Girls Only! Read Online Free

Olympics: Jenna Song, Heather Bock, Miranda Garcia, and Livvy herself. Heather was an ice dancer with her older brother, Kevin. Manda was an Alpine skier.
    “What’s up with old business?” Jenna said, giving a nod to Heather. Blond and vivacious, Heather had been both the secretary and the treasurer for the club. Now that Manda was one of the foursome, she was in charge of the bucks. Not that there was much money to be in charge of. All the same, Manda held the position of treasurer.
    “Let’s vote on what to do for our springtime activity,” Heather spoke up. “It’s been months since we’ve performed anything for our families.”
    Manda wore a fleeting frown. “Easter’s only a few weeks away. Not much time to pull something together.”
    Livvy wondered about Manda’s comment. Was there a downhill event coming up for her? Manda was a first-rate skier. Maybe she didn’t want to be distracted. “Are you training for a race?” Livvy asked thoughtfully.
    Manda shook her head. “My mom and I are going to visit my grandparents in Kansas over Easter weekend.”
    “Oh,” Jenna said, face drooping. “That’ll leave just the three of us.”
    “Maybe we should skip it,” Livvy said, feeling as glum as Jenna looked.
    “Why can’t we do something anyway?” Heather suggested. “You wouldn’t mind, would you, Manda?”
    Livvy, Jenna, and Heather turned simultaneously toward the tall, Hispanic skier. Blushing, Manda pursed her lips. “I don’t want to be a party pooper,” she said comically.
    “Oh, don’t worry. You’re never that,” Livvy assured her.
    Manda nodded, grinning. “Sure . . . go ahead, plan something for Easter. I’ll cheer you on from afar.”
    Was there still some hesitation in Manda’s voice? Livvy kept staring—not to be rude, she just wanted to be sure Manda really didn’t mind. “You know, it would be real easy to wait till you get back,” she said. “We could put on a program after the holy days.”
    Manda insisted, shaking her head. “Do whatever you like. Honest. I’m cool with it.”
    So, with Manda’s help, the girls put their heads together. They decided to create a pageant-type play. “Complete with our pets,” Jenna said, stroking her golden-haired cat, Sasha.
    “Who’s going to write the play?” Heather asked.
    The room was still. The girls eyed one another without speaking. Almost bashfully.
    At last, Jenna volunteered. “If no one else wants to, I’ll do it.”
    Applause followed, and Jenna’s face lit up. Her jet black hair shone under the ceiling lights. “In case you didn’t know it, I have a secret dream.” Her eyes squinted nearly shut.
    “Let me guess,” teased Livvy.
    But Jenna volunteered the secret before Livvy could say more. “I’ve always wanted to be a script writer.”
    Livvy wasn’t surprised. Jenna was known to be quite creative on paper. She loved writing in her leather-bound book. Every day she wrote, no matter what.
    “How will you keep up with writing and gymnastics?” Manda asked. “When you’re an adult, I mean.”
    Jenna smiled her perky smile. “If God wants me to do it, I’ll give everything my best shot.”
    Livvy said softly, “My mother used to say, ‘Your creative strengths will start to narrow down as you grow up.’ ” She startled herself. It had been months since she’d spoken so openly about her deceased mother.
    Heather reached over and squeezed Livvy’s arm. “I think your mom was positively right.”
    There was lots more talk of the pageant—how to bring certain animal pets into the show. “Be sure to include Livvy’s talking parrot,” Manda piped up. “Coco’s a real kick.”
    “Yeah, we could train him to do the echoes,” Jenna said, her eyes blinking.
    “What echoes are you talking about?” Livvy asked.
    The girls burst out laughing.
    “Yeah, what’s with the echoes?” Heather said.
    Jenna’s olive skin turned slightly purple. “Oh, whatever.”
    “Please, just put lots of action