Green Algae and Bubble Gum Wars Read Online Free Page B

kidding me? Elena, your hair, as usual, looks perfect. And are you serious? Eye makeup? At nine in the morning? We’re not going to a party, mi hermana .”
    Elena Maria shrugged. “Well…I just thought…”
    Isabel knew exactly what her sister thought. Elena Maria’s cheeks were bright pink—and it wasn’t the blush she was wearing. “You look awesome, Elena. But you’re totally going to be the most dressed up girl at this thing.”
    But when they arrived at the train, Isabel saw that she was wrong—her sister was definitely not the most dressed-up girl attending the Sally Ride Science Festival. That prize had to go to (she should have known) the one—the only—Miss Maeve Kaplan-Taylor.
    â€œYoo-hoo! Martinez sisters! Over here!” Maeve waved her hand in the air, jangling the many charms on her bracelet.
    Despite the minor snag in her ensemble plan the night before, Maeve was extremely proud of her final selection,which she deemed oh-so-college-y. She was wearing her favorite flared jeans that fit her just right with a soft pink sweater and a pink and scarlet plaid wool blazer. Though it had taken her nearly an hour to transform her famous red curls into a sleek, shiny, straight ’do, Maeve thought it was definitely worth the effort. She topped off the whole look with a little raspberry cap slightly tilted to the side, a leather briefcase her mother had saved from the eighties, and a pair of non prescription pink tortoise shell glasses.
    The rest of the BSG watched Isabel stifle a giggle as she took in Maeve’s totally over-the-top outfit.
    â€œWhat do you think?” Maeve threw her arms in the air. “Am I college-prep, or what?”
    It took all the strength Isabel could muster to reply, “Absolutely.”
    â€œThanks! Plus, this briefcase doubles as a purse. Genius, right?” Maeve huddled the girls together and whispered, “And these glasses…aren’t real, you know.”
    Katani shook her head. “Well, no kidding, girlfriend! I think we’d all know at this point if you wore glasses.”
    Charlotte adjusted her own real glasses and cleared her throat. “Ahem. Too bad you can’t be as lucky as me to be born this way!”
    â€œI wish I was!” Maeve exclaimed. “Glasses are soooo in right now, Char. They make you look ultra-sophisticated. I found these puppies at Think Pink after school yesterday. You gals have to swear on your lives you won’t tell anyone they’re fake!” she begged.
    Even Katani and Avery, who both thought Maeve’s romantic fantasies could be way too intense sometimes, couldn’thelp laughing. “You know, the thing about being friends with Maeve,” Katani informed an awestruck Elena Maria, “is that life is always in full color.”
    Elena Maria smiled. “I can see that,” she said. Then, turning pinker and speaking softer, she mumbled, “Hey, Scott.”
    Scott pulled out his iPod earphones, grunted a quick, “’Sup,” and quickly replaced the earphones.
    Elena Maria took the lid off a shoebox she was holding. “I made some of my chocolate and cinnamon spice cookies. I hope you like them as much as my salsa…you know, the one I made for the bake sale?”
    â€œHuh?” Scott took out his earphones again. “Oh, sweet. Thanks, Elena.” He took a cookie and went right back to listening to his music. The BSG gratefully helped themselves to the cookies, but despite the girls’ excitement over the delicious treats, Isabel noticed that her sister looked majorly disappointed.
    â€œSo, so stupid,” Elena Maria murmured to herself.
    Avery glanced at Scott pointedly, but he was totally immersed in grooving to his tunes. “Don’t worry, you two,” Maeve whispered, looping her arms over her friends’ shoulders. “That’s part of the ‘Secret Language of Boys.’ I read