“What do you mean, you don’t want tiaras at our street-fair booth?” Savannah’s indignant voice boomed over the phone. “Tiaras are perfect for any occasion!”
Izzie covered the phone with her hand and looked wearily at Mira, Kylie, Violet, and Nicole. “Remind me again why I called her?”
“Because it was better than inviting her here to yell at you in person,” Violet said. “She would have taken one look at this dive and squirted the place down with Purell.”
“Hey, you guys wanted a bargain.” Kylie was grouchy. “This place serves up party supplies for cheap.”
Both girls were right. Savannah would have taken one look at the hoarderlike aisles, fluorescent lighting, broken store sign, and dirty floors and have run screaming, but there was no place better than Harborside’s Party Goods and More for deals.
Izzie put her ear back to the phone. “Savannah, we went over this the other day. Tiaras don’t make sense for a booth about mining.”
Savannah sighed loud enough to be heard through the phone. “They do if we want cute miners. The girls won’t want to wear ugly plastic hard hats!”
Izzie banged the phone against her head. When they had met the other day to discuss the street fair, the booth seemed like the simplest part of their plans. Emerald Cove was a town built on mining emeralds. That’s why founder Victor Strausburg named their town Emerald Cove. So Izzie argued that a booth that allowed children to pretend they were mining for emeralds was quintessential EC. All they had to do was make a mining station. Everyone agreed on the idea of building a large standing sandbox and filling it with water and sand for “mining.” All they really needed for supplies were toy shovels, plastic jewels, sand, loot bags, and plastic mining hats. Unfortunately, the plastic mining hats were Savannah’s sticking point.
“If I was a girl coming to our booth, I would be devastated if you asked me to wear a green plastic hat,” Savannah went on. “Think of all those poor mothers! No one is going to want a photo of her daughter in a miner’s hat.”
The only person who thought like this was Savannah. Izzie was ready to scream, but she knew that would be just the reaction Savannah wanted.
“Just hang up on her,” Violet whispered.
“No! Don’t be a coward!” Kylie said a little too loudly. “Hold your ground. It’s a good thing she isn’t here, because I would have decked her by now.”
Izzie ignored her friends. “The hats are only forty-nine cents each,” she said calmly. “I’ll send you pictures of them. They’re perfect! So are the jewels and all the other stuff we found. We don’t need tiaras, too.”
“If you had told me you were going, I would have saved you the trip,” Savannah sniffed. “I’d rather order from Oriental Trading. My new boyfriend Pierce’s dad practically owns that company. Their stuff is much more quality than what you’ve found somewhere in Harborside.” Izzie was ready to throw the phone out the window.
Mira must have realized that because she gingerly pried the phone from Izzie’s grasp. “Savannah?” Mira took over, surprising everyone. “It’s Mira. Just listen,” she said in a soothing tone. “These mining hats are perfect, and they don’t look cheap. The kids can decorate them with stickers before they go mining so they look more fancy.” She listened for a moment then she winked at Izzie. “Of course no one expects you to wear one, but if we buy these we’ll have money left over for you to buy whatever you want for the Butterflies to wear the day of the fair.” Mira bit her lip and side-eyed Izzie. “Butterfly wings? Um, sure. Those would look great.”
“Butterfly wings?” Izzie cried, and lunged for the phone. “No way!”
Violet held her back. “Do it for the greater good!” She struggled against Izzie’s strength. “If you have to wear butterfly wings or even glitter war paint to make Savannah happy, then just do it so you can buy what you want!”
“Yeah, who cares about your dignity, Iz?” Kylie deadpanned. “Ms. Priss wins again and you get a bargain. It’s worth selling out for!”
Violet’s face darkened. “I’m not telling her to sell out. She’s doing what she has to in order to get the job done for our club. A club you know nothing about. And if she can do it all for a great bargain, isn’t that worth kissing butt for?”
Izzie knew that look. Violet and Kylie were about to go at it.
“Yeah, because I’m sure you’re all about bargains.” Kylie rolled her eyes.
“How would you know what I’m about?” Violet snapped. “You don’t know me.”
“I can read you like a book.” Kylie looked Violet up and down. “Rich girls like you just swipe your credit card and never look at the price of anything. Like you care about getting a bargain. I bet you’ve never set foot in Bargain Basement in your life.”
Violet stepped forward. “Even if I had, I at least know the difference between buying cheap and looking cheap.” Izzie felt her stomach tighten.
“You better shut your perky little mouth, rich girl, before it gets knocked right off.” Kylie’s face was inches from Violet’s, and she had made a fist.
“Um, maybe you two should calm down.” Nicole pulled Violet back. She actually looked frightened. “You’re both overreacting.”
Izzie grabbed Kylie. “Yeah, let’s all just chill.” Kylie always seemed like she was one second away from a meltdown lately. Why did her friend have to take things so far? “Violet was just trying to help me out. The situation with the Butterflies is complicated.”
“Fine.” Kylie glared at Violet. “I’m going to go outside and get some air. Hayden should be here soon anyway.” She walked out of the shop without looking back.
Izzie tensed again. So they were still hanging out. And this is how Kylie decided to bring it up.
“Great idea, inviting her.” Violet’s dark eyes narrowed at Kylie’s retreating back. “Not everything has to turn into a tirade on the rich versus the poor, you know. I’m on scholarship at EP. Does she even realize that?”
“She just gets bent out of shape.” It was hard to defend Kylie when she acted out the way she did. “We’ve been burned before.”
“We all have.” Violet smoothed her long peasant top. “The difference is you and I don’t start throwing punches to prove a point.”
“Mira looks like she has good news,” Nicole said to break up the awkwardness.
“Exactly!” Izzie heard Mira say. “Mrs. Fitz is going to think you two are geniuses for being so cost-effective.” Mira gave Izzie a thumbs-up sign. Less than a minute later she hung up. “The tiaras have been officially nixed.” Nicole cheered. “You have Her Highness’s official permission to buy the miner’s hats and assorted fake jewels.”
“Nice work, power broker.” Nicole twirled a plastic glitter wand like a real pro. She had been on the color guard before she’d ditched it for swim.
“Thanks, Mira,” Izzie said gratefully. It killed her that she didn’t know how to handle Savannah as well as her sister did. “Let’s buy everything before she changes her mind.” She glanced at the shopping carts behind them. They were full of burlap sacks, bags full of multicolored fake jewels and jewelry, and the plastic miner’s hats.
“Or before Kylie threatens me again.” Violet pushed one cart toward the front of the store, but it was hard to move because the aisles were so crowded with boxes.
The color crept up Izzie’s face. Kylie meant well. The fact that she even wanted to help today proved that. Neither of them loved parties—probably because most Harborside parents could never afford to throw them for their kids when Izzie and Kylie were growing up. She hadn’t even told Kylie about the joint sweet sixteen she and Mira were having. She wasn’t sure how she would react.
“Where is Kylie now?” Mira asked, looking anxious.
“She went outside to wait for Hayden,” Izzie said, and Mira’s eyes widened. “Guys, can we talk about this later? Kylie’s mom just started working here and I don’t want her to hear us.” Violet looked like she wanted to make a comment, but she thought better of it. “I’ll talk to her about what happened, okay?” Violet wasn’t exactly innocent in their exchange either, but her friendship with Violet still felt new, and sometimes Izzie hesitated to rock the boat.
Nicole nudged Violet. “Forget it. Let’s just drop it.”
“Are we going next door after this?” Mira was the best at changing the topic when needed. “Kylie said there’s a costume shop. We can look for costumes for the Crystal Ball.” She looked at Izzie. “You know you have to wear a period dress to that, right?”
Izzie imagined Mira in a petticoat and a big hat. Costumes were right up Mira’s alley. They were not, however, up her own. “Please tell me we don’t need corsets.”
Mira looked indignant. “Of course we need corsets! You won’t look right wearing an old-timey gown without one.” Nicole and Violet nodded in agreement.
Izzie decided it was best not to argue about poufy pink gowns just yet. She began unloading the items on the counter and looked around for Kylie’s mom, but she was nowhere to be found. After a few minutes, Violet tapped the bell on the counter that was next to a sign that said Ring for service. And then Violet kept tapping it.
“Hold your horses! We’re coming!” Izzie heard Kylie’s mom say. Two seconds later, she came out a back door carrying a toddler on her hip. Mrs. Brooks—still considered a Mrs. even though her husband ran off last year—saw Izzie and her scowl turned into a smile. “Hi, sugar! Kylie told me you were coming in. Where is that girl, anyway?”
“She’s outside waiting for Hayden,” Izzie said. She touched the chubby chin of the little boy in Mrs. Brooks’s arms. “Hi, Ray-Ray. Do you work here, too?”
“Yep. He’s my right-hand man.” Mrs. Brooks pushed her hair out of her face. Her long blond locks had just enough of a wave that it looked like she had her hair professionally blown out every day. For as long as Izzie had known her, Patty Brooks had had bags under her eyes that couldn’t be concealed and clothes that seemed a few years out of date. (She had on acid-washed denim jeans and a button-down denim shirt at the moment.) But she had hair that everyone in town envied.
“You met Mira at the wake,” Izzie said, making introductions. “These are my friends Violet and Nicole.” Everyone nodded. “This is Kylie’s mom and her youngest brother, Rayland.”
Mrs. Brooks shifted the squirmy little kid from one arm to the other and started to sort Izzie’s party goods with her free hand. “She really likes that stepbrother of yours. Nice kid. Too nice, if you ask me,” Mrs. Brooks added warily. “You have to watch out for that type. That’s what I’m always telling Kylie’s older sister. They promise you the world and then leave you with this.” She motioned to the store.
“Hayden’s a great catch,” Nicole piped up.
Mrs. Brooks grunted. “Today they’re picking out costumes for some fancy shindig he’s taking her to in a few weeks.” Mrs. Brooks didn’t sound impressed. “She always said you hated doing that stuff in EC, so I have no clue why she’s so desperate to fit in over there. Something about meeting your dad and aunt or something.”
“So he’s taking her to the Crystal Ball.” Violet made a face. “Must be more serious than we thought. I didn’t see that coming.”
“Why don’t we let you catch up with Mrs. Brooks and we’ll head over to the costume shop?” Mira suggested.
Clothes shopping—especially for a period ensemble—was never high on Izzie’s list, but getting Violet out of the store before she bad-mouthed Kylie was. It was as if Mira could read her mind. “Good idea. I’ll meet you guys in a few minutes,” Izzie said.
Dress shopping twice in one weekend. How had this become an important part of her life? She shook her head. At least there was no chance of photographers catching up with them in a place like Harborside. When they’d gone boutique shopping in EC last night, two photographers snapped them entering the store, and then Aunt Maureen worried that the shop they were in was too high end. This had become an ongoing topic the past week—If the Gazette’s cameras catch you, how is Grayson going to spin the story? It felt like Grayson’s name was uttered more than her own lately.
But right now, it wasn’t Grayson she needed to be worried about. It was Kylie. She was coming to the Crystal Ball and hadn’t told Izzie. Kylie would have a boatload of comments about spending the evening in Izzie’s new world.
Nicole looked at the two carts. “Are you sure you can manage all these bags?”
“She can leave them here until you guys are done, hon,” Mrs. Brooks said. “Now scoot! I have to talk to Iz-Whiz here.” As the girls filed out, Mrs. Brooks kept ringing up items. “Nice girls—for rich folk.” They both laughed. “So how you holding up, honey? Kylie said you were pretty low there after the funeral. She was real worried.”
Izzie immediately felt bad. It seemed like Kylie was always worried about her and she was just worried about how Kylie fit into her new life. What is wrong with me? she wondered. Since when do I care what other people think? She had promised herself that EC wouldn’t change her, but maybe it had already. “I’m doing better now.” She leaned her elbows on the counter and her oversize hoodie’s sleeves slid down her arms. “Having a project takes my mind off things.”
“Good.” Mrs. Brooks put the final bag on the counter and Izzie dropped it in the shopping cart. She could feel Mrs. Brooks watching her. “Zoe treating you okay? I saw her last week, and she said she was moving into your family’s pool house for a stay.” Mrs. Brooks cocked her head and grinned. “You really have a pool house?”
“Yeah.” Izzie felt like a traitor. “Zoe couldn’t afford to keep paying for a hotel, so she’s staying with us for a bit. My dad and aunt thought it would be a good idea if we cleared the air before she leaves town in a month or so.” Something Mrs. Brooks said made Izzie wonder. “I didn’t know you’re friends with Zoe.”
“Were friends,” she clarified. “This is the first time I’ve seen her since…” She stopped herself. “Well, it’s been a long time.” She stared at Izzie curiously. “She said she told you what happened when your grandmother’s illness was diagnosed last year. That was awfully big of her.”
Izzie played with the zipper on her hoodie. She didn’t have much to say on that subject.
“She beat herself up about that.” Mrs. Brooks picked at one of her chipped nails. “Of course, Zoe thinks about how her actions affect people after the fact.”
“She says she’s trying to make things up to me now,” Izzie said, realizing it sounded like she was defending Zoe. Am I? she wondered.
“I’m sure she intends to,” Mrs. Brooks said evenly. “But what Zoe says and what she actually does have always been two different things.” Rayland had grabbed a squirt gun from the counter and Mrs. Brooks tried to wrestle it away from him with one hand. “You go meet your friends, sugar. If you need me, you know where to find me.”
Izzie couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something Mrs. Brooks wasn’t telling her, but she didn’t want to push it. Instead she said good-bye and walked to the costume shop next door. She could hear her friends laughing as soon as she walked in.
A guy looked up from behind the counter. “Are you with the group trying on the period costumes?” Izzie nodded. “They’re in the back. You shouldn’t have trouble finding them. They’re pretty loud.”
Izzie wondered what all the commotion was about, but when she rounded the corner she knew right away. Hayden looked like a giant penguin in a white shirt and a black top hat while Mira had on a starched red overcoat dress and bustle that made her butt look three times its normal size. Nicole and Violet were prancing around goofily beside her in silk gowns while Mira tried to get Kylie to wear a feather headpiece.
“Do not tie that thing on my head!” Kylie was dodging and weaving like a street fighter, but Mira wouldn’t give up. The bird hat appeared to be the crowning touch to a green velvet dress that had such a wide skirt Kylie looked like she had a two-inch waist. Izzie couldn’t help bursting out laughing at the sight of them all. Kylie looked up. “Oh, you think this is funny?” She hiked up her dress, revealing her combat boots, and strolled over. “Wait till you see what we have planned for you, Iz-Whiz.” She was calmer and more playful than she had been in the party-supply store. Violet was right next to her, and neither of them were barking at each other or rolling their eyes. Maybe the tension had passed and she didn’t have to speak to Kylie after all.
Izzie touched one of the ribbons on Kylie’s dress. “You look ridiculous.”
“Yeah, but it’s kind of fun,” Kylie whispered. “Did you ever think two girls from Harborside would be going to some ridiculous charity costume party?”
“If you had told me last summer that I’d be going to any kind of charity gala, I would have said you had swallowed too much salt water,” Izzie told her.
Kylie played with the velvet fabric on her skirt. Her smile faded. “Tell anyone you saw me dressed like this and you die.” She stared Izzie down. “Seriously.”
Izzie crossed her heart, but she was still laughing. Mira was busy fretting over which color petticoat to wear with her dress and Violet and Nicole were choosing accessories. Hayden, meanwhile, was deciding between top hats. Whatever concerns Izzie had about Kylie seemed to melt away when she was standing right in front of her. They were in a room full of people, but it seemed like just the two of them at the moment, which is how she and Kylie worked best. “You don’t have to worry about me.” Izzie flashed her a wicked grin. “Worry about the photographers who will be at Founders Day. If you’re going with Hayden, they’re going to have their eye on you, too.”
Kylie sighed and looked back at Hayden, who was still trying on hats in a full-length mirror. “I will never live this down, will I?”
“Nope,” she told Kylie, “but if you can let yourself go, sometimes playing dress-up can be fun. But don’t tell Mira I said that.”
“Playing dress-up can be fun?” Kylie questioned playfully. “What have you done with my best friend?” Izzie didn’t notice her friend grab a can of Silly String from a shelf of extra costume props nearby. Kylie fired it before she had a chance to react.
“Oh no, you didn’t!” Izzie wiped the string from her cheeks and laughed. She knew she shouldn’t retaliate, but she couldn’t resist. Kylie made her more fearless. She fired a long shot at Mira, who shrieked and ran away. Hayden held her in place, and Kylie shot a few more rounds in Mira’s direction before taking aim at Violet. Violet was prepared with a can of her own, and she shot back while Nicole ran for more ammo.
Izzie remembered thinking at the time that it was all completely harmless and fun.
And it would have been—if they hadn’t been secretly followed by a North Carolina Gazette photographer, who caught the whole thing on camera.