watching us and shaking her head. âSee why I donât wear makeup?â
âIt wasnât
makeup,â
I say. âIt was night cream!â
âOh lookââBrianna points at the screenââall this stuffâs good for our nails too.â She flutters her hands in the air. âHey, I got these new nail gems, and longer nails would so show them off.â
Briannaâs not the most focused. Pretty much every sparkly object catches her eye.
âHow about something from the zinc category?âJunie asks. âTo work in conjunction with this cream.â
Kim rolls up her sleeping bag, then goes into the bathroom. She returns with her toothbrush and toothpaste, which she shoves in her suitcase.
âIâm thinking eggs, pumpkin seeds and a can of salmon.â Junie clicks from website to website.
âI donât think you guys can get normal by school tomorrow,â Kim says. She pulls up the handle of her suitcase and scoops up her sleeping bag. âMy momâs on her way.â She exits my bedroom.
Brianna peeps out from behind her hair. âSheâs gonna open her big fat mouth about this before we even get to our lockers Monday morning.â She drops her hair back into place. âYou should neverâve invited her.â
âDonât worry,â I say. âIt wonât happen again.â
âLeave me off your guest list next time too,â Brianna mutters.
Iâm beginning to think Brianna is a fair-skinned friend. A little blotchiness and sheâs all snappy and sarcastic.
As Junie, Brianna and I depart for the kitchen and a bizarro super-skin-repair brunch, I gaze longingly at my lovely bala sharks.
Cindy and Prince are zipping around their tank, little flecks of silver glinting off their tails. Nounsightly scales or unpleasant puffiness. Basically no fishy cares or worries other than deciding whoâs it for aquarium hide-and-seek and waiting for me to sprinkle down the next meal.
I wish I could dive in there and join them.
In the kitchen, my dad says, âHi, girls,â from deep in his newspaper, then folds it up and shuffles out. His eyes are down the whole time, which makes me think The Ruler told him about our facial incident. Girl stuff embarrasses him to the max.
The Ruler emerges from the pantry, a stack of napkins in her hand. âSherry, can you girls get your own breakfast? There are fresh bagels on the counter. Your dad and I are going over to your grandmotherâs to pick up Sam.â
âSure thing.â I squeeze past her to nab pumpkin seeds and a can of salmon. Not a tasty combo, but it is skin-repair food.
âHow does the zinc ointment feel?â she asks.
âSoothing,â Junie says. âI just hope it does the trick. Fast.â
Briannaâs phone buzzes. She flips it open to read the text. âMy dadâs coming in five. I gotta babysit my sister.â She makes a face at the food choices piling up on the counter. âIâm okay with eating at home.â She races upstairs to grab her stuff. A few minutes later, she shouts, âSherry, tell The Ruler thanks.â The front door slams.
Junie turns her reddish-whitish face to me. âWe should text Amber. I wonder if this has happened before with Nite Sprite Creme.â
âGo ahead.â
Amber isnât always as nice to us as she could be. Letâs just say sheâs four years older but light-years ahead of us in social stuff. Weâre like grit in her shoe.
âIt should definitely be you.â Junie pushes her glasses up her ravaged nose. âThis was
your
makeup party. And
you
bought the product off her. And
youâre
the one she gave the instructions to. And Iâve used up all my texts for the month. Andââ
I roll my eyes. âFine.â
Junie scoots her barstool close to mine.
I pull out my cell.
Amber texts back,
âIt wasnât
makeup,â
I say. âIt was night cream!â
âOh lookââBrianna points at the screenââall this stuffâs good for our nails too.â She flutters her hands in the air. âHey, I got these new nail gems, and longer nails would so show them off.â
Briannaâs not the most focused. Pretty much every sparkly object catches her eye.
âHow about something from the zinc category?âJunie asks. âTo work in conjunction with this cream.â
Kim rolls up her sleeping bag, then goes into the bathroom. She returns with her toothbrush and toothpaste, which she shoves in her suitcase.
âIâm thinking eggs, pumpkin seeds and a can of salmon.â Junie clicks from website to website.
âI donât think you guys can get normal by school tomorrow,â Kim says. She pulls up the handle of her suitcase and scoops up her sleeping bag. âMy momâs on her way.â She exits my bedroom.
Brianna peeps out from behind her hair. âSheâs gonna open her big fat mouth about this before we even get to our lockers Monday morning.â She drops her hair back into place. âYou should neverâve invited her.â
âDonât worry,â I say. âIt wonât happen again.â
âLeave me off your guest list next time too,â Brianna mutters.
Iâm beginning to think Brianna is a fair-skinned friend. A little blotchiness and sheâs all snappy and sarcastic.
As Junie, Brianna and I depart for the kitchen and a bizarro super-skin-repair brunch, I gaze longingly at my lovely bala sharks.
Cindy and Prince are zipping around their tank, little flecks of silver glinting off their tails. Nounsightly scales or unpleasant puffiness. Basically no fishy cares or worries other than deciding whoâs it for aquarium hide-and-seek and waiting for me to sprinkle down the next meal.
I wish I could dive in there and join them.
In the kitchen, my dad says, âHi, girls,â from deep in his newspaper, then folds it up and shuffles out. His eyes are down the whole time, which makes me think The Ruler told him about our facial incident. Girl stuff embarrasses him to the max.
The Ruler emerges from the pantry, a stack of napkins in her hand. âSherry, can you girls get your own breakfast? There are fresh bagels on the counter. Your dad and I are going over to your grandmotherâs to pick up Sam.â
âSure thing.â I squeeze past her to nab pumpkin seeds and a can of salmon. Not a tasty combo, but it is skin-repair food.
âHow does the zinc ointment feel?â she asks.
âSoothing,â Junie says. âI just hope it does the trick. Fast.â
Briannaâs phone buzzes. She flips it open to read the text. âMy dadâs coming in five. I gotta babysit my sister.â She makes a face at the food choices piling up on the counter. âIâm okay with eating at home.â She races upstairs to grab her stuff. A few minutes later, she shouts, âSherry, tell The Ruler thanks.â The front door slams.
Junie turns her reddish-whitish face to me. âWe should text Amber. I wonder if this has happened before with Nite Sprite Creme.â
âGo ahead.â
Amber isnât always as nice to us as she could be. Letâs just say sheâs four years older but light-years ahead of us in social stuff. Weâre like grit in her shoe.
âIt should definitely be you.â Junie pushes her glasses up her ravaged nose. âThis was
your
makeup party. And
you
bought the product off her. And
youâre
the one she gave the instructions to. And Iâve used up all my texts for the month. Andââ
I roll my eyes. âFine.â
Junie scoots her barstool close to mine.
I pull out my cell.
Amber texts back,
Similar Books
On a Clear Day
Anne Doughty
3 Can You Picture This?
Jerilyn Dufresne
SHIAM Conspiracy- Book 1
Joseph Heck
Silent Fall
Barbara Freethy
The Eye of the Abyss
Marshall Browne
The Freedman and the Pharaoh's Staff
Lane Heymont
Heather
Charles Arnold
Figure of Hate
Bernard Knight
Fearlings Two (The Fearlings Series Book 2)
Michael Edward
