Taylor spun the combination on her lock and gave it a jerk. Opening her locker, she pulled her ninth grade English book off the shelf and tucked it inside her green backpack.
A squeal down the hallway made her turn her head. Desiree was running toward her, waving frantically.
“Taylor,” Desiree said. “O! M! G!”
Desiree’s eyes were sparkling. Her frizzy blond hair was pulled away from her face with a pink headband decorated with sparkly magenta hearts.
When Desiree reached Taylor’s locker, Taylor tapped the pink headband with a finger. “Girl, what are you wearing on your head?”
“It’s lucky.” Desiree’s hand flew to her head, adjusting the pink plastic band. “I used to wear it to pageants. For luck.”
Taylor rolled her eyes. Desiree did a pageant pivot and posed with her back to the green metal locker beside Taylor’s.
“Don’t you wanna hear?”
“Hear what? Hey, why weren’t you at my game last night?”
“Mom was working; I didn’t have a ride. But it’s a good thing.” She leaned in and whispered in Taylor’s ear. “A real good thing I stayed home. A lucky thing.”
Three girls walked by. One of them, a tall girl with sky blue braces on her teeth, called out.
“Taylor! Come to the cafeteria with us. We’ve got time to get a Snapple.”
Taylor glanced down at Desiree. Her friend gave her head a shake. The movement made the pink band slip down onto her forehead. She pushed it firmly back into place.
Taylor looked back at the trio, lingering nearby. “Later, okay? See you in a minute.”
Desiree watched the girls go down the hall toward the school cafeteria. Once they were safely out of earshot, she turned back to Taylor.
“We have an appointment with Dede.”
“Who’s Dede?” Taylor said, pushing her locker shut and securing the lock.
“Dede is Tony’s assistant. Like his number two person at the agency. And she’s going to meet us.”
Taylor’s eyes widened. “How’d you make that happen? OMG.”
“Tony texted me last night. Asking how I was doing, what was up. I told him I was hanging, at home alone, and he said, so let’s talk. We got on Skype. He said he had somebody he wanted me to meet. Dede came on, too; she is soooo glam.”
“But what about the appointment?”
“I was getting to that. They’ve looked over our applications, and they’re ready for an interview. Tony said he wants to put us on a fast track. Doesn’t that sound cool? It’s exactly what he said: ‘fast track.’”
Taylor looked doubtful. “You mean, me, too?”
“Yes! Both of us.”
“You sure?”
“Positive. Dede said she said she wanted you to come with me.”
Huddled against the lockers, Taylor spoke in a hushed voice. “Like, where? How we gonna meet her anywhere? We can’t drive. You told them we were older.”
Desiree did a little hop, bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement. “I fixed that. I said we can’t drive to see her because we don’t have a car. So she is coming here.” The timbre of her voice raised to a squeal. “To Barton.”
Taylor shook her head in wonder. “I can’t believe it.”
“Well, it’s true. She’s meeting us at the Denny’s by the highway for a modeling interview. We can ride our bikes to Denny’s. It’s not that far.”
“When?”
“This week.”
Taylor looked away. She lifted the metal lock where it hung and toyed with the dial. “You know I’ve got basketball practice.”
A shade fell over Desiree’s face, dampening the glow in her eyes. “Taylor, this is modeling. It’s important. We’re talking about a career.”
When Taylor shrugged, Desiree persisted. “Basketball is a stupid game. You think you’re going to be a basketball player when you grow up? They don’t even have girl teams.”
Taylor’s jaw tensed. “Actually, they do.”
“Well, I never heard of one.” Desiree pulled a worn blue backpack off her shoulder. She unzipped the center pocket and pulled out a glossy magazine.
“The new Cosmo,” she said, holding it out. Running a reverent finger down the cover, she said, “This could be us.”
Taylor regarded the magazine with a hungry eye. “Can I have it during study hall?”
“Sure,” said Desiree, tucking it back inside the backpack. “Because you’re my BFF. Ever since that day you saw me crying in the bathroom at the start of the school year and helped me out.”
Taylor shrugged off the praise. “It’s what anyone would’ve done.”
“Nuh-uh. All those other girls just walked right on by. You were the only one in the whole school who cared about my feelings.”
Taylor bent down and whispered in Desiree’s ear. “It’s like I told you. You can’t be worried about not making cheerleader. I mean, it’s not really even a sport.”
Desiree nodded, her face intent. “I get that now. Who cares about being a cheerleader? It’s not a career. Not like modeling.”
“Taylor!” The voice rang from the end of the hallway. Taylor peered around Desiree’s shoulder. At the end of the hall, her teammate with the braces stood, holding up a bottle.
“I got you, Taylor!” the girl with braces called.
Taylor pushed away from the locker. “Des, I’m thirsty. Gonna go drink a Snapple.”
Before she walked away, Desiree grabbed her elbow. “Anyone would think you’ve got everything. All the girls follow you around, all the time. I still can’t believe that you feel like an outsider, too. Just like me.”
“Well, it’s not easy. Being practically the only black kid in the whole school.”
“We’ll show them all. Especially the snotty ones. When we have our pictures in magazines. So we’re in, right? For the interview?”
Taylor blew her breath out in a slow exhale. “I don’t know what my mom’s going to think.”
Desiree squeezed her arm. “My mom is totally psyched. She even wanted to tag along to the interview, but I said no way. I mean, we’re supposed to be eighteen. This isn’t a pageant, it’s not Miss Missouri Petite.”
When Taylor didn’t reply, Desiree whispered, “If you think your mom won’t like it, you can keep it a secret. Until we get the job, anyway. Then you’ll be like: Surprise, Mom! I’m famous!”
“Taylor!” The girl with braces was frowning.
“I’m coming,” Taylor called. “Des, I’m going to chug that tea before homeroom. Okay?”
Desiree released her arm. With an anxious face, she said, “Pinkie promise?”
“What?”
“The interview. I want you to go. I’ll be too nervous by myself. I want us to do it together.”
Taylor’s eyebrows knit. At length, she said, “Okay. It’s just Denny’s, right?”
Relief washed over Desiree’s face. “Right! Like I said, you don’t even need to mention it to your mom. It’s just Denny’s, for god’s sake.”
Taylor gave her a nod. “‘Kay.”
“So you’re in? You promise?”
Taylor lifted her chin and gave Desiree a mocking look. “I’ll promise to go if you promise to leave that dumb headband at home.”
Desiree’s hand flew to the pink band. “It’s lucky. Really.”
“Stupidest thing I ever saw. So. Lame.”
As Taylor headed down the hall toward the cafeteria, Desiree trotted behind. Pulling the headband out of her hair, she said, “Okay. I’ll put it in my locker for now. But when we go to the Marvel Modeling interview, I’m gonna hide it in my purse.”
“Gawd,” Taylor moaned.
“It’s lucky. One time when I wore it, I won the Grand Supreme.”
Clutching the pink band, Desiree turned back and ran down the hall, stopping before her own locker; and Taylor joined her basketball teammates, who passed off the orange bottle. Taylor twisted off the lid and drank it with a thirsty gulp. As they walked to homeroom, her friends chattered about the ball game they’d played the night before. Taylor nodded, pretending to pay attention.
But all she could think was:
My mom isn’t gonna like it.