True Colors Read online

  Contents

  Chapter 1 Not-So-Mellow Yellow

  Chapter 2 Red Between the Lines

  Chapter 3 We the Purple

  Chapter 4 Traffic Coney Island

  Chapter 5 White Christmas

  Chapter 6 Copperfield

  Chapter 7 Silversmith

  Chapter 8 Blue Skies

  Chapter 9 Forget Me Not

  Chapter 10 Diamond Jubilee

  How to Give Yourself (or a Friend!) an I Love Dancing Pedicure

  About Jill Santopolo

  For my dazzling agent, Miriam Altshuler

  With gobs of glittery thank-yous to editrix extraordinaire Karen Nagel and my team of sparkly writer friends, especially Eliot Schrefer, who read this one for me super quickly and gave me wonderfully helpful feedback

  one

  Not-So-Mellow Yellow

  Give that back!” Brooke Tanner yelled as she chased her puppy around the living room couch and underneath the leaves of a rubber plant. “Sparkly, I mean it!”

  But Sparkly didn’t listen. With Brooke’s glittery Not-So-Mellow Yellow—colored hair band hanging out of his tiny mouth, the puppy raced up the steps and then back down. Brooke was at his heels.

  “Sparkly, stop!” Brooke shouted. “Now! Stop!”

  “Maybe if you stopped chasing him, he’d stop running!” Aly Tanner called from the kitchen. It was early Tuesday morning, and Aly was preparing two bowls of cereal for breakfast: a purple bowl for herself, and a pink one for her younger sister, Brooke. Both bowls had granola inside. And blueberries.

  “But I want my hair band!” Brooke shouted back to her sister.

  “Like I said, if you want it back, just stop running!” Aly yelled into the living room.

  “But what if he eats it when I stop?” Brooke sped into the kitchen after Sparkly, who leapt over the girls’ backpacks. Brooke leapt over them too, but her sneaker caught in her backpack strap and—bam!—she crashed to the ground.

  “Ow!” she screamed. “Ow! Ow! Ow!”

  Aly went running over. For a minute she wondered if Brooke was fine and just being dramatic, which was the case with Brooke a lot of the time. But tears were running down Brooke’s cheeks, and she was holding her arm against her stomach.

  “I heard it crack, Aly,” she sobbed. “Get Mom.”

  Now it was Aly’s turn to race through the house, ducking under the leaves of the rubber plant, flying around furniture and then up the stairs until she got to their parents’ bathroom.

  “Brooke fell! She thinks her arm is broken!” Aly pounded on the door, yelling over the sound of a hair dryer.

  “What did you say, sweetie?” the girls’ mom asked as she cracked open the door.

  Aly repeated herself, and then Mom took off, racing down the steps two at a time, Aly right behind her. When they reached the kitchen, Brooke was right where Aly had left her, still on the floor, still crying. Sparkly was whining and nudging Brooke’s hair band toward her.

  “That won’t help anymore, Sparkly!” Brooke whimpered through her tears.

  Mom bent down, asked Brooke a few questions, touched her arm in a few spots—which made Brooke yell even louder—and then said to Aly, “I have to take your sister to the hospital. Please call Joan and tell her what happened. She’ll have to take you to school today.”

  As much as Aly liked spending time with Joan—who was the girls’ favorite manicurist at their mom’s salon, True Colors—she didn’t like this plan at all. What if something was really wrong with Brooke? What if Brooke needed her? Aly couldn’t go to school. She had to be there for Brooke. The sisters were a team.

  “Can’t I come with you and Brooke?” she asked. “To make her feel better?”

  Mom shook her head. “Sorry, Aly,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen at the hospital or how long it’ll take. You can go straight to the salon after school. Either I’ll be there or Joan will fill you in. You have her number, right?”

  Aly nodded. “It’s on the refrigerator, just like it always is.”

  Brooke wasn’t crying as hard now, which made Aly feel a little bit better about leaving her. But not all better about it.

  Mom ran her hand through her hair, which she hadn’t finished drying, and twisted it into a messy bun. “It’s times like these that I wish your father didn’t travel all week long.”

  “Do you think he’ll come home early?” Brooke asked, sniffling, as Mom carefully helped her up off the floor.

  “Let’s call him from the car,” Mom said.

  Once Mom pulled the door shut behind her, Aly called Joan. And when she started explaining what happened, she found herself crying a little.

  “I bet that was scary,” Joan said.

  “It was,” Aly said, crying a little more now. “And what if Brooke’s really hurt?”

  “If Brooke’s hurt, the doctors will make her better,” Joan said. “Now sit tight, and I’ll be right there to take you to school. Get Sparkly’s leash on too, so I can bring him to the salon.”

  All day long Aly worried about Brooke. She had trouble paying attention in class. She kept looking at her purple polka-dot watch to see if it was 3:07 yet, the end of the school day, when she could go to True Colors and find out if her sister was okay. But every time she checked, it wasn’t even close to 3:07. Time was moving slower than the snail that Aly and Brooke had watched crawl across the sidewalk the weekend before.

  At lunchtime Aly sat with her two best friends, Charlotte and Lily, as usual, but she was too distracted to concentrate on their conversation about the Lewis and Clark project that was due next Monday. She sat, barely touching her bagel and cream cheese, barely even drinking her orange juice, until Lily asked if there were any open appointments left at Sparkle Spa that afternoon.

  “Umm,” Aly said, “I don’t know if we’ll even open today.”

  “But it’s Tuesday,” Charlotte said. “You’re always open on Tuesdays for the soccer team’s rainbow sparkle pedicures.”

  Aly clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh no!” she said. “You’re right. It’s Tuesday! And Brooke won’t be there! And the whole soccer team is coming! And they’re going to be in the quarterfinals this weekend! This is going to be a disaster.”

  Sparkle Spa was a business that Aly and Brooke started in the back room of their mom’s nail salon. Kids could have their nails and toes polished and not take up time or space in the busy grown-up salon. Plus, it was more fun when it was just kids. They could pretty much do whatever they wanted, and as long as they were quiet, no one really bothered them.

  It was because of the soccer team—the Auden Angels—that the spa had started in the first place. Their captain, Jenica Posner, came to True Colors one day, and Aly—not an actual salon manicurist—wound up giving Jenica a rainbow sparkle pedicure. Brooke had come up with the color combination, and Jenica thought it was really cool.

  Jenica scored so many goals in the next soccer game that the whole team wanted rainbow sparkle pedicures too. And they still came every week so that their “sparkle power” wouldn’t fade. So far, they were undefeated for the season and had made it all the way to the quarterfinals.

  The team insisted it was due to the sparkles. Aly was pretty sure it was because they were awesome soccer players, but she couldn’t risk not giving them sparkle power before the quarterfinals, just in case. Even with Brooke gone, Aly would have to do the Angels’ pedicures this afternoon. She didn’t want it to be her fault if they lost this week. But how would she give all those sparkle pedicures without Brooke’s help?

  Maybe if I make a list, I can figure it out, Aly thought.

  Making lists was something Aly did to organize her thoughts and help her solve problems.

  She took a sheet of paper from her noteb
ook and began writing.

  Ways to Make Sure All the Angels Get Their Sparkle Power

  1. Walk to True Colors as fast as possible.

  2. Ask Jenica if some players can come on other days.

  3. Find more manicurists.

  Aly stopped writing and looked up at Charlotte and Lily.

  “I know this is a ridiculous question, but is there any chance either one of you learned how to polish nails over the weekend?” Aly asked her friends.

  Both girls shook their heads. “Sorry, Aly,” Lily said.

  “But we can help with other things!” Charlotte offered.

  “Absolutely,” Lily agreed. “We’ll both come with you after school.”

  “I guess that’s better than nothing,” Aly said, taking a bite of her bagel, even though she was feeling kind of sick to her stomach. “Thanks.”

  She started to think of a fourth item for her list when she heard, “Is it really, really true that Brooke broke her arm?”

  Aly turned. It was Brooke’s best friend, Sophie, who had just come in from recess. Her face was flushed, and her dark bangs stuck to her forehead.

  “Hi, Soph. I won’t know about Brooke until later. Do you want to come with us to Sparkle Spa after school and find out?”

  “Please, can I?” Sophie begged. “I’ll call my mom from there, if that’s all right.” She looked as anxious as Aly felt.

  “You can help with the soccer team’s pedicures, if you want,” Charlotte added. “Even if you can’t polish.”

  Sophie’s eyes lit up. “I’d be happy to. Anything for Brooke. And for the Sparkle Spa.”

  The bell rang for class, and as the girls walked together down the hall, Aly thought, Well, that’s three helpers. But not even three people will equal one Brooke.

  two

  Red Between the Lines

  On the way to True Colors after school, Aly taught Charlotte, Lily, and Sophie how to racewalk. When Aly and Brooke wanted to get somewhere fast and didn’t want to—or weren’t allowed to—run, they racewalked. It involved lifting your knees high to take very big steps and swinging your elbows to move forward. There was a man in town who had been a racewalker in the Olympics, and Aly and Brooke had learned by copying him.

  Aly wondered if Brooke would’ve gotten hurt if she’d been racewalking around the house this morning instead of running. But then again, Sparkly had been zipping around so quickly, racewalking wouldn’t have been fast enough to catch him anyway.

  “Am I doing the elbows right?” Sophie asked while they sped to the salon.

  Aly glanced over and checked. “Perfect elbows, Sophie,” she said.

  Aly saw the light-blue True Colors sign up ahead.

  “Thank goodness we’re almost there!” she heard Lily say behind her. “This is hard work!”

  Aly didn’t think so, but she was glad they were close. She was really worried about Brooke. And the sooner they got to the salon, the sooner she could find out how her sister was doing.

  When Aly pushed open the door to True Colors, the chimes jangled loudly. She looked around the salon for her mom and sister, but she didn’t see either one. Joan was seated at the reception desk, Sparkly snoozing at her feet.

  “Aly!” she said, standing up.

  “Joan!” Aly said, flying into her arms. “How’s Brooke? Where is she? What’s happening? Where’s my mom?”

  Joan gave Aly a squeeze. Sparkly woke up and yipped, and Aly picked him up.

  “Brooke’s home resting. She broke her arm and has a cast. She’s going to need to rest for a few days, and she won’t be able to run around for a while, but she’ll be good as new before you know it. Your mom is home with her.”

  “Whew!” Lily said. “I’m glad that’s all it is! I had a broken arm once. Remember that time in kindergarten when I fell off the swings and needed a cast for a while?”

  Aly nodded. She did remember now, but she hadn’t until that moment. “Did it hurt?” she asked, hoping the answer was no.

  “A little,” Lily said. “At the beginning. And then it was itchy. And heavy. And I had to wear a sling. But it wasn’t as bad as breaking a leg and needing crutches. That happened to my mom once, and it was the pits.”

  “That happened to me once too,” Mrs. Bass said from the drying station. She was a True Colors regular and sometimes gave the girls books that once belonged to her sons. “A broken leg is a disaster. But a broken arm isn’t that bad. Tell Brooke that having a broken arm is a great excuse to sit in bed with a good book.”

  “I’ll tell her,” Aly said, though she thought Brooke was more likely to draw than to read. Brooke was a talented artist, just like their mother. Since Brooke’s drawing arm wasn’t the broken one, Aly was sure she would be making tons of pictures while she was resting today.

  “Joan,” Aly said, “if it’s okay with you, I’m going to call Brooke on the True Colors telephone. I promise not to tie up the line.”

  Aly took the cordless phone through the main salon into the Sparkle Spa, where she, Charlotte, Lily, and Sparkly plopped down on the big floor pillows in the drying and jewelry-making area. Sophie sat at one of the manicure stations and leaned back in the Teal Me the Truth–colored chair.

  When Mom answered, she told Aly that Brooke was sleeping but would probably be up by the time Aly got home.

  Aly hung up, a little sad that she hadn’t gotten to talk to her sister.

  “It’s okay, Al,” Charlotte said. “You’ll see her after the Angels’ pedicures. Oh, and Anjuli’s manicure.” Anjuli was the goalie and the only soccer player who needed sparkle power on her hands as well as her feet.

  “Right,” Aly answered, starting to feel panicky. According to her watch, the soccer girls would start arriving in two minutes, and she hadn’t finished her homework yet, which meant she had already broken one of her mom’s rules for the Sparkle Spa. She had a feeling that before the day was over, she would break some other rules, too. Eleven pedicures and one manicure all by herself was not going to be easy. Not even close.

  Aly took a deep breath and pulled out a piece of paper and a glitter pen from the desk at the back of the room and started a new list.

  Other Ways All the Pedicures Could Get Done

  1. A True Colors manicurist could help.

  2. Sparkle Spa could be open tomorrow too, so I could polish fewer people each day.

  3. Enlist a lot of helpers.

  This was good! Aly had come up with great options!

  “I’ll be right back,” she said to the girls as she ran out into the main salon.

  “Joan!” she said “Joan! I have eleven girls coming in for pedicures and one who also needs a manicure, and it’s just me because of Brooke’s broken arm. I know it’s only a kid salon, but is there any, any chance one of the True Colors manicurists could help? Just for a little while?”

  Joan looked over at Aly, then looked down at the schedule in front of her and shook her head. “I really wish someone here could give you a hand, Al,” she said. “But with your mom out, we’re already all overbooked, taking care of her clients along with our own.”

  Aly felt like a balloon that had just been popped. But she understood.

  “Okay,” she said. “Thanks, Joan.”

  When Aly got back to the Sparkle Spa, Charlotte said, “What was that all about?”

  Aly picked up her list again and crossed out the first option. “I’d thought of a way to get the pedicures done faster, but none of the grown-ups have time to help. Instead, maybe I’ll see if some of the soccer girls can come tomorrow,” she said, underlining the second item on her list.

  “You can’t,” Lily said. “Remember? We have to do research for our Lewis and Clark project tomorrow after school.”

  Aly closed her eyes. She had totally forgotten about Lewis and Clark. That left her third and final option: Enlist helpers.

  She walked over to the polish display wall and grabbed bottles of Strawberry Sunday, Under Watermelon, Lemon Aid, Orange You Pretty,
and We the Purple—the colors for the rainbow sparkle pedicures. “In that case,” Aly said, “I need someone to be a bottle opener and closer for me today.”

  “I’ll do it,” Charlotte said, raising her hand.

  “And I can be in charge of the donations,” Lily said, picking up the teal strawberry-shaped cookie jar the girls used to collect donations. “I’ll make sure everyone contributes before they leave.”

  “How about Sophie, Aly? Do you have a job for her?” Charlotte asked.

  Sophie was quietly painting her nails with Red Between the Lines, a newish color that looked kind of like a mixture of red and gray. She screwed the top back onto the bottle and held up her hands. “Can I be a second manicurist?” she asked.

  Aly walked over and inspected Sophie’s nails. She’d done a nice job. Not quite as professional as Aly’s and Brooke’s polishing, but better than most people’s. “Whoa!” Aly said. “Good work.”

  “Brooke and I have been polishing each other’s nails,” Sophie told her. “It’s not perfect yet, but maybe it’s good enough to fill in for Brooke, since it’s just you today?”

  Aly looked at Sophie’s hands again. A little polish was on the skin around both of her thumbnails, and she’d missed two spots on the corner of her right pinkie.

  And another on the bottom of her left pointer finger. The polish on one of her ring fingers was a little gloppy too.

  Aly sighed. “I’m not sure if you’re ready yet, Soph,” she said. “So first let’s see how it goes with just me polishing.”

  Sophie looked at her own nails, inspecting them the way Aly had. “I see what you mean,” she admitted. “I’ll keep practicing. For now, I can help with nail drying and filling the pedicure basins. Is that okay?”

  “Great,” Aly said, and she and Sophie turned to fill the pedicure basins with water. But before she could even flip on the faucet, Jenica came into the Sparkle Spa with Valentina, one of the other soccer players.

  “Happy Tuesday!” Valentina called.

  Jenica glanced at Aly, Charlotte, Lily, and Sophie. “Actually, none of you look very happy,” she said.