IT WAS A BUSY WEEKEND. THERE WAS A LOT to do, which was maybe a good thing since it kept me occupied and I couldn’t think so much about the assembly on Monday. Of course, every now and then it popped into my head, but at least I had stuff to distract me.

On Saturday, the entire sisterhood came over to my house for lunch. It seemed that Ellie’s Little Miss Perfect behavior at home had paid off—she was released early from grounding. I had prepped them all beforehand with the news about my declaration of independence, and they came prepared to regale my parents with tales of their own examples of the freedom they had.

Ellie was Little Miss Perfect in this situation too. I kicked off the conversation by asking her what she usually did on Saturdays, and she casually described going to the public library by herself.

Alyssa came on a little strong and overdid her tales of independence a bit, going on and on about her parents’ working long hours, how she and her older siblings were given great responsibility, how she was often left alone to babysit her little brother.

Kiara, naturally, took my request literally.

“I run errands for the woman who lives next door, and I go all over town by myself. When our housekeeper is very busy, I go out to get groceries, by myself. Almost every week, I visit my aunt at her beauty salon. By myself.”

After lunch, we posted the flyer I’d made about Fifi online and printed out copies. Before we left with them, I showed one to Mom and Mami.

“Shouldn’t you add a description of the dog?” Mom asked.

“Maybe a picture?” Mami suggested.

I shook my head. “If I did that, anyone who wanted a dog could claim her. This way, if someone calls, I’ll ask them to describe their lost dog and I’ll be able to tell if they might be talking about Fifi.”

I could tell my mothers were impressed by my thinking. Maybe even a little surprised.

I picked up a roll of tape, and we went out to distribute the flyers, starting along Main Street. A couple of stores let us put one up in their window, but some wouldn’t. After about half an hour, we found ourselves admiring the window display at Tinsel, a very cool clothes shop. I couldn’t take my eyes off a cropped pink sweater with gold threads running through it.

“Why don’t you go try it on,” Ellie suggested. “It’ll look even better on you than on the mannequin.” We went in and I located the pink sweater hanging on a nearby rack. But even before I began to search for my size, I spotted the price tag on a tiny card perched above the display. Two hundred dollars for a thin sweater? Was that real gold on it?

So I didn’t bother taking it into the dressing room. We spent a few more minutes poking around, though, and while we did, Ellie asked a salesperson if we could put the flyer in their window. She took one look at us and must have figured we weren’t potential customers—not that day, and probably not ever—because the answer was no.

We pressed on. We put flyers on bulletin boards at the library and the post office. We stuck them on benches in the park, on a construction site fence, all over town. At one point we stopped back at my house so Fifi could come along with us for a little bit, and even though I knew it was ridiculous, I kept wondering if she knew what we were doing. All I could do was hope that nobody would respond to our efforts.

On Saturday evening, I went to the movies with Mom and Mami. The movie wasn’t something I particularly wanted to see, but I felt like I needed to assure them that my newly proclaimed independence didn’t mean I wouldn’t want to be with them occasionally. And it did distract me a little from thinking about Monday.

On Sunday, I did my homework in the morning after one of Mami’s particularly fabulous breakfasts. And then, after lunch, I got to work on my speech for Monday.

As I wrote the words, I tried to imagine saying them out loud in front of the entire seventh grade at the assembly. But that got my heart beating too quickly and my stomach churning, so I just concentrated on writing. I didn’t even want to practice it, not with my friends, not with Mom and Mami. It might sound all wrong—they might make suggestions I didn’t want to hear. When I finally had it the way I wanted it, I put it in my backpack and wondered if I’d be able to sleep that night.

Miraculously, I did. Having Fifi snuggled next to me helped. Still, on Monday morning, I was all nerves. I almost asked Mom if she wanted to walk me to school one last time, but I managed to stop myself. I had to stay strong, to hang on to my goals. Independence. Confidence.

Mami had already left for work in a flurry of “I love yous” and “Good lucks” and “Don’t be lates,” but I had a few extra minutes to spare at the dining room table with Mom before I headed out.

“Do you want me to give you one of my pep talks?” she asked, smiling.

I smiled too. “I don’t know. A speech in front of the entire seventh grade is a little different from a book report.”

“You’re going to do great, Rachel.”

I stood up to leave. “I know this isn’t easy for you,” I told her. “Letting me go off on my own. But deep in your hearts, you and Mami know I’m ready, right?”

I could see that her eyes were brimming, but she held back the tears. “Absolutely, darling. Just…”

“… be careful,” I finished for her. “I will.” And I gave her an extra-tight hug.

My friends were all in front of the school entrance when I arrived, and I got the distinct impression from the way they suddenly went silent that they’d been talking about me. I was the focus of their attention.

Ellie spoke first. “Are—are you okay?”

“Of course I’m okay,” I replied. “I walked for twenty minutes by myself. It wasn’t a dangerous adventure.”

Alyssa did her eye roll. “We’re talking about the assembly, not your walk. Are you ready to give a speech in front of the entire seventh grade?”

Like I hadn’t been thinking about that for three days? But just hearing the words got my heart thumping and my stomach churning, and I could imagine my face going even paler than normal.

Ellie could see how tense I was. “You look good,” she said encouragingly.

“Thanks.” I’d made more of an effort than usual that morning. A little gel on my hair to tame the frizz. A green shirtdress with brown tights. Flats instead of sneakers. I actually own a headband that would have gone nicely with the dress, but no way—it would have looked like I was imitating Paige. I even dabbed on some lip gloss.

Ellie, being the one who can best understand people’s feelings, changed the subject. ”Did you get any calls about Fifi?”

That was something else I didn’t really want to think about, but fortunately I could give a positive answer—well, negative grammatically, but positive for me.

“No, no one’s called. But thanks for asking.” I looked at my watch. “Listen, I’m going to go to homeroom early so I can look over my speech. I’ll see you all later.”

“Want to practice on us?” Alyssa asked, but I pretended not to hear this and kept walking.

I wished there was some way I could skip homeroom, where I’d have to see the two other candidates. Maybe pretend I had a little stomachache and go to the nurse? But no, that would be contrary to my goals. I had to deal with this head-on, in a mature and responsible way.

Once I was in my seat, I opened a book and pretended to be engrossed in it as people came into the room. I didn’t have to worry about Paige—she was immediately caught up in her usual little clique. David Tolliver did catch my eye, but all he did was grin and give me a thumbs-up.

“May I have your attention for the morning announcements?” Ms. Simpson’s voice rang out over the intercom. After the usual report on meetings and practices, Mr. Lowell said, “During fifth period, the seventh grade will report to the auditorium for an assembly. The candidates for seventh-grade representative will speak. Voting will take place tomorrow in homeroom.”

I really wouldn’t have to fake a stomachache if I wanted to go the nurse, since I now actually had one. But I held on, and I went through the whole morning in a fog. Lucky for me, there were no pop quizzes and I wasn’t called on in any classes.

I saw the sisterhood before English class, and Ellie told us we could have a spyglass session that afternoon. It was something to look forward to if I survived the assembly, I thought. At lunch, I told them I wanted to sit alone and read over my speech. Being friends, they understood. But when the lunch period was almost over, they cornered me.

“You can do this,” Ellie declared. “You’re smart, you’re confident, you’re the best person for the job. No one is going to laugh at you.”

Kiara nodded. “Because they know that if they do, they’ll get into a lot of trouble.”

“Well, maybe,” Ellie said, “but mainly because they’ll appreciate what she’s saying!”

“And if you feel nervous,” Alyssa said, “just picture them all naked.”

“Why?” Kiara asked.

“I don’t know, I just read that somewhere. That way the audience doesn’t look frightening.”

I drifted through fourth period, and then it was time to add a little lip gloss. As I walked into the auditorium in a line with my class, I followed the person in front of me into a row. Then, looking up at the stage, I saw Paige and David already sitting there with an empty chair between them. Where I was supposed to be.

This meant I had to go back out to the aisle, murmuring “Excuse me, excuse me” as I bumped people’s knees. Then I went to the side of the stage, climbed the steps, and walked across the stage to my seat. I’m not sure how I managed this—I felt like I’d put my legs on some sort of automatic setting and they just took me to my destination without my even moving them.

Once in my seat, I automatically looked down at the floor, like I always did in class. But then I remembered my goals, and I realized that looking down would make people think I didn’t want to be there, like I didn’t want to be seen. I wasn’t going to be invisible anymore. They’d all be looking at me when I stood at the microphone.

So I focused straight ahead instead, and immediately I wished I wore glasses. Then I could take them off and everyone would be blurry. That might have helped me feel less nervous. Too bad I had twenty-twenty vision.

Mr. Lowell came onto the stage and stood at the microphone.

“Good afternoon, folks. Today we will hear from your three candidates for seventh-grade representative. This is a very significant position. Your representative represents you. This person will attend meetings with faculty and administrators. The representative will be invited to present ideas and suggestions and offer opinions about what we do at East Lakeside Middle School. Your needs and desires will be communicated. As these candidates present their plans, listen carefully to how they will fulfill this role, what they will do for you, and consider your choices well.”

He put a hand in his coat pocket. “I have the three names in here, and I will pick one at random to speak first.” He took out a slip of paper. “Our first presenter will be Paige Nakamura.”

There was clapping, and some cheers, but Mr. Lowell put up his hand.

“Please hold your applause until after each presentation.”

The noise subsided, but someone still yelled out, “Go, Paige!”

With a big, bright smile on her face, Paige got up and went to the microphone. I had to admit she looked exceptionally cool today, in a short camel-colored skirt and matching ankle boots. A pink sweater with gold threads—I recognized it, the expensive sweater from the window at Tinsel! A headband, of course, the exact same camel color as her skirt and boots. But this time there was a little bow on the band, a pink knot that matched the sweater. I felt very sure that in the next few days I’d see many girls with bows on their headbands.

“Helloooo, my people,” Paige said, drawing out the greeting as her smile got even bigger and brighter. “I’m so excited to be your next rep, and I can’t wait to tell you the great ideas I’ve got! You’re going to love them!”

She went on to propose all the plans she’d described back in our homeroom. Changes to the dress code, new options for gym class, to which she now added an indoor swimming pool for low-impact aerobic exercise. And dances, of course.

“We could even have a prom, like they have in high school! Amazing dresses for girls, tuxes for the guys, and we’ll ride to school in limousines! Now, we all know that East Lakeside Middle School is the best middle school in the whole state. Vote for me to make it better than best!”

There was applause again, and cheers, and even some whistles. As she returned to her seat, I felt myself becoming more and more terrified. Then David whispered in my ear.

“Get over it.”

And I had to, fast. Because the next name that came out of Mr. Lowell’s pocket was mine.

My legs were trembling, but they got me to the microphone. I opened my notebook.

“Hello. I’m Rachel Levin-Lopez. I’ve been talking to some of you this past week, asking you for your ideas about what you’d like to see here at East Lakeside. Many of you would like to have more extracurricular activities, clubs where we can share common interests with other students. A cooking club, for example. A chess club, where you could play games. A club for people who are interested in bird-watching, where you could go on outings together. Clubs for discussing books or movies.” Then, maybe because of Paige and her expensive pink sweater, I added something new that had just come to me.

“If you’re into fashion, maybe you’d like to learn how to design your own clothes. Maybe the school could hire an instructor and get some sewing machines. I’m sure there are a lot of us who love the clothes we see in shops, but they’re very expensive. Maybe we could start making our own!”

I could have sworn I heard a buzz in the audience, like people were talking about this.

“I’ve also thought about some complaints I’ve heard. Some people think certain classes are boring. Or you get assignments that don’t help you to understand the subjects. We could do class evaluations, where you could list your concerns. And also write about what you like. The teachers could read them, and maybe they’d be interested in your comments. These would be anonymous—no one would know who wrote what.”

There was utter silence in the room now. At least no one was laughing.

“And finally, I’d like to recommend changes in the ways students are punished for infractions. Right now, we have detention where we’re just supposed to sit around. But what does that accomplish?” I went on to describe my ideas for more productive ways we could spend that time.

“If those are the kinds of changes you’d like to see around school, then please vote for me, and we can all work together on improving East Lakeside Middle School.”

And then I was finished. I’d done it. I hadn’t fainted, or frozen, or thrown up.

“Thank you,” I remembered to say, and went back to my seat.

There was applause—maybe not as much as Paige got, but it was real, and loud. I felt good. And I think I was smiling—not as wide or as bright as Paige smiled, but definitely a more sincere smile.

Then it was David’s turn. He got up and went to the microphone.

“Hi, I’m David Tolliver. I signed up to be a candidate for seventh-grade representative. But after hearing what Rachel Levin-Lopez had to say, I’ve decided to withdraw my name from consideration. Because honestly, I can’t come up with anything better than what she presented to you. She’s got great ideas, and you need someone like her to represent you. I’m voting for her, and I hope you do too.”

I heard Paige draw in her breath, but I wasn’t shocked. I knew David didn’t want the job. I didn’t know if his dropping out, or encouraging others to vote for me, would make any difference. But it felt wonderful, what he said. To hear that I’d impressed someone, that someone actually believed in me and took me seriously. And that was all I needed.

The fog I was in before the assembly returned as soon as it was over. Or maybe I was just on a cloud. I was dimly aware of kids I barely knew who were saying nice things to me. I didn’t really start coming back to reality until we arrived at Ellie’s.

For once, we didn’t go straight up to the turret. Ellie ordered us to sit at the dining table, and she disappeared into the kitchen.

I hadn’t said much on the way home, and I must still have looked pretty dazed, because Alyssa asked if I was okay.

“I can’t think of a word that can describe what I’m feeling right now,” I told them.

Naturally, Kiara had several. “Ecstatic. Or maybe enraptured. Exhilarated?” She cocked her head to one side and looked thoughtful. “All e words. Interesting.”

“Well, they all sound good to me,” I assured her.

Ellie emerged from the kitchen with a big cake on a platter.

“I made this last night, so we could celebrate,” she announced. As she set it on the table, we saw my name on the chocolate-frosted top in squiggled pink icing.

We all swooned over it, but I asked, “How did you know we’d have something to celebrate? What if I’d been terrible at the assembly?”

“Oh, I knew you’d be good,” Ellie assured me. Then she grinned. “Besides, if you’d been terrible, you’d have needed some comfort food. What’s better than chocolate for that?”

“Not when it comes from Paige,” Alyssa muttered, and we all laughed.

“You were much better than she was,” Kiara told me.

“Thanks.”

“But you still won’t win the election,” she added.

“Kiara!” Alyssa and Ellie cried out in unison.

“Well, you told me it’s a popularity contest, right? And I presume Paige is still more popular than you are, Rachel.”

“A lot,” I agreed.

“But a lot more people know who you are now,” Ellie declared.

I guessed she was right, but I didn’t know how I felt about that. Maybe I wouldn’t be able to hide anymore. Maybe I wouldn’t be invisible anymore. It was a little scary. But maybe a little exciting too.

We ate a lot of cake and then went up to the turret. Ellie headed for the spyglass.

“I’ll bet I see Rachel with a crown on her head,” she said. “Queen of East Lakeside Middle School!” She positioned the spyglass so she could look through it. And then she fell silent.

“You see a vision?” Alyssa asked.

“Yeah.”

“What?” we chorused.

She turned toward us, and she wasn’t smiling.

“Rachel, you better come see.”

She moved the eyepiece to me and I looked. I saw snow on the ground, and someone walking.

It was Paige.

Holding a lead.

And on the end of the lead was Fifi.