Mia's Recipe for Disaster (11 page)

“Thank you,” I said. My voice was barely a whisper now.

“Okay, talk to you soon, Mia. I loved your dress.”

“Thank you. Bye.” I hung up the phone. Mom, Eddie, and even Dan were staring at me.

“Third place, Mia!” Mom said in an extra-cheerful voice. “That's wonderful! You are one of the top three winners! There must have been so many people who entered.”

“Yeah, that's really good,” said Dan.

“We need to celebrate!” Eddie cried. “How about we all go out for ice cream?”

“I have a Cupcake meeting,” I said. “But thanks, anyway.”

I kind of picked at my dinner after that. I saw Mom and Eddie exchanging worried glances. Maybe they thought I was going to lose it or something. But mostly I felt kind of sad and flat.

After dinner I helped clear the table and then
got together the supplies for our Cupcake session at Katie's. Mom offered to give me a ride, and I climbed into the passenger seat next to her.

Mom looked like she was going to turn on the engine, but then she stopped.

“Mia, I hope you know how excited I am for you,” she said. “I never wanted to force you to enter into a career in fashion, but ever since you were a little girl, I secretly hoped you would.”

I was surprised. “You did?”

Mom nodded. “Of course, I had a clue that year when you were seven and your dad and I asked if you wanted to go to Disney World, and you told us you wanted to go clothes shopping instead,” she said with a laugh. “But I'm thrilled it's something you've stuck with, and you love, and that you're talented at.”

“Are you sure you're not just saying that because you're my mom?” I asked.

“That is my
professional
opinion,” Mom replied. “And I think I'm a pretty good judge of talent. And those judges are too. Getting third place in the contest is amazing, Mia! You were competing against girls a few years older than you, and with more experience.”

“I hadn't thought of that,” I admitted.

“And even though you didn't come in first place, those fashion experts will still get to see your dress,” Mom said. “And isn't that really what you wanted? To get some advice and attention for your talent? Well, you're going to get it. I am so excited for that fashion show.”

Mom was starting to turn my whole head around. “Yeah, I am too,” I realized.

She turned on the engine. “Your friends are going to be so happy for you. And think—you all get to go to the fashion show together.”

“You're right.” Suddenly, I could envision Emma walking down a runway—a real runway—in my dress! I couldn't wait.

We pulled up in front of Katie's house, and I leaned over and hugged Mom.

“Thanks,” I said.

She smiled. “I'm so proud of you, Mia.”

I practically ran into Katie's house.

“I got third place!” I yelled as soon as she opened the door.

Katie started screaming and jumping up and down and hugging me. Her mom came running up.

“Is everything okay?”

“Mia got third place in the design contest!” Katie squealed.

“Mia, that's wonderful!” said Mrs. Brown, giving me a hug too.

“Third place?”

Alexis and Emma had arrived and were climbing up the steps behind me.

“Third place,” I repeated, and it sounded better every time I said it. “And there's going to be a fashion show, and everybody can come. Emma, I'm not sure, but I think you can model in it, but I have to ask.”

“A runway show? Cool!” Emma's blue eyes were shining.

“That is great news, Mia,” Alexis said.

“Well, come in, girls, come in,” said Mrs. Brown. “It's chilly out here.”

We headed inside Katie's house, and my friends had tons of questions for me as we set up to start our baking. The heat from the oven made the kitchen nice and toasty, and Katie started doing impressions of all our teachers, and we were laughing hard, and soon the delicious smell of cupcakes filled the air.

That's when I had a completely dorky moment.

“You know what?” I said. “At first I was kind of bummed about getting third place in the contest, but I'm already a winner, because you guys are my friends.”

I knew the words were supercorny as soon as they came out of my mouth, but my friends didn't mind. Katie hugged me with floury hands.

“Awww, you're so sweet,” she said. “That means we're all winners too, then.”

Luckily, Alexis ended the sappy moment.

“Mia, if your fashion career doesn't work out, you could get a job writing greeting cards,” she teased.

I playfully hit her with a dish towel. “Very funny! I don't care how it sounds. I mean it. I love you guys!”

“Group hug!” Katie yelled, and soon we were all covered with flour and sugar from one another's hands, and it was a total mess.

And I didn't mind one bit.

W
elcome, everyone, to the
Teen Runway
Design Your Fantasy Dress fashion show!”

Everyone clapped, and I nervously looked around the fancy hotel conference room, sizing up the crowd. Mom, Eddie, Dan, Katie, Alexis, Ava, and my dad and I had one row to ourselves. The other rows were filled with other contest finalists and their families. Some men in nice suits and women in chic dresses were sitting in the front rows on each side of the runway. I suspected they were the fashion experts and maybe people who worked for the magazine, but I didn't recognize any of them. Mom had waved at a couple people before we sat down.

The woman talking onstage had sleek red hair pulled back into a bun. She wore a short black dress
with cap sleeves and turquoise high-heeled shoes.

“I'm Laura Arnes, the editor in chief of
Teen Runway
,” she said. “When we announced this contest, we had no idea how many entries we would get from so many talented young designers. We received more than four thousand submissions.”

Katie nudged me. “That means you beat out three thousand, nine hundred and ninety-seven other people!” she whispered.

I sat up proudly in my chair. Third place seemed more impressive than before.

“Our judges had a tough job trying to choose the best of the best,” Laura said. “And you'll see our top ten here today. But before we show them off, let's meet some of the special guests who helped our staff judge this contest. First, fashion designer Jeremy Collins.”

A twentysomething man with black eyeglasses and thick brown hair swept over his forehead gave a little wave. I almost let out a scream, but I stopped myself. Jeremy came on the scene last year, and I have been following his career ever since. His clothes are totally fun and cute, and they are always on the covers of all the magazines.

“Next is Blayne Lockery, the star of the hit television series
Young Vampires
.”

A bunch of people in the crowd clapped really hard, because Blayne is pretty famous. I hadn't recognized her because her hair was in this cute, short bob, and on the show it's really long.

Ava, who was on the other side of me, noticed it too. “She must wear a wig on the show,” she whispered.

“And last but not least, legendary designer Simone Veger!”

Simone got the loudest applause of all. She really is a legend. You can only find her clothes in the fanciest department stores in the city.

“And now, without further adieu, I present to you the top ten looks in our fantasy dress competition!” Laura announced, and then she climbed down from the runway.

They had told me that they were going to reveal the dresses from tenth place to first place. Loud music started blaring from the speakers, and the first model walked out.

The model was wearing a shiny silver jumpsuit with a thick band around the middle, and wide legs.

“Designer Dena Wilmore made this jumpsuit out of an unconventional material—aluminum foil,” Laura narrated. “It's sure to lend shine to any night out on the town.”

For the first time in my life I knew what people meant when they said, “my jaw dropped open.” My mouth was open wide in shock—Katie had been right! Aluminum foil? The judges liked things that were edgy and different.

The next dress was a superpretty, flowing peasant dress with a design stitched across the bodice.

“Jordan Lynn tells us she spent thirty-six hours hand-embroidering this dress,” reported Laura.

Thirty-six hours
. Wow. I was really impressed.

The next few dresses were all on the ultracreative side. One had a plastic bubble skirt over white leggings. Another dress was sewn from Japanese origami paper! And I thought my satin lining was difficult.

By the time they got to my dress, I was starting to wonder how I had achieved third place. I held my breath as the model wearing the fourth-place dress finished her walk.

“Next, Mia Vélaz-Cruz gives us a sophisticated evening dress with a playful satin lining and matching cape,” Laura said, and Emma stepped out onto the runway. Mom had done her hair and makeup again, and even though she was wearing the silver high heels, she managed to gracefully stroll down the runway. When she got to the end of her walk, she unbuttoned the cape and playfully tossed it over
one shoulder, so people could see the reversible pink side.

“Woo-hoo!” Katie cheered next to me.

I carefully observed the judges as they watched Emma walk. I mean, I know that they already liked the dress, but this was their first time seeing it in person, and I wanted to see their reactions. I couldn't read Jeremy and Blayne, but Simone was nodding her head and smiling.

Everyone was clapping for the dress, and I felt myself blushing with pride. This was the coolest moment ever!

Then the second dress came out. “Our second-place winner is Zoey Webber, with a beautiful take on mixing materials.”

It was a two-piece look, with this amazingly tailored jacket that flared out a little at the waist, paired with a long, straight skirt that looked kind of like a patchwork except all the pieces were the same color. It looked really edgy and cool, and I knew there was no way I could have made that jacket. Not without a lot more lessons from Millicent.

I heard a squeal and then turned to my left. I saw some girls hugging a pretty girl with long brown hair and side-swept bangs. I guessed that was probably Zoey Webber. She caught my eye,
and we both smiled shyly at each other. Zoey pointed at Emma wearing my dress and silently mouthed,
You?
I nodded and then pointed to the second-place winner and mouthed back,
You?
She nodded, and we both giggled. Mom was right—being in the top three was awesome!

“And now our first-place dress, designed by Lauren Noll.”

A tall, thin model stepped onto the runway, wearing a dress that looked like something out of a dream. It was this really pretty soft tangerine color with a tight, sleeveless bodice and a skirt that was just layers and layers of soft, fluffy tulle—or was it organza? The layers cascaded down the model's body and trailed behind her on the floor. It looked like she was wearing a tangerine cloud.

“That is fabulous!” I whispered to Ava.

Before the fashion show I sort of believed that third place was a good thing and that there were probably better entries than mine, but now I really believed it. The dress was magnificent.

The crowd applauded wildly, and then all ten models came out for one final walk. This time, Katie stood up when Emma came out, and a bunch of other people in the crowd started standing up too.

“Let's hear it for these talented young designers!”
Laura called out, and the applause got even louder.

“Just soak it all in, Mia,” Ava whispered into my ear. “It doesn't get any better than this.”

But guess what? It did get better. When the show was over, everybody was invited to hang out and have refreshments set up on one side of the room. Katie and Ava made a beeline for the food, Emma sat down and changed from her heels to silver flats, and Alexis started handing out business cards to everybody.

“We have experience catering for fashion shows,” she was saying, which is true. (We had made cupcakes for a fashion show at the Women's Club once.)

As for me, I was busy getting squeezed by Mom, Eddie, and Dad. I am lucky that things aren't too weird with Mom and Dad since the divorce. Dad doesn't mind hanging around when Eddie's there. It's kind of nice for me to have everybody who loves me all in one place.

“I'm so proud of you,
mija
,” Dad told me. “Your dress is beautiful.”

“Thanks,” I said. “And thanks for sending me to the program at Parsons. It really helped.”

“Anything for my daughter,” Dad said, hugging me again.

As I broke away from Dad, Laura Arnes walked up to me and extended her hand.

“It's so nice to meet you, Mia,” she said. “Your dress was absolutely lovely. We had to acknowledge it because your sewing and instincts were impeccable, and the design was truly classic. Simone especially loved it.”