Brilliant Hues Page 9

“You have to get better,” Bri said. “Saturday’s waterskiing.”

  I nodded, and forced a smile.

  “Call me if you’re still sick in the morning,” Pips said.

  The girls gave me sympathetic waves as I closed the door. Off to home, to my sketchbook, to my soft, soft bed. Maybe I could close my eyes and just forget everything for a while.

  Chapter 15

  Chinese Jump Rope

  We’d only talked with the class for a minute at camp that morning, and then sent the kids off to continue working on their books. Today, the kids would finish their rough draft art in pencil and tomorrow we’d bring out watercolors, colored pencils, and pastels. Every other minute someone called us over, asking how to spell monkey or girl or cloud or once upon a time.

  Pippa came up behind me. “How are you feeling today, Sadie? Better?”

  “Yeah.” Pips must have been miserable yesterday, probably thinking I’d left because of the Margo-plan, and because she’d given in to the girls. And I wasn’t happy about that, not at all, but I hadn’t exactly stood up to them either, in the end. I wanted to explain about Tyler’s interview, that I was also worried about Charlotte, and Cici … I was seriously a disaster magnet.

  Jess, who was cutting out bulletin board shapes at the back of the room, held up her buzzing phone and mouthed, “I need to get this.”

  She went out into the hall to talk for a few minutes and then came back in, much more pale than she’d been when she left.

  “Girls?” She motioned Pips and me over.

  We gathered close.

  “It’s Cici,” Jess said. “Her fever spiked this morning and the doctors think she may have caught some kind of infection. With little to no white blood cells, this is highly dangerous. Tyler and Rebecca need to stay with her in the hospital overnight, but they don’t want Charlotte to worry. They asked if I could help them find somewhere fun for Charlotte to spend the night.”

  “She can come to my house,” I said, knowing my parents would be all right with this. “I’ve shown her a picture of Higgins and she said she wanted to meet him.”

  “Would you really do that, Sadie?” Jess asked. “Charlotte loves you and I know she’d love to spend the evening with you.”

  “I’d come, but I have a soccer pick up game tonight,” Pips said. “Every Wednesday to keep us in shape over the summer.”

  Of course, Charlotte and I could draw or paint, but she’d done a bunch of that already today. We could play with Higgins as long as we stayed inside. What had I liked to do when I was six? And then I had the perfect idea.

  “Let me call Grant and ask him to check with my parents,” I said.

  I borrowed Jess’ phone to call, and then she called Tyler and Rebecca to ask them about the plan. Everyone agreed that we should wait to tell Charlotte until after camp.

  “She’ll be excited, but also afraid for Cici,” Jess said after she got off the phone. “I’d rather she finish the day without having to worry.”

  Grant picked us up after class and brought Pips home. Afterward, we went to the toy store so I could pick up a surprise for Charlotte, and then we dropped by her house to pack her a bag and grab a booster seat for the Hummer. At the end of the camp day, Grant pulled into the church parking lot, and we went in to find Charlotte

  After I told her about the sleepover, she looked up at me with those intense eyes. “It’s because Cici is really sick, isn’t it?”

  I couldn’t lie to her. “Yes, she’s having trouble today.”

  Charlotte bit her lip and nodded. “I asked her a couple questions this morning, and she didn’t answer. I was pretty sure something was wrong.”

  “Your parents will stay overnight at the hospital and do everything they can for Cici, and we’re going to try to have some fun, you and I,” I said. “You get to meet Higgins, and we can paint, if you want, and I have a surprise for you too.”

  Grant let Charlotte play with all the buttons in the Hummer before we took off. We stopped for ice cream, and then again at one of the horse farms, and one of the horse trainers let Charlotte feed carrots to the horses. When we finally got home, I stopped before opening the front door.

  “Now, Higgins will charge at you and put his paws up on your shoulders and lick your face, because he wants to show you how much he loves you. Do you want me to catch him first?”

  Charlotte shook her head. “No. I don’t mind getting licked.”

  Sure enough, Higgins barreled down the stairs the minute we opened the door. I stood behind Charlotte so she wouldn’t topple over when Higgins jumped up on her, but he surprised me by being mostly gentle. He ran right over, but then stopped and did the full-body wag thing, his tongue hanging out.

  Charlotte held out her hand and Higgins sniffed it, and then used his nose to flip her hand up on top of his head.

  “He wants you to scratch his ears,” I said.

  She did, and he sat down, his rope-like tail thumping on the wood floor.

  “So, are you ready for your surprise?” I asked.

  Charlotte grinned, and I showed her up to my room. Just for fun, I’d had the toy-store wrap the gift, because everyone liked unwrapping boxes, even if the presents were little. Charlotte ripped off the paper and then held out the long thin band to me, a question on her face.

  “It’s a Chinese jump rope. Here, look.”

  After looping the band around the back legs of my desk chair, I piled books on the seat, weighing it down. Then, I showed Charlotte where to stand, and helped her loop the band around her legs too. I stood in the middle and demonstrated the jumping pattern.

  “Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Forty,” I said, jumping so first the left side of the rope was between my feet, and then the right, and doing that again. “Out, in, step, in, on.” The end of the pattern was both feet outside the band, both in, slowly stepping on both sides, the first time I’d allowed my feet to touch the bands, then in again, and then jumping so I landed one foot on one side of the band, and the other foot on the other side.

  “Can I try?” Charlotte asked.

  I traded her places, and she jumped while I helped her count. Once she figured out the basic pattern, I showed her some of the more complicated levels, like diamonds. Mom came upstairs to cheer us on when we got to our championship level. We jumped until we were both exhausted.

  Dad made macaroni and cheese with chicken for dinner, and while we ate, Charlotte’s eyes began to close. Perfect. The evening had worn her out, and now she could sleep.

  Please, let Cici be all right. Let Charlotte wake up tomorrow to good news about her sister.

  Dad carried Charlotte up to my room, and I helped her find her pajamas and brush her teeth. Mom had inflated the air mattress for me to sleep on, and changed the sheets on my bed so Charlotte could sleep there.

  I wasn’t quite ready to sleep, but I knew if I took out my sketchbook now, before Charlotte had fallen asleep, I’d keep her awake. So, after I tucked the covers around Charlotte, I headed toward the air mattress.

  “You aren’t going to read me a story?” Charlotte asked, her voice slow and sleepy.

  “I don’t have any, I don’t think,” I said.

  “Tell me a story, then,” Charlotte said. “About one of those times, like you said at camp, where you knew God was there.”

  Now what? When I’d said that at camp, I’d been talking about my paintings. Now looking at them, I had another inspiration. Still, my hands shook a little as I took the painting of Higgins and me in the church off the wall. I’d only told this story to a few people. But of all people, I was pretty sure Charlotte would understand.

  “It’s not a picture book, but it’s a picture at least,” I said.

  “Did you paint that?” Charlotte asked.

  “Yes.” I told her the story of how I’d ended up in a church last fall, in the snow, by myself with Higgins, how I’d felt so alone and afraid and hadn’t known what to do and then suddenly, I’d known I wasn’t alone.

  “I’m goi
ng to try to tell Cici that story,” Charlotte said.

  “Maybe she even knows what that feels like. I hope so.”

  “I hope so too, Charlotte.”

  “Can Higgins sleep on the bed with me?” she asked.

  “I’ll call him up and see if he stays. Sometimes he gets too hot,” I said.

  Charlotte’s eyes began to close again. Higgins circled a few times and then curled up at her feet.

  “Night, Charlotte.”

  “Night, Sadie.”

  Please, give her sweet dreams.

  I took out my sketchbook, and sat on the air mattress, drawing her small face, her expression serious, even in sleep.

  And protect her from all bad things: sickness and sadness and pain.

  I closed my sketchbook and looked out at the stars, which usually made me feel so safe and comforted. Tonight, I didn’t want to think about heaven or anything beyond this small room. Like Charlotte, I wanted to think about the here and now, and keep the people I loved close. I lay down, and played with my star earring, thinking of all the people I loved who were so far beyond my reach. The empty, lonely feeling grew so large I felt like I might disappear inside myself.

  You are not alone.

  The thought, warm and calming, wrapped around me, reminding me yet again that I didn’t have to do this on my own, no matter how many times I forgot.

  Thank you.

  Chapter 16

  Forfeit

  Pips and I maneuvered down a row around the middle of the auditorium, and found two empty seats near the middle of the room. Grant had opted to sit in the back, but I still squirmed in my seat, knowing he was nearby. After everything happened tonight, he’d know I hadn’t stood up to the girls. I could still feel his hand on my shoulder, hear him saying, “I’m proud of you, Sadie.” Not after tonight, he wouldn’t be. I sighed as we flipped open our programs.

  Pips pointed to the names. “Margot’s second and Bri is third.”

  “Maybe they won’t tie,” I suggested hopefully, reading the other name. “Maybe this other girl, YaoYao, will win?”

  “Alice was pretty sure that wouldn’t happen.” Pips took out her camera and checked the flash and settings.

  “They were going to show the video to Margo right before the competition?” I asked.

  Pips nodded miserably. “Sadie, I know I should have done something to stop them, but Alice …”

  The lights went down and the music started.

  The judges were in the front row, three rows ahead of us.

  The runway stretched out into the audience, and a spotlight flashed on, highlighting YaoYao’s first model. She wore a fancy dress covered in silver sequins, with a rose pattern in red sequins on the skirt. YaoYao obviously liked sequins, because the next model wore a sequin-covered skirt and top, but this time the rose was yellow, and on the shirt. The third model wore jeans and a t-shirt, and the jeans were covered with a vine of pink roses, in sequins, of course.

  YaoYao stepped out from the curtain after the three girls had modeled, wearing purple sequins and a rose of her own on her otherwise black pants and black stretchy tee.

  “What does the rose symbolize?” One of the judges asked.

  “To me, a rose is the perfect flower,” YaoYao said, and beamed around at the crowd. “A red rose might mean love, but a yellow rose can mean friendship. The roses on each of my designs are meant to make the person wearing them and the people around them feel very particular feelings.”

  “But not everyone knows what each color of rose means,” Pippa whispered to me.

  The audience applauded loudly as YaoYao left the stage.

  “The judges seemed to like the symbolism, though. Maybe she’ll win,” I whispered back as Margo’s first model took the stage.

  Pips gave me a worried look. “I don’t want Bri to lose, though.”

  “I just don’t want her to win by cheating, Pips.”

  Pips bit her lip. “I know.”

  Margo’s designs combined very different kinds of textures, like floaty see-through fabric over velvet, or what looked like fishnet over jeans. She used all black in each design, and the models’ makeup was thick, especially around their eyes.

  Margo explained to the judge that she used mostly black because she felt that clothes were part of the way you showed the world you were powerful and strong. And black was a strong, powerful color. Margo looked directly at Pippa, then, and raised a challenging eyebrow.

  “What did that mean?” I asked.

  But Juliet had already come out on stage. Bri had designed a dress for her that was both totally Bri, and perfect for Juliet. The knee-length skirt was made of a silky purple fabric, with that fish-net fabric in lavender over the top. She wore a sheer hot-pink shirt with a lace-up vest over the top made from this cool patterned velvet that was mostly purple, aqua and hot pink. Juliet also wore hot pink tights with purple polka dots and aqua boots that came to mid-calf. It was a wild outfit, but because the colors were so spot on, and because Juliet had all that flowing blond hair to set it off, it was perfect.

  Alice came out next in jeans and a t-shirt. But Bri had first dyed the jeans bright green, and then added iron-on velvety designs in lime green and bright blue. Bri had added bright blue lace to a light blue t-shirt, and torn off the sleeves, adding green see-through fingerless gloves to the mix. Alice wore her usual Chuck Taylors, but with green laces to match the gloves, and her long dark hair hung free down her back.

  Bri didn’t have another model, so she had to wear her final outfit, black and white striped leggings, with a sleeveless top that was half-dress, half-shirt with a funky, uneven hem. The fabric was a patchwork of many different textures of fabric: lace, silk, and that fish-net stuff, all sewed on top of a deep red velvet. She wore fuzzy red boots and her hair up in a bun with two black and red hair-sticks sticking out.

  After Bri had finished walking the runway, the judges asked her about the colors she’d chosen.

  “Color is one way that people express their personality,” Bri said. “And lots of people are afraid to wear color, but they shouldn’t be. People just need to find the right colors for themselves.”

  Pips and I stood and clapped as the girls left the stage. The judges conferred for a moment, and then the woman went to the microphone. The crowd hushed, waiting for the announcement.

  “We’ve decided to do an unprecedented thing this year,” the woman judge announced. “Will Brianna Ingles and Margo Martin please join us on stage?”

  No. Couldn’t they just decide that YaoYao should win? I exchanged uncomfortable looks with Pips as Bri and Margo re-entered the stage, their models trailing after them.

  “You girls had very similar concepts, but handled them with different color schemes,” the judge said. “We can’t decide between the originality and uniqueness of your designs, and so we are going to award you both first place prizes. You and your teams are both invited to come work with our designers next week, and we will simply split the time. Congratulations on your excellent work.”

  No one had accused anyone of cheating. I watched Margo as the judge climbed the stairs, reaching out to shake her hand. Margo’s face twisted with anger and frustration as she glared first over at Bri, Juliet and Alice, and then out at Pippa and me.

  “Would you like to say anything?” the judge asked Margo.

  “I …” Margo began, and then cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I can’t accept this award.”

  Anger and embarrassment battled on her face.

  “Pippa, we can’t just sit here,” I hissed.

  “But what are we supposed to do?” She stared down at the camera miserably.

  I grabbed her arm “No, Pips. No pictures.”

  “Alice will kill me,” Pips whispered.

  “Bri cheated and won,” I said. “Isn’t that bad enough?”

  “I just … I …” Confusion crossed Pippa’s face, but she gave the girls on stage one last look, and then turned off the camera.

&nb
sp; I didn’t mean to ask Pips to choose between me and the other girls. And I knew she still felt unsure about what the right thing was to do. She’d been so sure when she’d explained the club to me, confident that putting bullies in their place was right. I hadn’t exactly helped by just running away from the problem a few days ago. Eventually, I’d have to tell the girls what I really thought.

  Onstage, Bri, Alice, and Juliet sparkled with happiness. Like instead of just humiliating someone, they had just scored a huge victory.

  The judge blinked at Margo, as though she hadn’t quite understood what she’d said. “I’m sorry, did you say you cannot accept this award?”

  “Yes, that’s what I said,” Margo snapped. She turned on her heel, and her models followed her, clearly arguing with her all the way off stage.

  After trying to cover the awkward moment with an overdone laugh, the judge walked over to Bri. “I don’t suppose you have any difficulty accepting this award?”

  Bri beamed out at the crowd. “No, and I’d like to thank the judges for this amazing opportunity.”

  She gave big hugs to Alice and Juliet and then the three of them grabbed hands and bowed, before they bounded offstage. Pippa’s shoulders drooped as we found our way out of the theatre and looked for the girls. I made a point of not catching Grant’s eye. Sure, we hadn’t taken any pictures. But we hadn’t stopped the humiliation either.

  “Wasn’t that amazing?” Juliet asked, pulling Pips into a huge hug. “Did you see her face?”

  Bri grabbed me and squeezed me tight. “And her models didn’t even know. We wouldn’t let her tell anyone.”

  “Did you get the pictures?” Alice asked Pippa.

  “Oh, yeah, the pictures. You took one of her face when she turned down the award, right?” Bri asked.

  “No,” I said.

  Bri’s face fell. “What happened, Pips?”

  “She just looked so miserable,” Pips ventured. “I didn’t want to take a picture of that.”

  Alice gave Pips a puzzled look. “But that was the whole point. She was supposed to be miserable, and the pictures would have made sure she never forgot.”