by Chloe Taylor
“My goodness! It’s enormous! It looks like it’s full of swag!” Lulu exclaimed.
Zoey removed the ribbon and tore open the cellophane. The basket contained two Fashion Showdown T-shirts, a Fashion Showdown tote bag, two I NY coffee mugs, three different types of cookies, six cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, a map of New York, a gift card for Blue Bottle Coffee, and four bottles of water.
There was a card nestled inside that read:
Welcome to the Big Apple and Fashion Showdown! See you tomorrow—Rashida Clarke
“It’s so nice of her to send us all this food and stuff,” Zoey said. “Can I have a cupcake now? This pink one with the white flower looks amazing.”
“Save it for dessert,” Lulu warned. “I want to take you out for a celebratory dinner.”
Zoey and her aunt strolled around the neighborhood, checking out stores. To Zoey, the fashions on the street were just as interesting as the window-shopping. New York had an energy all its own, and the people there didn’t seem to be afraid to express themselves with their clothes.
“New York’s amazing,” she told Lulu. “People here don’t care about blending in.”
“I’m sure some of them still do, underneath,” Lulu said. “As I got older, it became easier to relax and just be myself.”
As they continued down the block, looking for a good spot to eat, Zoey wondered just how much older she had to be before that happened to her.
After dinner, Zoey stood by the hotel room window, her breath causing condensation on the glass as she watched the city lights twinkling outside. She couldn’t believe that she was actually in New York City and that tomorrow she would be the special guest on her favorite TV show.
“Come on, Zo,” Lulu said. “We’ve got an early start in the morning. Time to get into your pj’s, brush your teeth, and get some beauty rest.”
In the bathroom, Zoey made another exciting discovery. “Aunt Lulu, you won’t believe this!” she shouted, toothpaste in her mouth. There’s a TV in the mirror!”
“No way!” Lulu called back. She came into the bathroom and found Zoey watching TV while she brushed her teeth. “I stand corrected. Yes, way.”
“Isn’t it awesome?” Zoey asked, rinsing off her toothbrush.
“Not if it makes you spend more time in the bathroom. Come on now, off to bed. I need to take a shower.”
Zoey was too excited to go to sleep. Besides, she’d promised Jan she’d blog about her trip, and she didn’t want to forget a thing. As soon as Lulu closed the bathroom door, Zoey jumped out of bed and got her laptop out of her backpack. Leaning back against the pillows, she signed into Sew Zoey.
- - - - Chapter 8 - - - -
Swagtastic Big Apple!
I’m writing this from my hotel room in NEW YORK CITY! Our hotel room is amazing. There’s even a TV in the BATHROOM! Don’t worry—New York is much too exciting for me to spend all my time watching television in the bathroom. I could spend hours looking out the window at the people in the opposite building, making up stories about what is going on in their lives. Or sitting at the window table at this little French restaurant where we went for dinner, watching people bustling by. In New York, everyone walks fast, or faster, like they’ve all got somewhere really important to be and they’re running late. When I stopped to look at some sky-high heels in the window of a shoe store, the guy behind us walked straight into me. He didn’t even apologize. He acted like I was the one who’d done something wrong! Aunt Lulu said some “New Yawkers” are like that, but it’s still her favorite city in the whole wide world.
Guess what was waiting for us in the hotel room? An amazing swag basket of awesomeness! I’m wearing my new Fashion Showdown T-shirt to sleep in (comfy!), and I had a s’mores cupcake from Magnolia Bakery for dessert (yummy!).
Here’s the clincher: I have to decide which outfit to wear to the Fashion Showdown taping. Even though I’m bringing alternates, this is a big moment and I want to put my best foot (well, my best outfit) forward. I brought pieces that can be mixed and matched, so I have options), but that means there are even MORE combinations to choose from! I’m attaching a sketch of my current faves, but when it’s showtime I will probably go with whatever the wardrobe consultant likes!
Uh-oh. Aunt Lulu is telling me to turn off the computer and get some sleep. I’m not sure if that’s going to happen, though. I’m WAAAAAY too excited!
Zoey woke up before Lulu’s alarm went off the next morning. Too excited to lie in bed, she got up and snuck behind the curtains to watch the first rays of sunlight greet the New York City skyline. She couldn’t believe how many people were already out and about on the street. New York really is the city that never sleeps, she thought.
Today was the big day. Thinking about it made her remember that today was a big day for her friends at Mapleton Prep too: dance day! She rifled through her suitcase to check on her dress—the one she had packed just in case she could catch the earlier train. It was nowhere to be found! Zoey looked through her suitcase one more time.
Her heart sank. How could she have forgotten to pack her backup dress? If the show taping ended early, if she caught the earlier train, if she made it back in time for the dance . . . she still wouldn’t have time to go home to get the dress. Maybe she could wear one of her Fashion Showdown outfits in a pinch, she thought, but getting dressed up would be so much more fun.
Zoey’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her stomach. It was growling, probably from a mix of hunger and nerves. Maybe another one of those Magnolia cupcakes would do the trick. . . . She crept out from behind the curtains and tiptoed over to the desk. With the curtains closed, it was dark in the room and hard for her to see her way around. Zoey had just put her hand on the nearest cupcake when—Beep! Beep! Beep!
She dropped the cupcake as Lulu turned on the light.
“Rise and shine, honey—Oh, you’re already up!”
“Uh, yeah,” Zoey said, her hands behind her back. “I’ve been up for a little while.”
Lulu gave her a half-awake grin. “Go ahead, Zo. A special occasion like this calls for breakfast cupcakes. Just leave room for some protein to keep you going during the shoot. I pre-ordered room service.”
Understanding the need for cupcakes for breakfast was just one of the many reasons Zoey loved her aunt Lulu.
Zoey got dressed, but she made sure to keep her alternate pieces in her backpack in case the wardrobe consultant wanted to see them. She couldn’t decide how to do her hair, but Lulu told her not to worry, because they would take care of that at the studio. Instead, Zoey put on a beret she had bought from a street vendor on the way to dinner the night before. Zoey had to bring her suitcase to the taping too, because they were going straight from the studio to the train station, and she snuck the unused soaps from the bathroom into her bag as souvenirs.
The room’s phone rang after breakfast, just as Zoey was applying a coat of Fashionsista’s lucky lip gloss.
“C’mon, Zo—Winston is waiting downstairs with the car,” Lulu said.
Zoey took a deep breath, looked at herself in the mirror, and said, “Here we go!”
“Good morning,” Winston said as he held open the car door. “How are you feeling this fine morning?”
“Really nervous,” Zoey admitted. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have let you eat that cupcake,” Lulu said, groaning.
Winston’s eyes looked worried in the rearview mirror. “You need me to pull over, just holler.”
“I don’t mean really throw up,” Zoey assured them. “At least I don’t think so. It’s more of an OMG, I’m about to be on TV in front of a gazillion people stomachache.”
Still, she noticed Winston checking her nervously in the rearview mirror every few minutes, just in case.
When they pulled up in front of the studio, Winston held open the door for them. “Break a leg, kiddo,” he said.
“Thanks, Winston. I’ll try,” Zoey said. “I
mean, not to really break a leg, but . . . you know.”
“I know what you mean,” Winston said, eyes twinkling. “Now, remember the most important thing: Have fun!” Then he tipped his chauffeur’s cap and waved good-bye.
Lulu and Zoey checked in at the reception desk and got visitor badges. Zoey took a picture of hers and texted it to her friends. Soon she would actually be on the set!
A production assistant named Sydney came to meet them and bring them up to the studio. Zoey was fascinated by her hair, which was dyed a robin’s-egg blue. She could only imagine what Ivy would say if she showed up at school with blue hair. Zoey wished she could ask Sydney if she’d had an Ivy in middle school.
“First stop is makeup,” Sydney said, opening a door and ushering them in. “Here we go. Cara will take good care of you.”
Zoey sat in one of the makeup chairs, and Lulu sat in another to watch.
“I’m going to make this subtle, so you look natural, but it’s probably going to look like a lot more makeup than you would usually wear, especially at your age,” Cara said. “How old are you?”
“I’m twelve,” Zoey said.
“Wow! And you’re a guest judge on Fashion Showdown?” Cara exclaimed. “That’s impressive!”
“Zoey creates her own designs,” Lulu boasted. “She blogs about them on Sew Zoey.”
“Wait, you’re Zoey, from Sew Zoey?” Cara asked. “That’s so cool! I read your blog all the time. A lot of us here on the show are fans.”
Knowing Cara read her blog gave Zoey the courage to ask the question she’d been dying to ask her.
“So, you know how one of my Sew Zoey readers, Fashionsista, sent me some lucky lip gloss? Is there any way I can wear it for the show?”
Cara frowned. “I’d love to let you wear it, but I have to make sure it works. Can I see it?”
Zoey got the tube of lip gloss out of the side pocket of her backpack.
“Wow, this stuff isn’t cheap,” Cara said, examining the tube. “This Fashionsista person must really like you. Oh, it’s clear. No problem.”
When Cara was finished, Zoey stared at herself in the mirror. She looked like herself, but different. Her eyes seemed to glow, her cheeks were rosy, and her lips shined, as if touched with morning dew.
“You look lovely,” Sydney said when she came to get them. “Let’s get you down to wardrobe quickly. We’re on a strict timetable. We want to help you catch that earlier train.”
Zoey had been so excited, she’d forgotten about the dance.
“Oh . . . yes.”
Serena, the wardrobe consultant, took one look at Zoey’s striped top and told her it was adorable, but much too busy for TV. “Stripes do funny things on camera. What else did you bring?”
Zoey showed her other choices, hoping that one of them would be okay.
“This one,” Serena said. “The stars give it some interest without being too distracting.”
Zoey got changed quickly, thanked Serena, and then followed Sydney down the hallway to see Brandon, the hairstylist.
“You’ve got great hair, Zoey,” he told her as she took off her beret.
“Really?” Zoey asked. “No one has ever told me that before.”
“They haven’t?” Brandon ran his fingers through her hair, lifting it up so it fell back onto her shoulders. “Well, they all need glasses.”
He brushed out her hair and asked her how she wanted it.
“I . . . don’t know,” Zoey said. “Whatever you think is best.”
“I love this girl!” Brandon told Lulu as he gave Zoey’s shoulders a quick hug. “Honey, I’m going to make you look even more fabulous than you do already. How about something like this, so we can see your face?”
He held Zoey’s hair up loosely in a high ponytail.
“It’s not what I usually do,” Zoey confessed. “I like it.”
“Oh just you wait . . . ,” he said. He got a hair elastic and bobby pins and started brushing. Once Zoey’s hair was up, he used the curling iron to perfect the shape.
“Hold on,” Brandon said. “I think I have the finishing touch in my magic closet of tricks.”
He went to a closet in a corner of the room and rummaged, then came back with something in his hand.
“And now for a finishing touch to the crowning glory!” he announced, holding up a sparkly ribbon to cover the elastic. “Brings out the green in your eyes.”
“Perfect!” Lulu exclaimed.
Zoey turned her head from side to side, marveling at her reflection.
“I can’t believe that’s me,” she said.
“It’s you, sweetie. You just needed a little something extra to make you sparkle like the diamond you are,” Brandon said. “Now off you go to shine on set.”
He kissed Zoey and Lulu on both cheeks before they left.
“That was very European,” Lulu whispered as they followed Sydney down the hall.
Sydney stopped outside a steel door marked STUDIO TWO. “Are you ready?” she asked.
This was it. The big time. She was about to step onto the set of Fashion Showdown.
Zoey’s stomach did a somersault, and her mouth felt dry.
“I’m ready,” she said, hoping it was true.
When they walked inside, Zoey spotted Oscar Bradesco, the host of Fashion Showdown, chatting with the two other guest judges.
“Here’s Rashida Clarke, our producer,” Sydney said. “I know she’s been dying to meet you. She’ll introduce you to everyone.”
Rashida was tall, thin, and impeccably dressed in a well-cut red pantsuit, accessorized with bold silver jewelry.
“Zoey, so wonderful to finally meet you,” she said. “And this must be Aunt Lulu.”
“Thank you for the gift basket,” Zoey said. “The cupcakes were amazing.”
“Life is always better with cupcakes, don’t you think?” Rashida asked.
“Definitely,” Lulu agreed.
“Let me introduce you to everyone,” Rashida said. “We’ll be taping in about half an hour.”
Zoey surreptitiously wiped her clammy palms on her skirt.
“Oscar, I’d like to introduce you to our very special guest judge, Zoey Webber, and her aunt, Lulu Price,” Rashida said.
“Hi, Zoey,” Oscar said. “We’re so excited to have you on the show. Love your blog!”
Then Rashida introduced her to Christophe Pierre and Aubrey Miller, the two other judges. She recognized them from the pages of Très Chic. How was she, seventh-grade Mapleton Prep student Zoey Webber, supposed to be a judge with all these famous people?
“And this is Tom Vincenti,” Rashida continued, gesturing to the head cameraman.
Tom smiled and waved.
“You look nervous,” Aubrey noted. “Is this your first time on TV?”
Zoey nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak.
“Relax, chérie.” Christophe told her. Zoey loved his accent. “You will be parfait.”
“I don’t know if I can relax,” she confessed. “I kind of feel out of my league.”
Aubrey put her arm across Zoey’s shoulders and gave her a hug. “Hey, we all were first-timers once. And I bet if you ask Christophe, he still gets butterflies before the cameras roll.”
“Oui! C’est terrible!” Christophe exclaimed. “Yes, I can’t count the number of times I have been on camera, but I still get the rumbles in my tummy.”
“See? You’ll be fine,” Aubrey said. “By the way, I love your blog!”
Aubrey Miller read her blog and loved it? Zoey started to relax a little. Everyone was so nice, and they were treating her like an equal, not like a little kid who was invited to guest judge by mistake.
“We’re starting in a few minutes,” Sydney said. “Lulu, we’ve got a seat for you behind the cameras, if you’ll follow me.”
Lulu hugged Zoey. “Break a leg, darling, and remember, ‘Fake it till you make it.’ ”
“I’ll try!” Zoey said.
Christophe, Au
brey, and Zoey took their seats in the judges’ chairs next to the runway, where Oscar Bradesco was standing in a spotlight. He waited as Jed Fisher, the director, said, “Fashion Showdown, episode 201, intro, scene one, take one.”
Zoey saw the red lights come on behind the cameras, and her heart started beating faster. They were taping!
“Our contestants were hard at work most of last night creating designs for our Prom Dress Challenge,” Oscar said. “And now they face the moment of truth in front of our distinguished panel of guest judges. Let’s meet the panel.”
A spotlight shone on Christophe, and Oscar listed his many accomplishments in the fashion field. Zoey panicked, wondering what he would say about her. Zoey Webber is a kid in middle school who makes dresses in her bedroom and writes a blog. She’s only here because our first choice couldn’t make it.
Suddenly, she felt the bright heat of the spotlight on her face and had to try not to squint.
“This week we’re especially excited to welcome teen judge and rising design talent Zoey Webber, who writes the popular fashion blog Sew Zoey,” Oscar announced.
Zoey exhaled slowly as the spotlight moved on to Aubrey. Rising design talent Zoey Webber. Those words were going to be broadcast on nationwide TV. It made her dream for the future seem real.
They took a break for a few minutes before the next take, when the runway show would begin.
“How’s it going so far, Zoey?” Aubrey asked.
“Okay,” Zoey said.
“You’re doing great,” Aubrey told her. “Just relax and be yourself.”
When the cameras starting rolling for the next scene, Zoey forgot to be nervous, because she was excited to see the designs the contestants had come up with. Each judge had been given a score sheet, and they had to mark the designs based on originality, construction, and wearability. There were ten contestants. One design was really cool, but Zoey couldn’t imagine dancing in it, let alone going to the restroom. Another one wasn’t imaginative, but it was beautifully cut and well sewn. It was the kind of dress that Kate would pick, Zoey thought—one that would look lovely but wouldn’t make her stand out in a crowd.
