Su Lin smiles as she sits at her desk. Alex pulls out a chair to sit next to her. “Now, I want to hear all about how the festival planning has been going. I was so impressed with your proposal! I’m here to help in any way to make this event a success.”
Miles and I go over our plans so far. She saw our budget in the proposal, but we mention some changes we made to it since we got the approval. We show her April’s draft of the website, my sketches of the logo, and our plans for entertainment.
“Oh, that’s lovely!” she says. “What a smart idea to reach out to local music and dance schools for entertainment. What about vendors? Maybe some international food offerings?”
I nod. “We’re putting a vendor application form on the website when it goes up. One thing we’ve decided is we don’t want to accept any that are in direct competition with the Love Street businesses.”
Su Lin frowns. “I wouldn’t worry about a bit of competition. A variety of offerings will bring in more people!Maybe check with Rossi’s on Gerrard—they can make some custom cupcakes.”
There’s no way I want Rossi’s—the chain store that cut into Ina Kozlak’s profits—at our festival. Just as I’m about to mention how we already have an amazing bakery on Love Street that makes the best cakes in the world, Miles cuts in.
“Of course,” Miles says. “We’re happy to consider every application.”
“Excellent.” Su Lin flips to the next page of the plan. “What about the park? It says you’ve allocated funds for a major art installation, but it doesn’t say what it is.”
I smile. “I have it here.” I pass out copies of my proposal to Miles and Su Lin and explain both the floral heart piece and the tile mosaic tree.
“The mural mosaic will be an alternative to the popular love locks that you see on bridges and fences,” I explain. “We wanted to do something more unique and sustainable. We can get reclaimed tiles and cut them into hearts or leaves. People will buy a tile to write a love message on it, and they will all be combined into a mural by volunteers on-site. My art teacher has volunteered to supervise.”
Su Lin flips to the sketches that Ms. Carothers and I made yesterday. Miles is studying his copy too. He looks at me, a small smile on his face. “This is thecoolestidea, Sana.”
Su Lin nods. “I agree. I love both plans. How lucky that your mother’s a florist! If you want your mural to be permanently added to the park, you’ll have to complete a mural application form with the city. Let me know when you submit it, and I’ll make sure it’s fast-tracked. And don’t worry about usingusedtiles. I’m positive I can get the tileswe need donated from Danver Hardware. In fact, they’ll probably donate some labor, too. I’ll have Alex reach out.”
Danver is a big nationwide chain of box stores. I’m about to protest. A partnership with a store like Danver is exactly what wedon’twant for the festival. But suddenly Miles’s hand taps my knee, clearly telling me to shut up.
“I can contact them,” Miles says. He’s been taking notes on his copy of my proposal the whole time I’ve been talking, but I can’t see what he wrote.
We go over the rest of the festival plan together. Su Lin looks genuinely impressed. “I think we should reach out to the media soon. It’s such a great story—an event like this conceptualized and planned by two teenagers. Be in touch if there are any other ways my office can help; this is exactly what my constituents need. We’re going to make the Love on Love Street Festival thebestneighborhood festival in the city!”
After saying goodbye, Miles and I leave City Hall. Despite the tension between us, I’m so excited about the meeting that I can’t stop myself from talking about it.
“That went so well, didn’t it?” I ask as we head toward the subway. I need to rush to Cosmic so Jenn can go home.
Miles nods. The look of awe on his face tells me that it went way better than he’d imagined it would too. “Yeah. It’shugethat we have that kind of support from someone in City Hall. We’re very lucky.”
I shake my head. “Notlucky. Weworkedfor this. The Love on Love Street Festival is going to be a real, amazing thing, and it’s going to be exactly what Love Street needs. We did this together… you and me.” Even if he’s a player, I have every intention of continuing to work mybutt off with him for the festival. The street needs us.
Miles looks at me, clearly not knowing what to say. I know he’s aware that I’m mad at him, but he doesn’t knowwhy. If I want to be mature and professional while we’re working together, maybe I should tell him that I know he went out with Sarina on Sunday night. I should tell him that I will keep working with him, but our friendship, or whatever else he had in mind, is off the table.
Miles gets a text right when I’m about to say something. And his face changes from mild annoyance and confusion to a big incandescent smile after reading it. The kind of smile he used to give me.
“Who was that?” I ask. It might not be Sarina. It could be about the festival.
He slips his phone into his pocket. “No one. Personal stuff.”
Yeah, that was probably Sarina. I really don’t care anymore about beingprofessional. If he’s going to keep things from me, then he can figure out on his own why I’m completely done with him.
We’re at the subway stairs by now, but there’s no way I want to ride the train with him. Without even saying anything, I keep walking toward the next station instead of following him down the stairs. I don’t even know if he notices.
So I’ll be a little late for work—Jenn will understand.
Cosmic is pretty quiet that evening, so I’m doing homework at the counter when someone comes in. It’s Alex, Su Lin’s assistant. I smile and say hello and that it’s nice to see her again so soon.
She smiles. “I don’t live very far, and when you told me about this store, I knew I had to see it. You left this in Su Lin’s office.” She hands me Miles’s messenger bag.
“Oh,” I say, taking the bag. “Thank you. Want me to show you around? We just got some new stock in.” I get off my stool behind the counter.
I end up helping Alex pick out a pair of wide-legged green pants and a tie-front blouse. They look fantastic on her. She’ll be the most fashionable person at City Hall. She leaves right in time for closing, and I lock the door behind her.
