Swatch Out!

by Nancy Zhang

  Priti looked at Shannon suspiciously, as if she were unsure of what she might say, but Zoey greeted Shannon warmly. After all, she had helped Zoey finish the shirts for the band. Without Shannon, they wouldn’t have gotten done!

  “Hi, everyone,” Shannon said tentatively. “I don’t mean to interrupt. . . . I just wanted to tell Zoey something.”

  Zoey could sense Shannon was nervous without Ivy and Bree by her side. Zoey nodded at her encouragingly. “Sure, what is it?”

  Shannon smiled. “I just wanted to say how amazing your brother’s band looks in their shirts. You did a great job. And they sounded awesome too!”

  Zoey nearly gawked at all the compliments coming out of Shannon’s mouth, but quickly covered up her surprise. Shannon had been nice to her, and she deserved the same in return. Maybe she really was changing for the better.

  “Thank you!” Zoey said. “And you deserve credit too. I’d never have been able to get the shirts done as quickly as I did without your screen-printing expertise.”

  Shannon grinned, pleased. “Oh, well, sure. It was no problem. I’ve got to go—I just wanted to say hi. Bye, everybody.”

  Zoey nodded, and her friends all managed to say good-bye without sounding too astonished.

  “I never thought I’d see the day,” Priti remarked. “But Shannon actually seemed nice!”

  “If she could just stay away from Ivy and Bree, I bet she could be nice,” Kate agreed. “Maybe this year will be different! I wouldn’t mind that at all.”

  “Me neither,” said Libby, who’d often been teased by Ivy about her height. “One less mean girl in the world is something to celebrate.”

  The girls couldn’t finish their conversation, because just then, the lights dimmed and the crowd started clapped and yelling wildly, even though they still didn’t know who the secret performer was.

  Zoey giggled to herself, trying to contain her excitement at seeing Cody sing again, but this time as his sort-of friend!

  Cody strode out to the middle of the stage, and all at once, hundreds of girls screamed, “IT’S CODY CALLOWAY!”

  Zoey and her friends yelled and cheered and jumped up and down. Zoey was just as excited as everyone else—and it was because Cody was wearing the T-shirt Zoey had made for him! She’d given it to Marcus that morning to deliver, and Cody must have liked it so much, he put it on right away! Zoey felt like she’d died and gone to heaven. There was Cody Calloway, onstage in front of hundreds of fans, wearing a Sew Zoey design! None of her friends recognized the shirt as Zoey’s, because it was screen printed and based on Cody’s band’s logo.

  The girls watched the concert, enjoying every minute of Cody’s set. Zoey felt like she was on the moon, she was so happy!

  As soon as the band finished, and Zoey and her friends had clapped so hard their hands were hurting, they started to head toward the door that led to the backstage area, where they were joined by Sophie and Mrs. Flynn.

  Sophie ran to Zoey and hugged her. “Zoey, did you see the shirt Cody was wearing? It looked just like the ones you made for your brother’s band!”

  Libby immediately squeezed Sophie’s shoulder and shushed her. “It’s just a coincidence, Sophie,” she said.

  Before Zoey could say anything, Cody and his sister, Dakota, came through the door from backstage and were standing directly in front of them. Zoey’s friends all gasped, completely overwhelmed that they were standing two feet away from Cody Calloway. Dakota was wearing all Sew Zoey clothing, and Cody was still wearing his T-shirt. Priti swooned from the shock of being so close to him and started to lose her balance. Kate, still athletic, even with a sling on, caught Priti with her good arm and helped her upright again. Libby’s face was shockingly pink.

  Cody came even closer to Zoey and touched her arm. “Thanks so much for the shirt, Zoey,” he said. “It turned out amazing! I might order a few more from you!”

  Libby, still bright pink and overwhelmed, spat out, “You know Cody Calloway? You made him a shirt?”

  Priti started to swoon again, but luckily, Kate was still standing beside her and kept her from falling.

  Zoey nodded, thrilled and relieved to finally be able to spill the beans to her friends. “Yes! And this is his sister, Dakota. Believe me, it’s been the hardest secret I’ve ever kept. Marcus brought Cody and Dakota over last week, and Dakota knew all about Sew Zoey and buys a lot of my clothes! Isn’t that funny?”

  “So I was right!” Sophie piped up. “Zoey did make that shirt!”

  Libby looked embarrassed at having shushed Sophie earlier. “Sorry, Soph,” she said. “I guess I need to start listening to you more often. You have a real fashion eye, kid!”

  Sophie grinned, and everyone introduced themselves. Then, out of nowhere, a flock of photographers spotted Cody and started to push toward them. Before Cody and Dakota left with their security team, Cody whispered to Zoey, “Marcus invited us back to your house for dinner again. We’ll see you there!”

  Before Zoey could respond, he and Dakota were gone, and she was standing with her baffled friends, all of whom looked like they might pass out. Even Kate, who didn’t really care much about Cody Calloway, was shaking a little.

  “Start talking, Webber,” Priti ordered. “You’ve got a lot to explain.”

  “So do you, Holbrooke,” said Kate to Priti. “You’re always saying Cody Calloway isn’t all that, and then as soon as we see him, you’re falling all over the place!”

  Priti’s cheeks flamed red. “Well, fine, maybe he has a little more star power than I originally thought. He’s still no Joey Joseph-Brown. But I’ll have dinner with him at your house, Zoey. That’s for sure.”

  To Zoey’s delight, Mr. Webber had invited everyone back to their house, and ordered fifteen large pizzas and several big salads. Marcus and Cody were in the basement with Marcus’s bandmates, while Cody’s parents were in the kitchen with Mr. Webber, Aunt Lulu, John, and Mrs. Flynn. Zoey seized the opportunity to run up to her room and retrieve the special gifts she’d made for her friends, Allie, Sophie, and Dakota, who were all hanging out in the living room with Sophie, who never stopped smiling and looked absolutely delighted to be included.

  Zoey came downstairs and distributed the wrapped gifts. She’d gone back to screen-­printing class at the end of the week and had her screen-­printing teacher help her stretch the fabric Fashionsista had given her onto mini–stretch boards, turning each sketch into a piece of wall art for the girls’ rooms. Each piece of art was centered on an outfit Zoey had sketched for one of her friends.

  For Allie, it was some of the accessories from the Etsy shop. For Dakota, a sketch of one of the shirts she’d bought. For Sophie, whose sketch had been finalized too late to be on the fabric, Zoey had made a piece of wall art using the sketch from the Libby dress she’d made Libby, and then a second, miniature version for her dollhouse! Zoey knew that Sophie tended to like anything her big sister liked, and wanted to be just like Libby, so she thought that would be the right choice for her. And the dollhouse mini seemed fitting as well.

  Everyone loved the gifts, and Zoey was relieved when Allie gave her an extra-long hug, and whispered, “Thanks, Zoey—you’re a good friend.”

  Zoey felt certain then that Allie had forgiven her for the mix-up with the gifts for the band. Zoey sighed with happiness. She loved giving gifts, and giving handmade, personal gifts was the very best!

  Dakota, whose ready smile and quick wit was helping her make fast friends with everyone in the group, vowed she was even more of a Sew Zoey fan, if that was possible.

  “These are beautiful, Zoey,” Dakota said. “And I love that you picked a part of the fabric with that blouse of yours I ordered. I wear it all the time!”

  “What else are you going to do with all this beautiful fabric Fashionsista made for you?” Kate asked.

  “Well, I made one more gift with it,” Zoey told everyone. “A skirt for Fashionsista. It felt too strange for me to wear fabric with my own sketches on it, but I
thought she might like to wear it, knowing what an inspiration she’s been to me!”

  “You’re my inspiration,” Sophie piped up, and for once, Libby didn’t look annoyed by Sophie, but instead gave her a proud half hug.

  “Mine, too,” Dakota agreed. Then, flipping her long dirty blond hair over her shoulder and looking around at everyone gathered in Zoey’s living room, she said, “I can’t believe you all get to be friends with Sew Zoey! Do you know how amazing that is?”

  Priti laughed, almost hysterically. “Do you know how amazing it is that you’re Cody Calloway’s sister?”

  Then they all laughed together, and Zoey felt like she was, in fact, the luckiest girl in the entire world. She realized she didn’t have to sell a bazillion pieces online to be successful—she was already successful! Because success, to her, was having fun and learning and trying new things. It was more than enough to have a wonderful fan like Dakota, a wonderful mentor like Daphne Shaw, and a wonderful group of friends to celebrate with. She had plenty of time to grow her business.

  The pizzas arrived, and everyone sat down together to eat. It was truly an amazing end to an amazing summer. With a brand-new school year just around the corner, Zoey wondered if things could possibly get better than they were right then. She felt like she had seen a snippet of a beautiful piece of material . . .

  And she couldn’t wait to see the rest of it!

  Watch out for more swatches . . . Turn the page for a sneak peek at the next book in the Sew Zoey series:

  A

  CHANGE

  OF

  LACE

  The Long and the Short of It

  Can you believe school starts next week?! Summer vacation always seems so long at the beginning, and then, at the end, it seems like it flashed by in an instant. All of a sudden it’s about to be over, as if time magically starts to speed up in August.

  It’s been a really fun summer, getting to visit Daphne Shaw’s studio, going to sleepaway camp for the first time, and taking a screen-printing class, but there’s something exciting about starting a new school year, too. I’m designing a new outfit for the first day of school, but I’m keeping that under wraps for now. Instead, here are “the long and short of it” skirts inspired by how I feel about time this summer. I hope you like them!

  “What do you think, Marie Antoinette?” Zoey Webber asked her dressmaker’s dummy as she put the final touches on the sketch for her back-to-school outfit. “Is this a winner or is it just . . . weird? I can’t make up my mind.”

  The problem with Marie Antoinette was that being a headless dress form, she wasn’t very forthcoming with her opinion.

  Zoey sighed and looked at the pictures she’d printed out after watching a movie from the 1960s. They were of an Italian actress wearing a wide-legged halter-top jumpsuit. Zoey’d thought it was such a cool and different look, perfect for her to update with Zoey magic. But now, comparing the sixties outfit to her sketch, she wasn’t so sure.

  Just then the doorbell rang, interrupting her musings.

  “Hey, Zo! The Holbrookes are here!” her brother, Marcus, announced from the bottom of the stairs.

  Zoey slipped on her flip-flops, grabbed her purse and cell phone, and ran downstairs. She had a mall date with one of her best friends, Priti, to help her shop for a new back-to-school outfit.

  “See you later, Marcus!” she called on the way out the door.

  Zoey slid into the backseat next to Priti. “I can’t believe school starts next week,” she said. “I’m excited, but still I’m not sure if I’m ready.”

  “This summer has gone by so quickly,” Mrs. Holbrooke said. “It seems like only yesterday you girls got out of school. A lot has happened since then, hasn’t it?”

  “You can say that again,” Priti said with a sigh. She was still adjusting to the idea that her parents were getting a divorce and to the fact that her dad had moved out of the family home.

  Mrs. Holbrooke gave Priti a worried look in the rearview mirror, which transformed into a cheerful smile the minute she caught Zoey’s eye.

  “Well, you’ll have to pick out a great outfit to wow everyone on the first day, right, Priti?”

  “Uh-huh. Sure,” Priti agreed without any of her normal bounce and enthusiasm.

  Zoey wondered what was going on—had Priti and her mom had a fight before she had gotten into the car?

  She spent the rest of the ride to the mall describing how she came up with the idea for her back-to-school outfit and asking Priti and Mrs. Holbrooke what they thought about the idea.

  “I think it sounds fab,” Priti said. “Why are you worrying so much, Zo? Weren’t you voted Best Dressed last year?”

  “That just means I have more of a reputation to keep up!” Zoey said.

  Mrs. Holbrooke pulled up outside the mall.

  “I’m sure you’ll look adorable, Zoey. You always do,” she said. “I’ll see you in a few hours. And you know the rules. . . . Don’t talk to strangers and call if you’re even going to be a minute late for pick-up time.”

  As she drove off, Priti dragged Zoey toward the mall doors. “Come on! Let’s shop till we drop!”

  The girls browsed a few of the popular chain stores before ending up at their favorite clothing shop, My Best Friend’s Closet. While Priti browsed, Zoey picked out a few outfits she knew her friend would love—colorful clothes, sparkly accessories, an adorable belt with a fake jeweled buckle.

  She walked over to the display rack where Priti was standing.

  “What do you think?” she said, holding up the clothes she’d picked out. “Perfect, right? Do you want to try them on?”

  “Sure,” Priti said, taking the clothes from her.

  But Zoey noticed that before she walked to the dressing room to try them on, Priti grabbed a bunch of black clothes off a rack where she must have placed them while she’d been browsing.

  That’s odd, Zoey thought. Her friend was usually the queen of bright colors.

  Priti came out wearing the first of the outfits Zoey’d picked out for her.

  “It looks awesome!” Zoey said.

  Priti looked at her reflection in the mirror.

  “I don’t know. I’m not . . .” She paused, turning to look at it from another angle. “Let me try on the other one.”

  Zoey waited, wondering what Priti didn’t like about the first outfit, which looked really good on her.

  The second outfit looked even better on Priti than the first.

  “What do you think?” Zoey asked.

  “It’s cute,” Priti said. “I like it.”

  “Great!” Zoey said. “Just in time, because I’m getting hungry.”

  “I just want to try one more thing,” Priti said. “I’ll meet you by the register.”

  When Priti went to the register to pay, all the clothes she was carrying were completely . . . black.

  Zoey was surprised, because wearing all one color—particularly a dark color like black—was so unlike her friend’s usual style. Seeing a striped scarf hanging nearby, she took it from the display and draped it around Priti’s neck.

  “What do you think? It would brighten up your outfit a little.”

  Priti shrugged and removed the scarf from around her neck, placing it back on the display.

  “It’s nice, but I’m good without it.”

  “What about the jeweled belt?” Zoey suggested.

  “No, it’s okay. I’m just going to buy the jeans and the shirt.”

  As Priti paid for her purchases, Zoey wondered what was going on with her friend. Maybe Priti wanted to experiment with her style, and there definitely was nothing wrong with that. Zoey was all about being adventurous with clothes.

  It was just . . . Going from glitzy to goth seemed pretty dramatic. On the other hand, Zoey thought, Priti had always had a flair for the dramatic. . . .

  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-f
abulous 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

  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

  Jacket design by Laura Roode

  Jacket illustrations copyright © 2014 by Simon and Schuster, Inc.

  ISBN 978-1-4814-1535-4 (pb)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-1536-1 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-1537-8 (eBook)

  The Library of Congress has catalogued this title.