The First Cut

The First Cut — page 7 — vague The truth is Alex and I have been looking forward to the art fair all week but I don’t need to give Nina any more opportunities to steal my ideas Cool Nina says with a tight smile She gives me a quick hug goodbye and motions for her posse to follow They do blowing air kisses to me as they go I don’t know how you put up with her Alex says when they’re gone She’s so fake it makes me sick to my stomach Yeah tell me about it I agree But I figure the competition will be at least slightly less painful this way I swing my backpack over my shoulder and Alex and I head out the school doors As soon as we’re outside a bright flash goes off I shield my eyes and see three reporters

The First Cut — page 8 — notepads and recorders ready One of them excitedly motions to me I groan and walk over to them Nina is already there arms moving animatedly as she tells some story It seems like my CC nickname the one my best friend Alex created for me when I first heard about auditions is changing once again First it was Cowardly Chloe then Courageous Chloe Celebrity Chloe here I come The next day there’s a slight breeze and the temperature is in the mid-seventies perfect weather for an art fair There’s nothing worse than looking for bargains under a sweltering sun while making sure

The First Cut — page 9 — beads of sweat don’t ruin the very items you’re trying to bargain for Alex and I have been at the fair for an hour already and we’ve barely scratched the surface That could be because Alex keeps gravitating toward the food samples Not that I’m protesting too hard who turns down free chocolate It’s not just the free food that’s slowing us down here says Alex between bites Do you even know what you want to design I pretend to be extremely interested in choosing a good chocolate sample so I don’t have to answer right away For the second round of auditions I have to design an accessory that complements one of the three designs I created for the first round The guidelines for that first challenge required

The First Cut — page 10 — each designer to create three designs that represented his or her personal style I opted for a white dress with a cinched waist and full skirt tuxedo leggings and a tunic and a silk shift dress with an asymmetrical hemline all designed to reflect my simple-chic design aesthetic Now the judges want us to demonstrate our versatility as designers and see if we can give an existing piece new dimension Alex knows I really have no idea what accessory I want to make yet I haven’t even decided which piece to accessorize I’ve narrowed it down to the leggings-and-tunic ensemble or the first dress there’s no way I’m revisiting that silk disaster after the judges comments I can still hear Jasmine’s words The stitching Uh-uh Not gonna fly

9

PAGE 9 OF 118

›

The only kids' eBook subscription service that offers thousands of high-quality books from well known publishers like HarperCollins, National Geographic and others.

JavaScript Required

Whoops! We're sorry but Epic doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Check your web browser's settings to make sure it's enabled.