Bead-Dazzled

by Olivia Bennett

  “You came!” Emma cried, surprised. Emma had seen Paige more this week than ever before.

  “You got me curious, and I’m rarely curious.” Paige kept her coat on, ready to fly off to her next appointment. “I have ten minutes. Benny’s outside.”

  “Si,” Francesca piped up. “What is this meeting?”

  “It’s not really a meeting,” Emma began. “It’s a celebration.”

  “What are we celebrating?” Noah Rose pushed up his shirtsleeves and rested his elbows on the table.

  “I’m celebrating all of you.” With a flourish, Emma peeled back the foil on a large platter in the center of the table and revealed a sheet cake covered with thick, pink frosting. A new logo in black, red, and white icing, proclaiming The Allegra Biscotti Collection, decorated the center of the cake.

  “Cut me a slice!” William reached out a finger to swipe the icing, but Mom’s lightening reflexes swatted his hand away.

  “Beautiful!” Francesca exclaimed.

  “You made a cake?” Charlie sounded dubious.

  “Don’t worry. Everyone’s safe. Mom baked it.”

  “So your Mom baked a cake with your logo on it, and you dragged us all here to eat your cake?” Charlie stood to leave. “Really, Em. Do I care?”

  “That’s just it. It’s not my logo.”

  “So whose is it?”

  “The logo says The Allegra Biscotti Collection. I used to think that I was Allegra Biscotti, but I’m not. Paige helped me see that,” Emma explained. “Allegra Biscotti is a made-up name. She’s not one person. She’s all of us. Without all everyone’s skills and support, The Allegra Biscotti Collection wouldn’t exist.” Emma took a deep breath. “I got so caught up in me as designer that I didn’t listen to your opinions and suggestions. I was wrong. Allegra can only exist if we work together. I’m really sorry.”

  Joan Rose beamed proudly, even though Emma had told her all this yesterday when she’d asked her to bake the cake. Marjorie reached over and gave Emma’s shoulder a squeeze. Dad grinned and so did Francesca. Paige nodded her approval.

  Emma’s eyes found Charlie’s. “I messed up,” she admitted. “I didn’t really get how much you did and how good you are at it.”

  “Oh, so now you appreciate me?”

  “I’ve always appreciated you as a friend. I just got a little confused. Now I appreciate you as a business manager, too. Will you un-quit?”

  Charlie pretended to think about it. “I do like cake.”

  “I’m taking that as a yes, Calhoun. Can we start over?” Emma asked everyone.

  Everyone agreed.

  “That’s why I redesigned the Allegra logo,” she explained. “A new beginning as the Allegra team. We each get a piece of it when Mom slices the cake.”

  “A piece of Allegra,” Dad said. “I like that.”

  “I want two pieces,” William said.

  “You’re lucky I’m giving you one,” Emma warned. “Charlie can have two.”

  Paige pushed away the slice Emma passed her. “I like the logo, but I don’t need to eat it.” She stood.

  “Wait!” Emma cried. “There’s more. I have new designs to show you.” She looked around the table. “To show everyone.”

  “You want all our opinions?” William asked, intrigued to be included.

  “Not yours,” Emma teased. “You keep stuffing your face with cake.”

  Mom cleared the table and Emma fanned out her new sketches. “Paige helped me see that the inspiration I was looking for was right in front of me the whole time.”

  “They look Egyptian,” Mom said. “Egypt was in front of you?”

  “Exactly!” Emma exclaimed. “We’re learning about ancient Egypt in Ms. Ling’s class. The fashion back then was incredible. The women wore long dress that were either pleated or draped. Many had wide shoulder straps that tied behind the neck. They also liked belted tunics and high waistlines. They loved to decorate their dresses, and they wore tons of jewelry.”

  “Whoa! You’re just changing everything up?” Charlie looked shocked.

  “I was thinking of it.” Emma bit her lip. She didn’t want Charlie angry again. “What do you think?”

  “Fashion is fluid,” Paige jumped in. “One idea leads to another and then another. That is how greatness is born. Great designers don’t stop with their first idea. They experiment. They change.”

  “How does this all fit into the Goin’ Green theme?” Charlie asked.

  “I’ll still use the found fabric that we dyed from natural ingredients. The inspiration is upcycled, too,” Emma said. “Although the fashion was designed thousands of years ago in the Egyptian desert, it keeps being re-imagined. Check out the history of flapper dresses, high-waisted baby doll dresses, one-shouldered Hollywood goddess gowns, and gladiator sandals. They all come from ancient Egyptian fashion. Now it’s time for my take on it.”

  “I would wear this one,” Francesca point to a sketch of a billowy gold gown that tied over one shoulder with an intricate twisted sash. “Bellissima!”

  Mom and Dad agreed, but Charlie frowned. “If my opinion counts—”

  “It counts!” Emma cried.

  “I liked the bead idea better,” Charlie said. “Plus my graphics work with the image of the sparkling rain.”

  “I also thought you were going with beads,” Marjorie murmured. She pursed her lips and shook her head, as if she were disappointed.

  “I didn’t toss the beads,” Emma hurriedly assured them. “Watch this.” She pulled out a set of overlays that she’d done on tracing paper with color pencil. One by one, she placed the overlays of beaded waistbands, beaded shoulder straps, beaded trims, and high-beaded collars on top of her sketches, instantly transforming the looks with major sparkle.

  What had looked like a simple but elegant red floor-length gown with a high neck and a crisscross front tying at the hip to form a wrap skirt was transformed by a collar of intricate beading. The one-shoulder gold gown that Francesca liked was adorned with a cascade of crystals starting at the shoulder and spraying across the front and down the opposite side of the dress to the floor. A collar of emerald crystals held up a green column. And then there were three shorter dresses—a gold tunic with a beaded keyhole neckline and beading around the cuffs and hem. A short toga-style dress in red, knotted in the center of the waist, with a smattering of beads radiating from the center. And a green boat-neck dress with slits on the side had a shoulder-to-shoulder collar of beads in different colors ranging from a pale sea green to a deep emerald. Each of the outfits was adorned with thick bead-encrusted cuffs.

  “There it is!” Paige exclaimed. “The wow.”

  “Really?” Emma squealed.

  “Absolutely,” Paige said.

  Emma smiled so wide her cheeks hurt. She’d dreamed of hearing that from Paige. “Does everyone else agree?”

  They did. Emma jumped, unleashing her pent-up energy. Now she was ready to make her clothes—her favorite part.

  “I’m good to go, except for the beads.” She turned to her dad. “I didn’t want to ask you for money. I really wanted to repurpose everything for this collection. But to make it a ‘wow,’ I need lots and lots of amazing beads. After the benefit, I promise to pay you back by working more hours, unpacking boxes, inventorying the lace….”

  “How many dollars are we talking?” Dad asked.

  “None,” Charlie said, before Emma could calculate an answer.

  “Zero,” Marjorie echoed with a sly grin.

  “What?” Emma said.

  “We’re saying free,” Charlie announced.

  “But how?”

  “I’ve been trying all week to get you to talk with Inez,” Marjorie said.

  “Inez? Is she your friend from the building?” Emma recalled Marjorie’s prodding. She didn’t remember anything else about Inez.

  “Inez works at MB Trimmings.” Marjorie paused, waiting for Emma to catch on.

  Emma stared blankly.

  “I saw
the company sign in the lobby this morning,” her dad filled in. “They’re going out of business

  “Poor Inez. She gave them ten years of her life, and now she’s out on the street,” Marjorie clucked her disapproval.

  “That’s too bad,” Emma agreed. “But what does she have to do with me?”

  “Inez clued me days ago that the company was closing. Do you know what MB Trimming has lots of? Do you know what I had Inez gather and bring to me for free?” Marjorie’s eyes twinkled.

  Emma’s gasped. “You didn’t! Oh, you’re the best!” She wrapped Marjorie in a huge hug, inhaling her perfume and the scent of coffee. “How many? What kinds?”

  “Boxes full of beads. Amber and Art Deco glass, Venetian wedding cake beads, Japanese lampwork beads, Czech crystals—there are probably other kinds, too.” Marjorie pointed her finger at Emma. “Next time I want you to meet someone, I expect you to listen, appear, and even curtsy.”

  “Totally.” Emma gave Marjorie a dramatic curtsy. “I’m so sorry and so thankful. You’re truly the Bringer of Bling.”

  “I expect more than a curtsy. Kissing my feet or dumplings from Mr. Chu’s will do nicely.” Charlie pointed to two bulging shopping bags in the corner. “For you, from my mom.”

  Emma knelt by the bags and reached inside. She pulled out a stretchy, fuchsia showgirl’s outfit with a short, feathered skirt. The entire bodice shimmered in tiny rose-colored beads. She found a long, tulle skirt with teardrop silver beads, a raw-silk ball gown with thousands of trim balls, and a belly-dancer costume, painstakingly hand-beaded with emerald stones and sequins. Outfit after glittery outfit appeared from within the crumpled brown bags. “These are insanely gorgeous. Did your mom wear them in shows?”

  “Yeah, years and years ago. Some date back to college productions and summer musicals,” Charlie said. “They’re yours to destroy. Mom can’t fit into them now. She says pull off all the beads and make something ‘fantabulous.’”

  “Really?” Emma couldn’t believe her luck. “Thank you, Charlie!”

  Between Marjorie’s and Charlie stash, she had more than enough beads to dazzle. Time to get to work!

  Mom left with William, Dad retreated to his office, and Marjorie took a second slice of cake with her to the front desk. Emma, Charlie, and Francesca stayed huddled around the table. Paige stayed, too, her ten-minute time limit long expired. Sitting in the shabby room at Laceland, surrounded by two teenagers and an impossibly beautiful Italian watch heiress, she looked more relaxed than Emma had ever seen her.

  Weird.

  Paige promised to coordinate the filming of the fashion show next week with the videographer, Sven. She’d confirm the location and nail down the lighting. Her phone buzzed and she sighed. After speaking with Caroline, she hurried back to Madison for an editorial meeting.

  Emma listened closely to Charlie’s suggestions about music and background images, and together they made final choices. They’d open with the sound of rain and an empty catwalk. Then they’d use Ruthie Lake’s song and flash images of colorful lights blurred yet sparkling in the rain on a screen behind Holly, as she modeled the clothes.

  Francesca showed them the latest request from Billy for a photo of Allegra. Emma wished she’d asked Paige’s advice before she’d left. None of them knew how to handle this. There was no way to truly give Allegra a face.

  “Bounce it,” Charlie said.

  “Bounce? How do I do this? Like a ball?” Francesca asked.

  “No, Charlie means ignore him.” Emma shrugged. “As long as we can. Just push it off.”

  “Hmmm. This is perhaps a problem.” Color rose to Francesca’s cheeks. “I have been writing to Mr. Billy as Allegra’s assistant, yes? We have done some, how do you say, back-and-forthing. I have charmed him to keep him away from Allegra Biscotti.”

  “So?” Charlie sounded suspicious.

  “He likes me.”

  “Of course, he does,” Emma said. Who wouldn’t?

  “No. Likes me. Amore. He asked me to go for a quiet dinner,” Francesca confessed. “A date.”

  “Priceless,” Charlie muttered.

  “You can’t!” Emma cried.

  “Do not worry.” Francesca laughed. “I do not want to date Mr. Billy. I am good at this. He will not be sad.”

  Emma knew nothing about boys and even less about men who wanted to take pretty foreign girls out for romantic dinners. She was gladder than ever that Allegra was a team effort. It would be Francesca’s job to keep Billy Perez far enough away from the mysterious Allegra without totally blowing him off.

  At least until the night of the benefit.

  * * *

  That night they had a bead party. Dad ordered in Thai food. Holly came by after volleyball, and Marjorie stayed late, which she normally hated to do. Francesca sorted Inez’s beads according to color and shape, placing each pile into a section of a cardboard egg carton. Mom had brought back many egg cartons from the apartment. She always saved them to be used as paint palettes, as pots for herbs in the kitchen, or now as bead holders. Emma had once painted one black, then completely rainbow-glittered it, and now used it to hold pairs of earrings.

  “Red, pink, blue, yellow,” Francesca called out as she plopped each bead into a cup.

  “Do you really need to say each color out loud?” Charlie asked.

  “It helps me.” Francesca concentrated on the beads. “Blue, blue, brown, blue—”

  “Pink, red, green, red…” Charlie called out.

  “No! Now I have it all messed. Charlie, why you do that to me?” Francesca cried. “The blue is in the red!”

  “Just having some fun.”

  “Watch it, mister,” Marjorie warned Charlie. “I have seam rippers and I’m not afraid to use them.” Marjorie held up the small, forked tool designed to pull out stitches. She was using it to unfasten the difficult beads from Charlie’s mom’s costumes. Holly snipped off the easier beads with small nail scissors.

  Charlie pretended to shake with fear.

  Emma sat cross-legged on the floor, experimenting with the beads piled next to her. She cut a strip of scrap leather. Using fabric glue and tweezers, she glued the tiny beads in a geometric pattern to the strip. Emma was patient and worked slowly, one bead at a time until she had a striped pattern with each stripe slightly darker than the one next to it—pale green milk glass, mossy green Lucite, forest green crystals—mirroring the ombre effect of the dyed fabric

  “This is what the cuffs will look like. I’ve got to make two in each color,” she explained. “I’m going to hand sew beads to make cinch belts, beaded cuffs and collars, beaded trims, and even beaded handles for cute handbags that Holly can carry. I’m going to bead-dazzle everything!”

  “You better pick up the pace,” Charlie warned. “That little strip took forever to make.”

  “She can’t,” Marjorie explained. “With that kind of handiwork, it’s either fast and sloppy or slow and beautiful.”

  “I’ll find a way to move faster,” Emma promised. “Fast and fabulous, here we come!”

  CHAPTER 14

  BEAD THERE, DONE THAT

  Lexie was stressed on Friday afternoon.

  Emma recognized the look on her face. She’d seen the same overwhelmed expression staring back at her from her bedroom mirror last week. Plus Lexie had missed two loops when fastening her woven metallic belt. To Emma, that said more than Lexie’s phony smile. Lexie always had everything tucked, buttoned, and zipped just right.

  Lexie stood at the head of their table and tried to explain the format of a new outline, her plans for the creation of the Sphinx, as well as a slideshow detailing the building and repair of the huge statue. Clayton and Kayla interrupted with questions. Lexie dismissed them, plowing ahead with her own half-baked ideas. Chloe buried her head in a book, taking furious notes as she read. Emma suspected she’d given up on the group and was writing her own report.

  “She’s a rat,” Macro muttered.

  “Who?” Emma t
wisted to face him. “Lexie?”

  “Chloe,” he whispered. “On a sinking ship, rats leave long before the ship goes down. She’s trying to save herself.”

  Was this ship really sinking? Emma stared at Chloe flipping through a reference book and then at Lexie gesturing wildly. If this group project sunk and brought her grade down, her mother would be furious. There’d be no more bead parties for Allegra. There might be no more Allegra.

  I’m going to quit the group, Emma decided. Ms. Ling is Mom’s friend. She’ll listen. I’ll get out and then….

  She thought about Charlie quitting Allegra. She’d realized how much she needed him.

  Does anyone here need me? Emma wondered. Probably not. She hadn’t done anything for this project. She’d stayed silent, because it was easier than standing up to Lexie. But if the group went down it would be her fault too, for doing nothing.

  “This isn’t working,” Emma announced suddenly. Then, as nicely as she could, she told them her reasons why.

  Lexie and Clayton tried to argue, but Chloe, Marco, and even Kayla agreed.

  Emma didn’t put any blame on Lexie. “The Sphinx idea is weak,” she said. “We need a new idea. A ‘wow’ idea.”

  “There’s no time,” Lexie said. “We should keep the Sphinx.”

  “Look,” Emma said, “when a zipper gets stuck on the way up your sweatshirt, it’s better to bring it down and start again than to keep yanking it and destroying the zipper.”

  “That was weird, but I get it,” Clayton said.

  “All you’ve done is doodle in your notebook and now you want to change everything?” Lexie accused Emma. “What gives you the right?”

  “I gave up because—” Emma had to tread lightly here or Lexie would turn on her “—you took total control. But there’s too much to do and we need to all work together and not let you do it all. We need to start again.”

  “Face it, Lex. What we have stinks.” Clayton said. Now everyone had come around and even Lexie knew it.

  “Okay, fine.” Lexie shrugged. “If you all think we need a new idea, who has one?”