A Picture-Perfect Mess Read Free

three grandparents and one aunt and one uncle. Our family is teeny tiny compared to yours.”
    â€œIf you count me and my two sisters, there are seventeen cousins in my family,” Anjuli said.
    Aly and Brooke looked at each other, their eyes wide.
    â€œWe only have one cousin,” Brooke said. “We always wanted more, though. Seventeen sounds like it’s the best.”
    Anjuli smiled. “It’s fun, but sometimes it can get crazy.”
    Aly thought that fun but crazy sounded like a great kind of family to have. And actually, it sounded a little like what running the Sparkle Spa was like. She just hoped that the mirror plan would be one of those things that was more fun than it was crazy.
    Handing out photos to family was a nice way to be remembered. And if the mirror helped her friends not have pizza sauce on their teeth, or something coming out of their nose, or not curly enough hair, then it would do the trick.

three
Purple People Eater
    A few days later Aly, Lily, and Charlotte were sitting together on a tire swing reviewing the Sparkle Spa’s plans for Picture Day.
    â€œBrooke and I finally designed the mirror. Brooke chose where to add the rhinestones,” Aly said. She took a piece of paper out of her pocket, unfolded it, and spread it out on her lap. “And we thought the words could be printed in a color like Purple People Eater.”
    Sparkle in Your School Picture
    Visit the Sparkle Spa
    Call for an appointment!1-555-555-0123
    â€œSo where do the rhinestones go?” Lily asked.
    Aly pointed to the dots in the centers of the two stars.
    â€œHmm,” Lily said.
    All of a sudden, Aly was a little worried. “Do you think it’s bad?” she asked. “Brooke and I liked it, but maybe . . . maybe we should think a little more before we order it.”
    Charlotte scratched her head. “Well,” she said, “I just think maybe there are too many words.”
    Aly looked at the mirror. Charlotte had a point.
    â€œHow about . . . ‘Sparkle at the Sparkle Spa!’ on top?” Lily suggested.
    â€œAnd then ‘Call for your appointment’ with the phone number on the bottom?” Charlotte added. “If you leave off the information about school pictures, then you can use these mirrors for a long time.”
    â€œI wonder—” Aly started to say, but before she had a chance, someone pulled on the chain between Aly and Charlotte—the one that attached that side of the tire to the playground equipment.
    â€œ Whoa! ” Aly said, quickly grabbing it.
    â€œHey!” Charlotte said at the same time, falling on top of Aly.
    â€œWhat are you doing ?” Lily asked, looking over her shoulder.
    Aly turned. Of course. It was Suzy Davis.
    For the past few weeks, Suzy had pretty much left Aly and her friends alone. Aly figured it was because Suzy was still embarrassed that her mom forced her to intern at the Sparkle Spa even though she didn’t want to, which very nearly ended in an enormous disaster. Unfortunately, now it looked like Suzy was done with the “leaving alone” part.
    Suzy shrugged. “Just saying hi,” she said.
    â€œSaying hi doesn’t have to involve almost throwing a person from a tire swing,” Charlotte said, righting herself.
    â€œHi,” Aly said, ignoring the fact that she’d almost been tossed to the ground too.
    â€œSo, what were you talking about?” Suzy asked.
    â€œNone of your business,” Charlotte answered. Aly could tell she was mad about Suzy butting in, as usual.
    â€œI heard you say ‘Picture Day.’ Are you doing something totally dorky at the Sparkle Spa for Picture Day?” Suzy asked, rolling her eyes.
    Aly felt her blood start to boil. She tried not to be mean to Suzy, but then Suzy went and said something like that, something insulting the Sparkle Spa, and that made it really hard not to be mean right back. Aly closed