I So Don't Do Famous by Barrie Summy Read Free Book Online Page A

doll. And she’s petite like me, about five feet one.
    I’m gazing around, trying to find the purse. Junie’s staring too. Probably already imagining the headlines.
    From a silver hook clipped to the table, Dear Elle pulls off a black evening bag with a sparkling diamond clasp. “Girlfriends! Is this what you’re looking for?”
    I nod. Junie nods.
    â€œThat’s the question I always get when I meet people. ‘Where’s the diamond?’ ” Dear Elle clasps and unclasps the purse so everyone at the table can see how it works. “Too cool, right?”
    â€œWhere do you get a purse like that?” my dad asks.
    â€œThis is a one-of-a-kind designer item. Made especially for me by Jake’s Bags. It even came with this one-of-a-kind hook.” Dear Elle hangs the purse back on the silver hook.
    The hook is a cool accessory, but if I had an exclusive purse like that? I’d superglue it to my shoulder.
    â€œCould I take a picture of you and your purse?” Junie says.
    â€œHave we met?” Dear Elle swings the purse up by her face and smiles with small, sparkling teeth.
    â€œI’m Sherry’s best friend.” Her eye peering through her camera’s viewfinder, Junie pops off a few quick shots. “And the new editor of our middle school’s paper.”
    â€œSherry?” Dear Elle takes a dainty sip of water.
    â€œShort for Sherlock,” I say.
    â€œThat was a very good essay.” Dear Elle trickles dressing from a silver jug onto her salad.
    I feel myself blush. “Thank you.”
    â€œHave you read my book?
Love, Revealed
?” she says a little louder than necessary.
    â€œUh, n-no,” I stammer. “But I follow your advice in
Hollywood Girl
religiously. It’s the first page I flip to when the magazine arrives in the mail. In fact, I can pretty much quote you word for word after a couple of—”
    â€œI’ll be signing after dessert,” she interrupts. “And there are copies here for sale.”
    Gloria leans over me. “Dear Elle, I freelance for an entertainment paper that’d be interested in a book review and interview.”
    Elle flips her hair over her slender shoulder. “Awesome, Gloria.”
    â€œYou have a lot of fans at Saguaro Middle School.” Junie grabs a roll and passes the basket to the woman next to her. “They’d love to see pictures of you and Sherry together.”
    â€œAbsolutely.” Dear Elle pokes her fork into her salad. “And maybe a couple of poses on my own?”
    The main course arrives. Dad digs into his steak like he hasn’t seen one in months. Which he hasn’t.
    â€œNothing like the aroma of a good steak, right, Sherry?” Dad says between bites.
    In no time flat, the meal is over, including the chocolate fudge sundae and the lemon square I snag from the delicious dessert bar.
    Dear Elle leans toward me. “Are you ready for your moment in the sun?”
    I sniff. I guess my mother isn’t going to make it. Bummer.
    Junie pushes back her chair and pops the lens cover off her camera.
    â€œBut I don’t have to talk, right?” I say.
    â€œJust a few words. Nothing to get nervous about.” Dear Elle pushes her straight hair behind her ears and brushes imaginary crumbs from her satiny blouse. “How do I look?”
    â€œGreat,” I say. “But not a speech, right?”
    â€œThis crowd will love you, Sherry.” She unclasps her purse and pulls out a tube. She reapplies bloodred lipstick. “Loosen up and go with the flow Dear Elle–style.”
    Going with the flow is so not me when it comes to class presentations, which seem totally tame compared with this evening. I snuffle in earnest. No coffee scent. I want my mother. Butterflies are fluttering and flapping in my stomach.
    â€œIf you need to blow your nose,” Dear Elle says, “now’s the time.”
    â€œI’m