Mia's Recipe for Disaster Read Online Free PDF Page B

to business.”
    Cutting out the pieces of fabric from the pattern was more difficult than it sounded. First, I hadto iron the fabric and then pin each pattern piece to it. I worked on the gray fabric first, and then the pink. At first, I was sweating a little every time I cut into the fabric. What if I messed up? But when I was done, I had all my finished pieces perfectly stacked.
    Dad came back into my room just as I was cleaning up. “It’s really late, Mia. You should get some sleep.”
    â€œI got a lot done,” I told him. “I think I can do this.”
    He smiled at me. “I know you can!”

    On the train home the next morning, I had two things on my mind:
    1. How was I going to finish the dress?
    2. Was it going to be weird to see Katie that night at the Cupcake Club meeting?
    I didn’t know how to handle number two yet, but I decided I could tackle problem number one with some Alexis-style scheduling. I divided a page of my sketchbook into ten squares—the number of days I had to finish. Then I figured out how much sewing I needed to do each day, adding inmy Cupcake Club meetings that I remembered. If I stuck to the schedule, I could have the dress done by next Sunday, do a fitting with Emma, make adjustments, and then take the final photo.
    â€œWhew!” I said out loud, looking at it. It would be tough, but I could do it.
    I told my mom my plan when she picked me up at the train station.
    â€œMy homework is done, so I’m going to sew all afternoon until the Cupcake Club meeting,” I said, and then I frowned.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Mom asked.
    â€œI had a big fight with Katie,” I said, and it felt good to get it out. “She said she didn’t like my sketch for the dress! She actually called it boring!” I told Mom the rest of the story, including how I had tried to explain myself to Katie but made it worse by calling her Silly Arms.
    â€œHmm,” Mom said. “Well, Mia, it sounds like your feelings were hurt by Katie’s comments, and you may have lashed out a bit.”
    â€œWell, yeah,” I admitted. “But, I mean, what does she know about fashion anyway?”
    We pulled up at a traffic light, and Mom looked at me. “Let me give you some advice. If you are to become a fashion designer, you have to learntwo very important things: one is how to talk to people, especially potential clients. The other, is how to take criticism.”
    â€œBut if I’m proud of my work, shouldn’t I defend it?” I asked.
    â€œIt’s all in the way you do it,” Mom said. “First of all, remember that everyone has different tastes. What you may think is classic and chic, someone else may think is plain or dull. Something you may think is overworked and over-the-top might look gorgeous to someone else. So when somebody expresses his or her opinion, don’t take it personally. And remember that everyone has his or her own style. That’s what makes things interesting.”
    I thought about that. Katie loves everything rainbow colored; we sometimes joke that her bedroom looks like a unicorn threw up in it. It made sense that she wouldn’t like my gray dress.
    â€œBesides, friends are more important than fashion,” Mom went on. “I’d hate to think of you fighting with Katie over a dress, of all things.”
    It was like my being mad at Katie was a balloon, and Mom popped it. Suddenly, I didn’t even feel mad or annoyed with her anymore—I just felt terrible about what I had said to her.
    I got out my phone and texted Katie.
    See you tonight!
    I waited, hoping she would text me back right away, but she didn’t. That made me nervous.
    What if Katie could never forgive me?

CHAPTER 6
Rainbows and Cupcakes
    I was kind of glad that I had so much sewing to do, because it kept my mind off Katie all afternoon. Before I knew it, Mom was calling me down to dinner (Eddie’s roast