Girls Only! by Beverly Lewis Read Free Book Online

milk, kiddo. No big deal.”
    But it was a big deal. One less thing on her mentallist of concerns. She couldn’t remember feeling so relieved.
    They sat down together and poured cold milk over their frosted cereal. Livvy chattered all the while about school and meeting Jenna Song . . . and skating. “It’s amazing what I found out today.”
    “What’s that, honey?” Her dad was giving her his undivided attention for a change.
    “Colorado Springs is only a short distance from here,” she explained. “Maybe I could find a new skating coach there.”
    His face wrinkled into a frown. “What about transportation?”
    “Maybe I could catch a ride with other skaters, or . . .” She wanted to say that maybe he could take her sometimes.
    “Well, right now we don’t have the money for a skating coach,” he said. “Not here or in Colorado Springs.”
    “But . . . we had enough money before Mom died. Didn’t we?”
    Suddenly, he fell silent, and his eyes no longer made contact with hers.
    She could’ve kicked herself. Right in the middle of a great conversation, she’d made a dumb mistake!
    “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to say anything about Mom. I didn’t—”
    “Skating lessons are out of the question.” His words were ice, and she dreaded the sound of them.
    Now was not the time to bring up Jenna’s supper invitation. Not ballet lessons, either. Livvy excused herself from the table and raced upstairs to shower and dress for school. She felt worse than ever. Actually, almost sick.
    Her cockatiel tried to cheer her up, though. “Happy, happy Livvy,” Coco chanted.
    “Hush, bird.” She slipped into her bathrobe.
    His little white head cocked over to one side, his beady eyes blinking innocently. “Happy Livvy. Ha . . . ha . . . ha.”
    She couldn’t stop the burst of air. It flew right past her lips. “I’m not even close to feeling happy, and you’re one nosy parrot. That’s no lie!”
    “No lie . . . no lie.”
    Glancing at the clock, Livvy knew she’d have to rush to get ready. “I’ll talk to you later.”
    “Livvy later . . . caw! ”
    In the shower, she scrubbed her body and shampooed her hair. All the while, she fretted over her slip-up at breakfast. How long before I can talk about Mom in front of Dad? she fumed.
    She dressed faster than ever because she didn’t want to be late for school. Not on the second day! Not onany day, come to think of it. Mrs. Smith had warned her homeroom about tardiness. Talk about strict.
    Livvy did not want to write a 500-word essay! No matter what.
    ----
    Jenna was waiting for her at their locker. “Well, can you come for dinner Saturday night?”
    “I didn’t ask my dad yet,” Livvy confessed. “He was in a horrible mood this morning.”
    “Does he have to be in a good mood to decide about eating?”
    She stared at Jenna, feeling uneasy. “Well, uh . . . it’s kinda complicated.” Livvy glanced around. “Can we talk at lunch?”
    “Okay with me.” Jenna turned to go. “See ya later.”
    Livvy pushed her skate bag back into the corner of the open locker. Then, standing up, she gazed down the crowded hallway. She felt terribly embarrassed and searched for Jenna, but her friend was nowhere in sight.
    She stacked up her books in the lower section of the locker. And kept her math book and notebook out for first hour. “Thank goodness for homeroom,” she mumbled to herself. At least she’d have time to calm down before her first class.
    “Talking to yourself?”
    Livvy turned to see Suzy lugging several books and her three-ring binder. She looked almost too small to be a seventh grader. “Oh, hi again.”
    Suzy squinted down the hall. “Hot Pink’s kinda upset, looks like.”
    “How do you know?”
    “I think she was praying . . . outside.”
    Livvy wasn’t sure she’d heard right. “You sure?”
    “Well, I saw her lips moving, and her eyes were definitely closed.” Suzy twirled her combination lock, then pushed down on it.
    Livvy