Chapter 42

“Not interested.”
Juniper shook her head again. She was hungry and had no patience for further conversation. She gave a polite nod. “Thank you, ma’am.”
With that, she pulled on her cap and walked away.
The judge stood there, watching her go, a slight frown on her face. She was sure she recognized that face. Where had she seen her before?
After Queenie’s first-place win, the students of Aurora High walked with their heads held high. Along the way, students from other schools kept glancing in their direction, whispering about Queenie’s dance or Juniper’s performance.
“Juniper, you were amazing today,” Queenie said, clinging to Juniper’s arm like a limpet. “I would have been a total disgrace without you.”
“Seriously, Juniper!” Qadir exclaimed beside them, practically bouncing with excitement. “How do you know how to play so many instruments? Have you been learning since you were a kid?”
“Yeah,” Juniper replied nonchalantly, popping a piece of candy into her mouth.
“How long have you been practicing?” Qadir’s eyes widened in admiration. “I counted at least seven or eight different instruments. You played each one so perfectly. You must have been practicing for over a decade, right?”
“Not really.”
“More like a month, all combined,” she thought. She had wanted to keep practicing, but her tutors told her she was just there to show off. They’d seen prodigies before, but never one who surpassed their masters in a single month. Juniper mentally shrugged. It wasn’t her fault she was a natural; she learned things almost instantly.
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at the message.
“You guys go on to dinner without me. I have something to do.”
“Oh,” Queenie said, looking at the bag in her hands. “Juniper, I’ll wash the dress and return it to you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Juniper said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and pulling her cap down. “You can keep it.”
Before Queenie could process what she’d said, Juniper had already vanished.
“Holy crap!” Qadir gasped, spotting the tag on the dress. “Is this from The One? I saw a dress like this on my mom’s phone. I think it was over one hundred thousand dollars.”
“How much?” Queenie almost dropped the bag. She knew the brand was expensive, but she never imagined it could cost that much.
“Are Juniper’s friends that rich?” Qadir wondered aloud. “Giving away a dress just like that.”
Queenie fell silent, clutching the bag with both hands now, treating it like a fragile treasure. Juniper had been kind enough to help her; she couldn’t possibly accept such an expensive gift. She had to return it.
…
At J-Five’s Studio.
“What happened to your hand?” Luella asked, sitting up from the sofa where she’d been lounging and playing a game on her phone. She had spotted Juniper’s badly swollen right hand.
“Huh?”
Juniper tossed her backpack onto the sofa and flexed her wrist. “It’s nothing, just a minor injury.” She’d probably hit the instruments too hard and strained a bone.
“You call that minor? How are you going to draw jewelry designs with your right hand injured?” Luella frowned, her voice laced with concern. “You need to rest for a couple of days.”
“I’m fine,” Juniper said with a dismissive smirk. She couldn’t afford to delay; she had to finish the design in time for Shanley’s grandmother’s birthday gala. She may have overcharged the man, but she still had her professional ethics.
“Besides Juniper held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers. “This one works just fine, doesn’t it?”
Luella’s expression went slack as she remembered. Oh, right. She’d forgotten her prodigy was even better with her left hand than her right.