Glitter Girl

by Toni Runkle

  But Zoe kept her mouth shut because a lot of perks came with having Kat as a friend. As she sucked out the last few tiny, white chocolate chips that had stuck inside her straw, she was sure that Chelsea was going to announce that she, Zoe Palmer, was going to be the Face of Glitter Girl. And that would go a long way to launching her career as a pop star.

  “You’re probably wondering why I invited you here, Zoe,” said Chelsea, sipping on her Venti Latte—skinny, of course.

  Not really, but I’ll act surprised when you tell me, thought Zoe, though she said, “Yeah. Sorta.”

  “Well, we have a problem.”

  Zoe shifted in her seat. This wasn’t how she expected it to begin, the announcement that she was the Face of Glitter Girl.

  “We do?”

  “Yes. I think you know what it is.”

  Zoe had absolutely no clue what Chelsea was talking about. So instead of replying, she just chewed on the end of her straw.

  “Jules,” said Chelsea finally.

  “Jules?” asked Zoe, staring straight at Chelsea, surprised.

  “Yes. I’m afraid she’s causing some serious problems with Kat and the whole Glitter Girl launch campaign.”

  Suddenly the images dancing in Zoe’s mind of becoming the Face of Glitter Girl started to disintegrate.

  “Jules is a loser,” said Zoe, irritated now that she was sure this meeting wasn’t turning out how she expected.

  “You know that. And I know that. I’m afraid Kat doesn’t seem to quite get it yet.”

  “Yeah. Kat’s weird when it comes to Jules. They’ve been friends so long she doesn’t see what everyone else sees. But I wouldn’t worry about it. You just have to ignore Jules. It’s what I usually do.”

  “Well, normally I would, but she’s threatening to undermine the whole launch of Glitter Girl this Saturday,” said Chelsea.

  Zoe wasn’t exactly sure what the word “undermine” meant, but she knew Jules. So she figured it had something to do with Jules causing a stink.

  “You see, Jules’s birthday party is the same day as the launch.”

  “So?”

  “So. Kat promised she’d go to the party.”

  “And she’s going?”

  Suddenly Zoe was feeling hopeful again. If Kat was stupid enough to give up her Glitter Girl opportunity, that meant that Zoe could actually have the chance.

  “Well, I’m not sure what she’s thinking, frankly,” said Chelsea, “but she absolutely has to be at the Glitter Girl launch. And since you’re Kat’s closest, best, and most important confidante and friend, I came to you because I knew you could help me make sure of that.”

  Zoe was irritated again. Why should she help Kat when she, Zoe, was the obvious choice for Glitter Girl?

  “What difference does it make if Kat doesn’t want to go?” Zoe said almost reflexively. “There are probably plenty of girls who’d be just as good, better even, at being the Face of Glitter Girl.” Including me, she added in her mind.

  “Perhaps. But the plans have been made. The press packets have been printed. If Kat doesn’t go, well, let’s just say I’ll have to pull the plug on the whole thing and no one will be going.” Chelsea made sure to emphasize the “no one” because she wasn’t fooled for one second by this Zoe girl and her motivations. She would stab Kat in the back to get to the top. Chelsea actually liked that about her. Unfortunately, she had none of the innate style Kat had. She did have something Kat didn’t have, though, and that was a desperate need to belong, to be part of the “in” crowd. Yes, Chelsea knew this girl well, because this girl was her customer. And Chelsea knew exactly how to prey on that desperation.

  “Yes. If Kat doesn’t go, we’ll have to strike her from the program and take back all the backstage VIP passes she passed out. We might even have to change the venue to Chicago.”

  Zoe was horrified. Not go to the launch? Not be part of the VIP entourage backstage? No concert or giveaways or maybe even a chance to get her face in front of the cameras that were going to be there from every news channel? There was even a rumor that snarky celebrity blogger Gomez Endicott was coming to cover the event, and he was her absolute favorite! No, as much as she thought she was the perfect choice for Glitter Girl, she was not going to let this opportunity go down the drain.

  “Well, I wouldn’t want Kat to make a big mistake with her life. As her friend, I’ll do anything to keep that from happening,” said Zoe. “What do you need me to do?”

  Chelsea held up a little flower pin. Zoe recognized it as one of the slam cams each of the girls had gotten in her goodie bag at the slumber party.

  “There’s something recorded on here that might eliminate our little problem,” said Chelsea, and she smiled a smile that made a little chill go down Zoe’s back.

  Chapter 15

  One May Smile and Smile, and Be a Villain

  The countdown was on, and Jules was totally excited. A few days until her birthday and it was going to be the best one ever. Not only was Kat going to be there as planned, but it was taking place at her favorite event ever—the annual Renaissance Pleasure Faire—and most of the Shakespeare Club had promised to dress in period costume along with her. Ms. Donovan had even made arrangements for the club to head over to the high school before the Faire to check out its costume department.

  Not only that, but the Willkie Madrigal Club, a Renaissance singing group that Jules was also a member of, had gotten picked to sing “Greensleeves.” They were going to perform it just before the 3 p.m. jousting match to warm up the audience. Ms. Donovan told Jules to practice singing her solo part in the song extra loudly because the crowd at the Faire tended to be packed with bawdy revelers. Jules was totally stoked. She had sung solos before, but never in front of so many people. It was going to be great!

  She was a little worried about Kat, though. They’d barely spoken since Kat had tried to bag on her birthday party a couple of days before. Jules felt a little bad about being so harsh to her. She knew how much the whole Glitter Girl thing meant to Kat. But shouldn’t their friendship mean more? And what about giving your word? Kat had promised to come to her party long before the whole stupid contest came along. Besides Jules would never, ever bag out on Kat. So she felt she had done right by digging in her heels.

  Still, as excited as Jules was every time she checked her computer and got a “will attend” RSVP on the Evites she’d sent out, eventually a little pang of guilt would trickle in. Not only about forcing Kat to miss the Glitter Girl launch, but it also occurred to Jules that Kat would really feel out of place at the Faire. It wasn’t her scene, for sure. Then again, Jules suffered through a lot in the name of her friendship with Kat—Darcy and Zoe, to name two things. Still, would it be so horrible for Jules to let Kat off the hook? After all, Kat had proved her allegiance by choosing the birthday party over the launch. Anyway, they could have a second special celebration later.

  Jules was having the whole debate in her head for the hundredth time that day as she sat down at her computer after school. Checking her Evite page was the first thing she did when she got up in the morning and when she got home from school.

  She turned on her laptop and went straight for her emails to see if there were any new RSVPs when she noticed an anonymous email in her inbox. Because she didn’t recognize the address she almost deleted it, but in the “subject” box someone had written “Jules. You are going to want to see this.”

  Puzzled, Jules clicked on the email. There was nothing in the body of the email—only a WMV video file attachment titled “With friends like these—”

  She hesitated for a moment. She knew her dad had always told her not to open any attachment from someone she didn’t know because of all the viruses flying around the Internet. However, this one seemed to be begging to be watched. Finally, Jules double-clicked on the attachment. Her media player automatically opened and a video app
eared in the window. She was fully prepared to see one of those crazy videos that Sasha from Shakespeare Club occasionally sent her, like the Shakespeare’s “Who’s on First?” video, an Elizabethan twist on the old Abbott and Costello vaudeville routine. It was quite brilliant, she had to admit, and she was looking forward to something of equal amusement.

  Jules sat back in her chair and sipped on her iced green tea as the video started. It took her a second to register that what she was seeing wasn’t any spoof of the Bard. Instead, while it was something from out of the past, it was the very recent past, like last weekend. Specifically, the Glitter Girl slumber party last weekend. And the players weren’t performers from the Internet, but Jules and Kat.

  Jules stared openmouthed as she watched the argument that she and Kat had had unfold on the screen.

  “Hey, stop. Don’t be that way,” Kat was saying as she chased Jules onto the front porch of the house. Whoever was videotaping had stopped at the foyer and, instead of following Kat out of the house, had moved to the front window. The window was open, so this secret video could therefore capture every word that was being said. Though it was dark outside, the porch light was on, and both Kat and Jules could distinctly be seen as well.

  “What way? You mean be myself, unlike some people I know?” Jules watched herself spew the words and was a little surprised by how harsh she had sounded.

  “I’m just having fun. What’s wrong with that?” Kat had said as she pulled off her hat. Jules watched this feeling a little vindicated, knowing that Kat knew how stupid the hat looked.

  “If being a sell-out is your idea of fun, I don’t want any part of it,” Jules had said and then stormed off.

  A painful sense of embarrassment came flooding over Jules as she watched this, thinking maybe she had made too much of a scene. And maybe she even owed Kat a little bit of an apology of her own. Talk about being a drama queen. Yikes!

  She fully expected the video to stop there, but it didn’t. It kept going and whoever was shooting continued taping as Kat walked back into the house.

  “I am soooo sorry for that whole scene,” Kat seemed to say to the camera.

  “I told you not to invite her,” Jules heard Zoe’s unmistakable snotty voice off camera. There were several murmurs of agreement. Jules was mortified knowing that apparently everyone had witnessed this scene.

  “I guess I should have left her off the list like we had planned in the first place.” Jules was stunned. She had suspected it that morning when Kat had gotten into the Prius and acted all weird toward her and avoided her all day. Her suspicions had been right on. And here was the proof, coming from Kat herself.

  “Then why did you invite her?” It was Chelsea’s voice this time. Jules wanted to know the answer as much as Chelsea obviously did. So despite the hurt she was feeling, she kept watching.

  “Well, I don’t know, I—uh—her brother was standing there—”

  “Her brother is really cute,” Zoe again, offscreen.

  “Yeah. And I felt guilty. And, and I guess, I guess it was like a, you know, a pity invite!” said Kat.

  ZZZT! And the video clip ended. Jules sat there, her face hot and red, a burning feeling in her chest, tears swimming in her eyes. A pity invite? That’s what she was? That’s the only reason Kat had invited her? That, and trying to impress her dumb brother?

  The words stung. They produced actual physical pain, as hurtful as if she had been slapped in the face. And coming from her best friend too. Someone who was supposed to be her best friend anyway. It made the pain all the more unbearable.

  After the shock began to wear off, Jules slumped over. She buried her face in her hands and began to cry; deep, chest-rattling sobs that came from her very core.

  “Hey. You okay in there? I thought I heard crying,” came Kyle’s voice from the other side of her bedroom door.

  Jules mustered her best normal voice. “Nah. It was just a video I was watching.” Jules listened for a moment and then she heard Kyle’s footsteps recede down the hall.

  When she was sure he was out of earshot, Jules made her way over to her bed. She flung herself onto it, burying her face in her pillow, and cried for a very, very long time.

  Chapter 16

  The Winter of Kat’s Discontent

  The next morning, Kat woke up early. Not that she’d done a whole lot of sleeping the night before. She’d seen a segment on the Tracy Mulholland Show after school a few weeks before where some doctor told Tracy that most teenagers were sleep-deprived. After the last few days, she could believe it.

  But this morning, she finally felt like she knew what she had to do. If there had been any doubt in her mind, the conversation with her dad had convinced her. She’d call Chelsea as soon as school was out and let her know she had decided to attend Jules’s birthday party. It would hurt like heck to say so and to miss out on the cool launch party, but they did have forty-nine other Glitter Girl candidates to choose from. Chelsea could surely round up another girl from Indiana if they needed one. Maybe even Zoe. It wasn’t like she was a lock to get the thing anyway.

  She headed down the stairs and grabbed a low-fat yogurt from the fridge. She was on her own on Wednesday mornings. Her mom had an early Pilates class, and her dad wouldn’t be back from Geneva for at least another week. As Kat dug into her morning yogurt, she unplugged her cell phone from its charger next to the TV. She loved her smartphone, but it did suck up the battery life so quickly that if she didn’t charge it every night, she’d be without a phone the next day. For Kat, that was the same as being without some other little accessory in her life like, say, oxygen.

  Beep! Beep!

  The cell phone sprang to life, announcing a text message that had come in at some point after she turned off the phone the night before. There was just one message there. It was from Jules.

  Got 2 go in early today. Shakespeare stff. Can’t give u ride. Sorry. TTYL

  Huh? Jules almost never bagged out on giving her a ride. And why hadn’t she just called last night? What’s that about? Her mind immediately filled with thoughts of Jules trying to pull some kind of fast one on her, or Jules avoiding her altogether. But by the time her mom got back from Pilates, Kat had almost convinced herself that it had nothing to do with the weirdness between them the last few days.

  “Kat? Are you sick?” her mom asked, dropping her car keys into a dish next to the door. “First period has already started.”

  “Yeah, I know, but Jules couldn’t give me a ride today, so I was kind of stuck here until you came back.”

  “Honestly, today of all days.” Her mom sighed, grabbing the keys again and turning back toward the garage.

  The ride to school was uneventful, except for her mom’s speech about how Jules shouldn’t be so selfish and how it was important for everyone to do their fair share. Kat thought it would have been a more powerful point if her mom had given them a ride to school more than a handful of times since the beginning of the year. But her mom was rolling, and she was never one to let the facts get in the way of her complaining and indignation.

  First period was almost over when Kat arrived at Willkie, which meant that she had to go to Assistant Principal Noble’s office to get a tardy slip, something that she hated to do. Luckily Mr. Noble wasn’t there, so she was spared one of his lectures about punctuality, and she only had to deal with the attendance secretary, Mrs. Vettorazzi, who was always super nice, no matter how late you were.

  By the time Kat secured the tardy slip, the first period bell had already rung, and passing period was nearly over. That meant she wouldn’t see Jules until lunch. Even though Kat knew she’d chosen to do the right thing by going to Jules’s party, somehow it didn’t feel right. She couldn’t help thinking that Jules was ruining what should have been the best time of her life. She didn’t like thinking that, but there it was, just the same.

  The two periods until l
unchtime dragged on. It took seemingly forever for Ms. Jolly to explain how to count a dotted eighth note in music class. Then in computer class, Kat had to sit through five boring PowerPoint presentations her classmates had designed the week before. Boring PowerPoint presentations were bad enough, but today’s were particularly painful. Travis Gilroy had decided to use every transition in the entire software program, so it took forever to get from one slide to the next, and Angie Ferris still didn’t know how to get her presentation to play without a lot of help from Ms. Cardiff. But eventually and mercifully the bell rang and it was time for lunch.

  By the time Kat had worked her way through the lunch line and grabbed a Caesar salad and some applesauce, Zoe and Darcy were already sitting at their usual table. Jules was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn’t so surprising. Jules was a vegan and didn’t eat any meat or dairy products, so she always brought her own lunch to school and never went through the line with the other students. Sometimes she had eaten her entire lunch with the other brown baggers before Kat ever made it through the line, but she would usually turn up at their table when she finished. Kat scanned the lunchroom, and she saw the usual tables. There were the volleyball girls hanging out with the football boys. Then there were the band members sitting with the kids from show choir. And then…Jules. Sitting by herself. Not even with the Shakespeare Club.

  “Come on, you guys,” Kat said to Zoe and Darcy. “Let’s go sit with Jules.”

  Darcy dutifully jumped up, but Zoe sat glued to her seat as if she were held down by a giant magnet.

  “Come on, Zoe,” Kat said. “Lunch is almost over.”

  Zoe slowly got up and followed two steps behind Kat and Darcy. She would have preferred not to be around when the explosion occurred, like computer hackers who never saw the destruction they caused. But as long as it was going to go down right here at lunch, she might as well get a good look at it.