Read Online My Life as the Ugly Stepsister by Juli Alexander - Free Book Online Page B

got there.
    “Maybe this won’t be so bad after all, Ally. You’ll have Caroline and then there’s a boy handy to drool over—”
    “Mom! I don’t drool over boys.”
    She shrugged as she folded one of my shirts. “Whatever you want to call it these days, girls will always have a thing for cute boys.”
    “I don’t have a thing,” I stammered. “He seems nice enough, but he’s just watching my dog. Besides, he’s slobbering all over Caroline.”
    Mom slid a pile of clothes into one of the dresser drawers. “He isn’t watching Caroline’s dog.”
    “What? Was that some kind of marriage contract in the medieval village you grew up in? Watch the dog, marry the girl?”
    Mom couldn’t help laughing. “Me thinks thou dost protest too much.”
    I put my hands on my hips. “I’m not discussing this matter any further.”
    With a grin, she straightened the clothes on the hangers. “I want you to be happy.”
    “I know.” Then because she seemed to be getting melancholy again, I said, “He is a little bit cute.”
    “I knew it!”
     
     
    Mom had just pulled away when Diane drove up with Caroline. I wondered if maybe she had hidden down the street like Mom. Nah. Diane had no shame. Plus, Caroline would totally bust her.
    Caroline ran through the door and gave me a quick hug. “I made the cheer squad!”
    “That’s great!” I pushed the words out, trying for some enthusiasm. I had a lifelong problem with sounding excited. I don’t know why, but I freeze up when I know I’m supposed to gush. “I knew you could do it.”
    Caroline seemed to think I did well enough. She dashed down the hall to her room. “I have four more phone calls to make. Then we’ll catch up.”
    Her door closed, and Diane came in. “I thought she’d bounce right out of the car.”
    “She’s pretty happy.”
    Diane’s thin fish lips curved into a smile. Her eyes lit with pride. “She sure is.”
    I guess Caroline never mentioned the part about wanting to stay in Atlanta. As I walked back to my room, I realized I had several weapons I could use to make Diane feel like crap. I wouldn’t use them, but it was nice to have options.
    “I’m going to run next door and check on Mojo,” I told Diane after changing into shorts.
    “Tell Jonathan hello for me,” she said in this teasing voice.
    For a minute, I wondered if maybe she was trying to fix me up with Jonathan. Then I realized that she was actually just trying to make me think she was cool enough to kick my dog out as part of a matchmaking scheme. Pretty crafty, but I wasn’t buying it.
    I opened the gate expecting to see Jonathan and the two dogs. Since I’d be over here a lot, I needed to get used to talking to him. I could talk to one average guy, right?
    But the one guy had turned into three. Jonathan had two of his buds sitting with him on the porch. Mojo was soaking up the attention from the tall blond. I wasn’t ready to face three teenage guys. I wasn’t Caroline.
    “Hey, Ally,” Jonathan called. He’d probably noticed me backing toward the gate. “C’mon over and meet Dave and Colin.”
    I managed to get out a “Hey,” and the two guys answered with heys of their own.
    Mojo left his new best friend and ran up to me. I leaned down to hug him.
    “Your dog’s cool,” Dave said.
    “Thanks.” Maybe this wouldn’t be so impossible after all. The guys weren’t the least bit uncomfortable having me there. They seemed very cocky.
    “So, dude,” Colin said. “She’s here now, so can we hit the PS3?”
    Jonathan turned to me and back to his friends.
    “I’ll take over here,” I said. “I’ll make sure these guys,” I gestured to the dogs, “are okay.”
    “Thanks,” Jonathan said with relief.
    Was he relieved because he didn’t have to stall his friends any more or because he could ditch me?
    They went inside and I picked up the discarded tennis ball. I threw it, and Buddy got there first. Instead of bringing it back to me, he ran in circles