Clothes Minded

by Chloe Taylor

  CHAPTER 11

  A Sneaky Secret

  What’s that saying again? “Secrets, secrets are no fun. Secrets, secrets hurt someone?” Ugh. I have a little secret myself at the moment, and I can’t reveal it, and it’s starting to make me feel uncomfortable. Readers, is it okay to keep a secret when you’re trying to do something nice for a friend? Like, if you’re helping someone who wants to make one of your friends happy, but you’re not telling the friend about it? I know, it’s hard to answer without knowing exactly who I mean. There should be an absolute black-and-white code written somewhere that spells out exactly what you have to reveal and what you don’t!

  On a related note, I was thinking last night about what kind of outfit would be perfect for a date (not that I’m going on one any time soon . . . unless someone is keeping a secret from me!) The ideal outfit needs to be fun, and comfortable, in case you end up going bowling, or playing skee ball, or seeing a movie. But you still want to look cute and girly! I think this design hits it on the nose. Plus, it has a happy heart!

  On Saturday morning, Zoey volunteered at the animal shelter with Libby again. Zoey still hadn’t heard anything from Kate about her date the night before, so she and Libby hatched a plan for all the girls to meet at their favorite ice cream parlor after they’d finished their volunteer commitments. Libby texted everyone, and Priti and Kate both replied “YES!” almost instantly.

  Even though Zoey and Libby both loved being with the animals, the morning felt slower than usual since they were anxious to talk to Kate. When it was finally noon, Zoey and Libby said good-bye to Stephen and went outside, where Mrs. Flynn was waiting to pick them up and drive them to the ice cream parlor.

  They arrived just a minute or two late and found Priti already there, saving them a table in the corner. Zoey and Libby offered to get ice cream for everyone and bring it to the table. As soon as they sat down, Kate arrived. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, and she was wearing a US Youth Soccer league T-shirt, a pair of navy Spandex, and sneakers.

  “Is that what you wore to the food pantry today?” Priti asked. She made a face like she’d tasted something bad. “Was Tyler there?”

  Kate raised her eyebrows as she slid into the empty seat with the hot fudge sundae in front of it. “Thanks for the sundae, guys,” she said. “And yes, Priti, this is what I wore. I help stock shelves and pack bags of groceries. Did you want me to wear a miniskirt?”

  “So I guess that means the date didn’t go very well,” Priti said, getting right to point. She sighed heavily, as if it were her own date that hadn’t gone well.

  A slow smile crept across Kate’s face as she loaded her spoon with ice cream and chocolate sauce. “Actually, it was kind of fun.”

  “IT WAS?” Zoey, Priti, and Libby screeched at once.

  Kate frowned. “Quiet,” she said. “This place is packed. Try not to embarrass me, please.”

  Libby put her hand on Kate’s arm. “Tell us everything, Kate. We’re all dying to hear! It’s the only thing Zoey and I talked about this morning, even though there was a litter of brand-new puppies at the shelter!”

  Kate took a slow bite of her sundae just to torture everyone. Zoey couldn’t help thinking that even with the old clothes and messy ponytail, Kate was undeniably beautiful. Her high cheekbones, rosy cheeks, and sparkling eyes made her a standout, no matter what she wore.

  “Well, we had a good time hanging out, and he said he wants to hang out again soon,” Kate said.

  “And?” prompted Libby. “Details, please!”

  “Um, we went to the batting cages. Then out for pizza. And he wore a soccer jersey, which I liked.”

  “Sounds like a very Kate date,” said Priti. “That means he really gets you.”

  Zoey couldn’t look at Kate. Instead, she focused on her double scoop of Rainbow Delight and pralines ’n’ cream. Zoey didn’t realize Tyler would take her advice so literally.

  “It was very me,” Kate admitted. “But, I’m sort of conflicted. I felt really comfortable in my outfit, thanks to Zoey, but not so comfortable about the date.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Libby.

  Kate twirled her spoon in the hot fudge. “I don’t know. I sort of felt like I was acting while I was with him, instead of just being myself. I really don’t think I’m old enough to date yet, so I was pretending to be someone who was.”

  Priti shook her head. “It was only one date. You might have just been nervous. Did you guys have a lot to talk about?”

  “Well, he kept trying to bring up sports, but I could tell he didn’t know anything about them, and that was awkward. So I would try to ask him questions about himself and what he liked. I mean, I did laugh a lot, because he’s funny and nice. But I was also really relieved when it was time to go home.”

  Libby asked, “So are you going to go out with him again?”

  “I don’t know,” said Kate. “We’ll see. At the food pantry this morning, another volunteer tossed him a bag of rice, and he dropped it. And he looked at me right away—guiltily—like I was judging his athletic abilities or something.”

  “Were you?” Zoey asked. “You’re not turning into an Ivy, are you?”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “No! But he has no hand-eye coordination. Like, none.”

  “Neither do I!” Zoey exclaimed. “Thank goodness I can sew. I have needle-eye coordination.”

  “Ha-ha,” said Kate. “Ew! Or ouch?”

  Zoey grinned. It was a good sign that Kate had a sense of humor about it.

  “Actually, Ivy has gotten a lot better recently,” Priti said. “I can’t believe I’m saying that, but you should see her at the nursing home after school. It’s like being around older people makes her nicer or something.”

  “I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Zoey. “She’s still pretty nasty to me.”

  “I know,” Priti said. “I guess I’m just hoping she’s improving.”

  Deep down, Zoey didn’t believe Ivy would ever really be nice to her. There was too much history between them.

  And Kate? Well, Zoey knew Kate better than anyone—and she could tell that Kate was being pretty close-minded about Tyler. Maybe he didn’t have much athletic ability, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t worth being friends with. Especially since he was making such an effort to please Kate.

  Zoey wondered for a moment if she should tell Kate that Tyler liked her so much, he’d e-mailed her best friend for ideas on how to impress her. But she decided not to. Somehow, she knew if she told Kate, Kate would like Tyler even less. And Zoey couldn’t help rooting for him a little bit. Any boy that liked her friend enough to take her to the batting cages, when he himself could hardly hit a ball, deserved a second chance. At least in her book.

  Ivy, on the other hand, had used up all her second chances. And her third. And even her fourth!

  At the next Fashion Fun Club meeting, the group continued to work with the bolts of fleece fabric. Sean had decided to make it a challenge that they use every scrap of it and had asked all the members to come up with unique sewing projects for it. Zoey was happy to let Sean lead the group that day, as her mind was elsewhere. Tyler had e-mailed her again, asking for advice about Kate, and she was having a hard time answering him without feeling like she was betraying her friend, while at the same time hoping Tyler would find a way to get Kate to be more open-minded about him not being athletic. As far as Zoey could tell, Tyler was a really, really nice boy.

  “What are you working on, Zoey?” Josie asked, interrupting Zoey’s train of thought.

  “Um, I’m not sure yet,” Zoey admitted. “You?”

  Josie held up the beginning of what looked like a little capelet, which had slit pockets in contrasting fabric on the sides. It was very chic, even in fleece! Zoey was impressed. Mrs. Holmes had given the group some simple patterns from her filing cabinet to use, and everyone was hard at work.

  Zoey looked around the rest of the table at the other projects. Emily had decided to make herself a
ski hat; a few kids were making zip-up fleece vests, which Mrs. Holmes was helping with by attaching the zippers; and Ivy was making another fleece pillow with pompoms.

  “I gave the first pillow I made to my grandmother,” Ivy was saying. “And she loves it! She keeps it in her wheelchair for her back, but now she wants another for a bolster for when she’s reading in bed. So I’m making this one a little bit bigger.”

  “How is your grandmother?” Sean asked Ivy nicely. Zoey continued to be amazed by how nice Sean was to Ivy. It was like he’d made it his mission to kill her with kindness. “Maybe she’d like a scarf, too? We have plenty of extra material.”

  Ivy nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea, Sean. Thanks!”

  Zoey was almost positive that if she had suggested Ivy make a scarf, Ivy would have snapped at Zoey that her grandmother would never wear anything so ugly.

  Zoey decided she would experiment with the fleece and try to make flowers with it to attach to a skirt. She wasn’t sure it would work, but she didn’t feel like sewing that day. She felt like thinking and fiddling.

  “You know,” Ivy said loudly, to no one in particular, “my little cousin was at the nursing home with me the other day. She’s in fifth grade, and—you guys are not even going to believe this—she’s being bullied at school.”

  Sean cocked his head sideways. “Bullied? How?”

  “There’s this bigger kid at her school, who keeps calling her Teensy-Weensy Whitney, because she’s really, really small for her age, but you know, really cute, and so now all these other kids have started calling her that or just Weensy, and she said it’s humiliating. I just can’t understand why someone would be so mean to another kid at school!”

  A voice at the other end of the table muttered, “Why not? You are.”

  Zoey’s head popped up from working on her flowers. Who had said that? She looked down the table, and her eyes landed on the flushed cheeks of a sixth-grade girl named Lila, whom Zoey didn’t know very well. She was shy and sweet and didn’t speak up much. She was just the sort of person Ivy had probably picked on at some point.

  Ivy, whose face had also turned scarlet, was staring around the table, looking for the culprit and appearing hurt. “I don’t know who just said that, but it’s not true. I mean, I know I’m not the nicest person in the world, but I’m not a bully. I mean, my poor cousin! The kid that’s harassing her is an actual bully. I don’t want you guys to think of me like that. I’m not like that. I’m not.”

  Ivy seemed to be arguing with herself. No one at the table spoke up, not even Sean. Zoey felt like, for the first time, Ivy might be realizing that whenever she said mean things, there was a person at the receiving end of those comments, and they got hurt. Maybe Ivy was even remembering the awful things she’d posted on Zoey’s blog a while back, which had caused Zoey so much heartache.

  “Oh my gosh, guys,” Ivy said to the silent room. “Tell me if I’m ever like that again! Okay? Please.”

  “We will,” Sean promised.

  “You’re not like that,” Emily said finally. In Zoey’s opinion, Emily could be a bit of a bully sometimes herself. “You’re just popular, so people are jealous.”

  Ivy exhaled deeply. “Well, okay.”

  Zoey’s phone buzzed. Even though she was fascinated by the epiphany Ivy seemed to be having, she couldn’t resist checking her phone.

  There was a new e-mail from Sonya Turley’s costumer with photos of the finished costume! Zoey hurriedly clicked on the first thumbnail to see it enlarged. Unfortunately, she still couldn’t see it well enough to really inspect it on her phone’s small screen, but from what she could tell, it looked great. She clicked on the photo of the back of the outfit and was pleased by how beautiful the piano-key skirt looked. The belt detailing with the sequins was terrific, and she couldn’t wait to see it on Sonya Turley for real.

  “Zoey, what’s going on over there?” Sean asked. “You’re wearing the biggest smile I’ve ever seen!”

  Everyone who had been sewing stopped and looked at Zoey expectantly.

  Zoey blushed and put down her phone. She’d told her girlfriends about designing the ice-skater’s costume, and she’d written about it on her blog, but she’d never told the fashion club. She didn’t want them to think she was bragging or trying to seem better than they were. But since the costume was done, she couldn’t help sharing her excitement.

  “Well, guys, I designed an ice-skating costume, and Sonya Turley decided she wanted to wear it to nationals this weekend, and her costumer has just finished sewing it! She sent me a picture. And I’ll get to see Sonya on TV actually wearing it when she skates for gold in the competition this weekend!”

  The words tumbled out of Zoey, one on top of the other. She hadn’t realized how excited she was about seeing her work on live TV until just that moment.

  “I was wondering when you were going to mention that!” Sean said. “I read it on your blog weeks ago, but then you never told me in person.”

  “Wow!” said Lila. “That is the most amazingly coolest thing ever, Zoey!”

  Zoey could feel herself still blushing. No matter how many good things happened with her design work, compliments were still embarrassing. She looked nervously at Ivy, waiting for the snarky comment that was sure to come. Probably something like, Sonya Turley chose YOUR design? Is she color blind or something?

  But Ivy said no such thing. Instead, she smiled nicely, and said, “My grandmother and my cousin and I love watching ice-skating. We’ll watch the competition at the nursing home together Saturday night and root for Sonya.”

  Zoey nodded, too stunned to reply. It hadn’t exactly been praise for Zoey’s accomplishment, but it had been nice. And that was something.

  “Let’s all watch the competition and root for Sonya—and Zoey. FFC is a team!” Sean declared. He held up his wrist with one of the FFC bracelets Daphne Shaw had sent, and the rest of the group, including Ivy, did the same. Zoey looked down at her own wrist and noticed she’d forgotten to put hers on.

  “Where’s your bracelet, Zoey?” asked Emily, judgment in her voice.

  “Shoot, I must have left it in my gym locker,” Zoey lied. She didn’t normally lie, but the disappointed faces looking back at her expected a good explanation. “I forgot to put it back on after volleyball.”

  Sean smiled at her, accepting her story easily. Zoey squirmed in her seat, unhappy that she’d felt like she had to lie, and unhappy also, that she remembered seeing the bracelet on her dresser that morning and hadn’t even thought to put it on.

  CHAPTER 12

  The Perfect PJ’s!

  S challenged everyone in the Fashion Fun Club to try and use up all the free fabric we got from A Stitch in Time, so I’ve designed these pajamas from a blue and pink-striped flannel. I don’t know about you, but I think flannel pj’s usually get too hot at night! That’s why I chose to make this pair with short sleeves and shorts. And I had to add pockets because I love pockets, and the scalloped trim is to make them a little quirky . . . No one expects scalloped flannel pj’s! Just looking at them makes me want to hit the snooze button. . . .

  Readers, sometimes I feel like I spend half of my life sewing and the other half being nervous about what I’ve sewn. The ice-skating costume I designed for Sonya Turley will be making its TV debut tonight at the national championships! (In this case, I didn’t do the actual sewing, but you know what I mean.) I don’t think I’ve ever been this anxious about seeing one of my creations in action, except for maybe my aunt’s wedding dress, and we all know how that turned out. Sheesh! (Okay, if you don’t know, I forgot to stitch up one of the basted seams, so it came open while Lulu was dancing, and then I stepped on the hem of the dress and ripped the bottom, and long story short—the floor-length dress ended up being a knee-length dress for the second half of the reception!) I guess you could say it was a good learning experience!

  Puh-lease watch the competition tonight and root for Sonya! And for my costume! And you can wear yo
ur favorite pj’s while you watch!

  Zoey’s father decided that having something designed by his daughter appear on television warranted a viewing party, so he invited all of Zoey’s friends, Aunt Lulu and Uncle John, and Allie over to watch.

  Since the competition didn’t start until seven o’clock, the group started the evening with chips, guacamole, and pizza. Everyone talked excitedly about seeing Zoey’s outfit, except Zoey, whose stomach was tied up in knots. She was too nervous to even eat the pizza. She wondered if that’s how Sonya felt every time she took to the ice! Sonya actually had to perform that evening, perfectly, and on ice! And all Zoey had to do was sit at home and watch.

  When it was time for the show to begin, Zoey and her girlfriends headed into the living room. Mr. Webber, Lulu, John, Marcus, and Allie stayed in the kitchen to chat and instructed Zoey to call them in when Sonya came on. The nationals competition could be long, and the only people who really wanted to watch all the skaters were the girls.

  Zoey and her friends plunked down on the sofa together, and lined their feet up on the coffee table in front of them.

  “What’s with Marcus and Allie?” Libby whispered. The TV was loud enough to drown out their conversation, but she still didn’t want to risk being overheard.

  “Yeah,” said Priti. “They definitely weren’t smiling during dinner, and Allie was sort of cranky.”

  Zoey shook her head. She’d noticed things between her brother and Allie had been different lately, too. But as Marcus’s younger sister, and Allie’s friend, her loyalty was torn. She wanted to stay out of their relationship completely, and the only way she could think to do that was to not ask either of them any questions about it, or to even let herself wonder what was going on.

  “I don’t know,” Zoey said slowly. “But Marcus sighs a lot when she texts him.”

  “Young love,” Priti joked. “It’s never easy. And speaking of young love . . .” She turned to look at Kate.