A Picture-Perfect Mess (5 page)

Both girls walked out of their dressing rooms and turned to look in the mirror.

“You both look lovely,” Dad said.

“You're dad's right, girls,” Kristy said. She was standing off to the left, hanging up some clothes.

“We
do
look good!” Aly said to her sister.

“But we're both missing something,” Brooke said.

“Well, I'm not wearing the right shoes,” Aly said. “I'm going to wear my pink high-tops.”

“It's not shoes . . . ,” Brooke said, “it's hair!”

She darted over to the counter and pulled two clips off the display and came racing back. She handed Aly a teal hair elastic and then clipped an orange butterfly at the end of her own braid. “That's for your half-up,” Brooke said, pointing to the elastic.

Aly put her hair half up and looked back in the mirror. Brooke was right. The hair accessories completed the looks.

“Now we're picture perfect,” Brooke said.

Brooke, Aly, and their dad left Kristy's Closet with two bags full of clothes. They walked down the street, past the makeup store Mom liked, and bumped smack into Suzy Davis and her mom.

“Oh, hi,” Aly said.

Suzy was holding two big bags of makeup.

“What did you buy?” Brooke asked her.

Suzy looked at her mom, then back at the girls. “Makeup for my business,” Suzy hissed. “The one that's going to be the best business ever on School Picture Day.”

“Oh, right,” Aly said. “The fairy dust and lip gloss. Do you have a lot of appointments? That looks like
a lot
of makeup.”

Suzy chewed on her lip. “What does it matter to you?” she said finally.

Brooke sent Aly a Secret Sister Eye Message:
What's
her
problem?

Aly shrugged. “It doesn't,” she said. “I was just asking.”

Suzy looked up at her mom again, who was on her phone. “I've got to go,” she said. Then she grabbed her mom by the elbow and pulled her down the street.

“Do you think she has a lot of appointments?” Brooke asked Aly. “Because none of our customers from the other day made them. At least I don't think so. No one took a flyer.”

“I don't know,” Aly said. “People could have always talked to Suzy without us knowing. . . .”

Brooke frowned.

Aly put her arm around Brooke's shoulders. “Come on, Brooke. Dad said he wanted to take us and Sparkly kite flying at the park. I'm sure that's one place we won't run into Suzy Davis.”

T
he mirrors were a hit.

Once they were all handed out, it seemed like kids Aly and Brooke had never seen or met before asked for one. And better yet, appointments for Picture-Perfect Pinkies manicures didn't stop. Luckily, the spa was open Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday for Picture Day prep. And the charms were coming on Monday.

That left Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning to hand them out. Tons of time. But on Monday morning, on the way to school, two days before School Picture Day, Aly started to get nervous, like she always did before a big Sparkle Spa event.

Even though the spa had been busier than ever, the girls had been able to handle all the extra fingers. And Charlotte had created a “mirror list” for when they next had saved up enough money to order more. But now Aly was worried about Part Two of their Picture Day plan: the charms.

“Mom, can I double-check to make sure the charms are being delivered today?” she asked.

“My phone's in my bag, Aly. Can you reach it?”

Aly reached forward and grabbed Mom's red pocketbook from the passenger seat—it was the exact polish color of Ruby Red Slippers. Aly searched for the e-mail about the charms' shipment and clicked on the delivery link. Then she clicked again. And again just to be sure.

“Oh no!” she yelped. “They're delayed one day because of bad weather in Chicago and won't be here until
tomorrow
!”

“Don't worry, Aly,” Brooke said. “We still have some time tomorrow afternoon. And Arnold will be here before our first appointment. I told you, we'll be superfast charm clippers.”

“But I wanted to prepare all the necklaces today!”

“We can do it at the salon tomorrow, easy peasy,” Brooke told her sister. “Or Lily and Charlotte can do it while you and Sophie and I set up for the manicures.”

“Your sister's right,” Mom said. “It won't take long to attach the charms to the necklaces.”

Aly took a deep breath. She didn't like it when her plans got messed up, especially for the Sparkle Spa. And for Picture Day. A lot of girls were counting on them.

“Okay,” she said. “I'll tell Lily and Charlotte that we'll need them to do that tomorrow.”

The next morning, first thing after she woke up, Aly ran to the computer in her parents' home office. As fast as she could, she checked on the charms, expecting to see that they were out on the truck for delivery. But they weren't.

“Mom!” she yelled through the house. “Mom! The charms arrived too late this morning to get on the truck. They won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon! But we need them
today
! Tomorrow will be too late.”

Aly clicked on something that said “more info” and read that another choice was to pick them up at the delivery facility.

“Mom!” Aly yelled again.

Mom came running into the home office. Brooke too.

“The charms aren't going to be here in time?” Brooke asked. “Now we're going to be the worst business ever. Even worse than Suzy's bathroom makeup. We promised necklaces to our customers.” She looked close to tears.

“But, Mom, look,” Aly said, pointing to the computer. “They're at the delivery facility. Can you pick them up while we're at school?”

“I'm really sorry, girls,” she said. “I wish I could. But I have a meeting with nail polish sales managers this morning and then have appointments at the salon the rest of the day.”

“Nooooo!” Brooke wailed.

Aly wasn't wailing. She was in shock. Her mind raced to find solutions. . . . Dad was already on his business trip. . . . Their grandparents lived far away. . . . “What about Joan?” she asked. Joan had saved the day so many times before.

“She took a personal day today,” Mom said. “I think she's helping her brother move to a new apartment.”

This was the worst news ever. Aly felt like the kite she, Brooke, and their dad flew on Saturday, right after the wind died down and it plummeted to the ground.

Mom checked her watch. “You girls have to finish getting ready for school. You'll just have to give your customers the necklaces without any charms.”

“But—but,” Brooke said through her tears, “but we promised Eliza her butterfly necklace. She already lost one at camp. We
promised
.”

“We can always give her the charm on Wednesday, I guess,” Aly said. “Even if it's after Picture Day.” She was trying to be professional and look on the bright side, but inside, she was just as sad as Brooke. And she was dreading telling their customers the bad news.

That morning at school even more kids requested Sparkle Spa appointments. Aly found Brooke in the hallway before class, and they agreed they'd extend their Tuesday hours to fit in the extra customers.

“Did you tell anyone about the charms yet?” Brooke asked.

Aly shook her head. “I didn't know what to say.”

Brooke hesitated, then said, “Let's just wait until people get to the spa to tell them.”

Aly ran her fingers through her hair. Her brain didn't think that was the best plan, but her heart did, so she agreed.

Staring at the division problem in front of her, Aly wasn't thinking about how many times 32 went into 3,200. She was thinking about what to say to the Sparkle Spa customers. She'd already made a list in her math notebook:

1. Apologize

2. Explain how they could still get necklaces, just not with charms

3. Tell them everyone would get their charms the next day

4. 
Make sure to say, “Please don't be mad at us”

Aly underlined number four, really hoping no one would be too angry with them.

Buzzzzzzz.

Aly nearly jumped out of her chair when the intercom buzzed.

First there was static, and then a voice spoke:
Please send Alyssa Tanner to the main office immediately. Tell her to bring her backpack. She's leaving for the day.

Aly's stomach fluttered. Did something bad happen? Was Brooke okay? Were her parents? Aly raced to pack up her stuff, took the hall pass her teacher had written out, and headed to the main office.

In the hallway, from the other direction, she saw Brooke running with her backpack. When the sisters turned the corner, they saw Joan standing in front of the office.

“Is everything okay?” Aly gasped.

Joan smiled and jingled the car keys in her hand. “I was thinking about taking a ride out to the delivery facility to pick up some charms. Thought you two might want to come along. Your mom wrote a note to excuse you from the rest of the school day.”

“Are you serious?” Aly asked.

Joan nodded. “How could I not help out when your mom told me what had happened?”

Brooke flung herself into Joan's arms, and Aly joined her. She hadn't cried that morning, but now she felt tears starting.

“Why are you crying?” Joan asked. “What's wrong?”

“I think it's because I'm happy.” Aly sniffed. “You made everything right again.”

Joan took Aly's and Brooke's hands in her own. “Okay, girls,” she said, “let's get going.”