A Change of Lace

by Chloe Taylor

  Zoey couldn’t understand why he didn’t just give it to Priti himself, but she said, “Yeah, okay.”

  Miles gave her a relieved smile. He really had a very nice smile, Zoey thought. It was something she’d never really noticed when he was dressed in black all the time—or maybe he just never smiled that much when he was dressed that way.

  “Thanks!” Miles said. “See you later!”

  Zoey couldn’t wait to find Priti. This was all so mysterious.

  She caught Priti in the hallway during the next class change and handed her the envelope.

  “It’s from Miles,” she said.

  “I wonder what’s in it?” Priti said, ripping the envelope open. She pulled out a letter with a black necklace taped to it.

  “What’s this?” she asked, and started reading.

  Dear Priti,

  We haven’t had any time to hang out since school started, and I don’t have your phone number so I figured I’d send you a note. And this necklace, which I thought would look really great on you, because you’re so—

  She broke off and started blushing. Priti then grabbed Zoey by the arm and said, “Come with me to the bathroom!”

  “Why? What is it?” Zoey asked as Priti dragged her down the hallway.

  “I need your advice,” Priti said.

  Now Zoey was even more curious!

  As soon as the bathroom door shut behind them, and Priti was sure there was no one else in there, she said, “It’s a love letter!”

  “What?!” Zoey exclaimed. “Wait . . . do you even know each other that well?”

  “We hung out during the summer at our sisters’ orchestra practices. And part of the reason I started dressing all goth was because I liked the way Miles dressed. But now he’s saying . . . Wait, let me read the rest of the letter. . . .”

  Priti finished reading what Miles had written, her face flushing even more as she did so.

  “I can’t believe this, Zo! He says he decided to dress all preppy and have his hair dyed back to its natural color because he wanted me to like him. But then he came back to school and I was dressing like him! We ended up completely swapping styles!”

  “No wonder he looked so surprised when he saw you on the first day of school,” Zoey said.

  “About as surprised as I was to see him,” Priti said. “I barely even recognized him!”

  That reminded Zoey of a scene from one of her favorite movies. “Oh my gosh, Priti, it’s just like in Grease when Danny and Sandy liked each other—”

  “And swapped styles!” Priti jumped in.

  “Sandy traded her poodle skirt for a leather catsuit, and Danny traded his leather jacket for a letterman’s cardigan,” Zoey recalled, having seen the movie about a thousand times.

  “You’re right, Zoey,” Priti said. “It’s a lot like what happened with Miles and me!”

  “So . . . do you like him?” Zoey asked. “I mean, you know, like like him?”

  “I don’t know,” Priti said. “I’m still in touch with Nick from camp, and I know I really like him. But I’m most likely not going to see him till next summer. Miles is really nice, but . . . I just don’t know! I’m not used to having all this attention from boys. Usually, I’m the one with the crush and the other person doesn’t like me!”

  “Well, it seems like Miles is really into you,” Zoey said. “What are you going to tell him?”

  “I have to think about it,” Priti said.

  “Don’t think for too long,” Zoey said. “You can’t keep him hanging.”

  “I know,” Priti said. “I always thought it would be fun to have attention from boys, but now I’m not sure I want it.”

  As Zoey left the bathroom to go to class, she wondered if this love story was going to have a happy ending—or not.

  CHAPTER 5

  Hip Hippo Hooray!

  Thank you to all my awesome Sew Zoey readers for the great advice. I’m definitely going to learn to develop a thicker skin, which is the inspiration for today’s design, because (as one of you pointed out) hippos, like elephants and rhinos, are known in the animal kingdom for their incredibly tough hides.

  I always thought being creative was all about having fun, but the longer I do Sew Zoey and learn about the business side of designing, the more I realize that there’s so much more to it than that. Putting your creations out there in public takes courage—whether it’s a clothing design or a poem or a short story or a photograph or a painting. When someone says they don’t like your work, it feels so personal, because everything you create contains a little part of you. But if I hadn’t started Sew Zoey and kept putting my designs up, so many great things wouldn’t have happened. So I’m going to learn to be like a hip hippo and have a thick skin! Now, I just have to figure out how to do it. . . . I guess that’s the hard part!

  “Hey, Zoey, do you have a minute?” Miles asked in the hall between classes.

  It was the Monday after Miles had given Zoey the note to give to Priti.

  “Um, yeah, okay,” Zoey said, hoping she wasn’t going to end up caught in the middle of any awkward love stuff.

  “Did you give Priti the envelope?” Miles asked.

  “Of course!” Zoey said. “I gave it to her the same day you gave it to me.”

  “Oh . . . ,” Miles said, looking crestfallen. “It’s just . . . I haven’t heard anything from her. And I noticed she’s not wearing the necklace I sent with the letter.”

  He shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, glancing down at the floor, then back up at Zoey.

  “Did she . . . say anything to you when she read the letter?” he asked.

  So much for not being in the middle of any awkward love stuff, Zoey thought.

  “I’m not sure what she thinks,” she said, which was the truth, because Zoey wasn’t sure even Priti knew what she thought after reading Miles’s letter. “You really should talk to Priti.”

  “I know.” Miles sighed. “I’m just nervous.”

  “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think giving her the necklace was really sweet,” Zoey said.

  “You do?” Miles said, looking considerably cheered up. “Thanks, Zoey.”

  Zoey just hoped that Priti figured out what she thought by the time Miles talked to her. Otherwise, it was going to be superawkward for both of them.

  Later that day, Shannon sidled up to Zoey while she was at her locker, looking around as if she was trying to make sure Ivy and Bree weren’t anywhere nearby to observe.

  “Hi, Zoey. Hey, can you come over and help me work on some more outfits? Like maybe on Thursday after school?”

  Zoey wasn’t sure she wanted to go on being Shannon’s secret fashion adviser after Shannon had just stood there while Ivy gave her a hard time about her back-to-school outfit.

  “I don’t know. . . . I’m kind of busy, and—”

  “Please, Zoey! I got so many compliments on the leopard-print pants outfit you helped me with.”

  When Zoey still didn’t say anything, Shannon said, “I’m sorry about what Ivy said about your outfit. I thought it was cool. . . . It would mean a lot to me if you helped me.”

  While it felt good to hear Shannon apologize for Ivy, Zoey still wanted to know why she hadn’t done anything to stop Ivy. She was about to ask her when Shannon said, “I’ve got to go—please say yes.”

  “Okay. Thursday after school,” Zoey relented.

  “Great! Thanks, Zo!”

  Shannon walked away from her quickly, and not a minute later, was joined by Bree. It made Zoey wish she’d said no instead.

  Zoey wished that even more so when Kate called her later that evening wanting to get together after school one day that week.

  “How about Wednesday?” she suggested.

  “I can’t,” Zoey said. “Gabe’s coming over to take new pictures for the Sew Zoey Etsy site. He thinks some of the new techniques he learned in the photography class he took over the summer might help me get more traffic and sales.”

&
nbsp; “That’s really nice of him,” Kate said. “Well, what about Thursday?”

  Ack! Zoey thought. If only I hadn’t said yes to Shannon!

  The worst part of saying no to Kate because she’d made plans with Shannon was that because of the promise she’d made to Shannon to keep the whole fashion adviser thing secret, she couldn’t be honest with Kate about what she was doing. And that made Zoey feel extra bad about saying no to her.

  “I . . . can’t. I’ve got plans.”

  “Oh . . . okay. Well . . . I have to . . . go. Bye.”

  Zoey could tell that Kate was upset—again. She sighed as she hung up the phone. Usually, it was Kate who was the one who was busy all the time, running from one practice or game to another. Now that she didn’t have those things in her life, she seemed to be taking it really personally that Zoey wasn’t available when she wanted to get together.

  Recently, there were many awkward situations to try to figure out how to handle! And just when Zoey was getting half excited, half nervous about Gabe coming over to work on the Etsy photographs, she had to worry about how to handle her own awkwardness right now!

  Marcus and the members of his band, the Space Invaders, were hanging around in the kitchen on Wednesday afternoon before practice, just before Gabe was scheduled to arrive. Zoey was getting herself a glass of milk.

  Her brother couldn’t help noticing her hands were shaking when she spilled milk on the counter.

  “What’s the matter, Zo?” he teased. “Nervous about your boyfriend coming over?”

  “Wait? Zoey has a boyfriend?” exclaimed Rick, the keyboard player.

  “Man, now I feel ooooold,” Chris, the bass player, groaned. “Zoey’s too young to have a boyfriend. She’s your little sister.”

  Zoey blushed.

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” she protested. “He’s just a friend who happens to be a boy!”

  “ ‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks,’ ” quoted Dan, the guitar player. “Shakespeare, in case anyone didn’t know.”

  “I don’t care who said it, because I’m not protesting too much. I’m telling the truth!” Zoey said, stomping out of the kitchen. She liked her older brother’s friends, but sometimes they could be so annoying!

  After the teasing, Zoey was even more nervous when Gabe rang the doorbell. He was carrying a camera bag, a tripod, and a big nylon disk with differently colored surfaces.

  “What’s that?” Zoey asked. “It looks like a huge Frisbee.”

  Gabe laughed. “It does, kind of, but it’s called a reflector disk. It’s used to reduce shadow,” he said. “I’m going to need you to be my assistant and hold it in the right places if I need to use it.”

  “I think I can handle that,” Zoey said.

  They went up to Zoey’s room, where Zoey had all her most recent designs from the Sew Zoey Etsy store laid out on her worktable.

  “I was looking at the clothing on Etsy, and usually, they’re on a model,” Gabe said.

  “I was thinking we could use Marie Antoinette for the model,” Zoey said, gesturing to her headless dress form.

  Gabe laughed. “Great name for her,” he said. “So which outfit is Marie Antoinette going to wear first? Why don’t you get her dressed while I set up my stuff and check the lighting?”

  After being so nervous before Gabe got there, Zoey wasn’t at all nervous once they started working together. She really enjoyed hanging out with him.

  “So is Marie Antoinette going to let us eat cake?” Gabe asked after they’d been working for an hour and a half. “I could do with a snack!”

  “Sure!” Zoey said. “Although it might have to be cookies. We’re not royalty like Marie, so we don’t have cake every day.”

  “I’ll just have to slum it,” Gabe joked.

  They headed down to the kitchen, with the sound of the Space Invaders’ band practice in the basement getting louder and louder as they walked down the stairs.

  “Is that your brother’s band?” Gabe asked.

  “Yeah, the Space Invaders.”

  “They’re good,” Gabe said.

  “I know,” Zoey said. She was proud of Marcus, and the success of his band. “But they can also be kind of annoying at times. It’s like having your older brother multiplied by four.”

  “That could have its pros and cons, definitely,” Gabe said, smiling.

  Zoey got out some cookies and milk, and they sat on the kitchen stools to snack.

  “It’s so nice of you to take the pictures, Gabe,” Zoey said. “They look much better. I’ll let you know what happens with the traffic and sales after I upload them.”

  “Cool,” Gabe said. “It’ll be interesting to see.”

  “Can I do something to help you out?” Zoey asked. “Like maybe I could make you a special outfit or help you with a photo project or something? As you can see, I’m a great assistant. I can hold the photo Frisbee reflector thingy like a pro!”

  Gabe laughed. “You’re a total Frisbee-reflector-thingy-holder expert. No doubt about it,” he said. “But, actually, I have a better idea. I have a photo project due next week, and I need a subject. You’d be perfect for it. What do you think?”

  “A subject . . . You mean, like a model?” Zoey asked. “I don’t know.”

  “C’mon, it’ll be fun,” Gabe said. “How about this Sunday?”

  “Okay,” Zoey said. Even though modeling wasn’t really her thing, she wanted to spend more time with Gabe. They could joke around and be goofy together, and he seemed to really get her. When she stopped to think about it, the fact that he asked her to be his photo subject made her happy, because it meant he probably enjoyed spending time with her, too.

  CHAPTER 6

  New Look

  Thanks to my friend Gabe, my Etsy site has a new look, with great pictures that show off the clothes so much better. He took a photography class over the summer when I was taking screen-printing, and he learned about lighting and different digital effects and filters.

  When you look at things through a different lens, it’s amazing how it can change your perception of what you’re looking at. It can make an object look completely different. It’s kind of like that with people, too. You can think about them one way and then see them in a different light. I guess it pays to keep your eyes and your mind open, right?

  The next evening, Marcus dropped Zoey off at Shannon’s house, so she could help her with more fashion advice.

  “So when did you and Shannon start getting all buddy-buddy again?” Marcus asked.

  “We’re not exactly buddy-buddy,” Zoey said. “In fact, I’m not sure what we are. I said I’d help her pick some more outfits, that’s all.”

  “Oh. Well, have fun,” Marcus said.

  Zoey wasn’t sure if it was going to be fun or not.

  One thing was sure—Daisy was very excited to see her again.

  “Zoey’s here! Zoey’s here!” she shouted up to Shannon, dancing around at the bottom of the stairs as Zoey made her way to the kitchen.

  “Daisy loved the outfit you made for Sophie Flynn,” Mrs. Chang said, filling the teakettle up with water at the sink. “She thought it was so cool that you made it especially for her.”

  “It was awesome!” Daisy exclaimed, running into the kitchen and throwing her arms around Zoey’s waist. “I asked Shannon if she could ask you to make one for me.” She looked up at Zoey with adoring brown eyes. “How come you stopped coming over to hang out?”

  Shannon, who’d just come into the kitchen and heard the question, said, “Daisy! Hush up!”

  Daisy dropped her arms from around Zoey’s waist and looked at her sister defiantly. “I just want to know why! I miss seeing Zoey!”

  “Mommmmm!” Shannon yelled, but Mrs. Chang was busy with the teakettle, leaving Shannon to answer the question herself.

  “I’m not sure . . . ,” Shannon said, clearly feeling awkward about the situation. “But . . . I’d like us to start hanging out more again.”

 
; “Good,” Daisy said.

  Zoey was surprised by how much Daisy seemed to miss her—and what Shannon said. She wondered if Shannon really meant it and if she would be willing to hang out with her in public, or if hanging out was another thing she was supposed to keep under wraps.

  “I’d be happy to make an outfit for you, Daisy, but I can’t do it right away. I have to make one for a friend of mine first,” Zoey explained.

  Daisy looked disappointed, but Mrs. Chang said, “That’s very generous of you, Zoey. Daisy can wait until you have time, can’t you, Daisy?”

  “I guess,” Daisy said. “Thanks, Zoey.”

  “Come on, Zoey, let’s go upstairs,” Shannon said, anxious to get away before Daisy could ask any more awkward questions.

  In Shannon’s room, Zoey sifted through her closet, pulling out pieces to put together into new combinations of outfits for her to try on. After an hour and a half, they had enough outfits to keep Shannon going for at least the next quarter.

  “How do you do it?” Shannon asked. “I see these clothes all the time, but I never think of putting them together the way you do. It’s kind of amazing.”

  “I’m not sure,” Zoey said. “I just have a knack for it, I guess.”

  “I really appreciate you coming over,” Shannon said. “In case you couldn’t guess, Daisy’s been talking about you nonstop since the last time you were here.”

  Zoey was just about to ask Shannon if things were going to be any different at school when Mrs. Chang called up to say Zoey’s father had arrived to pick her up. She’d have to save her question for another time.

  Zoey brought her sketchbook to school the next day to show Priti the outfit she’d decided to design to support Priti’s new look—an all-black dress, complete with black lace and rivets.

  “I love it!” Priti said. “I can’t tell you how happy it makes me, especially now.”

  “Why especially now?” Zoey asked.

  “Because my parents hate, and I mean seriously hate, my new look, and they’ve told me I can’t buy any more black clothes,” Priti explained. “It’s the only thing they’ve agreed on in months. What’s even worse is that they’ve forbidden me to wear any of my black outfits to school.”