by Nancy Zhang
“You did? You mailed it? You’re sure?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
Zoey bit her lip. She wanted to believe her brother, she really did. He was normally a pretty reliable brother. But he had been distracted that day, and worried about finishing his application, and Allie had called him. What if it fell on the ground somewhere and then just blew into a storm drain? Or someone threw it out?
Zoey couldn’t quite let it go. “It’s just that I haven’t heard back. So I thought maybe it didn’t get mailed.”
Marcus’s eyes finally focused, and he looked hurt. “Why do you think I wouldn’t mail your letter? You told me it was important.”
Zoey nodded. “I know, I know. It’s just that you’ve been a little weird lately. And totally preoccupied with Allie . . .”
As soon as Zoey said Allie’s name, she remembered something else—Allie playing with one of the mirrored buttons when she was at Zoey’s house a few days ago. Zoey hadn’t found the third button at the beach yesterday, despite a lengthy search, and she’d given the dining and living rooms a good search last night as well. Priti loved those buttons, and Zoey needed all three. Where was that third button? Allie had said that it was perfect for a project she was working on.
“Marcus,” Zoey said impulsively, “is there any chance Allie might have taken something from my sewing supplies when she was here the other day?”
Marcus looked horrified. He couldn’t even answer.
Zoey immediately realized the implication of what she’d said. “Omigosh, that came out wrong! I don’t mean that she stole it or anything, Marcus. She’s my friend! I just mean, maybe she borrowed something for a project, planning to replace it, or put something in her pocket by mistake. Do you know if . . . if she did?”
Marcus smacked his hand on the kitchen table. “Jeez, Zoey, what’s going on with you? You keep saying I’m distracted and all that, and you keep accusing me of not mailing your letter, and now you’re accusing Allie of stealing stuff from you?” He shook his head.
Quickly, Zoey apologized. “I’m so sorry, Marcus. I know I probably sound nuts. It’s just that I haven’t heard about my letter yet, and this really important button for Priti’s new room has disappeared, and I don’t know what’s going on!”
Marcus stood up and took his cereal bowl to the sink to rinse and then put in the dishwasher. “Well, here’s a tip—don’t run around accusing people of stealing from you unless you’re sure they did. Oh, and probably, your brother and your good friend aren’t people who would do that, anyway! Sheesh.”
Marcus stormed off, leaving Zoey alone at the kitchen table to think. What was happening to her judgment? Was she juggling too many projects at once? That could be. Not to mention she was awfully worried about both Kate and Priti at the moment, with everything they had going on. But that was no excuse for hurting her brother’s feelings. Zoey loved being a designer, but she loved her friends and family more.
Zoey vowed to make it up to Marcus somehow. In the meantime she had a lot of sewing to do.
CHAPTER 7
Ready to Fall Over!
Ugh—I feel terrible! I just accused my brother and another person (who shall remain nameless) of doing two separate things that are so obviously ridiculous, I can’t believe I even said the words! But for some reason I feel like a snowball running down a hill and growing out of control. There’s been music coming from the basement (where my brother’s band is practicing for their big audition for the Camp of Rock) all day, and it’s making me batty. You can only listen to someone pounding on a drum set for maybe an hour . . . and I’m up to hour five!
Maybe I need a change of scene, and SCENERY, to feel better. . . . It’s almost time to say good-bye to summer. I just sketched this gorgeous dress as a nod to fall. See the leaves? I’ll need just the right fabrics to be able to pull it off, but this is going to be cool. If only I can get through these final (very loud) weeks of summer! HELP!
To escape the noise from the basement, not to mention her guilt from her earlier conversation with Marcus, Zoey decided to hide at Kate’s house for the evening. It would give Marcus a chance to cool down, and Zoey hoped if she could sit somewhere quiet for a half an hour, she’d be able to think clearly again.
Mrs. Mackey ushered Zoey up to Kate’s room, and once Zoey was comfortable lounging on Kate’s bed, enjoying the pleasant stillness of the Mackey house, she relaxed.
“It’s sooooo nice here,” she said to Kate. “You’re lucky! Marcus’s band has completely taken over our house. My dad’s hiding at work—I’m sure of it. He’s never gone all day on the weekends. We all support Marcus’s band, and we want him to do well at his audition, but seriously! I’m starting to lose it!”
Kate giggled. She was perched at the top of her bed, sitting upright so her arm could rest properly. Her long blond hair poured down one shoulder, and on the other shoulder was one of the sling covers Zoey had made for her last spring, when she’d sprained her elbow. It reminded Zoey that she had another to-do-list item: make more slings for Kate.
“What’s Marcus’s band’s name again?” Kate asked.
“The Space Invaders,” said Zoey. “Isn’t that funny? It’s from some old video game.”
Kate nodded. “What are they going to wear to the audition? They need to look perfect.”
“That’s a good question. Maybe I should offer to . . .” Zoey’s voice trailed off as an idea came to her. “That’s it, Kate! I’ll make them really awesome T-shirts to wear for their audition! Like those old, vintage band tees he loves, with the silk-screened logos, but more modern.”
“Great idea!” said Kate. “Marcus will love it.”
Zoey heaved a sigh of relief. “See? I just needed ten minutes of peace and quiet for my brain to start working properly again. Marcus will forgive me when I give him the shirts.”
“Forgive you for what?” asked Kate.
“Oh, just something dumb I did,” said Zoey. “You know me—sewing too hard, doing too much. I lost a few things and sort of flipped my lid.”
“You? Doing too much? Never.”
“Ha-ha, Mackey, very funny!”
Kate grinned. “Since you’re here, and it’s quiet, do you want to start working on the shirts? I’d love to help—even if it’s just as your sounding board to bounce ideas off of. I feel like I have so much time now without swimming.” Her voice caught on the word “swimming,” and Zoey knew Kate was really having a hard time with her mandatory sports time-out. Zoey was glad she was there to distract Kate.
“Yes!” said Zoey. “Let me grab my sketchbook . . .” She fished through her bag and pulled out her sketchbook and pencil. She flipped to a clean page and then gripped her pencil, poised to create.
Kate stared at her. “What’s wrong? You’re usually sketching by now!”
Zoey blinked. She did have an idea for the shirts, but it was an image she wanted to draw and put on the shirts, not something she could just sew together. “I know—I just realized something. I want to draw a design and print it, not sew it. How can I do all that in time? They need the shirts in just a few days!”
Kate thought for a second and then picked up her laptop from the floor. “Leave that to me. You start working on the design and give me a few minutes to research.”
Zoey shrugged. “Okay—sounds good to me!”
Closing her eyes for a second, Zoey took several deep breaths. Since the Space Invaders name referred to a video game, she thought it would be neat to have an icon for the band that looked like graphics from an old video game. She started sketching little characters who were a mishmash of tiny robots and aliens, and kept at it until she had a few little guys she liked. She added a few flourishes and then sat back to look it over.
“I think I have something,” Zoey said, holding the pad away from her body to study it from afar.
“Me too,” said Kate. “Guess what you’re going to do!”
Kate turned the laptop around and showed Zoey the listing for
a class at the local college where Zoey’s dad worked for the athletics department as a sports therapist.
“ ‘Screen-printing class’?” Zoey read. “Of course!” She scanned the listing for the class and saw that it was open to ages twelve and up. It met weeknight evenings on campus. Students brought their own T-shirts to use and could pay by the class. Zoey could start immediately, and hopefully, get the shirts completed in the next few days! All she had to do was get her father’s permission and the money to attend the classes, which she had saved up, thanks to her number-one Etsy customer, Dakota Brown. “This is awesome, Kate, thank you!”
Kate smiled, looking pleased to be so helpful. “I’m glad it’s going to work out! I think Marcus will love the shirts, and it’ll give his whole band confidence for their audition.”
Zoey picked up her bag again to look for her phone. Then she sent a text message to her father that she was hiding at Kate’s house while Marcus’s band finished, and could she please take a screen-printing class the following week?
He texted back, Yes, of course! And Band shuts down at 7 p.m. Come home and see your old dad.
Zoey laughed and returned the phone to her bag. “Dad’s going to kick the band out in another hour or so. Can I stay here until then?”
Kate nodded. “Of course! Stay for dinner. We’re having chicken cacciatore.”
“Yum!” said Zoey. “I’m staying! Let’s look through your closet for a first-day-of-school outfit. I’m going to need to make you a sling to go with it, so I need to know what you’ll be wearing.”
“I’d like to be wearing my swim team warm-ups,” Kate admitted.
“I know,” said Zoey. “Any word from your doctor or your coach about when you might be cleared to swim again?”
Kate shook her head. “No; they’ve said I’m doing a good job resting it, but they really don’t want me to push myself. I’m still benched for a while.”
“I’m sorry,” said Zoey. “You’re such a great swimmer, Kate. When you’re all healed and ready, you’ll be better than ever, I’m sure of it!”
Kate smiled ruefully. “I hope so. But until then, I might as well let you dress me like a mannequin. Go ahead, search my closet! You’ll have a hard time finding anything more interesting than T-shirts and jeans. . . .”
“That’s okay,” said Zoey, her eyes twinkling. “Because I can always make you something more interesting. . . .”
On Sunday morning Zoey was up early and working. She had told the Flynns she’d have Sophie’s dress cut and pinned together by lunchtime, so they could come over and have a fitting for Sophie.
She’d brought the dress and all her supplies home from Lulu’s on Friday and had everything spread out on the dining room table as she worked. She liked to be able to see all her supplies, so she knew what she had to work with and what she still needed to finish.
Immediately, she noticed a swatch of fabric she’d earmarked for a throw pillow in Priti’s room was missing. She searched her bag for it, twice, with no success. It wasn’t a total crisis, because she had the corresponding bolt of fabric she needed to make the pillow, but she liked to keep swatches for creating mood boards and concept boards, or just to tote around with her, in case she needed them for reference.
Zoey shook her head, frustrated that another item from Priti’s project had disappeared.
At least Sophie’s dress is coming together nicely, Zoey thought. The fabric-blocking design she’d come up with was really cute. She hoped Sophie would like it as much as she did!
Marcus’s band was at it again in the basement, so Zoey put in her headphones and listened to music while she worked. When Sophie, Libby, and Mrs. Flynn arrived, they had to really bang on the front door for Zoey to hear them. She pulled out the headphones from her ears and then ran to open the door.
“Hi, guys,” she yelled over the music. “Sorry about the noise. My brother’s band has a huge audition coming up, and they’ve been practicing nonstop.”
Mrs. Flynn looked alarmed by the pounding of the drums in the basement. Zoey could almost see her temples throbbing.
“I guess you get used to it, right?” Mrs. Flynn asked.
Zoey shook her head. “No, not really.”
In the living room, Zoey ushered Sophie to the couch and told her to close her eyes. Then she went and got the pinned-together dress from where it was hidden in the dining room and brought it over to show her.
“Here it is!” Zoey cried, excited to show off her creation.
Sophie’s eyes flew open and she clapped her hands and squealed. “I love it!!” she declared. “It is the most beautiful dress in the entire world! I’ll never take it off!”
Zoey, Libby, and Mrs. Flynn laughed.
“Well, eventually, we’ll have to wash it,” said Mrs. Flynn. “But I’m glad you’re so happy, Sophie! I think it’s beautiful too. What a wonderful job you’re doing, Zoey.”
Mrs. Flynn beamed at her, and Zoey smiled back. This was her favorite part of being a designer—getting to see happy customers as they tried on their new outfits.
Sophie carefully put on the dress and modeled it for everyone.
Libby looked really pleased and clapped her hands together. “You look great, Soph!”
Sophie did a little dance in her dress, as if to show how happy it made her and how well she could move in it. “I can do monkey bars in it!” Sophie exclaimed.
Libby caught Zoey’s eye, and they both smiled.
Zoey turned Sophie around a few times to study the dress from different angles. “I think it needs just a few alterations. Come into the dining room with me, Sophie, where my pins are. I’m going to make some adjustments, okay?”
The whole crew followed Zoey and Sophie, and oohed and ahhed when they saw Zoey’s worktable, laid out with rows and rows of swatches and accessories.
“It’s almost like you have your own fabric store in here,” Libby joked.
Zoey laughed. “Well, I’m in the middle of a bunch of different projects, and I’m going to try to make Kate a sling later today, so I’ve got to keep all my stuff organized or I’ll never finish everything. It’s a good thing my dad and brother don’t mind eating in the kitchen all the time!”
Zoey re-pinned Sophie’s dress and wrote down a few notes. Even though she’d just measured her a week ago, the dress looked like it was a little short—shorter than Zoey had intended it to be. There was time to fix it, though, and plenty of extra material.
“I’ll have it done and perfect this week,” Zoey promised.
Sophie nodded happily, her eyes shining with pleasure about her new dress. “Can we stay here for a while, Mom?” she asked Mrs. Flynn. “I love looking at all of Zoey’s design stuff!”
“You can look for a minute, okay? I want to talk to Zoey.” Mrs. Flynn nodded her head at Zoey and Libby, indicating the three of them should step back into the living room to talk.
Zoey and Libby obeyed, leaving Sophie in the dining room, where she wouldn’t be able to overhear them. “Is everything okay?” Zoey asked.
Mrs. Flynn quickly waved a hand. “Oh yes, of course! Sorry if I worried you. I just want to thank you again, privately, for making this special dress for Sophie. She hasn’t stopped talking about it, or you, since we went to the Cody Calloway concert. I know this might sound odd, but Libby and I think you’ve been a really good influence on her!”
Zoey couldn’t help blushing. She was happy to be someone’s good influence! And just by doing what came natural to her—sewing. She looked at Libby, who reached over and squeezed her hand.
“There’s no need to thank me,” Zoey said modestly. “I love making clothes for people!”
Just then, Sophie tiptoed into the room and peered around Libby. “Mom, can we please stay for longer than one minute?”
Mrs. Flynn grimaced, as there was a deafening crescendo from the music coming from the basement. “Um, not today, honey. We’ve got to get Libby to her dance rehearsal, remember? But we’ll come back a
nother day, all right?”
Zoey looked at Libby as she picked up her headphones once again. “Take me with you?” she joked. “Please?”
Libby smiled. “I wish we could.”
CHAPTER 8
DYEing to Try Screen Printing!!
I am very, very excited! I’m trying something totally new tonight—screen printing! (Get it? Dyeing?) My friend Kate found me this class where I can learn to print designs onto clothing. I’ve come up with a pretty neat design for a SPECIAL PROJECT for a FAMILY MEMBER who probably isn’t reading this blog, because he’s way too busy putting cracks in our house by turning the bass way up on his band’s speakers. (Really, there’s a crack on the wall of the kitchen, and my dad thinks it’s from M’s band practicing!) I can’t post the sketch of that project here, just in case you-know-who sees it, so I’ve posted another one of some leg warmers and a leotard I’m going to make for my friend Libby (someday, when I have more time), who has been busy-busy at ballet camp this summer and had to miss our fun beach day this past Friday.
A few readers have posted and asked if I’ve heard from Fashionsista yet—and the answer is no. But I DO have confirmation that my letter was mailed. Fashionsista—are you out there?! Hello?
Zoey went to Camp Lulu on Monday, ready to switch gears and dedicate herself to working on Project Priti for the day. She brought all her materials with her, as usual, because she never knew exactly when or on what part of the project she’d be in the mood to work on. Luckily, Lulu had a sewing machine for Zoey to use, so she didn’t have to lug that along as well!
Lulu was home for the morning, with no client appointments, so she and Zoey went over the details of the project. Lulu had been very helpful by keeping Zoey on track with such a large job.
“This is the fabric Priti liked for the pillows and duvet,” Zoey said, showing them to her aunt. “And I think I’m going to do them first, since they’re so easy to sew, and it’ll make me feel like I’ve accomplished a lot.”