“Right! Right. I’ll write it down for you.” Emma plucked a scrap of paper off her worktable and signaled Charlie to hand her his pen. Heart racing, she scribbled down some numbers.
“Thanks!” Paige grabbed the piece of paper without looking at it. “That way out, right? I think I can find it. And please don’t forget to ask Ms. Biscotti about the dress. I happen to be a perfect size four, so it shouldn’t need any alterations. Ciao for now!”
Emma waited until she couldn’t hear the clack-clack of Paige’s footsteps anymore to finally let out her breath— which she suddenly realized she had been holding for most of the past five minutes. “Wow! I think I just made my very first sale—and to a major fashion editor! That really happened, right? You saw the same thing I did, didn’t you, Charlie? I didn’t just imagine it—?”
But Charlie was doubled over in laughter.
“Charlie! What? Why are you laughing? Was this some sort of prank?”
“No!” Charlie inhaled deeply to catch his breath. “No…I just want to…know…how you came up…with the name ‘Allegra Biscotti’!”
“I’m not sure. It kind of came out of nowhere. Besides, what’s wrong with Allegra Biscotti? I mean, other than the fact she doesn’t exist.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest.
“Nothing! It’s great.” Charlie still laughed.
Emma laughed, too. It was kind of funny. Crazy, really.
“And now you have your very first customer,” Charlie pointed out. “Well, Allegra’s very first customer but still. Awesome.” Suddenly, Charlie turned serious. “Wait. What phone number did you give her?”
“My cell. Is that bad? I didn’t know what else to do,” Emma explained.
“Bold choice,” he said. “But it sounds like she’s actually going to call you—I mean, call Allegra—to find out about that dress.”
“Oh, no!” Emma cringed. So not-smart. “When she calls that number, she’s going to hear Holly and me scream-singing a Black Eyed Peas song on my outgoing message.”
Charlie tossed Emma her cell phone from the table. “I’m thinking you might want to change that back to the generic greeting, Allegra.”
Chapter 3
Smokin’ Hot New Design Talent
“Emma! Are you up yet? And by ‘up’ I mean actually out of bed!” her mother shouted from down the narrow hall of the Roses’ apartment.
“Yes!” Emma stared into the organized chaos of her tiny closet. Though it was no wider than the length of her arm, it held an impressive number of clothes and accessories. Emma used antique hooks scavenged at flea markets, stacked sweater boxes decorated with collages she made from magazines, and a few extra shelves her dad had built to keep her closet tidy.
Maybe I’ll wear that smoky-purple silk scarf I picked up on the street near school, Emma thought. One of the best things about Downtown Day was that the exclusive private school was located in SoHo, one of Emma’s favorite neighborhoods. It had tons of cool boutiques and art galleries. Just peeking in the windows gave her inspiration for her designs. She stood on tiptoe, reached up, and slid out a box that she had decoupaged with cutouts of colorful flowers.
“What did you say?” her mother called, her voice sounding closer now.
Emma rolled her eyes, plucked out the scarf, and slid the box back into place. She swung open her bedroom door. It wasn’t like her family’s three-bedroom apartment was so huge that her mother couldn’t hear her behind the closed door. But Emma knew this was one of her mother’s tricks to make sure her kids weren’t still in bed. “I’m up! Satisfied?”
“Very,” her mother said. “You know how I love torturing you and your brother every morning. It’s my favorite part of the day.”
“I thought bugging us about homework was your favorite part,” Emma mumbled.
“I’m ignoring that.” Her mother rapped on William’s door. “Will! Up! Now!”
Emma gently shut her door. Normally, she would still be lying in bed, trying to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep. She knew her mother woke them up earlier than really necessary, scared they would make her late for work. Mom taught English and composition—at Emma’s school. When she first started Downtown Day, Emma was really proud of the fact. She used to visit her mother’s classroom all the time and beg to help grade papers.
Now, she rerouted through the halls with the primary mission of avoiding her mother. Sure, Joan Rose taught in the high school, which was attached to the middle school, but that was really just a technicality. Any way she looked at it, Emma went to school with her mother. Way too much family-togetherness time.
But this morning, the excitement of meeting Paige Young was still so fresh in her mind that the minute Emma opened her eyes, she jumped out of bed. What happened yesterday at Laceland was too mind-blowing for words. She didn’t even care if anything ever came of it. Emma switched on her laptop. She hoped Holly was online so she could tell her all about Paige. Holly had been missing in action all night.
As the computer started up, Emma went back to her closet. What can I wear with the scarf? she wondered. Maybe those narrow khaki riding pants with the brown suede patches on the inner knees she’d bought on a whim last spring. She reached for the pants and held them up with the scarf, considering the combo. Good, but she’d have to find a top and shoes that were the complete opposite of horsey. She definitely didn’t want to look like she was dressing for Halloween.
Emma glanced at the computer screen. Neither Holly nor Charlie was logged on. Figured. She clicked open her favorite bookmarks and rolled the cursor over the link to StylePaige.com, Paige Young’s own blog. Emma had just looked at it last night, but she felt like reading it again. It made yesterday more real. She needed to spend a few more minutes reliving it all before the reality of school crashed down around her.
The home page featured the usual stuff—reviews of fashion shows, the latest “it” bag for fall, and some young, starved model who was the hot, new runway sensation. Emma stared at the artfully photographed picture of Paige Young at the top of the right column. She clicked “Refresh” and then scrolled down the page for another few seconds. The clock at the bottom of the screen said 7:02…oops, 7:03. She had to get moving. Just as she turned away, something caught her eye. She whirled back around. A new posting.
Emma gasped. Leaning closer, nose almost touching the screen, she read the latest headline out loud, “Smokin’ Hot New Design Talent Discovered Yesterday: Exclusive First Peek at Allegra Biscotti!”
Emma blinked really hard and looked at the page again. There it was: Allegra Biscotti.
That’s me! Emma thought. I’m on StylePaige!
There were photos—photos of her dresses! She couldn’t stop staring. They looked so good. So professional. So real.
Emma noticed a short paragraph under the headline. She sank into her desk chair and began to read:
Deep in the heart of the Garment District, Allegra Biscotti has been quietly working away on three of the freshest designs I’ve seen in eons. (See my exclusive pix below!) Helped by the yummy sorbet colors, these playful and imaginative dresses hit just the right note, like the first truly warm day of the season. One thing’s for sure: this style spotter is going to have her eyes peeled for more from Allegra Biscotti!