Read Online The Time-Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky - Free Book Online Page A

exercise,” he observed, looking them over in their long dresses. “But I have yet to
     meet a dame who was. I suppose the rowing machine is out. And the swimming pool.”
    “Oh, I’m on the swim team!” Louise blurted out. T. W. andAnna both looked at her, confused, and then T. W. started chuckling.
    “Right, right, and I’m on the Olympic equestrian team,” he replied sarcastically.
    Louise felt her face burn hot with indignation. She wasn’t lying. If Brooke were here, she would vouch for her. But then she
     realized that in this era maybe girls didn’t play team sports like they did one hundred years later.
    “Perhaps I can interest you ladies in a camel ride? It’s like being in the Moroccan desert; you simply need to use a little
     imagination.” Louise could not believe this was the treadmill of the early twentieth century. And that she was about to exercise
     in a genuine Lucile dress.
    “Yes, please,” Anna replied gleefully, hopping on the mechanical horse as though she had been doing it all her life.
    Louise clumsily climbed on top of the other machine, getting the hem of her purple chiffon gown caught in the stirrups.
    “That’s the ticket!” T. W. shouted. “I like a dame with a little spunk.” He turned on the machines, and the animals jerked
     into motion.
    Louise burst out laughing. Some man just called her a dame, and how exactly was this toning her problem areas? Brooke would
     have died if she could see her like this. She was having too much fun to go home yet, but she also didn’t entirely want to
     have any more experiences without her best friend.
    The machines ground to an abrupt halt, and T. W. suddenly grabbed Louise around the waist and hoisted her off the camel. Louise
     watched Anna dismount like a gymnast.
    “Don’t want to overexert yourself,” he said protectively.
    Overexert?
He had clearly never been to one of Mr. Murphy’s Saturday morning swim practices.
    “See you ladies again tomorrow!” T. W. exclaimed in his upbeat tone. After several more bone-crushing handshakes, Anna and
     Louise left the gymnasium and stepped back out into the main corridor. So far it seemed playing the part of Miss Baxter was
     going to be a lot easier and more fun than she had thought!

“I think we go this way to the café.” Anna pushed open a set of double doors. “Oops, wrong entrance,” she said sheepishly.
    They had accidentally walked into the ship’s library. The room was paneled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, all filled with
     hundreds of leather-bound volumes. There was a dark wooden ladder propped up against one wall to help reach the upper shelves.
    A few bespectacled men were sitting in forest green club chairs at dark mahogany tables flipping through newspapers or books.
     One man glanced up and raised his eyebrows, apparently surprised to see two women in a room otherwise occupied by men.
    Louise loved libraries. When she was a little kid, she had made it a goal to read every book in the children’s section. Somehow,
     when she was five, and could barely read by herself, that seemed feasible. But now that she was twelve, andread all the time, she realized how unrealistic that idea was. It was kind of sad and overwhelming now when she thought about
     it.
    She walked over to one of the walls and picked out a dark red bound novel at random.
    “This is one of my mom’s favorite movies. Judy Garland is incredible….” Louise said, trailing off. Most likely
The Wizard of Oz
hadn’t been made into a film yet, so she probably shouldn’t say any more. “Anna, shouldn’t you be in school now?” Louise
     added, thinking once again that she would be in big trouble if she didn’t show up for classes.
    “In school? At my age?” Anna said with a shrug. “You really must have hit your head. I finished last year, and I’ve been working
     for you since then. But soon I’d like to get married and start my own family.”
    “How old are you?” Louise tried to keep her