The Grass Is Always Greener

  “What did Coach Greff say?” Brayden asked as they took off again. He had been waiting for her outside the sports complex with a bottle of raspberry iced tea and a giant black-and-white cookie. She thought it was sweet that he had brought her favorite snacks to lessen the blow in case her coach didn’t forgive her for missing almost a month of swim meets.

  But it turned out that Izzie didn’t need a pick-me-up. “I’m not suspended,” she said with a grin, and Brayden hugged her. “I have to swim in the first heat till I prove myself again, but other than that, I’m still on the team.” The first heat was the slowest, but Izzie was just happy she hadn’t been benched.

  “It seems fair to say you survived your first day back,” Brayden said, turning up the corners of his fleece to block the light wind. Gardeners were planting bulbs and cleaning up flower beds along the path students took to the administration building. Spring was coming early in North Carolina, which meant summer weather was right behind it, and being on the beach meant Izzie had something to look forward to.

  “I’m not sure if that makes me feel any better,” she said, and Brayden looked at her strangely. “Look at them.” Izzie pointed out students walking past on their way to club meetings or practices. “Their lives are exactly the same as they were a month ago, while mine’s… How am I supposed to act as if nothing in my life has changed when everything has?” Izzie felt like there was a void left inside her by Grams’s death and she wasn’t sure it would ever be filled.

  “You just need some time,” Brayden said.

  Izzie pulled her phone out of her pocket. She had felt it vibrate. She didn’t recognize the number, and she frowned when she read the text.

  ZOE’S CELL: Hi Isabelle! This is Zoe. Sorry for the text, but didn’t know if I should call. Would love to see you and talk. Want to meet me for dinner?

  No. Izzie hit Delete and put the phone back in her jacket. “Zoe.”

  “What did she want?” Brayden’s voice was full of concern. She loved how protective he could be.

  “To have dinner. Like that would happen.” Her face was dark. “Did you know Grams asked her to be my guardian before we knew about my dad and she said no?”

  “Mira mentioned it.” Brayden looked uncomfortable. “Did she have a reason?”

  “Whatever her reason is, it was wrong.” Izzie took a giant bite of cookie. She could feel the anger bubbling up inside her. “She didn’t want to help me, and that’s all I need to know.”

  They stopped in front of the administration building. She’d already told her club adviser, Mrs. Fitz, that she would be a little late. Brayden pulled her toward him, his muscular arms enveloping her in a tight hug. “Forget her, then. You have me.”

  Izzie prayed crumbs weren’t all over her lips as he leaned in to kiss her. When he did, all thoughts of Zoe went out the window. “Thanks for that. And the cookie.”

  “Any time.” He turned back to the sports complex for his baseball practice, which started right after the period for club meetings and extra help. She couldn’t believe he was doing that walk twice just to spend time with her. “Play nice with the Butterflies,” he teased.

  Izzie gave him a wry grin. “All but one in particular.” She didn’t expect the meeting to be in full swing when she got to the classroom, but there was Savannah at the whiteboard, her blond hair so long that it covered her plaid uniform skirt. (Savannah wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the optional khaki pants that Izzie had chosen that morning.) Izzie slipped into the back row near Violet and Nicole before Savannah noticed her.

  “The Founders Day celebration is coming up,” Savannah reminded the group in her thick Southern drawl, “so we really need to put our best Butterflies’ foot… er… wing forward. There is lots to do between the parade float and the booth at the street fair, and this is not the time for us to slack off,” she practically threatened with a smile on her porcelain face. “That’s why I think we need to—”

  “Look who’s back, everyone!” Violet interrupted. “Izzie’s here!”

  People stopped paying attention to Savannah and immediately rushed to see Izzie, which really surprised her. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who hated lectures from Savannah.

  Mrs. Fitz muscled her way over. “It’s wonderful to see you, Isabelle,” their adviser said, oblivious to the strained smile on Savannah’s face. “I was so sorry to hear about your grandmother, dear.”

  “Thanks.” Izzie quickly looked around for a distraction. Savannah’s whiteboard presentation, which used green swirly fonts and lots of flowers, was hard to miss. “It’s good to be back to help with Founders Day.”

  “It’s a lot of work and it’s coming up pretty quickly,” Savannah said. She was still standing at the front of the room. “Do you think you can handle it after all you’ve been through?” She glanced at Mrs. Fitz worriedly. “If Izzie is too distraught, I think I’ve proven I can manage this event on my own.”

  Savannah did her best stab at fake modesty, but Izzie wasn’t buying it. She was back and there was no way she was letting EC’s self-professed princess push her out of the castle that easily. “It’s nice of you to be concerned, but I’m ready to be cochair again,” Izzie told Mrs. Fitz and Savannah.

  Mrs. Fitz actually looked relieved as she dabbed at her brow with a hankie. The only other person Izzie’d ever seen use a hankie was her grandmother. “Wonderful! We’re so happy to have you on board again.”

  “Definitely!” Savannah said with a tad too much enthusiasm. “I was worried about you, but, of course, I could use the help. Lord knows there is enough to do between the parade and the street fair and the annual costume ball.”

  “Right.” Izzie nodded. “Because how would EC survive without another over-the-top ball?” Unfortunately, no one laughed. They take these things seriously, she thought.

  “You shouldn’t joke about the Crystal Ball.” Savannah sounded ruffled. She glanced at her yes-men—Lea Price, Millie Lennon, and Lauren Salbrook—for backup.

  “It’s the highlight of Founders Day,” explained Lauren as she played with her hair. “We celebrate with reenactments, historical readings and tours, a parade, and a street fair reminiscent of the ones they had in the eighteen hundreds.”

  “But none of those things compare to the ball,” Savannah added. “The Junior League plans a lot, but the Butterflies are a very important part of the fair and the parade. We cannot mess this up. Founders Day is the most important event of the year.”

  “I’ll let Christmas know it’s been pushed to second place,” Izzie said. Again, no one laughed, and Izzie started to suspect they all had lost their sense of humor.

  “How can Izzie be trusted to help us when all she does is make jokes?” Lea snapped.

  Violet rolled her eyes. “Spare us the drama, Lea. How hard can it be to glue glitter on a parade float?”

  “Who cares if she knows how to handle a glue gun?” Lauren snapped. “Savannah’s been coming up with Founders Day ideas for weeks, and now she shows up and acts like Founders Day is a laughing matter.” She narrowed her eyes at Izzie.

  Everyone started bickering, which was as much a club tradition as saying the Butterflies’ pledge. Violet came back at Lauren, and Nicole at Lea, while Savannah moaned to anyone who would listen and poor Mrs. Fitz tried in vain to gain order.

  Izzie tried not to smirk. How twisted did a person have to be to enjoy this? Somehow she did. Being back on the swim team, walking across the ginormous quad with Brayden, wearing those oppressive uniforms, and tangoing with Savannah was getting her blood flowing again. Izzie placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled as loud as she could. Savannah jumped.

  “Let’s all just calm down!” Izzie shouted, and they looked at her. “Savannah and Lauren are right. We have a lot of planning to do, and I’ve been out of the loop. I shouldn’t make jokes when Savannah is trying so hard.” Izzie took out a notebook and a pen and motioned to Savannah. “I’d like to hear what she’s come up with.” It killed her to say some of
this stuff, but when in EC, act like an ECer.

  Savannah’s mouth was open so wide it could have doubled as a fly trap. “Okay, then.” She turned to the whiteboard and looked like she’d forgotten how to work it. Finally she clicked the remote, and pictures of Savannah and her friends on elaborate floats filled the screen. Mira was in all of them. “We all know the highlight of Founders Day is the Crystal Ball because the Emerald Cove community reenacts the sounds and styles of 1888, the year Emerald Cove was founded. What you guys don’t know is that this year, the Junior League has decided we can attend as guests instead of as volunteers.” An excitement Izzie didn’t understand rippled through the room. The girls were acting as if they’d never been to a dance before, which was funny considering most of them had just gotten their cotillion gowns back from the dry cleaner’s.

  “And since this is a year of change, I thought it would be nice if we retired our usual float and fair booth ideas and came up with new ones.” The girls mumbled in agreement as Savannah jumped to a new page on the screen that had the word suggestions written in pink. “The festival parade and fair need to speak to the time and place of the first Founders Day. So how do you think we should do that?” She looked from one girl to the next.

  Izzie leaned over to Mira as Savannah continued to question the group. “This is the toiling work she’s done while I’ve been gone?” she whispered in Mira’s ear, almost choking on the scent of her flowery perfume.

  “Be nice,” Mira warned. “You stole her boyfriend and her date to cotillion, and she hasn’t killed you yet. Go with it.” Izzie sighed.

  “Maybe we could have a bake sale and sell green bagels,” Izzie heard Millie suggest as Savannah’s smile turned into a frown. “You know, green, like emeralds?”

  Lame. What could they do for Founders Day that was exciting but also had to do with EC traditions? Izzie didn’t know many traditions yet, but she did remember the ones she had with Grams. Always wear a football jersey on a game day, keep salt in the freezer for luck…. “What if we did something that had to do with our club mission?” Izzie said, out of turn. “Whatever we come up with benefits the same charity that the Junior League picks for Founders Day.” Everyone looked stumped. “Founders Day does benefit a charity, right? Every event this town has benefits a charity.” Mrs. Fitz blushed.

  “Not Founders Day,” Lauren told her. “Admission to everything is free, except for the gala.”

  How is this town not poor? Izzie wondered. “But I thought the Butterflies only took on missions that helped others.”

  Lea pulled a strand of her too-glossy-to-be-true hair in front of her mouth to avoid anyone seeing her lips moving. “Here she goes again.”

  “Guys, this is a no-brainer.” This was one point Izzie was not willing to negotiate. “We aren’t Butterflies if we don’t turn a profit to help a charity close to the town’s heart.”

  “How about the EC Children’s Hospital?” Charlotte suggested from the back of the room, where she was doodling skirt sketches in her notebook. She was an even newer Butterfly than Izzie. She’d signed up after cotillion. Maybe that was why she didn’t fear Savannah’s wrath.

  “That is an excellent idea,” Mrs. Fitz said, jotting it down in her planner. “What do you think, girls?”

  “I like it,” Mira said. “We could even do a kids’ theme for our booth to tie into the hospital. Like a craft or spin art.”

  “Spin art?” Savannah sounded less than enthused. A picture of her and Mira in happier days shone bright on the whiteboard behind her head. “How does that have anything to do with our history? If we’re going to do this, then it has to tie in with the theme.” Even Izzie had to agree with that. “What is EC known for?”

  Millie raised her hand like they were in class. “The bay.”

  “Money!” said Lauren.

  “Main Street shopping!” offered Nicole.

  “Mining,” Violet said with a shrug.

  Mining. That gave Izzie an idea. “Have you guys ever seen those carnival mining booths? The ones where you dig through sand to find jewels? The kids love that booth on the boardwalk,” she told the group. “I know the guy who runs it, and he charges six bucks for them to fill up a bag with colored rocks.” She looked at Savannah. “We could ask for donations to dig for emeralds. Fake ones, but you get the idea.”

  “My family did that at the state fair!” said Millie. “My brother loved it.”

  “We could easily make a mining booth,” Charlotte seconded. “I bet Mira could paint a cave on a tent and we could have the mining station set up inside and…”

  The room was buzzing with ideas. Everyone had suggestions on how to build a wooden mining station, where to buy fake jewels, and how to find kids’ mining hats.

  “Girls, this is fantastic!” Mrs. Fitz marveled. “We’ve made more progress in fifteen minutes than we have in weeks.” Savannah smiled weakly, then almost blanched when Mrs. Fitz pulled her and Izzie into a group hug. “With the two of you in charge, the Butterflies are going to have their finest appearance at the Founders Day celebrations yet! Wait till I tell Headmaster Heller,” she added. “The children’s hospital. Genius.”

  “Make sure you tell him it was a group idea,” Savannah called after Mrs. Fitz as she walked away. “I’m the one who called this meeting!”

  “Good idea!” Izzie said drily. “Maybe the headmaster will give you extra credit.” Savannah obviously didn’t appreciate her comment. When no one was looking, she yanked Izzie out of the classroom. “Hey!” Izzie shouted.

  Savannah dragged Izzie around the corner using what could only be described as sudden superhuman strength. When she turned around, she looked like she was going to pull a giant clump of brown hair out of Izzie’s head. “And here I was trying to be nice to you because of your grandmother!” she snapped, sounding more like her old self.

  Izzie was unfazed. “If that was nice, I’d hate to see you on a bad day.”

  That comment only ticked Savannah off more. “You and I both know we can’t stand being in the same room together,” she said, sounding shrill, “especially after all that happened, so why—why—do you insist on torturing me by being a Butterfly?”

  Izzie shrugged. “I like it. The fact that you hate me being there is a bonus.”

  Savannah became unhinged in a way Izzie had never seen her. “This is not funny. You stole my boyfriend and turned my best friend against me, and you have half of my town smitten with you.” Her voice didn’t have its fake sweetness or even its perfected biting venom. “You are not taking the Butterflies, too!” Izzie opened her mouth to protest. “I won’t let you ruin Founders Day with your ridiculous ideas. We’re stuck with the children’s hospital,” she said as if helping sick kids was the worst idea in the world, “but I know what EC needs, so we’ll go with my suggestions, because if you don’t…”

  Izzie didn’t do well with being threatened, especially when it was by a girl who had tried to take so much from her already. “If I don’t, you’ll what? Steal my boyfriend back? You tried that and it didn’t work.” Savannah looked ready to breathe fire. “You may scare most of the girls in that room, but you don’t scare me. I like the Butterflies and I’m staying, whether you like it or not. I have as much of a say as you do.”

  An eerie calmness suddenly came over Savannah (possibly because others had started to trickle out of the room and she didn’t want to cause a scene). She smiled, but the gesture was anything but sincere. “You want a say?” she said. “Fine. You got one. See you at our first tête-à-tête.” She started to walk away.

  “When is that going to be?” Izzie asked.

  Savannah didn’t look back. “When I feel like e-mailing you.”

  Izzie watched as Savannah sashayed down the hall as if it were a catwalk and she owned it.

  Four

  Mira poked her head out of the Social Butterflies’ meeting room with trepidation. Violet and Nicole were hovering over her shoulder. “Is she gone?”

  “Oh y
eah, she’s gone.” Izzie looked down the long, empty hall. She half expected there to be a cold chill or a big gust of wind now that the witch had left the building. Her sister and friends trickled out of the classroom. “Thanks for the backup.”

  Violet punched Izzie’s shoulder lightly. “We knew you had it covered.” Izzie made an indistinguishable noise.

  “Was she that upset?” Mira asked, adjusting her signature plaid headband. “She seemed so nice to you during the meeting.” Izzie glared at her. “Okay, so maybe she was a tad fake, but who cares? You can handle her. You’re so much better at leading the Butterflies than I was.” She knew she was laying it on a bit thick, but it was the truth. When it came to do-gooding, she could think of no one better at it than Izzie. She was more of a natural than half the lifelong Junior League members in EC. That’s why she had asked Mrs. Fitz to replace her as cochair with Izzie.

  “When I agreed to take over for you, I didn’t realize I’d be signing on to a semester of hell with the devil herself!” Izzie complained. “Savannah is taking this Founders Day stuff a bit seriously, isn’t she?” she asked the others. “It’s just another ridiculous EC event.”

  Everyone in the group gasped.

  “Rule number one for planning Founders Day: Don’t speak badly of Founders Day.” Nicole shook her head at her. “It’s sacred.”

  “You guys think every tradition EC has is sacred.” Izzie sounded frustrated. “How many can one town have?”

  “At least a dozen,” Violet said knowingly. “The year I moved here, I counted, and the celebrations that are part of Founders Day are the most revered of them all. It’s actually fun seeing pictures of the town in the early nineteen hundreds and doing things that have been done for over a hundred years. I think you’ll like it, Iz. It’s not some swanky five-star affair. It’s normal.” Violet thought for a moment. “Well, normal for Emerald Cove.”