"Truth or Dare - Pfeffer, Susan Beth" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pfeffer Susan Beth)

She remembered my name! She might even have saved a chair for me. Life really was getting better and better.
"We were just talking about Jessica's plans for winter vacation," Amy said. "They sound great."
"You already have plans for December?" Tasked.
"My parents like to make plans early for things," Jessica replied. "My mother always says it's better to plan ahead and then make changes than not to make your plans until it's too late."
"Jessica is going to California," Michelle said. "Again."
"Jessica's been to California a thousand times," Amy said.
"More," Michelle said. "I'm so jealous. Do you know how many great-looking boys there are in California?"
"No," Libby said. "How many are there, Michelle?"
"Millions," Michelle answered. "At least."
"She gets to go to Disneyland too," Amy said. "I've always wanted to go to Disney-land."
"It is fun," Jessica said. "I go with my cousins. We only go to California because my uncle lives there."
"Her uncle is a big-shot director," Michelle said. "And he knows all the big stars, and he has parties for them whenever Jessica's family is out there, and Jessica gets to meet everybody."
"I don't meet everybody," Jessica said. "But I do get to meet some of my favorite stars. And sometimes someone'll take my picture with them. I really enjoy that."
"I'll bet," I said. "I've never met anybody famous."
"Some of them can be really obnoxious," Jessica declared. "Especially if they've been drinking. But most of them are very friendly. I love going to California."
"Tell Cathy about your uncle's house," Amy said. "That house sounds so wonderful."
"He lives in Beverly Hills," Jessica said. "With his new wife and their kids. I guess she isn't really his new wife anymore, but that's what my father calls her because my uncle was married once before, and my father liked his first wife better."
"Tell us about the house," Amy insisted. "Enough about your uncle's wives."
Jessica laughed. "Amy loves to hear about the house," she explained to me. "I have to tell her about it every time I come back from California."
"I just wish I got to visit people with houses like that," Amy said. "You should see the pictures of it."
"It's very big," Jessica said. "I guess there are eight bedrooms, and each one has a bath, and there's a living room and dining room and all that It's very Spanish looking."
"It has a pool," Amy said impatiently. "And a pool house with separate rooms for
the men and women to change in. And a tennis court. They have their own tennis court. Can you imagine?"
"That's amazing," I said. "I've never seen a house like that, except on TV."
"Sometimes if it's really hot when we're there, we go swimming in December," Jessica said. "I like that best of all."
"She comes back with a suntan," Michelle said. "All my family ever does is go to my grandparents' house in New Jersey. Nobody ever got a suntan in New Jersey. Not even in the summertime."
"Do you travel much?" Jessica asked me. "You must find all this talk about my family really boring."
"No, I don't," I said, a little more loudly than I'd intended. "It's hard for my family to plan vacations together because my parents both work, and they have to get time off at the same time, and that's hard for them sometimes. We did go to Boston, but I already told you about that."
"I've never been to Boston," Jessica said. "I'll bet it's very nice."
"Beverly Hills sounds nicer," I said.
"My family only goes to Minnesota in the summer," Libby said. "If you go in the winter lots of times you can get snowed* in until springtime." ,
"I'd die if I got snowed in in New
Jersey," Michelle said. "I think there's a law against cute boys living in New Jersey."
"Just as long as there's food, I don't care where I am," Amy said. "But I guess if I had to choose between Beverly Hills and New Jersey, I'd pick Beverly Hills."
"I like it here," Libby said. "I'd pick New York."
"That wasn't the choice," Amy said. "It was between New Jersey and Beverly Hills."
"Libby*s family came with mine a couple of years ago," Jessica said. "They stayed at a hotel, but we did stuff together all the time. Libby and I had a great time."
I stared at Libby. I couldn't believe she'd been in California with Jessica and hadn't even thought it worth mentioning. I would have been thrilled just going to New Jersey with Jessica. She probably knew millions of famous people even there.
"Is there any place you'd like to go, Cathy?" Jessica asked me. I loved how she was trying to draw me into the conversation. I had to think hard, though, to come up with any place glamorous enough to impress her.
"Bolivia," I finally said.
Jessica's eyes opened wide. "Bolivia?" she asked. "Why there?"
I had done a paper on Bolivia the year before, but that seemed like a dumb reason. I tried to remember what I'd said in my paper that would be a good reason to want to go to Bolivia, and finally I remembered the Andes.
"The Andes," I said. "They're a giant mountain range. I'd really love to see the Andes."
"What an interesting place to want to go," Jessica said. "I'm impressed."
I had impressed Jessica. Without even meaning to. Thank goodness I had remembered the Andes.
"How's your sandwich today, Libby?" Amy asked. "Better than yesterday's?"
"Much," Libby said. "I bought it here."
We all laughed. I loved laughing with them. It made me feel like part of a crowd, the way I used to feel with Prancie and Mary Kay. I kept that warm happy feeling through the rest of lunch, and during my afternoon classes, and straight through my walk home. I didn't see Libby after school, so I walked home alone, but it still felt good.
As soon as I got in, I started writing to Mark to tell him about my new friends, and about Jessica in particular. She was so exciting and friendly and modest. I'd noticed how she never bragged about herself unless
Amy or Michelle made her. And whenever the conversation would be about her for too long, she's change the subject by asking somebody a question. Most of the time it was me. I hadn't been able to keep count of how often she'd smiled at me, it was so many times. She was definitely the most wonderful friend I'd ever had, and I was just very sorry Mark wouldn't get to meet her until Thanksgiving.