The Secret Talent by Jo Whittemore

who’d seen him too, stopped and turned to stare.
    Vanessa had a pair of scissors poised over Ryan, but when she realized we were all watching, she tucked them behind her back and smiled.
    â€œTim . . . ,” Uncle Theo said in a warning voice.
    â€œSorry,” I said, dancing toward the door. “I told them to keep busy until I could join them.”
    I ran into the hall and closed the studio door behind me. “What the heck is going on?”
    Ryan, wild-eyed, pointed at Vanessa. “She tried to kill me with a comb and scissors!”
    â€œI was trying to cut his hair!” said Vanessa. “He needs to be made over from head to toe, and I was not going to start with those.” She grimaced and pointed at his grubby sneakers.
    â€œWhere’s your certificate from haircutting school?” Ryan demanded.
    The two of them started yelling back and forth, getting so loud I was afraid everyone in the studio would hear them over the music.
    I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled.
    Vanessa covered her ears. “A simple ‘Hey, V’ would’ve worked.”
    â€œSorry,” I told her, turning to Ryan. “There’s nobody I’d trust more with my hair than Vanessa. You’re going to have to be okay with change if you want to be the coolest guy in sixth grade.”
    â€œHa!” Vanessa quickly clamped a hand over her mouth when Ryan glared at her. “I mean, ofcourse you can be.” She held up her scissors and snipped the air with them. “But that starts with a haircut. And then we move on to the eyebrows.” She produced a pair of tweezers from her pocket.
    Ryan gave me a horrified look, and I shrugged. “You gotta do what the makeover guru says.”
    I walked back into the studio, but inside I was doing a high-kicking happy dance.
    I jumped into the routine as if nothing had happened, and thankfully, neither Vanessa nor Ryan appeared in the window again. But when class was over, Uncle Theo pulled me aside.
    â€œIs everything okay? You’ve been very distracted the last week or so.”
    I nodded. “There’s just so much to do before the holidays. Last-minute projects . . . you know.”
    â€œWell, please try to focus. Remember, we’ve got a dress rehearsal coming up.”
    â€œI’ll be ready,” I promised.
    He and the others went to change, and Isneaked down the hall to check on Vanessa and Ryan.
    â€œHow’s it going in there?” I asked, knocking on the door.
    Vanessa poked her head outside, hair even more askew than normal, but her eyes were shining, even with a huge bump on her cheek.
    â€œDon’t tell me Ryan did that,” I said, pointing.
    She shook her head. “I was trying to calm him by juggling some lipsticks, and then I accidentally tripped over a chair. But I think you’re going to be impressed with the final results.”
    I crossed my arms. “I hope so.”
    Vanessa stepped into the hall, being careful to conceal Ryan, and did a drumroll against her legs. “I present to you the new and improved Ryan . . . uh. . . What’s His Face!”
    She opened the door and gestured to it with a flourish.
    Ryan stepped out in a pair of my pants, abutton-down shirt, and a tie. His hair had been trimmed and spiked a bit, and he moved with confidence, leaning against the wall like a G Q cover model. I hated to admit it, but Ryan could pass for good-looking.
    â€œV,” I said. “You should win an award.”
    Vanessa giggled and hugged herself. “It was actually pretty fun once we came to an understanding.” She bumped Ryan with her hip.
    Alarms immediately went off in my head. Earlier V had wanted to kill him with her shoe, and now they were acting like best buddies.
    â€œWhat exactly did you guys talk about in there?” I asked, looking directly at Ryan. “And by that, I mean ‘how did you brainwash my friend?’”
    â€œOh stop!”