"Replica03 - Another Amy - Kaye, Marilyn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kaye Marilyn)

"But I was watching her, andЧ"
"And she looks just like me, right?"
"Yeah, but she doesn't act like you. Amy, this girl is mean. You should hear the way she talks to people. She threatened to blackmail the costume woman!"
"You're exaggerating," Amy declared.
"No, I'm not! I was there, I heard her!"
Amy couldn't doubt his sincerity. "Okay, but she was probably just in a bad mood. You shouldn't make judgments about people based on one meeting."
"Look, all I'm saying is that I don't think this girl is related to you."
Amy got off the bed and went to Tasha's dresser. She stared at herself in the mirror. "People can be related without being completely alike in personality. Look at you and Tasha! My mother told me that even identical twins can have different personalities."
In the mirror she saw Tasha come into the room, her gymnastics bag slung across her shoulder. When Tasha saw Eric sprawled on her bed, she was not pleased. "What are you doing in my room?" she demanded. Then she saw Amy. "Oh, hi."
"I just came over," Amy told her. "I saw Eric from my window, and I wanted to know about the tryouts."
"Right." Tasha tossed her bag on the bed. "So, what happened?" she asked Eric. "Did you get a good look at the actress before they threw you out?"
"They didn't throw me out," Eric said. "I'm an extra."
"You're kidding! Tell me!"
He just groaned and fell back on the bed.
"Go on, Eric," Amy insisted. "Tell her what you told me."
"You tell her," Eric muttered.
"Somebody tell me!" Tasha sounded irritated.
"Eric said she was nasty," Amy said.
"Well, we already knew that, didn't we?" The phone rang. Both Tasha and Eric lunged for it.
"My room, my phone," Tasha yelled. She reached it first. "Hello?" She listened, and then she made a face. "It's for you," she said to Eric. "Take it in your own room."
But Eric grabbed it out of her hand. "Hello? Yeah, this is Eric." There was a pause. "Sure, I remember. But why do you want to talk to me?"
Amy tried not to hear the voice on the other end of the line. But it wasn't easyЧespecially since Eric's expression was so odd.
"I don't know," he was saying. "I mean, I don't think I canЧno, it would be okay with my parents, I guess, butЧwell, no, not really, butЧ" He started to look as if he were trapped. "Uh, can I call you back?" He jotted some numbers down on a pad by the phone. "Yeah . . . yeah, I'll call you back tonight."
"Who was that?" Amy asked.
Eric scratched his head. "You know the writer I told you about? The one who was with Aimee's mother?"
Tasha looked confused. "You met Aimee's mother? And a writer?"
"A reporter for Teen Time magazine," Amy told her. "She's doing an article about Aimee Evans. What was her name, Eric?"
"Sue Adams. That was her on the phone."
"How did she know where to find you?" Amy asked.
"I told her my name, and I guess she got the number from the school."
"Why did she call?"
Eric looked embarrassed. "She thinks it would be interesting to write about Aimee going out on a date."
Tasha's brow furrowed. "And she wants you to find someone for Aimee to go out with?"
"No. She wants me to be the date."
Tasha burst out laughing. "You? She wants you to be Aimee Evans's date? No way!"
Amy wasn't all that surprised. Eric was cute, athletic, and smart. She didn't have any problem envisioning him as an ideal date for anyone.
But Eric did. "I don't want to do it," he said. "That girl gives me the creeps."
"Eric, you have to do it," Amy said. "This is our big chance. You'll be alone with her. You can find out all about her." Another idea struck her. "I could meet you guys somewhere, accidentally-on-purpose! And then you could make yourself scarce so Aimee and I could really talk."
Eric shook his head. "This Sue Adams will be with us the whole time so she can write about the date. A photographer, too."
Amy was disappointed. "Oh, well. But it's still a chance for you to get closer to Aimee. If she likes you, if you two get along, she'll want to meet you again. Then maybe I can meet her too."
Now Tasha got into the plan. "And I could meet Sue Adams. Maybe she could get me a job at Teen Time!"
"I don't think Teen Time magazine hires many twelve-year-olds, Tasha," Amy murmured.
"I'm a junior reporter for the Journal," Tasha pointed out. "Why couldn't I be a junior reporter for Teen Time?"
"Forget it, both of you," Eric said. "I'm not going on a date with Aimee Evans and that's it."
He sounded like he'd definitely made up his mind. Amy had to think hard and fast.
"Eric . . . remember that math assignment? The one you said you had to do by next week?"
He eyed her suspiciously. "Yeah, what about it?"
"You go on the date with Aimee . . . and I'll do the assignment for you."
Eric was torn. "For real?"
"For real."