The next week flew by. Aly and Brooke couldn’t believe everything that had happened in just seven days.
Brooke got a 93 on her spelling test.
Aly finished reading Jacob Have I Loved.
And the girls had pancakes for dinner twice.
Also, they found out that there was going to be a separate, beautiful table for the teal strawberry jar in the new Sparkle Spa—the best place to remind everyone to make a donation. That made Lily really happy.
And Charlotte found out there would be a big wipe-off calendar on the wall in the new Sparkle Spa, perfect for keeping track of all the customers. That made her really happy too.
In fact, Charlotte and Lily were both so happy that when they found out Suzy was going to get her own makeup corner, it didn’t bother them as much as Aly thought it would.
Still, they weren’t thrilled.
“Will she be there all the time?” Lily asked. “And will she have to contribute to the donation jar?”
The girls were in Aly and Brooke’s backyard, relaxing in the grass as Sparkly ran under and around their legs, yipping and yapping.
“Probably not all the time,” Aly answered. “And we will discuss the donations with my mom and Suzy’s mom. Maybe Suzy can have her own jar for donations. I think that’s a good idea.”
“What do we do if she’s mean?” Charlotte asked.
“Well, she is Suzy, so we’ll have to expect some meanness. But if she’s really mean, we tell our mom,” Brooke added. “And then she tells Suzy’s mom. And Suzy gets into trouble.”
“Well, okay,” Charlotte said. “At least we won’t have to deal with her all by ourselves.”
With the Suzy questions answered, the girls started planning the Grand Sparkle Spa Reopening.
“We need a special occasion manicure, of course,” Charlotte said. “And a Color of the Week.”
“I’ve been thinking about this,” Brooke said, leaning back in the grass, staring straight up at the sky. “I think we should do a version of the rainbow sparkle pedicure, but with the new colors in the Sparkle Spa: pink, yellow, purple, green, and bright orange, for Suzy’s area.” Orange was Suzy’s favorite color, so the girls told Sawyer to use it for the makeup corner. They hadn’t told Suzy, though. They wanted it to be a surprise.
“I like that!” Sophie said. “Maybe the order should be pink, orange, yellow, green, purple.”
“Ooh, nice!” Brooke smiled, and scratched Sparkly behind his ears.
“I think so too,” Aly added. “How about It’s a Cele-great-tion for the Color of the Week?”
“And what about a charity for the reopening day donations?” Lily asked.
“Maybe we can give it to Biggie Bigs?” Charlotte suggested. “You know, that program where older kids help younger kids with their homework after school. Caleb and I used to get that kind of help when we were in kindergarten.”
“I remember,” Lily said. “I like that idea.”
“Or maybe we give it to one of the programs that people started at school for recycling or helping people with sports?” Brooke suggested.
Then Sophie jumped up. “I know!” she said. “Let’s donate the money from the first day to a charity that Sawyer chooses. She helped make the Sparkle Spa so beautiful!”
“That,” Aly said, “is the perfect idea. She’s coming to the opening, so we can ask her then.”
Brooke and Aly insisted on picking up Suzy Davis and taking her to the grand reopening a few days later.
“I could’ve gone with my mom,” Suzy grumped when they went to pick her up. “And I wouldn’t be squished in the backseat with the two of you.”
Brooke rolled her eyes.
“I kind of like being squished,” Aly said.
Suzy gave her such a funny look that Aly started laughing. And then Suzy did. And then Brooke. But after the laughing was over, Suzy seemed bummed again.
“There’s something really awesome in the Sparkle Spa we want you to see,” Aly told her, wanting to cheer her up, but not wanting to give away the surprise.
“Whoop-dee-do,” Suzy said.
Brooke rolled her eyes again, and the girls didn’t talk until their dad announced, “We’re here!”
Brooke and Aly quickly pulled Suzy out of the car and walked her through True Colors to the back of the salon.
“You can do the honors,” Brooke told Suzy.
“What honors?” Suzy asked.
“Just open the door!” Aly said.
“What?!” Suzy practically shrieked. “Did you . . . ? Are you . . . ? Am I . . . ? Is this real?!” She was gazing at a bright-orange-colored wall with SUZY’S SPECTACULAR MAKEUP! in green stenciled letters on it.
“It’s real!” Brooke said.
Aly looked at Suzy, who had started crying.
“Are you okay?” Aly asked her, pretty sure that she had never, ever in her entire life seen Suzy cry.
“I’m more than okay,” Suzy said. “I’ve never been this okay in my whole life. How did you make this happen?”
Aly shrugged. “We have our ways,” she said. “And Joan helped.”
Suzy walked over to her corner and started checking out the drawers. The cabinet was tall and orange, and it was right next to an orange chair. “This is absolutely perfect for my makeup,” she said.
“We know,” Brooke answered. “It’s exactly what professional makeup artists use.”
Mrs. Tanner and Ms. Washington showed up at the door. “What do you think?” Suzy’s mom asked her.
“It’s . . . it’s great,” Suzy said. “Thank you so much.”
Aly was shocked again. Now Suzy was being polite!
“There’s one rule,” her mom said. “You have a one-month trial period. You have to be on your best behavior. And even after that month, Mrs. Tanner or I can take your makeup stand away if you aren’t treating your clients or your friends properly.”
“I understand,” Suzy said. “Mom, can we go home and get my makeup? So I can start taking clients at the grand opening?”
Ms. Washington smiled. “Dad and Heather are on their way over with your makeup as we speak.”
“Really?” Suzy asked. “Thank you!” she said again.
A few minutes later, the new True Colors and Sparkle Spa were packed with people.
First Charlotte, Lily, and Sophie arrived. Then Heather and Dr. Davis along with the True Colors staff. Soon all the True Colors regulars—Mrs. Howard, Mrs. Franklin, Mrs. Bass, Miss Lulu, Mr. Shu, Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Amin, Miss Mallory—walked in, followed by the Sparkle Spa regulars—Daisy, Violet, Annie, Jayden, Zorah, Keisha, Hannah, Eliza, Tuesday, Clementine, and all the Auden Angels.
Joan’s husband, Isaac, came too, holding Sparkly. And everyone fit, with no problem from the health department!
Aly looked around. She couldn’t believe what she and Brooke had started. It was a business, sure, but it was also a community—a family, really—who loved to have fun, be sparkly, and donate money to help people or places in need.
Brooke stood next to her sister. “The new Sparkle Spa is pretty amazing, isn’t it?” she asked.
Aly put her arm around Brooke’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “It absolutely is, Brookester,” she said. “It absolutely, positively is.”