Stitches and Stones Read Free Page B

you!” Zoey said, then pointed at the calzone. “Wanna trade? I have a chicken sandwich with kale, peppers, and zucchini. My dad says it’s fuel. For my brain. You know how he is. Actually, it’s pretty yummy, but I love your mom’s cooking.”
    â€œYes, please!” Priti said, and the girls swapped lunches.
    Zoey waved as she saw Libby approaching the table with her hot lunch tray.
    â€œHi, guys!” Libby said, sitting down next to Zoey and taking a bite of pizza. The orchids on her hat bobbed up and down as she chewed. “Isn’t Hat Day so fun? How’s your morning been?”
    â€œGood,” Zoey replied. “Can you believe even Mr. Dunn wore a propeller hat? He actually smiled today.”
    â€œYeah, I know!” Libby said. “Too bad he had to ruin the fun with a pop quiz.”
    â€œUgh.” Priti groaned. “I have that later.”
    â€œWell, at least you’ll have a new hat to cheer you up,” Zoey said, handing her the pillbox hat.
    Libby removed the fascinator from her own head and handed it to Zoey. “And here’s the fascinator for you!”
    Kate showed up just then, and they all compared notes on their mornings.
    â€œI’m getting used to my hat,” Kate said, opening the smiley-face lunch bag Zoey made for her whenshe got her braces off. “If it were easier to wear a ponytail with it on, I wouldn’t mind wearing it every day.”
    â€œI can’t wait to wear the fascinator,” Zoey said. “Can one of you help me put it on, since I don’t have a mirror?”
    â€œI will!” Priti exclaimed. “But . . . aren’t you going to have to take it off as soon as you get to class?”
    â€œYeah, but I want to take a picture for Aunt Lulu,” Zoey said. “She would go gaga for this hat!”
    Zoey’s aunt was like a surrogate mother to her, ever since Zoey’s own mother passed away when she was a baby. Aunt Lulu ran an interior design business out of her home. Over the summer, she taught Zoey to sew, and the rest was history.
    Aunt Lulu had just left for Italy for a furniture design show, so she was missing the Hat Day spectacle. Her fourteen-year-old dog, Draper, was staying at a kennel while she was gone because Zoey’s dad was too busy to take care of him. Zoey missed both of them terribly.
    While Priti fussed with Zoey’s hair and the fascinator until everything looked perfect, Zoey lookedfor signs that Priti might be ready to talk about her not-so-perfect situation at home. Priti seemed like her usual upbeat self.
    â€œThere you go!” Priti said, grabbing Zoey’s phone. “Smile!” she added as she snapped a photo to show to Zoey’s aunt.
    â€œThanks!” Zoey said. “How do I look?”
    â€œBee-yoo-tiful!” said Kate.
    â€œTall,” said Libby, with a sly smile. “Almost as tall as me.”
    â€œI wish.” Zoey sighed. “But it’s not exactly easy to see over, is it? Kind of like Gabe’s top hat. Did you see it?”
    â€œHe looked supercute in that, didn’t he?” Libby observed.
    â€œYeah,” Zoey agreed. “He did.”
    Her feelings about Gabe, Lorenzo, and the whole idea of boys and crushes were still pretty confusing, especially since the dance—when she thought dancing with Lorenzo would be the most romantic thing ever, but had actually had more fun dancing with Gabe. For now, it was easier to focus on creating cool designs than worrying too much about boy stuff.

    When lunch ended, the girls all went their separate ways. Zoey was in science when the assistant principal, Mrs. Diaz, called her into the hallway and told her to report to Ms. Austen’s office. She wasn’t smiling, but Zoey shrugged it off. She figured maybe her blog friend and mentor, Fashionsista, had sent another parcel to her via Ms. Austen, as she had in the past.
    Zoey stopped in the