"Replica10 - Ice Cold - Kaye, Marilyn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kaye Marilyn)

"Tasha!" Amy said. She could see the panic developing on her mother's face. "It's okay, Mom. I'll be perfectly happy with a bob."

She took a seat on top of the kitchen stool while Nancy arranged a hairbrush, comb, and scissors on the table. She covered Amy's shoulders with an old bedsheet and began combing Amy's wet hair. "Honey . . ."

"What?"

"Are you absolutely sure you want a haircut?"

"Absolutely," Amy said. "Mom, I have to start looking more mature."

"Why?"

Amy and Tasha exchanged looks. Parents never understood why it was important to appear older.

Tasha supplied an excuse. "Ms. Candler, you know that Amy was elected student council representative from her homeroom last week, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Nancy said. "I'm very proud of her."

"Well, if she looks more mature, she'll get more respect from her classmates," Tasha declared.

Amy couldn't see her mother's expression, but she wondered if Nancy bought Tasha's rationale. Personally, she didn't think a haircut would make her classmates treat her any differently. "I still can't believe I won that election," she mused.

"And you beat Jeanine Bryant," Tasha added. "That has to feel good."

Amy didn't deny it. There was something very satisfying about winning an election where her opponent was the girl who had been her archrival since first grade. Then Amy flinched at the first sound of the scissors taking a cut out of her hair. To keep her mind off what was happening behind her back, she went on talking. "And I didn't even have to use any super-powers to win, either. All I did was make a speech in homeroom."

"What was the speech about?" her mother asked.

"Just how the student council should be more aware of what's going on at school, so the students can be more involved."

Tasha moved around behind Amy so she could better observe the transformation. "Are you sure that's even, Ms. Candler?"

Although she couldn't see her mother, Amy knew she was speaking through clenched teeth. "Tasha, please don't stand there, you're making me nervous."

"Sorry," Tasha said. She went to sit at the table across from Amy. "Did Jeanine make a speech too?"

"Not really," Amy said. She gasped a little as she felt another chunk of hair fall from her head. "She just said something like 'Vote for me,' and then she handed out big pink-and-white buttons with her name on them. The next day she gave out pens, and the day after, rulers. They were all monogrammed with her name."

"Wow," Tasha said. "She must have spent some serious money."

"I guess so," Amy agreed, trying very hard not to listen to the squeak of the scissors as they worked their way across her head. "But she's got plenty of money to spend. Did you see her new bag?"

Tasha nodded. "How could I miss it? She was dangling it in everyone's face. She made sure everyone saw the label so they'd know it wasn't one of those designer rip-offs. Did you see what she was showing off on Friday?"

Amy started to nod, but her mother said sharply, "Don't move," so she froze. But she certainly had noticed Jeanine's new acquisition. Lots of kids came to school with a Walkman, but she didn't know any other seventh-grader who had a portable CD player. "She says she buys at least five CDs every week."

"What kind of allowance does Jeanine get?" Tasha wondered.

"I don't know, but I'm sure she'll tell you if you ask her," Amy said. "Jeanine's never shy about showing off. Whatever she gets, it has to be more than we're getting." She raised her voice just slightly to make sure her mother caught that remark. Nancy didn't comment. Either she was concentrating on Amy's hair, or she just didn't want to get into another "Can I have a raise in my allowance?" discussion.