Read Online The Girls by Amy Goldman Koss - Free Book Online Page B

she think that that’s what I’d want to do after all these eons of watching my bother and the twerps? No, she probably thinks she’ll be so rich and successful that she can hire a full-time, live-in staff! Nannies, maybe a butler, gardener, cooks, maids, chauffeur, hair stylist . . .”
    Candace paused to catch her breath and I added, “No doubt Brianna will have at least one dog groomer, a few stable boys, a pastry chef.”
    â€œTennis coach,” Candace said, finally laughing. “Personal trainer, masseuse?”
    Candace and I laughed until my mother made me hang up.
    I’d been right all along. I’d never thought Brianna would last. Back when Candace first took up with her, I hadn’t said a word, just added a B. If Candace would bring in some girls with names starting with vowels, I could come up with actual WORDS! But now, drop the B for Brianna. That left C, D, R, Cows Don’t Rate.
    I knew the reason Candace brought new girls into the group was because she was so friendly and curious about people. She thought everyone was fascinating, for a while at least. She got excited about them and then she was finished. I just waited it out—no threat to me. I knew I’d always be Candace’s best friend, and that’s what mattered. That’s really all that mattered.
    Apparently my sister had been eavesdropping on my telephone conversation, because when I passed through the kitchen she said, “Brianna’s next, huh? It should be your turn in no time.” I kept walking and didn’t even look at her.
    â€œI’m looking forward to it!” Keloryn called after me.

Maya
    M AYBE YOU’LL NEVER laugh about this,“ my dad said as he left for work early Monday morning, ”but one day it won’t hurt quite so badly.“ That was his only mention of the whole thing all weekend.
    I wanted to stay home from school more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life. But Momma had threatened to call all the girls and their mothers and tell them what she thought of them. I’d talked her out of it, but I knew that if I skipped school, that’s exactly what she’d do.
    I was trapped. I stared at the clothes in my closet. Opened every drawer. I wanted to wear something that no one could possibly think anything about. Camouflage. Something that made me invisible.
    Clothes were crucial to Candace. Her outfits were worked out to the last detail. And she always noticed what everyone else was wearing, down to the shoes. Darcy and Brianna did too.
    But even though they’d advised me constantly, I could never quite pull it together. Candace would toss her long black mane and say, “Nice try, kiddo,” making me feel like a little girl playing dress-up in Mommy’s old clothes. She hadn’t said it meanly , though.
    Candace had a way of saying what she thought without seeming to judge. Sometimes I believed it was because she was so tolerant and wise. Other times I suspected it was because she didn’t care. Me and the other girls thought about Candace constantly, trying to keep her happy. But I suspected that Candace never really thought about us. We were just there, like the air.
    And if it wasn’t Darcy, Brianna, Renée, and me buzzing around her, I bet it would just be some other girls. And maybe Candace wouldn’t even notice the change. It was almost as if Candace was a force of nature, oblivious to her own effect.
    But maybe I was totally wrong. Maybe she felt horribly guilty about dumping me. Or else, maybe when she said that stuff about my clothes, about my mom’s accent, things like that, maybe she’d meant to sting me. Maybe it was a test, to see how much I’d take before I’d fight back or leave.
    But it wasn’t just me Candace said hurtful things to. She did it to all the girls. She liked playing those riddle games that left us gasping for air. And we all took it with a smile. Why did Candace