Now, sitting onstage in a beauty salon chair at Sterling James’s Glitter Extravaganza, wearing Gabby’s black faux-leather minidress with BamBam tying purple hair-tinsel to my scalp, the warning sirens were blaring GET OUT. But it was too late. BamBam’s evil plot was already in full swing.
“That is amazing, Ms. Mini. You are such a natural,” Sterling crooned into the mic as he reviewed BamBam’s work.
“Thank you, sweetheart. Us old heads know a few tricks.” BamBam winked and beamed out at the audience, conveniently failing to mention that she was good at this because she used to braid hair back in the day to make extra money while she was going to school. Tying a piece of glitter into my hair was nothing compared to that. In fact, I doubted she even needed her glasses to do it.
I waited until Sterling and the event videographer were out of earshot, then looked up without moving my head. “BamBam, what are you doing?”
“If Buzzy Timmons can drop in on the Knot a Problem panel and show off her knitting skills, then I can show mine.” BamBam’s grin was unnerving as I put the pieces together. This was supposed to be a beauty workshop for beginners, but BamBam was no beginner. Instead, she was styling circles around the other participants and stealing the show. Something Buzzy had done yesterday when she pretended to stumble upon a group of knitters and offer them her so-called “grannie tips.” Of course someone just happened to film her “surprise visit,” and the internet ate it up.
“Mini. You are better than this.” I tried to make myself sound disappointed even as a giggle escaped me. “You had me get all dressed up to make me an accomplice to your rivalry. I don’t want any part of GrannieGate.”
“Well, I wasn’t about to go to a wood-carving class, so it was either trick you into this, or we do a workshop on powerlifting. I think we can both agree this is preferable.” BamBam harrumphed.
“I guess you have a point.” I shrugged.
“Don’t move,” BamBam tsked at me. “These little pieces of plastic are slippery.”
“Alright, while we give our amazing participants another five minutes to finish up hair, what questions can I answer for you, darling audience?” Sterling crooned, spreading his arms wide and circling the stage.
If BamBam were anyone else, I’d have warned her that a friendship with Sterling was basically one giant internet fight waiting to happen. But after #GrannieGate, what creator in their right mind would pick a fight with BamBam? Sterling was smart enough to only start trouble when it wouldn’t hurt him. BamBam would eat him alive if he stepped a toe out of line. And that’s if she felt generous.
For another minute BamBam worked in silence as the audience members asked questions about what hair tinsel Sterling recommended (his own brand, duh!) and where to buy it (any Beauty BB’s will carry it, and be sure to tell them Sterling sent you, personally!).
My mind wandered to the DJ party and what I was going to tell BamBam in order to sneak off, when I heard her whisper, “Baby, I’ve been meaning to tell you, because I don’t think I said it the other day. I know your parents are worried about you, but I’m not.”
I peered up at her, forgetting that I was supposed to stay still. This time, she didn’t admonish me. Instead, she ran her hand down the back of my head and smiled. “You’re just a different spirit than your parents, but I have every confidence thatyou will be great at whatever path you choose. Your mama and daddy will come around to it, too. Give them time.”
“Thanks. I know you are on my team.” I tried not to let the guilt strangle me. Of course she would choose now to remind me how much she loved and supported me, right after I decided to throw loyalty out the window and work with her enemy’s beloved grandson.
The muscles in my chest tightened as the lines between BamBam’s eyes relaxed. Giving my shoulder a pat, she said, “That’s all I wanted to say. That, and I love you.”
I started blinking rapidly as my eyes got misty without my permission. It was a good thing that the makeup portion was the second half of the workshop. “I love you, too.”
BamBam opened her mouth to say something else, when Sterling’s voice cut in again. “Alright! Let’s move on to the main event…the Glitter Extravaganza!”
He threw his hands in the air and posed for the camera while everyone in the room erupted into cheers. Well, everyone in the room but me. I’d spent more than a few minutes dreading this part and eyeing the roughly seven hundred kinds of glitter that were lined up for us on a table. Turning back to us participants, Sterling pulled a series of thin packages from his makeup apron and waved them at us, adding, “And y’all I have a surprise—my new line of eyelashes!”
Looking at one pair of lashes, I almost screamed. They looked like rainbow-covered caterpillars had fallen into a jar of sparkles. I might love BamBam, but this was really pushing the limits of granddaughterly fealty.
My heart slammed around in my chest as I fumbled through my phone, trying to find Ethan’s number. There was exactly no way in hell I was showing up to the DJ party like this. If I didn’t get laughed out of the venue for looking like I’d been the victim of a glitter bombing, the amount of sparkle on my skin would probably blind everyone.
“Ahh!”I growled in frustration and attempted to tilt the phone down to an angle where I could view the screen through my false eyelashes. I really did not want Ethan to see me like this. With my free hand, I tried to adjust Gabby’s stupid minidress. Tripping over myself and toppling sideways into a wall, I hissed, “Are you kidding me?”
“Jamie?”
Icy dread trickled down my spine as Ethan’s voice came from behind me. For a wild moment, I imagined that I’d made up the sound of him calling my name. Maybe I was experiencing some sort of glitter-induced hallucination.
“Jamie, is that you?”
No. No, no, no. No. This could not be happening. I shut my eyes and willed Ethan to turn around or go somewhere else. Never mind that the only place to go was back down the hallway toward where my grandmother was making small talk with Sterling and a gaggle of fans. Right now, him wandering into that scenario was far preferable to him seeing me like this.
A little voice in my head reminded me that I wasn’t supposed to care what Ethan thought. We were working tonight. Ididn’t need to look cute to film. However, I did need to appear human and not like a glitter-factory reject.
“Oh.” Ethan’s voice came from in front of me, and I cracked one eye open to see his face. Stunned was probably too gentle a word for his expression. He whistled low, then said, “Wow.”
I gritted my teeth and opened my other eye, then did my best to glare at him through my eyelashes. “Don’t say anything.”
“I wasn’t going to.” Ethan bit down on his bottom lip and tried to swallow the laughter rolling through his body. “It’s just, it’s not every day I get to see a human disco ball.”
