“Hurry up! Fran is on in five!” I say into the phone.

“Get the popcorn and lemonade ready,” Mary Ann says back. “I’ll be right over with pens and paper.”

One of the best parts about living next door to my best friend is that it doesn’t take long to get to each other’s houses. Mary Ann is on my couch before I even get there with the snacks.

Fashion Fran is about to announce the details of her fashion design contest that she has been talking about for weeks.

I turn on the TV and settle in next to Mary Ann.

She takes a sip of her lemonade. “I don’t think I can wait another second,” she says.

I shake my head. I agree completely. Fran announced the contest a few weeks ago, but it feels like it has taken months for it to officially begin. And today’s the day. I can’t wait to find out what it’s all about.

As the music we’ve been listening to every afternoon for as long as I can remember starts to play, Mary Ann and I squeal.

Like always, we count down with the announcer as we wait for Fran to appear on the screen. “The moment we’ve been waiting for is finally here!” I say.

But before we get to enjoy it, my brother, Max, walks into the room. He grabs the remote and changes the channel.

“I want to see the sports scores,” he says.

Mary Ann and I both fly off the couch at the same time. So does the bowl of popcorn. My brother is usually faster than I am, but today I grab the remote out of his hand before he can stop me.

“Are you crazy?!?” I shout at Max. “Mary Ann and I have a V.I.S. to watch.”

Max looks at me like he has no idea what I’m talking about, so I explain. “V.I.S. is short for Very Important Show.” I tell him that Fashion Fran is having a design contest. “We’re going to find out all of the details today!”

Now Max looks at me like I’m the one who is crazy. “And you and Birdbrain actually think you can win?”

I wave my hand at Max to make him stop talking.

A. I don’t like when he calls my best friend Birdbrain.

B. His question is ridiculous. We have as good a chance as anybody.

C. I don’t have time to answer anyway. Fran is starting to talk.

Mary Ann and I both put our fingers to our lips and make a shhh! sound. But Max is already leaving. Mary Ann and I turn our attention to the TV.

“Fashionable viewers, welcome to a very special episode of the show.” Fran smiles at the camera. She pats down her already smooth hair. Then she twirls so viewers can see what she’s wearing.

“I love her sparkly sweater,” I say.

“And her lace skirt,” says Mary Ann.

We both shake our heads. One thing Mary Ann and I have always agreed on is that Fran is very fashionable.

The camera pans over the audience. It is filled with happy faces. “Can you even imagine what it would be like to be there?” I ask Mary Ann.

Mary Ann squeezes my arm.

It has always been our dream to be on her show together. But it is hard to imagine that ever happening. We watch as Fran keeps talking. “I’m sure you are all anxious to hear about the design contest,” says Fran. “But first, I want to tell you a little bit about how I started as a fashion designer.”

I turn up the volume. I know Mary Ann wants to hear this as much as I do.

Fran tells viewers how she loved playing with fabrics and designing outfits when she was a little girl. The camera cuts to pictures of ten-year-old Fran using a miniature sewing machine she says her grandmother gave her.

“I have been sewing and designing ever since.” Fran smiles into the camera. “Now, it is your turn.”

“The contest is simple,” says Fran. “Design your dream outfit, your most perfect, fashionable ensemble, on one sheet of 81/2 by 11 paper. Please use pencils and colored pencils only. Send your design to my studio in New York, addressed to Design Your Dream Outfit Contest.”

A New York City address flashes on the front of the screen.

“Write that down,” I say to Mary Ann.

Mary Ann starts writing.

Fran keeps talking. “You have three weeks to submit your design. I will personally look at each and every one that comes in.” Lights twinkle on the screen behind Fran. She smiles into the camera. “And when we come back, I’ll announce the prize for winning the Design Your Dream Outfit contest.”

The TV cuts to a commercial.

“I can’t wait to start designing,” says Mary Ann. “Me too,” I say to my best friend. My head starts filling up with ideas. I can already picture the dream outfits Mary Ann and I are going to design.

I’m really excited to design my dream outfit. But I’m even more excited to find out what you get if you win the contest.

When Fran returns, the lights twinkle again. “Now, the moment you have all been waiting for.” A drum rolls in the background.

I squeeze Mary Ann’s hand as Fran starts talking.

Fran raises an eyebrow and grins. “Viewers, I will choose the winning design. Then our seamstresses will sew it, creating a real dream outfit from the design.” Fran pauses like what she’s about to say next is the most exciting thing she has said so far. Mary Ann and I lean in toward the TV.

“The winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for four to New York City … AND a chance to appear on my show and model the winning design!”

When Fran says that, Mary Ann starts bouncing up and down on the couch. I’m starting to feel couch-sick. It’s the same thing as seasick, except it happens when you’re on a couch that is moving instead of a boat.

“Wow! Wow! Wow!” screams Mary Ann. “All we have to do is win the contest, and we get to go to New York City and model our outfits on the Fashion Fran show. We’re going on Fashion Fran!”

I look at Mary Ann. I’ve never seen her so bouncy. I’m excited too, but I’m not sure why she’s so bouncy. I’m also not sure why she used the word “we.”

I put my hand on her arm and she stops moving. “Didn’t you hear Fran?” I say. “She didn’t say “winners,” she said “winner.”

I wait for what I said to sink in, but it doesn’t. Mary Ann waves at me like she’s heard enough. She points to the screen. Fran is starting to talk again.

She holds up a sketch pad and a pencil. “You design it. Our seamstresses sew it. One lucky winner will model her design on the show.” Fran smiles. “This contest is only open for the next three weeks. So get busy drawing your dream outfit. I know there’s a fashion designer in all of you.”

Fran blows a kiss and waves. “That’s it for today. See you tomorrow with more of the latest, greatest finds in the world of fashion.”

The camera cuts to another commercial.

“One lucky winner” keeps spinning through my head. What was supposed to be the most exciting episode ever just turned into the worst episode ever. “What are we going to do?” I ask Mary Ann.

Mary Ann looks at me funny. “About what?”

Sometimes I wonder what goes on in Mary Ann’s brain.

“Only one person gets to go on Fran’s show. And there are two of us.”

Mary Ann takes a deep give-me-a-minute-to-think-about-this breath. “It’s simple,” she says. “All we have to do is make a pinky swear. If one of us wins, we’ll figure out a way to both go on the show.”

She holds up her pinky like she’s waiting for me to hook mine around hers.

I look at her. “How are we going to do that?”

Mary Ann shakes her head like now I’m the one who doesn’t get it. “We need to stop talking and start promising!”

I shake my head. “I don’t see how …”

I was going to say that I don’t see how we could figure out something as big as both getting on the show, but Mary Ann stops me. She hooks my pinky in hers and shakes them up and down.

“Mallory, don’t worry,” she says. “Everything will work out fine. It always does when we make a pinky swear.”

I nod. I try to imagine Mary Ann and me in New York. Seeing the sights. Modeling on the Fashion Fran show. But it’s hard.

I know we made a pinky swear. But this time, I’m just not sure that’s going to make everything work out.