Red(25)

“Oh, absolutely! You’re very talented. I think you’d thrive there.”

Felicity felt a bubble of happiness expanding in her chest. Ms. Kellogg didn’t give compliments unless she really meant them. There was no redhead privilege going on here, and Felicity felt like she’d finally done something worthy of praise. “Thank you so much,” she said. “Where is Jonathan going?”

“The Art Institute of Chicago. He really deserves it—I’ve never seen a portfolio like that from an eighteen-year-old. I’m surprised he hasn’t mentioned it. He’s the first student from Scarletville ever to get in there.”

“We don’t really talk about personal stuff,” Felicity said. “I mean, we’re friendly and everything, but we’re not friends friends.”

“That’s too bad. I think you two have a lot in common.”

As if on cue, Jonathan hurried into the room. He was wearing a blazer over a band T-shirt, jeans, and Converse sneakers, which made Felicity wonder if she was overdressed after all. “Hey,” he said. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Speak of the devil.” Ms. Kellogg popped a cheese cube into her mouth. “I was just telling Felicity how awesome the show looks. You guys really have an eye for this.”

“Thanks,” Jonathan said. “It was fun. Working with Felicity and everything.” He gave her a quick, shy smile.

They had just finished arranging the crackers and cookies on platters when the first artists and parents arrived, and Ms. Kellogg went into hostess mode, shaking hands and raving about how talented her students were. Felicity stood alone by the food table, nervously tugging on the hem of her dress. The show was out of her hands now. Her sculpture was sitting on a pedestal in the other room, waiting to reveal her secrets. And everyone was about to see the hyena painting, including her mom and her best friends. Felicity wiped her damp palms on her skirt, praying she wouldn’t have to take too much of the blame.

Jonathan appeared next to her, holding out a champagne flute filled with sparkling cider. “To controversial art,” he said, as if he had read her mind.

She took the glass and clinked it against his. Despite his awkwardness, she felt a little calmer with him by her side. “It looks good, doesn’t it?” she asked.

It might have been her imagination, but she thought she caught his eyes dipping down to the low neckline of her dress for a moment. “It looks awesome,” he said.

The St. Johns were among the first to arrive, their approach heralded by Andy’s and Tyler’s voices echoing down the hall. They were belting out their favorite song, which was about slimy fish guts. Felicity smiled as she heard her mom trying in vain to quiet them.

“LISSY!” Andy shouted when he caught sight of her, his voice amplified to three times its normal volume by the squash court. He barreled into her side, and Felicity nearly spilled her cider all over Jonathan’s shirt. Tyler burrowed into her other side, and she gulped down her drink so she’d have an arm free to hug each twin.

“You like the fish guts song, right?” Tyler asked. “Mom hates it.”

“I think it’s the most disgusting song ever,” Felicity told him.

“Disgusting is awesome,” Andy proclaimed. Jonathan laughed, and Andy beamed.

“These are my brothers,” Felicity said. “Guys, this is my friend Jonathan.” The word “friend” came out of her mouth effortlessly, before she had time to think about it.

Jonathan smiled at the twins. “I like the fish guts song,” he said, immediately securing their eternal loyalty. They slipped out from under Felicity’s arms and gravitated toward him like planets orbiting a star.

“Hi, baby,” Ginger called, her heels clopping loudly on the shiny hardwood floor. She planted a kiss on Felicity’s temple, then glanced around at the walls. “Oh wow, look what you’ve done! This looks so professional, Felicity! I can see why it took so much time away from practicing for the pageant.”

Felicity bit back her annoyance at the double-edged compliment. Her mom rarely showed any support at all for her art, and she knew she’d have to take what she could get. “I’m really glad you guys came,” she said.

“Mom, look! Cookies!” Andy rushed to the refreshments table as if he’d never seen food before, Tyler close at his heels.

“Maybe that’ll keep them occupied long enough for me to take a quick look around,” Ginger said. “We can only stay for a few minutes. Can you keep an eye on them?”

“Yeah, sure. My sculpture’s in the other room, if you want to see it,” Felicity said. “This is Jonathan, by the way. He curated the show with me.”

Ginger looked surprised to find Jonathan standing two feet from her, as if her eyes were unable to focus properly without something red to latch onto. “Oh, nice to meet you,” she said dismissively before bustling off to do a quick circuit of the room.

Felicity hoped Jonathan hadn’t made the connection between his hair color and Ginger’s rudeness. “Sorry, I think she’s pretty distracted. My brothers can be really exhausting,” she said.

“Don’t worry. I have two sisters and a brother. I know how it goes.” Jonathan drained the last of his cider and watched Felicity’s brothers investigate how many cookies they could stuff into their mouths at once. “So, there’s this gallery in Des Moines that’s exhibiting a bunch of huge sculptures, and I saw a couple on the website, and they looked like they had some papier-maché parts. So I thought, you know, you might be interested.”