"Martin, Ann M - BSC070 - Stacey And The Cheerleaders" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin Ann M)

"Okay!" Watson cried. "I'm out of here!"
We were cracking up. I always thought Watson was bland and serious, but I guess everyone has a goofy side.
Anyway, we dug in to the platter. The food was delicious (and nothing was sugary Ч thank you, Watson). We gabbed a mile a minute about the game. We laughed, we gossiped, we made a total mess.
It turned out to be one of our best sleepovers ever. And I realized something. I had some of the best friends ever.
Chapter 5.
Sheila was standing outside homeroom on Monday morning. So were Darcy and Penny. They were looking at me with humongous smiles, as if they'd been waiting for me.
Darcy and Penny were not in my homeroom. I had no idea what they were doing there.
As 1 walked closer, they turned to each other and giggled.
Uh-oh.
They were going to torment me. That's what this was all about. They were going to laugh about the sleepover. 1 almost ran off.
But no. I held my chin high. If they were going to act that way, I'd just march right past them into the room.
"Stacey, you are going to die!" Sheila exclaimed.
Huh?
I stood there, staring. I must have looked
like a department-store mannequin.
They started giggling again. Sheila whispered to Darcy, "You tell her."
"Why do I have to?" Darcy replied.
"She's your friend, Sheila," Penny said.
"You guys are such babies!" Sheila exhaled with frustration. "Okay. Come here, Stacey. I don't want the whole world to know."
I walked over to them. They looked as if they were ready to burst with excitement.
"Robert likes you," Sheila said.
My brain did not handle the sentence. It was as if Sheila had said, "Your hair is blue," or "Yesterday is tomorrow," or "Life is a cheeseburger." No logic, no sense.
"What?" was my response.
Giggles again.
"He noticed you on Friday night," Darcy said. "At the Pizza Express."
"Remember, when your slices stuck together?" Sheila added.
"Love at first bite!" Penny covered her mouth and laughed at her own joke.
"Well Ч but Ч how Ч " My brain was now rediscovering the English language, but slowly. "What about Corinne?" I finally asked.
"What about her?" Penny asked.
"Robert is interested in her, isn't he?"
The girls exchanged a knowing glance. "Cor-
inne is the only one who thinks Robert is interested in her," Darcy replied.
Robert? Interested in me? Oh, please. He didn't know me. I wasn't one of The Group.
"His dad gave a bunch of us a ride home that night," Sheila said. "I was the last person he dropped off, so Robert and I had a few minutes in the car together. We were talking about the game, and then he said to me, and I quote, 'You seem to know Stacey pretty well. Is she going steady with RJ?' Just like that, out of the clear blue sky." Sheila paused for effect. I caught my breath. "Now, I didn't know the answer for sure. But I remembered you said you didn't like the movie. And I got the feeling you guys didn't . . . you know . . . kiss or anything. And you and RJ weren't exactly acting like lovebirds. So I decided to tell him you weren't. Was that okay?"
"I wasn't what?" I asked.
"Going steady with RJ!" Sheila answered with exasperation. "You're not, are you?"
"No!" I answered too loudly. I could feel myself blushing. "I mean, you were right to say that."
"Lucky," Penny said. "Robert is a real nine-one-one."
I looked at her blankly. "A nine-one-one?"
"You've never heard that expression?" She
shook her head in disbelief. "It's like calling nine-one-one because you're about to die from excitement? You know?"
"Right," I said. (I guessed that was a "Group" expression.)
"Well, I don't blame him," Sheila remarked. "He has good taste."
"Oh, groan," Darcy said. Then she looked at me and added quickly, "Really, he's also the nicest guy, Stacey. Sometimes the good-looking ones are jerks, but Robert's different."
"Anyway, I said he should call you," Sheila added. "And he said he would. So be prepared."
Boy, was I smiling. "You guys, I don't know what to say. Thanks for telling me."
"That's what friends are for," Sheila replied with a warm smile.
Darcy looked at her watch. "Oops, almost time for our practice," she said to Penny. Both girls laughed. I didn't get the joke.
"Sheila," Penny said, "did you tell Stacey about . . . you know what?"
I laughed. "Another secret?"