Ruby Reinvented (18 page)

A
LL I CAN think about for the next few days is how awful that interview was. I try to tell Summer that I stunk up the place, but she seems unfazed. She's still planning the fashion show, recruiting models, and acting like her usual happy self.

I just walk around in a zombielike state. I can't believe I let myself get my hopes up.

Summer and I are doing homework—well, Summer's doing homework and I'm staring at a blank screen—when there's a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Summer yells.

“Hi, girls,” Ms. Goldberg says. “Special delivery.”

Summer leaps off her chair as Ms. Goldberg hands me another envelope with the Midcoast logo.

“Omigod, omigod, omigod, omigod. That's it, Bea. Open it!” Summer's jumping all over the room.

“Okay, but don't get too excited. I told you the interview was horrible.” I squeeze the envelope to my chest.

“Just open it! I can't stand the suspense.” Summer's waving her hands in front of her chest so hard I think she might be vibrating.

I take a deep breath and open the envelope.

I slowly unfold the letter.

Dear Ms. Miller:

On behalf of the Spotlight Project Selection Committee, I am happy to inform you that you are the winner of this year's Spotlight Project.

Your application to produce a fashion show on Saturday, May 19, has been approved. Please provide all final plans to me no later than April 24.

Attached please find a check in the amount of $100.00.

Congratulations, and I look forward to a special event!

Sincerely,

Betsy Banks

Selection Committee Chair

And then, in flawless handwriting, a note that reads:

Your dresses are exquisite! I look forward to the day that I'll be able to wear one of your designs.

“You won! You won! You won!” Summer's dancing around the room. “I told you you would.”

“Do you think they made a mistake?” I'm staring at the letter.

“No, goofy! You won. Now do you believe me that your dresses are fantastical?”

I don't know what to believe. I'm too stunned to talk. I'm too stunned to even breathe.

“We've got work to do.” Summer claps her hands together and opens her computer. “Let's get started.”

As I go to sit next to her, my first instinct is to call Ellie and my parents and tell them. But if I tell them, they'll definitely come to Parents' Weekend. To my fashion show.

My
fashion show. If my parents attended, nothing would be
mine
anymore. The fashion show wouldn't be about me. It would be about the daughter of Zack Miller and Celestine Cruz. Nobody would come to the fashion show to see my designs, they'd come to get a glimpse of my parents. My designs—and me—would be invisible. Or worse, I'd be compared to my parents. Sophie's words ring in my brain.
How can you have a star baseball player as a dad and a supermodel as a mom and be so—talentless
?

“Hello?” Summer pats the chair next to her. “What are you waiting for?”

I slide into the chair and brush the thought of my parents aside. This is a special moment for me, I decide. And I can't let anything ruin it. I can worry about my parents later.

But not yet.

 23 

D
ONE!” I PUT the last stitch in Summer's T-Shirt dress and hold it up for her to see.

“Whoa.” Summer throws the book she was reading onto her bed and leaps over to me. “It looks even better than I thought it would.”

“Really?” I hand her the dress, which she holds like a carton of eggs. “Go try it on.”

She carefully carries the dress to her side of the room, throws off her old clothes, and slips into her new design.

“This. Is. Amazing.” She twirls around and around, and the hem of the skirt poofs up. I designed it that way on purpose, since I know how much Summer likes to spin. And spin. And spin.

“It looks so good on you.” I can't wipe the smile off my
face. Nobody but me has ever worn one of my dresses before.

“I am
so
excited to wear this. Wait till everybody sees it, Bea! You'll have orders coming in by the truckload!”

We hear a bunch of kids in the hallway, which means it's dinnertime.

“I should have Katie's dress done by next week, and Cassandra's done the week after that.” We follow the other kids to the cafeteria.

“I can't believe Parents' Weekend is only three weeks away,” Summer says.

“I can't believe it either.”

Summer opens her mouth to say something but closes it before words come out. Instead, she gives me a weak smile, and I know she's thinking about my lack of parents. I try to smile back.

Cassandra and Katie are already at the table when we get to the cafeteria. Katie squeals when she sees Summer's dress and begs me to make one for her.

Cassandra is decked out in a bright yellow eyelet sundress and matching strappy sandals. I think it's a little cool to be wearing a sundress, even if it does have a fabulous circular hem, but at least she stopped wearing Red Sox gear. Summer's telling them about their dresses for the fashion show, and Katie looks mesmerized. Cassandra looks bored.

“Here comes Connor.” Cassandra fluffs her hair. “How do I look?”

“Great!” I say a little too loudly. Cassandra raises her eyebrows at me, a sideways smile plastered on her face. I sink a little lower into my chair. I still haven't told her that Connor asked me to the Spring Fling. It's not like I stole Connor from her or anything. He never even liked her in the first place. And anyway, Cassandra's never been nice to me. I shouldn't feel bad. I know I shouldn't. But I still do.

Connor, Shane, and a boy named Timmy who I've only met a couple of times carry their trays over to our table. There's an empty seat next to me. Shane elbows Connor and sits down in the seat farthest away, forcing Connor to sit next to me. If I sink any lower in my chair I'll be on the floor. I try anyway.

“Hi, guys.” Cassandra looks directly at Connor.

They all mumble some sort of greeting. Timmy starts talking, but I can barely understand what about—words are flying out of his mouth at the speed of light. Connor and Shane are cracking up, so they must know what he's saying. Maybe it's a secret boy language.

“How's the chocolate cake?” Connor points to my tray. Timmy is still talking.

I pick up the dish and hold it out. “Want some?”

He picks up his fork and stabs at the cake. Cassandra
is staring at him, and she looks like he just bit the head off a puppy.

“Awww, the love birds are sharing food.” Well, Timmy sure said
that
clearly enough.

I put my head down and will my hair to fall in my face. I peer at Cassandra through my curls. Her mouth is still hanging open.

“Be quiet, Timmy.” Summer throws a crumpled up napkin at him.

Connor mumbles something to him that I can't hear, and I only catch Timmy's response. Probably the entire cafeteria can hear Timmy's response.

“What, dude? I'm just messing around.”

“Did you guys finish the social studies homework?” I know Summer's trying to change the subject, and I'm grateful.

“Omigod, I totally forgot about it.” Katie jumps up so hard that her chair wobbles. “Cassandra, you didn't do it either, did you?”

“Not yet,” Cassandra answers. She's still staring at Connor and me.

“We'd better get to the library. It's due tomorrow.” Katie puts her hands on her hips.

Cassandra tilts her head and stares right at me. “Okay. We'll talk to you later.” She stands up in a huff, and struts out of the cafeteria.

I sigh in an attempt to lighten the load that's building inside me. How many secrets can one girl have?

*  *  *

“I should tell Cassandra about the Spring Fling,” I say, as Summer and I make our way back to the dorms.

“Yeah, you probably should.” Summer reaches up and pulls a pink blossom off of a tree. She puts it to her nose and inhales. “Smell this. Isn't it awesome?”

She pushes the blossom in front of my face and I sniff. It does smell good. Like perfume. All of the trees are in full bloom now. It's so much more colorful than Los Angeles.

“When?” I ask.

“When what?”

“When should I tell Cassandra?”

Summer stops walking and looks at me. “As soon as possible.”

“But I feel really bad about it.” I kick a rock off the sidewalk.

“Why?”

“Because I know she likes him and—”

“Connor likes you. Not Cassandra. He didn't like Cassandra before you came here, and even if you never came here, he wouldn't like Cassandra. I tried to tell her that, but you know Cassandra—she doesn't always listen.”

“I don't want to hurt her feelings,” I squeak.

“It will hurt her feelings more if she sees you guys at the
dance together and didn't know about it.” Summer starts walking again. “As my dad always says, the truth is hard, but the consequences of lying are even harder.”

My stomach clenches. All I can hear are Summer's words over and over again in my head.
The truth is hard, but the consequences of lying are even harder.

But what about the consequences of telling the truth? Summer will hate me. There will be no fashion show. No Spring Fling. No Connor.

In the interest of honesty, I decide to tell Cassandra about Connor. At least that only makes me a partial liar instead of a total liar.

Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better.

“I guess I should go find her.” I stop walking and look around campus, as if she might pop up in front of me.

“Want me to come with you?” Summer asks.

“No, but thanks.” I suddenly feel a chill, so I secure my wrap-style cardigan sweater with the bright orange button at the neckline. “This is something I have to do myself.”

I turn around toward the library.

“Good luck!” Summer yells.

“Thanks,” I mutter. “I have a feeling I'll need it.”

 24