Read Online Best Friends by Ann M. Martin - Free Book Online Page A

armload of yellow roses handed to her by someone whose face could only be described as rapturous. “Thank you, thank you,” Ruby would say breathlessly, pretending, for the fan’s sake, that this almost never happened, when in fact it happened night after night. Then Ruby would glance into the first row and there she would see Aunt Allie, and only because Ruby was such a good actor would she be able to keep the smug expression from her face.
    Ruby felt a poke in her ribs then and realized that Flora was nudging her. “Hey, Rip Van Winkle,” Flora said, “wake up. We’re supposed to go backstage now so you guys can try on your costumes.”
    â€œCan I come with you?” asked Nikki.
    â€œSure,” said Flora. “We need all the help we can get.”
    That didn’t inspire confidence, thought Ruby as she made her way down the aisle toward the stage. “Why do you need all the help you can get?” she asked suspiciously.
    â€œOh, don’t worry. It’s just a figure of speech,” replied Flora in an annoyingly adult voice.
    But Ruby was dismayed when she went backstage and discovered first of all that by “backstage” Flora just meant the corridor and two fifth-grade classrooms, and second that this area was a madhouse.
    â€œWhere’s my dressing room?” asked Ruby.
    â€œYour what ?” exclaimed Nikki, and everyone in earshot began to laugh.
    Ruby was about to point out that she was the star but instead simply rephrased her question. “Okay, where are the dressing rooms?”
    â€œRight here,” said Min.
    Ruby looked at her grandmother. Min was standing midway between Mr. Levithan’s room and Ms. Holton’s room in front of a banner that read THE BOOKWORM BOOK CLUB . Ruby frowned.
    â€œThere are no dressing rooms,” said Min, turning to send Flora a warning look when Flora threatened to laugh again. “This is just a school play, honey.”
    â€œBut we have an auditorium and a stage. And there’s going to be a refreshment stand. And flowers —”
    â€œBut it’s still a school,” said Min gently, “not a theatre. Now, come on. You need to try on your costume.”
    â€œWell, I’m not putting it on out here with all those boys around.”
    â€œOf course not. Makeup will go on in the corridor. Girls will change in Ms. Holton’s room, boys in Mr. Levithan’s room. Okay?”
    â€œOkay,” said Ruby glumly. This was not at all what she had had in mind. Maybe for the two actual performances she could find a spot — a utility closet or something — that she could turn into her dressing room. She could even make a gold star to hang on the door.
    For the time being she had to be content with standing by the globe in Ms. Holton’s room, an eye on the door at all times to make sure no boys peeked in, while Min and Flora fussed with her costume: a long, very plain brown dress; a white cloth cap; a white apron; and a pair of sturdy shoes borrowed from Flora, which were slightly too big, so the toes had been stuffed with tissue. Once the costume was on, and Min had stood back to scrutinize it, Ruby took it off again, except for her shoes and her cap, which Mrs. Gillipetti wanted her to rehearse in. Then Ruby, now wearing the shoes, the cap, her jeans, and a T-shirt, was told to go out into the hall to await her turn in the makeup chair.
    â€œIt’s going to take hours to put on everyone’s makeup!” cried Ruby as she watched from the doorway. “Look. There’s just one person doing it.”
    Sure enough, a woman (Ruby couldn’t remember whose mother she was) was painstakingly trying rouge and mascara and powder (making notes as she did so) on every single performer, right down to the kindergartners, who, as far as Ruby could recall, didn’t even have any lines to say.
    â€œThat’s why,” Min replied patiently, “you’ll have