by Coco Simon
I was kidding, but I ended up being right—mostly. As it turned out it would take a whole team of people with superhelping powers to save the fashion show!
CHAPTER 16
“Wing It”? Are You Serious?
Olivia made sure the next Fashion Club meeting was on a Wednesday, but I made sure to go to it, even if it meant missing a Cupcake meeting. It was the last meeting before the fashion show, and I wanted to confirm that Olivia didn’t make any more crazy changes.
As usual, Olivia started talking at the start of the meeting, just like she was the president, but Beth didn’t seem to mind.
“So, we all know about our new theme,” Olivia said. “Chelsea, you picked out new music, right?”
Chelsea frowned. “I don’t know how to pick out ‘fun and flirty’ music.”
“That’s okay, I’ve got a lot of good songs on my iPod,” Olivia said, and Chelsea frowned again. I guessed I wasn’t the only one who was unhappy about the theme change.
“So, Mia’s mom is going to help us style the clothes,” Beth announced. “She, like, styles famous people.”
“Sometimes,” I said, trying to play it down, but actually I’m really proud of what my mom does. I just don’t like to brag about it. “We went to Trendz the other night and took some pictures. Mom put together some ideas, if you want to see.”
“Sure,” Beth said, and I took out a notebook Mom had prepared for me. She’d pasted a photo of each dress or outfit on a page, and then she’d either sketched her accessory ideas or added photos of some things she had that she was going to lend us.
“Like, here’s the dress I’m wearing,” I said, pointing to the page. “Mom’s idea was to pair it with this blue cropped sweater I have, and silver bangles, and she had the idea to wear heels with little blue ankle socks.”
“Looks pretty flirty to me,” Julia remarked.
“But I picked out a pink flowered dress for you,” Olivia blurted out.
“The green looks better on me,” I said simply.
Libby nodded. “Definitely.”
Everyone got excited looking through the book. Julia had a great necklace that would go with Beth’s outfit, and Jasmine had a scarf that she knew would go perfectly with the dress she was going to wear.
“Mom says she’ll come backstage and help us put our outfits together,” I informed everyone.
“I still say we should be doing this on our own,” Olivia said.
“It’s nice of Mia’s mom to help us,” Julia countered.
“And let’s face it, we could use some help getting this thing off the ground,” said Libby.
“Fine,” Olivia said. “Anyway, we need to talk about other stuff. Like how much we’re going to charge at the door.”
“We’re charging at the door?” I asked.
Olivia nodded. “We decided it at the last meeting, when you couldn’t make it. We can use the money when we go to New York City.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said. “Except the posters don’t say anything about admission. People are expecting a free show.”
Olivia picked up one of the posters, examined it, and scowled. “Well, so what?” she asked. “I’m sure they won’t mind supporting a school group.”
“But you have to tell them in advance,” I said, and I could hear my voice getting louder. Olivia is one of the only people who can make me lose my cool, and I hate that! I tried to calm down.
Luckily, Libby had an idea. “Well, we could ask for a donation. Like they do at a museum.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” I agreed. “If people don’t want to pay, they don’t have to, but I bet a lot of them will. We just need somebody to collect donations at the door.”
“One of us can do it,” Olivia suggested.
“We can’t, because we’ll all be backstage getting ready to model,” I shot back.
“I’m not modeling,” Chelsea said. “I can do it.”
“See?” Olivia said, shooting me a look.
“I thought Chelsea was going to play the music when the fashion show starts,” I said.
“She can do both,” Olivia said. “It’s no big deal.”
The meeting was starting to sound like a tennis match between me and Olivia. Every time she suggested something, I thought of a problem with it, and she had an answer for it.
I think we were making Beth anxious, because she said, “Well, it looks like we’re all set for Saturday.”
I couldn’t believe it. “Are you sure?” I asked. “I mean, I’ve never run a fashion show, but I’ve done events with the Cupcake Club before, and there’s usually a bunch of stuff we have to figure out. Like when we’re getting there to set up and how we’ll handle cleanup and where things are going to go. Don’t we need to figure out where the models are going to line up and stuff like that?”
“Oh, right.” Beth sat back down. “We were going to go visit the club to check it out, and I totally forgot. Do you think we can get there early and figure it out then?”
I nodded. “Probably. I’ll ask my mom.”
“So, then, let’s try to get there at, like, four, and we’ll figure it out when we get there,” Beth said. “We can wing it.”
“Wing it”? Had she actually said that? If we ever “winged it” at a Cupcake event, we’d have no clients. I started to panic.
“We should at least get a list together of what everybody is doing and bringing,” I suggested, trying desperately to think of what Alexis would do in this situation.
“Why don’t you get that together and e-mail all of us?” Olivia asked.
That wasn’t what I had in mind, but I guess it was better than nothing. “Well, yeah, um, I guess I can do that.”
“Cool. See everybody on Saturday,” Beth said, standing up again.
I left the meeting feeling kind of worried, so the first thing I did when I got home was type up the list.
Setup, 4:00, Saturday: All FC members
Decorations: Was Julia bringing balloons and Beth
bringing flowers? I forget.
Models: Beth, Olivia, Libby, Jasmine, Mia, Julia,
Callie, Maggie, Bella, Mikayla, Lucy, Sophie
Models get dressed: 6:00
Doors open: 6:30
Donations at front door: Chelsea
Music: Prepared by Olivia, run by Chelsea
Emcee: We didn’t think of this. Beth since she’s
president?
Cleanup: All FC members
It wasn’t the way Alexis would do a list, but it looked pretty good to me. I e-mailed it to the FC members right away. Beth e-mailed me back “Cool!” and Julia sent a smiley face. Nobody else responded, and that wasn’t a good sign.
I sighed. I had done everything I could. Now there was nothing to do but “wing it” and hope for the best!
CHAPTER 17
Cupcake Club to the Rescue!
Mom and I got to the Women’s Club’s room at four o’clock on Saturday. Mom had a key so she could open up the place. We walked into the big open space that the craft fair had been held in. Dozens of folding chairs were stacked up against one wall.
“The other girls should be here soon,” I said a little nervously.
“Well, we can start bringing in the clothes,” Mom said. “There’s a room to the side that will make a good setup area for the models. Everyone can change in the back bathroom.”
We had gone to the mall in the morning and picked up all the clothes. Now we unloaded them from the back of Mom’s car. Each time I carried in a load of the heavy clothing, I looked at the clock. Where was everybody?
Finally, at four thirty, Julia walked in carrying a bouquet of wrapped-up pink carnations.
“Hey, Mia,” she said, and then I introduced her to my mom. Then Julia held up the flowers. “So, what should we do with these?”
“Um, I’m not sure,” I said. “I actually thought you were supposed to bring balloons.”
“I thought your e-mail said flowers,” Julia rep
lied with a shrug. She looked around. “I guess I need a vase or something.”
“Why don’t you girls concentrate on setting up the chairs?” Mom suggested. “Once everything is arranged, I’ll bet you’ll know exactly where to put the flowers.”
“How should we set them up?” I asked.
Mom looked around the room. “Well, you won’t have a proper runway for the show. But I’d still do a wide aisle in the middle of the room. And leave some space by the back, where the models will step out, so everyone will have a good view of the models when they first come out.”
“That makes sense,” Julia and I agreed, and we started setting up the folding chairs in rows on either side of the room. As I set up chair after chair I looked at the clock again. It was getting late.
“Is Chelsea coming soon?” I asked Julia, because I knew she and Chelsea were friends.
“Oh, she has a cold,” Julia said. “She can’t come, but she says good luck.”
I stopped. “What? But she’s supposed to be at the front door. And work the music.”
“Well, maybe I could do it,” Julia suggested.
“But you’re modeling,” I said. “We’re all modeling!”
I was starting to panic, and that’s when Olivia breezed in.
“Oh, so you were just going to set it up yourselves?” she asked.
I couldn’t believe her. “We were supposed to all get here at four. It’s after five. We needed to get started.”
“Whatever,” Olivia said. She took her iPod out of her purse. “So, where can I plug this in?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. “I thought you and Chelsea had that worked out. And Chelsea’s not coming. She has a cold.”
“Calm down,” Olivia said. “I’ll just text Callie and tell her to bring her speakers when she comes.” Olivia typed into her phone. “So, where are the clothes?”
I nodded to the door in the back of the room. “Through there.”
Then things started to get crazy. Beth got there next, followed by Libby and Jasmine.
“Sorry we’re late,” Libby said, “but my mom drove both of us, and I had a swim meet and it went late.”
Beth looked around the room. “Wow, it looks good in here. Thanks.” Then she held out a bunch of flowers wrapped in paper. “So, is there a vase for these or something?”
“You brought flowers too,” I stated. Of course. “Um, I don’t think there’s a vase. But maybe we can do something cool with all the flowers.”
“Maybe we could tie some flowers to the chair at the end of each row,” Julia said. “I saw that at my aunt’s wedding.”
“That would actually look pretty,” I said. “Only we need ribbon. Let me go ask my mom.”
I found Mom in the back room. “Olivia’s getting changed,” she said. “How’s the setup going?”
I explained about the flower idea, and Mom found some ribbon for us in one of the closets. Beth, Julia, Libby, Jasmine, and I worked together to attach the flowers, and they did look really pretty.
Just as we finished, Lucy and Sophie came into the room. They’re friends with the Cupcake Club, but since they’re, like, mega best friends, they mostly hang out together. They were followed by a girl with curly dark hair who looked a lot like Julia.
“Mikayla!” Julia ran and gave her a hug, and I realized this must be the cousin she was talking about.
Before I could send the models to the back room, Olivia came out in her outfit. She had on one of those supershort skirts from Trendz—a pink one—and a white sleeveless top with lace around the collar. My mom had added a short boyfriend blazer that had a small pink-flowered print, and Olivia’s dangly earrings had a pearl on each end. She looked totally adorable.
“How do I look?” she asked, and everybody swarmed around her, complimenting her.
“You look sooooo cute!” Julia exclaimed.
“Fun and flirty,” Libby remarked.
“I can’t wait to see what we’re going to wear,” Lucy said. “Can we get changed too?”
She asked nobody in particular, but I kind of felt like I was in charge at this point.
“Well, the space is set up. We just need a table in the front,” I answered, and then I remembered we had no one to sit at the table. Or a speaker for the music. “Olivia, is Callie coming soon with the speaker?’
“Oh, Callie and Maggie aren’t coming,” Olivia said. “They had some, like, drama club practice or something.”
You know how people say “that was the last straw”? Meaning they can’t take it anymore? That’s exactly how I felt.
I didn’t freak out. I didn’t even say anything. I just walked to the nearest folding chair and sat down.
Nobody noticed. They all followed Olivia into the back to change. I thought I might start crying when the door opened again.
“Mia, it looks so nice in here!”
It was Katie, holding a cupcake carrier! Alexis and Emma came in behind her, and they were holding carriers too.
“What did you—I mean, what are you guys doing here?” I asked.
“We couldn’t let you do your fashion show without cupcakes,” Katie replied. “You aren’t mad, are you?”
I jumped up and hugged her. “No way! You guys are awesome!”
“We should set up in that corner,” Alexis said, nodding to the right. “I’ll go get a table.”
Seeing my friends made me feel so much better.
“How’s everything going?” Emma asked.
“Well, not so great, I guess,” I admitted. “We’re missing models, and we have no one to work the door and no way to play music. It’s a disaster. You guys were right all along. I never should have done this.”
“That’s not true!” Katie said. “It looks nice in here. And you have clothes and stuff, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”
Alexis put her cupcakes on the table she had set up and walked over.
“We can help you with all that stuff you mentioned,” she said.
“Of course we can!” Emma added.
I hesitated. I had wanted so badly to prove I could handle the whole Fashion Club thing on my own. But then I remembered something Mom had said, about how I don’t have to fix everything myself all the time.
“That would be great,” I said.
Alexis immediately went into business mode. “For some reason Dylan said she was coming to this thing, so I’ll text her and tell her to bring my iPod speakers. I can work the front door too. Are you selling tickets?”
I shook my head. “No, we didn’t put it on the poster. We’re accepting donations, though.”
“Great, then you won’t need change. Let me set something up,” she said, and then hurried off.
“And I can model for you,” Emma offered.
“Oh, that would be perfect!” I squealed. “But I still need one more.”
Emma and I both looked at Katie. She held up her hands and started to back away.
“Ohhh, no,” she said. “I do not model. Look at me!”
Katie had come dressed in her Cupcake Club T-shirt, ripped jeans, and a pair of sneakers that she had painted with rainbow designs.
“We have clothes for you,” I told her. “All you have to do is put them on and walk. That’s it.”
“You have to do it,” Emma said. “I’ll help you.”
“Pleeeeeease?” I begged.
Katie sighed. “All right! All right! But if I trip and fall on my face, then I told you so.”
I looked at the clock and realized I should probably get changed too. I grabbed my outfit and went into the bathroom to get changed. When I came out, Katie was standing in front of me wearing a frilly, yellow cheetah-print dress and making a face.
“I look ridiculous,” she said.
She was kind of right, but I didn’t want to let on that it was true. Katie is really cute, but that dress wouldn’t look good on anybody.
“Let’s see what my mom can do,” I said, and we went into the back ro
om. Mom was working it like the pro she is.
“Lucy, take off that necklace! It doesn’t work. Julia and Mikayla, switch scarves!”
I tapped her on the shoulder. “Mom.”
She turned and saw Katie, and her eyebrows went up. “Wow, that is some dress. Let’s see what we can do.”
Olivia came over. “Oh, that dress—”
“I know,” said Mom. “It’s pretty bad, but I’m a professional. I can fix it.”
Olivia’s face fell, and everything was kind of worth it for that one minute.
Since my outfit was all set, I went to the front to see what was happening. Alexis was expertly handling the crowd at the door. I was kind of surprised by how many people had showed up.
“Admission is free, but the Fashion Club appreciates your donations,” Alexis was saying, and the woman in front of her opened her purse and dropped five bucks into the donation can Alexis had fashioned for us. I realized it was Mrs. Carr, the English teacher. I also saw Nikki on line, as well as Mrs. Barrows from the Women’s Club, and a bunch of girls from school.
Feeling nervous, I rushed to the back room. “There are a lot of people out there,” I said.
“We should start lining you all up,” Mom said. “Did you work out the order?”
I shook my head, and Mom looked at her watch. “I’d better do it, if you don’t mind.”
“No, do it,” I said, relieved. “Beth is going to introduce us, so maybe she should be the last to walk, so it all comes around full circle.”
Mom nodded. “That’ll work.”
The next half hour was a blur as we all put finishing touches on our outfits and Mom lined us up. I was glad that she put me right between Katie and Emma. Emma looked adorable in a light blue flowered dress, and Mom had given Katie a cardigan to wear that really toned down the cheetah print. Emma had lent Katie the flats she was wearing, so that Katie wouldn’t have to worry about walking down the runway.
Alexis came into the room. “You guys ready? Dylan brought my speakers. Whose iPod are we using?”
Olivia ran up to her. “Here it is. It’s the Fun and Flirty playlist.”
“Got it,” Alexis said, and then she ran out.