her head. She was worried again.

She opened the door to see a chubby man with glasses and a beard. He held up an identity card.

“Miss Nader?” he said. “I’m Pete Marsh from the Department of Aging. We take care of our city’s senior citizens. Can I come in?”

“Errr…This isn’t a good time,” Jazmin said, leaning against the door. “I have to go to work.”

“Miss Nader,” the chubby man said, “I need to speak to your grandfather. If I don’t see him now, I’ll just keep coming back until I do.”

CHAPTER THREE

“You want to see me, young man? Well, here I am.”

Gramps appeared behind her. Jaz was nervous, but his voice was strong and his eyes were sharp. Mr. Marsh showed his card.

“Can I come in, Mr. Nader?”

“No, you cannot,” Gramps said. “This is our home. We don’t want anyone nosing around in our business.”

“I just need to see that you’re OK,” Mr. Marsh said. “We had a call from one of the neighbors—”

“Who? Which snooper called you? Was it that Mrs.McSweeney?”

Gramps stepped into the hall as though he was about to start banging on the neighbors’ doors. Jaz was relieved to see he’d remembered to put pants on.

“I can’t tell you that, sir,” Mr. Marsh said. “But they were just worried about you. They thought you were…distressed.”

“Distressed? What does that mean?” Gramps snapped.

“They thought they heard you crying.”

Gramps bit his lip and clenched his fists. Jaz thought of what he always said:

“Men don’t cry. Not men like me, anyway.”

Then she remembered the nights when he would call out for his wife, who had passed away ten years ago, with tears streaming down his face.

“You listen to me, young man,” Gramps said. “Me and my girl, we look after each other. We do just fine. We don’t need any do-gooders or busybodies telling us how to live our lives.”

“Of course,” Mr. Marsh said. “I’ll put that in my report. Have a good day, sir.”

He headed for the elevator.

“I’ve got to go, Gramps.” Jazmin grabbed her tool bag and kissed his cheek. “Don’t answer the door till I come back. I’ll be home in time for Close the Deal.”

Gramps smiled. Close the Deal was their favorite TV show. They had watched it together since she was a little girl.

“Don’t be late then!”

“I won’t.”

Jazmin hurried after Mr. Marsh. She wanted to make sure he was really leaving, and wasn’t going to sneak back once she’d gone. He held the elevator door open for her.

“What do you do for work?” he asked, looking at her tool bag.

“I’m training to be a carpenter,” she said.

“Good for you.” He seemed genuinely impressed. “Miss Nader, I can see your grandpa is a proud man. But taking care of someone on your own can be tough. If you need help, that’s what we’re here for. Take my card.”

He held out a small card with his name and contact details. Jazmin took it, but said:

“We’re good, thanks.”

She meant to throw the card away as soon as she was around the corner, but instead she shoved it in her pocket.

“You’re late,” Ms. Ba said, as Jazmin dashed into the workshop.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Jazmin said. “My phone was out of battery, so the alarm didn’t go off.”

She didn’t want to admit to the problems with Gramps. Ms. Ba folded her arms and stared at Jazmin.

“Listen girl, I like you. You’ll be a fine carpenter one day, if you work hard. But this is a business, not a high school. Whatever’s going on with you, you need to sort it out. Now get to it.”

Jazmin found it hard to concentrate though. Between worrying about Gramps and thinking about Mr. Snide and her homeless friends, there wasn’t much space left in her head.

When work was over, she was hurrying home to make sure Gramps was OK, when her phone rang.

“Jaz? It’s Connor. Andre is in trouble—Mr. Snide has been here—”

The phone cut out. Jaz turned and ran.

She called Connor several times along the way, but his phone was dead. At the run-down building, she was relieved to see Connor standing outside.

“Are you all right?” she said.

Connor looked sheepish. “My cell ran out of battery,” he said. “I didn’t mean to worry you, but I couldn’t call you back.”

“What about Andre?”

“He’s inside. They’re all packing up.”

“Why? What did Mr. Snide say?”

“He said—”

Andre interrupted.

“He said if we didn’t get out by 6pm, he was coming with security guards and baseball bats.”

Andre stood in the doorway, his bag full and ready to go.

“He can’t do that Andre,” Jazmin said. “Listen, just stay put. If you all leave and he takes back the building, you lose your rights. I’ll call Officer Li.”

“It’s not worth it,” Andre said. “We’ll find somewhere else.”

“You’ll end up on the streets,” Jazmin said, “then in prison or the hospital or worse. Trust me, OK?”

She phoned Officer Li, and explained the situation.

“You’re right about the law,” she told her. “But I can’t promise we’ll be there for 6. There’s a major incident downtown. You guys are going to have to hold on till we get there.”

Jazmin checked the time. It was 5.30pm.

“OK, thanks,” she said, and ended the call.

“Take my cell,” she told Connor, “call the others. We need to get to work.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Mr. Snide banged on the door.

“Open up! This is my property! Let me in!”

“Show me your eviction order from the court that says we have to leave, and we’ll all go quietly,” Jazmin called back.

“I don’t need any court order,” Snide said. “These boys are my authority.”

She peered outside. Mr. Snide had brought along three big men, armed with sticks and bats.

“The police are on their way,” Jazmin said. “Get out of here now, and we won’t press charges against you.”

Mr. Snide laughed.

“It won’t take us long to do what we need to do,” he said. “Boys, break down the door.”

One of the armed men kicked at the door. The lock held.

“You’ll need to do better than that,” she said.

The men all started hammering on the door with their bats. However, Jazmin had nailed boards across the inside. She had to work quickly, but it was a good enough job to keep them out.

Snide turned to his men in disgust.“I thought you guys were supposed to be strong?! All right, then go in through the window.”

“They’ve barricaded the windows too, boss! They nailed wood across them,” one of the men called.

“I don’t care what you have to do,” Snide said. “Just get me inside that building.”

Jazmin frowned at the sound of smashing glass, as the men started to break in the window.

“It took me hours to put glass in those windows,” she told Mr. Snide. “You’re just damaging your own property.”

“It’s mine and I’ll do what I want with it!” Snide yelled. “I’ll burn it down if I feel like it!”

“He’s crazy,” Connor whispered.

With the glass gone from the window, one of the thugs began to knock on the wood pieces Jazmin had fixed across the frame. She tried to hammer the nails back in, but she heard breaking glass on the other side of the building.

“I can’t hold them,” she said. “Plan B, everyone!”

The homeless people filed into the storeroom of the building, and locked the door. Jazmin looked round at the other Fixers.

“Ready?” she said.

They nodded.

“Let’s go,” Jazmin said.

Sage flicked a switch in the circuit breaker box, and the whole place was plunged into darkness.

At the same moment the boards on the window clattered to the floor.

“I can’t see anything inside, boss.”

“Didn’t one of you bring a flashlight?”

There was silence outside.

“Just get in there,” Mr. Snide said, “and kick those bums out. Do whatever you have to do.”

Jazmin squatted, trying to breathe as quietly as possible. She listened to one of the men climbing in through the window…then laughed as he slipped and fell. The motor oil which Connor had poured on the floor was doing its job.

The guy got up, but another one climbing through the window knocked into him, and they both fell over.

“Watch it!” one said. “There’s something slippery here.

Light suddenly filled the room. One of the thugs had remembered that his phone had a flashlight setting.

“There they are!” he shouted.

The Fixers tried to scatter out of the light, but the three men were on their feet, and moving towards them.

“Roberto, now!” Jazmin called.

Roberto turned the nozzle on his hose, and water sprayed at the men, knocking them backward. This pushed them onto the oil, and all three slipped over.

“What are you playing at?” Mr. Snide yelled. “Open this door!”

One of the men crawled over to the entrance. While the other two defended him, he pried the boards off, and wrenched the door open. Mr. Snide stood in the doorway, grinning in triumph.

“Give me a bat,” he said. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

He took a baseball bat from one of the men, and walked toward Jazmin.

“You,” he said. “You caused all this trouble.”

Jazmin crouched on the floor, but Connor appeared from the shadows and stood in front of her.

“Leave her alone,” he said.

Snide raised the bat. A bright light in the doorway dazzled Jazmin.

“Put down your weapons! Everybody, hands on your heads! This is the police!”

CHAPTER FIVE

“You know what the stupidest thing is?” Officer Li said, as she handcuffed Mr. Snide. “We’ve found places for all these people to stay. If you’d just waited a few hours, you could have had your building back in good condition. Now you’ve smashed the windows and doors, and you’re looking at a crime that could land you in jail.”

“The law should protect property owners like me,” Snide complained.

“Tell it to the judge,” Officer Li said. “Jazmin, I’d suggest you and your friends get off home now. We’ll sort things out here.”

“Home! Oh, no!” Jazmin said. “I told Gramps I’d be home in time for Close the Deal. He’ll be worried.

Connor drove her back.

“I’ll wait outside,” he said. “Wave to me from the window if everything is OK.”

“There’s no need for that,” Jazmin said, but she was secretly grateful.

And she was even more grateful Connor was waiting when she got to her apartment and saw that the door was open.

“Gramps?” she called from the hall, terrified what she might see when she went inside.

“Your Gramps has gone out,” Mrs. McSweeney from next door said, poking her head out. “He said he was going fishing.”

“Fishing? Oh, Gramps!” Jazmin said.

She was already halfway to the elevator as Mrs. McSweeney called out to her:

“You need to get some help, girl! That old man isn’t right in the head!”

Connor had kept the engine running. Jazmin jumped in the car.

“He’s gone,” she said. “How did you know?”

“Jaz, he’s getting worse,” Connor said. “Everyone can see it except you.”

“Never mind that now,” she said. “Let’s find him!”

“Where would he go?” Connor asked, as they cruised the streets.

“I don’t know,” Jazmin said. “He thinks he’s still living out at the lake. He could be anywhere.”

She called the Fixers and asked them all to go out looking. Then, reluctantly, she called Officer Li.

“Girl, you know there are more people in this city than just you?” she said. “I have to look after them too.”

Jazmin heard the crackle of her radio behind her.

“Hold on, let me listen to this,” Officer Li said.

After a moment, she was back on the phone.

“Sounds like we’ve found your grandfather,” she said. “He’s climbed the fountain in Liberty Square.”

“Don’t do anything to him!” Jazmin shouted. “I’ll be there as soon as I can!”

She told Connor where to go. Connor drove her to Liberty Square, where a crowd had gathered. Officer Li saw Jazmin running up and waved her through.

“We’ve waited as long as we can,” she said, “but if your grandfather doesn’t come down, we’ll have to do something. He might hurt himself, or someone else.”

The fountain wasn’t very big, but it was a long drop for an old man. Jazmin came as close as she dared.

“Gramps, please come down!” she begged.

Gramps gave her that distant look.

“Annie?” he said. “They’ve taken my boat. I don’t know what…”

He looked around.

“Gramps, I’m Jazmin. Not Annie. Jazmin.”

She felt angry, though she knew it was unfair. Didn’t Gramps love her enough to remember who she was? Officer Li shook her head, and stepped forward. In desperation, Jaz tried one last thing.

“Gramps, we need to go home—it’s time for Close the Deal.”

Something flickered in his eyes. They slowly focused on her.

“Jaz? Is that you?”

“Yes, Gramps. Come down. Please.”

Connor helped him climb down from the fountain, and Jaz gave the old man a big hug.

They took him to the hospital to make sure he was OK, and while they waited, Mr. Marsh from the Elder Care department came in.

“Miss Nader, you know this can’t go on. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but your grandfather has dementia. It will just get harder and harder for him to remember things.”

“We’re fine!” Jazmin snapped, but Connor took her hand.

“Jaz,” he said, “you’re always trying to fix things, always helping other people. But you can’t fix everything, and you can’t fix this. This time, you’ve got to let someone else help you. Just for a while, stop being Bossgirl, OK?”

Jazmin sighed.

“OK, you’re right, Mr. Marsh. I’ll call you in the morning. OK?”

“Good,” Mr. Marsh said. “We’ll get you some support so you can both stay together in your apartment. And look, here’s your grandfather.”

Gramps looked embarrassed.

“Sorry about all the fuss,” he said. “And we’ve missed Close the Deal.”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “We can watch an old episode online.”

Gramps noticed Connor was still holding Jazmin’s hand.

“Is he your young man?” he asked, eyes twinkling.

Jazmin snatched her hand back.

“No, he’s just helping out.”

Connor smiled.

“That’s what friends are for,” he said.