A Picture-Perfect Mess Read online

  Contents

  Chapter 1 Some Like It Hot Pink

  Chapter 2 Orange You Having a Party

  Chapter 3 Purple People Eater

  Chapter 4 Lemon Aid

  Chapter 5 I Love Blue, Too

  Chapter 6 Sherbert and Ernie

  Chapter 7 Ruby Red Slippers

  Chapter 8 Be My Valentine

  Chapter 9 News Prince

  Chapter 10 Sprinkle, Sprinkle Little Star

  How to Give Yourself (or a Friend!) a Picture-Perfect Pinkies Pedicure

  About Jill Santopolo

  For picture-perfect Karen Nagel

  Special sparkly thank-yous this time around to Miriam Altshuler, Marianna Baer, and Eliot Schrefer.

  one

  Some Like It Hot Pink

  Aly and Brooke Tanner were eating ants on a log. Not real ants or a real log, of course. It was an after-school snack of cream cheese and celery with raisins on top that Aly’s friend Charlotte’s mom had given a silly name.

  Most Mondays after school, Aly and Brooke headed to True Colors, their mom’s nail salon. It was their “home away from home.” Not only did they know the name of practically every customer, they also knew the name of practically every color nail polish.

  But today Aly and Brooke were not at True Colors. Or at the Sparkle Spa, the salon they had started for kids their own age. Instead, the sisters were at Charlotte Cane’s house eating ants on a log and studying an Auden Elementary School flyer spread out in front of them on Charlotte’s kitchen table. Lily, Aly and Charlotte’s other best friend, was going to come too, but then she remembered that she had basketball practice. So just the three of them were looking at flyers.

  Auden Elementary School’s Picture Day

  NAME: __________________________

  GRADE: _________________________

  TEACHER: ________________________

  Background choice (check one)

  “I can’t believe Mom’s finally letting me pick a background color for myself,” Brooke said, looking at Aly. “I think this might be the best Picture Day ever for me.”

  Aly smiled at her sister. “Mom let me pick for the first time in third grade too.” That year, Aly had chosen the background that looked like a blackboard. It wasn’t the most exciting choice, but the photos had come out nice.

  Picture Day wasn’t for a few weeks, but the flyers were due back to the teachers the next day, and the girls had to pick the backgrounds, which, as far as Aly was concerned, was the hardest—and most important—School Picture Day decision.

  Charlotte inspected the paper in front of her. “It’s too bad you can’t draw some backgrounds, Brooke. The ones you made for the photo booth at the Angels’ soccer party were awesome.”

  Brooke held up her flyer and pointed to a row of lockers that were the color of Purple People Eater nail polish. “I wish I could. If I added sparkles to this one, it would be so much cooler.”

  “Last year the lockers that look like Yellow Submarine polish were my background,” Aly said, “and then I wore jeans and a red shirt with tiny blue polka dots. The colors looked really good together. You have to figure out what you want to wear so you don’t mess up and wear a yellow shirt on a yellow background. Otherwise, you blend right in.”

  Brooke laughed. “You would look just like a head with arms and legs! I hope someone does that so we can see. Maybe Caleb would.” Caleb was Charlotte’s twin brother.

  “My mom would totally ground him,” Charlotte said. “She picks out his background and Picture Day clothes anyway. He doesn’t care. None of his friends do.”

  “I bet the boys don’t even know it’s Picture Day,” Brooke said. “Hey, Aly, do you think the shirt you wore in fourth grade would fit me yet? Because if it does, maybe I could wear it against this green grass background. What do you think?”

  Aly studied her sister, who was wearing a unicorn T-shirt that used to be Aly’s when she was in third grade, and a Some Like It Hot Pink ruffled skirt that she’d picked out at the mall. “Not yet, Brookie. Probably next year,” Aly said. “When you’re in fourth.”

  Every summer before school started, Brooke went through the clothes Aly had grown out of. A lot of times tops and shirts and sweaters Aly hardly wore became Brooke’s new favorites, like the unicorn T-shirt. Aly had worn it a few times, but Brooke lived in it.

  “Maybe I could wear my teal dress,” she said. “You know, the one with the fringes—but I’m not sure it’ll look good on any of these backgrounds. I may need to think of something else. This is so, so hard.”

  Brooke crunched a piece of celery and tugged her long braid. She always tugged on it when she was excited or worried or when she was thinking too hard.

  “Do you think your mom’s going to let you wear nail polish for Picture Day?” Charlotte asked. She had just checked off a Sky Blues colored background. Since she and Aly had been close friends since they were in first grade, Charlotte knew all of Aly’s mom’s rules.

  Aly nodded yes. “It’s an exception,” she said. Even though Aly and Brooke’s mom owned her own nail salon, and even though Aly and Brooke owned their own nail salon too, the girls were allowed to wear nail polish only on the weekends. They could wear toe polish all the time. But School Picture Day was the one exception to the No Nail Polish During the Week rule.

  Brooke circled a white background with a black border around it. “I think I’m going to choose this one. Then I can wear whatever I want!” she said triumphantly. “And I think teal would look really nice against white. Right, Aly?”

  Aly grinned. Then she circled the background that looked like a green field—the one Brooke had called grass. Green was Aly’s second favorite color. Plus, she was planning on wearing her denim skirt and a We the Purple–colored shirt, which she thought would go well with the green.

  “You know,” Brooke said, getting up and stuffing the sheet into her backpack, “we should have an extra-special Special Occasion Manicure for Picture Day.”

  The girls—well, mostly Brooke—thought up fancy manicures whenever there were special events, like the Fall Ball and the Dance Showcase and Adoption Day at Paws for Love.

  “What do you mean by ‘extra-special’?” Charlotte asked.

  “Well . . . ,” Brooke started. “Rhinestones! On pinkies. Maybe we could call it . . . um . . .”

  “Picture-Perfect Pinkies!” Aly squealed.

  “I like that,” Brooke said. “Picture-Perfect Pinkies.”

  Aly was glad that Brooke agreed. The two sisters were co-CEOs—chief executive officers—of the Sparkle Spa and were in charge of the spa together. After one disastrous week when Aly tried to take over and Brooke almost quit the salon completely, they made a rule that they had to agree on all spa decisions one hundred percent.

  “Let’s make Picture-Perfect Pinkies signs and hang them all over school,” Charlotte suggested as she cleared the dishes.

  Aly was about to agree, then she blurted, “Wait! I have another idea. Do you think we have enough money to buy mirrors? Or combs? We could print our message on them instead of the posters. And give them to everyone.”

  “That sounds just like Mom’s new idea,” Brooke said. Mrs. Tanner was ordering True Colors nail files to pass out at different stores around town.

  “Just like that,” Aly answered.

  Brooke tugged on her braid again. “I love the mirror idea. People can check to see how they look before their pictures are taken.”

  Aly reached into her green backpack, took out a pen, and ripped out a page from her language arts notebook. It was time to make a list. Writing down things helped organize Aly’s thoughts, especially when the girls were brainstorming.

  Aly tucked her hair behind her ear
. It was too short to stay for very long, though, and fell back in front of her eye.

  Picture Day List

  1. Count the money in the teal strawberry donation jar.

  2. Research how much mirrors or combs cost

  3. Find out how much time it would take to have them made.

  4. Talk to Lily after she’s done with basketball practice, and have her double- and triple-check our plans.

  Aly put down her pen and smiled at her sister. Perfect backgrounds, perfect outfits, and now a perfect Picture Day.

  two

  Orange You Having a Party

  On Tuesday afternoon the Sparkle Spa was open for business as usual. Because of Mom’s Three Days a Week rule, Aly and Brooke usually chose Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays as their salon days, unless something special was happening another day of the week.

  Most Tuesdays were pretty busy. The soccer team usually came in for their good-luck rainbow sparkle pedicures. But their outdoor soccer season was over, and indoor soccer wasn’t starting for another couple of weeks, so this Tuesday wasn’t nearly as booked as usual.

  That was good news for the Sparkle Spa crew. At lunch, Aly and Brooke had told their friends they had Sparkle Spa business to discuss after school.

  Charlotte was in the bracelet-making area petting Sparkly, Aly and Brooke’s puppy.

  “What’s so important?” Sophie asked. Sophie was Brooke’s best friend and the Sparkle Spa’s third manicurist.

  “It’s mirrors versus combs,” Brooke answered.

  “Mirrors versus combs? What is that, a new team?” a voice asked from the Sparkle Spa door.

  It was Jenica Posner, the Angels’ soccer captain and the most loyal customer the Sparkle Spa had. She was also the coolest girl in the whole sixth grade. Sometimes Aly still couldn’t believe that she and Jenica were friends, and it was all because of the Sparkle Spa. Mia Vasquez walked in after her.

  “Nope,” Brooke said, shaking her head. “It’s our latest idea for Picture Day. But what are you and Mia doing here? There’s no more soccer for a while.”

  “We like being at the Sparkle Spa, even if we don’t have a game,” Jenica answered. She and Mia climbed into the pedicure chairs and kicked off their flip-flops.

  “Are you getting rainbow sparkles?” Jenica turned to Mia.

  Mia shook her head. “I figured this is my chance to do something different. I think I’m going with blue toes and silver polka dots. Like the ones Aly and Brooke did for us at the soccer party.”

  “You know,” Brooke said, “I wonder if for your new soccer season, the rainbow sparkle pedicure will still work, or if you’ll need new power on your toes. Maybe even polka dots.”

  Jenica looked at Mia. Mia looked at Jenica. “I’d be afraid to change!” they both said. The entire team had gotten rainbow sparkle pedicures every single week of the outdoor soccer season. They made it to the state championship and won!

  The Angels were convinced it was because of their pedicures, but Aly was convinced it was because they were all really good soccer players. Still, no one wanted to risk not having rainbow sparkle power.

  “I think polka dots are good for the weeks we don’t play,” Jenica said.

  “Absolutely,” Mia agreed, sticking her feet in the warm soapy water.

  As Sophie and Brooke started on Jenica’s and Mia’s toes, Aly and Lily joined Charlotte and Sparkly to discuss Picture Day.

  “I think we’re stuck,” Aly said. “Brooke likes both ideas, I like both ideas, and we have the same number of pros and cons for both ideas. Can you think of anything else we can do?”

  Lily took Aly’s latest list and looked at it.

  Mirrors:

  Pros: Useful, easy to fit in a pocket or backpack, can order with rhinestones.

  Cons: 69¢ each to make (expensive!). Will they crack?

  Combs:

  Pros: Useful, come in cool colors, 49¢ each to make.

  Cons: Too big for pockets. Do more people use brushes?

  “Well,” Lily said, “I think the combs might be a better idea. They’re less expensive to order. And that will leave us more money to donate to a charity.” Since Lily was the Sparkle Spa’s chief financial officer, she thought about money a lot.

  Aly nodded. “That’s true,” she said. “But we also have to think about what our customers would like better.”

  Charlotte looked over at Mia and Jenica. “Wait,” she said. “Maybe we should ask them.”

  “You’re the best chief operating officer ever,” Aly said. “Why didn’t I think of that?” As COO, Charlotte’s job was to keep everything organized and make sure all their plans were as perfect as possible.

  Charlotte laughed. “You and Brooke thought of the Sparkle Spa. I think in an idea contest, you guys still win.”

  Aly and Lily both laughed at that, and then Aly walked over to Mia and Jenica. She explained the situation and asked their opinions.

  “Well,” Jenica said, “I think they’re both good ideas. Could you make both?”

  Lily shook her head. “Not enough money,” she said, walking over to the soccer girls.

  Mia ran her fingers through her hair. It was curly. The kind of curls that you could pull down and they’d bounce back up like springs. “I think you should go with mirrors,” she said. “Because whenever I use a comb after my hair is dry, it makes my curls less bouncy.”

  Aly’s hair was straight. Maybe a little bit wavy. She didn’t know about this “curly comb” problem. But the Sparkle Spa did have many curly-haired clients who might feel the same way about combs as Mia did. And there were a lot of people at school with curly hair too. “What do you think, Brooke?” she said.

  “Mirrors. I liked mirrors a little bit better anyway, because we can get them with rhinestones and that matches the Picture-Perfect Pinkies manicure.”

  “Mirrors it is!” Aly said. Now she and Brooke would just have to design them. And figure out what they should say on the back.

  Just then the girls’ mom popped her head through the door. “Hi, there. Everything going well in here?” she asked.

  The girls nodded. Sparkly barked. And Brooke said, “Everything is going absolutely perfectly and also we want to make mirrors for Picture Day just like you made nail files. Except ours will have rhinestones.”

  Mom smiled. “Do you girls have enough money in the strawberry?”

  “I think so,” Aly said.

  “Pretty sure, Mrs. Tanner,” Lily added. “I counted before. We just need to double-check the cost of the mirrors.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Mom said. “I actually came back here to grab a handful of True Colors nail files from the supply closet. Miss Lulu said she’d give them out for me at the dancing school.”

  “Can I have one too, Mrs. Tanner?” Jenica asked.

  “And me, please?” Mia said.

  “You never know when you might need one,” Mom replied.

  “And you never know when you might need a mirror, too,” Brooke said. “If you ate pizza and there was sauce on your teeth and you didn’t know, for example. You’d need a mirror for that.”

  Mom laughed. “You absolutely would, Brooke. Speaking of which, be ready to leave at six today. We’re picking up eggplant parm for dinner on the way home.”

  Mia’s and Jenica’s toes were drying when Anjuli, the soccer team’s goalie, came in for an I Dream of Greenie with silver polka dots pedicure.

  “So, Mia, what size photo package did you order for Picture Day?” Jenica asked her.

  “I asked my mom to get the extra-big one,” Mia said. “After I traded with the soccer team last year, I barely had any photos left.”

  “The big package is the best one,” Anjuli added. “I send pictures to my aunts and uncles and my grandparents, too, and that takes up almost eleven.”

  “Eleven?” Aly asked from where she was polka-dotting Anjuli’s toes.

  “Four grandparents, seven aunts and uncles,” Anjuli said. “Well, actually, fourteen aunts
and uncles, but I only send one picture to each pair.”

  “Wow,” Brooke said. “Aly and I only have three grandparents and one aunt and one uncle. Our family is teeny tiny compared to yours.”

  “If you count me and my two sisters, there are seventeen cousins in my family,” Anjuli said.

  Aly and Brooke looked at each other, their eyes wide.

  “We only have one cousin,” Brooke said. “We always wanted more, though. Seventeen sounds like it’s the best.”

  Anjuli smiled. “It’s fun, but sometimes it can get crazy.”

  Aly thought that fun but crazy sounded like a great kind of family to have. And actually, it sounded a little like what running the Sparkle Spa was like. She just hoped that the mirror plan would be one of those things that was more fun than it was crazy.

  Handing out photos to family was a nice way to be remembered. And if the mirror helped her friends not have pizza sauce on their teeth, or something coming out of their nose, or not curly enough hair, then it would do the trick.

  three

  Purple People Eater

  A few days later Aly, Lily, and Charlotte were sitting together on a tire swing reviewing the Sparkle Spa’s plans for Picture Day.

  “Brooke and I finally designed the mirror. Brooke chose where to add the rhinestones,” Aly said. She took a piece of paper out of her pocket, unfolded it, and spread it out on her lap. “And we thought the words could be printed in a color like Purple People Eater.”

  Sparkle in Your School Picture

  Visit the Sparkle Spa

  Call for an appointment! 1-555-555-0123

  “So where do the rhinestones go?” Lily asked.

  Aly pointed to the dots in the centers of the two stars.

  “Hmm,” Lily said.

  All of a sudden, Aly was a little worried. “Do you think it’s bad?” she asked. “Brooke and I liked it, but maybe . . . maybe we should think a little more before we order it.”

  Charlotte scratched her head. “Well,” she said, “I just think maybe there are too many words.”