I hadn’t really thought of it that way.
Kids had started coming into Ms. Avery’s room, but I had something to ask Marina. “So,” I said, “do you have any advice on talking to my parents? I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re kind of good at getting people to do things.”
“Oh yeah, so good.” Marina snorted.
“I’m serious.”
From the way her cheeks had pinked up, I could tell my comment had pleased her. She put on her backpack. “Well, okay. So, the problem was that they wanted you to take Test Prep, but you changed the form and lied to them?”
“Yeah. And that I made Priyanka help me.”
“Okay.” Marina stared out the window, thinking. “What do you think would happen if you just told your mom you were making a video?”
I moved to the side so someone could grab a jacket off the desk. “Just told her?” I didn’t see the plan in that.
“Yeah. Here, walk me to my locker.”
The bell hadn’t rung yet, so I stood up. “Why should they let me?”
“I don’t know.” We headed into the hall, where the sound of lockers slamming was deafening. “Why do you think they should let you?”
I walked slowly, trying to think despite the noise. “They always say they want me to work hard and accomplish something. I think the video is accomplishing something. It’s not easy—”
Marina stopped at her locker. “That’s for sure—”
“And I think they would like it, actually. I think they would be, I don’t know, kind of . . . proud.” My face grew a little warm when I said the last part.
“That’s great,” said Marina, twirling her locker combination. “Tell them that.”
“But . . . I thought you were going to come up with a plan.”
Marina shook her head. “I’m not so good with the plans these days. Really, just tell them what you told me.” She pulled the books from her locker and snapped her lock shut.
“Okay,” I said, “but if it doesn’t go well, I’m coming to your house for dinner tonight.”
Later that evening, I practically floated down the hall to my room. It felt like the air was humming as I clicked the door shut behind me.
Priyanka looked up from her desk. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Absolutely nothing. I asked Ma and Papa if it was okay for me to keep working on the video at lunch, and they said yes!”
“They did!” Priyanka put down her pencil. “I can’t believe it. Why?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.” I tried to replay the conversation, the thought of which had made me twirl my ring so much earlier that day, I’d nearly worn a groove in my thumb. “They just said that since it wasn’t interfering with my schoolwork, and I’d come to them for permission, it was okay.”
“Oh.” Priyanka opened her container of pencil leads and poured them into her hand. “That’s . . . I mean . . . that’s good.”
“What?” I went to sit on the bottom bunk. “I thought you’d be happy.”
“I am. I just . . .” She put one lead on the desk and tried to slide the rest back into the container. “Maybe I should have asked to join chorus after all. I thought they’d say no because it goes until five . . .” One of the leads dropped, and she pressed her finger against the desk to pick it up.
“You can ask,” I said. I didn’t even know she liked to sing. “Maybe they’re even in a good mood now. You know, from—”
“No.” She slid the last lead in with the others. “You have to be in chorus from the beginning of the year.”
“Oh.” My heart squeezed a little. “That’s too bad.”
She shrugged and loaded up her pencil. “It’s okay.”
“I’m sure you can be in chorus in high school,” I said. “Just think—no Test Prep, and a whole year before you have to start worrying about the SATs!”
“If I get into Stuyvesant,” she said, trying out her new lead. “If I don’t, I bet Ma and Papa will make me apply for tenth grade.”
“Ugh.” The thought made me shudder. Priyanka didn’t seem bothered by the thought, though, and had already gone back to her homework. “Want me to quiz you on the vocab?” I asked. We both had quizzes in Test Prep the next day.
“When I’m done with my science,” she said, circling something in her textbook. “That would be great.”
I pulled my independent-reading book off the top bunk. “You know,” I said, “Ma and Papa told me they wanted to see my video when I was done. I bet they would really like it if you let me interview you.”
Priyanka snorted, but I could tell she liked that I’d asked again. “We’ll see.”
As I settled onto the bottom bunk with my book, I glanced down at my ring. The heavy gold lines twined around the onyx, making my fingers look longer, stronger. Nani, I thought, thank you for giving me this ring, for calmness in the face of struggle, and for my family, who tries to make me into the person I want to be.
MARINA’S LITTLE BLACK BOOKENTRY #21
* Best Idea: Sachi Parikh
You want to show the video in the lab? You are a genius!
* Most Talented Directors: Marina Glass and Sachi Parikh
Duh! Double duh!
“Wow,” said Rachel, looking around the video lab, “I can’t believe all these people are here.”
“I know!” I was squealing like Addie, but I didn’t care—all the chairs were taken! Not just with Elizabeth and our group, and Sachi’s friends and her sister, but with Crystal, Natasha, and Julian, his feet up on the chair in front of him. He was laughing with Crystal and Natasha, and I thought, Keep him in a good mood, ladies. I want him to think this video is the biggest woo in school.
“Reener! Rachel!” Addie thumped the seats next to her. “Come sit!”
“Coming!” Rachel called. Then she hissed, “Marina?”
“What?”
“How’s my hair?”
I looked at her half bun. “Fine.”
“Good,” she whispered back, “because I really think today is the day that Mr. Phillips is going to notice me.”
I laughed as Rachel made her way to her seat. Then I mouthed to Addie, “I need to be up here.” Sachi and I had to start the video, and Mr. Phillips wanted us to introduce ourselves—hotness! I was so glad Sachi had suggested that we ask to show our video in the video lab. This was way cooler than the Arts Assembly. It was an exclusive screening.
“All right, girls.” Mr. Phillips came up to the front of the room, where Sachi and I were huddled in the corner. “Are you ready?”
I gulped. Sachi and I been working on our video for weeks now, and I had been excited to show it to people, but now they were actually going to see it! Then I remembered all the good things my mom had said about our video the week before, when she’d found me working on it. Even if her idea of hot fashion was pumpkin pants, it was cool to hear her say the video looked like it could be on TV.
I told Mr. Phillips, “We’re ready.”
“Good,” said Mr. Phillips. “Go ahead.” He nodded at the front of the room. I followed Sachi over there, my mouth suddenly dry.
“Hi, everyone,” said Sachi, her hands clasped together. “Thanks for coming to our video”—she glanced at me, and I filled in the title—“When It’s Hot, When It’s Not, and When It’s Hot, Hot, Hot.”
“Word!” called Julian, and my heart leapt. Everyone started clapping, even Mr. Phillips and—whoa! Ms. Avery was here! Sachi and I looked at each other as if to say, Yikes! Here we go!
“So,” said Sachi, “I guess I’ll press ‘play’ now.”
Everybody laughed, and I smiled. Go, Sachi.
She bent down and started the video, and we hurried to the side of the room to watch.
Sachi and Marina’s Video
NARRATOR’S VOICE (MARINA)
There are so many different trends in this world.
VICTIM/VICTORIOUS footage: Rachel, Chelsea, Madison, Addie, Crystal, and Natasha on the red
carpet. They strut. They laugh. They applaud themselves.
PAN: school lobby. T-shirts with tank tops underneath. Hoodies, leggings, flats. Saggy jeans, basketball sneakers.
NARRATOR’S VOICE (SACHI)
With all of those choices, how do people know—when it’s hot, when it’s not, and when it’s hot, hot, hot?
CUT TO: interviews.
INTERVIEWER (Sachi)
So, how do you choose what to wear?
TESSA
I don’t know. I guess I buy whatever’s in the stores I like.
INTERVIEWER (SACHI)
How do you decide which stores to go to?
TESSA
Just . . . wherever my friends and I go . . . and I guess I just buy what looks good on me. And what my mom says I’m allowed to wear.
People laughed. I nudged Sachi and grinned. I remembered Mr. Phillips saying, “If they laugh in the first minute, you’ve got ’em.” Maybe we’d got ’em. Which was good, because after the part with Sachi’s friends, there was a part that made me nervous: my friends.
It had taken me almost a week after we’d made up to ask if I could interview them. When Sachi had asked, I’d put her off, saying, “I think we need to look at the title colors again.” Eventually, though, she’d told me, “I think we’re running out of things to edit. Do you think you can talk to your friends?”
I hadn’t even told them I was doing another video; I’d just let them think I had detention during lunch. When I had made up with Elizabeth, I’d promised that I would never do anything else like Victim/Victorious, and I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t taking it seriously.
But finally, one afternoon at my house, I had told my friends about the new video and asked if I could interview them. At first Rachel had said “No thanks” and stuffed a Milano in her mouth.
“Please?” I asked. “You’re, like, the only one of us who dresses different.” I tried to ignore the bad luck of Milano the Cookie, who was being chomped to death between Rachel’s jaws.
“I don’t know,” Rachel said around her mouthful. “I just keep thinking about what happened last time.”
At the kitchen table, Elizabeth was gripping her Pepper bottle with both hands.
“Our video is nothing like last time,” I said, “so don’t worry. It’s just—if you don’t do it, Sachi’s friends will be the only ones talking about how they know what’s hot, and, I don’t know. I think we should be in it too.”
Rachel swallowed Mr. Milano. “Well, we don’t want those girls to represent fashion.”
“Right.” I didn’t exactly love her bad-mouthing Sachi’s friends, but I wasn’t going to mention that right now.
“Okay, fine.” Rachel reached for the cookie bag and sighed. “Just let me know when, so I can bring on the hotness.”
I knew I was going to laugh, so I grabbed my Pepper and gulped. Across the room Elizabeth was doing the same thing. Oh, thank God for Elizabeth. As long as one person knew that Rachel was a drama queen, I could sit through a thousand Milano stories.
Ooh—the part with my friends was coming up. I leaned in closer.
ADDIE
How do I know what looks good? Um, I like the things at Abercrombie.
MADISON
Abercrombie.
CHELSEA
Abercrombie.
ADDIE
Oh, and Hollister.
MADISON
Hollister.
CHELSEA
I like Hollister.
Everybody laughed at that one. I couldn’t believe it. When Sachi had said it would be funny to show everybody agreeing with each other, I’d said, “Why is that funny? Everybody knows what’s cool.” Hearing people laughing now, I realized it was weird that so many people thought the same thing. But wasn’t that fashion? Wasn’t that life?
Ooh . . . next up was the boys. This part was definitely funny.
INTERVIEWER (SACHI)
And how do you decide what to wear?
ALEX
If it’s cold, I put on a sweater.
If it’s hot, I put on a T-shirt. I don’t, like, think about it.
Rachel whispered to Elizabeth, “That’s your boyfriend!” Elizabeth sank low in her seat and Rachel grinned.
INTERVIEWER (MARINA)
How do you decide what to wear?
JULIAN
I like those guys selling sweatshirts on 125th Street.
BOY’S VOICE (offscreen)
You buy your clothes on the street?
JULIAN
Shut up, man! It’s cool!
Once again, everyone cracked up. Julian pumped his fists in the air. Score! Conversation after the video, for sure. I didn’t even need to worry about fighting off Rachel, since she now claimed to be in love with the guy playing the lead in the play.
NARRATOR (SACHI)
As you can see, a lot of people look at what’s going on around them to tell them what’s in style. But some people get inspiration from a different place: themselves.
PHOEBE
When I was in second grade, I decided to wear an apron to school. My mom and I had been cooking the night before, and I had worn this cute little orange apron with pink flowers. I liked it so much that I thought, This looks great. I’m going to wear this to school tomorrow over my jeans.
Then I got to school and my best friend was like, “Why are you wearing an apron?” And I was like, “Um . . . I don’t know!” It didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore, so I put it in my locker.
That part always made me wonder: What was Phoebe’s friend like now? Was she anything like me? Had she ever wanted to do what I had done to the person who was being interviewed next—Rachel?
RACHEL
People here just wear a tiny little bit of what looks good. There are a million different things to wear, and I think, why not wear them?
CUT TO: Rachel leaning against a locker, wearing a wrap dress and knee-high boots.
CUT TO: Rachel wearing pearl necklaces wound around her wrists.
I looked at the real Rachel, who was holding out her arm and grinning, showing off the necklace bracelet I’d given her as a “thank you for being in my video” present. I still thought those things were butt-ugly, but it hadn’t killed me to spend five dollars on something I knew she’d like. Her clothes didn’t give me Parmesan mouth so much these days, anyway.
I had to admit I was kind of sick of thinking about clothes all the time. Eventually I wanted to make a video about something completely different. Would I write a script again? Stick with interviews? Who knew? Whatever it was, I knew I could make it hot, hot, hot.
SACHI’S VIDEO NIGHTMARE JUST PLAIN VIDEO #22.0
INTERIOR. THE VIDEO LAB—DAY
A fascinated audience sits in rows. Sachi and Marina stand by a wall, watching in excitement.
But Sachi’s face clouds over.
They had liked it so far—a lot. Alex had pumped his fist during his little interview, and Tessa’s friends had all patted her on the back when she’d said the thing about her apron. But now we were coming to the part that had been the hardest for me to edit.
NARRATOR (SACHI)
What makes you decide to dress differently from most people?
LAINEY
Halloween is my favorite holiday, so why shouldn’t every day be Halloween? Wearing boring clothes all the time is just . . . boring.
CUT TO: picture of Lainey, sitting back in a chair, her pink Converse high-tops resting on the seat in front of her, her legs covered in stripy socks.
CUT TO: picture of girls waiting on line for a movie, wearing Converse high-tops and stripy socks.
Next to me Flora muttered something to Lainey.
“No,” said Lainey, “I knew.”
I’d been surprised when Marina told me that Lainey’s look wasn’t as original as I’d thought. “Sorry,” she’d said. “But here, let me show you.” She image-searched “girls wearing Converse sneakers” and instantly came with a whole page of pictures.
“Oh no,” I said. “The whole point was that she was original. This just makes it look like she’s copying people.”
“Most people are copying somebody,” Marina said. “Rachel definitely is.”
“I guess.” I stared at the screen full of girls who were dressed so much like Lainey, some of whom even had armfuls of bracelets. “Although—my sister and that koala bear key chain—no one has that.”
“True,” Marina agreed, closing the Google window. “She’s on her own there.”
When I thought of it that way, the koala bear was kind of cool.
“We should put that in the video, actually,” Marina said, reopening the Internet. “People who think they’re being original but really aren’t.”
“Really?” I looked at her uneasily. “I don’t want to seem like I’m putting Lainey down.”
“I’m not trying to slam her,” Marina said, “but we shouldn’t not include it. I mean, this is about how people know what’s popular, right?”
Part of me had wanted to keep it a secret from Lainey, or to not invite her to the screening. But then I’d decided, no. I was anti-sneaking. I would tell her.
Lainey hadn’t been surprised. “I never said I was the only person who dressed like that,” she’d told me over the phone (I had gotten my phone privileges back!). “I’m just the only person at Jacobs who dresses that way, but all my friends from my old school have bicycle-chain necklaces.”
NARRATOR (SACHI)
A lot of people are afraid to dress differently because they think people will make fun of them. What would you tell them?
LAINEY
If you wear weird clothes, some people will make fun of you. But so what? You can’t make everyone happy, so you might as well make yourself happy.
PHOEBE
You know, I kind of wish I’d told my friend, “I like my apron! I’m going to keep wearing my apron.”
That was my favorite part. It was the reason I’d used my birthday money to buy a navy turtleneck sweater I’d seen on sale. Wearing it with one of the mirrored scarves my cousin had given me, I felt cool and grown-up, like the women on the direct this poster. Okay, so maybe I was too excited about a piece of clothing, but everybody needed to wear something.
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