The Sisters Club by Megan McDonald Read Free Book Online Page A

family.”
    “Alex’s boyfriend is coming to dinner!” Joey said, teasing.
    “First of all, Joey, and everybody, he is NOT my boyfriend. Second of all, if you embarrass me, I promise you will end up like the sisters in Beauty and the Beast — turned to stone!” Alex gave Joey and me an evil, squinty-eyed look.
    “Since your boy friend’s coming over, does this mean I don’t have to play Beast anymore?” I asked. “If I have to say ‘I’ll die of hunger without your beauty’ once more, I think I’ll throw up.”
    “Hmm. I’ll have to think of something special to make,” Mom said.
    “But Mom, you’ll be tired of cooking, won’t you?” said Alex. “I mean, after cooking on the show all day?”
    “You want Stevie to cook, don’t you?” Mom asked.
    Alex nodded. “Well, that’s a relief,” said Mom.
    It made me feel appreciated, for once. “I’ll think of something,” I said.
    “Anything but Macaroni Disaster,” said Alex.
    “OK. But it’ll cost you.”
    “Beast!” said Alex, just like old times.
    Everybody tried to act normal, like Alex was just having a friend over, no big deal. But really, you could tell everybody was holding their breath for the big night, all because it was A BOY.
    I don’t get what the big deal is about boys. I mean, they have huge feet and their ears stick out. They snort in class and make armpit noises and call girls names like Maggot and Pootney. It’s not like some prince was coming to dinner. (Well, maybe the FROG prince.) After all, the kid was a Beast.
    I thought about trying to make something special. Really I did. After all, I still felt kind of bad about the Sweater Pot Holder.
    Then I had a brainstorm. A brilliant, boy-coming-to-dinner brainstorm.
    I saw it on Mom’s show. Fondue Sue did a whole episode on fondue — the dinner you melt in a pot! You get these long forks and dip stuff like bread or strawberries into cheese or chocolate. It even has funny names like Chocolate Cherry Fun-due.
    Fondue was perfect for the big dinner:
     
It’s French. (Alex would be all over that.)
How hard could it be to melt stuff?
If you drop fondue in the pot, something funny happens! (I can’t wait to tell Joey!)
     

     
    FONDUES AND FON-DON’TS
    Starring Alex
     
     
    Me: (Entering with the Boy and looking at all the bowls on the table.) Wait! Stevie? What’s this? We’re having croutons for dinner? (Not another Macaroni Disaster!)
    Joey: Not just croutons. There’s cheese glop, too.
    Stevie: Fon-due. It’s French.
    Me: French? Of course! We’re eating French tonight. Yum! French cheese glop.
    Scott: Should I sit . . . where?
    Stevie and Joey: (At the same time.) THERE! Next to Alex.
    Joey: And me!
    Dad: Fondue is French for “to melt.”
    Joey: I thought it was French for “to kiss.” (I try to turn Joey to stone with my thought waves.)
    Mom: (Trying to save the day.) Mmm. Look at this cheese and bubbly tomato sauce and chocolate for dessert. Where did you learn to make all this?
    Stevie: Mo-om. I saw it on your show.
    Me: (To Scott.) Um, my mom has a cooking show on TV.
    Scott: Oh, yeah. My mom said she watches you, Mrs. Reel. (Scott looks at Stevie.) So you made all this? Looks . . . interesting.
    Stevie: Thanks a lot.
    Mom: Stevie, why don’t you tell Scott, and us, how this works?
    Stevie: OK, you pick up one of these long forks. Then you get bread or a marshmallow or fruit, stab it with your fork, and dip it into one of the sauces.
    Me: What are they?
    Stevie: There’s Cheese Fiesta Fondue and Pizza Fondue. This I call Chocolate Meltdown, and that one’s Yin-Yang.
    Joey: Yin-Yang?
    Stevie: Chocolate and Marshmallow.
    Joey: Those aren’t toe marshmallows, are they?
    Me: (Oh, no!) Joey, shhh! (Please, please, please don’t let anybody ask what toe marshmallows are!)
    Stevie: I made sure to use marshmallows that Alex didn’t put between her toes.
    Me: (Can’t they keep quiet about anything?) (To Scott.) Just ignore them.
    Stevie: Eat the regular stuff