Free Fashion Fraud by Susannah McFarlane

let herself in with the skeleton key and went straight up to the studio. She was only halfway up the stairs when she heard yelping from behind the studio door. EJ opened it to see the three puppies in a box on top of a pile of fabric, plastic, lace, leather and ribbons. The box was labelled: ‘Last Season—Discard’. Alicia Noir had left the poodle puppies to be thrown out with the rubbish, she was going to discard them as easily as old off-cuts.
    â€˜I don’t think so,’ said EJ, scooping the puppies up. Beret licked her cheek appreciatively, followed by Éclair and Eiffel.
    EJ looked at all the discarded material. A wide piece of ribbon in a deep, rich red, caught her eye, as did a few other pieces. She picked up two shopping bags also in the pile and put the pieces in.
    We can’t let it all go to waste, thought EJ as she picked up the bags and the puppies and headed back down the stairs and out into the street.
    â€˜They’re so cute!’ cried Elle, taking Beret and cuddling her.
    â€˜Alicia left them to be thrown away,’ said EJ.
    â€˜No way!’
    â€˜ SHINE will be able to train them. Poodles are very intelligent,’ said EJ. ‘I thought maybe I might be able to have one. Pip needs a friend while we’re all at school and work.’
    â€˜What will you say to your mum?’
    â€˜I’m still working on that,’ said EJ, laughing. ‘Come on. Let’s go and meet LP30.’
    With the three puppies sitting snugly in the bicycle basket, EJ and EK rode along the River Seine until they reached the castle where EJ had started her mission. They rode around it and far into the park behind. Parked at the end of a straight path down the middle was 4S .
    LP30 greeted them and looked at the three puppies. ‘Why am I not surprised?’ she asked, laughing. ‘Come on-board. We need to get you back; it’s way past your bedtimes!’
    Really, thought EJ. We’ve just saved some of the world’s most valuable paintings and LP30 is talking about our bedtimes?
    EJ and EK strapped themselves, and the puppies, in. As EJ clicked in her seatbelt, she noticed the little heart charm on her bracelet. She took it and twisted it and, as she did, an inscription appeared.

    Don’t be a fake: be yourself. EJ guessed that was what the words meant. She thought back over the mission. She had found the real paintings and she realised she had found something else: a new confidence in her own way of doing things. She didn’t always get things right the first time but she got there in the end. As she ran the thick red ribbon through her fingers, she realised she could be true to herself at the dance party as well. And now she knew exactly what she wanted to wear.
    Piinngg!
    It was a message from A1.

    Now EJ had two reasons to hurry home.

Éclair was playing with Pip on the bedroom floor while Emma got dressed. When the doorbell rang she knew it would be Elle and her mum coming to take her to Eve’s party. Emma tied the thick red ribbon around her waist and double-checked the knot at the back before she raced down the hallway and opened the door.
    â€˜Elle, you look great!’
    â€˜So do you, Em,’ cried Elle, hugging her friend. ‘And you look so you!’
    When the girls arrived at the party, they saw that Eve’s living room had been cleared for a dance floor and decorated with streamers and balloons. Her older sister was being the DJ. Everyone at the party looked great and lots of people said nice things about Emma’s dress. Even Nema and Laila grudgingly agreed.
    â€˜Not bad,’ said Laila. ‘For something that isn’t new.’
    â€˜I hope that ribbon is on tight,’ said Nema, smirking.
    â€˜I think it looks really good,’ said Eve, who came up behind Laila.
    â€˜Thanks, Eve,’ said Emma, smiling gratefully. ‘Elles,’ she said, ‘is there something fishy