Dressed to Frill

by Chloe Taylor

  “I’m sorry, Zo. I know you wanted to dance the hora, but I really need to talk,” Kate said.

  “Are you okay?” Zoey asked, although it was pretty clear Kate wasn’t.

  “I finally told Tyler that I don’t appreciate how he’s always talking about how much he likes all the really girly stuff Libby wears—how it makes me feel bad,” Kate said. “Dressing like that just isn’t my style. It’s not who I am—at least not for now—and I want him to like me for who I am, not just for my clothes.”

  “What did he say?” Zoey asked.

  “He said he was sorry—that he didn’t mean to upset me. It’s just that he really likes Libby’s style. So then . . . Well, I said that if he likes Libby’s style so much, why doesn’t he just go out with Libby? Maybe they’d be a better match than him and me.”

  “Wow,” Zoey said. “What did he say?”

  “He said he really likes me, not Libby, and he’ll try to be more considerate in the future.”

  “That’s good, right?” Zoey said.

  “I guess,” Kate said. “But why did he compliment Libby’s dress and not say a word about mine? I changed it to a floral pattern mostly because I thought he would like it. I mean, I came around to the idea too, and now I love it, but it started because of him.”

  “I don’t know,” Zoey confessed. “But . . . I think it’s good you finally told him how you feel. And it sounds like he’s going to try to be more aware of the things he says.”

  “You’re right,” Kate said. “Thanks.”

  Zoey gave her friend a hug. “Anytime,” she said.

  “Come on. Let’s get back,” Kate said. “Ezra still has your top hat, which means you get another dance with him!”

  When they got back to the reception, Alvin and his assistant party motivators were rolling out huge sheets of Bubble Wrap onto the dance floor.

  “Are you ready to Snap, Crackle, and Pop?” Alvin asked when they were done.

  “That looks like fun!” Zoey exclaimed to Kate. They joined Priti and Libby on the edge of the dance floor.

  Just then she noticed Emily approach Ezra, who was standing by the dance floor, still wearing Zoey’s top hat. Emily smiled at Ezra and tilted her head toward the Bubble Wrap. Ezra shrugged and then shook his head. Emily tossed her hair and walked away.

  “Did you see that?” Priti exclaimed.

  “Yeah,” Zoey said. “I wonder what that was all about.”

  Then Priti nudged her with an elbow—Ezra was walking toward them.

  He smiled and handed Zoey back her top hat. “You probably want your prize back,” he said. “It looks cuter on you, anyway.”

  Zoey felt herself blushing. She hoped it wasn’t too obvious.

  “Hey, you know that girl who just asked me to dance?” Ezra asked.

  “Who, Emily?” Priti said.

  “Yeah. The one who was complaining about all the desserts. What’s her deal? Why is she so . . . complain-y?”

  “I don’t know.” Zoey sighed. “She’s like that at school, too.”

  “Well, let’s not ruin our good time by talking about her, then,” Ezra said. “Let’s pop some bubbles instead!”

  By the time the Bubble Wrap was flattened by dancing feet, Zoey and her friends were giggling and breathless. Frank the DJ kept the music upbeat, and it felt like they were at their own private club full of their favorite kids, with one exception. But even Emily seemed to be having a good time, despite all of her earlier complaining. Before the night was over, Libby grabbed Zoey, Priti, and Kate, and they took more pictures against the photo backdrops. It was the best Bat Mitzvah party ever, and they wanted to remember it!

  But like all fun things, it came to an end. Frank the DJ had promised the older crowd a slow song. The younger set cleared the floor.

  Mrs. Flynn came over to the table and kissed Libby.

  “You look beautiful, honey. I’m so proud of you,” she said.

  “Thanks, Mom,” Libby said.

  “And, Zoey—I meant to find you earlier. Thank you for altering the design for Libby’s dress,” said Mrs. Flynn. “It looks fantastic. Everyone keeps asking me where we bought it.”

  “I’m just happy I could make a design everyone could agree on!” Zoey said.

  Ezra got up and came to say good-bye and to thank Libby.

  “I just got a text that my parents are waiting outside,” he said. “I wish I could stay longer.”

  “I’m glad you could come,” Libby said.

  “It was great to meet you,” Ezra told Zoey. “Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime.”

  “Maybe,” Zoey said. She definitely hoped so!

  Because they were staying over at Libby’s house, the girls were among the last to leave.

  “That was the best party EVER!” Priti exclaimed as they left the hall, waving good-bye to Frank the DJ, who was packing up his equipment. “I wish everyone had Bat Mitzvahs!”

  “I wish it didn’t have to end.” Libby sighed. “I spent so many months preparing and worrying about messing up, and now it’s all over!”

  “There’s still the brunch tomorrow,” Kate said, making Libby laugh.

  Zoey was only half listening to her friends as they stood at the building’s entrance, because she’d caught sight of something that didn’t make sense: Allie. What was she doing here? She was standing in the parking lot, talking to one of the valets. Then the guy tucked a loose strand of hair behind Allie’s ear, and she stroked his arm, making it pretty clear they weren’t just friends—they were more than friends.

  Zoey realized that he might be the person Allie had been texting when she and Allie had gone out for hot chocolate. Could Allie have broken up with Marcus because she was already interested in someone else? If so, Zoey concluded, it would mean Allie had lied to Marcus—and to Zoey—about her reasons for ending things.

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said to her friends, who hadn’t noticed Allie, and marched over to the couple.

  “Hi, Allie—I didn’t expect to see you here,” Zoey said.

  Allie turned around, shocked to see Zoey. She flushed bright red. “Oh . . . Hi, Zoey! I’m . . . here to give my . . . friend . . . Oliver a ride home,” she said. “His car’s in the shop.”

  The boy, Oliver, looked surprised. “Friend? Really? Is that all I am?”

  Zoey didn’t think it was possible for someone’s face to get any redder, but Allie’s did. That seemed to confirm that Allie hadn’t been straight with her.

  “I’m sorry. Zoey, this is Oliver. Oliver, this is my friend Zoey, Marcus’s sister.”

  “You mean like Marcus, as in your ex?”

  Allie nodded, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

  “Wow,” Oliver said.

  “Exactly,” Zoey agreed.

  “Zoey, please don’t tell Marcus I’m already seeing someone,” Allie pleaded. “I really like Marcus. It’s just . . . I met Oliver, and we get along really well . . . but the last thing I want to do is hurt Marcus.”

  Zoey was about to say, Too late! But she stopped herself just in time. Marcus would be mortified if Allie knew how upset he was, especially since she seemed to have wasted no time moving on to someone new.

  “Hey, Zoey!” Priti called. “It’s time to go!”

  Sure enough, Mrs. Flynn’s car was in front of the reception hall, and her friends were starting to pile in.

  “Please, Zoey?” Allie asked again.

  Zoey shrugged and ran to the car, her emotions churning.

  “What was Allie doing here?” Priti asked.

  “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to see her,” Libby said.

  Zoey looked at her friends, who were all flushed and happy from having had such a wonderful time at the party. She didn’t want to take away from the magical time they’d had by sharing the news of Allie’s deception. So she decided to share only half the truth tonight.

  “She’s giving her friend Oliver a ride home because his car broke down,” she said.

&nb
sp; The real reason could wait.

  CHAPTER 8

  Family Tree’ed

  I’m not sure if I can keep track of all the Van Langen/Flynn aunts and uncles and cousins who were at Libby’s Bat Mitzvah yesterday. If I were Libby, I probably would have embarrassed myself by calling someone by the wrong name, but she did an amazing job, both with the service and with identifying her relatives! That made me wish everyone wore name tags, even though some people think they’re dorky. Maybe it would be cooler if the whole dress was a name tag, like in the sketch?

  Anyhoo, it was so cool that Libby’s family came from all over to be there for her—cousins from California and Seattle traveled across the country to Mapleton. Libby’s hoping that between what we raised from the bake sale and the portion of the gift money from her Bat Mitzvah guests, she’ll have enough to buy the food pantry their new refrigerator. Keep your fingers crossed!

  “Now this is what I call brunch!” Zoey said, surveying the Flynns’ dining room table, which was laden with bagels, cream cheese, lox, egg salad, tuna fish, five different types of sliced cheese, blintzes, and an assortment of delicious-looking cookies and pastries.

  “And here I thought it was just my mom who always makes too much food because she worries that one person might be hungry,” Priti said. “There’s enough food here to feed a small army!”

  “Didn’t you see all my relatives yesterday?” Libby joked. “There are so many of them, it is like a small army!”

  Sure enough, once the family and out-of-town guests arrived, the food started disappearing pretty rapidly. Sophie was running around the house with her young cousins, having a wonderful time.

  Zoey was almost enjoying herself enough to forget about what she’d discovered the previous evening . . . but it still kept nagging at the back of her mind.

  “What’s the matter, Zo?” Priti asked her quietly as they went to refill their drinks.

  “What do you mean? Do I look like something is the matter?”

  “Not to everyone,” Priti said. “But this is me we’re talking about. One of your BFFs. Come on, spill!”

  Zoey sighed and then proceeded to explain the real story of what had happened with Allie and Oliver the previous evening.

  “So, now I don’t know what to do. Allie wanted me to promise not to tell Marcus, but he’s my brother. How can I keep this a secret from him?”

  “I don’t know,” Priti said, shaking her head. “This is a really tough situation.”

  “You can say that again.” Zoey sighed. “Why did Marcus and Allie have to start going out in the first place?”

  “I think we should ask Libby and Kate what they think,” Priti said. “After all, four heads are better than two.”

  “But it’s Libby’s party,” Zoey said. “I don’t want to ruin it for her.”

  “You’re not ruining it, silly. We’re your friends,” Priti said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

  Ignoring Zoey’s protests, Priti called over Kate and Libby and then explained the situation to them.

  “Wow,” Kate said. “That’s superawkward.”

  “Talk about being caught in the middle,” Libby agreed.

  “I know!” Zoey wailed. “What should I do? I was thinking about it so much last night I could barely sleep!”

  “I don’t know what say,” Kate said. “This is out of my league.”

  “Mine too,” Libby said. “But I know one thing: You shouldn’t keep this a secret from Marcus, no matter what Allie says.”

  “Libby’s right,” Priti agreed. “If he finds out you knew and didn’t tell him, he’ll be really mad.”

  “But I don’t want to be the one to tell him,” Zoey said mournfully. “What if he ends up being mad at me? You know, shooting the messenger?”

  “Good point,” Libby said.

  “Call Allie and tell her she has to tell Marcus,” Kate said finally. “I mean, she keeps saying how much she cares about him, right?”

  Zoey nodded.

  “So if she means what she says, he deserves the real explanation of why she broke up with him, not some lame excuse,” Priti said. “At least, I think that’s what my older sisters would say.”

  “You’re right,” Zoey said. “I’m going to call her when I get home and tell her she has to come clean with Marcus. It’s not fair of her to ask me to keep secrets from my brother.”

  She looked around at her friends and smiled.

  “I feel so much better now we’ve figured out what to do. But I think I need a cookie to make me feel one hundred percent back to normal.”

  Libby laughed. “Have you seen the amount of baked goods on the dining room table?” she asked. “I think that can be arranged!”

  Later that afternoon, when she got back home, Zoey called Allie.

  “Listen, I’ve decided not to tell Marcus. . . .”

  “Oh, thanks,” Allie said, sounding really relieved.

  “But that’s because I realized you need to tell him yourself,” Zoey continued.

  “Oh.”

  “You haven’t been fair to him, Allie,” Zoey said. “Even if he hadn’t given you the ring and gotten all serious, you like someone else and would have broken up with him anyway. If you really care about him, you should be honest.”

  “But—”

  “And besides, you’ve put me in a seriously awkward position,” Zoey said. “We’re friends, but you’re asking me to lie to my brother. How is that fair? A good friend wouldn’t do that.”

  There was silence on the line, and Zoey wondered if Allie had hung up on her.

  “You’re right, Zoey,” Allie said finally. “I feel terrible. It’s bad enough I’ve hurt Marcus by breaking up with him. I thought it would be easier on him if I didn’t tell him I liked someone else, but maybe that was wrong. And now I’ve hurt you too, by asking you to lie to him.”

  It was good to hear Allie admit that. But Zoey wanted to make sure she was going to take action.

  “So are you going to tell him?”

  “I’ll text him now and tell him we need to talk,” Allie said. “And Zoey . . . I’m sorry. I really hope we can still be friends. I’d hate if a relationship with any boy came between us.”

  Marcus was more cheerful at breakfast than he’d been for days.

  “What’s up with you, sunshine?” Dad asked.

  “Allie texted me last night,” he said, practically bouncing around the kitchen. “She wants to meet to talk after school. I think it’s a good sign. Maybe she wants to get back together.”

  Or not . . . , Zoey thought, her heart sinking. She hadn’t thought that Marcus might get the wrong idea from Allie’s text message.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t get your hopes up too much,” she said. “Maybe she just wants to talk . . . you know, like as friends.”

  Marcus stopped pouring orange juice and gave her a look.

  “Thanks, Debbie Downer. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Zoey’s right,” Dad said. “Meet her assuming that she wants to stay just friends, and then you won’t be setting yourself up for disappointment.”

  “Why are you guys so down on romance all of a sudden?” Marcus complained. “What makes you think I’m going to be disappointed?”

  Zoey hadn’t told her father about what she’d seen in the parking lot. Maybe he just had enough experience from his own dating life.

  “I’m not down on romance, kiddo,” Dad said. “I’ll vote for romance any day of the week. But to borrow from Shakespeare: ‘The course of true love never does run smooth.’ I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  Marcus chugged his orange juice and put his glass down on the counter a little more forcefully than usual.

  “Well, if she didn’t like me, she wouldn’t want to get together. Right, Zoey?”

  “I don’t know.” Zoey shrugged, feeling awful because she knew the real reason for the meeting. She picked up her backpack and headed for the door. “Good luck!”

  Zoey was on pins and needles
all day, worrying about how Marcus would react to Allie’s revelations. Would he be even more miserable? Was he going to be mad at Zoey for not telling him right away about the run-in at the Bat Mitzvah? Hopefully, Allie wouldn’t tell Marcus that Zoey knew about the other guy.

  After school, she decided to make some of his favorite double chocolate chip cookies in case he was sad or mad, or both.

  The first batch was just coming out of the oven when she heard the garage door open, and a few minutes later, Marcus came strolling in.

  “Hey, something smells good.”

  He spotted the tray of cookies and nabbed one off the tray.

  “Just what the doctor ordered!” he said.

  “How did it go?” Zoey asked.

  “Okay,” Marcus said. “Except . . . why did you tell Allie I was doing just fine without her and getting really good on the guitar and practicing a lot with the band? She asked me to play her something new, and I had nothing to offer. Nada! I felt like a total jerk.”

  “But . . . you made me promise not to let her know that you were upset!” Zoey protested. “What was I supposed to do?”

  “I don’t know,” Marcus admitted. “But when I told Allie the truth, about how upset I was, it came as a big surprise!”

  “I’m a really bad liar,” Zoey complained. “I didn’t know what to do! Allie asked me how you were, and I was on the spot. I guess I should have just shrugged and said ‘Okay’ or something, but instead I made up the thing about the guitar just to have something to say. I had no idea that saying you were doing well would end up being as wrong as saying you were doing badly.”

  “Since you’ve made my favorite cookies, I’ll try to forgive you,” Marcus said, grabbing a second one and taking a bite. “Also, because even though it’s still a bummer that Allie broke up with me, it’s a relief to know it’s really because she likes someone else, not because I put my heart on the line.”

  “So . . . you’re over it?” Zoey asked.

  “Not exactly over it,” Marcus said, going to pour himself a glass of milk. “I’m still upset she broke up with me, and I’m mad she’s already dating someone else. But in a way, it’s kind of a relief, because if she broke up with me because she likes someone else, I don’t have to keep wondering about what I did wrong.”