Dedicating Every Day to You

Chapter Thirty-Four

The doorbell rings, and I drop my mascara wand on the white carpet. I'm so excited, I can hardly stand still, and I had to wipe off my (arguably minimal) makeup three times because my hand was shaking so badly. I'm incredibly glad that John and Alex made me wear a junk shirt to put my makeup on.

"I'LL GET IT!" I scream, tearing down the stairs at warp speed. I trip over Koopa, slide down the last three steps on my butt, and crash into the door. Still dizzy, I slowly stand up and pull the door open.

Standing there in the doorway, grinning and holding sheet music, is a girl with a jagged blonde haircut and a giant green sweater on. She's got three earrings in one ear, and when she sees me, she drops her sheet music all over the floor in a cascade. "Kathryn!"

"Emilie!" I wrap her in a giant hug that feels as though it might never end. Hugging her, my very best friend, I lose track of myself, forgetting where my happiness begins and hers ends. "I've missed you so much!"

"You saw me last month, Kat." Emmy rests her head on my shoulder. Her sweater smells like the fabric softener that I remember Miss Falcon always using. It gives me an almost painful pang of nostalgia, that smell of rain and flower petals. When it was my turn to do laundry, I would sit there and sniff the capful of softener until I grew dizzy.

"I know, but that was too long ago. I'm glad to see you." I laugh softly and hug her again.

John comes downstairs, electric razor in one hand and four ties in the other. "Kathryn, have you seen my- oh, hello there!" He waves to Emmy, sending a yellow and violently pink tie flying onto the floor. "You must be Emilie."

Emmy grins and waves back. "Hello, Mr. Laurens! I've heard a lot about you." I notice that she doesn't even protest being Emilie.

He laughs and bends down to pick up the tie. "We've met once before, at the ballet, I believe?"

She nods. "For a very brief moment, but yes, we did. Now, Kat, will you help me pick up my sheet music?"

I kneel on the carpet and begin to pick up sheets of paper with little black musical notes and a thousand eraser tracks dotting the pages. I can read music passably well, and I remember the melody that Emmy wrote last year. I would spin and prance around the hall while she plinked away dutifully on the out-of-tune piano.

Alex calls from upstairs, "Hi, Emmy!"

"You want to help me get ready?" We used to get ready for school dances together, Emmy and I- doing each other's makeup and hair, laughing and taking pictures in the mirror and trading dresses at the last minute.

"Of course I do!" Emmy takes my hand. "I want to help you with everything. I'm glad I get to be here as your best friend, glad I get to play the music for you. Today is important for you, and I'm happy to be here."

I kiss her on the cheek exaggeratedly, and she laughs. We run upstairs, and she takes in my room with shining eyes. I see the mess of my room, laundry and homework on the floor and dresses layered on my bed. I see the splatters of paint that still stain the floor, that I forgot to pick up my dirty ballet tights last night after final practice.

"This is so nice!" Emmy spins around with her arms wide, letting the fading sunlight from the window throw its beams across her face. "Your room is so very you."

I smile and then point to the Gratitude Wall, where her name is written in robin's-egg blue paint. There are little flecks of black glitter in the paint, and I made sure to shape the letters the way she always does on paper. The 'M's spike up on the left side, and there's a little star after the 'Y'.

"I missed you," I whisper when she wraps me in another hug.

********

"One more picture," Alex calls. Emmy and I obligingly strike yet another pose at the foot of the stairs. The dress I'm wearing is very fancy and very black and very unlike me, but all of the students have to wear black today. I have my trusty sneakers on, as always, and some very fabulous black and white tights with stars on them, but I feel a bit uncomfortable. Emmy, on the other hand, has been having the time of her life. My parents are apparently a riot, because everything they say and do has been hilarious to her.