Important

1. Ace classes so Mom would give me whatever I want (I plan to dye my hair immediately after graduation).

2. Show Amora who's boss (without Stephanie here. Painful, yes :( ).

3. Convince Viola to join Fashion Design and Illustration.

4. Spy on TQJ.

5. Make sure Michelle Henshaw notices me before senior year (this is actually supposed to be number one).

6. Take an Honors class.



Bella was a lot of things. Sometimes, a ball of sunshine to be around. Sometimes, a bossy loudmouth with a YouTube channel. Sometimes, a phone-obsessed fifteen-year-old, and other times, a sugar-eating monster who was scared to go back to school without one of her best friends.

She grabbed a cupcake from the tray in front of her and immediately began stuffing her face with it.

"You're gonna kill yourself," Viola DelMane said, looking up from her sketchpad. "You've had eight cupcakes, two lollipops, and ten forkfuls of millefeuille. I bet tomorrow, you'd run to the gym to lose the extra ten pounds."

"I," Bella began, but it came out as a kind of mumble. She stopped, then swallowed before proceeding. "I don't have any reason to go to the gym tomorrow. I haven't put on extra weight."

"But you need to stop. Cody will kill you if he finds the fridge empty."

Snacks were left in the refrigerator to support her big brother when he had the stomach of a tiger, and this was violating his snack territory. Now, she wasn't Nancy Clancy in Fancy Nancy. No, she was more of Patrick Star, gobbling down every sugar-dusted thing she could find. Besides, she couldn't even be Nancy. Her French was terrible—cue the accent.

"That's his business," she said, biting deep into the cupcake and giving herself a frosting mustache.

"I should definitely take a picture of you right now and post it on Twitter and Instagram. Back that up with a video, and it'll go on Fashionella, too."

Bella stopped. Viola didn't just threaten her.

"I'm serious. If you don't stop, I'll do it."

"Fine!" She put the last bits of the cupcake in her mouth, then placed her hands on the countertop. "I just don't know—nor can I imagine—how school would be without Stephanie."

Viola wanted to roll her eyes. Of course. Stephanie Baldesco had been the only name on Bella's tongue the entire summer. The girl left for Canada—and was never coming back—and school was starting on Monday. Good gravy, Bella was nervous. Sometimes, she even wrote her first friend's Instagram username, handsoffme, continuously on paper. Maybe it made her feel like everything was fine.

"You'll be fine. And I'm here, so you're not alone."

Bella only smiled, not wanting to say anything, and her heart missed a beat when she remembered her last day in Stephanie's house and what she had said. "I know," she finally said, "but things won't be the same without her."

"True, but we have to move on." Viola looked back into her sketchpad, lying beside Bella's hand, then continued sketching the bodice of a dress. She had a gazillion designs in that book and hoped to sew all of them someday. Have her own fashion line, too.

She could just imagine it. Models on the runway, wearing authentic, like-no-other designs from world famous designer, Viola. All the thrill and attention.

Cody walked into the kitchen in a tank top, holding a gym bag in one hand. His hair was disheveled for some reason, falling over one side of his face. "Hey, I'm heading out."

"Where to?" Bella asked.

"Obviously, the gym. The boys and I have a group workout sesh today."

Bella groaned, lifting her head to the ceiling. "Please tell me you're not bringing them over. You seriously stink after working out, not to mention the four of you combined. Plus, Ashton's always trying to get in my face."

"First," Cody began, "what's up with the mustache? Second, I didn't take you seriously with that on your face."

Bella's hand went above her lips, where they collided with baby pink frosting.

"And, hopefully, that wasn't from one of my cupcakes." Hmph! Like his name was written on them.

His eyes went to Viola, who was now engrossed in what she was drawing, then he walked over to see what she was up to.

"What're you working on this time?"

On hearing his voice beside her, she slammed her hands down to conceal her design, and the force sent her pencil to the floor. Cody squatted to pick it up, then handed it to her, but she didn't take it. It would mean her taking a hand off.

"You're too protective over your rainbow doodles," he said, placing the pencil down.

"They're not rainbow doodles. They're highly professional designs," she responded, giving him a faux glare.

"My bad. How would I know when you never let me see?"

"Sorry, they're confidential." She gave him a smile, and he shook his head, amused, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I promise you, I'll see them. Very soon."

"In your dreams, princess."

"Oh! It's on, all right." He headed back to the entrance. "You don't call me princess and get away with it."

Viola's smile widened, then she turned to Bella, her smile immediately dropping. Bella didn't look happy. At all.

"I can't believe after ten years, the only thing that's managed to separate Stephanie and I is a stupid Exchange Program," she began, "and now, I'll have to survive a whole semester—and many more—without her."

"Don't worry, Bella. This semester will be awesome. I promise."

"And what happens if it's not?"

"You'd be allowed to eat as many cupcakes as you want. I won't stop you."

Bella let out a sigh, accepting fate. Stephanie was in Canada, she was in California, and they now had to live separate lives.



When you suddenly lose interest in things you couldn't go a day without doing, you'd know there's a problem.

Viola was in the backseat of the car, beside Bella, eyes focused on her sketchpad as usual, while Bella's anime eyes read every post and tweet they saw. Her eyes were her distinct feature—they were bright and had a natural glassy look to them. Everyone who had working eyes couldn't see her and not look again. It was her most attractive feature.

She liked a tweet, then, without looking up from the screen, said, "This comment says, 'OMG! I couldn't also believe when Saturday came and went without Fashionella. Today, I have to go back to school with a hypothetical running nose and an empty tissue box'. Then a lot of crying emojis. I can't believe I did this to people!"

Unlike the girl who commented, Bella had a real running nose during the weekend, crying over the loss of a friend. Viola did all she could. Gosh, even Cody tried his best. But did she act better? Heck no!

Apart from stress-eating, she spent a lot of time in her room, canceling that week's episode of Fashionella without giving her fans a warning—without giving herself a warning. It was when she began reading the comments of a fan's tweet that she realized the gravity of what she had done.

"I believe," Cody said from the driver's seat, eyes fixed on the busy road ahead.

Bella looked up from her phone. "Oh, shut up! I wasn't talking to you."

"It's the first day of school and you show attitude? Sheesh!"

Bella tried hard not to glare at him and let her pink polished thumb scroll down to check more tweets, instead. The car was silent for a while, before she realized something and looked back up at her brother. "That's right. You're finally a senior. How do you feel about that?" Senior year was one of her fairy tales.

"I don't know, actually. I feel pretty normal."

"Are you kidding me? We're driving past palm trees, today is the first day of school—the first day of senior year for you—and you're feeling normal? How abnormal does that sound, Viola?"

Viola didn't waste a second giving either of them a glance. She just hummed in response, earning a disapproving look from her best friend.

As Bella dealt with her problem, Viola dealt with hers. Initially, she was obsessed with the dresses she was designing, but now, she was crazy about them. Designing everywhere. The kitchen, the beach, church—much to her mom's concern—on the toilet seat. Everywhere. The only place she hadn't conquered was the shower, but, trust her, she'd figure it out.

"Viola!" Bella shouted, and Viola jumped, finally looking up. "How abnormal does that sound?" she repeated.

"Um, very abnormal. Very, very!"

"Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Uh," she smiled nervously, "no?"

Bella sighed, then took the pencil from her. "Viola, you're obsessed."

Well, hello pot! "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Okay. Maybe I am, but, unlike yours, mine is a healthy obsession."

Cody laughed, causing his grip on the steering wheel to tighten momentarily. "She's right. She doesn't make all the pastry shops in the world want to close down."

At that, Bella frowned. "Are you saying I'm unhealthily obsessed with Stephanie?"

"Yeah," Viola said.

"That's exactly what we're saying," Cody added. "And I don't think unhealthily's a word."

She hypothetically released smoke from her ears and nostrils, listening to them chuckle. Did they not understand how awkward it would be for her to walk into school, knowing she would never see those dark curls in the hallway again? No more international family drama—not like she reveled in them or anything, but Stephanie was just so interesting.

"Well then, just so you know, I'm obsessing over her because she's important, and you only obsess over important things." She shoved the pencil back in Viola's direction.

Cody glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the look on Viola's face. It wasn't the first time he was seeing it, and it wasn't the first time he was hating it either. His sister may not have noticed she was somewhat a big mouth, sometimes unknowingly hurting people's feelings, but he had. He didn't know what exactly Viola drew in her sketchbook, but he knew her well enough to know that they were important.

No one said anything until they got to Wyland High, and, immediately Cody killed the engine after finding a parking spot, Bella grabbed her pink backpack between her and Viola, then got out of the car without a word.

Viola stared in her direction for a while, then zipped her panda backpack open to put the sketchpad in it.

"Don't take what she said seriously," Cody said, turning so he could look at her.

"Yeah. Like it's the first time," Viola mumbled.

"I know, and, honestly, you're right to feel bad, but you know how Bella is."

"Cody, I'm right here, but she only seems to care about someone in Quebec. I get that she's missing her, but that doesn't mean it's okay for her to make me feel like I'm nothing."

"You're not nothing and you know that, Viola."

Viola looked at his handsome face—the Quincys had good genes; they were all attractive in their own way. She felt an emotion bubble in her stomach. Only Cody knew about her inferiority problem. She had secretly cried over it one time at his place, when everyone was having fun and seemed to leave her out. When he saw her standing in front of the bathroom and asked what was wrong, she just had to open up. Not even her mom knew. She, too, didn't pay her much attention, because of that thing.

Viola forced up a smile, then zipped her backpack up.

"She doesn't know you feel that way," Cody continued, "that's why she acts like that."

She nodded, looking away.

"You should tell her."

Viola wasn't sure she wanted to... yet. "I'm..."

"You don't have to do it today. Just find the appropriate time and let her know she hurts your feelings sometimes. I'm sure she's not aware."

"Is this a plan to get me to show you my sketchbook?" she asked, in a bid to lift the slight tension in the car. "Sweet-talking me?"

Cody chuckled. "No. But now that you mention it..."

"Don't even think about it, Cody."

He laughed louder. "You gave me the idea."

She smiled, then grabbed her backpack and the door handle at the same time.

"But seriously, lighten up. I hate seeing that look on your face."

Her dark eyes searched his face for a while, for any sign of playfulness, but there was none. She finally nodded. "I will. But only because you begged me." She gave him a playful wink, then got out of the car.