I flipped to the back and started a red dress with black embellishments. It reminded me of vampires, like it was something a vampire queen would wear. I almost wished we had enough time to change our design for the competition, as I was pretty sure this new dress was definitely a winner.
“Gah!” Lily blurted out. It was actually a warning, I just didn’t speak baby. She launched her bowl across the table from her highchair, soggy oatmeal went everywhere. And by everywhere, I meant everywhere.
Including my sketchbook.
“Lily! Dammit.” She gave me the innocent look of a baby, yet I was sure she knew exactly what she had done. I scraped the awful food from my book but it was no use. My new design and about another dozen were too damaged to be repaired.
“Who made all the mess?” Billy asked. He was seven years old, but I swear he had the deductive skills of a one year old.
“Who do you think made it?” I asked, still trying to get the oatmeal off my book. Then I noticed it was on the table, on my shirt, all over Lily. Double dammit.
“I dunno,” Billy replied, shrugging his shoulders. Something inside me snapped. I wasn’t proud of it later, but it didn’t change what happened.
“Get to your room! Go, and take Ethan with you! I’ve had enough of looking after you all. You’re nothing but trouble,” I yelled. I’m pretty sure if it was a cartoon, everything in the room would be shaking from the noise.
He ran off. Lily started crying. I was about two seconds off joining them.
“Calm down, Truly, come on. It’s just a bit of oatmeal, it’s nothing,” I whispered to myself, trying to block everything else out.
It took eight deep breaths before I could move again. I gave Lily back her bowl and spoon to shut her up. Then I cleaned all the mess until there was no trace of the one sided food fight that had just occurred.
Next, I had to fix Billy. And probably Ethan, too. Billy had about ten minutes alone with the impressionable four year old, no doubt I was described as quite the witch in that time.
I knocked on their bedroom door. “Billy? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
“Go away,” the muffled voice replied. Okay, so I was probably worse than a witch by that stage.
“Can I come in?”
“No.” And then it came, the biggest threat any kid could throw at their sibling, “I’m telling Mom.”
I gave up. Once he’d gone to the Mom threat, there was no coming back from it. At least I had the television to myself for a while. I cleaned up the baby and took her into the living room.
I didn’t see my brothers until Mom came home from work. By that time, Lily was bathed and dinner was ready.
“Where are the boys?” Mom asked, using her parental instincts to know some were missing.
“In their room.” I shrugged, like I had no idea why. I wanted to see how much they snitched on me before I confessed anything. Chances were they’d calmed down by now anyway. Billy probably didn’t even remember what the problem was anymore.
Billy, Ethan, and Mom returned to the kitchen for dinner shortly after. If they did whine about me, Mom never said a word.
Disaster averted.
I was even let off washing up duty. Mom left Billy to it while she insisted we have a chat on the couch. Maybe it wasn’t disaster averted after all.
“Thank you for taking care of everything here for me today, Tru,” she started. I liked the way Mom called me Tru, she was the only one who did.
“It’s okay,” I replied. She let the silence linger between us. That was usually how she got us to spill our guts and confess everything. I was too smart for that.
She gave up, sighing. “I’m really sorry you have to do so much around here. I know it’s hard on you and I wish you didn’t have to.” That was new, a confession from Mom herself. Color me stunned.
“I don’t mind.” They were my brothers and sister, after all. It wasn’t like I wanted to see them in a bad state. Sometimes, maybe, but I usually got over those thoughts pretty quickly.
“I’m trying to organize something else. It’s just temporary until we can afford a sitter. Okay?” I knew Mom didn’t work for the fun of it. I wished she would be able to have a break too. I guess the feeling was mutual.
I nodded and pretended to watch the television again so we didn’t keep talking about such depressing things. But it was too quiet. Instead, I changed the subject. I told her all about the fashion design competition.
To Mom’s credit, she listened as I prattled on and on about our dress. I described the color, the fabric, and all aspects of my design choice, until my throat hurt from talking so much. She smiled and nodded through it all.
“I really want to win it and I think we have a good shot,” I finished. It was exhausting being so excited about something.
“I’m really glad you have something that you’re so passionate about,” she replied, in that motherly way that normally made me roll my eyes. Not tonight though.
“Will you come to the award ceremony when we win? Jane said her parents will probably be able to make it.” Jane actually said she might be able to schedule it in with her parents and talk their assistants into keeping the appointment. Same thing.
“Of course I’ll be there. But, a lot of people will be entering and I’m sure there will be a lot of beautiful dresses there. Try not to get your hopes up too much, okay? I don’t want to see you disappointed.”
So Mom didn’t think we could win. I know she was only trying to help, but that really sucked. Jane and I were good, we were the best. We had to win. We just had to.
I nodded, the appropriate response, but inside I was getting angry. Moms were supposed to be supportive, they weren’t meant to assume their kid would lose at everything. Sure, my past record wasn’t great with school stuff, but this is what I was born to do.
She just didn’t get it.
CHAPTER 7
In typical Truly Winx fashion, I went to school the next day with a plan. One that may have been called mischievous. I called it brilliant.
If Jane and I couldn’t hang out after school because of my bratty family, then we could just ditch school to work on the dress.
Unfortunately, Jane wasn’t quite seeing the brilliance like I was. “I’m not leaving school. It’s against the rules.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, because that was the only thing stopping me rolling my eyes at her and I didn’t want to make it worse. “Nobody will notice we’re missing. It’s just a few classes. It’s not like we need school anyway.”
“Our education is the most important thing in the world for us right now,” Jane replied. I was pretty certain she was summoning the spirit of Principal Lynch. “We can’t miss even one class.”
Again, I bit my lip. “Nothing will happen in one class. Come on, Jane. Do something daring for once in your life.” She continued to shake her head. I wasn’t proud of what I said next. “If you get in trouble, your parents will have to come to the school. Isn’t that something you’d like? Some attention?”
I could literally see the anger rising within her. “You are impossible.” Okay, I deserved that. Jane stormed off in one direction and I resigned myself to the fact I was going to my first class.
I didn’t see Jane for the rest of the day. I think she was avoiding me. I sent her a text message anyway, saying I had to go straight home after school so wouldn’t be able to see the dress again today. That was really sad. I was dying to see how she was bringing my creation to life.
It took forever for the bus to reach my apartment building. So long I could have done my homework along the way. Notice how I said could and not did. Homework was not my favorite thing. It didn’t even make the top one hundred things I would rather be doing on a bus.
The routine was the same once I did finally get home. I relieved our neighbor, gave Lily some food to stop her ‘muppis’ ramblings and made sure the boys were okay.
Just when I started peeling the vegetables for dinner, there was a
knock on the door. We never got visitors. My heart stopped in panic before I managed to get to the door.
I was too nervous to look through the peephole because, let’s face it, it’s a two-way thing. Whoever I was peeping on would be able to peep right back at me only in reverse perspective. I did it anyway, because I was brave like that.
Seeing Jane was a relief… for a second. Then panic set in anew. I couldn’t have Jane seeing where I lived, it looked like a dirty shack compared to her house. My entire apartment was nothing more than a speck on her mansion.
“Truly? It’s me, Jane,” she called through the door. Dammit, she wasn’t going to give up and go home if I stood there being indecisive long enough.
I glanced around the apartment. It was tidy, but the boys’ toys were strewn about everywhere. It was an unorganized chaotic mess.
“Truly? You home?”
But I guess I didn’t have a choice. I swept open the door. “Hi, Jane.” I stood in the doorway so she couldn’t see too much or come in.
“Hey, I was hoping I had the right place. Seeing as though you couldn’t come over to my house, I thought I would bring the dress to you.” She held up a black garment bag proudly. Oh my God, the dress was in there. I was almost in touching distance of the dress. “Can I come in?”
It was the biggest dilemma of my year. On one hand I really didn’t want Jane seeing my world. On the other hand, she was holding the dress, the one I had designed and she was creating.
I was a weak person. “Sure, come in.”
I waited for the snarky comments about what a ‘nice’ house we had. But Jane didn’t say a word, until she saw Lily. “Aww, she’s so cute. Is this your sister?”
“Yeah, her name’s Lily.” The boys lined up to snoop on the visitor. “This is Ethan and Billy, my brothers.”
Jane held her hand out and they all shook hands once the boys realized what she was doing. “I’ve always wanted brothers,” Jane exclaimed. It seemed to satisfy their curiosity and they went back to the living room.
“Do you mind waiting for five minutes while I finish putting dinner on?” I asked. The math in my head said I had to start cooking or it wouldn’t be ready by the time Mom came home.
“Of course, do you need a hand?” Jane sounded so sincere, I almost took her up on the offer.
“Maybe you could entertain Lily for a minute until she’s finished eating?” Hopefully that would distract her from the rest of the apartment. “But, be careful, she likes to throw food around sometimes.”
“That’s adorable.”
“No, it’s really not,” I laughed. Poor Jane had no idea what she had just stepped into. Seriously.
We chatted about school and the competition while I finished getting all the vegetables into the steamer and tidied up a little. Lily seemed to really like Jane, they spoke baby nearly the entire time.
I wiped my hands on a towel. “Okay, I’m good now. Dinner is officially on.”
I lifted Lily out of her highchair and led Jane into my bedroom. I needed the dress to be away from the food, I couldn’t risk any contamination.
Lily and I sat on my bed. “Please show me the dress. I am absolutely dying to see it.”
“Okay, but remember, it’s still a work in progress. It’s not going to look finished,” Jane said. I didn’t need the warning, I knew how clothes were made – I just wasn’t very good at doing it myself.
Jane zipped open the garment bag and pulled out the hanger. The dress slid out of the bag, showing itself to me in all of its half-made splendor.
“Well? Does it kind of look like what you designed?” Jane prompted. I couldn’t speak, I was literally speechless and that never happened to me. Seriously, call the Pope because this was a miracle. “Truly? You hate it, don’t you?”
I managed to get my head to move before making my tongue comply with my instructions. “It’s exactly what I drew. Oh my God, Jane, this is amazing.” She squealed with delight. So did I. Lily had no idea what was going on.
“Do you think the stitching is straight enough?” Jane asked. I wasn’t going to get a ruler out to check.
“It looks fine to me.”
“You’re sure?”
“Jane, it’s perfect. You’ll be able to finish it before the competition, right?” I had to make certain. Because I was pretty sure a half-made dress would not be allowed to be entered. Even if I told the judges it was all the fashion now to wear clothes like that.
“Of course. I’ll work on it non-stop until it’s finished.” She smiled proudly. She had a lot to be proud of so I was glad for her. It was nice to see her so happy about something.
She left with the dress shortly afterwards. I wasn’t exactly a good host for my guest. Mainly because I didn’t want her hanging around for too long. It was bad enough she saw where I lived, but my snotty brothers would no doubt embarrass me even further at some stage.
The next day at school I only saw Jane once and that was from a distance. She wasn’t in her usual lunch spot so I couldn’t invite her to my table – which was kind of a relief considering the disaster it was last time.
As the days went on, however, I was starting to get worried. Jane was avoiding me. I was certain of it. She had glimpsed into my world and decided she was too good for me. That our partnership was useless because I was just a poor nobody and she lived in a mansion.
Every day I didn’t see her, it confirmed my fear. Losing her sort-of-friendship was one thing, but the thought of the competition slipping from my fingers was another matter entirely. I needed to know what was happening because my entire future hinged on the next few days and having a dress to wow the judges.
It was time I confronted Jane. I couldn’t sit by and let my dream evaporate into thin air. If she hated me because of my financial situation, then we needed to find a way to move on. After all, I never dropped her because she was rich. Why should it work the other way around?
It took nearly all of lunch period to track her down. She was sitting behind the science building – alone. I still felt a pang of sympathy seeing her by herself.
“Jane, gosh, I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” I started. Even though I was trying to play it cool, my heart was hammering against my ribcage. Could a sixteen year old have a heart attack? Hmm, I might just find out soon.
“I’ve been here all lunch,” she replied. There was no smile for me in return.
“How are you going with the dress? The competition is only two days away.”
“I just need to put a few final touches on it and it will be finished. There’s no need to get your knickers in a knot.” I wasn’t sure if that was a joke or an insult. In the interests of our partnership, I decided it was a joke.
“That’s great, when can I see it?” I asked, figuring it was a fair question. We were in this together, after all. Right?
“Before the competition.”
“That’s on Saturday.”
“I know when it’s on, Truly. We’ll make a time tomorrow.” She said it so decisively that there was no room for argument. Tomorrow was going to have to be good enough.
CHAPTER 8
Tomorrow never came. Jane was nowhere to be found all day. By Friday, I was stressing big time. The biggest thing to ever happen to me and I might not even get a shot at participating.
I waited by Jane’s locker until she showed, figuring she couldn’t avoid me that way. She was being so evasive that it was seriously freaking me out. When I didn’t want to admit something to someone, I avoided them. Which was how I knew exactly what Jane was up to.
I missed History class to stand there and wait. Then Science. I felt stupid lingering around like a bad smell but it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. I had done plenty of other, bigger, stupider things before. Nobody would know the difference.
At third period changeover, she finally showed up. “Truly, what are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you. What’s the status on the dress?” I was done with smal
l talk. Something about freaking out kind of brought out the rude in me.
“It’s finished.” The two words that sent relief coursing through me. “You can come over this afternoon to see it if you want.”
I inwardly groaned. “I can’t, I have to look after my brothers and sister. Can you come over to my place?” Because I was that desperate to see the dress.
She shook her head. “It will get wrinkled if I move it, I don’t want to risk that.”
“Well I can’t make it to your place.”
“Well I’m not moving it. You’ll see it tomorrow at the competition anyway, it’s no big deal.” She shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal. Except it was. My entire future hinged on that dress. The dress I wouldn’t be able to see until just before the judges did.
What about if it was terrible? What about if she had completely trashed my design? Maybe something really bad happened to it since I saw it last? My churning stomach was telling me this was not a good thing.
But what choice did I have? I couldn’t leave my bratty siblings at home by themselves and I certainly couldn’t take them to Jane’s house. All that white, they would see it as a giant canvas to ruin.
“I guess tomorrow it is then,” I sighed. I hated the impossible situation but I really didn’t have a choice. Jane certainly wasn’t going to budge. And perhaps she was right, we didn’t want wrinkles in the dress.
“I’ll be there early,” Jane said. At least that was something. I nodded my agreement and finally went to my own classes.
But I couldn’t concentrate. I tried telling myself it would all be okay. The dress had been fantastic when I last saw it. Just because it was finished now shouldn’t change that fact. It should have only improved in its awesomeness. Right? Gosh, I hoped so.
I spent all night tossing and turning in bed. I alternated between worrying about the dress and worrying about the judges. Would they like the dress? Would they think the design was stupid? Would we be laughed out of the place? I didn’t need to sleep to have nightmares, my brain was imagining them anyway.
Fashion Fraud Collection Page 3
