Juniper answered before I could. “I can help you train them, Row. It won’t be that bad—I’ll be a referee if you need it.” She had a determined look on her face.
Rowan did not look impressed. He sat silently, nostrils flaring a few seconds, then turned to me and Gia. “Fine.Don’t flake out on us. And no city-splaining my flower knowledge. Tourists always assume I don’t know what I’m talking about at the nursery.”
Juniper snorted. “That’s just idiots who think Black boys only care about basketball and not flowers and gardens.”
I shook my head. “I wouldneverdo that. You’re the expert here. I’ll bow to your knowledge.”
“Yay!” Gia clapped her hands. “This will be so epic. Is there a hashtag for the competition? I’m going to document our whole process. #GiaLearnsFlowers. Maybe I should approach florists to be, like, a sponsor or something?”
Leanne shook her head. “Sponsorships are against the rules.”
“Ah, well. But when we win, I’m sure the sponsors will line up to talk to me,” Gia said.
“We might not win,” Rowan said, frowning at us.
Leanne grinned. “With both Johnstons teaching, you’ve got a great chance.”
I exhaled. The Plan had to come first. And Leanne was right. This was my strongest chance of getting to New York. “Fine. I’m in.”
Gia clapped again. “Yay. I’m excited. Let’s do this. #GiaAndTahiraInTheBloom!”
10
LESSON ONE: TRY NOT TO KILL EACH OTHER
We ended up staying on the patio pretty late while we planned our strategy, since the Bloom was just over six weeks away. We decided to meet one or two nights a week for the next three weeks starting on Friday, so Rowan and Juniper could teach Gia and me everything we needed to know to be on a Bloom team. I insisted we start from the beginning—I wanted to learn everything I could about floral design before jumping into floral sculpture. I would be at my best if I started from the basics—you need to learn to stitch a seam before making a dress.
By the time Gia and I said good night and went back to the tiny house, I was really stoked about this plan. I guess my enthusiasm was a little intense, because Matteo had to tell me to calm myself three times when we talked after I climbed up into bed.
“Easy, baby. Take a breath. You’re talking faster than I can think.”
I laughed. “I just want to make sure I do it right, you know? They gave me a list of YouTube flower designers to follow and some books of their grandmother’s. Rowan’s going to bring some, like, dying plants from the nursery for us to practice with, and—”
“I thought you were working with the girl, what was her name...Jupiter?”
“Juniper.”
“What kind of name is that, anyway?”
“It’s a tree. Rowan’s on the team, too. His team came in second last year, so we’re lucky to have him.”
“Gia told me the guy’s good looking,” Matteo said.
I cringed. “Seriously, Matteo? Don’t do the jealousy thing—it’s not cool. I don’t even like the guy. We’re just working together.”
“I’m not jealous of agardener. I’m just...” He sighed. “I’m working a shitty job where they keep me in the stockroom half the day, and my girlfriend and favorite cousin are gone all summer doing fun things and winning a trip to New York without me.”
He was right. I had to remember that I wasn’t the only one whose summer plans had gone out the window thanks to that parakeet in Paris.
“I’dratherbe in the city with you. And it’s not all bad—those pics you posted at the Humber Bridge got a lot of likes.” Matteo spent a lot of time getting pictures in different Toronto spots for his Instagram page.
That perked him up. “Yeah, and you’ll never guess who liked that post—Dasha Payne!”
“OMG, really? FromDashStyle?” Dasha was a style influencer from LA. It was her blog that ran the #IndieFashionWeekly account.
“Yup. Alyssa tagged me on one of her Instagram posts, and Dasha found it! Dasha also liked one of the shots I posted of you and I from Graffiti Alley.”
“That’s amazing! Who’s Alyssa?”
