How to Get to Rio by Julie Fison Read Free Book Online Page B

and I was in filthy running shoes and grubby socks. It was bad enough meeting Persephone in this state, there was no way I could talk to Rio.
    ‘You look fine,’ said Mia.
    ‘I look like I just walked out of a Survivor episode!’ I told her. ‘What about my hair?’ Even without looking I knew it was not cute-messy like Persephone’s. It felt like a bird’s nest.
    ‘It’s not as bad as Mia’s,’ Izzy said, matter-of-factly.
    ‘Hey,’ Mia frowned. ‘What’s wrong with my hair?’ She ran her fingers through it and groaned as a blob of jellyfish fell out. ‘Oh. Gross.’
    I gave my hair a shake in case I was also transporting jellyfish. Some seaweed dropped onto the sand. ‘No way,’ I said. ‘I can’t meet them looking like this.’
    Izzy shrugged. ‘If we bail now, I’m not coming back.’
    Mia gave me a nudge. ‘Go on, Kitty. Be brave. You always look cute, even with seaweed in your hair,’ she said kindly. ‘But I think you’ll have to come clean on the camping. You don’t look like you’ve just walked out of a luxury resort.’
    I glanced over at the three good-looking people sitting outside Shake Shifter. Could I really face Persephone, Jordan and Rio looking like I’d survived a shipwreck? Would that be brave or just stupid? If I didn’t, I might miss my chance with Rio. Should I go and talk to Rio and Persephone, or should I go back to the camping ground and forget about them until school started again?
     
 

 



The view from Persephone’s holiday apartment was even more amazing than I could have imagined. From the balcony in her bedroom I felt like I could see everyone on the beach – every guy showing off his abs and every girl showing off her tan. We had front-row seats to everything that was happening at Paradise Point without even leaving the apartment. Of course, we would be leaving the apartment, just as soon as Persephone had decided on her bikini. She had ten to choose from.
    I, on the other hand, had packed two, and had discovered right after I arrived that one didn’t actually fit anymore, so that left me with an embarrassingly small number of choices. My blue bikini was it. I had liked it when I packed it, but now, beside Persephone’s selection, it looked hopelessly last season.
    While Persephone tried on her sixth bikini, I took in the view, trying to spot a celebrity. There had to be one out there. Paradise Point was a magnet for them. My eyes roamed the busy beach, from the point all the way to the headland at the other end of the bay.
    ‘Why’s the beach so packed here, and then, past that headland, there’s no-one?’ I asked.
    ‘That’s a national park,’ Persephone called. ‘You can’t see it from here, but there’s a camping ground called The Lost World on the other side of the headland.’
    Hearing the word ‘camping’ immediately made me feel guilty. I’d called Mia yesterday afternoon and told her I’d sprained my ankle and wasn’t able to go with them. It was a complete lie, but I thought it was the only thing to do. I’d agonised over it for a bit. It wasn’t like I made a habit of dropping my friends when I got a better offer. But I’d been really stressed about camping, and Persephone had provided me with a perfect excuse not to go. Of course, I couldn’t tell Izzy and Mia that. I decided it was kinder just to lie and make sure I kept off Facebook, Instagram and everywhere else, so Izzy and Mia didn’t find out the truth.
    ‘How do I look?’ Persephone asked, doing a twirl in a cute floral bikini.
    ‘Amazing,’ I said, completely truthfully.
    ‘What about from behind?’
    ‘The same – perfect.’ I would have lied if I had to, but I didn’t need to. Persephone really was perfect.
    She frowned. ‘What about my fat butt?’
    ‘Who says you’ve got a fat butt?’
    Persephone waved her thumb at her brother’s bedroom. George was the male version of Persephone: smooth skin, great hair and a perfect body. He was actually