Mia's Recipe for Disaster by Coco Simon

judges as they watched Emma walk. I mean, I know that they already liked the dress, but this was their first time seeing it in person, and I wanted to see their reactions. I couldn’t read Jeremy and Blayne, but Simone was nodding her head and smiling.
    Everyone was clapping for the dress, and I felt myself blushing with pride. This was the coolest moment ever!
    Then the second dress came out. “Our second-place winner is Zoey Webber, with a beautiful take on mixing materials.”
    It was a two-piece look, with this amazingly tailored jacket that flared out a little at the waist, paired with a long, straight skirt that looked kind of like a patchwork except all the pieces were the same color. It looked really edgy and cool, and I knew there was no way I could have made that jacket. Not without a lot more lessons from Millicent.
    I heard a squeal and then turned to my left. I saw some girls hugging a pretty girl with long brown hair and side-swept bangs. I guessed that was probably Zoey Webber. She caught my eye,and we both smiled shyly at each other. Zoey pointed at Emma wearing my dress and silently mouthed, You? I nodded and then pointed to the second-place winner and mouthed back, You? She nodded, and we both giggled. Mom was right—being in the top three was awesome!
    â€œAnd now our first-place dress, designed by Lauren Noll.”
    A tall, thin model stepped onto the runway, wearing a dress that looked like something out of a dream. It was this really pretty soft tangerine color with a tight, sleeveless bodice and a skirt that was just layers and layers of soft, fluffy tulle—or was it organza? The layers cascaded down the model’s body and trailed behind her on the floor. It looked like she was wearing a tangerine cloud.
    â€œThat is fabulous!” I whispered to Ava.
    Before the fashion show I sort of believed that third place was a good thing and that there were probably better entries than mine, but now I really believed it. The dress was magnificent.
    The crowd applauded wildly, and then all ten models came out for one final walk. This time, Katie stood up when Emma came out, and a bunch of other people in the crowd started standing up too.
    â€œLet’s hear it for these talented young designers!”Laura called out, and the applause got even louder.
    â€œJust soak it all in, Mia,” Ava whispered into my ear. “It doesn’t get any better than this.”
    But guess what? It did get better. When the show was over, everybody was invited to hang out and have refreshments set up on one side of the room. Katie and Ava made a beeline for the food, Emma sat down and changed from her heels to silver flats, and Alexis started handing out business cards to everybody.
    â€œWe have experience catering for fashion shows,” she was saying, which is true. (We had made cupcakes for a fashion show at the Women’s Club once.)
    As for me, I was busy getting squeezed by Mom, Eddie, and Dad. I am lucky that things aren’t too weird with Mom and Dad since the divorce. Dad doesn’t mind hanging around when Eddie’s there. It’s kind of nice for me to have everybody who loves me all in one place.
    â€œI’m so proud of you, mija ,” Dad told me. “Your dress is beautiful.”
    â€œThanks,” I said. “And thanks for sending me to the program at Parsons. It really helped.”
    â€œAnything for my daughter,” Dad said, hugging me again.
    As I broke away from Dad, Laura Arnes walked up to me and extended her hand.
    â€œIt’s so nice to meet you, Mia,” she said. “Your dress was absolutely lovely. We had to acknowledge it because your sewing and instincts were impeccable, and the design was truly classic. Simone especially loved it.”
    â€œShe did?” I asked, glancing over at the famous designer. She was talking to Jeremy and laughing at something he was saying.
    Laura nodded. “Yes. But we were looking for a