Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality Read Free Page A

did we spend this weekend?”
    “None of your business,” Mom says coldly.
    It kind of is my business. I don’t have a job for pocket change. I have a job so I can eat. Dad’s child support goes mostly to the rent while every, and I mean every , cent Mom makes at the SuperStore goes to the pageants. So if I want to go out with friends or eat organic fruits and veggies instead of fast-food crap for every meal, I need to pay for it. Not to mention the fact that I want to spend the summer in New York City to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology’s summer program. All of that, everything, needs to come from my money. The only time the pageant money was used for me was when I wanted to take sewinglessons. And I was only given that so I could become Mackenzie’s Official Seamstress.
    “Give it back!” Mac starts kicking my seat. “I want my crown.”
    “I need the glue to dry.”
    Mac screams, “I want it back NOW!”
    I turn around. “Just give me a few more minutes, please . Believe me, I do not want your crown.”
    “Lexi!” Mom raises her voice at me. “Give your sister back her crown.”
    Seriously? Why am I the bad guy in this situation? I gently hand Mac her crown back. “Be careful, the glue hasn’t dried yet.”
    I hear Mac whisper something that sounds like “thank you.”
    “Honestly, Lexi …” Mom doesn’t finish the sentence. It just hangs in the air. And then she has to go and finish it. “You shouldn’t be jealous of your sister.”
    Knots begin forming in my back from tensing up. “Why would I be jealous of her?”
    Mom sighs. “You know …”
    “No. I don’t.” Even though I do. But I’m really in no mood for it right now. I still have to work the closing shift. While they get to spend the evening at home watching TV, I have to be on my feet until almost midnight.
    “Oh, Lexi, I know it’s hard for you to have your baby sister get all the attention.”
    I’m not envious of Mackenzie because of the pageants. I pity her. That’s why I don’t usually get annoyed when she has one of her temper tantrums. She really doesn’t know better.
    I try to keep my voice level as I say, “No, it’s not.”
    Mac’s voice comes from the backseat. “You’re just jealous because you’re ugly.”
    And like that, the camel’s back has been broken. I turn around and see panic flicker in her eyes. She knows she’s gone too far. But instead of forgiving her, I say, “Yeah, well, I’d rather be ugly on the outside than on the inside. I can be painted up to look like one of your precious beauty queens, but you’re always going to be an ungrateful brat.”
    I instantly regret it.
    “LEXI!” Mom nearly runs off the side of the road as she smacks me on the leg.
    I know I went too far. I know what I said was rude. I know I should apologize.
    But calling me ugly is not okay.
    I do my best to zone out Mom as she starts lecturing me about being a good sister and not egging Mac on. There’s no point in arguing. Mom will never take my side on anything.
    It’s Mackenzie’s World. I just live in it.

I really wish someone had given me a heads-up that it was Popular People Night at the mall.
    “Um, I don’t know.” Brooke holds up a size-two denim miniskirt to show Hannah. “Look how huge this is. It’ll never fit me.” The skirt is the size of a washcloth. However, Brooke’s right, it probably would fall off her bony frame. “Can you see if you have a size zero?” she says loudly, ensuring everybody in the store can hear her.
    I smile politely and head back to our storage room. I don’t usually feel this uncomfortable when I have to wait on people from school, but Brooke likes to bark orders at me. I try not to take it personally; she’s always ordering someone around, and at least I’m getting paid. I find hernon-size size and take a deep cleansing breath before going back out onto the Brooke battlefield.
    “Oh, you found it,” she says dismissively as she grabs the skirt out of