Clothes Minded

by Chloe Taylor

  Marcus dropped Zoey off at the What’s Old Is New thrift store on Saturday morning. Inside, she found her three best friends already there, waiting for her to arrive.

  “I’m Zoey,” she said to the girl behind the counter. The girl was the only other person in the store, so Zoey assumed she was in charge, even though she looked like she was only a senior in high school, about the same age as Priti’s sisters. “Sorry if I’m late. What can I do to help?”

  “You’re not late,” said the girl. “I’m Annabel. We just got in a few big bags of donations yesterday. You all could start going through them. You need to decide what’s in good enough shape to keep, what needs a cleaning, and what should just be tossed or recycled. Anything that’s ripped or stained has to get recycled, okay? Then when you’re done, I’ll show you where to put everything.”

  Zoey nodded. It sounded easy enough to her. She followed her friends to the back of the store, where there was an area to sort new donations. The girls got to work.

  “This is pretty easy,” Libby whispered. “But it’s awfully quiet here. I’m not sure they really need four of us volunteering.”

  “Maybe it gets busy later,” Priti suggested. “Who knows?”

  “I don’t think there were any other options the four of us could do together,” Zoey said as she opened a large garbage bag and found a wrinkly ball of women’s suits.

  “I’m pretty excited to visit the food pantry next week,” Kate said. “Although now that I’m back on the swim team, it’s going to be hard to work it into my schedule.” Kate, who’d had swimmer’s shoulder a while back, was finally swimming again after being cleared by her doctor.

  “How’s your shoulder been since you started swimming again?” Libby asked. “Does it hurt?”

  Kate shook her head, smiling broadly. “Nope! It feels as good as new. Taking a few months to rest really was the best thing for it. I’ve lost a bit of speed, but Coach says it’ll come back fast.”

  Annabel, who was roaming the store, refolding things and dusting as she went, picked up a remote control from somewhere and turned on a TV that hung from the ceiling. She channel surfed until it stopped on an ice-skating competition.

  “Wow, guys, look at that!” Zoey said, transfixed.

  A young female skater, probably no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, was gliding across the ice to a beautiful piece of music. Her skating appeared effortless, and her jumps were high and confident.

  “That’s Sonya Turley,” said Annabel. “She’s probably going to win the national championships in a few weeks. She’s a big deal.”

  The music was perfect for her skating—classical, but slightly jazzy at the same time. “What’s this song?” Zoey asked.

  “I think it’s Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue,” said Annabel.

  Zoey watched as the blue fabric of Sonya’s costume moved like liquid and seemed to match the rhythm of the music perfectly. How amazing to be able to skate like that, to move to that beautiful music!

  Inspired, Zoey grabbed her bag and pulled out her sketchbook. Kate, Priti, and Libby continued to sort and fold clothes, exchanging a knowing look over Zoey’s head. They knew their friend, and when she was inspired, she had to sketch.

  “I can’t believe I’ve never made an ice-skating outfit before,” Zoey muttered as she worked on her sketch. “They’re so beautiful. And the way they move and change with all the wind from the skater’s speed. It’s amazing!”

  “That skirt looks awesome, Zoey,” Priti commented, leaning a bit over Zoey’s shoulder so she could see it. “It almost looks like those overhead fringe-y things at a car wash.”

  Zoey laughed. “That’s kind of what I was thinking. It’s a car-wash skirt with piano-key detailing on it! Wouldn’t it look amazing on the ice?” Zoey put a few finishing touches on her sketch and then tucked it safely back into her bag.

  Even though her mind was still picturing Sonya Turley whirling around the ice, she had work to do at the thrift shop, and that came first.

  CHAPTER 3

  Rhapsody in Blue Fabric!

  Well, readers, things have reeeeeally gotten interesting at school lately. Not only did they add an electives program (my home ec class!), we now have a community service program that allows us to get out and help people! I volunteered at the neighborhood thrift shop this morning, but instead of being inspired by all the beautiful vintage clothes, I ended up obsessing over beautiful figure skater Sonya Turley, who was performing in a competition on TV! Have you seen her? She’s ah-ma-zing, and she was wearing the most elegant, perfectly made costume. All the skaters do, actually. I think I was almost more impressed by their costumes than by all the camel spins and triple loop jumps!

  Anyway, after watching Sonya skate her long program (do I sound like I know what I’m talking about? Cuz I don’t! Hee-hee), I sketched this outfit, which I think would be perfect for her. There’s not much point in me sewing it, however, because where would I ever wear it? I can barely do a snowplow stop! Ah well. At least I can enjoy looking at the sketch. . . .

  Zoey arrived at Tea Time at exactly two o’clock Sunday afternoon. She craned her neck to see over all the customers sitting at small tables, enjoying tea and cupcakes on a beautiful weekend. Finally, she noticed a long arm waving to her from the back, and Zoey made her way to the table Sean had found for them.

  “Hi, hi!” Zoey sang. “I’m so glad you suggested this place. I love their carrot cake cupcakes—yum.”

  Sean nodded. “Me too. They just started selling these awesome new hybrid pastries, so I ordered one already.”

  “What’s a hybrid pastry?” Zoey asked, baffled.

  “It’s like a mash-up of a croissant and a doughnut. My parents took me to New York a few weeks ago to see a show, and we had them somewhere, and now they’re starting to make them at a lot of different bakeries.”

  “I’ll try one!” Zoey said. Sean flagged down their waitress and ordered a croissant-doughnut for Zoey, and Zoey asked for some tea as well.

  “I love your cuff links,” Zoey said, grabbing Sean’s wrist. He was wearing a lavender button-down with a plaid sweater-vest, and the French cuffs of his shirt sported cuff links shaped like tiny black mustaches. “They’re adorable!”

  Sean smiled. “Thanks. From my mom.”

  “She has good taste,” Zoey declared. Not for the first time, Zoey looked Sean over and was impressed by his outfit. It was so refreshing to have a guy friend who knew a lot about fashion and clothes and was also really fun to be with. She could really talk with him about all the projects she was working on. Suddenly, she wondered if that was how her long-time best friend, Kate, felt sometimes when she hung out with her soccer friends, as opposed to with Zoey. Even though their friendship was special in a different way, Zoey never really understood most of the sports stuff Kate was talking about.

  The tea and pastries arrived, and after a few hurried bites, Sean whipped out a notebook. “So, let’s talk business. Here’s what I’m thinking: we need to figure out a name for the club, who can be in it, and what we’ll do. Go.”

  Zoey choked on a laugh, her mouth full of delicious warm flakes of pastry. “Well, as for who can be in it, I say everyone. I don’t like clubs that are exclusive. They just make people feel bad. So even if someone knows nothing about fashion or sewing, but they want to join, I think we should say yes.”

  Sean nodded his head quickly and wrote down “Everyone!” “I agree. I don’t think it’s the kind of club someone who wasn’t genuinely interested would join anyway. So how about a name for it? I was thinking the Sew Zoey Fashion Club.”

  Zoey nearly gagged. “No, no way. I don’t want the club to be named after me! That sounds so . . . braggy. No, let’s just make the club its own thing, with a name that’s fun and fashion-y.”

  Sean rolled his eyes. “You’re too modest, Zoey. Your name is a big draw! You’re the most famous person in our middle school.”

  Zoey laughed. “I’m not sure that’s true, but
let’s keep my name out of it, please. I want this club to be fun, and not related to the stress of my blog and business and stuff. Okay?”

  Sean pretended to pout. “Okay,” he agreed.

  Zoey thought for a moment. “How about Threads? That’s cute.”

  Sean chewed his lip. “Cute, but maybe too cutesy. Ditto for Buttons or Zippers.”

  Zoey laughed out loud again. “The Zippers! That’s awesome. Sounds like a punk band or something.”

  “No guys will join if it’s called Threads or Zippers,” Sean promised.

  “How about the Fashion Fun Club?” Zoey suggested. “That says exactly what it is, so people who join it will know. Just like the musical theater club and the Spanish club.”

  “Hmm,” Sean said. “Fashion Fun Club. It’s pretty good. It’s a little cheesy, but I kind of like a little cheesy.”

  “Me too,” said Zoey. “Great! We have a name, and everyone can join. Check and check. Now we just need some people to want to join. . . .”

  Sean polished off the last of his tea and pastry. “Well, I could make some flyers later today and print them up. Then we could meet at school early tomorrow morning and hang them around. What do you think?”

  “Sure!” Zoey said. She already liked having Sean as a partner. He had good ideas and had no problem volunteering to do work. Plus, he knew about a lot of great things, like croissant-doughnut hybrids.

  He wrote down more notes on his pad. “I’ll put the name of the club and that the first meeting is Wednesday in the home ec room after school.”

  “Why Wednesday?” asked Zoey.

  “Because that’s when Mrs. Holmes said she could do it, remember?” he said.

  “Oh, yeah.” Zoey shook her head. “I totally forgot! And I’m the one who asked her. Okay, so you’ll make the flyers, and I’ll help hang them tomorrow. You’re not going to put our names on the flyers or anything, right?” she asked. “I don’t want it to be about me.”

  Sean shook his head. “No, Miss Modesty. I won’t mention that the famous Sew Zoey will be in the club. Deal?”

  Zoey nodded. “Deal. Let’s get out of here. I’ve been working on this sketch for an ice-skating costume, and even though I’ll probably never make it, I’ve been playing with a muslin sample, just to see how hard it would be to construct.”

  “Sounds pretty neat. Maybe we can talk about it at the club on Wednesday.”

  “Yay!” Zoey exclaimed as they paid their check and prepared to leave. “By the way, what are we going to do at the first meeting?”

  “I’ve already figured that out,” Sean assured her. “I’ll be in charge of this week’s activity, and you can be in charge of next week’s. All I need is for you to bring a stack of old fashion magazines, if you have any.”

  “If I have any? Ha!” Zoey chuckled as they pushed the door and walked out to the sidewalk. “Oh, Sean, you have no idea.”

  Zoey and Sean met early at school the next morning. True to his word, Sean had a stack of flyers with him, printed on differently colored sheets of paper that were sure to stand out and attract attention. They decided to each take half the stack and divide and conquer, since their school was relatively big.

  Zoey headed down the math and science wing, toward the gymnasium, with her stack. As she stopped to post one on the bulletin board by the gym, her friend Gabe Monaco came in one of the side doors.

  “Hi, Gabe!” she said. “You’re here early.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I left some photos I developed to dry in the photo lab yesterday, and I wanted to see how they turned out. What are you doing?”

  She held up one of the sheets of paper. “Recruiting for the Fashion Fun Club I’m starting with Sean. It’s going to be great—it’s for people interested in all kinds of design, not just clothing.”

  “Really? Like what?” Gabe asked. He took a flyer from her and skimmed it.

  Zoey explained about Sean’s cousin’s fashion club and how it included graphic designers, interior designers, and the like. She knew Gabe wanted to be a photographer, but she wasn’t sure how he’d view the club.

  “You know,” he said, “I might come to your meeting. I’d like to do some fashion photography one day, so it wouldn’t hurt to learn a little bit about the fashion business. I really don’t know anything, other than what I read on your blog! Can I come?”

  Zoey was flattered and very pleased. “Of course! We’d love to have you there. Wow, thanks, Gabe.”

  Zoey’s insides suddenly felt warmer at the thought of Gabe coming to the club. He had always been a good friend to her, but recently she couldn’t help feeling a little more than just friendly toward him. Unfortunately, he’d begun hanging out with their school’s visiting French student, Josie, and they looked pretty couple-y to Zoey.

  “I’ll be there,” Gabe promised. “And I might bring Josie, too, if that’s all right. You know how much she loves fashion.”

  Zoey nodded, careful to keep her smile on her face. She liked Josie, and Josie’s fashion sense, but Zoey couldn’t help feeling slightly disappointed that Gabe wouldn’t be coming by himself. Oh well. She supposed that would be too good to be true.

  “I’ve got to hang the rest of these flyers, Gabe. I’ll see you later!”

  Gabe waved and walked off toward the photo lab while Zoey finished her work. Then she met back up with Sean by the home ec classroom. Kids were arriving now, and Sean reported that he’d had a few kids ask him questions about the flyers already. A girl named Sarah from their home ec class, who was very quiet and an excellent handsewer, had told him she’d been waiting for the school to start a fashion club, and she volunteered to help set up before the meeting.

  “Wow!” said Zoey. “That’s great. So people might really show up!”

  Sean shook his head at her and laughed. “Zoey, it’s going to be great. Have a little faith!”

  She smiled. “I do. I have faith that you know a lot about fashion clubs and that you’ve done a great job getting this one started. Therefore, I nominate you to be president!”

  Sean blushed but looked pleased, as if maybe he’d been hoping all along that things would turn out that way but hadn’t wanted to say anything. “Well, okay,” he agreed. “I’ll be president if you’ll be the vice president and treasurer.”

  Zoey nodded quickly, and they shook hands. “Deal. Here’s to the Fashion Fun Club!”

  As the two filed into the home ec room before the bell rang, Zoey couldn’t help thinking how pleased she was to have a new project to focus on, since all the work and excitement from her aunt’s surprise wedding was over. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed having something to plan.

  CHAPTER 4

  Treasurer and VP! Who, Me?

  What would a newly elected vice president and treasurer of a fashion club wear? Why, this awesome dress, of course, paired with a “coin purse”! I love playing with traditional symbols like a dollar sign and making it look like something geometric and playful. And I love that men’s-style shoes have come back in! I really want to get a pair of oxfords or loafers to wear with tights.

  As you may be guessing from the title and sketch on this post, things with the fashion club S and I are starting are going really well so far, and I’m looking forward to our first meeting on Wednesday! S is in charge of this week’s activity, and my aunt has generously donated a stack of old fashion magazines for us to use. I couldn’t bring my own magazines, because S informed me that we’ll be cutting them up, and I couldn’t bear to do that to mine! It’d be sacrilege, in my opinion. But luckily my aunt came through for me with a pile, including some copies of my favorite, Très Chic!

  Oh, and woof! Meow! Tweet! Those are the sounds of the new friends I’ll be making when I volunteer at the pet shelter after school today for the first time. I can’t wait!

  Zoey and Libby waited out in front of the school after the dismissal bell. Marcus would be picking them up any minute to take them to the animal shelter.

  Zoey had worn w
hat she thought would be an appropriate outfit to help out with the animals—black-and-white zebra-print leggings and a long pink sweater with the face of a tiger knitted on it. Animal faces and prints were great for mixing and matching, and she’d felt feisty all day at school in it, despite the dreary rain. The rain had finally stopped and the sun had come out, and now Zoey could hardly contain her excitement to see all the animals.

  “I just want to hold some kittens,” Libby said anxiously. “I looooove kittens.”

  “Me too,” said Zoey. “And puppies. This shelter is where my aunt Lulu adopted Buttons, and when we went to pick her out, they let us hold a bunch of the pups! It was great.”

  Marcus pulled up, and Zoey wasn’t at all surprised to see his girlfriend, and Zoey’s good friend, Allie Lovallo in the front seat. Marcus and Allie were together more often than not.

  “Hi, Allie,” said Zoey. “What’s up?”

  Libby and Zoey both climbed into the backseat, and Allie turned around to look at them. “It’s so neat you’re going to volunteer at the animal shelter! They didn’t have a community service program when I was at Mapleton Prep.”

  Zoey nodded. “Yeah, everybody’s excited about it. A bunch of kids are doing a park cleanup this weekend!”

  Allie shook her head in disbelief. “Our high school doesn’t even have a program like that. Maybe I should tell the principal about it.”

  The shelter wasn’t far away, and when they pulled up, Marcus glanced in the rearview mirror and said, “Now, Zoey, you know how Dad feels about pets. Don’t come home with fourteen different puppies and kittens you’ve decided to adopt. Okay?”

  Marcus sounded stern, but Zoey knew he secretly would love a dog too. But with both he and Zoey gone all day at school, and Mr. Webber at work as a sports therapist on Eastern State University’s campus all day, there would be no one home with the dog. And Mr. Webber thought pets should have some company.

  “I won’t,” Zoey promised. “Or at least I’ll try not to.”

  They walked toward the shelter, and Allie eyed the animals in the window wistfully. “Marcus, let’s go in for a second—just to see the puppies.”