Stacey And The Cheerleaders Read Free Page A

said with a sigh.
    Dawn, by the way, is Dawn Schafer, one of our regular members. Right now she's in California, staying with her dad. She's originally from California, but when her parents divorced, Mrs. Schafer moved to Connecticut with Dawn and Dawn's brother, Jeff. Jeff never adjusted to the change and ended up moving
    back with his dad. Dawn stayed in Stoney-brook, but she grew incredibly homesick for "her California family," so she moved back to be with her dad and Jeff for awhile.
    Dawn is also Mary Anne's stepsister and best friend. Mary Anne's been feeling pretty down since she left. (So have I. Dawn is fun to be with — plus she's the only other BSCer who doesn't eat sweets. She's a health-food freak.)
    "Have you talked to her lately?" Jessi asked.
    Mary Anne shook her head sadly. "Not since two nights ago."
    "We could call her now if you want," Clau-dia offered.
    Kristy looked at the clock. "Nope. It's two-thirty-four in California. She's not back from school yet." She took a fistful of chips out of the bag. "These aren't bad."
    "Kristy, don't hog them," I said.
    "Don't worry," Claudia assured me. "There's another bag behind my hats."
    Translation: It was on the top shelf of her closet, where she keeps her huge hat collection. (Probably next to a few Milky Ways and a box of Oreos.)
    Claudia is the BSC vice-president. She also happens to be my best friend in the world. I love her so much. We have a lot in common, but I will never understand her eating habits.
    She loves candy, pretzels, and ice cream. Sometimes I think she's the opposite of a diabetic — her body must need sugar and junk. Her parents don't permit much junk food in the house, so Claudia hides candy, cookies, and chips all over her room. (Mr. and Mrs. Kishi also permit only Great Literature, so Claudia has to hide her Nancy Drew mysteries.) And here's the weirdest thing. Despite her eating habits, Claudia looks like a model and has perfect skin. She has long, jet-black hair and dark almond-shaped eyes (she's Japanese-American).
    It's easy for Claud to hide stuff, because her room is a mess. Not that she's a slob. It's just that every corner is taken up by art supplies. You see, Claudia is an artist. Talk about talent. There's nothing she can't do well — drawing, sculpture, painting, jewelry-making. Unfortunately, art has never been very important to the Kishi family. Grades and schoolwork are, and Claudia's not a good student. For most of her life she felt inferior to her sister, Janine the Genius, who has enough IQ points for two people. But now even the Kishis realize Claudia's got talent.
    One thing Claud and I do have in common is a passion for fashion. But our styles are different. I like sophisticated, chic clothes, and I'm great at spotting the perfect outfit in a
    catalog or shop window. Claudia's more artistic. She dresses hip and funky (hiply and funkily?), and she puts together her own outfits. For instance, at the BSC meeting she was wearing baggy wool men's pants, gathered at the waist by a black leather band; a white tuxedo shirt with rolled-up sleeves; Capezio-type flats with mismatched white and black socks; and a glittery bow-tie barrette in her hair. On someone else, the Look might be too formal, or just plain weird. On Claudia, it was fabulous.
    As we sat there, passing around the second bag of chips, Shannon blurted out, "Oh! Guess what. My parents need a sitter for Tiffany and Maria on Tuesday afternoon. I have to go to this honor society meeting."
    "Let's see . . ." Mary Anne looked in the club record book. "I'm at the Prezziosos', Kris-ty's sitting for the Hobart kids, Stacey's with Charlotte, Jessi has the Newton kids, Claudia has a dentist appointment . . . uh-oh."
    Kristy shook her head. "I knew this would happen with two members missing."
    "Logan adores the Hobart kids," Mary Anne said. "If he doesn't have track practice he might take your place, Kristy."
    She picked up the phone and tapped out his number. After a short