Spring Fling (4 page)

Brightly colored rag rugs covered the scuffed wood floors, and the walls were hung with paintings of beach scenes.

“I guess it‟ll have to do,” Wanda said. “It‟s nowhere near as nice as the house I stayed at in the Hamptons last summer.”

Mindy wondered what she was supposed to say to that. Apologize for having an inferior house?

“So, Mindy, what was up with our plane tickets?” Wanda asked.

“What do you mean?”

Wanda plopped herself down on the couch. “Did you know our seats were in
coach
?”

“Uh, I think I knew that,” Mindy hesitantly answered. She had the feeling her answer was going to be wrong, although she didn‟t know why. She had flown down in coach, and her parents had bought everyone‟s tickets. So if she had flown coach, it only made sense that Wanda had, too.

“I
only
fly first-class,” Wanda said. “
Never
coach.”

“I didn‟t know that.” How would she know that? She had never traveled before with Wanda, and when she had extended the invitation, Wanda hadn‟t said anything about needing to fly first-class. She wasn‟t a mind reader!

“You should have!” Wanda snapped. “You wouldn‟t believe how uncomfortable my seat was!”

Mindy‟s seat hadn‟t been uncomfortable and she‟d flown down on the same airline as Wanda. She‟d even taken a nap! She was about to tell that to Wanda when she saw the grim expression on her face and changed her mind.

Wanda was pissed.

Big-time.

Pissing off Wanda was the last thing Mindy wanted to do.

She was going to need to do damage control ASAP!

“I‟m sure we can change the ticket when we fly home,” she hurried to say.

“I assumed you would,” Wanda stated.

“Yours, too,” Mindy said to Lacey and Vivienne.

Vivienne, who was munching on some goldfish, waved a hand. “I‟m fine with coach.”

“Me, too,” Lacey added.

Phew!
Mindy thought in relief. At least they weren‟t mad at her. But Wanda was, and she needed to undo that.

“Why don‟t I show you guys upstairs so you can unpack and then we can go do something fun?” Mindy suggested.

Mindy brought the girls to the second floor and showed them to their rooms. Lacey and Vivienne were sharing a room filled with white wicker furniture and rose-patterned wallpaper, while Wanda had a room of her own. After sticking her head in the bedroom that Mindy showed her, Wanda asked to see where Mindy was staying.

Mindy brought Wanda to a bedroom at the back of the house. Mindy had chosen it because she loved the bed, a four-poster that was covered with mosquito netting. There was also a huge picture window that looked out onto the ocean.

“This bedroom is fab!” Wanda gushed, plopping down on the bed and stretching her arms out. “It reminds me of something out of Africa.”

“I feel the exact same way,” Mindy said.

“You wouldn‟t mind if we switched rooms, would you?” Wanda asked. “I‟d love to sleep in here. It would be great to have the sound of the ocean in the background.” Mindy didn‟t know what to say. She had already unpacked and all her clothes were put away. Wanda‟s request had totally caught her off guard.

Carmela, who was out in the hallway with Lacey‟s and Vivienne‟s suitcases, stuck her head inside. “Mindy‟s already in this room.”

“I‟m sure Mindy doesn‟t mind switching, do you, Min?” Wanda asked with a sweet smile.

The smile might have been sweet, but Wanda‟s eyes were daring Mindy to disagree with her. Mindy gulped. She‟d seen that look before. What usually happened afterward was
not
pretty.

“Of course not!” Mindy exclaimed, pasting a smile on her face. “Let me just get my stuff out of here and you can move right in.”

“Great!” Wanda exclaimed, hopping off the bed. “I‟ll just go get my bags.” As she walked out of the room, she ran a finger over the dresser and made a face. “Ugh!” She waved her dusty finger in Carmela‟s face. “You need to give this room a thorough cleaning.

By the end of tonight would be great. I have allergies.” Out in the hallway, Carmela rolled her eyes at Mindy.

“I think I‟m allergic to
her
!” Carmela grumbled.

“She‟s just cranky because she‟s been traveling.”

“Uh-huh,” Carmela said, a skeptical tone in her voice. “Something tells me I should have stayed in North Ridge. I can see that one is going to be a handful and it‟s only day one!”

“She‟s usually not this bad,” Mindy reassured Carmela. “She‟ll mellow out.”
I hope!
Mindy thought.

“Stop hiding in that dressing room and come out so we can see what you‟re wearing!” Jade shouted.

Danielle ignored her sister‟s order, staring at her image in a full-length mirror. Why had she allowed everyone to pick out the outfits she was trying on? She should have done it herself. These clothes were
so
not her.

“Danielle, I‟m going to count to five and if you‟re not out by the time I‟m finished, I‟m going to come in there and drag you out,” Jade warned.

“Okay, okay, I‟m coming,” Danielle said as she flung open the red curtains of the dressing room and walked through. “Satisfied?”

“Wow!” Lindsey exclaimed. “You look great!”

“I do not,” Danielle insisted, a pout on her face. She felt like a Barbie doll being dressed up.

“You do!” Ava added. “We wouldn‟t say it if it wasn‟t true.”

“Honey, you were made to wear a bikini!” Crystal raved. “And that red bikini was made for you! You‟re going to look even better in it once you have a tan.”

“My little sister is all grown up!” Jade exclaimed. “I knew there was a body hidden underneath all the loose T-shirts and baggy jeans that you always wear. We‟re taking it!

Add it to the pile.”

Danielle stared at the growing stack of clothes. So far, everything she had tried on had gotten a thumbs-up from Ava, Lindsey, Jade, and Crystal. There were short skirts, camisole tops, and summery dresses all in styles and colors that she usually didn‟t wear.

“Don‟t I get a say in what we‟re buying?”

“No, because we‟re paying,” Jade said. “You have to wear what we tell you.”

“At least for this week,” Lindsey added.

“But this isn‟t me!” Danielle said, pointing to the bikini she was wearing and then to the stack of clothes. “And neither are those!”

“That‟s the point of a makeover!” Ava explained. “You become someone else.”

“It‟s just for a week,” Lindsey reminded her. “When we get back home, you can go back to being yourself. But for the next few days, you don‟t have to be Danielle Hollis. You can be anyone you want!”

But what was so wrong with being Danielle Hollis? Danielle Hollis was the “smart” Hollis sister, while Jade was the “pretty” Hollis sister. It had been that way all their lives, and she was perfectly fine with that. Jade was the one with the active social life, always getting invited to parties. Jade was the one on the cheerleading squad and who had a constant parade of jock boyfriends. Jade was the one who was into shopping and clothes, who subscribed to
Vogue, Elle,
and
Cosmo.

Danielle was the complete opposite. She wasn‟t the “ugly” sister—she‟d gone on lots of dates but so far hadn‟t had a serious boyfriend—but she was the one who focused more attention on her schoolwork and grades. While she was straight A‟s, Jade had more a B average. Jade could be a straight-A student if she wanted to—Danielle had lost track of the number of times her parents had told Jade that she needed to apply herself—but having a good time mattered more to her sister.

And while Danielle‟s wardrobe wasn‟t as hideous as everyone else made it out to be, she wasn‟t obsessed with shopping. Sure, she dressed up on special occasions, but the rest of the time she went for comfort over style. She liked wearing loose T-shirts and tops.

She was more into flared jeans and bell-bottoms than skinny jeans. She hated high heels and was perfectly fine wearing sneakers, flip-flops, or ballet flats.

“You like the way you look,” Jade whispered into Danielle‟s ear, coming up behind her. “You just don‟t want to say it.”

Danielle hated to admit it, but a teeny tiny part of her
did
like the way she looked in the clothes she‟d been modeling.

But would she have the courage to wear these outfits outside the store?

They just weren‟t her!

Jade was the one with the body that rocked. No matter what she wore, she looked like a knockout.

Jade pressed another pile of clothes into Danielle‟s hands. “Try these on next. And hurry! We don‟t want to be late for your appointment at the hair salon.” Danielle groaned. The hair salon! She‟d forgotten all about phase two of Ava and Lindsey‟s evil plan. “I‟m telling you right now, I don‟t want to cut my hair! I like it long!” Jade pushed Danielle back in the direction of the dressing room. “You don‟t get a say in how your hair gets cut. Makeover day, remember? You have to leave yourself in the capable hands of experts. Us!”

Danielle shuddered, wondering how much worse her day could get.

It got worse as they were heading to the hair salon.

“Don‟t look now,” Ava whispered as they were walking through the mall, “but Mindy Yee is heading our way.”

“What‟s she doing in Miami?” Danielle groaned.

“Maybe she won‟t see us,” Lindsey said.

“Mindy Yee has eyes in the back of her head,” Ava said. “She sees everything.”

“I don‟t believe it!” Mindy exclaimed, as she caught sight of Danielle, Ava, and Lindsey. She threw her arms open and gave them a hug. “It‟s a North Ridge High reunion.”

“Hey, Mindy!” Danielle said, forcing herself to smile as she broke free of Mindy‟s hug.

“What are you guys doing down here?”

“Spending the week with Danielle‟s older sister and her best friend at a beach house,” Ava explained.

“And doing a little spring break shopping,” Lindsey said, holding up a shopping bag but pulling it away before Mindy could take a peek inside.

“That‟s what we were about to do. Do you girls know Wanda, Lacey, and Vivienne?”

“I know that Wanda Wong‟s initials stand for Wicked Witch,” Ava whispered in Danielle‟s ear.

“Shhh!” Danielle scolded, trying not to laugh.

Jade and Crystal, who had been lagging behind Danielle, Ava, and Lindsey, caught up with them. “Crystal and I were just talking. After the hair salon, we‟re going to head over to the supermarket. We thought we‟d barbecue tonight. Hot dogs, hamburgers, spareribs.”

“Yum!” Lindsey exclaimed.

“Your friends are more than welcome to join us if they want,” Jade offered, smiling at Mindy and the rest of the group.

“We‟re going to have plenty of food,” Crystal added.

Danielle couldn‟t believe what she was hearing. The last person she wanted to hang out with was Mindy Yee! Not to mention the North Ridge High Princess Posse!

“Are there going to be any college guys there?” Wanda asked.

“Maybe,” Crystal answered. “Jade and I are in a sorority, and we know a lot of fraternity brothers. Some of them are down for the week, so we‟re hoping to invite a few over. But you won‟t know unless you show up.”

“We‟ll be there!” Wanda quickly answered.

“Great!” Jade gave Wanda directions to the beach house. “We‟ll see you later.” Then she grabbed Danielle by the arm. “We better hurry! We‟ve got a hair appointment to keep!”

Mindy stared at Wanda in disbelief.

She couldn‟t believe what she had just heard.

Wanda was interested in college guys?

But Wanda had a boyfriend, the incredibly hot Rick Cho, who was a junior at North Ridge High.

Didn‟t she?

“Did you and Rick break up?” Mindy asked, wondering if they had ended things before Wanda flew down to Miami.

“Of course not!” Wanda snapped. “Why would you ask me that?”
Uh, because you were practically drooling at the thought of meeting some college
guys tonight!

Mindy didn‟t know how to answer. She could tell she was on thin ice with Wanda.

She didn‟t want to say something that would insult her and make it sound like she was accusing her of two-timing Rick. But if she
did
still have a boyfriend and she
was
interested in meeting other guys, well, wasn‟t that cheating?

“The day before classes ended, I overheard someone in the hallways say that you and Rick were having problems,” Mindy lied. “I guess I jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

“It was probably some girl trying to cause problems so she could get her claws into Rick,” Lacey said, staring at Mindy.

Don’t look at me!
Mindy wanted to shout. Rick might be hot, but she knew he was off-limits. Any girl who went after Wanda Wong‟s boyfriend would have to be crazy.

“Rick and I are still together,” Wanda said. “But this week is spring break and I‟m taking a little break from Rick. If you know what I mean.” Mindy knew
exactly
what she meant.

Wanda moved closer to Mindy, slipping her arm through hers as they started walking through the mall. Lacey and Vivienne followed behind them.

“Mindy, what happens in Miami stays in Miami,” Wanda said. “I know how much you love sharing information, but I wouldn‟t want Rick finding out about this.” She sunk her long bloodred nails into Mindy‟s arm. “We‟re friends, and friends keep secrets, right?” Mindy tried not to flinch as Wanda‟s pointy nails dug into her skin. There was no mistaking the message she was sending. Blabbing equaled pain. Lots of it. And Mindy knew Wanda was queen when it came to emotional and physical torment if she was crossed. “We‟re friends,” she echoed. “Friends always keep secrets. And it‟s like you said.

This week is spring break. We can take a break from our regular lives and do anything we want. Anything!”