Modelland (60 page)

“Ze seamstress?” Applaussez said, confused.

“I—I’m sorry!” Tookie stammered. “I was just—”

Gunnero cut Tookie off, pinning her arms behind her back. “Princess BellaDonna, I will handle this crazy-eyed, shouldn’t-be-a-Bella intruder!”

It took Ci~L a moment to realize that Gunnero was addressing her. Slowly, she descended from her throne and approached Tookie. “What are you doing here? What, did you follow me here? You are not allowed in the M building!”

“I just wanted to help you!” Tookie cried. “I was afraid you were in trouble!”

“I can take care of
myself
!” Ci~L spat.

Oh my God! Ci~L has turned into a demon again! Where can I run?
Tookie thought, panicked.

Ci~L spun around and eyed Gunnero and the guards. “Release her immediately. I will punish her myself!”

Gunnero smirked, pleased.

The guards dropped Tookie’s arms and Ci~L said, “
Psych!
Tookie, I was totally kidding. I was spooky, huh? Like before, when I was crazy, but I’m not crazy now but I feel crazy cuz I’m the frickin’ BellaDonna. I’m so nervous and now I’m sweating again. You know how I sweat. Augh! Come here, girl!” And then Ci~L wrapped Tookie in a big hug.

“Ci~L, you totally freaked me out,” Tookie said, giggling nervously. “I thought you were gonna kill me.”

“Gunnero!” Ci~L called out to Narzz. “Don’t you dare harm a curly, straight, wavy, or frizzy hair on her head.
Ever.
”

Gunnero grimaced like he smelled something foul, but reluctantly nodded.

“Thank you,” Tookie whispered to Ci~L, dipping into a respectful curtsy.

Ci~L snickered. “Oh, get up. There’s not gonna be any of that idiotic kowtowing during my reign.” She looked at Narzz. “And you. If you have a problem with treating Tookie with the respect she deserves, you can
kiss my big fat Princess BellaDonna ass
!”

Gunnero just stared in shock.

“And speaking of kissing, I want you, Mr. Narzz, to bow down right now to Miss Tookie and kiss her feet.”

Narzz blinked hard. “What?”

“That’s right.” Ci~L placed her hands on her hips. “I’m the Princess BellaDonna, baby. The head bee-yotch in charge. And from now on, you
will
do
Whatever
. I. Say.”

Reluctantly, Gunnero took mincing steps up to Tookie. He fell to his knees, puckered his lips, and kissed Tookie’s shoes, which were still soiled with Ugly Room crud.

And Tookie had to admit it felt pretty damn good.

Tookie emerged from the M building and started back toward the D, still numb with shock. Had it really happened? Was Ci~L truly the new Princess BellaDonna? Had Gunnero honestly kissed Tookie’s dirty, oversized feet as though she were the Queen of Gowdee?

Pure, unfiltered happiness filled her from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. She couldn’t wait to tell the Unicas what had happened. She could just picture Dylan almost fainting from glee, Shiraz doing a victory dance, and Piper smiling, hypothesizing how Modelland’s conditions would improve under Ci~L’s rule. The whole world around Tookie glistened as though it had been scrubbed clean. Many girls along Tookie’s walk were
still distraught, and some hysterical, over the abrupt ending of the 7Seven Tournament. Only Kamalini walked among the crowd unscathed and unbothered, bopping to her Headbangor. Tookie wanted to throw her arms around the girl—if Kamalini hadn’t told her to run into the O on the first day there, Tookie might not be at Modelland today. But Kamalini was too far away. Tookie would have to thank her later.

Tookie was overflowing with delight and practically skipped down the path toward the D entrance. A rustling sound in the bushes made her stop short.

Zarpessa stepped out from behind the bushes, eyeing Tookie dangerously. Tookie froze, her euphoria suddenly fading away. She wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation. “Look, Zarpessa, for the last time, I
didn’t
tell anyone your secret, okay?”

“I know,” Zarpessa said.

Tookie blinked hard. “You … do?”

Zarpessa thrust her chin into the air. “I went back to the FEDS and asked some questions. Dr. Erica told me everything that happened the night I … 
you
know. She told me she asked around, seeing if anyone knew anything about my history, and no one did. Not even you.” Her eyebrows arched. “Why didn’t you tell? I mean,
I
would have, if I were you. Survival of the fittest.”

“First you
want
me to keep it a secret, now you want me to tell?” Tookie threw up her hands in confusion. “Whatever happened to you is your business. But your harsh reality is still no excuse to be evil, Zarpessa. This is a place for all of us to start fresh. To forget what happened in our previous lives.”

Zarpessa leaned back and examined Tookie in full, perhaps really looking at her for the first time. “Well, I guess this is where
I say … I don’t know … thank you?” she said begrudgingly. “But if you think we’re going to, like,
bond
now, you’re sorely mistaken. I don’t need a shoulder to cry on about my crappy family. Certainly not
your
scraggy-ass shoulder.”

“Whatever, Zarpessa.” Tookie shrugged, mad at herself for even thinking Zarpessa had changed.

Then Zarpessa stepped forward and stuck her finger in Tookie’s face. “And what was all that in the OrbArena about my Theophilus?”

Tookie blinked. She’d forgotten what she’d said about Theophilus in the heat of the moment. “I just wanted to make Bravo jealous,” she said in a small voice. There was no way she could get into the Theophilus argument with Zarpessa now. “His was the first name I thought of.”

This seemed to satisfy Zarpessa, and she placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t ever think Theophilus would be into you, you Unfortunate-Looking, big-headed, crazy-eyed, forgettable bitch. Stay away from him … and from me too. Because if you
ever
tell, I’ll make your life a living hell. Worse than the hell I live in back home.”

Tookie shrank back, her eyes wide. But even though she was trembling inside, she mustered a smile. “You’re welcome, Zarpessa,” she said as the girl walked away.

Tookie slumped down on a bench for a moment, trying to shake off Zarpessa’s hatred. She heard the bushes rustle again and jumped up, prepared for the Wrath of Zarpessa, Round Two. Webb, Alexander, and O’Neil appeared from the bushes, surrounding her.

A knife of fear sliced through Tookie’s chest. All she could
think of was the lewd things Bravo’s friends had probably said to him when the four of them had hatched the bet about Tookie. She rolled her shoulders back and tried to push past them. “Excuse me,” she said tightly.
I’m better than they are
, she chanted again and again in her head.
Ci~L, the Princess BellaDonna, thinks so
.

“Tookie, wait,” Webb said, grabbing Tookie’s hand. And in a split second, all three boys stripped off their uniform shirts, revealing tan, mahogany, and golden skin and sharply defined pectoral and abdominal muscles.

Tookie recoiled and turned away. Now they were stripping for her? Did they want a piece of her too? “I’m not everyone’s bet!” she shrieked. “Leave me the hell alone!”

But then she noticed there was something written on their chests in goopy red paint.

Tookie
, Webb’s chest said.

I’m So
, Alexander’s said.

And O’Neil’s said
Sorry
.

Tookie read the words, frowning. She was seething. Was this some kind of joke?

She was about to turn away once more when the three boys jumped in unison, now showing her their backs. More words, in the same red script, were scrawled across their broad back muscles:

It Was

Never

A Bet
.

“Yeah, right,” Tookie sputtered. But when the boys turned back around, their expressions were plaintive and repentant, not teasing and disrespectful. From behind, someone grabbed Tookie’s shoulder, and she turned to find …

Bravo. In a perfectly fitted velvet tuxedo.

“Thanks, y’all,” Bravo said, slapping his friends’ hands. “I owe you big-time.” The three boys pulled on their shirts, gave Tookie a polite nod, and disappeared down the path, leaving Tookie and Bravo alone.

Tookie stared at him, still not sure if this was a joke. Bravo approached her. “So …,” he said nervously, “you’re back.”

“That’s right,” she said stubbornly.

There was a long silence. Finally, Bravo met her eyes. “What they wrote on their chests is true, Tookie. There was never a bet, I swear. I only told you that because I was mad you were leaving and I thought you used me. I opened myself up to you and I felt all vulnerable. Telling you that stuff gave you a lot of control over me. And then I regretted telling you when you said you were leaving, and I stooped really low and tried to hurt you more than I was hurting. I’m so sorry.” He shifted his feet on the path. “But Tookie, I’ve never met anyone like you. I didn’t want you to go. The architecture suddenly wasn’t enough for me to want to stay here without you.” Then he chuckled lightly. “I wanted to write
Tookie, you’re the most amazing girl I have ever laid eyes on, I can’t decide which to love more, your green eye or your brown eye
, but there wasn’t enough room on everyone’s chests. Believe me, we tried.”

Tookie stared at him, her resolve crumbling a little. All at once, it made sense: The tuxedo. The writing on the chests. It was exactly what she’d told him she wanted during the ManAttack. All those crazy things she’d come up with … and he was executing them, one by one.

Then Bravo took her hand. “I want to show you something.”

He started to pull Tookie across the O. They stopped at a garden Tookie had never seen before, right on the border between
Modelland and Bestosterone. It was filled with the most beautiful golden-yellow fabric flowers she’d ever seen, and they went on for a mile. “I just planted these today,” Bravo said. “As soon as I saw you’d come back, me and my boys got on the job.”

“You planted this … for
me
?” Tookie whispered, thinking again of her crazy first-kiss wish.

Bravo nodded. “Okay, confession time. We used special Modelland multiplying seeds.” Then he grabbed Tookie’s hands and began to sing a strange little tune slightly off-key.

Tookie was trying with all her might to hold in her laughter. “You sound really bad, Bravo. You don’t have to sing for me.”

“This is what you wanted. And you deserve to get what you want.”

“But you should be pissed at me,” Tookie said. “Because I hit you. Because I left from
our
ZipZap. Because of … Theophilus?”

“But you came back,” Bravo said. “And Theophilus … well …”

“Theophilus isn’t my boyfriend,” Tookie blurted out. “He’s Zarpessa’s, actually. I was kinda obsessed with him, but … nothing ever happened.”

Bravo nodded, looking relieved. Then he continued his song.

Bravo then did a spin and tried to drop down in a half split but almost fell over.

Tookie covered her eyes. “Stop it,” she said bashfully. But in truth, she kind of liked this. A
lot
.

Bravo lowered his face to hers. “I still wanna be your first, Tookie.”

Tookie’s blinked hard.
Oh my God …

“Your special first,” Bravo went on. He moved an inch closer and cradled her face in his hands. “Your
only
first.”

Tookie shut her eyes. This was happening.

“How privileged I would be if you said yes,” Bravo whispered, his lips puckered just so, looking extremely lush and bitable. “Will you?”

Tookie swallowed hard. In the distance, a couple of birds sang to one another. A peal of laughter rang from the O, but it all sounded very far away. “Privileged? For
real
?”

Bravo squeezed her hands. “For real, for real. Will you say yes?”

She could feel his breath on her face. Her heart rocketed in her ears. “Yes. But wait.”

Bravo leaned back, staring at her.

“I have a story for you, just like the story you told me,” Tookie said. “Once upon a time, there was this girl named … 
Tookalatta
.”

“Tookalatta?”
Bravo said, amused.

“Shhh. Just go with it, ’kay? So anyway, nobody saw her—ever. She would lie on the floor of her school, waiting for someone to trip over her or kick her or
anything
, but no one ever did. It was like she was a piece of trash. Defective. Uncoordinated, unattractive, and unmemorable.”

Tookie cleared her throat, her skin prickling. “Tookalatta wanted love,” she went on. “She wanted affection. She wanted it so badly she collected a random item from a boy she liked.” She touched the
T O OKE
pin under her flower. After a moment, she reached under the brooch, removed the pin, leaving the flower brooch where it was, and held the pin in her hand. Bravo looked at it, but didn’t say anything. “And she practiced kissing that boy in her mirror when she thought she was alone,” Tookie went on, twisting her mouth at the memory of how Myrracle had once caught her. “Tookalata was convinced that all she’d ever kiss for the rest of her life was a mirror. She was a Forgetta-Girl. A girl no one would ever want to kiss. A girl someone might bet on. Make fun of. Shun. Ignore.”

“And how does the story end?” Bravo said, squeezing her hand. “Does Tookalatta live a miserable life, alone, afraid, not allowing herself to open up to anyone, running away? Or does she take a risk and realize that someone
does
want her
—really
wants her? And really
loves
her.”