The Secrets Club by Chris Higgins Read Free Book Online Page B

full-length mirror and am so surprised I take a step backwards.
    I can’t believe it’s me.
    ‘You look lovely!’ squeals
Ali.
    ‘You look fabulous!’ says
Lissa.
    I don’t say a word. I just study
the stranger in the mirror.
    I look way older than me and much, much
cooler with my new funky hairstyle. My trademark freckles have disappeared beneath a
smooth layer of foundation and pinky-peach blusher. Instead, it’s my eyes that
stand out; they look enormous, rimmed with kohl and fringed with long black lashes.
(How does mascara do that, make your eyelashes grow?) My glossed lips look fuller
than usual and the blue shirt/dress, clinched in at the waist by Lissa’s belt,
accentuates my figure. (I didn’t even know I had one!) And, best of all, I
look soooooo tall in my heels – as tall as Lissa.
    And the nails! Don’t forget the
nails: they’re the finishing touch. It’s like they’re saying, OK,
everyone, so I know I’m stunning but, hey, I don’t take myself too
seriously!
    ‘Wow! I like it!’ I say to
my surprise and then I put my hand on my hip and do a twirl. My friends cheer.
    ‘You look so different, no one
will know who
you are!’ says Tash,
so I do my cross-eyed tongue-hanging-out look to remind them who I really am and
they all fall apart laughing.
    But you know something? She’s
right. When people start turning up for the party they either take a second look at
me and shriek, or walk straight past without even recognizing me. It is so
funny!
    You know what? I’m loving this
party, I really am. It’s very flattering when people keep coming up to you and
telling you how gorgeous you look. (Though it does occur to me that means I must
look pretty rubbish normally.)
    Plus there’s the food. Mrs
Hamilton has gone to town and I have NEVER seen so much food in my life, all of it
labelled so we know exactly what we’re eating.
    Where do I begin? There are:
little one-pot entrées of curried prawns
(
Entrées
is French for starters. I’m getting soooo good at
French!)
salsa and avocado, hummus, and cream-cheese
dips with carrot sticks, broccoli and tortilla chips
spicy chicken wings
mini
pizzas
taco shells with guacamole, sour cream, cheese,
tomatoes and lettuce
bagels with salmon and cream cheese
miniature burgers with onions, pickles,
mustard, ketchup or barbecue sauce
potato skins
ham, chicken or veggie wraps with
mayonnaise
bowls of crispy things
stacks of cupcakes
jugs of iced watermelon and pineapple
juice
sparkling fruit cocktails
    I think I’m in heaven. I make a bit
of a pig of myself actually, trying things I’ve never eaten before, but then
so does everyone else.
    I thought Tash’s mum’s party
was good when we had a pizza night and played football but this is something else. I
feel really grown-up.
    If this is what being a teenager is
going to be like, bring it on!

Chapter 15
    The party fills up rapidly.
Lissa’s dad comes home, puts his head round the door of the kitchen where
we’re all standing around eating, grabs a plate of food and disappears. At
least, I’m assuming he was Lissa’s dad. He could’ve been any
random guy in a suit who had heard there was posh nosh going free!
    Then Austen arrives. Austen Penberthy is
Ali’s best mate from primary school and we all know him from the fashion show
which he helped Ali to organize. Austen (shaved head, glasses, nice face) is an
eco-warrior and he’s wearing a T-shirt which says ‘Save the Earth’
that he’s tie-dyed himself. Immediately he corners Tash to engage her in a
heated debate about the implications of wearing fur, but having made his point he
moves on to chat to others. Unlike Lissa’s dad
he’s completely unfazed at being the only boy in a room full
of glammed-up eleven- and twelve-year-old girls.
    He’s not the only boy for long
though. After a while I notice a couple more helping themselves to drinks.
    ‘Who are they?’ asks Tash,
then her jaw drops open as one of them drapes his arm round Lissa’s