BY THURSDAY, I’D BARELY TAKEN A BREATH from school and riding. I’d just finished French and was on my way to fashion. Khloe and I hadn’t seen much of each other all week. We’d done our homework together most nights and had fallen asleep before lights-out.
After riding and glee on Wednesday, we’d met up with Clare, Riley, Drew, Zack, Lexa, Cole, and Jill in one of the media center’s cozy rooms to study. The precious minutes Khloe and I’d had to talk, we’d complained how we had zero time to see our guys. Khloe had just started dating Zack, and they’d both been too busy to go out all week.
“It’s, like, life is so against us!” Khloe had said. “And sharing a class with him does not count!”
I’d agreed. At least I had my Friday date with Drew to focus on. But by the end of the study session, Khloe had a Friday night date too! Zack had asked her out, and now Khloe and I could spend Friday evening getting ready together.
I stepped into Ms. Snow’s classroom for fashion, shaking thoughts of Drew from my mind.
I sat next to Cole, my friend and partner for our upcoming project.
“You’re never almost late,” Cole said, his light-brown eyebrows raised. “Everything okay?”
“I lost track of time,” I said. “I started thinking about all the stuff that’s happened this week, and apparently, snails passed me on the way here.”
Cole laughed. He slid off his gray blazer and hung it over the back of his chair, revealing a collared black button-down shirt with skinny stripes that matched the color of the blazer.
I glanced down at my own clothes: skinny jeans in need of hitting the laundry and a petal-pink capped-sleeve T-shirt.
“I feel so frumpy next to you,” I said.
Cole rolled his green eyes. “Stop. You look great.”
“This morning I was too tired to even care that I put on already-worn jeans.”
Cole scooted his chair away from me. “Well, that changes things.”
He grinned, then laughed. He moved back over, and we giggled together.
Ms. Snow walked into the classroom. Unlike the other Canterwood teachers, she dressed to match her class. Red-bottomed Louboutins couldn’t be mistaken for any other shoe. A white boatneck shirt was tucked into high-waisted flared black pants.
I wanted to be Ms. Snow.
Or at least share her wardrobe.
We got right to work after she called attendance.
“We’ve been doing lots of reading in our textbooks about costume creation and inspiration,” Ms. Snow said. Her flatironed hair hit her shoulders, and the caramel highlights gave the cut dimension.
“This will hopefully be of help when you and your partner begin sketching ideas for your costume for Beauty and the Beast.”
We hadn’t been assigned costumes yet, but Cole and I had our fingers crossed for Khloe’s Mrs. Potts. Khloe, however, wished we’d get Riley’s Belle costume. I’d told her there was no way Cole and I could sabotage Riley’s costume, but Khloe had insisted she’d help us come up with something if we drew Belle.
“With the seventh-grade production approaching,” Ms. Snow said, “it’s time to assign costumes to each pair of you. These were all a random draw, and there will be no trading of costumes.”
A guy raised his hand. “What if we’re not familiar with all the characters?”
“Good question, Alec,” Ms. Snow said, smiling. “We will be viewing two versions of the play—the Disney cartoon and a staged production. I’ll also be handing out information sheets to each pair with several images of the character as well as links to finding more information.”
I’d seen the Disney movie too many times to count, and Cole had said he’d watched it too, so I wasn’t worried that we wouldn’t know a character.
Ms. Snow opened a yellow planner and began calling out names of students in our class and the character they were assigned. The characters went fast.
Maurice, Belle’s father.
Gaston, the main antagonist.
Chip, Mrs. Potts’s teacup son.
“The character of Belle is assigned to Kiera and Luke,” Ms. Snow said.
Cole and I looked at each other. Riley’s costume was gone. I’d never admit it to Khloe, but I was relieved. If we were going to keep trying to all get along, as Clare wanted, it definitely would not have helped for Cole and me to have been assigned Belle. The temptation to sabotage Riley’s costume would have been too great.
A few more characters went.
“The costume for Mrs. Potts . . . ,” Ms. Snow said.
I tensed in my seat. Please, please, please . . .
“. . . will be done by Adriana and Lacey.”
Cole and I met eyes, mouthing no at the same time. Major. Bummer. I’d so wanted to create Khloe’s costume.
I didn’t know Adriana and Lacey, but they had to do an amazing job. Or they’d have Khloe’s BFF in their faces!
“Cole and Lauren, you will both be working on Lumière,” Ms. Snow announced.
Ooh la la! I grinned and leaned over to Cole. “Lumière is my favorite character after Belle and Mrs. Potts!”
“Secret?” Cole said, his voice hushed. “He’s my ultimate fave! I’m so glad we got him!”
We touched our palms together, and I wrote Lumière at the top of a new page in my notebook. Designing a new look for the famous candelabra was going to be so much fun. I was sorry not to get Mrs. Potts, out of loyalty to Khloe, but if I had to get any other character, I was glad it was Lumière.