"Supermodels 3 - Having It All - Calhoun, B.B." - читать интересную книгу автора (Calhoun B.B)

Paige looked up from the book she was reading in the white armchair across from the couch. "Is everything okay, Naira?" she asked gently.
"Yeah," I said. "I guess so. It's just my dad. I'm afraid that he's at work so much that he never gets to spend any time with my little brothers and sister."
"Sounds like my father," said Cassandra from her spot at the dining room table. "He was always so busy with his business deals and his investments that sometimes I felt like he didn't even know I was there." She laughed a little. "In fact, I wonder if my parents have noticed yet that I've moved out of the apartment."
Paige shook her head. "I can't imagine having parents like that. My mom's just the opposite. At home she always wanted to know exactly where I was going and when I'd be back."
"I guess I'm lucky," said Kerri, sitting cross-legged on the rug. "My mom's always been like a good friend to me. I can talk to her about anything. It's great because she's interested in what's going on in my life,
but she doesn't interfere, either."
"I know my mom would be like that, too, if she were still around," I said, my throat tightening.
No one said anything for a moment. Then Paige cleared her throat.
"I guess your little sister must really look up to you," she said quietly.
"It's hard for her to have me gone," I said. I shook my head. "And on top of everything else, I haven't sent her and the boys a postcard in four days."
"Four days!" said Cassandra in mock horror. "Ta brincando, you must be kidding! You mean our Naira let herself get off schedule?"
"Hey," I said. "It may sound silly, but those postcards mean a lot to them. Kyra said they're putting them all up on a wall in the kitchen."
"I know, I know," said Cassandra. "I was just joking. I think it is very sweet of you to take so much time for them. Anyway, don't worry about it, Naira. I'm sure you'll have everything under control in no time at all."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," I said, thinking of the mountain of homework that was still waiting in my room.
The next day at lunchtime I walked into the cafeteria of HSPS with my tray and looked around. The room was filled with kids, sitting together at tables, talking and laughing. I wondered where I should sit.
Then I spotted Paige sitting at a table near a corner, eating her lunch and reading a book. She was wearing a cotton dress with a lace collar, and she had on a matching headband. When she first came to New York, she'd tried to look and be more sophisticated, which had been kind of funny, especially when she wore Pia's platform sandals. Then she'd almost lost her boyfriend, Jordan, because of this act. I'd been relieved when Paige realized that she was happier being herself, and so was Jordan.
I made my way through the maze of tables and put down my tray next to hers.
"Oh, hi, Naira," she said, looking up and closing her book.
"Hi," I said, and sat down. I pointed to the book in her hand. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
"No, that's okay," she said, putting the book down on the table. "I was just reading this book that Jordan gave me."
I looked at the book. It had a picture of a horse on the cover, and the title was In the Kingdom of the Field. "Sounds interesting," I said.
"It is," she said, starting to peel an orange. "It's a true story about this woman who becomes a country veterinarian. That's what Jordan's thinking of doing too. After college, though, he'd have to go to veterinary school, and it's really hard to get in."
"Yeah," I said, taking a bite of my turkey sandwich. "I'm hoping to go to medical school."
"Really?" said Paige. "I didn't know you wanted to be a doctor."
I nodded. "It's what I've wanted to do ever since I can remember," I said. I laughed. "When I was really little, I used to pretend all my stuffed animals were my patients. And
then after my mother got sick with cancer, well, I knew I wanted to try and help people like her get well."
"Oh, Naira," Paige said. "That'sЧ"
Just then there was the sound of silverware clinking against a glass. Slowly, everyone in the cafeteria quieted down.
"I guess someone's going to make an announcement," said Paige. "Hey, isn't that Chris, the guy we met the first day?"
I looked up and saw Chris Hall standing on a chair. He was wearing a rainbow-striped T-shirt and baggy overalls. He didn't have his baseball cap on, so you could see the tiny dreadlocks all over his head.
"Yeah, that's him," I said.
"Hey, can I have everyone's attention, please?" called Chris, his voice booming across the room.
I saw Cassandra and Kerri making their way toward us with their trays. Cassandra was dressed to kill, as usual, in a tight black minidress and platform shoes. Kerri waved. She had on a pink tank top and jeans. I quickly waved back.
"This'll only take a minute, folks," I heard Chris say as the voices died down. "I just want
to make sure that you all know about the new extracurricular club here at HSPS. It's called REACH, which stands for 'Responsible Efforts and Action Can Help.' Our goal is to try and do what we can to clean up this mess of a world we live in."
I leaned forward. This sounded kind of interesting.
"Now, I know you're all busy with lots of other activities and stuff," Chris went on. "But I'd really appreciate it if you took a moment to just think about joining REACH. We've got a lot of great projects planned, from recycling drives and cleaning up the environment to tutoring kids who really need our help." He paused. "I mean, hey, if we don't do it, who will?"
"Naira, isn't that your friend from the other day?" asked Kerri, putting down her tray. She and Cassandra had just arrived at our table.
"Yeah, hang on just a sec," I said. "I want to hear what he's saying."
But Chris had finished talking and was sitting down again.
"Are you thinking of joining that club, Naira?" asked Paige.
"Oooh, what club?" asked Cassandra, leaning forward.
"Weren't you listening, Cass?" asked Kerri. "It's called REACH, and it's for the environment or something."
"Oh," said Cassandra, looking disappointed. "That doesn't sound so exciting."
"It's more than just the environment," I said. "It sounds like they're going to do a lot of important projects to help people as well."
"It really does sound like a good thing. I'll think about joining too," said Paige. She looked at Kerri and Cassandra. "What about you guys?"
Cassandra wrinkled her nose. "I don't think so," she said. "I'm really not the type."
"I'd love to join," said Kerri, "but I'm really trying to keep my schedule flexible for modeling assignments and stuff."
I thought it was a pretty lame excuse; after all, Kerri was on HSPS's extended program. So that should give her plenty of free time, right?
My mother used to say that if you're in a position to help people you should, because you never know when you are going to need help yourself. If everybody volunteered for the