Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz Read Free Book Online Page B

Thankfully, Midge leaves us alone anyway.
    I sit down beside Natalie on the bed, noticing that her hair looks even gnarlier than
     mine does, pre -relaxer. It’s like something straight out of a Tim Burton movie—big and dark and
     creepy and fake. I try to imagine how she might look if she’d fix her hair and shed
     the bag-lady clothing. I’d bet she’d be really striking. She has a model’s facial
     bone structure: high cheekbones, a nose that turns slightly upward, and a perfectly
     pointed chin. Plus, her lips look naturally full and her skin appears virtually flaw-
     and pore-less.
    “So, Miss Natalie, where are you from? And what do you like?”
    “I actually prefer to be called Nat.”
    “As in the bloodsucking insect? News flash, bloodsucking is so five years ago,” I
     say, still trying to keep things light.
    “You don’t have to babysit me, you know.”
    “I think roommate-sit would be the more accurate term, don’t you?” I smile. “Now,
     tell me, what’s with the dark cloud hovering over your sunny time here?”
    She gets up and fishes inside her suitcase, pulling out a package of Twizzlers. “I
     just really miss Harris.”
    “Your boyfriend?”
    “My brother. We’re twins.”
    I can feel the bewilderment on my face, unable to imagine missing my booger-picking
     brother after five months, never mind five hours. “Well, you could call him, you know…on
     the landline.”
    “He doesn’t want to talk to me.”
    “Why not?”
    She opens the licorice package, twists a stick around her index finger, and gnaws
     on it like a baby with a teething ring. “I didn’t tell him I was coming here. I didn’t
     tell anyone, for that matter.”
    “So, your parents don’t know where you are?”
    “They probably have some idea. I mean, they know I won the contest. They just didn’t
     want me to come. Harris didn’t either.” She swallows a mouthful of licorice before
     loading her fingers with a couple more sticks.
    “ I could call them,” I offer, suddenly remembering that I promised my mom that I’d call
     her, too. I flop back onto the bed and kick up my legs, admiring my checkerboard pedicure.
     “Not to brag or anything, but I do have a way with parents. It’s one of my hidden talents.”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “Are you sure?” I ask, making the checkerboards dance.
    A second later, there’s a knock on the open door.
    It’s Parker…looking even more amazing than he did ten minutes ago. If I didn’t know
     better, I’d say he just stepped off the runway. I mean, holy hunk of hotness with
     his broad shoulders, tousled blond hair, chiseled features, and sea glass–worthy blue
     eyes.
    “Come on,” he says. “We’re all next door, in Ivy and Taylor’s room. There’s something
     you’ll want to see.” There’s a delicious grin on his face. He’s just so incredibly
     yummy.
    “Totally,” I say, jumping up from the bed. But then I look back at Natalie.
    She’s turned away now, silently asserting a big fat no.
    It’s all I can do not to scream. “Just give us a few minutes, okay?” I tell Parker,
     faking a smile, and closing the door behind him.
    “You should go,” Natalie says, between bites of licorice.
    “Why don’t you come too? I mean, we’re here to get to know everyone, right ?” I spend the next eleven minutes telling her about my arrival at Winston Academy,
     the only black girl in a sea of fair-skinned blondes with names like Josie, Bunny,
     Kiki, and Coco. “But I had to eventually mix in and give people a chance. I couldn’t
     just sit around sulking in my room all day.”
    Still, bag of candy in hand, Natalie moves to lie down on her bed, drawing the covers
     over her face.
    I suppose I can take a hint. I leave her alone and hop next door. But, to my surprise,
     no one’s in there now. I go inside, curious to know what Parker was talking about—what
     I so desperately needed to see.
    Half of the room is decorated with cookbooks and food