Stitches and Stones

by Chloe Taylor

  “I love your hat too,” she said. “It looks like it could be in a museum.”

  “It probably could be in a museum,” Gabe admitted. “It was my great-grandfather’s. Mom had it in a trunk up in the attic. She even had Grandpa’s formal tuxedo.”

  “You should have worn it! It would have been awesome.”

  “I thought about it,” Gabe said. “But I wasn’t sure how into it people were going to get, and I didn’t want to be that guy who came to school totally overdressed.”

  Zoey liked that Gabe was enthusiastic about getting dressed up for Spirit Week. When she looked over at Lorenzo Romy, her on-again, off-again crush, he had barely made any effort at all. Okay, he was wearing a hat, but it was just a regular old baseball cap, and he had it turned backward, just like he normally would. Nothing in the least bit special or spirited about it.

  For today, at least, she figured that crush was off again.

  All students were required to take off their hats for class, anyway, which was good because Gabe’s top hat was kind of an obstruction to Zoey’s field of vision. She was worried she might have hat hair, until she remembered today was Hat Hair Day as much as it was Hat Day. If she had hat hair, everyone would.

  She talked to Kate and Priti in the hall on the way to gym. “Looking good!” she said.

  “You too!” Priti said. “I just wish we didn’t have to take off our hats for every class.”

  “Well, I have gym next,” Zoey said. “I can’t imagine playing basketball with a veil. I’m bad enough at scoring without something blocking my vision!”

  Kate and Priti laughed.

  “Just keep your eyes on the ball,” Kate said, giving Zoey a hug. “And have fun. I wish I had gym now!”

  “You wish you had gym all day!” Priti chuckled.

  “Ha-ha. Good one, Priti! See you at lunch, guys,” Zoey said. She didn’t have the heart to tell Kate that gym was her least favorite class of the day. Zoey’s father was a physical therapist for Eastern State University’s athletics teams, so she kind of liked watching sports. She had to! But gym class was another story.

  Zoey arrived at the locker room and placed the pillbox hat on a nearby bench while she changed into her gym clothes. She could hear Ivy and her friends Shannon Chang and Bree Sharpe in the next row of lockers. They were singing a song Zoey had heard everywhere lately called “Get Your Cool On.” It was simple but catchy, and starting to grow on her.

  “We’re going to rock it on Friday!” Shannon said enthusiastically.

  “You better,” Ivy replied coldly, then added a halfhearted, “Just kidding!”

  The song was okay but still not Zoey’s favorite. Well, it’s perfect for them, Zoey thought as she stuffed her backpack into her locker and hung her clothes on the hook inside. That’s when Zoey felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around.

  “Hey,” said Bree. “You forgot your hat.”

  Zoey was confused. “Um, thanks?” she said, watching in awe as Bree placed Zoey’s hat in her locker for her. That’s weird, Zoey thought. Why is Bree being nice to me?

  Then the bell rang and it was time to go to the basketball court. Zoey tried to follow Kate’s advice and just have fun, but it seemed like Ivy was making a lot of intentional fouls on her—and the teacher didn’t see any of them. Another typical day in gym class . . .

  When gym was over, Zoey changed back into her regular clothes and headed to lunch. She was too hot and sweaty to put her hat back on. Zoey shuddered at the thought of having to return Mrs. Holbrooke’s ladylike hat with post-gym sweat stains on it after she’d made the girls swear to keep the hats in perfect condition. Besides, she and Libby were going to switch hats at lunch in a few minutes, and Libby probably wouldn’t appreciate a sweaty hat either. Yuck!

  In the cafeteria, Zoey sat down next to Priti, set her hat down on the lunch table, and pulled out her lunch bag.

  “What’s for lunch?” Zoey asked Priti.

  “Saag paneer calzone, I think,” Priti answered, eyeing her lunch suspiciously. “My mom’s been trying some hybrid recipes for her food blog, and I’m the guinea pig. Last night we had lamb burritos with naan instead of tortillas for dinner. ”

  “Lucky you!” Zoey said, then pointed at the calzone. “Wanna trade? I have a chicken sandwich with kale, peppers, and zucchini. My dad says it’s fuel. For my brain. You know how he is. Actually, it’s pretty yummy, but I love your mom’s cooking.”

  “Yes, please!” Priti said, and the girls swapped lunches.

  Zoey waved as she saw Libby approaching the table with her hot lunch tray.

  “Hi, guys!” Libby said, sitting down next to Zoey and taking a bite of pizza. The orchids on her hat bobbed up and down as she chewed. “Isn’t Hat Day so fun? How’s your morning been?”

  “Good,” Zoey replied. “Can you believe even Mr. Dunn wore a propeller hat? He actually smiled today.”

  “Yeah, I know!” Libby said. “Too bad he had to ruin the fun with a pop quiz.”

  “Ugh.” Priti groaned. “I have that later.”

  “Well, at least you’ll have a new hat to cheer you up,” Zoey said, handing her the pillbox hat.

  Libby removed the fascinator from her own head and handed it to Zoey. “And here’s the fascinator for you!”

  Kate showed up just then, and they all compared notes on their mornings.

  “I’m getting used to my hat,” Kate said, opening the smiley-face lunch bag Zoey made for her when she got her braces off. “If it were easier to wear a ponytail with it on, I wouldn’t mind wearing it every day.”

  “I can’t wait to wear the fascinator,” Zoey said. “Can one of you help me put it on, since I don’t have a mirror?”

  “I will!” Priti exclaimed. “But . . . aren’t you going to have to take it off as soon as you get to class?”

  “Yeah, but I want to take a picture for Aunt Lulu,” Zoey said. “She would go gaga for this hat!”

  Zoey’s aunt was like a surrogate mother to her, ever since Zoey’s own mother passed away when she was a baby. Aunt Lulu ran an interior design business out of her home. Over the summer, she taught Zoey to sew, and the rest was history.

  Aunt Lulu had just left for Italy for a furniture design show, so she was missing the Hat Day spectacle. Her fourteen-year-old dog, Draper, was staying at a kennel while she was gone because Zoey’s dad was too busy to take care of him. Zoey missed both of them terribly.

  While Priti fussed with Zoey’s hair and the fascinator until everything looked perfect, Zoey looked for signs that Priti might be ready to talk about her not-so-perfect situation at home. Priti seemed like her usual upbeat self.

  “There you go!” Priti said, grabbing Zoey’s phone. “Smile!” she added as she snapped a photo to show to Zoey’s aunt.

  “Thanks!” Zoey said. “How do I look?”

  “Bee-yoo-tiful!” said Kate.

  “Tall,” said Libby, with a sly smile. “Almost as tall as me.”

  “I wish.” Zoey sighed. “But it’s not exactly easy to see over, is it? Kind of like Gabe’s top hat. Did you see it?”

  “He looked supercute in that, didn’t he?” Libby observed.

  “Yeah,” Zoey agreed. “He did.”

  Her feelings about Gabe, Lorenzo, and the whole idea of boys and crushes were still pretty confusing, especially since the dance—when she thought dancing with Lorenzo would be the most romantic thing ever, but had actually had more fun dancing with Gabe. For now, it was easier to focus on creating cool designs than worrying too much about boy stuff.

  When lunch ended, the girls all went their separate ways. Zoey was in science when the assistant principal, Mrs. Diaz, called her into the hallway and told her to report to Ms. Austen’s office. She wasn’t smiling, but Zoey shrugged it off. She figured maybe her blog friend and mentor, Fashionsista, had sent another parcel to her via Ms. Austen, as she had in the past.

  Zoey stopped in the bathroom on the way to Ms. Austen’s office, to put the fascinator back
on properly. She loved that Mapleton’s principal, Ms. Austen, had a great sense of style. Zoey wanted to make sure her special Spirit Week outfit looked just right.

  Ms. Austen was waiting for Zoey outside her office. She was wearing a striped boatneck top and a beret with slim black capris and black flats.

  “I love your outfit!” Zoey exclaimed. “It’s très français!”

  “Merci, Mademoiselle Zoey,” Ms. Austen replied, but without her usual enthusiasm. She opened the door to her office and ushered Zoey inside. Zoey was getting the feeling that this wasn’t about a package from Fashionsista or about something good. It was a feeling that was confirmed when she saw Libby sitting by Ms. Austen’s desk, her hair streaked gray with some whitish powdery substance, and her eyes red and puffy from crying.

  “Libby! What happened?” Zoey exclaimed. They’d only just recently parted from each other in the cafeteria after lunch.

  “That’s what I was hoping to find out,” Ms. Austen said, sitting behind her desk, a grim expression on her face.

  Zoey was confused. She’d do anything for Ms. Austen or Libby, but she didn’t know what was going on.

  “I put on the pillbox hat after you gave it to me at lunch and went to my next class,” Libby explained, taking another tissue from the box on Ms. Austen’s desk to dab at her damp eyes. “But then I had to take it off when class started and . . . well . . . saw this.” She pointed to the mess on her hair and clothes. “Someone put what looks like baby powder in it, and it got all over my hair, my clothes, and the desk, which was bad enough, but then . . .”

  Libby started tearing up again, and Zoey put her arm around her for comfort.

  “But then people started laughing and pointing, and I started crying in front of the whole class.” Libby sniffed. “That’s the worst part of all.”

  Zoey understood how she felt. She’d hate to cry in front of Ivy. But she didn’t think telling Libby that was going to make her feel any better.

  “When Libby explained to her teacher that you and she had switched hats at lunch, Mrs. Brennan called me in to investigate,” Ms. Austen explained. She leaned forward and looked Zoey straight in the eye. “I have to ask this, Zoey. Did you do this, thinking it might be a funny prank to play on Libby? After all, it’s your hat.”

  Zoey’s face expressed all the horror she felt that Ms. Austen would think she’d do something like that to one of her best friends, that she’d think upsetting Libby like this was funny in the tiniest way.

  “No way!” she protested. “I would never . . .” Zoey turned to Libby. “You believe that, don’t you?”

  Libby nodded. “I never thought it was you. I told Mrs. Brennan, but she said it was ‘just a little too convenient.’ ”

  “For the record, I didn’t think it was you either, but I needed to ask the question, just to be one hundred and ten percent sure,” Ms. Austen said. She stood up and walked around the desk to sit perched on the end, next to Zoey.

  “So what did happen?” Zoey asked.

  “I looked up what class you have before lunch, Zoey, and I noticed Ivy, Bree, and Shannon are in that class with you. Did you put on the hat after gym?”

  “No . . . I didn’t,” Zoey answered. “I was too hot and sweaty after playing basketball, and I didn’t want to get it dirty, since it’s Priti’s mom’s hat.” Zoey paused, lowering her eyes. “I guess it’s too late for that, now. What am I going to tell Mrs. Holbrooke?”

  “Don’t worry, sweetie. Baby powder will come out. She’ll understand,” Ms. Austen reassured. “But do you think it could have been the usual suspects? Could they have put baby powder in your hat during gym?”

  Knowing Ivy and her crew, Zoey thought they might have had something to do with it, but it wasn’t like she actually saw anyone doing anything, and she wasn’t about to be a tattletale. So she just shrugged and said, “I don’t know,” then remembered that Bree had reminded her to put her hat in her locker. “Actually, Bree was kind of nice to me today.”

  Ms. Austen held her gaze for a moment and then stood up.

  “Well, I think I might just ask them to come to my office and have a chat, just in case,” she said.

  As much as Zoey wanted Ivy to get in trouble if it was her behind the prank that upset Libby so much, she had a sinking feeling that somehow Ms. Austen having a chat with Ivy and her gang was just going to end up making things worse.

  “I’ll give you each a pass to go back to class,” Ms. Austen said. “Zoey, perhaps you can accompany Libby to the restroom first and help her clean up.”

  “Sure,” Zoey said, taking her pass and Libby’s and picking up the powdery pillbox hat from the desk.

  “I don’t want to go back to class,” Libby confessed to Zoey when they entered the nearest restroom. “I’m so embarrassed about what happened.”

  Zoey was busy wiping the remaining powder from the pillbox hat with a paper towel.

  “You shouldn’t be embarrassed,” she said. “The person who did this is the one who should be.”

  Placing the hat carefully on the edge of the sink, she said, “How about I help you get the powder out of your hair?”

  “Thanks.” Libby sighed.

  Zoey combed her fingers through Libby’s hair, fluffing out the particles of powder.

  “You know, I think that prank was aimed at me,” she said. “Except I was too hot after gym, so I didn’t put the hat back on before I gave it to you.” She hugged Libby. “I’m really sorry it ended up being you.”

  Libby hugged her back. “It shouldn’t have been either of us,” she said. “It was a dumb thing to do.”

  “I know. I’m just sorry . . . you know . . .”

  “I know,” Libby said. “It’s not your fault. Thanks for helping me get cleaned up.”

  “Well, it’s not all gone, but it’ll come out in the shower. At least you smell really nice!” Zoey said, getting Libby to crack a little smile.

  They both headed back to class, neither one of them feeling too good about the situation. Zoey was too worried about the fallout from Ms. Austen talking to Ivy, Shannon, and Bree.

  When she met Priti and Kate later that day, the school was already buzzing with rumors.

  “I heard Ivy made Bree do it by threatening not to be her friend anymore if she didn’t,” Kate said.

  “Well, apparently, Ms. Austen gave all three of them a very serious warning and said if she can find proof that they’re responsible, or if they misbehave again, they’ll be in big trouble,” Priti said.

  Although part of Zoey knew it was a good thing they’d received a serious warning from Ms. Austen, another part felt anxious, wondering if Ivy would end up retaliating. She felt like she would need to look over her shoulder for the rest of Hat Day.

  Then Zoey ran into Libby in the hall. Libby looked upset again.

  “Libby! Are you okay?” Zoey asked. “I thought you were feeling a little better.”

  “I got in trouble,” she said. “I didn’t want to take my hat off for class, because I was afraid people might laugh at my hair. So my teacher gave me a detention for tomorrow.”

  “But . . . that’s not fair!” Zoey exclaimed. “I’m sure if you explain to Ms. Austen . . .”

  “I’m on my way to see her now,” Libby said. “I’m going to ask Mom to pick me up.”

  As she walked to her next class, Zoey’s fists were clenched around her notebook. Hat Day started off being so much fun, and now Libby was upset and going home, all because someone was mean and played a stupid prank. It just wasn’t fair. Zoey thought back to how ladylike and grown-up she and Libby had felt in their hats earlier that day . . . before Libby was the victim of that very unladylike prank. Maybe the whole thing was meant to be a joke. But seeing Libby that upset just wasn’t funny.

  Still, tomorrow was Twin Day. Zoey and her friends had worked hard on their costumes. It was bound to be a better day. It had to be.

  - - - - CHAPTER 3 - - - -

  An Outfit to Tie-Dye for!

>   I haven’t started off Spirit Week in such great spirits. Someone pulled a horrible hat prank today, putting powder in the pillbox hat when I left it in the locker room during gym. I have my suspicions about who did it, but since I don’t have proof, I’m not saying anything.

  But their prank went wrong. I was going to switch hats with Libby at lunch, and since I was hot after all that running around, playing basketball, I didn’t put the hat back on. That’s how poor Libby ended up being the one who got pranked. When she took off the hat in class after the switch, powder got everywhere—in her hair, on her clothes, on the desk. The whole thing was so upsetting, she ended up going home a little early. I wonder if the people who did it realize the stupid thing they did ended up ruining someone’s entire day? If they do, does it make them feel even the teensiest bit bad?

  At least tomorrow is a new day: TWIN DAY! I designed and helped make these outfits for all of us. The principal said Twin Day could mean anything from dressing in the same outfits to being dressed as perfect pairs, things that go well together.

  So, of course, our first thought was to do something related to food. Kate and Libby decided to be a milk bottle and Oreo cookie. To save time, I made the costumes by altering the shape of plain dresses from the thrift store. Then I designed collars, trim, and an Oreo cream belt, and Kate and Libby helped put it all together. I asked Priti if she would want to be peanut butter and jelly, but she doesn’t like PB&J. Apparently, her mom doesn’t like peanut butter, so Priti never developed a taste for it. And Priti’s dad grew up eating this stuff called Marmite in England. I tried Marmite once when I was over at her house, and it was gross. Sorry to any Marmite fans out there. Priti’s dad joked you have to be born British to like it.

  After a lot of discussion, we decided to be peace and love instead. I’m going to be wearing a tie-dyed headband and a dress with a peace sign, and Priti is wearing a dress we embellished with a sparkly red heart—because Priti loves to sparkle. Seriously: If peanut butter was sparkly, she would probably eat it!