Runway Ready by Sheryl Berk Page B

neon sneakers and ditch the crazy hats.”
    As Kenzie, Mickey’s popularity soared. Even Jade Lee, the school’s reigning queen bee, was curious. Mickey loved the attention and the acceptance, but hated pretending to be someone she wasn’t. When she was chosen as a finalist for FAB’s first-semester Runway Showdown, her mission was clear: “I gotta be me!” Her Cinderella-inspired ball gown with a rainbow tulle underlayer stopped the show.
    â€¢ • •
    So here she was at the start of her second semester, back to being just Mickey. Thanks to the Showdown, she’d finally earned respect for her designs—even if she did come in second place to Jade.
    Jade held court in the FAB hallway every morning. Mickey had to admit that the girl was chic. Today, she wore a petal-pink, long-sleeved DVF wrap dress and knee-high suede boots, and her long, shiny black hair was swept back into a rhinestone headband. She could have easily stepped out of the pages of a magazine—a walking, talking mannequin! Did she ever have a bad hair day? Were her clothes ever wrinkled?
    Her twin brother, Jake, was equally dapper. Mickey noted his red Ralph Lauren cashmere sweater and the black Prada messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Of course, it didn’t hurt that their mother was Bridget Lee, designer to Hollywood’s biggest stars. Thanks to Mommy, the duo not only got to wear any designer duds their hearts desired, but also had unlimited access to the red carpet and got to rub elbows with celebrities. When she was watching Extra with Aunt Olive, Mickey was sure she had spotted Jade looming behind Jennifer Lawrence at an NYC movie. Of course she was! Her mom had designed JLaw’s stunning silver lamé gown.
    Jade shot Mickey a dirty look as she passed by. “You know what they say about second place,” she said loudly so Mickey wouldn’t miss a word. “It’s the first one to lose.” Though several weeks and winter break has passed since that day, Jade was never going to let Mickey live down the fact that she’d lost to her at the Runway Showdown.
    Let her gloat , Mickey thought to herself. Winning isn’t everything. She had learned a lot about herself in creating that collection and was even featured on a famous fashion blogger’s site. So what if Jade beat her? There would be many more fashion challenges and chances to show Jade—and all of FAB—that she was a fashion force to be reckoned with.
    â€œDon’t pay any attention to her.” Mickey’s classmate South East ran to catch up with her. “She’s just sore that your collection rocked.” At least South was on her side!
    â€œSo,” her friend continued, “do I call you Mickey or Kenzie? I think it’s cool you have two names. You know musicians change theirs all the time—like Diddy was once Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, and before that Sean Combs.”
    Mickey nodded. “I’m just Mickey. Kenzie Wills will be the name of my design house.”
    â€œCool,” South replied, then quickly changed the subject. “Did you have a great winter break? I did! My dad took me to Hollywood where he’s recording his new album. We hung out with J. T. and Pharrell—”
    Mickey cut her off. She knew if she didn’t, South would chew her ear off with endless stories of her fabulous rap-star dad Laser East. Mickey was anxious to get to class and see what Mr. Kaye had up his sleeve today for them to design.
    â€œYeah, break was fun. Lots of time back home in Philly with the family. Gotta go!” she said. “See you in Apparel Arts!”

Mr. Kaye was quite the master at inventing original—and perplexing—fashion design challenges for his students. Mickey had come to accept that she would never know what to expect when he walked through the studio door and drew a number on the SMART Board.
    â€œSo you’ve all survived my previous