Read Online Wishing on a Star by Deborah Gregory - Free Book Online Page B

said,” she confesses. “You made me mad. I didn’t like what you said in front of Aqua that time.”
    “What time?” I ask.
    “When we were at the Pizza Pit and you said I would be giving out
piñatas
later.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I was just playin’.”
    I was showing off in front of Aqua and Angle. Now I see that Chanel did the same thing in front of them.
    By the time school was out, we were rollin’ like usual. First, we had to pick up leopard paper masks with gold whiskers from the Fright Night shop on Prince Street. Then we had to take the subway to Harlem to pick up Do’ Re Mi at the YMCA, since she works so close to “It’s Unbeweavable!,” where they sell hair by the pound.
    Do’ Re Mi works at the Junior Youth Entrepreneurship Leadership Program Store in the Harlem YMCA. The program is designed for teens who need jobs and it’s supposed to teach them leadership skills. Do’ Re Mi had to complete a twelve-week curriculum on Saturdays, attend workshops during the week, and work in the store. I don’t know how she does it all. She is yawning till the break of dawn half the time.
    Because we never miss an opportunity to harmonize, and I am determined to get Do’ Re Mi’s voice at least a tidbit stronger in the soprano department, we start singing on Lenox Avenue as soon as we pick her up.
    “Let’s take it from the last verse,” Chanel says to Do’ Re Mi, taking charge for a change.
    “
To all the competition, what can we say?

You better bounce y’all ’cause every Cheetah has got its day.
    You better bounce y’all

’cause the Cheetah Girls are ’bout to pounce, y’all

and get busy in the jiggy jungle

no diggity, no doubt.
    Get busy in the jiggy jungle.

The jiggy jiggy jungle.

The jiggy jiggy jungle.

The jiggy jiggy jungle!
”
    We are stylin’ again—and more important, we are crew again—now and forever!
    “I’ve never seen you with hair so long, Miss Thing,” my mom says, touching my new Rapunzel weave. “But I still prefer to take my girls off at night and scratch my head.”
    Mom is, of course, referring to her wig collection. Angie and Aqua get a giggle out of this. They both have gotten their hair done—on the press and curl tip—and I think they’re amused by my mom’s wild and woolly wigs.
    “Is it me, or is it hot in here? I’d better open the door and get some air in here.” Mom doesn’t wait for us to answer: she just opens the glass door and puts down the stopper hinge to stop the door from closing on its own. We are so excited because we are getting our final fitting for our cat suit costumes for the show tonight.
    “Let me see your nails,” Mom asks Aqua, who is definitely growing into the supa-show-off of the two. “What is that? Dollar bills?”
    “Uh-huh,” Angie answers proudly, flossin’ about the gold dollar-bill sign decals she has put on her red tips.
    “You trying to stay on the money, huh?” my mom says, smirking. “Well, you gotta make some first.”
    Angie and Aqua only get twenty-five dollars a week allowance apiece from their dad, but he also pays for them to get their nails done twice a month. I wonder if Angie spends as much time on her homework as she does on her nails.
    “Fabbie poo,” Chanel exclaims as she slips into her cat suit. “This is so phat!”
    “Chuchie, you are gonna be over the leopard limit tonight, girlita!” My mom giggles.
    The cat suits are all that. Each one has a mock turtleneck collar and zips up the back. Do’ Re Mi’s has a tail, too, because we thought that would be cute. Do’ Re Mi puts on her cat suit, then flosses.
    “You know how to work it, Miss Thing,” Mom snips. “Not too tight?” Mom asks Do’ Re Mi, who is prancing around like she’s the cat’s meow.
    Do Re Mi’s cat suit looks really tight, but when Mom asks her again, she just shakes her head sideways, smiling, and answers, “Cheetah
Señorita, está bien
!”
    Mom smiles, then holds out a plate of Godiva