Makeover Magic (2 page)

“Does it look any good?” Bethany asked. “My cousin told me there's a Princess Polish in her town and it's really awesome.”

“Bethany!” Jenica elbowed her. “It won't be any better than Sparkle Spa.”

“Sheesh,” Bethany said, rubbing her arm. “I was just asking.”

Aly had to bite her cheek not to smile. She loved how loyal a customer Jenica was.

“But I didn't even tell you the craziest part yet!” Mia still hadn't moved from the doorframe, and Anjuli was still behind her. “They're offering a
free
Princess Pedicure to anyone under thirteen who goes into the salon! And a manicure, too, if you're going to Auden's Fall Ball. How did they even know about our school's dance?”

Aly gulped. This was even worse news. It wasn't like they charged a lot at Sparkle Spa; in fact, that
was one of Mom's rules—there was no set price, just a donation jar for customers to pay whatever they could afford. Then, each time the jar reached $100, Aly and Brooke gave the money to a worthy cause. So far, they'd donated money to Paws for Love, an animal shelter on Taft Street. The jar was getting kind of full again. They'd have to pick another charity soon.

“Wow,” Bethany said. “That's a really nice offer.”

“Right?” Mia said.

Jenica glared at them. Then she cleared her throat. “Aly, Brooke, I'd like to book my appointment for a manicure and pedicure for the Fall Ball. Here at Sparkle Spa. Can I book it now?”

Aly smiled at Jenica. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. “You definitely can,” she said, pulling out the new appointment book Mom had gotten them just for Sparkle Spa. Mom reviewed
it every week to make sure there weren't too many appointments for the girls to handle. “When would you like to come?”

“Next Saturday morning at eleven,” Jenica answered, after thinking for a bit. “We have an early soccer game, but I'll be free after that.”

“You got it,” Aly said, writing her into the book.

“Me too,” Anjuli said from where she stood behind Mia. “I'll come at eleven thirty.”

“And me,” Mia said after Aly had finished writing. “I'll come at the same time as Anjuli.”

Bethany didn't say anything, though, no matter how hard Jenica glared at her. And if Bethany, one of their regulars, wanted to check out Princess Polish, Aly knew they had a problem brewing. A big one.

T
he problem followed the Tanners home. That night, Mom was not in the very best mood. The minute she and the girls and Sparkly arrived home, she grabbed the cordless phone, went into her bedroom, and called Aly and Brooke's dad. He was away on a business trip and wouldn't be back until the weekend.

Brooke and Aly stayed in the living room, playing fetch with Sparkly. They'd trained him so that when Brooke threw a tiny ball, Sparkly would get it and
bring it to Aly. And then when Aly threw it, he'd bring the ball to Brooke. It had taken ages for Sparkly to learn that.

“You think Mom is talking to Dad about Princess Polish?” Brooke asked as she threw the ball.

“Probably,” Aly said, taking it from Sparkly's mouth and throwing it again.

“Do you think—” Brooke held on to the ball until Sparkly barked, and then she threw it. “Do you think Princess Polish could ever be more popular than True Colors? And if that happened, would True Colors close? And then Sparkle Spa? And then would the soccer team lose all their games because they couldn't get rainbow sparkle pedicures? And then would everyone be sad and mad, especially us?”

Aly rubbed Sparkly's head, thinking about it for a while. “Well,” she said, “True Colors is older
than you and it's older than me. No other salon has put it out of business yet, so I think it'll be okay.”

“But Mom's still worried?” Brooke asked.

“Yeah,” Aly said. “But Mom's still worried.”

After Mom got off the phone, she, Aly, and Brooke made a dinner of macaroni and cheese—the kind that came from a box—and steamed broccoli. Then the three Tanner girls sat down to eat, and Sparkly lay down underneath the table to chew on a bone. Mom was very quiet and didn't even notice when Brooke took a second helping of macaroni before finishing her broccoli. That worried Aly.

“Mom,” she said, after swallowing a broccoli stem, “you know True Colors is the best salon, right? And you have so many regulars who come every week and would never go anywhere else. You don't have to be nervous about Princess Polish or anything.”

Mom put her fork down and sighed. “Thanks, Al,” she said. “But I don't know if everyone would agree with you. I think I might start offering deals or special pedicures like Princess Polish.”

Brooke reached for a third helping of macaroni. But this time, Mom raised an eyebrow at her, so Brooke sat back in her seat and dipped her broccoli in the leftover cheese instead. “What if you offer the same specials they do?” she asked. “Then it would be equal, so no one would have a reason to choose Princess Polish instead of True Colors.”

Mom shook her head. “I don't want to start that kind of thing, because then I'm stuck offering whatever Princess Polish does. I want to come up with different promotions. Ideas that will make True Colors stand out.”

Brooke chewed her cheesy broccoli. “What if you had a special deal for bridesmaids, like when Miss Lulu
got married? Remember how many she had?”

“I do remember, Brookie,” Mom said. “But I don't think enough people get married in our town each week to make that idea work.”

Aly had slipped off her flip-flop and was petting Sparkly under the table with her toes. “The Sixth-Grade Fall Ball is a big deal,” she said. “And we have some manicures and pedicures booked already. True Colors could have all Sparkle Spa's customers for the ball, if you want.”

“That's a wonderful offer, sweetie,” Mom answered, “but I think you should keep those customers. You've been working hard to build up your business. Just like I'm going to work hard to keep building mine. Don't worry, I'll think of something.”

Everyone ate quietly for a little while.

Finally, Brooke asked, “What was it like at your Sixth-Grade Fall Ball, Mom?”

Mom took a sip of her water and smiled. “I didn't have a Sixth-Grade Fall Ball,” she said. “But I did go to a Valentine's Day dance in sixth grade.”

Aly tried to imagine what Mom looked like in sixth grade. She wondered if maybe Mom looked kind of like her. They did have the same hair, after all. And the same green eyes.

“What was it like?” Brooke asked, wiping another tree of broccoli through the last of the cheese on her plate. “Did you wear high heels? And have a sparkly pedicure?”

Putting her glass down and leaning back in her chair, Mom said, “It was a magical night. The gym was decorated with pink and red streamers, and there were hearts on all the walls. There was music, too, and candy and fruit punch.”

“And you had high heels?” Brooke asked.

Mom shook her head. “No high heels. You know
how when we visit Grandma and Grandpa in the winter, there's always snow on the ground?”

Aly nodded. They usually visited their mother's parents in the summer, but the three times they'd gone in the winter, it was cold and snowy and Aly had to borrow Grandma's friend's daughter's old winter jacket.

“Well, it was snowing during the dance,” Mom said, “and it was really cold. So we all had on boots. And tights and thick skirts and sweaters. I did have nail polish on, though. It was light pink, kind of like Kiss and Tell.”

Brooke made a face. “Kiss and Tell is so light, it's barely even nail polish! And I can't believe you had to wear boots. I'm glad we live here, where we can wear flip-flops all the time. And no tights.”

Aly laughed, but she wanted to hear the rest of Mom's story. “Why was it so magical?” she asked.

Mom smiled. “Do you know who I met at that sixth-grade dance?”

Aly shook her head, but Brooke said, “Joan?”

Joan was Mom's best friend and Aly and Brooke's very favorite True Colors manicurist, but Aly was pretty sure that Mom hadn't met her in sixth grade.

“Not Joan,” Mom said with a laugh.

Aly wondered who it could be. “Was it a boy?” she asked.

Brooke's eyes popped open behind the bright blue frames of her glasses.

“I'll give you a clue,” Mom said, smiling again. “He was tall and had wavy blond hair, and he was the smartest boy I'd ever met.”

Aly felt like lightning had struck her brain. Their dad was tall and had wavy blond hair and was really, really smart. “Was his name Mark?” she asked excitedly.

Mom nodded her head, a grin on her face. “How'd you guess?”

“Wait,” Brooke said. “Dad's name is Mark.”

“It is,” Mom said. “And I met him at a sixth-grade dance. He wasn't my boyfriend until much later, though.”

Aly thought about the boys in her class. Was it possible that one day she'd marry one of them and have two daughters and her own nail salon? And was it possible that she'd meet him at the Fall Ball next year? So many cool things happened once you were a sixth grader. But first, she had to focus on getting through fifth grade and helping everyone going to this year's Fall Ball look their best. As long as her customers didn't decide to go to Princess Polish instead!

A
fter school on Friday, Sparkle Spa wasn't that busy. It was so quiet that Aly's two best friends, Charlotte and Lily, and Brooke's best friend, Sophie, stayed there after their pedicures, flip-flops off, feet all pedicured.

“Thanks for suggesting Candy Corn on the Cob, Brooke,” Sophie said, wiggling her toes in the drying area. “The gold sparkles make the yellow extra glittery.”

“Can I keep experimenting on your toes, then?”
Brooke asked. “Because I have a new idea for the Fall Ball. We can do special pedicures with a stripe of a different sparkly color on the top part of the big toe. You know, like the toe is dipped in caramel or chocolate or something.”

“Just the big toes?” Aly asked. “Not all of them?”

“Trust me,” Brooke said, pulling I'm So Grapeful off the shelf.

“I trust you, Brooke,” Sophie said.

Aly trusted her too. Brooke was a really talented artist, and somehow she seemed to know exactly which colors would look best together. Brooke was the one who had invented the soccer team's rainbow sparkle pedicure.

Brooke painted a medium-size stripe of glittery purple on top of the glittery yellow. The purple made the yellow look even brighter. It would've looked too wild if this combination was on every toe.

“You were right, Brookster,” Aly said, inspecting Sophie's feet. “We should make that design the Fall Ball special pedicure.”

“And you should make Candy Corn on the Cob the Color of the Week!” Lily was looking at last week's color, a glittery green called Hoppy Birthday.