Poseur

Poseur Read Free

Book: Poseur Read Free
Author: Compai
Tags: JUV006000
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for school,” Lola explained with a heavy sigh. Isabel let out another earth-shattering scream.
    “Come on, Iz.” Petra crouched to the floor. “Let me see. . . .”
    Lola sat back as Isabel turned toward her older sister, red-faced and clenching her fists. In addition to the navy blue pinafore,
     Isabel wore a white button-down shirt with a starched lace Peter Pan collar. Her immaculate white socks folded neatly above
     her patent leather Mary Janes, and her stick-straight black bob was held in place by an argyle headband.
    “She
have
to wear,” Lola explained, half to Petra, half to Isabel. “Is rule.”
    “No!” Isabel cried, stomping her foot.
    “Isabel,” Petra began slowly, “are you the kind of girl who’s rude to people?”
    “No . . . ,” Isabel replied with considerably less force.
    “Then apologize to Lola.”
    “Sorry, Lola,” Isabel muttered to the floor. And then, working herself up again, she whimpered, “I wan . . . I wann-wear my
     . . . Sponge! Bob! Shirt!”
    “I know, Iz . . . ,” Petra sighed. “But you have to wear the uniform. You know that.”
    “But YOU don’t,” Isabel pointed out, her face puffing at the injustice.
    “You’re right. That doesn’t seem very fair, does it?” Sofia and Isabel shook their heads. “Okay,” Petra frowned. “Let me put
     on my thinking cap.” She reached for her oversized sunflower print coffee mug and placed it on top of her head. Sofia giggled
     while Isabel sniffed, wiping her nose. Petra closed her eyes, as if to summon the thinking cap gods.
    “I’ve got it,” she announced, and swiftly removed the coffee mug.
    “What?” Isabel asked.
    “
I’ll
wear a uniform to school too,” Petra explained. “Except I don’t have one, so you guys will have to make it for me, okay?
     You can pick out
whatever you want.
And I won’t argue and I won’t scream and I won’t cry because . . .” She paused for effect. “It’s my
uniform.
And I’ve
got
to wear it.”
    “We can pick out whatever we want?” Isabel’s eyes widened.
    “That’s right.”
    An expression of pure delight broke across her six-year-old sister’s face. “Come on!” she ordered, pulling Petra by the hand.
     “We have to get you dressed
now
or you’ll be late for school!”
    Janie and Jake shared custody of their mom’s old Volvo, a black 240 DL sedan. The car, like the Farrish twins, was born sixteen
     years earlier, which meant
technically
they were all the same age. However, as Jake explained to his parents on the eve of his and Janie’s birthday last year, one
     human year is
actually
the equivalent of seven for a Volvo.
    “Like a dog,” Janie had chimed in.
    “Exactly.” Jake lay a supportive hand on his sister’s shoulder. “According to my calculations, you’re about to bequeath to
     us a one-hundred-twelve-year-old mode of transportation.”
    “I mean, is that safe?” Janie continued. Her brother tilted his head and pressed his lips together as if to say
I’m not so sure.
    They knew it was a long shot, but maybe their parents would do something cool. Like enable their loving children to arrive
     at Winston
in style.
For once.
    “Like a cute new MINI Cooper?” Janie suggested.
    “No!” Jake blurted, shooting her the Death Glare. “What she meant to say,” he corrected, returning a modified gaze to their
     parents, “was a Mercedes CLS 600.”
    “I’ll look into it,” Mrs. Farrish replied. But, of course, she didn’t. Neither of them did.
    Their parents were actually kind of selfish, when you thought about it.
    The commute to Winston took twenty to thirty-five minutes, depending on traffic. The first five minutes belonged to Ventura
     Boulevard, the San Fernando Valley’s main drag. Jake sped down the wide, four-lane street, and Janie watched the slender trunks
     of palm trees whip by. The early morning sky was the gray of wet cement, and the streetlights were still on. The twins passed
     by DuPar’s Coffee Shop — where Valley

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