Thankies to all three of you! More:
Meanwhile, Taranee was back at home, since her dance class had finished about two hours ago. She was busy writing in her diary when her mother came through the door.
"Hello, Taranee," Theresa greeted.
Taranee looked up from her diary. "Hey, Mom." She closed her diary. "What is it?"
"Dinner's ready."
Taranee could smell the freshly-baked chicken, biscuits, mashed potatoes and possibly, cherry pie wafting from downstairs. She ran down the stairs after her mother, taking her seat at the dinner table. She'd guessed right, all the foods she'd smelled were the ones sitting on the table.
After her family was done saying grace, they began digging into their food. Taranee ate a piece of her chicken, wiping her mouth with her napkin. She turned to her father. "Dad, Ms. Spice told me I've improved and that I'm moving up to Level 5. There were a total of 8 levels in Taranee's dance school, and 8 was considered the highest.
"Congratulations, honey," Lionel said.
Peter flashed his mother a grin. "Oh, Mom, I also won an award for Best Basketball Player today at practice. It's in my room."
Theresa smiled at both her children. They were always good in whatever they did. "I'm very proud of the both of you." She dug into her mashed potatoes.
Back in Heatherfield, Cornelia was in her room, reading fashion magazines with her friend Harriet. She pointed at a celebrity dressed up in a horrible dress with yellow and green stripes. "Oh my Gosh!" she gasped. "Ew, how tacky! She must've been nuts to think she'd look good in that."
Harriet giggled and pointed to another celebrity. "Oh, yeah? How about neon green socks with pink flip-flops?"
Cornelia shook her head. "Celebrities let their money go to their head." She gestured to her vanity. "Wanna do each other's hair?"
"Duh!" Harriet joked, playfully poking Cornelia in the shoulder. "Do mine first!"
Cornelia smiled. "Sure."
Harriet took her seat at the vanity. Cornelia gathered all of Harriet's beautiful wavy chestnut brown hair together. She tied a beauty mask over Harriet's face so she wouldn't see her new hair until Cornelia was done. Cornelia put all of her friend's hair into a high ponytail and began snipping until the ponytail was layered with the ends pointing out. She sprayed it and combed her friends' side bangs to either side of her forehead. Once she was done, she removed the mask.
Harriet gasped, taking in her new hairstyle. "Oh my gosh!!!" she squealed. "Cornelia, it's...it's...amazing. You should become, like, a hairdresser or something!"
Cornelia grinned. "My turn." She took a seat at the vanity, and Harriet placed the mask over her eyes.
Harriet began curling Cornelia's hair, and once she was done, she sprayed it with some hairspray and added some gloss to it. She took off the mask.
Cornelia's eyes widened. "WOW!" she exclaimed. "I love it!" She got up from the seat and gave her friend a hug.
"Alright...time to gossip," Harriet said, sitting on Cornelia's bed.
Cornelia sat on the bed next to her. "Ooh! About who?"
"Hey, you know that girl who defended that pigtailed loser earlier?"
"You mean that Elyon Brown girl??"
"Yeah, Elyon. I heard she has a crush on Matt and plans to ask him out...so I've got an awesome idea..."
"What? Spill!"
"Let's tell everyone in school and embarrass her."
Cornelia high-fived her friend. "I love your plan."
Meanwhile, Hay Lin was in her room in Heatherfield, staring at herself in the mirror. All the things Cornelia had said earlier were haunting her. She'd made fun of her, calling her names and mocking her in front of everyone. Cornelia had been very degrading, saying things like, "Ew, what a loser!" or "Look at what a dweeb she is!"
Hay Lin looked at her pigtails, deciding they were ugly. Her mother had told her she'd be getting braces in a few months. Now she would be double the laughing stock. She began crying into her pillow, feeling horrible.
Her grandmother walked into the room. "My little Hay Lin, what seems to be the matter?" she questioned.
Hay Lin turned and looked at her grandmother, her eyes swollen and her bottom lip quivering. "I was made fun of today because of my pigtails, Grandma," she blubbered.
"Aw," her grandmother said. She hugged her granddaughter, a sad expression crossing her face.
Hay Lin sobbed into her grandmother's shoulder for a few more minutes before pulling away.
Yan Lin wiped Hay Lin's tears. "Look, no matter what they say in school, you are beautiful just the way you are."
Hay Lin smiled gratefully at her grandmother, happy she was always there for her.