Bad News Nails (2 page)

Jenica looked impressed. “That's really awesome,” she said.

Aly smiled. If anyone had told her at the beginning of the school year that the coolest sixth grader at Auden Elementary would think she was doing something awesome right now, she never would have believed it. But because of the Sparkle Spa, tons of people at school she'd never talked to before came up to her all the time, telling her how great her business was and asking if they could come by. Everyone, that is, except for Suzy Davis. Aly shook her head to get Suzy Davis out of her brain.

“Thanks,” Aly said to Jenica.

“Yeah, thanks,” Brooke said. “Aly, are you going to finish my pedicure? My big toe is the only one polished, and he feels lonely.”

Jenica and Aly laughed. “On my way,” Aly said.

“See you on Tuesday for our rainbow sparkles,” Jenica told the girls. “And have fun tonight.”

She left the Sparkle Spa, and Aly got back to work on Brooke's toes.

“Do you think we
will
have fun tonight?” Brooke asked.

Aly thought about it. “With fancy dresses and sparkly nails and staying out late, I think it might be our best night ever.”

Brooke smiled. “Me too!”

A
few hours later the girls were all ready. Their nails were polished, and they were both wearing their sparkly dresses and gold sandals. Aly had braided beads into Brooke's hair, and Brooke had made Aly a beaded ribbon that she'd worn as a headband.

“I think we look beautiful,” Brooke told Aly.

Aly had to agree.

“Yes, you do,” Mrs. Tanner said as she and Joan entered the Sparkle Spa. “Beautiful and sparkly.” Mom looked like she was going to cry.

“And so do you and Joan,” Brooke added.

Wow!
Aly thought. Aly hardly recognized her mother. She was wearing a Midnight Blues dress, and her hair was sleek and smooth around her long, dangly earrings.

Joan's shiny dress was the color of Red Hot Pepper nail polish. They each had Grayce Under Pressure on their nails, a new color Mom had ordered that was dark gray with a little bit of a shimmer.

“Who's ready to go to a fancy-pants party?” Joan asked.

“Me!” Brooke raised her hand.

“Then let's go!” Mom said. “I heard the food is going to be delicious.”

Everyone carefully piled into Mom's car. She drove to Francie's, the nicest—and biggest—restaurant in their town. It was so big that at least seven True Colors regulars had gotten married there, including
Miss Lulu, who had had twelve bridesmaids!

When they reached the restaurant, a man wearing a tuxedo greeted Mom's car. He opened the doors for them and helped them out onto a long red carpet that led to the entrance to the restaurant.

“I feel like a movie star!” Brooke whispered to Aly.

Aly did too, but she also felt a little bit nervous. She'd never been to a party like this before. Even though she was the big sister, she grabbed Brooke's hand. Aly always felt better when she and Brooke stuck together like a team.

The girls walked into the restaurant with Mom and Joan behind them. First, Aly saw a woman in a long silver dress playing the piano. Then, as she gazed around, she saw a sea of women dressed in greens and blues, pinks and purples. Actually, it looked like their rainbow sparkle pedicure. She and Brooke were definitely the youngest people at the gala. And the shortest.

“Mini hot dogs!” Brooke shouted. “Over there!” She pointed to a table that was close by and then tugged on Aly's arm. “Let's go!”

Aly looked back at their mom, and Mrs. Tanner nodded. Aly let her sister pull her to a table filled with different sorts of treats: hamburgers, grilled cheese, meatballs, carrots—all bite-size versions. Brooke's eyes lit up at the food.

Brooke and Aly found little plates and took one of everything to try. As they ate, a woman in a gown the color of Green with Envy polish came over to them.

“You must be the Tanner sisters,” she said. “When your mother told us about your salon, we were all very impressed.”

Aly swallowed her mini grilled cheese sandwich and smiled. “Thanks,” she said.

“Is it true that you have a group of other girls working for you?” the woman asked.

“We work together,” Brooke said. “We're a team. Aly, Charlotte, Sophie, Lily, and me . . . and sometimes Caleb. He's a boy, but he helps out if we need him.”

“That's really marvelous,” the woman said, then she handed Aly a business card. “I run a magazine company. Perhaps we could feature your team one day.”

“Okay,” Aly said, putting the card in her gold purse. She gave the woman one of her business cards in return.

A very tall woman wearing a dress the color of Thunder and Whitening was listening to the conversation. She took a few steps closer.

“Let me tell you about
my
daughter,” she said to the woman in green. “She's at the top of her class. I'm sure she'll follow in my footsteps and start a successful business of her own.”

“Oh,” said the woman in green. “Is she running a company now too?”

The woman in white paused. “Not yet,” she said. “But she has some wonderful ideas already, and she's only eleven.”

“I see,” the woman in green answered, looking over at Aly and Brooke. “Well, if she makes any of them a reality like these girls, I'd be happy to consider a feature. But for now, I have to go speak to the party planner about the auction.”

The woman in white nodded. “Of course,” she said, and walked away.

Brooke took a bite of her mini burger. “That lady with the daughter did not seem very happy,” she mumbled.

“Maybe she didn't like that we have a business and her daughter doesn't yet,” Aly said.

Brooke shrugged. “Her daughter can start one too. I mean, if we can, she can.”

“You're totally right, Brooke,” Aly said.

The girls were sipping cherry juice mixed with club soda when the woman in the green dress walked onto the stage and tapped the microphone. The crowd quieted, and Mom and Joan joined Aly and Brooke.

“Welcome to the third annual Businesswomen Unite gala,” she announced. “I hope everyone's been having a good time so far. We have a long list of items to auction off tonight, so let's get started!”

“I hope someone bids on the True Colors internship,” Brooke whispered.

Her mom whispered back, “Me too.”

“I hope I win the day in the bakery kitchen,” Joan added. “I've never used a professional oven to make my cookies before.”

Joan made the best cookies that Aly and Brooke had ever tasted. Mostly she baked just for fun, but sometimes people hired her to make desserts for parties. Aly secretly thought Joan should start her
own bakery, but she'd never told anyone that because she didn't want Joan to leave the salon.

“The first item up for auction is donated by
Business Leaders
magazine, one of my company's publications. We will feature your business in both our print version and on our website. Let's start the bidding at fifty dollars.”

Throughout the room, women raised their hands. The woman in green kept calling out larger sums of money. When the auction price reached two hundred fifty dollars, the only hand still raised was by a woman wearing a Teeny Tangeriney–colored dress.

As the auction continued throughout the evening, people bid on lots of items, but Brooke's and Aly's favorites were:

• Pencils inscribed with the winner's business name

• A pearl necklace

• A suitcase on wheels and matching backpack

• Dinner for four at Francie's

Then, finally, the Sweet Treats Kitchen & Bakery item was up.

“Good luck, Joan!” Aly whispered.

Brooke crossed her fingers and her legs for luck.

The bidding started at twenty-five dollars. Joan wasn't the only person interested, and Aly was a little worried that Joan wouldn't win. When the bidding got to three hundred dollars, Aly held her breath and closed her eyes.

But then Aly heard, “Sold to Joan West from True Colors nail salon.”

Aly, Brooke, and their mom cheered for Joan.

“And speaking of True Colors,” the woman in green said, “we're auctioning an internship at the nail salon. Learn how to run a real
hands-on
business.
Let's start the bidding at seventy-five dollars.”

The unhappy woman wearing the Thunder and Whitening dress raised her hand. She called out, “May I bid on this for an eleven-year-old?”

Mom looked at the woman and answered, “If your daughter is eleven, she can intern with my girls at their Sparkle Spa.”

Wait a minute!
Aly thought. She'd been excited when the intern was going to be at True Colors, but she wouldn't know what to do with an intern at the Sparkle Spa. There were more than enough people working there already.

“Don't worry,” Joan whispered to Aly. “If you need us, we'll help you out.”

Aly bit her lip. Even with Joan's offer, she wasn't sure about this plan.

“I think it'd be cool to teach someone about the Sparkle Spa,” Brooke said.

Aly thought about it. Maybe it
would
be fun to show another girl what they'd learned. But still! Mom should have asked first.

“In that case,” the woman said, “I bid seven hundred and fifty dollars!”

Aly gasped. That was a
lot
of money.

“Going once, going twice,” the lady in green said. “Sold to Carolyn Washington of Custom Creations.”

“I hope we really like that lady's daughter,” Brooke muttered to Aly.

“Me too,” Aly answered.

Now that she'd gotten over her initial worry, she was imagining having someone fun working with them. There was always room for one more, wasn't there?

T
he next morning Aly was awakened by a soft, wet tongue licking her palm.

“Ick, Sparkly. Stop it. It's too early to wake up,” she told her dog.

“Not if you want to be at the park by eleven,” said Mr. Tanner as he pulled up the blinds, letting in the sunshine. “It's ten o'clock now.”

Aly popped out of bed. They had overslept. By the time they had gotten home from the gala last night, put their fancy dresses away, and washed up, it had been past midnight.

Today Charlotte's twin brother, Caleb, was playing basketball in the park. He had asked the Sparkle Spa girls to come and cheer for his team.

“Come on, Brookester!” Aly said. “Let's move it. The girls don't know about the soccer party or the intern yet. I want to fill them in before the game.”

When their dad dropped the girls off, they walked with Sparkly over to the oak tree next to the basketball court—the spot where they usually met up with the Sparkle Spa crew. Lily, Charlotte, and Caleb were already there. Charlotte was leaning against the tree, braiding Lily's hair.