Read Online Will the Real Raisin Rodriguez Please Stand Up? by Judy Goldschmidt - Free Book Online

left over from the eighties and were like, ‛Hey, these are really ugly and make most legs look like they belong on overstuffed rag dolls—let’s see if we can bring them back!’”
    I felt my face turn hot.
    â€œUh . . . I’m wearing leggings,” I said, my voice cracking.
    â€œThese aren’t leggings,” she said, pulling at my leggings. “These are footless tights . . . completely different.”
    Pia and Claudia both looked really nervous.
    â€œVivvy knows a lot about fashion,” said Pia.
    â€œIt’s true,” said Pia. “She used to live in New York.”
    I was really trying to keep my cool, but it wasn’t easy.
    â€œAll I know is that the package said leggings. If I could fly back to Philadelphia to go get it, I would.” And then I mumbled under my breath, “Maybe you guys would like that.”
    There was a round of “Aww, Rae’s.” And “That’s not what she meant’s.” And “Don’t be upset’s.” And Vivvy insisted that she would never have said such a thing if she thought I was in fact wearing leggings. “I mean, it’d be different if I said something bad about something I knew you had. Like ballet flats.” But by that point I had to focus so hard on not bursting into tears, I had no energy left to care. Though I did wonder how she knew I had ballet flats.
    â€œI’m going to take the bus home,” I said as we left the House of Pies.
    â€œDon’t you wanna go shopping or something?” Pia asked. “You can’t just leave us.”
    â€œI’m kind of tired,” I said, yawning and looking at my wrist. Never mind that I wasn’t wearing a watch. “I think I need to sleep for a little while.”
    â€œWell, of course you’re tired,” Claudia said, mocking me. “It’s already what, seven o’clock at night back in Philadelphia?”
    â€œBut I’ve been up since four in the morning,” I protested.
    â€œCall us later,” Pia said as she leaned over to kiss me goodbye. Then Claudia kissed me goodbye too. And before I knew what hit me, Vivvy was leaning in to give me one as well.
    â€œTake it easy, Rae,” she said.
    Take it easy? How could she tell me to take it easy? Take it easy is what you say to someone after they’ve run down the street naked. Attempted to take flight. Decided to stay in and read a book. Take it easy is what you say to someone who’s acting a little crazy. And I was not acting a little crazy
    I cried the whole way home. How pathetic is it that I’ve been waiting for months to see my friends from Berkeley and when I finally do, they’ve already replaced me with Vivvy. Vivvy, who’s not even nice to me and says not-nice things to me about my clothes and my boyfriend. Who my friends stick up for instead of sticking up for me.
    Now I wish I never came.
    Â 
6:13 PM, PST
    Where are you guys? I keep calling you, but you’re not picking up. Things are getting worse by the moment.
    I called Pia to talk to her about the Christmas Eve boat ride.
    â€œSo, are we on for Blue Christmas?” I asked.
    â€œHuh?” Pia said.
    â€œBlue Christmas? The boat ride tomorrow night? You said you weren’t sure because of the surprise, so I’m calling to see what you decided.”
    â€œWell, actually, we’re going to Vivvy’s dad’s Christmas party. See, that’s another thing you guys have in common. Both of you have divorced parents. Anyway, you’re invited too. She meant to tell you before you left, but . . . she never got the chance.”
    I felt a giant tear pop out of my eye the way a BB gun pellet ricochets out of a toy gun. I couldn’t believe that she had actually become a part of us.
    â€œI don’t think I can make it,” I told Pia. “The boat ride is a tradition, and I wouldn’t want to let my dad down. And besides,