Sewing in Circles by Chloe Taylor Read Free Book Online

survive without any wardrobe malfunctions on the rides, and it turned out that my friend also likes gingham shirts, so we matched!

    â€œI know it’s only Tuesday, but I still haven’t heard anything back from Daphne,” Zoey complained to her dad and Marcus at dinner.
    â€œWait . . . didn’t I just drive you to FedEx to send her the box on Friday?” Marcus asked.
    â€œWell, yeah,” Zoey admitted.
    â€œAnd like you say, it’s only Tuesday,” Marcus pointed out. “Give your poor fashion fairy godmother a break!”
    â€œYes, but—”
    â€œShe’s a very busy lady, Zo,” Dad said. “Andthis has happened before, remember? You were all stressed out because you hadn’t heard from Daphne, and it turned out she was out of the country visiting fabric manufacturers in China.”
    â€œI know.” Zoey sighed. “This just feels . . . different somehow. And I want to be in her pop-up shop so badly !”
    â€œDon’t worry,” Dad told her. “I’m sure Daphne will come through, just like she always does.”

    Even though she tried not to think about it constantly, Zoey wasn’t very successful. Not only that, she checked her e-mail at every possible opportunity, to see if Daphne had sent anything yet. Finally, on Thursday she checked her phone at lunchtime, and saw an e-mail from Daphne Shaw in her in-box.
    â€œDaphne finally wrote!” she exclaimed, opening the e-mail to read to her friends.
    â€œâ€Šâ€˜Dear Zoey,’ ” she read. “ ‘Thank you for being so wonderfully prompt with the samples. I’m sorry to say that I—’ ”
    Zoey faded into silence as her eyes scanned the end of the sentence. It wasn’t good news.
    â€œDon’t leave us in suspense!” Priti said. “She’s sorry to say what ?”
    Zoey stared blankly at a spot of spilled milk in the center of the table.
    â€œShe’s sorry to say that she wasn’t taken by any of the pieces I sent—they aren’t up to my ‘usual level of creative innovation.’ ”
    â€œOuch,” Libby winced.
    â€œOh, Zoey . . . ,” Kate said.
    Zoey tried to hide how crushed she felt, but it wasn’t easy. She never thought she’d get a rejection like that from her mentor. Not from Daphne.
    â€œIt’s not the end of the world,” she said, attempting to convince herself more than anyone else. “She gave me an idea of what she’s looking for, and she’s letting me submit a few more designs.”
    â€œWell, that’s good!” Priti said. “She’s giving you a second chance.”
    â€œBut what if my second chance isn’t good enough?” Zoey worried. “Can you imagine how awful it’ll be with Ivy? She heard me telling you about the pop-up shop, and now if Daphne doesn’t like any of my designs, she’ll think I was lying! Andeven though she’s been nicer to me lately, I bet that’ll be all it’ll take to get on her bad side again.”
    â€œYou can’t live your life worrying about what Ivy’s going to think,” Libby said. “Or what she’s going to do.”
    â€œAnd why shouldn’t your second chance be good enough?” Kate asked. “Daphne’s loved all your work before.”
    â€œI don’t know.” Zoey sighed. “I just can’t believe that both things I was looking forward to so much have fallen through—the gift fair and now Daphne’s pop-up shop. From now on, I’m not going to talk about anything exciting until it actually happens!”

    That evening, after telling her dad and brother about the disappointing news, Zoey went to her bedroom to work on new ideas. She sat at her worktable, pencil in hand, trying to come up with some fresh clothing designs for the pop-up shop, based on Daphne’s guidance.