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

"Try to look more embarrassed," the reporter instructed her. "Good, good, our readers will identify with that."
"Okay, but that's the only one I'm missing on purpose," Aimee told her. "I don't want to look uncoordinated."
"We just need one shot like that," Sue assured her. "You can try your best for the rest of the game."
Aimee didn't have to try very hard. For someone who didn't particularly like miniature golf, she was good at it. But so was Eric. Their scores matched, hole for hole.
They barely spoke to each other. Occasionally Sue or the photographer instructed them to put their heads together as if they were talking. Eric had to pose with his arms around Aimee, as if he was showing her how to hold the golf club properly. Another time they had to link arms and pretend to laugh. With each photograph, as soon as the flash faded, so did Aimee's smile.
Eric felt really creepy not making any conversation at all. "I guess this isn't much fun for you," he ventured as they walked to a hole.
Aimee shrugged. "It's a means to an end."
"What's the end?" he asked.
"My goal."
"Oh, right. You want to be rich and famous."
"I want more than that. I want power." Aimee said it simply, almost as if she were making a comment about the weather. Her tone made him shiver.
But the really scary thing happened at the last hole. The score was tied. "This will be cute," Sue said enthusiastically, writing furiously in her little pad. "No winners, no losers."
"I always win," Aimee said.
Eric was getting annoyed. "Hey, don't be so sure about that," he said, half-joking and half-serious. "This is a pretty tough hole." The ball had to go up a hill, across a creek, and through a blade contraption, where it had to miss being guillotined. The player needed great aim and a powerful swing.
Eric focused on the distant hole. He swung the club back, hard, and started his swing.
"Ow!" he yelled. It felt like a brick had just dropped on his big toe.
"Oh, did I step on your foot?" Aimee asked. "Sorry. But your club touched the ball, so that counts as a shot."
He couldn't believe itЧshe'd stomped on his foot just so she could win this stupid game. His toe was throbbing now, and he thought it might be broken.
Calmly Aimee finished the game, and she posed jumping in the air with glee for the photographer. She flashed Eric something that remotely resembled a smile. "Like I said, I always win."
He still wasn't sure if she was a clone or not, but this much he knew: She wasn't like any girl he'd ever met before. Or wanted to meet again.

Amy and Tasha had been watching a movie on TV for almost an hour. Amy was glad Tasha seemed to be into itЧthat gave Amy time to think about her next plan of action. Obviously, she couldn't approach Aimee again if her mother was around. So she'd have to figure out another way to make the girl listen to her. . . .
"Isn't Leonardo DiCaprio adorable?" Tasha sighed.
"Oh, sure, he's fabulous," Amy replied.
Tasha turned to her. "Amy, Leonardo DiCaprio isn't in this movie. You're not even paying attention to it."
"I know," Amy said. "I guess I've just got too much on my mind."
Tasha nodded. "I've got something on my mind too."
Amy was eager for a distraction, and she knew that something had been bugging Tasha. "What?"
"You and Eric."
"What about me and Eric?"
"You're getting awfully close."
"We've been friends for a while now, if that's what you mean."
"I think you want to be more than friends," Tasha said.
Amy fell silent. Then she admitted the truth. "Well, sort of. Well, I mean . . . yeah." She turned to her friend. "Is it bothering you?"
Tasha nodded.
"I'm sorry," Amy said. "You know, you're still my number-one best friend. And we've always talked about having boyfriends someday."
"But not Eric," Tasha moaned. "Not my brother."
"Why not? He's not my brother. To me, he's a regular boy. A cute boy."
Tasha looked at her in horror. "Eric? Cute?"
"Okay, maybe not to you," Amy said. "But to me . . . yeah. He's cute."
"I can't understand it," Tasha said. "It gives me the creeps, thinking about the two of you. And don't you dare say I'm jealous."
"I wasn't going to say that," Amy told her. "What I was going to say is, well, if it really bugs you to see me and Eric together, I'll tell him we can't be together."
Tasha was surprised. "You'd do that for me?"
Amy nodded. "I won't be happy about it, but I'll do it."
Tasha fell silent. "I guess I can't ask you to do that," she said finally.
"Whew, that's a relief," Amy said.
Tasha looked at her curiously. "Has he ever kissed you?"
"No," Amy admitted. "Not yet. I mean, we've never even been on a date."
Tasha gazed up at the ceiling. "I wonder if he'll kiss her tonight?"
Amy picked up a pillow and tossed it at Tasha.