by Lisa Siberry
She did? I felt about as dirty as the mud on my sneakers.
‘I should have listened to you,’ I said quietly. ‘Those plants of yours are definitely little monsters.’
‘Most of them.’ Rosa poked her cane at the trunk of the orange tree and it started shivering, all the way from its roots to its spiky leaves. ‘But there are a few successes growing back here among all the mistakes.’
‘Like what?’
Rosa shuffled over to a plant crouched in the corner near the wall. It didn’t look like much, but when she prodded it with her cane, the bundle of dark green leaves began to unfurl, stretching their way upwards until they formed the unmistakeable cone-shape of a giant lily.
‘The Green Lily,’ said Rosa. ‘It was your father’s favourite plant.’
‘My dad came here?’ My heart swelled as I joined Rosa beside the lily.
‘All the time. He would come over in spring to help with the weeding and we’d talk about our latest inventions. He particularly loved my Green Lily.’
I peered into the giant green flower. ‘What did he like about it?’
‘It’s not as showy as all the others,’ explained Rosa. ‘But I designed it to grow anywhere and flower instantaneously, even in the shade.’
Green Lily.
Lily Green.
The green flowers dangling over my bed.
I wasn’t named after a funeral plant, after all. I was named after my dad’s favourite flower.
‘Here.’ Rosa snipped a cutting off the Green Lily and handed it to me. ‘Put it in a vase and let it grow. Just don’t make any hair whatsits or lip thingies out of it, comprendes?’
I turned the little green bud over in my hands. ‘Thanks. But you don’t have to worry about me inventing any more beauty products. After all my disasters, I’m not making anything ever again.’
‘Nonsense,’ scoffed Rosa. ‘You think everything you try has to come out perfectly the first time? Your papa made lots of mistakes.’
‘Dad?’ I don’t think so. ‘Everything he made was great, Rosa.’
‘Ha!’ Rosa’s gunshot laugh rang out in the fading light. ‘What about those screw-in high heels? They were supposed to be roller skates. And the baby mobiles he worked on for over a year? Started out as glow-in-the-dark frisbees. Making things is messy, girl. Don’t be a baby, just learn from your mistakes and make things …’ Rosa paused, looking for the word.
‘Better?’ I guessed.
‘Si.’ The old woman nodded. ‘Make things better.’
I thought about all the sketches in Dad’s notebook. Things crossed out. Things circled. Good ideas, bad ideas. He didn’t get it right all the time, either. It made me think about the invention competition and my fight with Ivy.
‘Rosa, I don’t think Ivy wants to make things with me anymore.’
The old woman pulled out her little golden bell and, before I could stop her, a tinkle rang out across the garden. The screechy violin music stopped. Seconds later, Ivy appeared through the Spanish moss.
She stopped as soon as she saw me and crossed her arms. ‘Oh. It’s just you.’
Bertie took off from my head and hovered between us, finally settling on Rosa’s grey braid.
‘I’ve been working with plants a long time, girls,’ said Rosa. ‘And in my professional opinion, ivy and lilies go beautifully together.’
‘Pfffsh,’ said Ivy.
I flicked the last of the purple cream out from under my nails and said it. ‘I’m a cruddy friend, aren’t I?’
‘Yes, you are extremely cruddy.’ Ivy chewed on a knot in her hair, and I wondered if I’d lost my new friend – the one and only good thing I’d made all week. I looked over at Rosa, feeling hopeless. Her dark eyes sparkled, and it made me think of something. I turned back to Ivy.
‘Maybe there’s something I could do to make things …’ I scuffed my sneaker in the moss. ‘Better?’
After all of my messed-up mistakes, I wouldn’t have blamed Ivy for giving up on me. But instead she tilted her head, like she was thinking.
As I waited for Ivy’s verdict, Rosa stepped away down the stone path towards the house.
‘Wait, Rosa.’ I held out the vinegar spray bottle. ‘This is yours.’
‘Keep it,’ she called out over her shoulder. ‘It was your papa’s invention.’
‘This thing?’ I pumped the spray and the tangy smell of vinegar drifted through the air.
‘Flick the switch on the side,’ said Rosa, disappearing through the garden.
There was a tiny button hidden under the spray pump that I’d never noticed. I pressed it, and a silver comb unfolded out of a hidden compartment in the nozzle.
‘And the other switch!’ yelled Rosa.
No way, there was another one. I tried it, and a beautiful little silver-plated mirror popped out of another hidden compartment.
‘Ooo, nice,’ said Ivy.
We gave each other a giddy smile and my spirits lifted.
This has to be the spray bottle Mum used at the beauty competition. I turned it over and over. It was simple and super cute. But best of all, it was my dad’s.
My eyes went from the spray bottle to Ivy and back again, and I started thinking how we’re all made up of so many ingredients. But there’s one secret ingredient in all of us that makes us special. The you in be-you-tiful.
I closed my eyes and looked deep inside myself. Something sparkled and I followed it, groping and fumbling in the darkness, pulling out the idea that had been waiting for me all along. I’d just been too scared to use it.
‘Ivy.’ My eyes flew open. ‘I think I know how to make it up to you.’
‘Does it involve glitter?’
‘It can. I mean, it will.’ I laughed. ‘And we might even be able to use it for the invention competition. Can you come over tomorrow morning?’
Ivy rubbed her hands together. ‘Can I bring my pens?’
‘Bring all of them!’ I shouted as I climbed over the wall towards home.
The shiny thing in my head was getting brighter, and when I burst into our apartment, I put on my wet apron and headed for the fridge. The Post-it Note was still there; the one that said Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself!
I opened my notebook, and stuck the Post-it on a new page.
I’m a Green Girl, I thought. As green as the lily in Rosa’s garden.
‘Lily, you need to see this.’
It was my sister, but I didn’t have time to talk. I had to follow the sparkle in my head. ‘Not now, Faye, busy.’ I started pulling things out of the pantry in preparation for tomorrow. Peanut butter. Olive oil.
‘Lily, I’m serious, turn around.’
‘Faye, I don’t want to do another beauty quiz. Like I said, busy.’
I felt a hand on my shoulder and my sister spun me around. She still had her headscarf on, but the purple welts on her cheeks were fading fast, like dewdrops evaporating in the sun. And the ones on her arms were also disappearing right before my eyes. Soon, all that was left of the rash was a sprinkle of purple dots across her nose.
‘I smell like minty oatmeal,’ said Faye.
‘But your skin,’ I stammered.
‘And these.’ Faye bared her teeth; they were back to normal white. ‘You took the last of the toothpaste this morning, so I had to use that disgusting baking soda and strawberry toothpaste you made the other day.’
‘Do you know what this means?’ I said, my eyes widening.
‘I covered myself in porridge?’ Faye tried to look unimpressed, but I could see her lips twitching into a smile.
‘It means my body cream …’ I couldn’t say it.
‘It worked.’ Faye finally broke into a wide smile. ‘I have no idea how, but it worked.’
‘It must be the oatmeal. Or the grapefruit. Or the –’
Faye held her hand up in my face. ‘Whatever, Lily. Just tell me you can make something for my hair too. I have a date next week and even though I have the perfect face for
headscarfs, I need my old hair back. Immediately.’ She wafted off to the bedroom, leaving behind the faint scent of chamomile and mint.
‘How about a mayonnaise and avocado hair treatment?’ I called out after her.
‘Sounds horrible,’ she shouted back. ‘And perfect. I want a tub of it on my dressing table by tomorrow afternoon.’
I chuckled to myself, thinking that maybe beauty miracles really do happen. But the hair treatment would have to wait a little longer, because the sparkle in my head was getting brighter, and now my fingers were tingling. And even though the calendar still had a star on Monday, I told myself not to think about Mum selling the salon, or Zoe beating me, or Violet forgetting about me, or all the things I couldn’t control. I just focused on the one thing I could do.
Apple cider vinegar. Green food colouring.
I kept pulling down more bottles from the pantry. I could do this.
I could make something beautiful without Rosa’s plants.
Everything I needed was already inside me. And sure, it wouldn’t be as dazzling as Glue Goo or Lip Switch, and it wouldn’t be enough to save the salon, but if I kept trying, maybe I could make one little thing better.
And for the first time, I realised that was enough.
Now all I needed was some eco-glitter.
‘Ten minutes until judging commences!’ shouted Mr Lee.
It was Monday afternoon, and all the senior years were setting up their invention displays in the school hall. Ewan and Raina had an impressive umbrella with a built-in cup holder. Jack and Ahmed were fussing over an alarm-clock headband. And Saanvi and Bella were using their icing spray-gun to put the finishing touches on a tray of pink cupcakes.
Me and Ivy? We had Dad’s old hairspray bottle between us.
‘Did you test it again last night?’ I asked.
Ivy paused mid-chew on her glitter pen. ‘For the millionth time, yes. And quit messing with your hair, it’s a masterpiece.’
I stopped twiddling the curl that was hanging in my eye. Faye had gone into full makeover mode that morning and styled my hair into natural ringlets with a mini side-braid. The weird thing was, I didn’t completely hate it. Maybe because my sister was smiling the whole time she styled my curls, and now I understood why. Or maybe I was just so used to our morning makeover routine, it hurt to think it would all be over soon.
See, the salon sign had been turned to CLOSED all weekend, and the shop was still a soggy mess, so Mum was going ahead with selling. And this time, there was nothing we could do about it. But we did our best not to mention it that morning. Instead, Faye talked non-stop about my mayonnaise and avocado hair treatment, which had definitely made her hair softer and shinier. The only thing it didn’t cure was her missing fringe. But Faye’s solution for that was an orange headband – at least until her hair grew out again.
I told her it looked good, and she gave me a little hug before I left for school. Honestly, I don’t think either of us wanted that morning to end. For so many reasons.
But now I was sitting in the school hall with one side-braid, one spray bottle and a million butterflies in my stomach.
‘Five minutes, people!’ shouted Mr Lee.
My eyes snapped to the hall door, just as Zoe marched in wearing a stripy silver dress and dragging a roller suitcase behind her. Violet trailed in a second later, staring at her phone. They both headed for the empty table next to ours, and Zoe started taking things out of the suitcase: a hairbrush, a poster board with a rainbow on it, and a glass spray bottle filled with silver liquid that shimmered like a liquefied disco ball.
The colour-changing hair dye.
I felt sweaty just looking at it.
‘Wow, you guys look so … cute,’ Zoe sneered down at us. ‘Like garden gnomes.’
Ivy and I had agreed to wear green for the comp, but I just had on a green T-shirt and denim shorts, while Ivy wore a green dress covered in purple cactuses, purple tights and earrings shaped like watering cans. Her knotty hair stuck out all over the place, and the drawing of my face was back on her sneaker.
‘Some gardens are scarier than you think, Zoe,’ said Ivy. ‘Prepare to lose, dirty plant-thief.’
‘Losing is for losers,’ replied Zoe, just as Violet slid into the chair between us.
‘Lil, check this out.’ Violet held her phone in my face. ‘I filmed my first cupcake video on the weekend and it already has two hundred and forty views.’
Videos? Again?
‘I can film your presentation if you like,’ said Violet brightly.
‘Sure, but Vi, you’re not going to use that, are you?’ I pointed at the hair-dye bottle.
‘Why? Jealous?’ Zoe flicked her hair over her shoulder, but something about it was off, and I realised she was wearing a platinum blonde wig.
What the … ‘Zoe, listen, you don’t want to do this.’
‘You mean beat you? Oh believe me, I do. Prepare to have your little mind blown, Green.’
The hall door burst open and all the parents started filing in. I gave up on Zoe and did a quick scan for Mum, even though I knew she wasn’t coming. She had to meet Mr Sebold to sign the sale papers, and the thought of her signing away the salon forever made me feel empty and hopeless. It didn’t help that Elektra was strutting into the hall, eyeing me like a cat about to devour a bird.
She’d won, and she knew it.
She was going to knock down Kitty’s and it would be like we’d never even existed.
‘I took your advice,’ whispered a voice in my ear.
I blinked Elektra and the salon away. ‘What?’
Ivy nodded at her parents, who were taking their seats. ‘I told them I don’t like playing the violin.’
‘You did?’
‘Mmm, but they said I have to keep at it. You know, practise, practise –
‘Practise. I remember.’
Ivy nudged the spray bottle, and the sparkly green liquid sloshed around inside. We’d spent the whole weekend at my house working on the formula together. I think we made five different batches, just to get it right. And by the time we were done I was covered in peanut butter and vinegar, and Ivy was a walking glitter monster, and I was laughing so hard I had to lie down on the kitchen floor while Crunch licked peanut butter off my cheek.
It was so much fun. Afterwards, we sat on my bed and Ivy designed a green label with silver bubble lettering that said Happy Hair Sparkle Mist. There were little flowers and leaves floating around the words, and underneath was a drawing of me holding my notebook and Ivy holding a pen.
Looking at that drawing made me smile, because it was just us, being ourselves, and that felt a million times better than any beauty miracle.
‘Listen,’ I whispered. ‘Your dad said that if you get an A in one subject this term, you get to do art classes, right?’
Ivy nodded.
‘Well, let’s make it happen.’ I tapped her glitter pen against the bottle. ‘Let’s win this thing, so you can swap an A in science for something you actually love doing.’
Ivy looked like she wanted to hug me. Except right then, the Lab Girls walked through the doorway.
They seemed bigger in real life. Mina was dressed in purple overalls, and Mai was wearing a pink dress patterned with test tubes and molecules. Everyone stared at them in a star-struck way. Especially Mr Lee.
‘Welcome to the What’s Your Big Idea invention competition!’ shouted Mr Lee. ‘We’re so excited to have the Lab Girls judging for us today. Mina, Mai, get on over here!’
There was a bit of a kerfuffle as the Lab Girls shook hands with Mr Lee and made awkward chitchat into the microphone, while the parents went crazy taking photos. I could hardly believe Mina and Mai were at our school, judging our inventions. Dad would have loved it, which just made my heart squeeze tighter.
Before long, Mr Lee, Mina and Mai started making their way up the line of tables, interviewing each group about their invention. I kept nervously rearranging our spray bottle. I loved it, but when
I snuck a look at Zoe’s bottle of hair dye, doubt crept in. Hers just looked so much better than ours. And what if she really had made something beautiful out of those berries – something with no weird side effects? Something that not only won the trophy, but also made BeautyGlow an even bigger success? I could handle losing the trophy, but the thought of that poisonous weed of a beauty clinic taking over the world made me feel sick.
Soon, the Lab Girls were in front of Zoe and Violet’s table. A hush fell across the hall. Violet went to stand up, but Zoe pulled her down and stood up instead.
‘Good morning pupils, parents, and science professionals,’ said Zoe, patting her wig. ‘Today, I’ll be presenting a miraculous beauty invention that I formulated in my very own lab.’
Violet coughed and I knew what she was thinking: they were supposed to work as a team. Zoe must have realised this too, because she added unconvincingly, ‘Violet helped a bit too.’
I puffed some air out the side of my mouth.
‘Now, prepare to be amazed,’ said Zoe, holding up the bottle. ‘And meet my incredible colour-changing mood hair dye, the Spraynbow! Spray your way to a better you!’
Mina and Mai chuckled, in the same way you laugh at a kid doing a magic trick. But then Zoe pulled off her wig, and a mane of bright blue hair tumbled down her back.
Mina’s mouth fell open.
‘I call this Berry Happy.’ Zoe shook her blue hair. It was so bright I had to squint. ‘But let’s try Super-Excited Yellow.’ Zoe snapped her fingers, and just like that, every single strand on her head turned yellow. Like a daisy. Or a poisonous frog.
‘Holy wow,’ murmured Mina.
‘It’s a complex carbon-based molecule, undergoing a reversible reaction with itself,’ added Mai.
She did it. She did it. She’s going to win.
I couldn’t stop staring at Zoe’s beautiful butter-yellow hair.
‘Hmm, not sure if yellow’s my thing,’ said Zoe, playing it up for the audience. A few people were taking photos, but most of the parents were just sitting there in shock. ‘How about my absolute favourite, Perfect Purple.’ Zoe gave me a smug look, and bam! the colour changed again, this time to a bright purple.
