"Bennett, Cherie - Sunset Island 001 - Sunset Island" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bennett Cherie)

"Wow, some rags you got on," Sam said, looking over Emma's perfect, pleated gray
flannel pants and cream-colored blazer. "Hey, I recognize that blazer! I saw it
in last month's Toivn and Country!" Sam exclaimed. "In fact, I saw the whole
outfit. It's an Elan original, right? Jeez, that must have cost a mint!" The
last thing Emma wanted Sam to know was how rich she was.
"Oh, um, this?" Emma stammered. "It's, uh . . ." "Oh, there's Carrie, over by
the door," Sam interrupted. "Hey, Carrie!" she called, waving madly in Carrie's
direction.
Emma waved too, although the ladylike wave of five feet five Emma could not be
seen nearly as well as the manic wave of five feet ten Sam. Emma was just
thankful Sam was distracted from examining her outfit.
"Do you know Carrie's going to Yale in the fall? Yale!" Sam whispered to Emma.
"Really?" Emma said. "I'm impressed." "Me, too!" Sam agreed. "She told me
yesterday. She got something impossible like sixteen hundred on her SATs. I
don't think she wants it to get around that she's such a brain, though," Sam
added. "God, my stomach is grumbling. Do they call doughnuts and rolls
breakfast?" Emma laughed and shook her head. Sam was so excited and enthusiastic
about everything. She also skipped maddeningly from one topic to another.
Sam grabbed a roll from the table as Emma watched Carrie work her way through
the crowd. Emma and Sam had met Carrie the day before when the three of them had
been teamed up at a workshop called "Child Care and Problem Solv- ing." Each
team had been given a different theoretical problem. Emma, Carrie, and Sam's
problem had been: "You are caring for a thirteen-year-old girl who wants to have
a party at her house while her parents are out of town. What do you do?" Emma,
who felt the least sure of herself regarding caring for kids, said tentatively
that she would just tell the girl no. Practical Carrie agreed, but added that
she would explain why and would suggest an alternative, such as planning a party
that the girl could give once her parents returned. Sam said she would tell the
girl she could give the party, but only if she also invited the cutest older
brothers of all of her thirteen-year-old friends. Fortunately the teacher had a
sense of humor.
"Whew! What a madhouse!" Carrie exclaimed when she finally made it over to Emma
and Sam.
"Hey, cute outfit!" Sam said, eyeing Carrie's oversized blue blazer and blue
stirrup pants. "Conservative, but cute." "I really didnt know what to wear,"
Carrie confided. "You guys look great," she added. "That jacket is beautiful,
Emma." Emma smiled and winced inside. Oh no, back to her clothes again. How
could she have been so stupid as to wear such expensive designer clothes?
Because that was all she owned, was the obvious answer.
"'Beautiful' is an understatement," Sam burst out. "I'd kill my little sister
for a blazer like that. Of course, I'd kill my little sister, anyway. You know,
I think Princess Caroline wore that blazer on 'Lifestyles of the Rich and
Famous,'" she added.
Carrie turned to Sam. "You actually watch 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'?"
"I inhale 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'," Sam answered seriously.
"Although it looks like Emma is a lot closer to getting on that show than lam."
"Oh sure," Emma managed. "Actually, this outfit belongs to my Aunt Liz. I'm
staying with her for the weekend." "Nice aunt," Carrie said.
"Rich aunt," Sam added.
"Yeah, she, um, invested in the stock market," Emma improvised. "She's got great