Runway Ready (5 page)

“Explain it to me again,” Mr. Kaye said, rubbing his temples. “You lost Victoria Vanderweil's granddaughter, who then shut off the lights on the most important fashion-industry luncheon of the season?”

“You forgot the part where Cordy stopped the show by yelling at her granny onstage,” Mickey said. “It was an epic disaster.”

“So I heard,” Mr. Kaye replied. He had summoned Mickey and JC to his office early Monday morning to get their side of their story. He'd received a furious email from Bridget Lee.

“Such a disgraceful show of ill manners should be severely reprimanded,” he read. “I demand that your two FAB students be suspended for their actions.”

“Suspended?” Mickey shouted. “That's so unfair!”

“That's so Jade,” JC piped up. “You know she put her mother up to this.”

“I'm sure that's true,” Mr. Kaye said, “and I think suspension is a bit extreme. But I'm very disappointed in both of you. You should have been watching Cordelia like a hawk.”

“But Isaac Mizrahi was there,” JC tried to explain. “And Heidi Klum. It was like I died and went to fashion heaven.”

“Which is why you failed to do your assigned task,” Mr. Kaye said sternly. “It's not an excuse.”

“It won't happen again,” Mickey said, pleading with him. “We promise. We'll do better next time.”

“What makes you so sure there will be a next time?” Mr. Kaye replied. “I was planning on having you and South report to Ms. Vanderweil this week with your designs for Cordy's dress. But from the sound of things, that's off the table.”

“What do you mean?” Mickey asked.

Mr. Kaye adjusted his reading glasses. “My dear friend Vicky Vanderweil was so mortified that she has decided the only two students she can trust from FAB are my own twins, Jade and Jake. They will be presenting
their
designs to her this week, and she will choose one of them for Cordy to wear.”

Mickey didn't know what to say. So JC spoke for her. “That's the biggest pile of puppy poop I've ever heard!” he exclaimed.

Mr. Kaye frowned. “Mr. Cumberland, do remember whom you are speaking to.”

“JC's right,” Mickey added. “It's just not fair—not to me, not to South. We worked hard on those dresses for Cordy.”

“I understand your feelings,” Mr. Kaye said. “But I also understand how embarrassed Ms. Lee and Ms. Vanderweil were at this VIP event. There may be nothing more I can do about it. As for the two of you…”

Mickey and JC gulped. “You are representing FAB, and this is your first and last warning: do not embarrass me again.”

• • •

South was equally angry when Mickey broke the news to her before class.

“So you blew
both
our chances? Thanks a lot!” she said, storming off. Mickey felt awful, and there didn't seem to be any way she could fix the situation. She found a quiet corner on the front steps of the school and called her mom.

“Aww, honey, that stinks.” Her mother was trying to make her feel better. “That Jade girl sounds like a real backstabber.”

“She is. And I really didn't do anything wrong. Cordy is just such a handful!”

“Sounds like someone I know.” Her mom chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“When you were three years old, I took you to Wanamaker's with me. It was Bring Your Daughter to Work Day,” her mom explained. “While I was helping a client pick a mascara at my cosmetics counter, you got loose in my makeup kit and colored the entire wall at Wanamaker's with eyeshadow and lipstick. You drew a huge rainbow and a field of flowers.”

“OMG, did you get in big trouble?”

“I did. My boss was furious, but then a bunch of shoppers liked your mural and the store decided to keep it up for six months. You inspired a whole new look for the cosmetics section.”

Mickey thought for a moment. “So I was as crazy as Cordy?”

“I wouldn't call it crazy. I would call it
colorful
. It sounds like you two really get each other. You're a great role model for her, Mickey Mouse. So don't let Jade or anyone else get in the way, KK?”

Mickey smiled. “KK.”

She found JC at his locker, looking sad and discouraged. “I know what might cheer you up,” she said.

“Front row tix to a Madonna concert?” JC asked hopefully.

“Not quite. But how do you feel about crashing a five-year-old's birthday party?”

Mickey was sure it wouldn't be hard to figure out where Victoria was throwing her granddaughter's birthday bash. All she had to do was think like Cordy. She and JC met up after school to do some Web research.

“I'm googling and getting nothing,” JC said, scanning the Web on his laptop for any hint of where and when the party was taking place.

“We know it's next weekend because Cordy said her b-day was Valentine's Day,” Mickey said, thinking out loud. “And we know how much Cordy likes sweets.”

“Bingo!” JC said, showing her his computer screen. “The Annual Vanderweil Valentine's Day Fete at Dolly's Candy Bar. Saturday at eleven a.m.”

“That has to be it,” Mickey agreed. “How do we get in?”

JC scanned the article. “It says ‘By Invitation Only.'”

“Then we need to borrow someone's invitation.”

“Who?” JC scratched his head. “I don't know any fashionable five-year-olds.”

“Who else would be coming?” Mickey asked. “What about the press?”

JC suddenly grinned from ear to ear. “How do you feel about being a fashion blogger?” he asked. With a few strokes of his computer keyboard and mouse, he whipped up an authentic-looking press badge and printed it out for Mickey.

“Kenzie Wills, Fashion Blogger?” she read. “Do you really think I can get away with this?”

“Just flash your badge. No one will know,” JC said. “At least it will get you close to the front door. Then you just have to find Cordy and have her help you get back into Granny's good graces.”

• • •

Mickey had counted on the party being crowded, but she never expected one hundred–plus kids and their fashionable moms to be storming the doors of Dolly's Candy Bar. The store was stocked with wall-to-wall candy, everything from gummy bears and Gobstoppers to chocolate, taffy, and Twizzlers arranged in floor-to-ceiling glass containers. Just inside the entrance was a giant, flowing chocolate fountain with marshmallows and pretzels for dipping, and downstairs was a do-it-yourself ice-cream bar. The guests—both kids and grown-ups—could barely contain their excitement.

Mickey had carefully chosen her outfit for the day: a black satin trench coat with a red sweater, a plaid skirt, and a vintage heart-print scarf. She “disguised” herself in a pair of tortoiseshell glasses, hoping she'd blend in with the rest of the media covering the long red carpet outside.

“Heidi, over here!” one paparazzo shouted as Heidi Klum escorted her daughter Lou into the party. She obliged with a pose and a bright smile.

Normally, Mickey would have been starstruck by all the fashion celebs on the scene. But today she was looking for only one person: Cordy.

Victoria's limo pulled up and she stepped out of the car, holding Cordy's hand tightly. The little girl looked miserable! She was wearing a white lace dress buttoned up to her neck, a white satin headband, frilly ankle socks, and shiny white Mary Janes. She noticed that Cordy's favorite pink pearls were wrapped around her wrist. Everything else she was wearing had been dictated and decided for her.

Oh no!
Mickey thought.
That's not at all what she wanted to wear for her big day.
Her heart sank, knowing Jade had designed this prim-and-proper outfit for the little girl. But it was Cordy's birthday, and she should have been allowed to wear whatever she wanted.

As Victoria posed and paused at each reporter's microphone to be interviewed, Mickey managed to push through the crowd and position herself in front of Cordy.

“Cordy!” Mickey shouted. “Over here!”

The little girl squinted at her. “Mickey? Is that you? Those are silly glasses!”

“Can I come to your party?”

Cordy made sure her granny was busy and motioned for Mickey to duck under the velvet rope and follow her. “This way,” she said. “Let's play hide-and-seek with Granny Vicky.”

While Victoria was giving interviews, Cordy silently slipped away and took Mickey's hand. The pair snuck into Dolly's through the back service-entrance door. Amazingly, no one noticed them in all the commotion outside. They hid behind a giant twenty-foot-tall chocolate teddy bear in the basement.

“How do you do that?” Mickey marveled.

“Do what?” Cordy asked, tugging at the neck of her dress.

“Disappear?”

Cordy shrugged. “Dunno. Granny Vicky says I'm the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.”

Mickey ruffled her curls. “You are! And I think I have a better idea for a game. Hide-and-seek isn't your granny's fave. This game is called ‘Fashion Star.'”

Cordy's eyes lit up. “Ooh, fun! What do we do?”

“We figure out a way to make your party dress more Cordy, less icky,” Mickey said.

“Yes! Yes!” Cordy cheered. “It's icky
and
itchy.”

Mickey pulled a small sewing kit and fabric paints out of her tote bag.

“You design the skirt, and I'll loosen up the neckline and sleeves,” she instructed the little girl.

Cordy stared at the paint markers. “It's okay to draw on my dress?” she asked.

“It's more than okay,” Mickey assured her. “Make it your very own Cordy one-of-a-kind creation.”

“But Granny and my nanny always tell me not to break stuff—or be loud or make a mess.”

Mickey put an arm around her. “That's all very good advice, especially since you're a big girl now. Five is very grown up, you know.”

Cordy considered. “It is?”

“Yes, but just because you have to follow the rules doesn't mean you can't make a few of your own. I listen to my mom and my teachers and my aunt Olive because they know what's best for me every day. But when it comes to my style, it's all me. I march to my own drummer. Fashion design is a great way to be yourself.”

“Granny said I can't have drums. I asked for my fourth birthday. They give her a headache.”

“Not real drums, Cordy,” Mickey said, smiling. “Imaginary ones. It means you hear your own music and you dance to it.”

She took out her phone and searched for her favorite song, Taylor Swift's “Shake It Off.” “I love to listen to this while I'm sewing,” she told Cordy. “It makes me feel strong and invincible.”

“What does that mean?” Cordy asked.

Mickey handed her a bright-pink paint marker and cranked up the song. “It means this dress is yours. Make it fancy and fabulous!”

By the time they had finished redesigning Cordy's outfit and slipped into the party room, Victoria was frantic. Cordy had been missing for nearly twenty minutes. The entire room was filled with heart-shaped balloons and pink streamers, and Cordy couldn't wait to get her hands on the three-tiered red velvet cake towering in the corner.

“Let's surprise her.” Mickey held Cordy back. “Let's make a grand entrance.” They ducked behind a giant gumball machine and waited for the perfect moment to jump out.

“You must find my granddaughter,” Mickey overheard Victoria telling two security guards. “She's about three feet tall, with blond curls and dimples.”

“Does she run away often?” one of the guards asked.

“Oh yes,” Victoria replied. “All the time. You take your eyes off her for a second and she's gone. I can't keep up, and since her mother left to pursue an acting career in California, I'm solely responsible for her.”

“I see,” said the other guard, taking notes. “She's a sly one.”

“Yes, so smart and so full of energy,” Victoria said. “She doesn't mean to be mischievous. She just can't help it. This is all my fault!”

Jade was standing at her side, trying to keep her calm. “I'm sure she just went off to play with some friends,” she said. “I just hope she doesn't ruin my dress. It's very expensive Chantilly lace.”

“Not to worry, we've locked down all the doors in the candy store. She can't go far,” the first guard said.

Mickey waited till the guards had gone off to search. “Okay, that's our cue, Cordy,” she said, giving the little girl a gentle push. “Go show Granny Vicky how beautiful you are.”

Cordy burst out from behind the gumball machine. “Ta-da!” she sang. Her entire dress was now covered in rainbow swirls and polka dots, and the sleeves and hem were frayed so they floated around her in a frenzy of fringe. The once buttoned-up collar was now a more comfy boat neck. And to accessorize, Mickey had drawn bunnies carrying balloons on Cordy's white Mary Janes.

“My dress!” Jade screamed. “You ruined it! You shredded it! It looks like a chopped salad!”

“I love it!” Cordy stood up to her. “It's my design, and it's my birthday, not yours. So there!” She stamped her foot.

Jade backed away as Victoria scooped her granddaughter into a big bear hug.

“Cordy, darling,” Victoria exclaimed. “You scared Granny terribly. You could have been lost or hurt!”

“Nuh-uh, Granny,” Cordy insisted. “I was with Mickey. She took good care of me, and she taught me to play my own drums.”

Mickey stepped out from behind the gumball machine and blushed. “We had fun,” she said.

“I should have known you were responsible for this,” Jade suddenly piped up. She was furious. “You trashed my design.”

“I didn't trash it,” Mickey insisted. “I gave the client what she wanted. You never even thought to ask Cordy her opinion.”

“I love my dress now,” Cordy said, twirling around in it. “Isn't it beautiful, Granny?”

Victoria looked it over from top to bottom. “It's, it's…”

“Very Cordy,” Mickey interrupted. “It's everything she is and wanted in a party dress. I just helped her bring her vision to life.”

“I was going to say it's divine,” Victoria added. “Very unique, just like my Cordy. How do I thank you?”

“Um, maybe you could just send Mr. Kaye an email and tell him I fixed the problem from the WDAA luncheon?” Mickey said.

“I'll do more than that,” Victoria vowed. “I'll tell him myself in person.”