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

"Urn, okay," said Paige, adjusting her position.
"Much better," said Will.
I shook my head. Who would have guessed that the one person here who actually knew how to ride a horse would end up having to change what she was doing?
"All right, then," said Will, turning to the rest of us. "Everybody ready?"
"You may bet on it!" I heard Katerina say from her horse behind mine.
I turned around to look at her. That was sort of a strange thing for Katerina to say, I thought. Her English had always been kind of formal before.
Her face reddened. "Is this not an American expression?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah, I guess," I said. I mean, it was close. And I didn't want to hurt her feelings.
"Okay, then, let's go!" called Will.
As the ride started up again, I couldn't help thinking of my bed back in my room. I'm never much good on a morning shoot unless I've had a full eight hours of sleep. I'd felt better after my shower this morning, but my late night was catching up with me now.
Don't get me wrongЧI wasn't falling off the carousel horse or anything. But I knew I wasn't doing my best.
Fortunately, the shoot didn't go on too much longer. In fact, we were finished in time for me to make my 11:10 advanced biology class. Unfortunately, though, today was the day that Mrs. McKinnon decided to spring her first pop quiz on us. Actually, I'd done today's reading in advance, two days ago. I'd meant to go over it again last night. But then with the REACH meeting, my regular homework, my history outline, and even the postcard, I just hadn't gotten around to it.
I think I did all right on the quiz anyway, but it bugged me to know that I could have done even better if I'd been prepared. And science is usually pretty easy for me.
All of a sudden I was starting to feel that nothing was easy anymore.
"Ms. Winters is here," Pia shouted the next afternoon, which was Saturday.
Earlier in the morning there had been a shoot for the Sauce article by the fountain in front of Lincoln Center, a giant performing arts center near midtown Manhattan. The
shoot had gone well, partly because I'd made sure to get to bed early the night before.
All I'd done last night was help Cassandra and Paige clean up their room. Of course, that meant putting off my history outline again. In fact, I hadn't even started any of my homework yet. Back in Chicago, I'd always tried to get my homework done on Friday night so I didn't have to think about it all weekend. But now I'd have to spend the rest of the weekend catching up.
When Pia called out, Paige and I were in the living room. I was reading over my biology notes, and Paige was reading a book for English. We put away our work and stood up as Pia led Ms. Winters into the room.
Ms. Winters was young, with shiny black hair cut in a chin-length bob. She had on bright red lipstick and black-rimmed glasses. She wore a great men's-style suitЧgray pinstriped pants with cuffs, a matching jacket with a white handkerchief in the pocket, and a white button-down shirt.
After Paige and I had introduced ourselves, she told us with a wide smile, "Call me Carolyn."
"Oh, and I did not say my name to you at
all," said Pia. "I am Pia Giovanni. Let me tell you that Sauce is a wonderful magazine. Ah, and here is my roommate, Katerina, coming down the hall."
Katerina shook Carolyn's hand. "I am pleased to meet you," she said politely, nodding her head.
Just then Kerri burst in through the front door. "Am I late?" she asked. "I just went to the health club for a quick aerobics class, and it went on a bit longer than I expected."
"Don't worry, I just got here myself," Carolyn said to Kerri.
"I'm Kerri Gold," Kerri said. "Are you Ms. Winters? I really am sorry I'm late."
"Call me Carolyn," she said.
"You're not the last one," I told Kerri. "Where's Cassandra?"
"Here I am," Cassandra called, coming out of her bedroom. She was blowing on her fingers, which she'd polished a shiny red.
Mrs. Hill came out of the kitchen. "What's all this commotion?" she asked. Then she saw Carolyn.
"Oh, you must be Carolyn Winters, the Sauce reporter," Mrs. Hill said. "I'd almost
forgotten you were coming! I'm Mrs. Hill, the girls' house mother."
"Carolyn, please, and it's nice to meet you, Mrs. Hill," said Carolyn, shaking Mrs. Hill's outstretched hand. "I may have a few questions for you as well as the girls, if you don't mind, that is."
"That sounds fine to me," Mrs. Hill said. "Now, why don't you all give Carolyn a tour of the apartment while I get together a little snack for us all?"
After showing Carolyn Winters around, we all settled in the living room for the interview. Mrs. Hill served tall glasses of iced tea and a plate of oatmeal cookies. Then Carolyn pulled out a small notepad.
"All right, first things first," she said. "Why don't I make sure I have all of your names correct."
There was a moment of silence. Cassandra was the first one to speak up.
"Cassandra Contiago. That's C-O-N-T-I-A-G-O," she said, leaning forward on the white couch. She crossed her legs and straightened her red minidress. "It's a Brazilian name. I'm from Rio, you know. I did a lot of
modeling down there before I came to New York. In fact, I had my very own TV show, Qual o lance? We covered absolutely everythingЧfashion, music, movies, celebrities, trends..."
"Really," said Carolyn, scribbling on her pad. "How interestingЧ"
"Oh, yes," said Cassandra, cutting her off. "It was great. Actually, I'm something of a celebrity myself down there. The show had quite a following, you know."
"Okay, great. Thanks, Cassandra," said Carolyn, putting down her pen. Cassandra looked a little disappointed. "Now, what about the rest of you?" Carolyn turned to Katerina, who was wearing a flowing blue-and-white flowered skirt and a scoop-necked blue shirt that showed off her incredible posture. "Why don't you tell me your whole name again and where you're from?"
"Katerina Doeskev, D-O-E-S-K-E-V," she answered, lifting her chin slightly. "I am from Moscow."
"Oh, Russia, how interesting," said Carolyn, writing. "And is this your first time in the United States, Katerina?"
Katerina nodded. "Da, yes, it is the first
time. But I like it here very much in America. I am seeing now that all things American are much better than in Russia."
I looked at her in surprise. I'd always assumed that Katerina was probably a little homesick. After all, she was living in a foreign country where all the ways and customs must be completely different from what she was used to.
"You don't miss Russia at all?" asked Carolyn.
Katerina shook her head from side to side. "Way no!" she said emphatically.