A Tangled Thread

by Chloe Taylor

  “Well, we’re honored to have you all to ourselves for the night,” said Priti. “Or mostly to ourselves. Where are Marcus and your dad?”

  Zoey giggled. She couldn’t help it. Every time she thought about where Marcus was, it made her giggle. “Marcus won’t be here, because he’s out on a date . . . with Allie!”

  Libby and Kate looked up, surprised. But Priti just nodded her head. “That’s right,” she said. “Sounded like puppy love.”

  “Tell us everything!” Libby said.

  “Well, he’d been asking me a lot about her. And then last weekend, when she came by, I noticed how they looked at each other. So I gave him a nudge and told him to call her. So he did, and I think they talked like every night this week. And then he asked her out for a movie tonight, and she said yes!”

  “That’s great,” said Kate. “Marcus is such a nice guy.”

  “He is,” Zoey agreed. “And a nice brother, too. And, well, you know I adore Allie.”

  “Speaking of nice guys,” said Priti. “Did you ever clear things up with Gabe?”

  Zoey colored slightly. She had forgotten she had even mentioned to her friends that Gabe had offered to help her study. “There isn’t anything to clear up, really. He was just so nice to want to help. So I’m making him a Doggie Duds outfit for his schnauzer, Mr. Paws. I’m going to finish it this weekend and give it to him on Monday. That’s a nice thing to do, right?”

  Libby nodded vigorously. “Yes, definitely. Our dog loves his. And then Gabe will know you really do like him as a friend.”

  “Exactly,” Zoey agreed.

  “Is it picture time yet?” Priti asked. “Because I’m dying to show you guys all the stuff we did on our trip. . . .”

  “Okay, okay, we’re ready!” Kate declared. “But bring the pizza bagels.”

  The girls moved to the family room, where they could all jam together on the couch to look at Priti’s slideshow. Surrounded by her best friends, Zoey felt content. She had an Etsy shop all her own, two working sewing machines, and three best friends she knew she could count on. Life didn’t get much better!

  After everyone’s parents had come to pick them up, Zoey stood in the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes. Her dad had gone to sleep early, and Marcus still wasn’t back from his date with Allie. Zoey’s phone buzzed, and she reached for it, assuming it was Marcus checking in with her and their dad.

  Instead, it was an e-mail from her new Sew Zoey shop, alerting her that she had her first order. Zoey clicked through to read the details. It’s probably Aunt Lulu again, she thought as she scrolled through the text.

  But the name on the order wasn’t Lulu this time. It was Daphne Shaw! Daphne was Zoey’s dream designer—her idol, really. And she wanted to buy a shirt from Zoey!

  Zoey couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe she was standing in her kitchen, loading the dishwasher and getting an order from Daphne Shaw, all at the same time. It was just too awesome.

  When she scrolled down farther, she saw there was a message included. It read:

  Hi, Zoey!

  Love your new Etsy shop! I’m so glad you opened it. I was serious about inviting you up to New York to visit my design studio. Let’s make a plan! Talk to your dad and let me know when you can come. I can’t wait to meet you.

  All the best,

  Daphne Shaw

  Zoey dropped the spatula onto the kitchen floor. Daphne Shaw was following up with her to make sure she came to New York to hang out with her at her studio?

  What on earth would she wear?

  Want to keep reading? Knot to worry! Turn the page for a sneak peek at the next book in the Sew Zoey series:

  Knot

  Too

  Shabby!

  Fun in the Sun!

  I can’t believe how fast this school year has flown by! Summer vacation is just around the corner, and so far I’m planning on spending as much time as possible at Camp Lulu and the beach. It seems like only yesterday I got the text message from Priti, just before school started, telling me that our new principal, Ms. Austen, ended the uniform policy and made my dreams come true. I still get excited, just thinking about it. Yay, Ms. Austen!

  But so much has happened since then. I started my Sew Zoey blog, thinking only my family and a few friends would read it, or maybe no one at all. But it really took off, and through my blog I’ve “met” all of you awesometastic readers and learned so much from you. Sew Zoey has led to things I wouldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams, like being picked for a Très Chic website feature and starting online shops for dog (and human) clothes!

  I won’t pretend it’s all been fun and games. Sometimes it’s been a teensy bit overwhelming. And that, my friends, is the understatement of the century. But I wouldn’t trade this year for anything. I can’t wait to see what new adventures this summer will bring! I just hope it involves plenty of fun in the sun at the beach, which happened to have inspired this sketch.

  “This is my favorite day of the school year,” Kate Mackey said as she and Zoey Webber waited for Ms. Brown, their language arts teacher, to pass out their yearbooks. “I love the first time we get to look through the yearbook.”

  Zoey loved getting her yearbook too, but she wasn’t sure she’d go as far as saying it was her favorite day of the school year.

  “I’m always afraid that there won’t be any pictures of me or that there will be a picture of me but an awful one,” Zoey said.

  “You worry too much, Zo,” Kate said. “I bet there will be a picture of you, and you’ll look fab in it.”

  Ms. Brown handed Kate her book and checked off her name against her list.

  “And here you go, Zoey,” she said, handing Zoey hers. “Planning on launching any exciting new businesses this summer?”

  “No,” Zoey said. “I need a rest from all ones I started during the school year!”

  “Keep at it,” encouraged Ms. Brown. “I think it’s wonderful you’re following your passion.”

  “I will,” Zoey said. “But after I spend some time at the pool!”

  They didn’t have much time to look through their yearbooks before Ms. Brown started class—only as long as it took her to give out the rest of the books to the students.

  “Look, Zo! There’s a great picture of you, me, Priti, and Libby on the dance floor,” Kate said. “And we’re all wearing the tiaras you made us.”

  “You mean from the Sadie Hawkins dance?” Zoey asked.

  “Yeah—look!”

  It was a great picture. They’d all worried so much about asking a boy to the dance, but in the end they’d had the best time going together as a group—four besties being one another’s “dates.”

  It wasn’t until lunchtime that Zoey and her friends had the time to really check out the yearbook.

  “Oh my gosh, Zoey. Did you see you were voted Best Dressed?” Libby Flynn exclaimed.

  “No way! What page? Show me!” Zoey shrieked.

  Libby passed her yearbook to Zoey, opened to the awards section. Sure enough, there were several pictures of Zoey wearing her own homemade fashion creations.

  “I can’t believe it!” Zoey said.

  “Why not?” Priti Holbrooke asked. “You always wear cool clothes!”

  “I don’t know,” Zoey said. “I guess because . . . well, because it means that not everyone feels the same way about my outfits as Ivy Wallace does.”

  “Of course they don’t!” Kate said. “Look how many people read your blog.”

  “And you were asked to be a guest judge on Fashion Showdown!” Priti reminded her. “That doesn’t happen to just anyone. Especially someone who doesn’t have fashion sense.”

  “Ivy Wallace is just jealous,” Libby said. “I bet that’s why she always says mean things.”

  “Still, it’s nice to know everyone else thinks I’m well-dressed,” Zoey said, flipping through the pages of her yearbook. “Hey, look! Priti, you’ve been voted Most Entertaining!”

  “Entertaining? Moi? R
eally?” Priti said, waving her hands in a dramatic gesture. “Let me peruse your yearbook!”

  Zoey passed Priti her yearbook so she could see the picture of herself wearing a glittery headband, with jazz hands and a big smile.

  “Why, yes, I guess I am the Most Entertaining!” she said. “But where is my Oscar statuette?”

  “It’s probably still getting engraved.” Zoey played along.

  Priti giggled.

  “Kate, you’ve been voted Most Likely to Win Olympic Gold!” Libby said, still flipping through the yearbook pages. There were several pictures of Kate—playing soccer and on the swim team.

  Kate blushed as she looked at the pictures. “I don’t know why. There are lots of good athletes—”

  “C’mon, girl—own it!” Priti said.

  “You deserve it,” Zoey said. “Mapleton Prep wouldn’t have done nearly as well in soccer or swimming without you.”

  “I guess,” Kate said. “But—”

  “No buts!” Libby said.

  “Own it!” Zoey said.

  “Okay, okay, I own it,” Kate said.

  “Say ‘I am the bomb,’ ” Priti instructed.

  “Do I have to?” Kate sighed.

  “Yes,” Libby said.

  Zoey agreed with Priti too. Kate sighed.

  “Oooookay. I’mthebomb. Satisfied?” Kate said.

  “It’s a start, but next time, say it like you really mean it,” Priti said.

  “What about you, Libby?” Kate asked, trying desperately to change the subject from herself. “Did you get an award?”

  They all flipped through the awards pages. Sadly, Libby hadn’t been voted “best” anything.

  “I don’t mind,” Libby said, “really. Besides, I’m still pretty new here. There’s time for me to be best at something.”

  “Wait, look,” Zoey exclaimed. “There’s a big picture of you at the fashion show!”

  “Ooh, and I’m modeling the dress you made!” Libby said. “Which is still my favorite dress ever, by the way. Well, next to the Libby dress.”

  “My favorite picture in the whole yearbook is the one of all four of us together,” Kate said, turning to the picture of the four girls at the dance.

  “Yes!” Priti exclaimed. “I love that one. That was such a fun night.”

  “That’s my favorite, too,” Libby said.

  “Mine too,” Zoey said. “You guys definitely get my vote for Best Besties!”

  That night before dinner, Zoey’s dad said he had some good news for Zoey.

  Zoey was always up for good news.

  “I spoke to Erica Hill today,” her father said, “and we talked about setting a date for the visit.”

  Zoey was confused.

  “Who is Erica Hill, and what visit?” she asked.

  Mr. Webber grinned. “Erica Hill is the assistant to a fashion designer by the name of Daphne Shaw. I think you might have heard of her.”

  “What? We’re going to visit Daphne’s studio? Yippeeeee!” Zoey shrieked. “It’s really happening?”

  “Huh? I can’t hear you. Um . . . I think you just broke my eardrums,” Marcus, Zoey’s older brother, complained.

  “Sorry, Marcus,” Zoey said. “But . . . it’s Daphne Shaw!!! Can you blame me for being excited? When are we going, Dad? When?”

  “The Friday after school gets out,” Dad explained. “Erica and I actually talked about the visit a while back, but we agreed it would make more sense to wait till the summer, when you were out of school and the studio wasn’t so busy. Daphne wanted to make sure she has time to show you around personally and take you out to lunch.”

  Zoey hugged her dad and then started dancing around the kitchen in excitement, singing a little victory song. “I’m going to New Yo-orrrk, to meet Daphne Sha-awww!” she sang. “She’s taking me to lu-unnnch!”

  “I’m going to go cray-zee if Zo-eeey doesn’t stop sing-innng” Marcus sang in a groaning parody of his sister. “Dad, please. Make. It. Sto-oppp!”

  “Actually, I was wondering, Zoey . . .” Her dad hesitated, and Zoey stopped dancing and singing because he sounded serious. “Well, I can drive you to New York and take you to the studio. . . . It’s just, well, you know what my fashion sense is like. On a scale of one to ten, it’s a negative five.”

  “Negative five is being way too hard on yourself, Dad. I’d have said you were at least a three. I’d even go as high as a four or a five when you aren’t wearing sweats,” Zoey joked.

  “Well, since we’re going to the fashion district, to meet a top designer who is your inspiration, the last thing I want to do is embarrass you by showing up in some fuddy-duddy outfit. So what do you say we hit the mall tonight, and you can help me pick out a more fashion forward outfit?”

  “Yes! I’d be happy to be your fashion adviser,” Zoey said, giving her father another hug. It was really kind of cute when he admitted he was prone to making fashion faux pas. She couldn’t wait to take him shopping!

  Later that night, Marcus and his band were practicing in the basement. Mr. Webber ordered them pizza for dinner so that he and Zoey could get an early start at the mall.

  “You can have your pick of the food court,” Dad said as they pulled out of the garage.

  “After we find you an outfit,” Zoey corrected. “Fashion comes first!”

  “I should have known.” Dad sighed. “Duds before grub.”

  Rain pelted down on the roof of the car so hard that Zoey almost had to shout to be heard.

  “It better not be like this when school gets out,” Zoey complained. “My friends and I have important poolside plans, and the pool and the pouring rain don’t mix.”

  “Don’t worry, Zo,” her dad said. “It’s probably just a passing downpour.”

  Sure enough, by the time they got to the mall, the rain had lightened to a drizzle and the sun was trying to peek its way through the clouds on the horizon.

  “Look, Dad, a rainbow!” Zoey exclaimed.

  “Even better, a double rainbow,” her dad said. “That’s extra good luck.”

  “If I have much more good luck, I might explode from excitement,” Zoey said. . . .

  Chloe Taylor learned to sew when she was a little girl. She loved watching her grandmother Louise turn a scrap of blue fabric into a simple-but-fabulous dress, nightgown, or even a bathing suit in an instant. It was magical! Now that she’s grown up, she still loves fashion: it’s like art that you can wear. This is her first middle grade series. She lives, writes, and window-shops in New York City.

  Nancy Zhang is an illustrator and an art and fashion lover with a passion for all beautiful things. She has published her work in the art books L’Oiseau Rouge and Street Impressions and in various fashion magazines and on websites. Visit her at her blog: www.xiaoxizhang.com. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany.

  SIMON SPOTLIGHT

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Chloe-Taylor

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Nancy-Zhang

  Jacket design by Laura Roode

  Jacket illustrations by Simon and Schuster, Inc.

  SewZoeyBooks.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  SIMON SPOTLIGHT

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 2014 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  SIMON SPOTLIGHT and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Text by Caroline Hickey

  Designed by Laura Roode

  ISBN 978-1-4814
-0443-3 (pb)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-0444-0 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-0445-7 (eBook)

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2013943454