XOXO, Violet by Ginger Li

10Violet

Standing in front of the mirror, I straightened my dress, wondering for the hundredth time if my outfit was too much. I’d found this adorable skater dress on Etsy last month that had…wait for it…a cacti-print.

I know, right? Although I’d bought the dress to wear for YouCon, I figured I’d take it out today for a test drive.

“Knock, knock.” Mom peered around my door. Her hair was up in a loose bun, and two long silver earrings—her own creations—dangled from her ears. An art teacher during the week, Mom made jewelry and painted on the weekends, as evidenced by the stripe of yellow paint across her cheek.

“You have some paint…here.” I pointed to my face.

“Oops, thanks.” She pulled a tissue from her pocket and rubbed the paint off her cheek. “I was in the middle of working on something and realized how late it was getting. How are you doing? You look adorable, by the way. That dress is perfect.”

I did a twirl for her, making my dress flare upward. “Thanks.”

“Are you sure you don’t want Dad and me to go? We promise we won’t interfere. We’ll just be in the back—”

“Sneaking thousands of photos?”

Mom and Dad were the kind of parents who came to events and cheered obnoxiously for their kids…and their kids’ friends. Which was why I didn’t want either of them coming to my class today. I didn’t need any makeshift paparazzi when I was nervous enough as it was.

Mom tugged at one corner of my bed and smoothed down my bedspread. “Alright, we won’t come. I’ll just get Micah to video chat and take photos.”

“Mom!”

She raised her hands in surrender. “Discreetly, of course.”

Yeah. Sure.

Mom brushed back my hair and wrapped me in her arms, enveloping me in the light floral scent of her body wash. “I’m so proud of you, baby girl. You, Micah, and Marcus are my greatest masterpieces.”

“Mom,” I said with a laugh. “Are you getting all emotional on me?”

She pulled away and dabbed the corners of her eyes. “Of course I am! It seems like only yesterday that your dad and I were running around, trying to keep up with you three. And now, you’re all grown up and conquering the world. I can’t believe my baby’s a YouTube sensation and best-selling author.”

My book’s success still surprised me too. I ran my eyes over the boxes of books stacked beside my desk. Two hundred books—all to be signed before the convention. I’d been working on the signatures yesterday when Wesley called to talk.

I smiled as I remembered his interactions with Ophelia. His sister.

“Hold on a moment.” Mom shot me a knowing look. “You’re thinking about that boy you like. What’s his name again? Chase?”

Who?Oh, that’s right. Chase. “No. Actually, I was thinking about Wesley.”

Mom raised her eyebrows. “The guy you tutored?”

I’d told her I was tutoring Wes in precalc but had left out the part about him helping me get a date with Chase. If she found out I was getting dating tips, she’d never let me hear the end of it.

I fiddled with the hem of my skirt. “Yeah. He’s coming to the class today.”

“Is that so? So this Wesley’s a succulent lover too?”

“His sister is. Wes is bringing her.”

Mom smiled. “Oh! What a good brother.”

Micah stuck his head in the room. “You talking about me?”

Gelled hair. New T-shirt. And his best jeans. Seemed I wasn’t the only one dressing to impress. I gave a low whistle. “What’s the occasion?”

“Had to match you, of course.” His grin widened to reveal the deep dimple that had most likely got him out of trouble more than once.

“Yeah, sure.” I had a strong suspicion I knew why Micah looked so nice. And it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with a certain musically talented best friend of mine.

“Ready to go, Vi?” Micah asked.

“Just one more thing.” I grabbed my favorite ring out of my jewelry box and slid it on. It was silver and looked like a daisy chain. Mom had made it for me right before I started high school. Apparently, daisies were a symbol of new beginnings. Even after four years, it was still my absolute favorite piece of jewelry. And it seemed perfect for today.

I took one final glance at my reflection. This was it. Today I would teach a small class, and in a couple of weeks, I’d reveal my identity as Shy Plant Girl. Although a frightening prospect, it was also exhilarating. I’d finally be freed from keeping everything a secret.

Mom placed an arm across my shoulders. “Knock them dead, Violet. And Micah…”

“I know. Take millions of photos.” He held up his cell phone and DSLR camera. “Don’t worry. I got it covered.”

Mom walked over and reached up to give my brother a kiss on the forehead. “What did I do to deserve such good kids?”

We arrivedat Blooming Queen to an almost overflowing parking lot. Luckily, Micah managed to squeeze our truck into one of the few remaining spots. The beast of a vehicle had been Dad’s ride in college. It was ancient and ugly, but for some reason that I didn’t understand, Micah loved the thing.

By now, the slight tightness that began in my chest right after we left the house had turned into a raging panic that clawed at my insides like a trapped wildcat. I gripped my seat, trying to steady my nerves enough to get out of the car. But my legs felt like limp noodles, and my hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

Come on, muscles. Do your thing!

“Do you know what they say about strangers?”

Working to steady my breathing, I looked over at my brother and shook my head.

Micah nudged me with his shoulder. “They’re just friends we haven’t met yet.”

A snort escaped my lips. “Is that s-something you read in a fortune cookie?”

“No. It was on Mom’s tea bag this morning. Figured you could use the wisdom.” He peered down at my trembling hands. “Are you okay? You’re kind of pale.”

Probably because I was heading for a full-blown panic attack. Some people believe twins share some sort of telepathy, but I figured Micah and I found it easy to read each other’s thoughts because we spent so much time together. He could tell I was getting stressed out, and I hated seeing how much that worried him. Beneath his cool exterior, Micah was a sensitive guy.

But don’t share that information. My brother swore me to secrecy in a Rectangle of Silence years ago.

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths, reminding myself that today’s event was supposed to be easy and fun.

My breathing slowly returned to normal, and the sense of helplessness faded.

When I opened my eyes again, I found Micah watching me, his brow still creased with concern.

I managed a watery smile. “Did you know you look paler when you have frostbite or a blocked artery?”

Micah quirked a brow. “Are you suffering from either of those?”

I shook my head and wiggled my knees. “No. It’s just a fact I remembered from bio.”

Micah reached out and took my hand, and I stared down at our intertwined fingers in surprise. It had been years since he had done that. “Just say the word, Vi, and I’ll take you home. No questions asked. Joy would understand. She could run the workshop in your place.” A shadow crossed his face, and I knew he was remembering what happened to me in middle school.

My stomach clenched, but I clamped my mind down on those memories, refusing to look back. My bullies had held too much of my life captive already, and I refused to give them one more second of my thoughts. “I’m fine, Micah. I got this.”

His mouth tightened as he released my hand. “I know you do. And I got you.”

Piper and Olivia bounded across the parking lot toward us, and my face broke into a grin. I stepped from the truck to a giant hug from Olivia.

“Violet! You look fantastic!”

“I love your dress,” Piper added, giving me a side hug. “It’s perfect.”

“And me?” I hadn’t noticed Micah getting out of the truck too. He leaned against the hood. “What do you think of my outfit?”

“Decent enough.” Olivia’s flippant response was at odds with the lingering look she gave him.

Micah flashed her a smirk before grabbing the succulent cuttings I’d brought along for today’s class.

My gaze traveled between my brother and my best friend. When would they end this strange dance and just admit their feelings for each other?

Olivia turned her back on Micah and motioned toward the shop. “Everything’s ready inside. Piper and I came early to help set up, and, oh my gosh, you’ll never guess who’s here!” She paused for dramatic effect before trilling, “It’s your super cute guy.”

Remembering I’d left a bag on the back seat, I turned and grabbed it from the truck. “Wesley’s here? That’s hardly a secret. I already knew he was bringing Ophelia. He told me last night.”

Olivia lifted a hand to her open mouth. “You were right, Pipes.”

Right about what? I turned to Piper. “What’s she talking about?”

Piper took the bag from my hand. “Here, let me get that. We don’t want you to get your dress dirty. And Olivia meant Chase, not Wesley. Chase is inside. He’s brought his mom to your class as a birthday gift. Isn’t that sweet?”

“Yeah. It is.” I tried mustering up some excitement at the thought of seeing him, but my heart didn’t skip the way it usually did. Probably due to nerves, I suspected.

“Both Chase and Wesley are super cute.” Olivia shot a look back at the truck before linking an arm through mine. Piper followed suit, hooking her arm through my other arm, effectively sandwiching me between them.

“Let’s go,” Olivia announced. “Your fans await.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Micah called out. “You three go on ahead. I’m just here to carry heavy items and take photos.”

Olivia turned back around and stuck her tongue out at my brother, who snapped a photo of her in retaliation.

He stared at his cell phone. “That’ll look great on my IG feed.”

“Ugh, grow up, Micah,” Olivia grumbled.

“You first, Liv.” He gave her a wink.

Piper and I laughed while Olivia pretended to sulk.

As we stepped through the door, I saw that Olivia hadn’t been exaggerating. They’d pushed the display tables to one side, and several folding tables and chairs filled the center of the room. The cuttings Joy had collected from her stock sat on the counter, along with cardboard cones, hot glue guns, and glue sticks. Like neat rows of soldiers, the items stood, awaiting orders from their commander. Which I guess was me.

It appeared most of the students were already there too. I spotted Mrs. Sorenson, surrounded by several other women and a couple of gentlemen—her bridge club friends, I assumed. The tension in my shoulders eased when I realized that most of the others were regular customers.

“There’s Chase,” Piper murmured. My eyes fell on him, sitting and chatting with an older woman, but strangely, my heart felt silent, and everything seemed…normal.

Well, that was a positive. At least my feelings for him wouldn’t make it difficult to teach the class. I searched the crowd and spotted Wes and his sister by the snack table. While they spoke with my aunt, Jasper and Leo took advantage of their mother’s distraction to dart around the table’s legs.

As if sensing my presence, Wes turned in my direction and smiled. Heat flooded my cheeks.

He waved me over to join them, but Joy booked it over to me instead.

“How are you doing?” my aunt asked. “It’s a great turnout today.”

I fanned my face. With so many people crammed into this tiny space, the store felt warmer than usual. What little makeup I’d swiped on earlier would most likely melt off by the time I’d finished. “Fine, I guess.”

“It’s going to be a great class. I—”

A squeal from over by the counter interrupted Joy’s train of thought. Her boys had found the hot glue guns and were pretending to shoot each other.

“Wasn’t Ricky supposed to watch the boys today?” I turned to find Micah, who’d now finished bringing in the succulents, standing beside us, watching our cousins “shoot” each other.

Joy let out a huff of frustration. “He was. But, as usual, something came up.” She looked at me apologetically. “Sorry, Violet. I know I said I’d help out if you needed it, but these two require full-time supervision.”

“Don’t worry, we can help,” Piper said.

“For sure,” Olivia agreed.

“I’ll help too,” Micah added.

“Thank you.” Joy shook her head, suppressing a laugh. Now both boys were trying to balance cardboard cones on their heads. “I swear, they’re always about thirty seconds away from destroying something. Jasper! Leo! What did I tell you before? Those aren’t toys.” My aunt marched over to the front table and led her sons away.

“Well, I guess I should start now since our pre-class entertainment’s finished.” I gave my friends and brother a small smile.

“You got this, Vi,” Micah murmured.

Smoothing my dress, I walked to the front table, my head held high. I had this.

I’m calm, cool, and collected.

Two dozen pairs of eyes turned to watch me, and a hush crept over the room.

Breathe, Violet. Keep breathing.

“H-hello e-everyone. Welcome to my s-s-succulent c-class.”

Blank faces stared back at me, and someone, I wasn’t sure who, cleared their throat.

“Why does Violet look like she’s going to cry?” Jasper asked from the front row. My aunt leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

My body broke out in a cold sweat as panic surged through my veins. Oh no. This couldn’t be happening. I hid my trembling hands behind my back, hoping no one would notice.

Over near the snack table, Micah lowered his camera and took a step forward.

Say the word, and we’re outta here, his eyes seemed to say.

I can’t do this, I wanted to shout. I’m not brave. I’m terrified.

My eyes darted to where Wesley sat with Ophelia. Unlike the other students, he wasn’t paying attention to the scene unfolding before him. Instead, he pulled a notebook from his backpack. He turned several pages before holding it up for me to see.

You can do this, Violet.

Silently, he flipped the page, and my heart almost burst when I read his next message.

You are brave, intelligent, and funny

His eyes caught mine, and ever so slowly, he turned the page again.

Take my word for it. I’m a bona fide math genius.

A giggle escaped my lips.

People around me whispered, no doubt completely confused as to why they’d signed up to take a class from a girl who went from looking like she was about to cry one moment to laughing the next.

Yup. I was a certified emotional weirdo. But I was a plant-loving weirdo. And that made me the best person to teach this class.

I took a deep breath and began again. “S-sorry about that rough start, everyone. I’m feeling a bit nervous. Let’s try that again, shall we? W-welcome to succulent class. My name’s Violet Reyes. I work here at Blooming Queen, and I’ll be your teacher today. B-before we make our succulent Christmas trees, I have an important question to ask. What did one British succulent plant say to the other?”

Mouths curved into smiles as most people shook their heads. In the front row, Jasper and Leo hung on my every word.

I stood a little taller, proud that I had the five-and-under crowd eating out of my hand.

Assuming my best British accent, I answered my own question. “It said, ‘Aloe! Vera nice to meet you.’ Get it? Aloe Vera?”

Chuckles mixed with a handful of groans rippled through the room. One glance at Wesley’s thumbs-up, and I beamed. I could do this; I had it in the bag.

The rest of the class ran smoothly. Once I’d shown everyone how to glue the cuttings to their cones, I strolled around the room to admire their progress. That was one of the best things about teaching an in-person class. Sure, I’d done plenty of teaching on my YouTube channel, but an in-person demonstration meant that I got to witness people’s creativity firsthand.

I stopped at Joy’s table first. I’m not sure how, but she’d somehow wrangled the twins into sitting calmly beside her. In a complete one-eighty from before, my cousins were quietly helping their mom glue succulents to their cones.

“Look at this.” Jasper had recently lost one of his front teeth, so he had a lisp and couldn’t quite pronounce his T’s. It was adorable.

“No. Mine first.” Leo shoved his tree in front of my face and grinned, revealing a matching missing tooth.

“They’re beautiful, boys. You both did such a good job.”

“I thought your joke was funny,” Jasper lisped. “I’m glad you’re not crying anymore.”

“Jasper.” Joy shook her head at her son. “You’re doing great, Violet. Go ahead, mingle with the other students. We’re good here.”

I visited another table and began chatting with a couple of college girls.

“Violet!” Mrs. Sorenson waved at me.

I excused myself and headed over to her table.

“Darling, this class is fabulous. When’s the next one? We’ve all agreed that we need to sign up pronto.”

Several of her friends nodded.

I mentally reviewed the store’s calendar. “Well, Joy’s suggested we could do something for Valentine’s Day. But we haven’t worked out the details yet.”

“It won’t include roses, will it?” Mrs. Sorenson made a face like she smelled something bad. “They’re beautiful but horrible for the environment. They leave such a huge carbon footprint.”

Roses weren’t my favorite either. I shook my head. “Probably not. We’ll see.”

“I plan to sign up for a class with my granddaughter,” one of Mrs. Sorenson’s friends said. “She’s about the same age as those adorable little boys over there.”

“That would be great,” I said. “We thought about doing a fairy garden activity with real plants in the spring.”

“See, ladies? We’ll chase away those winter doldrums with plant activities. There’s that lecture at the botanical garden, meeting Shy Plant Girl at YouCon, and a Valentine’s plant event here.” Mrs. Sorenson ticked the list off on her fingers.

My mouth fell open. “You watch Shy Plant Girl?”

Mrs. Sorenson chuckled. “Of course, darling. We all do. She’s so knowledgeable, and she seems like such a sweet person.”

Wow. That surprised me. Marcus and I had reviewed the stats for my channel about a month ago, and I knew I had subscribers of all ages, but coming face-to-face with fans was still somewhat shocking.

“That’s why I’m here as well.” Ophelia leaned over from her table. “I love SPG’s videos. Wesley and I are going to YouCon too.”

Hold on a moment. I glanced around at everyone. “Does anybody else here watch Shy Plant Girl?”

The entire room nodded.

The woman sitting beside Chase stood. “SPG’s my favorite. I learn so much from her. She’s responsible for saving my hoya.”

Oh. My. Gosh. These were my fans. My Wallflowers. After spending years speaking to viewers online, it felt surreal and overwhelming to be surrounded by them now. And there would be hundreds of fans at the conference. I leaned on a nearby table feeling light-headed at the thought.

Someone wrapped an arm around my waist, and I turned to see Wesley staring down at me, his eyes as blue as cornflowers.

“Come help me with my glue gun,” he murmured in my ear before gently tugging me over to the table he shared with his sister. I collapsed into a seat, numbly picked up the glue gun, and squeezed. Hot glue oozed out.

I looked at Wesley in bewilderment. “There’s nothing wrong with this. It works fine.”

“I know.” Wes rested his hand on my shoulder and leaned over. “I just figured you could do with a break from the spotlight.”

The world felt like it was shifting beneath my feet. His closeness was confusing, both setting me at ease and on edge at the same time. “Uh…thanks?”

“Wes is always doing stuff like that,” Ophelia said as she stuck a succulent to the top of her tree.

I’d almost forgotten she was there. “Doing what?”

“Acting like the white knight. He saved me, too, you know.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, O,” Wes muttered.

Ophelia placed a hand on her waist and fixed him with a look. “Uh, yeah, it is. Your bone marrow saved my life.”

I stared at him, baffled. Instead of seeming proud, Wes appeared cagey. “You donated bone marrow to help your sister? That definitely makes you a hero in my book.”

Wesley frowned. “Yeah, well, it was nothing.”

Ophelia shook her head. “I’m going to grab a snack.” She glanced at my hand. “Cute ring, by the way. It looks just like the one from SPG’s collection.”

“Thanks.” It had five daisies, one for each member of our family. And Ophelia was right; it was the inspiration for a similar one sold in my Etsy store. The only difference was mine had tiny jewels in the center of each flower, while the ones I sold didn’t.

Ophelia leaned in closer to inspect my ring, and her eyebrows rose. “Let’s grab a snack, Wes.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He placed his hand on the small of my back, sending a burst of serotonin coursing through my body. “Keep working on my succulent tree for me, Violet. It’s looking a little sparse.” He flashed me a smile as he stood, and my heart nearly exploded.

Whoa, hormones. What are you doing? He’s just a friend.

I pushed his tree away. “It’s your tree. You finish it. What kind of teacher would I be if I did your work for you?”

“A helpful one.” Wes flashed me another killer grin before sauntering away.

My lips hooked into a smile and something warm spread through my chest.

Wait a moment. Was I…developing feelings for Wesley?

No way. Wes had charm magnified to an exponential power. I’d seen dozens of girls caught up and swept away by his good looks and flirty manner. But not me. Neverme. I knew better than to fall for his moves. And to prove it to myself, I looked at him from across the room.

Heartbeat: normal.

Fluttery feelings: none.

And no slo-mo movie effects, either.

I relaxed. See? Nothing going on here. Wesley stood over there, talking to his sister while I sat here as cool as a cucumber, watching him, and wishing he sat next to me, holding my hand…

Great dracaena! I did like him. Really, really liked him.

This was bad. Wesley was a serial dater. And the girls he typically went out with looked and acted nothing like me. We might as well have been completely different species.

“Violet?” Chase’s mother called out, and I got out of my chair and walked over to her table in a complete daze.

I couldn’t like Wesley. I just couldn’t.

Today, Chase wore his Pink Floyd T-shirt, dark wash skinny jeans with ripped knees, and a pair of classic checkerboard Vans. Normally, I’d swoon over his outfit, but right now…I felt nothing.

“Great job with the class.” Chase gave me a grin.

“Thanks. It was lots of fun.” I tried to sound more animated than I felt.

“I’m Chase’s mother, Daniella. My son tells me you two are in a couple of the same classes?”

I smiled shyly in Chase’s direction. “Yup. We’ve been orbiting around each other since freshman year. Ever since we both took—”

“Chemistry with Mr. Klein,” Chase finished.

I laughed. “Wow. You remember?”

He shared my grin. “How could I forget? You started a fire in class.”

To be fair, the lab equipment was decades old. Plus, Bunsen burners and I had never gotten along. Daniella looked over at me, her expression shocked.

“Don’t worry, Ma,” Chase said. “Violet was fine. She just has her own way of doing things.”

He studied me like a scientist who’d just discovered something new. “You like to march to the beat of your own drum, don’t you?”

“That’s the polite way of putting it. I’m kind of quirky.”

“Yeah, you kind of are.” He gave me a smile that I would have sold my right kidney for a month ago, but now I felt only the slightest of flutters.

My stomach fell. This proved my suspicions were correct: I liked Wesley.

Chase began collecting his things. “Mom and I’ve gotta pick up my little sister. I’ll see you at school?”

“Sure. I’ll see you then, like I do every weekday. But no more fat brains, right? You know…because we’ve moved on to the circulatory system.”

Wow. I might not have feelings for him anymore, but I was still in fine form today.

Chase’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “Yeah. Right. See you.”

Other students approached to thank me for the class before heading out.

“Wait a moment.” Joy grabbed a stack of coupons and handed them to the departing participants. “Come back and get twenty percent off your next purchase.”

Olivia took my hand and led me over to where Piper stood by Joy’s wall display of cuttings in tiny glass jars. “You rocked today. We need to commemorate this accomplishment.” Laughing, we snapped some selfies.

“Can Ophelia and I join you?” Wesley asked, watching our antics from the side.

My breath caught in my throat.

Guard your heart. Give nothing away.

“Why don’t you two stand next to Violet?” Piper said. She and Olivia stepped back, allowing Wesley and Ophelia to slide in beside me.

Micah walked over. “I’ll take photos for you.”

“Thanks. You’re the best.” I handed my brother my phone.

“I know. Okay. One, two, three, say succulents suck.”

“Micah!” I exclaimed.

“Just kidding.” Micah winked and then took several photos.

Olivia and Piper tapped away on their screens, no doubt sharing the images online.

Wesley put his hand on my shoulder. “Hey, can we take one of just the two of us?”

My heart raced. “What? Why? With me?”

Chill, girl. Tone down the nervous energy.

Self-conscious, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and pretended that my heart wasn’t beating as fast as a hummingbird’s right now. “I mean, yeah, sure. Like a shot of two friends who tutor each other?”

Amusement flickered in Wesley’s eyes. “Something like that. Relax, Violet. I won’t bite.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me gently to his chest. His extremely broad chest.

Someone, pull up a comfy chair and I’ll stay right here. I could get used to this.

Wesley drew me closer. “This way, we’re both in the shot,” he said in a voice laced with chocolate.

My face flushed with heat. By now, my heart was beating so loudly I was certain Wesley could hear it. “Sure,” I murmured, lost in his eyes.

Wes chuckled. “Um, Violet, the camera’s over here.”

Oh. Right. Photo. I turned to look at his phone.

“One, two, three, smile.”

I beamed, feeling happier than I had for a long time.