Read Online Revenge of the Girl With the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg - Free Book Online Page A

that night.
    I study her now as she walks over to us. I see the looks the other people give her when she passes by. It’s not only the children that are being judged today.
    And while I admit that my mom’s weight sometimes embarrasses me, I’m more upset by a greater offense: her complete lack of concern over her health.
    The way she appears to have given up.

I know how much it costs to be pageant pretty. But real-life pretty isn’t much better.
    I stare down at the receipt from my shopping trip after work, grateful that I’m good about saving money. After all, I don’t really have much of a social life, so there’s no need to spend a lot of cash. Hanging out at Benny’s to watch movies on a Friday night is cheap. Plus, I’m saving for this summer in New York. I have a little satisfaction every time I go to the bank and see my growing balance. It makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something.
    But while I’m scraping together every penny, Mom keeps spending.
    After seeing Mom cry last week, there’s a part of me that wants to help her, help Mac. But I figure someone in this family needs to be the fiscally responsible one.
    Hence, the current argument.
    “Do you have any idea how long it takes me to save up five hundred dollars — and you want me to give it to you for fake teeth?” I shove the drug store receipt farther into my back pocket. If she knew that I just spent a bunch of money to try to make me look pretty, she’d lose it. A pang of guilt erupts inside me over the money that I spent, but I never spend money (that I earned ) on myself.
    Mom glares at me. “I’m well aware how long it takes to get that kind of money, but the old flippers don’t work anymore and we can’t do glitz pageants without them. It’s not like we won’t pay you back when she wins.”
    Mackenzie finally perks up. “No! That’s my money.”
    I don’t even see why we’re having this conversation since Mackenzie never earns back the money. I once did some estimating, and she’s earned about seven hundred dollars over the last five years. Which wouldn’t seem so bad if we haven’t spent tens of thousands of dollars on pageants.
    “You’re right, honey — it’s your money.” Mom brushes Mackenzie’s hair out of her face. Then she turns back to me. “I promise I’ll pay you back when I get the money.” Mom holds her hand up like she’s swearing in at a trial.
    “Just like you did with the money I lent you for Mac’s new photos?” Icounter. Last year I lent them over two hundred fifty dollars to get new head shots. After three months I stopped asking for it back.
    “You’re being incredibly selfish, Lexi.”
    As if on cue, Mackenzie starts crying. A horrible, high-pitched sob, complete with a scrunched-up face. She stomps on the floor.
    “Oh, honey.” Mom motions for Mac to come and give her a hug.
    “NO!” Mac yells and runs to her room, slamming the door nice and loud.
    I look at the closed door. “That went well….”
    “Oh hush, Lexi. This isn’t funny, and you’re not helping any.”
    I’m afraid to try to talk to her again about it, but I can tell from Mom’s haggard expression that things are pretty dire. “How bad is it?”
    “Well, it’s not good.” She shakes her head. And for a brief moment, I think Mom’s finally going to admit that we’re in over our heads. “I think we have a real shot next weekend, but not if we don’t have a new flipper.”
    How naïve of me to think that she’d ever admit there are any problems in the perfect Mackenzie world she’s created in her mind.
    “And there’s something else.” She reaches into her bag and pulls out a questionnaire. I see the Texas Beauty Tykes logo across the top.
    “Please don’t tell me you want to be on that show?”
    Texas Beauty Tykes is a “reality” television show that showcases one “junior” Texas beauty queen pageant contestant each week. Most of the time the kid and her family come across as completely