Mixed Messages (7 page)

“Also, I think we have to have a fashion application,” Zee went on.

Ally turned to Zee. “I
love
that idea,” she agreed. “We could design our own clothes and trade them with our friends.”

“I'm not sure my mates in London would really feel the need to trade clothes,” Jasper pointed out.

“Well, I know your mates in Brookdale would,” Ally told him. “All that soccer stuff you're planning is fine, but we need something interesting for us.”

Chloe, who was sitting next to Jasper, swallowed her falafel sandwich. “I love soccer—and I love fashion, too.”

“So that's three votes for fashion,” Ally said.

“I'll see what I can do,” Jasper gave in.

“Cool beans!” Zee cheered.

“Awesome!” added Chloe.

“What's so awesome?” Landon asked, placing his tray in the empty space next to Zee.

The smile on Jasper's face disappeared as Landon slid into the seat. “Uh . . . um . . .” As hard as she tried, Zee could not remember what they had just been talking about. Seeing Landon and Jasper together made her head spin.

Ally went in for the save. “Fashion.”

“Not interesting,” Landon said, then looked at Jasper. “Right, bro?”

Zee was happy to have Landon nearby, but she was also nervous. For some reason, Jasper and Landon didn't always get along.

“I don't have a choice except to think it's quite brilliant,” Jasper explained. “It's three against one.”

“That's your problem,” Landon said before he took a bite of apple.

“Yes, it would seem so.”

They're talking,
Zee thought.
Like they're friends.
She smiled, relieved that she could sit next to Landon and not worry about Jasper.

Marcus and Conrad sat down next to Landon.

“I hope we'll be ready for the concert by Saturday,” Zee told the group.

“I'm not worried,” Conrad said.

“Really?” Chloe asked. “Why not?”

“Well, I don't know about you guys, but I plan to be awesome—as usual,” Conrad explained.

Ally rolled her eyes. “What about you, Marcus?” she asked.

“Oh, I'm pretty awesome, too,” Marcus told her.

Zee noticed Chloe's cheeks redden slightly as she giggled at Marcus's joke.

“Luckily, Ms. Vardolis is here to help us,” Zee reminded the table.

“Having Roxy as a teacher is
the worst
thing that has ever happened to me in my
whole
life!” Kathi declared as she walked up with Jen.

“I've never seen you this upset,” Jen told her.

“Why don't you like her?” Zee asked Kathi.

“Isn't it obvious?” Kathi responded.

Everyone except Kathi shook his or her head. Even Jen looked confused.

Kathi gave an exasperated sigh. “Roxy is a show-off.”

“Really?” Zee asked.

Kathi nodded. “Well, at least her mother is. Aunt Nancy is always calling my mother to tell her all of the fabulous stuff Roxy has done.”

“Maybe you're just jealous,” Chloe said.

Jen flinched at the remark.

Kathi glared at Chloe. “Hardly,” she said. “It wouldn't bother me if my mother didn't care so much. Every time she gets off the phone with Aunt Nancy, she reminds me that I'm not half as accomplished as Roxy.”

Jen nodded. “It's pretty bad.”

“Well,” Zee began, starting to feel sorry for Kathi, “Roxy is at least ten years older.”

“But she's been winning awards and getting the starring roles her whole life—or at least my whole life.”

“Still, it's not Roxy's fault if your mother makes you feel bad,” Zee continued.

Kathi crossed her arms. “Yes, it is!” she said. “If she weren't so perfect, her mother wouldn't have anything to brag about.”

“Maybe this is your chance to show Roxy that you're just as good as she is,” Jen suggested.

Kathi looked at Jen. Her angry face softened. “You're right!” Kathi said, beaming. “But how?”

Before Jen could answer, Missy rushed over to the group and took the seat next to Ally. “Ugh!” she complained. “My dad accidentally gave me Zane's lunch, so I had to go all the way over to the other school building to trade with him.” Zane was one of Missy's younger twin brothers. “That's a long walk when you're hungry.”

“Oh my gosh, Zee!” Ally exclaimed. “I just realized you're going to have something in common with Missy.”

“What?” Missy asked, looking at Zee.

Everyone turned toward Zee. But Zee couldn't figure out what Ally was talking about.

“Twins!” Ally said.

“Ohmylanta!” Zee said. “I totally forgot. My mom is pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” Kathi asked. “Isn't she a little old?”

Zee shrugged. “I guess not.”

“She probably just wanted another chance to get it right,” Kathi added.

“Get what right?” Chloe asked.

Kathi looked Zee up and down. “You know, kids.”

This time, Missy made the save. “Awesome, Zee.”

“What is being the older sister to twins like?” Zee asked.

“Well . . . ,” Missy began. “We call them Double Trouble.”

“Trouble?”
Zee repeated.

“My dad came up with the nickname when they were babies,” Missy explained. “Zane would finally stop crying, then Steven would start.”

“Oh,” Zee said, getting worried.

“And then as soon as my parents finally got Steven to take a nap, Zane would wake up from his,” Missy said. “Then he'd cry.”

“They're not babies anymore,” Zee pointed out. “So it must be better. Right?” she asked hopefully.

Missy shrugged. “A little. But my parents still joke that if they had known how hard twins would be, they would have gotten a twin set of parents. Sometimes I wish I had a clone when they want me to play with them.”

Zee looked down at her lunch. “Hmm.”

“And I still have to work twice as hard to get my parents to notice me,” Missy went on.

Zee gulped—even though she hadn't taken a bite of food since Missy had sat down.

 

Hi, Diary,

You've got to help me figure out if I'm better off with or without twins in my life.

 

Ways My Life Is Going to Change

I'm going to be the middle child.

I'll have to share my parents even more.

I'll have to share everything even more.

The house will be noisy.

I'll have to babysit.

 

Ways My Life Is Going to Be the Same

Ally, Chloe, and Jasper will always be my best friends.

I'll be a Brookdale student.

 

Zee studied the uneven columns on her list. There was so much in her life that was going to be different.

 

Did my parents even think about how it would affect other people when they decided to have another baby (or two)?

Zee

Chapter 5
Bluetopia Live!

W
hile Zee worked on her math homework in her bedroom after school, Ally sat next to her on the bed. She was typing an email to Jacques, her boyfriend in France, on Zee's laptop.

Ding!
went the computer.

“It's an email from Jasper!” Ally announced. “Bluetopia is online!”

Happy to take a break, Zee dropped her pencil and read the message that Jasper had also sent to Chloe and all his friends in England.

 

Bluetopia has officially launched! Register and log on to let everyone know what you're doing and to find out what your buds are up to.

 

“Hey, look!” Zee said, pointing at the screen. “He took my suggestion.”

“Which one?” Ally asked.

“He wanted to call your friends who join ‘mates,' but I told him ‘mates' was too stuffy and he should use ‘buds' instead.”

Ally clicked on the link at the bottom of the email.

The home page was a swirl of bold reds, oranges, and blues. An animated flower opened and closed, and a soccer player kicked a ball into a goal.

“Cool beans!” Zee exclaimed. “It looks even better than I expected.”

Ally clicked on the “Register” link. “I can't wait to make you, Chloe, and Jasper my friends,” Ally said as she typed.

“Don't you mean buds?” Zee asked and giggled.

“This is going to be awesome!” Ally finished registering then slid the computer to Zee. “Your turn.”

Zee began to type in her name, then paused. “Maybe Jasper, you, Chloe, and I should test Bluetopia before it goes all the way across the ocean to London. What if there are glitches in the program?”

“But he sent the email to everyone,” Ally pointed out.

“They're probably all asleep because of the time difference between here and there. Jasper could send another email telling them to wait a few days.”

As the girls talked, Zee got an IM.

 
BRITCHAP: Did u get my email?

 
E-ZEE: Yes, A already registered.
     
I m going 2 now.

Zee told him about her idea to test the site with the Brookdale group first.

 
BRITCHAP: We need more people 4 a real test. Anyway there aren't ever going 2 b many people. I can fix the probs in a jiff and get everything back and running fast.

 
E-ZEE: U r right. I probably worry 2 much.

 
BRITCHAP: C u in Bluetopia!

At that moment, Zee's mother walked into the room with a tape measure.

“What's that for?” Zee asked.

“I was wondering if you might want to move to the guest room at the end of the hall.”

Zee looked around at her peach walls decorated with an autographed Jonas Brothers poster, her cozy, overstuffed chair, and her white four-poster bed. “Why?”

“This room is so much closer to the master bedroom,” Mrs. Carmichael pointed out. “So when the babies cry in the middle of the night, we'll be able to get in here faster to take care of them.”

Zee thought about her mother's explanation and had to admit it made sense.

“That would be so awesome! The guest room is
huge
,
and you'll be able to decorate it however you want,” Ally chimed in. She looked around. “This is like your kid room, and your new room will be your teenager room.”

Zee knew Ally was right. It could be a lot of fun to start over completely. Still, Zee had been in her bedroom since she was a baby—and she wasn't ready to give it up.

“Umm . . . I'll think about it.”

“Thanks!” her mother said, taking the tape measure with her as she walked out.

Zee went back onto Bluetopia. By now, Chloe had logged on and sent Zee a pedicure. Zee began to search through the fashion application, looking for the perfect outfit to send her friend.

But Zee was having trouble focusing on the choices. She couldn't get her conversation with her mother out of her head.
Are Mom and Dad going to kick me out of my room?
she wondered.

As Zee clicked around the site, the word
blog
jumped off the screen.
That's it!
she thought. Ally was right. She was going to be a teenager soon. Maybe she should welcome all the changes.
I can turn my diary into a private blog.
This way, there was no chance anyone would see it.

Zee clicked on the box labeled “Private View” and began her first entry.

 

Hi, Bloggo,

My parents are trying to get me out of the way already. My mom didn't say I
have
to move down the hall, but I know that's what she really wants. It's weird to think about all of the changes that are going to happen now that the babies are coming. Is Missy right? Am I going to have to work twice as hard to get my parents' attention? And if I don't, are they going to forget about me?

Zee

 

“What are you doing?” Ally asked.

Zee quickly closed the screen. “I was trying to find an outfit from the fashion application to send to Chloe.”

“We should start a Fashionista Club and invite her to join it,” Ally said.

“Cool beans!” Zee agreed. “We can talk about the clothes or jewelry we just bought or made.”

“And let everyone know about any awesome sales,” Ally suggested.

“And post pictures of what celebrities are wearing, and everyone can rate them,” Zee added. She'd rather talk about fashion with Ally than think about all of her problems.

Zee sent an invitation to Chloe to join the club, and doodled a message in the club notebook. “For girls who love—and live—fashion. Spot the hottest trends and post about them here.”

“Bluetopia's going to be even better than I thought,” Ally said.

The girls began sending gifts, messages, bunnies, gems, and jokes to one another and their friends. They made doodles in each other's notebooks as well as in Chloe's and Jasper's.

Then Ally clicked on the “Invite a Bud” link.

“Who are you inviting?” Zee asked.

“Missy,” Ally answered without looking up from the screen. “Remember? I promised.”

“Oh yeah,” Zee said, a little worried. Then she realized that having Missy on Bluetopia might not be such a bad idea. It would be nice to have a bud who understood what it was like to be the older sister of twins—the good and the bad parts.

“Girls!” Mr. Carmichael called up the stairs. “Dinner is in five minutes. Please come down and set the table.”