The changing of Winter | ✔

|17| - Destroy

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Once the "Aloha" song ended, Mr. Jones got up onstage. The spotlight hit him in the belly, making him look bigger than ever.

"We have a special presentation for you all this afternoon," Mr. Jones said. He cleaned the bloody ooze from the sides of his mouth. I was glad---I didn't want my parents to be frightened. The whole zombie-school thing was hard enough to deal with. I glanced up at them. They were actually handling everything very well.

"Today, some of our students have prepared something very special for you." He looked directly behind me and set his eyes on the Yevermans. "I am proud to introduce to you the world of the Zom-Bs: Brenda, Brooke, and Becky, and along with their designer; Josephine Yeverman!"

The crowd went wild. Shrieks of "uhhhh-uhhhh" filled the room along with the traditional "Woo-hoo" from the non-zombies.

Danny was filming everything. He had his camera glued to his eye.

I knew there'd be a time when I'll have to sneak away. And this was it.

When the lights dimmed, I made my move. I pressed through the crowd closer to the front stage.

I've been exercising in the library every night, getting in shape. Staying calm and keeping my legs limber were the most important things I could do to prepare for this moment. After a few knee bends and a few deep breaths, I felt ready.

Brenda carried out a small podium and stood behind it. She changed into a gauzy fuchsia and green prom dress. Her neck scarf was orange and there were yellow bows in her hair.

"Being a zombie is a way of life," she read from a prepared note card. "Not only for those of us here at ZBS-Academy, but soon, for everyone. Everywhere!"

Ha! That's what I thought. The Bs were going to make sure everyone stayed at ZBS-Academy! It sounded like they were going to try and turn the people into zombies, too. My eyes scanned the stage. "The cure has to be here," I muttered. "Where is that crate?"

"Announcing the Zom-B collection." Brenda reached over with one hand and pulled a cord.

The curtin at the back of the stage parted to reveal Chiara, walking down the catwalk like a model, with one hand on her hip. She wore a prom dress like Brenda's, but cuter. It was lilac wih a sky blue bow at the waist. Her shoes had matching purple bows above the same-colored blue buckles.

When Chiara reached to the end of the stage, she blew a kiss at me and mouthed the word Surprise! She waved, then rotated on her heel and turned back down the catwalk.

Next out was Brooke. She was wearing a tight white mummy-gauze dress. There were rhinestones glued all over the gown. It sparkled in the spotlight. She clearly used a spary-on tan, which made her skin a little less see-through.

Becky came out arm in arm with Brett. They were wearing casual school clothes. I had to admit that Brett looked good in a black T-shirt and jeans. His shirt said 'BE A B' in bold red letters across the front.

Becky was wearing the same shirt with lace leggings.

At the end of the fashion show, Brenda announced that Joy had helped them with the clothing. Joy came out for a bow, but she didn't look happy.

She took the microphone from Brenda and said, "Hey, Mr. Franko." She squinted into the crowd. "Wherever you are---I did what you asked. I better get an A."

Everyone laughed, though Joy clearly didn't mean it as a joke.

The students and parents thought the clothing was terrific, but the experts, well, they weren't wowed by their daughter's first fashion show. Mr. Yeverman was checking his e-mail, and Mrs. Yeverman was yawning. I could only imagine the pressure they were going to put on Joy to do better next time.