70% found this document useful (10 votes) 878 views 37 pages 247763831 Dork Diaries 4 Tales From a Not So Graceful Ice Princess Excerpt © © All
Rights Reserved PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd Share this documentDid you find this document useful?70% found this document useful (10 votes) 878 views37 pages Dork Diaries 4 Tales From A Not So Graceful Ice Princess ExcerptOriginal Title:247763831 Dork Diaries 4 Tales From a Not So Graceful Ice Princess Excerpt You're Reading a Free Preview You're Reading a Free Preview You're Reading a Free Preview You are here: Home › Children's Fiction › Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess (Dork Diaries, #4) download  Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess (Dork Diaries, #4) About the Books
Books Description It’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid for girls in this hilarious novel! I wasn’t at all surprised to find out that my crush Brandon volunteers at a local animal shelter. He’s SUCH a sweet guy—OF COURSE he wants to help those adorable puppies! Then Brandon tells me that the shelter is in danger of closing, and I know I can’t let that happen . . . especially when I discover a SHOCKING secret about Brandon that makes keeping that shelter open more important than ever. So I enter an ice skating competition with my friends Chloe and Zoey to help raise money for the shelter, but (big surprise!) MacKenzie has to stick her nose in and cause trouble so that SHE can be the one to swoop in and save the day. No way will I let that happen: I’ll just have to come up with some extra creative ideas this time! I wasn’t at all surprised to find out that my crush Brandon volunteers at a local animal shelter. He’s SUCH a sweet guy—OF COURSE he wants to help those adorable puppies! Then Brandon tells me that the shelter is in danger of closing, and I know I can’t let that happen . . . especially when I discover a SHOCKING secret about Brandon that makes keeping that shelter open more important than ever. Read an Excerpt:More Dork Diaries booksView All DorkDiaries.com ALADDIN * Simon & Schuster, New York * Cover designed by Lisa Vega * Cover illustrations Copyright © 2012 by Rachel Renée Russell * Ages 9–13 * 0612 * Meet the author watch videos, and get extras at KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com (NO SNOOPING ALLOWED!!! ) ALSO BY Rachel Renée Russell Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star Dork Diaries 31/2: How to Dork Your Diary This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. ALADDIN An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 www.SimonandSchuster.com First Aladdin hardcover edition June 2012 Copyright © 2012 by Rachel Renée Russell All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. ALADDIN is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and related logo is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. * The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com. * Designed by Lisa Vega The text of this book was set in Skippy Sharp. Full CIP data for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN 978-1-4424-1192-0 ISBN 978-1-44241193-7 (eBook) To my daughter Erin, the original, slightly insecure Dork, who grew up to be a bold, brainy, and beautiful Dork Contents Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Sunday, December 1 Chapter 2: Monday, December 2 Chapter 3: Tuesday, December 3 Chapter 4: Wednesday, December 4 Chapter 5: Thursday, December 5 Chapter 6: Friday, December 6 Chapter 7: Saturday, December 7 Chapter 8: Sunday, December 8 Chapter 9: Monday, December 9 Chapter 10: Tuesday, December 10 Chapter 11: Wednesday, December 11 Chapter 12: Thursday, December 12 Chapter 13: Friday, December 13 Chapter 14: Saturday, December 14 Chapter 15: Sunday, December 15 Chapter 16: Monday, December 16 Chapter 17: Tuesday, December 17 Chapter 18: Wednesday, December 18 Chapter 19: Thursday, December 19 Chapter 20: Friday, December 20 Chapter 21: Saturday, December 21 Chapter 22: Sunday, December 22 Chapter 23: Monday, December 23 Chapter 24: Tuesday, December 24 Chapter 25: Wednesday, December 25 Chapter 26: Thursday, December 26 Chapter 27: Friday, December 27 Chapter 28: Saturday, December 28 Chapter 29: Sunday, December 29 Chapter 30: Monday, December 30 Chapter 31: Tuesday, December 31 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To all of my Dork Diaries fans—thank you for allowing these books into your hearts. There could be no Nikki Maxwell without you. Why? Because YOU are HER! Stay uniquely you and always remember to let your inner DORK shine through. Liesa Abrams Mignogna, my fabulous editor, who makes writing these books so inspiring and so much fun that I STILL pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. Like Nikki Maxwell, you’re an amazing real-life Dork with a hot photographer crush (your hubby!). Thank you for being my dream editor! Lisa Vega, my supertalented art director, who works tirelessly on this book series and knows the Dork Diaries character art SO well you’re able to tell ME when MacKenzie is having a bad hair day. That’s just too awesomely weird. Mara Anastas, Paul Crichton, Carolyn Swerdloff, Matt Pantoliano, Katherine Devendorf, Alyson Heller, and the rest of my wonderful team at Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, thank you for taking this series into the stratosphere with your vision and hard work. Daniel Lazar, my supersweet, hardworking agent at Writers House, thank you for your blood, sweat, and tears. There’s just no way I could have done any of this without you. Most of all, thank you for supporting my dreams and slightly wacky ideas. You are truly a dear friend. A special thanks to Stephen Barr for all your help on our How to Dork Your Diary book and for keeping me laughing. And to Torie Doherty for keeping everything organized and sending me those exciting e-mails. Maja Nikolic, Cecilia de la Campa, and Angharad Kowal, my foreign rights agents at Writers House, thank you for putting the Dork Diaries books into the hands of children around the world. Nikki Russell, my supertalented assistant artist, and Erin Russell, my supertalented assistant writer. OMG! Where do I begin? I am so happy and blessed to be your mom. Thank you for helping me bring this book series to the world. You’re the original Dorks, who were (and still ARE) my inspiration for writing these books. I love you both SO much! Sydney James, Cori James, Presli James, Arianna Robinson, and Mikayla Robinson, my nieces, for being brutal critique partners and willing to work for a shopping spree at the mall and cheese fries. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1 OMG! I have never been so EMBARRASSED in my entire life!! And this time, it WASN’T at the hands of my snobby, lip-gloss-addicted enemy, MacKenzie Hollister. I still can’t figure out why my very own sister, Brianna, would humiliate me like this. It all started earlier this afternoon, when I noticed my hair was greasier than a supersized order of fries. I needed either a shower or an emergency Jiffy Lube oil change. I’m so NOT lying. I hadn’t been in the shower more than a minute when SOMEONE started pounding on the bathroom door like a maniac. I nervously peeked out of the shower and was like, “What the . . . ??!!” “How much longer are you going to HOG the bathroom?” Brianna yelled. “NIKKI . . . ?!” BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! “Brianna, stop banging on the door! I’m in the shower!” “But I think I left my doll in there. She and Miss Penelope were having a pool party and—” “WHAT?! Sorry, Brianna! I do NOT want to hear about your poo in the potty.” “NO! I said ‘POOL PARTY’! I need to come in and get my doll so I—” “I CAN’T open the door right now. GO AWAY!!” “But, Nikki, I gotta use the toilet! Really BAD!” “Just use the one downstairs!” “But my doll isn’t in the bathroom downstairs!” “Sorry, but you can’t get your doll right now! Wait until I’m done with my shower!” Unfortunately, one minute later . . . BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! Did Brianna think I was stupid or something? I was NOT about to fall for the old open-the-bathroom- door-because-you-have-a-very-important-telephone-call trick. “Sure, Brianna! Just tell ’em I don’t feel like talking right now.” “Um, hello. Nikki says she doesn’t want to talk right now. . . . I don’t know? Hold on . . . ! Nikki, the person wants to know when to call back.” BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! “NIKKI?! The person wants to know when—” “NEVER! Tell them to call back NEVER! And they can DROP DEAD for all I care. All I want to do right now is TAKE A SHOWER!! So, please, Brianna! Just LEAVE ME ALONE!!” “Um, hello. Nikki said to call her back never! And drop dead too! . . . Uh-huh. And guess why . . . ?!” That’s when it occurred to me that just maybe someone WAS actually on the telephone. But WHO? I hardly ever get any telephone calls. “Because YOU got COOTIES! That’s why!” Brianna laughed like a criminally insane clown. I was a little worried because that insult sounded really . . . familiar. She’d said the exact same thing to someone just yesterday. But there was no way that person would EVER call ME! Suddenly I got this really sick, panicky feeling deep inside, and my mouth started screaming, “NOOOOOOOO!” I grabbed a towel and scrambled out of the shower soaking wet and completely covered in soap suds. “Okay, Brianna!!” I whisper-shouted. “GIVE. ME. THAT. PHONE. NOW!” But she just stuck her tongue out at me and continued blabbing on the phone like she was talking to a long-lost friend from kindergarten. I could NOT believe Brianna was telling all of MY personal business like that. How DARE she?! “Brianna! Hand over that phone or else . . . !” “Say ‘pretty please with sugar on top’!” “Okay! Give me the phone, pretty please with sugar on top!” “NO! Too bad, so sad!” Then that evil little munchkin stuck her tongue out at me (AGAIN!) and continued blabbing on the phone. “Anyway, my friend Miss Penelope sneaked Nikki’s new perfume. She loved how it smelled even though she doesn’t got a nose. We sprayed it on stuff to make it smell pretty. Like my feet, the garbage can in the garage, and that dead squirrel in Mrs. Wallabanger’s backyard!” Hijacking my phone calls was bad enough. But she’s been fumigating things with my Sassy Sasha perfume as well?! I wanted to STRANGLE her! “Give me that PHONE, you little BRAT!” I hissed. But she just said “Toodles!” and took off running. Chasing Brianna was VERY dangerous! OMG! At one point I slipped and almost slid right down the stairs and into the kitchen. That would have been a first-degree rug burn for sure! OUCH! It made me cringe just thinking about it! I finally cornered Brianna and was just about to tackle her, when she dropped the phone and ran screaming down the hall. “Help! Help! The slime mold in the shower grew arms and legs and is trying to SLIME me! Somebody call 911!” I picked up the phone and tried to act coolly nonchalant, and not like I was standing there . . . 1. In a bath towel 2. Dripping wet, AND 3. Covered with enough soap suds to wash a small herd of very dirty llamas. I cleared my throat and answered in my cutest, most perky-sounding voice . . . “UM . . . HELLO-OO!!” “Nikki? What’s up! It’s me, Brandon!” I could NOT believe what my ears were actually hearing. This was the very FIRST time my crush had ever called me! I thought I was going to have a heart attack right there on the spot. “Hi, Brandon! I’m really sorry. That was my little sister. She makes up the craziest stuff. Actually.” “No problem! So . . . I’m just calling to let you know I’m inviting a few friends over for my birthday in January. I was hoping you, Chloe, and Zoey would come.” That’s when I fainted. Okay, ALMOST fainted. “Wow! Um, well! I, er . . . Can you hold on for a minute? There’s something I need to do.” “Sure. Do you want me to call you back?” “Nope. It’ll only take a minute.” I carefully covered the phone with my hand and then proceeded to have a massively severe attack of RCS, also known as . . . ROLLER COASTER SYNDROME!! Okay. So maybe I overreacted just a little bit. It wasn’t like Brandon was asking me out on a date or something. I wish! Anyway, after we finished our telephone conversation, I pinched myself really hard just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. OUCH!! Yep, I was awake! Which means CHLOE, ZOEY, AND I ARE INVITED TO BRANDON’S PARTY !!! It’s gonna be a blast! I can hardly wait! Especially considering the fact that I’m the biggest dork at my school and pretty much NEVER get invited to parties. OMG! I JUST HAD THE MOST HORRIBLE THOUGHT !!! . . . After his conversation with Brianna, Brandon probably thinks I’m some kind of, um . . . HAIRY-LEGGED . . . CRUSTY-EYED . . . FREAK!!! Why would he want to hang out with ME?!! There is NO WAY I can go to Brandon’s party! I’m going to call him back right now and tell him I can’t come. DUH!! I completely forgot! I STILL need to finish my SHOWER! So I’ll call him afterward. And then I’m going to crawl into a very deep hole and . . . DIE of EMBARRASSMENT! ! MONDAY, DECEMBER 2 I’m totally dreading seeing Brandon in school today. It’s hard to believe that just a couple days ago we were rocking our school’s talent show together in our band, Dorkalicious (also known as Actually, I’m Not Really Sure Yet). Yes, it’s a crazy name and a long story. He even gave me lessons on his drum set. It seemed like we were FINALLY becoming good friends. But then Brianna the Brat RUINED everything! I’m surprised Brandon even bothered to invite me to his party. I bet he only did it because he feels sorry for me or something. I wanted to talk to Chloe and Zoey about all of this during gym, but I didn’t get a chance to. Mainly because the entire class was buzzing about nabbing a really cool, FREE T-shirt for this show called Holiday on Ice. But after our gym teacher practically shattered my eardrums, all I really wanted was for her to accidentally SWALLOW that stupid whistle! Then she made a big announcement. . . . “Okay. Listen up, people! We’ll be starting our ice-skating section next week. Grades will be based on the skill level each student successfully masters. However, as part of our Westchester Country Day holiday tradition and to encourage community service, all eighth-grade students participating in the Westchester Holiday on Ice charity show on December thirty-first will get to practice their routines during class and receive an automatic A. Yes, folks! You heard that right! I’ll be giving out As like candy canes to support this great cause. Just let me know whether you’ll be doing the skills testing or the ice show. Now hustle up to the table and grab a free Holiday on Ice T-shirt. Then get started on your warm-up exercises.” That T-shirt thing did NOT go so well for me. By the time I got to the table, all that was left was size XXXXXL. MacKenzie, of course, looked like she was ready for the summer cover of Seventeen magazine. I was so . . . DISGUSTED ! Of course MacKenzie took one look at my T-shirt and started giving me unwanted fashion advice. “Nikki, do you want to hear my idea for how to make your T-shirt stylishly elegant, yet practical?” “No, MacKenzie. Actually, I don’t.” “Just add three inches of white lace around the hem, a veil, and a bouquet of flowers, and you can use it as a WEDDING dress! Then all you have to do is PAY some FREAKISHLY ugly guy to marry you!” I could NOT believe she actually said that right to my face like that. “Thanks, MacKenzie!” I said, smiling sweetly. “But where will I find a freakishly ugly guy? Oh, I know! Do YOU have a twin BROTHER?!” Only MacKenzie would be STUPID enough to make a wedding dress out of a five-sizes-too-big T-shirt. But that’s because her IQ is LOWER than an empty bottle of nail polish! MACKENZIE’S VERY STUPID IDEA FOR A DESIGNER T-SHIRT WEDDING DRESS Calling MacKenzie a “mean girl” is an understatement. She’s a GRIZZLY BEAR with a French manicure and blond hair extensions. But I’m not jealous of her or anything. Like, how juvenile would THAT be? Anyway, I was excited about skating in class. The last time I did it was back in, like, third grade, and it was a lot of fun. Chloe said we’d be skating at the ice hockey arena at WCD High School. Apparently, the Holiday on Ice show is a big deal, and only students in grades eight to twelve can participate to raise money for their favorite charity. The show donates $3,000 to every charity that a skater, skating pair, or group sponsors. We were about to start our exercises when suddenly Chloe got this crazy look in her eyes and started doing jazz hands. “Hey, you guys! Guess what I’m thinking!” But I already knew. Lately, she’s been obsessed with this new book called The Ice Princess. It’s about a girl and a guy who have been best friends since grade school. She’s training to be a world-class figure skater while he’s working toward a spot on the Olympic hockey team. Just as they’re about to fall in love, they discover that their ice arena is the secret hideout of the Deadly Ice Vambies, half-vampire and half-zombie beings whose supernatural ice-skating abilities grow more and more powerful every time they eat a double bacon cheeseburger. “There is no reason why WE can’t be Ice Princesses too! Just like Crystal Coldstone!” Chloe sighed dreamily. Personally, I could think of TWO very good reasons why we COULDN’T be like Crystal. First, we haven’t been training with a skating coach for the past twelve years. Second, it was going to be really difficult to slay Deadly Ice Vambies on school nights and still get our homework done on time. Zoey got this wistful, faraway look in her eyes. “How ROMANTIC! And hockey players ARE kind of cute! Besides, I’d much rather make up a really cool skating routine and get an A than do boring skills testing. We’ll have a blast! How about it, Nikki?” “I don’t know, guys. Skating for a charity is a really big responsibility. They’re going to be depending on us for money to help keep their doors open. And what if something goes wrong?” “Come on, Nikki!” Chloe whined. “We’re not good enough to skate individually, and skating pairs require a girl and a guy. But the three of us can skate as a group. We can’t do this without you!” “Sorry, but you’re going to have to find someone else!” I said, shaking my head. “But we want YOU!” Zoey pleaded. “Yeah, and don’t forget! We were there for you when you needed us for the talent show,” Chloe argued. “BFFs help each other!” Okay, I have to admit Chloe had a good point about the talent show. But it wasn’t like I’d promised them my firstborn child in exchange for them singing backup. Then Chloe and Zoey shrewdly resorted to a sophisticated tactic that effectively rendered me helpless. . . . “Okay, guys! I’m IN! But you can’t say I didn’t warn you!” I sighed. We sealed the deal with a group hug. “Great! Now all we have to do is find a local charity to skate for,” Zoey said. “Unfortunately, that’s going to be the hardest part,” Chloe said. “All of the high school kids have been signing up charities for a few weeks now. So we’re getting a really late start. But I’m pretty sure we’ll find one,” she added cheerfully. “OMG!” Zoey squealed. “This will be just like our old Ballet of the Zombies days! Only we’ll be getting an A instead of a D.” Actually, I kind of like that part too. It is going to be great to finally get an A in gym ! Fortunately, ice-skating DOESN’T involve embarrassing armpit stains, painful stomach cramps, or getting whacked in the head by a ball, like most of the stuff we are forced to do in gym. And all of our work is going to be for a really great cause that will help the community. But most important, I’ll be making Chloe and Zoey superhappy by allowing them to live out their dreams. We decided to skate to “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” since it has a holiday theme. And we figured being fairy princesses would be superexciting and glamorous. So I’m not going to stress out about this whole Holiday on Ice thing. As long as I have my two BFFs by my side, everything is going to work out just fine. I mean, how HARD can figure skating be?! !! TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3 Today in social studies we discussed career goals. But since I plan to attend a major university to become a professional illustrator, I decided to spend the hour writing in my diary instead. I felt it was the right thing to do since teachers always nag us students to use our class time wisely. Most of the kids had not given much thought to their futures. But my friend Theodore Swagmire III was totally obsessing over it. And it didn’t help that the class snickered when he shared his plans for the future. I felt a little sorry for him. He’s one of the dorkiest guys in the school. So, being the very kind and supportive friend that I am, I decided to encourage Theo to pursue his goals in life: The GOOD news is that our little chat made Theo feel a lot better !! The BAD news is that he decided to start saving his allowance to buy a magic wand ! Anyway, after class was over, Theo asked me if I was planning to come to Brandon’s party in January. I wanted to tell the truth and just say no. But instead, I made up an excuse. And not just a run-of-the-mill flimsy excuse. It was a totally unbelievable, embarrassingly STUPID one. “I was planning to come. But I found out I had, um . . . an appointment to . . . take my sick . . . um, unicorn . . . to the . . . vet, actually.” Theo looked superconfused and scratched his head. “You have a unicorn?” I wanted to say, “Hey, Wizard Boy! I probably got MY unicorn from the same place you’re getting YOUR magic wand!” But I didn’t. Then in biology class, my very cruddy day turned into a complete DISASTER! Brandon and I said hi to each other, but that was about it. The entire hour he just kind of stared at me with this perplexed look on his face. He was probably imagining me as some kind of CRUSTY-EYED, HAIRY-LEGGED BEAST! MacKenzie took full advantage of the situation and would NOT shut up! I almost PUKED on my lab report when I heard her ask Brandon if he thought her Berry-Sweet-’n’- Flirty lip gloss color matched her flawless complexion. I could not believe she actually had the nerve to ask him something so ridiculously VAIN. Especially when EVERYONE knows MacKenzie’s so-called flawless complexion is from U-PAY-WE-SPRAY Tanning Salon at the mall. That pukey-orange tan they sprayed on her is so tacky. Personally, I think she looks like a sunburned Malibu Barbie dipped in Cheetos dust. Then MacKenzie got all giggly and said, “Oh, by the way, Brandon, I heard you’re having a party.” I was like, “Yeah, MacKenzie! And you’ll ONLY be HEARING about it, because you’re NOT invited!” But I just said that inside my head, so no one else heard it but me. I was shocked by what that girl did next! She tried to HYPNOTIZE Brandon into inviting her to his party by flirting with him and twirling her hair AROUND and AROUND and AROUND her finger. Just watching her made ME dizzy. Thank goodness our teacher interrupted her. “MacKenzie, if you have time to chitchat in class, please go to the back of the room and clean out all of the rat cages. Otherwise, PLEASE. SIT. DOWN!” MacKenzie practically RAN back to her seat. OMG! It was SO funny! She totally deserved it. But now she’s giving ME the EVIL EYE from across the room like it was MY fault she almost got stuck doing rat-poop duty. Anyway, I’m still convinced Brandon gave me a pity invitation. He probably didn’t want to hurt my feelings. I plan to tell him tomorrow that I can’t make it to his party because I have another activity planned for that exact same time. WHAT will I be doing? Sitting on my bed in my pajamas, STARING at the wall and SULKING!!!!!! !! WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4 This morning I was feeling kind of down. Even Chloe and Zoey noticed and asked me if I was okay. But I decided NOT to tell them about my mega-embarrassing phone conversation with Brandon. Especially after they went on and on about how EXCITED they were about his party. On my way to lunch I decided to stop by my locker and drop off my backpack. I was beyond surprised when I opened my locker door and a NOTE fell out! At first I thought it was from Chloe and Zoey and they were trying to cheer me up or something. But then I read it. Like, THREE TIMES! OMG! I thought I was going to have a meltdown right there in front of my locker. . . . I had no idea what Brandon wanted to talk to me about. My heart was pounding as I peeked inside the newspaper room. I immediately recognized his shaggy hair behind a computer monitor. “Nikki!” Brandon smiled, waved, and gestured for me to come over. Like an idiot, I looked behind me to make sure he wasn’t talking to some other, um . . . Nikki. “Yeah. Actually, I do.” That’s when I noticed Brandon looked a little nervous too. “Well! HERE I AM!” I blurted out all cheerful-like and louder than I meant to. “Okay, um, I talked to Theo yesterday, and he said you can’t come to my party.” GULP! Brandon talked to . . . THEO?! OH! CRUD! I just kept smiling stupidly as Brandon continued. “He said something about you having to take care of a, um, sick unicorn?” Just great! NOW Brandon was going to think I am a crusty-eyed, hairy-legged, SCHIZOPHRENIC HYPOCHONDRIAC! “Really? Theo told you that?” I blinked my eyes all innocentlike and laughed nervously. “That’s . . . quite hilarious, actually. Theo’s got a big imagination. Just like my little sister. She’s as cute a button, but you can’t believe a word she says. Especially if it’s about . . . ME!” “Yeah, tell me about it.” Brandon laughed. “I wish I had a dollar for every time Brianna told me I have cooties.” Suddenly he stared at me so intensely it made me squirm. “Nikki, you didn’t seriously think I actually believed any of that stuff Brianna said about you, did you?” “OMG! Of course not! Like, how immature would THAT be?” I giggled nervously. “Actually, Chloe, Zoey, and I can’t WAIT to come to your party.” Brandon broke into a big grin. “Cool! You had me worried there for a minute.” “So, what are you working on right now?” I asked, trying to change the topic. I leaned over and peeked at his computer screen. I saw snapshots of the cutest puppy and kitten. “AWWW!” I gushed. “They’re ADORABLE!” “Those two are from the Fuzzy Friends Animal Rescue Center. These pictures are going to run in the Westchester Herald next week.” “Wow! Impressive. Does the animal center pay you to do that?” “Nope. I guess you could say I volunteer my time. I want to be a veterinarian one day, so I really enjoy working with animals. Even though photographing them can be pretty challenging.” “Well, I think it’s great that you take the time to help out. Sounds like fun!” “It is. Hey! Why don’t you come volunteer with me on Friday? I could use your help.” “Okay! That would be VERY cool!” Brandon brushed his bangs out of his eyes and gave me a crooked smile. I suddenly felt very nervous, giddy, and . . . nauseous. That’s when he kind of stared at me and I stared back at him. Then we both smiled and blushed. All of this staring, smiling, and blushing seemed to go on, like, FOREVER! Brandon and I spent the rest of the lunch hour just hanging out and talking about the animal shelter. He said it was run by a really nice semi-retired couple who used to own a pet shop. Then he took some photos out of his backpack and showed me all the animals that had already been placed in homes. So, not only is Brandon a supertalented photographer, but he has a really BIG heart, too. And get this! We went to my locker to pick up my books, and then we walked to bio together! SQUEEE!!! MacKenzie kept glaring at me and whispering to Jessica the entire hour, but I just ignored her. Okay, I admit it. I was wrong about the whole pity-invitation thing and Brandon not wanting to hang out with me. I’m actually looking forward to going to his party. And on Friday we’re going to have a BLAST volunteering at Fuzzy Friends!! Eat your heart out, MacKenzie!! !! THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5 During library today Chloe and Zoey were busy making telephone calls trying to find a charity for the Holiday on Ice show. Chloe called nine places and Zoey called seven, but no luck. The deadline for entering is next week, and we’re not even CLOSE to finding a charity. But there’s even MORE bad news! I just found out today that MacKenzie is also planning to participate in the Holiday on Ice show !! Why am I NOT surprised?! Probably because she really IS a coldhearted Ice Princess! Okay, so maybe that nasty little comment ISN’T quite true. Her heart isn’t COLD! She DOESN’T have one!! |
Tales from a not-so-graceful ice princess pdf
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