Glitter, Paint and Homemade Cookies: One Girl's Guide to Surviving Middle School. Heather M.C. Paynter

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Now luckily, Tasha’s mom is one of those super cool moms who really seems to know the deal. She swept into action and, most diplomatically I must say, neutralized the evil intentions of one Carly Taylor. “Now Carly, Tasha and the girls have been planning this for a long time. They’ve worked hard on this party, everything is set up. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, but we’re not going to stop this party for you.”

      I think Carly was so used to getting her way every time, you could see she was really surprised. Her face turned a little red and she struggled to find the words that would come next. “I guess I’ll have to call my mom to come and get me then,” she said weakly. Boy, bluffs were being called all over the place here. I knew Carly and Tasha’s mom were friends so I was wondering how this would play out.

      “I’ll call her for you if you want,” said Tasha’s mom. WOW! Wasn’t expecting that.

      The tension was pretty thick. I mean, who argues with someone’s mom? It was silent for a good, long while – at least it felt like a long time. Carly looked around and maybe she felt a little outnumbered. I even found myself feeling a tiny bit sorry for her right at that moment.

      “Well, maybe after cake,” she said. She had backed down. A first.

      “Very well then,” said Mrs. Clark. She walked back into the kitchen and that seemed to be the end of it. No one wanted to look at Carly right that minute and honestly, who cared? We got down to the business we had come there for and in my mind, the incident had been forgotten.

      I learned a lot that day. I learned that dark browns and golds complemented my skin tone. I learned that daily use of sunscreen prevents early wrinkles and that proper nutrition is the most important factor in a healthy appearance. I also learned that some people like to be difficult and that one smackdown doesn’t stop the problem. I was pretty sure that Carly Taylor was going to insert herself into our perfect eighth grade year whether we liked it or not.

      *****

      The rest of the weekend seemed to be a wash. I was exhausted from that party. I know that when I’m a famous designer, this is something I will have to do. Events like Fashion Week not to mention deadlines and fittings for the Academy Awards will likely be a part of my life so I better get used to it. However, this weekend I was tired and I appreciated my nice quiet room. I pulled out my video game guitar for the first time in a while and rocked out to some old school metal. Sometimes it’s just what a girl needs to do to let off a little steam.