by Beth Vrabel
I walked quickly to my wings. I reached toward them, ready to shred them in half. To destroy them. But instead, I just ran my hands down the sides. “Enough.”
As I turned to go offstage, Frau Jacobs emerged, freezing me in place. She strode quickly across the stage. “No more,” she said, but I think I was the only one who heard.
Then her chin popped up, and she took the microphone from my hand. The way she stood, positioned in front of them, it was like the wings were hers.
No one moved.
A few kids started whispering, but then something else happened. Frau Jacobs began singing. I knew which aria it was—Elektra’s sister’s monologue about desiring freedom from revenge, to live. It washed out over everyone like magic.
I walked across the stage and headed down the stairs.
Mom met me there. She wrapped me in her arms and Dad patted my back. Alec smiled at me. I nodded at him.
When Mom finally let me go, I stepped back to see Tasha standing behind her. I moved toward her, and she grabbed my hand and squeezed. Ricky stood on the other side, his arm close to mine.
“I’m sorry,” I said to them both.
“Shut up,” they said in unison.
I squeezed Tasha’s hand and let my head fall against Ricky’s shoulder. We’re all works in progress, I guess.
As I left the auditorium, Kara strode over to me. She crossed her arms.
“This isn’t over, PeePee McGee,” she hissed. “I’m calling my mother. Do you want to be the one to tell Eliza she’s fired or should I?” She held her phone in her hand.
“Tell my mom what?” Annie had been standing just behind Kara, quiet as a… well, as a spy.
“Yes,” said Eliza, sliding down the row of seats toward us. “Tell me what?”
Kara’s face flamed. Her chin popped up in the air. “I’m getting you fired.” Her voice wobbled. “From Glitter.”
“You can’t,” Eliza said. Not in a scared way, either. Just matter-of-fact.
“What?” Kara snapped.
“You can’t fire me from Glitter. I own it.”
Kara and I both said “What?” this time. It echoed a little, which I was pretty sure was from Mom, Dad, and Alec, all of whom surrounded us.
Eliza smiled. “The money from Mom and Alec? I used it to buy out the shop. It’s mine.” She grinned at Annie. “It’s ours.”
“I want to rename it,” Annie said.
“Whatever,” Kara snapped. “Maybe I can’t get Eliza fired, but the damage is already done. Threatening to destroy Eliza got you to turn on Sarah, and she’s never going to stop hating you.” She shrugged. “I still won.” Kara whipped around, right into Sarah.
“You threatened Pipi? To get at me?” Sarah’s face was white with shock.
Kara groaned and passed by her. Sarah stared at me. After a second or two, the hurt on her face dissolved. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it the way you took it,” she said. “I mean, in her heart, she probably just wanted to know so she could help me.”
I didn’t say anything to Sarah. We both knew that wasn’t true.
Sarah’s eyes stayed on the wings. “Enough,” she said softly. Then she shook her head. “Forget that. I’m done apologizing for her.”
I stepped closer to Sarah. “I’m sorry. I used you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth?” Sarah said. “I mean, I thought we… I thought we were friends.”
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
Sarah nodded. She looked up at the wings. “Me too,” she said.
I turned toward them, still encircled by a spotlight. “It’s okay. They’re still beautiful.”
Sarah smiled, staring up at them. “Yeah, they are.”
Jason and the other high school kids were by the back of the auditorium where Kara had tried to disappear. They were handing out fliers for something. I picked one off the ground. “JOIN THE RECKLESS CLUB” was printed across the top.
One of the high schoolers, the girl with spiky hair, leaned into Kara as she passed and hissed like a cat. Kara jumped and backed up. “Stop scaring the newbies, Rex,” the boy she stood next to said. He grinned, showing a deep dimple.
Rex smiled back, then met my eyes and nodded.
“Wait. We should talk about this,” Dad said, drawing my attention back to my family. Dad whipped Annie up into the air, blowing on her belly and making her giggle. “Your mom, the businesswoman!”
Mom cried happy tears, hugging Eliza, and Alec shook her hand. “It has an apartment over it, too,” Eliza said. “So, Annie and I…”
“I get a new room! And it has three windows!” Annie chirped.
“You knew about this?” Mom said.
“I know lots,” Annie said. She turned back to her mom. “But about the name…”
Eliza took Annie from Dad’s arms. She looked at me. “How about Wings?”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I knew this year would be different.
I was heading into the second half of eighth grade older, wiser, and maybe even kinder.
After the talent show, everyone talked about the Work in Progress Wings for a few weeks. I even worked it out with Principal Hendricks to keep them in the lobby of the school with some paint pens so people could paint over the words if they wanted to. But, eventually, that meant people dented the edges or wrote mean stuff on them and otherwise acted like middle schoolers.
Frau Jacobs was the biggest change. Once Mr. Harper returned for the second half of the year, baking champion and new celebrity, she resigned. She joined a local theater company. Her first show was going to be this weekend. I saw a poster at the library—Frau Jacobs in a costume with shoulder cutouts! Ricky, Tasha, and I were going to go. Dad, too.
I wasn’t the little lamb I had been at the beginning of the year. Only a few weeks had passed, and yet I felt pretty certain I’d never go back to my third stall bathroom office to wallow. I matured. I was even, right this moment, taking my first chemistry lab. I took my seat at the long black table and listened as the teacher gave instructions for the Bunsen burners in front of us. Was I being too poetic again to say I felt like I was ready to turn those old wings to ash? Yes. That’s Jackson Thorpe–level poetry. Thanks, Brain. Keep it real.
I thought ahead to high school, just a few months down the line. I wouldn’t be going to it scared or embarrassed. I already had the backing of Jason and the rest of the Reckless Club. I was a member of another club, too. Sarah decided not to wait until high school to start the gay alliance club. For a few weeks after she started the club and came out at school, loads of people whispered about it. Some were jerks. But her friends shut them down every time, especially Jackson.
Sarah, Jackson, and I met at the JV Bookstore once a month for open mic. We recently started to get coffee afterward. Sarah was meant to be on stage, but Jackson stopped performing. He was into parkour now.
As for Kara? I had no idea. And that felt pretty great, too. I did notice she sat with Wade at lunch now instead of Sarah.
Yep, this new year was different.
My life would no longer be marked by humiliations. Just works in progress.
I leaned forward to turn up my burner, one of my curls swinging forward. Huh. It was almost like those wings really were burning. I smelled them singeing away.
“Look out!” Becky, my lab partner, yelped. I looked up to see Mr. Albert, my new chemistry lab teacher, hurdle the lab table like it was a pommel horse, slide across the top, whip up a fire extinguisher like Hawkeye would an arrow, and blast away. My face.
“Your hair was on fire!” Mr. Albert said. “Are you okay, Penelope?”
I wiped the foam from my face and let it splatter to the ground.
“It’s Pipi,” I said. “Pipi McGee.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Mortifying middle school moments. We all have them.
Thank you to my friends and family for answering the call to share their humiliations, which included a lot of eyebrow losses, mistaken crush
es, and digestive issues. This book benefited from every one of them, though I can’t say poor Pipi herself did.
Nicole Resciniti, who championed Pipi from the moment I mentioned her—it’s an honor to be your client and a blessing to be your friend. Julie Matysik, my amazing editor and treasured friend, I can’t say enough how much I love working with you. Let’s never stop! Running Press publicity manager Valerie Howlett, I’m so grateful for your drive, your insight, your incredible attention to detail, and, most importantly, your heart.
Thank you to the entire Running Press team, including cover and interior designer Frances Soo Ping Chow, project manager Amber Morris, copy editor Christina Palaia, director of marketing and publicity Jessica Schmidt, and publisher Kristin Kiser. Thank you to Billy Yong for creating such a spot-on Pipi and gorgeous cover.
Much love to Jon, Emma, and Ben, and my family and friends. I owe so many of you a slice of pie (which reminds me—Kari, there are a few more places in Texas to scout out). Luke Shaw, thank you for sharing insight about dyslexia. Kirsten Shaw, thank you for being an inspiring teacher and an amazing friend who makes me laugh even when I’m trying hard to wallow.
To Jacqueline Welsh and Veda Leone, who welcomed me and my daughter to share a sacred space of storytelling, I’m forever grateful.
And, finally, to a certain middle school teacher who turned her back to a young girl in white jeans with her arm stretched in the air and panic in her eyes so you could finish a lesson uninterrupted. I’d like to say I forgive you. But I’m still working on it.
Also available from Beth Vrabel and Running Press Kids
Available wherever books are sold!
ALSO BY BETH VRABEL
Caleb and Kit
The Reckless Club
Praise for Beth Vrabel and
The Humiliations of Pipi McGee
“Both hilarious and heartfelt, The Humiliations of Pipi McGee is for anyone who’s ever felt invisible, made a mess of the best intentions, and wondered about their place in their own life. This book is for everyone. With sensitivity and respect, Beth Vrabel explores identity, family, friendship, and the emotional fall-out of bullying. Get ready to laugh, cry, cringe, and fall completely in love with Pipi McGee.”
—Ashley Herring Blake, author of the Stonewall Honor book Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World
“Ready to gain redemption or exact revenge for her eight humiliations, Pipi McGee’s choices will make you laugh out loud and cringe at the same time. Vrabel gives us a heartwarming story about learning to love ourselves, while recognizing we all have room to grow.”
—Melanie Sumrow, author of The Prophet Calls
“Deftly balancing humor, heartbreak, and the uncomfortable realization that situations aren’t always as simple as we might think, The Humiliations of Pipi McGee will speak to every reader who’s ever dreamed of redemption—or revenge. A vibrant and thought-provoking read.”
—Cindy Baldwin, author of Where the Watermelons Grow
“Pipi McGee’s story is as real and complicated as middle school itself. It’s hurt and healing, betrayal and forgiveness, self-doubt and self-discovery. Thank you, Beth Vrabel, for this deeply moving and triumphant book.”
—Carrie Firestone, author of The Unlikelies
“Beth Vrabel writes with an abundance of humor and heart and a keen understanding of both the trials and triumphs of growing up.”
—Jarrett Lerner, author of the EngiNerds series
