Flirting with Disaster (8 page)

Louanne leaned over and whispered, “You were right about this little girl. She’s nice.”

I winked at my sister. Anyone who loved dogs would be all right with her. Plus, Emma was younger than Louanne, which made Louanne feel mature. And important.

A few minutes later, Becky ushered the women out of the shop and me and Louanne in. “But the dog . . . ,” I began.

“Pshaw, it’s okay. You’ll be in the back room doing some writing for me. The dog will be out of the way.”

Louanne grinned, but I barely noticed.

“In the back . . . writing?” I asked excitedly, hoping I’d heard her right.

Becky smiled. “Writing. Would you like to do some rough copy for the second-to-last e-mails I’ll be sending out before the auction? Only, what, a week and a half till the big event? I figure I’ll send one this week and then one just before.”

“Thank you,” I said.

She sat me down and pointed out a stack of designer catalogs. “I’ve tabbed a few of the items I’m going to be auctioning—one-of-a-kind pieces, which is what we’re known for. Go ahead and write copy for each of those to put in the e-mail.”

Writing copy for fashion? I thought I’d gone to heaven. I flipped through the catalog and stopped myself from drooling all over the boat trousers, khaki capris, and personal-fit jeans. Not to mention the custom-tailored LeSportsac bags. I stuck to clothes for women—women with money to bid up an auction to support Isobel. And Emma.

An hour later, Becky came up behind me, read the copy, and exclaimed, “Savvy, you’ve done a marvelous job. I think that’ll be it for today. I’ll massage the wording just a bit and send them out. Thank you so much. Back next week?”

“For sure,” I said. And the next week, and maybe during the summer . . . if things worked out right.

Later that night, after buying Louanne a heaping 99, a British ice cream specialty of vanilla ice cream with a large Cadbury Flake candy bar driven into the middle of it, I got home, popped open a tube of Smarties, and began to write my Asking for Trouble column. I had a lot of homework this week, now that we were nearing the end of the school year. I had better get my column done early. I knew just the verse I was going to use.

God helps those who help themselves.

Chapter 15

Thursday morning I was a bit late, so I didn’t have time to read my column before getting to first period. When I arrived, I was in for a surprise. Hazelle was in the seat next to me, and Brian was across the room.

“Um, what happened?” I asked, sliding into the desk beside her.

“Nothing,” she said. But she looked really, really sad.

“Gum?” I offered.

“I don’t
chew
gum, Savvy,” she barked.

Okay then. Just for old time’s sake, I’d ice down that burn and try one last time. “How’s the book coming along?”

“I stopped working on it,” she said quietly, and then she opened her notebook and fiddled with the lead in her mechanical pencil.

Oh yeah. She’d been writing a romance. I’d messed up that one.

After school I walked around the campus to pick up the extra papers. I snagged one and read my article before going to the newspaper office.

Dear Asking for Trouble,

I have an art project due in a couple of weeks. It’s a really important project to me because I want to send my drawing portfolio to art school next year. A friend of mine, who also likes art, asked if we could do the next project together. I know it would help her to work with me, but I’m not sure I would benefit by working with her. But then I’d feel selfish. I could do this one with her and the next one on my own. What should I do?

Sincerely,

Needs to Draw a Conclusion Soon

Dear Draw,

It’s nice that you want to help your friend, but you’re trying to let your own work shine in this project, especially since you want to be admitted to art school. And you’re right—if she’s so excited about art, she might need to get this done on her own. Maybe she’d really benefit from having to stand on her own for this project, just like you’re willing to do. I say go it alone.

Sincerely,

Sounds Sketchy

Melissa had promised me she’d stay after school and help me learn how to do an upside-down pyramid news article structure and teach me how to seamlessly work in British style quotes. “So here’s where you put the comma, then,” she said as we hunched over her desk. She tapped a few times on the keyboard and,
voilà!
as Madame Antoinette would say. Things were looking good.

I cut and pasted a paragraph about Be@titude’s origins. The
pièce de résistance
would be the sidebar showing how much money the auction made to buy business wardrobe items for mums in need.

Hazelle had left early, for once. Her
Vote Hazelle
sign over her desk had lost one of its thumbtacks and now swung like a loose limb on the corkboard. Natalie was still there, though. She came up behind us. Melissa turned her head away, sending a shot of grapefruit scent from her hair into the air around us. She didn’t meet Natalie’s eye.

“Working on Be@titude again, I see.” Natalie’s voice was chipper. “Didn’t you want to feature it earlier this month?”

“As a part of the May Day Ball article we
were
going to work on together,” I reminded her, but she didn’t take the bait.

“Looks like a worthwhile piece,” she said. “Can’t wait to see it in print.”

Was it just me, or did that sound like a promise?

Then she gathered up her books and closed her laptop before strolling into the hall. I could see Rhys waiting for her.

He glowered at me before putting his arm around Natalie and walking away.

Chapter 16

My mom and I had made a deal. She’d do my laundry on Sunday afternoon if I’d clean the kitchen. That way I could keep my remaining clothes intact and still get my allowance. This weekend I was feeling so good about life in general that I decided to not only clean the kitchen but also shine up the bathrooms, run the vacuum, and help Louanne with the dog.

“Wow, I’m not sure what brought on this burst of energy, but whatever it is, I hope it’s a permanent condition.” Dad lifted his feet off the floor while I ran the sweeper through the living room and turned up
Top Gear
so he could hear it over the noise.

“New episode tonight?” I asked after finishing the house.

Dad looked surprised. “Yes, actually.” I didn’t tell him that Tommy loved
Top Gear
too and that he’d told me Sunday nights debuted the new episodes.

I even drew a truce with Growl. I fed him treats while Louanne groomed him. Then, after taking my cleaned and folded clothes upstairs, I sat in front of the computer at the little office nook in the kitchen to do some homework. I quickly ran through my e-mail, not wanting anyone in the room to see that I’d been getting the forwards for the Asking for Trouble column. I’d read them later on my laptop. However, one message caught my eye. It was from Hazelle.

The subject line was “Tips for writers,” and it had also gone to Melissa, Jack, and a couple of others on the newspaper staff. Not Rodney, though, and not Natalie. No surprise there. Hazelle was finally including me in a group of writers!