It's Raining Benjamins Read Online Free

these for Pucci’s birthday. I’ll bet Mom wouldn’t be allergic to those spines—they’d just stick her when she gets nasty, that’s all!
    â€œMaybe you can ask your mom to buy one for Pucci,” Dorinda asks.
    â€œ
Yo no sé
,” I mumble, lapsing into Spanish unconsciously. I put my hand around my choker, and feel the metal letters which spelt GROWL POWER . I need all the growl power I can muster up to ask Mami for anything. These days, it seems like all we do is fight—
la guerra Dominicana, está bien
? Heaving a sigh, I finger the letters on my choker again, and say proudly to Bubbles, “See, I told you this Wacky Glue was the move,
está bien
? It holds the letters on real well.”
    â€œYou were right—it’s the move,” Bubbles says, nodding absentmindedly. She is still glued to the book, and
muy fascinada
with the pygmy pets.
    At last, I see Derek and Mackerel bopping down the hallway in our direction. “Red Snapper Alert,” I whisper softly, nudging Bubbles’s arm.
    She waves at Derek from down the hall, motioning for him to come over to us. Usually, we just ignore Derek (whom we call Red Snapper behind his back), but today we’re happy to see him … and even Mackerel.
    â€œMr. Hambone, here you go. You are the proud owner of a Cheetah Girls choker,” Bubbles says, handing him the choker, which we made extra wide just for him.
    Derek examines the merchandise with a smile on his face, and fingers the shiny silver metal letters that spell SCEMO . “Oh,
that’s
how you spell that word you’re always calling me. Shame on
you
, Cheetah Girl. I dig it,” Derek says, flashing his gold-toothed smile. (A lot of
la gente
where Abuela lives have gold teeth.
Cuatro yuks
!)
    â€œDo you really like it?” I ask Derek proudly.
    â€œOh, yeah,” he says, nodding his head. “You Cheetah Girls got skills, no doubt.”
    â€œNo doubt on that tip,” Mackerel says, nodding along, trying to get me to look at him—but it’s too early in the morning for me to look at
his
snaggletooth smile.
    We stand there waiting for Derek to whip out the duckets. Finally he gets the hint.
    â€œWord, I guess it’s time to dole out the duckets,” he says, laughing and reaching into his deep-sea pockets.
    We wait patiently as the Red Snapper retrieves a ten-dollar bill and hands it to Bubbles.
    Wait a minute
—I thought Bubbles told him the chokers cost
twenty
dollars!
    â€œDid you get amnesia or something?”
    Bubbles asks Derek on the
sarcástico
tip. “We said twenty dollars, my brutha.”
    â€œYeah, well, we heard you was charging LaRonda ten dollars,
my sista
,” Derek retorts, slapping Mackerel a high five.
    Derek
always
has good comeback lines. I think that’s why Bubbles doesn’t like him—because he can snap better than she can, and Bubbles thinks she’s the best—
la mejor
.
    â€œCan’t blame a Cheetah Girl for trying to get more ‘pounce for the ounce,’ now can you, Derek?” Bubbles snaps back, with a smirk on her face that says she’s satisfied with
her
comeback line.
    â€œNo, but I hope you don’t mind that the ‘Red Snapper’ is always gonna be ‘off the hook!’” Derek says, heckling and slapping Mackerel a high five, like he is
supa
-satisfied with
his
snap.
    How’d he know we call him the Red Snapper
? Uh-oh. Somebody probably told him. Fashion Industries East peeps are like
telenovelas
, it seems—there is always some “drama” to watch.
    â€œNo, we don’t mind, Derek—especially if you come back and buy another choker,” I throw in, giggling. Bubbles doesn’t always have to get the last word. Then—even though it kills me—I blurt out, “You know, Mackerel,
you
would look
tan coolio
with a choker, too!”
    â€œIs that right?” he says, perking up and