Red(24)

She felt Haylie shake her head. “We’re not trying to put you on the spot or anything. But maybe we can help if you tell us what’s wrong.”

Felicity desperately wanted to spill the whole story, but she knew she couldn’t. “I don’t know. Nothing. Everything.”

“Well, that’s specific,” said Ivy.

Felicity had to give them something. She chose her words carefully, trying to lie as little as possible. “I just feel like … I don’t know. There’s a lot going on all of a sudden, and I feel like maybe I don’t deserve everything I’m getting. The pageant and the art show and you guys and Brent and everything. I just keep thinking I’m going to get … exposed as a fraud or something. Like maybe I’m not really this person everyone thinks I am. And when they realize they’ve made a mistake, I’m going to lose it all.”

“You’ll never lose us,” said Haylie. “We’re your best friends.”

“I know what you mean, though,” Ivy said. “It’s super stressful dealing with so much stuff at once.”

You have no idea what I mean, thought Felicity. But she just said, “Yeah, it is.”

Haylie rolled toward her and rested her head against Felicity’s shoulder. “You totally deserve everything you’ve got, silly. You’re a smart, talented, gorgeous redhead, and you can’t fake that stuff. It’s not like you’re in the art show and the pageant by accident. You got picked ’cause you’re the best.”

“Unlike me, who’s in the pageant one hundred percent by accident,” Ivy said, smacking Haylie on the leg. “If someone’s a fraud, it’s me.”

Haylie kicked her back. “Shut up! This isn’t about you. Felicity, I promise you don’t have to worry. You’re so amazing! And everyone will forgive you if you’re not perfect all the time. Nobody expects that.”

Felicity nodded, even though she knew nobody in Scarletville would forgive her if they found out what she really was: a cheater and a liar and a secret strawbie. But she just leaned her head against Haylie’s and doubled her resolve to do everything Gabby demanded of her. She couldn’t lose her friends’ faith in her, no matter what it cost.





7


     THURSDAY, MAY 13


As promised, Gabby delivered her hyena painting to the squash courts the day Jonathan and Felicity hung the art show. Her canvas was absolutely enormous—it required fifteen heavy-duty adhesive strips to affix it to the wall—and the colors were even brighter than they had appeared on the CD. Some of the neon paint had glitter in it, lending it an extra kitschy touch. Though Felicity hung it in the most inconspicuous location possible, it still screamed for attention. To her dismay, there was no conceivable way it would escape anyone’s notice.

But by the time the art show actually opened, Felicity had seen the painting so many times that she had grown used to it. She was grudgingly shocked to find that the longer she looked at it, the funnier it became. In addition to being a talented artist, Gabby was clearly very observant. She had captured the little wrinkle that always appeared between Haylie’s eyebrows when she was concentrating hard, and the Lorelei Griffin hyena wore its dress off the shoulder to reveal a pink bra strap, just as the real Lorelei often wore her shirts. Felicity started to realize that the painting wasn’t meant to be cruel. It was simply a satire, and it was a good one.

Felicity showed up half an hour early for the gallery opening to help set up the refreshments. Ms. Kellogg was already there when she arrived, teetering on insanely high heels as she cut cheese into little cubes. The cheese was flecked with some sort of herb, which made it look fancy and intriguing.

Ms. Kellogg looked fancy, too. Her shoes had sparkly buckles the size of golf balls, and her strawberry-blond hair was swept up in a complicated twist. Felicity wasn’t sure exactly what her own natural hair color was, but judging from her baby pictures, it was probably about the same shade as her teacher’s. A lot of students blatantly disrespected teachers who weren’t redheads, but Ms. Kellogg’s hair color made Felicity feel a connection to her.

“Hey,” Ms. Kellogg called when Felicity entered the room. “You look fantastic!”

“Thanks.” Felicity smoothed the skirt of her little black dress and smiled. She was probably overdressed, but it couldn’t hurt to look too good. Besides, she wanted this art show to seem authentic, and she’d seen enough movies to know that you were supposed to wear little black dresses to gallery openings. Since Ms. Kellogg was wearing a cocktail dress, too, she felt like she’d made the right choice. Her teacher had gone to school in New York City, the heart of the art world, so she probably knew what she was doing.

“I’m really impressed by what you guys have done with the show,” Ms. Kellogg continued as she peeled the plastic wrap off a wedge of Brie. “It looks very professional. And your sculpture is so, so beautiful. Have you considered applying to art school next year, like Jonathan?”

Felicity had always assumed she’d go to Scarletville Community College, like her mom, but lately she’d started imagining what it might be like to go to art school instead. This was the first time she had heard someone else voice the possibility, and her heart gave a little flutter. The prospect of creating beautiful things as a job was so thrilling that it almost seemed dangerous to consider. “Could I really do that, do you think?” she asked tentatively.