The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) by T.L. Clarke Read Free Book Online Page A

she was carefully crawling along the floor , looking around frantically and mumbling angrily.
    The dark - haired girl impatiently dropped the stack of clothes onto the bed and stomped over to the closet. She slammed open the closet door, peering into it . “Horrible, absolutamente horrible. I really must tell F ather about this dreadful room. Look at this closet; I just don’t know how I’m going to fit all of my clothes in here,” she muttered with a thick accent.
    Gabrielle shook her head in amazement as she looked over at her two roommates. “Great … Just my luck, I get stuck with two weirdos as roommates,” she muttered under her breath. She rolled her eyes skyward as she walked over to the bed where her luggage was standing. Quickly hopping onto the bed, she crossed her legs comfortably as she watched Jessica walk timidly over to the dark - haired girl.
    “Hi, my name is Jessica and that’s Gabi,” Jessica said as she pointed over to Gabrielle , who was sitting on the bed , glaring disgustedly at her.
    “Yep , that’s me,” Gabrielle responded snidely.
    “Excuse my manners; you must think I’m awfully rude. Hello, my name is Rosalinda Hernandez Diaz.”
    Jessica smiled shyly . “What a beautiful name. If you don’t mind me asking , why do you have two last names?”
    Rosalinda gave her an annoyed stare . “Well, my father’s name is Tomas Hernandez and my mother’s name is Rosalinda Diaz. The Spanish tradition is for parents to give their children both of their last names.”
    Gesturing a t the designer luggage that was thrown across the room messily, Gabrielle asked, “Is all this junk yours?”
    Rosalinda walked over to Gabrielle, smiling smugly . “Yes, but Father thought it best to scale back a bit.”
    Gabrielle rolled her eyes with exasperation . “ Anyhoo , I can see that rooming with you is going to be so much fun, fun, fun!”
    Rosalinda looked at Gabrielle disapprovingly.
    Gabrielle raised an eyebrow curiously, watching with fascination as the brown-haired girl with black wire-rimmed glasses frantically looked around the room.
    “Hello … you , crawling across the floor like a lunatic. What’s your name?”
    Startled, her face flushed as she looked over at Gabrielle, quickly adjusting her glasses that slipped down to the tip of her narrow nose . “I’m sorry, my name is Zora Patterson. Look , honestly, I ’ m not trying to be rude or anything . I’m just trying to find Oscar,” she replied breathlessly.
    Hopping off the bed, Gabrielle walked over to her . “And who may I ask is Oscar?”
    Zora looked around the room anxiously . “Oscar is my pet t arantula that my father and I found on our trip to Peru last summer.” She blew at the stray strand of brown hair that fell across her freckled cheek.
    With eyes widened with fear, letting out a high-pitched squeal, Rosalinda jumped onto the top of the bed . “Did you say t arantula? No one told me that pets were allowed.”
    Zora looked over at her impatiently . “Really, there’s nothing to worry about ; he’s harmless,” she said calmly as she pushed up her glasses , which had slipped down to the tip of her nose again.
    Rosalinda wagged a finger at Zora . “There is no way I’m sharing my room with a filthy creature. I will simply report this immediately to Ms. Vineswell .”
    Angrily, Gabrielle looked over at Rosalinda . “There is no way I’m going to stand by while you snitch on our roommate.”
    She quickly looked over at Jessica . “Jess, can you please help us look for Oscar? The sooner we find him, the quicker Princess Rosalinda will shut up and relax.”
    Rosalinda’s eyes flashed angrily . “Why in the world would you call me Princess Rosalinda? That is not my name.”
    Gabrielle stomped over to her, propping her hands on her narrow hips . “I’ll tell you why—because all I’ve seen you do since I got in this room is prance around like some sort of self-appointed p rincess. And to make matters worse, you