All that glitters, p.1
All that Glitters, page 1
The ZEE FILES
All that Glitters
BY TINA WELLS
with Stephanie Smith
Illustrated by Mike Segawa
© 2021 by Tina Wells
Written with Stephanie Smith
Illustrated by Mike Segawa
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wells, Tina, 1980- author. | Smith, Stephanie (Stephanie Danielle), author. | Segawa, Michael, illustrator.
Title: All that glitters / by Tina Wells ; with Stephanie Smith ; illustrated by Mike Segawa.
Description: [Berkeley] : West Margin Press, [2022] | Series: The zee files; book 2 | Audience: Ages 11-14 | Audience: Grades 7-9 | Summary: Thirteen-year-old Mackenzie Blue Carmichael, aka “Zee,” is still adjusting to her new life at London boarding school The Hollows, and as the annual Creative Arts Festival approaches Zee and her friends prepare to take the stage with their unique talents.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021037432 | ISBN 9781513209593 (hardback)
Subjects: CYAC: Boarding schools--Fiction. | Schools--Fiction. | Talent shows--Fiction. | London--Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.W46846 All 2022 | DDC [Fic]--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021037432
Printed in China
25 24 23 22 1 2 3 4 5
Published by West Margin Press
WestMarginPress.com
WEST MARGIN PRESS
Publishing Director: Jennifer Newens
Marketing Manager: Alice Wertheimer
Project Specialist: Micaela Clark
Editor: Olivia Ngai
Design & Production: Rachel Lopez Metzger
For Quorra. My biggest inspiration.
I love you more than anything else in the world. —S.S.
1
FAMILY REUNION
“Zee, darling, breakfast is ready!” Mrs. Carmichael called.
Mackenzie Blue Carmichael turned over in her bed on the third floor of her London home and looked toward the window, searching for her cell phone to check the time. Her hand whacked against the nightstand, knocking over her journal, but she caught her phone before it could fall to the ground too. The oversized numbers on the screen read 7:15 a.m. Zee had looked forward to sleeping in a bit longer than she would back on campus at The Hollows Creative Arts Academy, but alas, between the twins rising at sunup and her father’s early schedule, the whole house had been dressed and ready for the day for the past hour.
Zee sat up in bed and looked at her phone with tired eyes. A message had come in from Ally, her BFF currently living in Paris. It was a copy of the train schedule from London to Paris for the next week.
Ally and Zee have been best friends since they both lived in California and attended the same grade school, Brookdale Academy. Ally moved to Paris a few years ago, and Zee just moved to London at the end of summer after her father took a new job. Zee and Ally planned to meet up in Paris this week while Zee was on fall break—Ally’s parents recently split up, and she could use some cheering up from her bubbly and energetic friend Zee.
Let me check and see which day will work! Zee texted back. She was excited to make this trip happen, especially since Ally had canceled on her when they scheduled their first reunion in Paris right before school started.
Zee threw back the covers, swung her legs off the edge of the bed, and sat up. She stretched her arms overhead and rose to her tippy toes before relaxing her heels back down to the floor. It was her first night’s sleep back in her London home since she went off to boarding school. There was something so comforting about her old bed, the way the worn-in mattress hugged her body and the softness of her favorite flannel sheets.
Her bed at The Hollows Creative Arts Academy, the boarding school she transferred to at the beginning of the school year, was comfortable but not yet familiar. But it didn’t matter—by the time her head hit the pillow at night, Zee was so exhausted from the day as a new year nine student that she could fall asleep on any flat surface.
The schoolwork was challenging. Whether it was the language differences or the teaching styles, Zee found it hard to concentrate on the lectures. She was hoping her parents wouldn’t ask how her grades were. Why ruin a great week home with disappointing news?
Luckily, making new friends has been easier than making high marks. Zee’s roommate, Jameela Chopra, was a sharp and intellectual ballet dancer who showed Zee the ropes of boarding school, though she had high standards for herself and everyone else. Izzy Matthews, a popular year nine student thanks to her YouTube channel with 50,000 followers, invited Zee to her study group, then to her Cotswolds family estate for a sleepover. Zee also has her friend Jasper Chapman, who attended Brookdale Academy for a year until he returned to London this past summer. He was the only person Zee knew in London before her first day at school.
And then there was Archie Saint John. Mysterious guy on campus. Talented guitarist. Few friends, but lives a very posh life. Zee met Archie on the first day of school after she ran into him—literally—on the quad. The two had hit it off over their music interests, and Archie invited Zee to a few jam sessions to work on their performances for the Creative Arts Festival coming up near the end of fall term. He paid Zee more attention than he did to anyone else at school. Maybe they were just friends. Or maybe more? Zee has spent more hours trying to figure out what’s really going on between her and Archie than she has on her studies. As of now, she has neither the grades nor a label to describe her thing with Archie to show for her time.
Knock knock knock! “Zee, honey, would you like me to make you something to eat?”
Camilla, the Carmichael family’s new nanny, was waiting for a response on the other side of the door. Zee’s eyes widened as she turned her head. She thought to open the door and face Camilla directly, which would be the polite thing to do. But to Zee, Camilla still felt like a stranger, even though she’d been taking care of her family members since the school year began. Zee couldn’t let a stranger see her with morning breath and crazy bed head.
“Um, I’ll be down in a minute. I can grab something then,” Zee replied. She waited for Camilla’s footsteps to fade away, then headed to the restroom, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and got dressed for the day.
• • •
The kitchen of the Carmichael family’s Notting Hill residence smelled like coffee and sounded like a train station. Phoebe and Connor, Zee’s twin siblings, waddled across the floor, following their mother as she looked for a serving plate. Mr. Carmichael took a few sips of coffee while checking his e-mails on his phone. “Looks like I have a meeting at 5 p.m. Might be a bit late home tonight,” he warned anyone within earshot.
“Okay, darling,” Mrs. Carmichael responded. She fluttered past her husband and gave him a kiss on the cheek before she breezed toward the pantry. “I’ve got a meetup with the girls today.”
“The girls as in your daughters?” he asked.
“No, the girls as in the Mummy Mums,” Mrs. Carmichael said.
“Who?” Zee asked as she walked up behind her mother. Her father looked back at his phone.
Mrs. Carmichael explained, “They’re my new mom friends. I met them at a park a few weeks ago while I was out with the twins. They all live close by and have young children, and they plan playdates and outings. They’re very connected too. One of them, Sophie, sat next to me on a bench and helped me get Phoebe settled when she was fussy. She was so lovely. She introduced me to her friends, and now I’m sort of part of the circle.”
“You get together every day with them?” Zee asked, sitting down at the kitchen table. “And the kids too?”
“Not every day, and not always with the kids.”
“I’ve never met these new friends, honey,” Mr. Carmichael chimed in.
“Well, you will,” Mrs. Carmichael responded.
Zee looked at her mom. Her mother’s curly hair, usually left long and loose in California, was tied into a low bun and smoothed back with a printed silk scarf. She wore a beautifully tailored gray tea-length dress and a tall pair of boots. In California, her mother had lived in vintage T-shirts and cut-off shorts, or long, wide-legged linen pants and sneakers. She sure has adapted to her London surroundings, Zee thought.
Mrs. Carmichael grabbed a large platter from the bottom pantry shelf and handed it to Camilla, then walked to the sitting nook where Zee was enjoying her breakfast. Mrs. Carmichael leaned over the cup of coffee she was holding with two hands. “And what’s on your agenda today, Zee?”
Zee looked down at the plate of eggs, perfectly browned toast and jam, and sliced fruits Camilla had artfully arranged for her. “Probably a little more of this,” she responded.
“Well, darling, I was hoping we could do something fun together while you were here. You know, maybe some shopping or a nice lunch somewhere in town.”
Zee looked at her mother, whose British accent had become so much more pronounced in the few weeks Zee’s been gone. “Ally texted me last night and said she does want to meet up in Paris now. Did you know her parents were splitting up?”
“No, really?” her father said. “That’s a shame.”
“Yeah, I think her mother is back in California,” Zee said. “Anyway, can I go to Paris this week to meet up with her?
Mr. Carmichael made his way toward the door. “I can’t do it this week, Zee. I’m on a shoot for a new campaign that I have to oversee.”
Mrs. Carmichael perked up. “Zee, maybe we should go together! We can leave the twins with Camilla and you and I can have a girls trip.”
Zee couldn’t remember the last time she hung out with her mother alone since the twins arrived. While she appreciated her mother’s offer, Zee was more excited to connect with Ally about important things, like how Ally was getting along with her dad, and how Zee was getting along with school—and, most importantly, Archie.
“I haven’t seen Ally in so long. We have so much to catch up on,” Zee said.
“I understand,” Mrs. Carmichael said. “Tell you what, I’ll take you to Paris and then give you and Ally some space to hang out. I’ll sit at a different table at the restaurant or something. And then we can shop and come back home. Ooh, there’s that amazing macaron shop we can check out while we’re there. Sound good?”
Quality time with her best friend in Paris. Mom as a socially distanced chaperone. And macarons? “I’m in!” Zee said.
2
PARIS PART DEUX
Zee texted her pal Ally bright and early on Wednesday, the day they’d agreed to meet in Paris.
Zee
Good morning! You ready for today? Don’t bail on me this time!
Ally didn’t delay in her response.
Ally
I’m already up and getting ready. Can’t wait to see you! #parispartdeux
Zee jumped out of bed, excited to get her day started. She picked out an outfit for her visit the night before—a black-and-white striped T-shirt and a black ankle-length knit skirt with a denim jacket. Zee assumed she should know enough French to be able to ask for the train, a restroom, and a croissant, so she clicked the Rosetta Stone app on her phone and listened while she got ready. “Où sont les toilettes?” she repeated along with the voice recording.
Zee went down for breakfast, skipping over to her twin siblings to give them a snuggle before grabbing some toast and jam. Camilla was helping Mrs. Carmichael feed the twins, who were dressed in matching knit sweatpants and baby vintage T-shirts. Shoeboxes and shopping bags lay at the foot of the twins’ high chairs. Small jars of baby food and used baby wipes were scattered on their food trays.
“All right, now that the little ones are fed, dressed, and photographed, I’m going to get dressed myself,” Mrs. Carmichael said, her phone in her hand.
“What time do we need to leave?” Zee asked.
“In twenty minutes. I’ll be ready, don’t worry.”
After Zee devoured her breakfast, she packed a few snacks, her headphones, and her tablet into her backpack and left it by the door. While Camilla did the dishes, Zee got down on the floor with her toddler siblings, playing peekaboo until her mother came back down the stairs.
Mrs. Carmichael looked straight out of the pages of Vogue Paris, with her hair pulled back into a low bun and dark sunglasses on her face, wearing a white off-the-shoulder top with a pair of slim black slacks. “I’m ready. We’ll take an Uber to the train, right? Camilla, we’ll be back around dinnertime.”
Zee watched her mother plant kisses on Phoebe’s and Connor’s foreheads and head toward the front door. She looked at Camilla, then at her mom, then back at Camilla, wondering if the new nanny really knew everything about the kids that she should. Does she know that Connor refused to sleep on his back or without his favorite stuffed animal, Mr. Whiskers? Or about Phoebe’s disdain for green leafy vegetables?
“Zee, let’s go, we’re going to be late,” Mrs. Carmichael called.
Zee shook her head, grabbed her backpack and shoes, and followed her mother into the Uber waiting in front of their house. She looked back at the twins, happily crawling toward Camilla who sat on the floor with a few soft picture books and brightly colored toys.
• • •
On the train ride to Paris, Mrs. Carmichael spent most of the time staring at her phone, texting Camilla about the twins’ whereabouts, editing photos, and responding to DMs from her social media followers. At one point, Mrs. Carmichael spoke into her phone as she recorded the view of the British countryside as the train zoomed by. “We are headed to Pariiiiiiiiisssss!” she said, leaning toward Zee. Zee looked up and smiled for a selfie with her mother while making a peace sign with her right hand.
On her own phone, Zee looked through photos and messages from Ally and Chloe. I’m so jealous you guys get to hang, but also so happy you get to see each other. Send picccccs! Chloe texted the group last night, which Ally and Zee received this morning given the time differences between California, London, and Paris.
Two hours later, Zee and her mother arrived in Paris and headed for the 7th arrondissement. (“Arrondissement is a French word for ‘district,’” Mrs. Carmichael had explained to Zee the night before when Ally texted where they should meet.) Ally suggested going to her favorite coffee shop where she went almost every day after school. They have the. Best. Croissants, Ally wrote. She and her father had already arrived at the restaurant a few minutes earlier and were waiting for the Carmichaels at a back table.
Zee walked into Le 29, a classic French bistro with several tables outside and a glass door that opened to a small dining room with a dozen or so tables. She scanned the room for Ally. There was a young-looking girl sitting in the corner with an older gentleman who looked just like Mr. Stern. The girl, dressed in black and wearing a berry shade of lip gloss, looked at Zee. “You made it!” Ally said.
“Ohmylanta! Ally! I missed you so much!” Zee squealed as she looked at her best friend. “Wow, Ally, you look so grown up!”
“Oh, thanks,” Ally said shyly. “Hi, Mrs. Carmichael.”
“Ally, so good to see you! How are you doing?” Mrs. Carmichael said, hugging her, then gave a polite nod to Mr. Stern, who slowly rose from his seat to greet Ally’s guests.
“I’m so glad you both made the trip. How is everything in London?” he asked.
“It’s great,” Mrs. Carmichael replied. “Rainy weather, but Zee being home from break makes things a bit sunnier.“
“Aw, Mom!” Zee said, her cheeks turned a bashful shade of red.
Mr. Stern smiled, then planted a kiss on Ally’s left cheek. “Text when you’re ready. I’ll meet you here.” Ally nodded and turned toward Zee.
“I’ll keep an eye on them but still give them some space to gossip,” Mrs. Carmichael said. “Ladies, I might sit at another table and make a phone call after we order to give you two some time. Is that all right?”
“Thanks, Mom,” Zee said.
“Great. Then we can do a little shopping.”
Mrs. Carmichael walked toward the middle of the dining room while Ally and Zee sat down at the table. “You still seem different,” Zee said. “Have you been wearing makeup since you got here?”
“No, but I put on a red lip gloss for special occasions. Just a little something. French women have perfected that no-makeup makeup thing, so wearing a bunch of stuff on my face wouldn’t be cool here.”
A server swooped in and stood by their table. He placed menus down in front of them and rattled off a few short sentences in French. Ally said, “They have the best burgers here. I know, surprising for a French place, but their burgers and fries are just as good as their croissants.”
“Then let’s get both!” Zee said.
Ally ordered for both of them in conversational French. “Deux hamburgers frites, s’il vous plaît, deux pains au chocolat, et un croissant, s’il vous plaît.”
“Can you also order some tea?” Zee asked.
“Et un thé?” Ally added.
“Oui,” the server replied with a serious look. “C’est tout?”
“Oui.”
When he left, Zee turned to her friend and put her hand on her shoulder. “So, how are you really?”
Ally shook her head. “I’m okay. It’s just horrible about my parents. But I guess maybe I saw it coming? They did fight a lot. Not like with fists, but they just argued all the time. They couldn’t agree on a pizza order. So I guess I’m not surprised.”
Zee listened and shook her head. She looked over at her mother on the phone and tried to think back to the last time her parents ordered takeout. It was pretty drama-free, though she remembered her mom having to remind her dad to grab extra napkins.
