Standing Up For Grace Read Online Free Page B

that, though, cheered Imperia up because she doesn’t want Dad to know about the punch heard ‘round Beverly Hills.
    Nor does she want Dad to know about her bruised hand or the confrontation in the cafeteria or the warning(s) she got from Principal Daley. The hand is the biggest problem, because either she wears the bandage which will guarantee that Daddy will ask, or she leaves the hand unbandaged, and then he can see the bruises on her knuckles.
    Finally, just before the day ends, she borrows (well, steals, really) some fake tan stuff from one of the girls in the bathroom. She takes the tan stuff out of the girl’s gigandous purse as she heads into a stall, and then replaces the tan stuff as the girl leaves. By then Imperia’s hands are darker than the rest of her, but not that noticeable.
    And if Daddy asks about it, she’ll show him the tan spray on her left hand, not her evil right hook.
    She decides not to ask Grace to keep quiet, because if she asks Grace, then Grace will concentrate real hard on not saying anything, and will eventually blow it because she’s thinking about it rather than thinking about other stuff.
    So after the last bell, they hurry out to the parking area, where Dad’s waiting in his silver Mercedes. At first, Imperia loved it that Daddy came to get them from school, but now she hates it.
    All the other kids get picked up by their parents’ chauffeurs or their au pairs or someone who works in the house, not by the parents themselves. Because, Imperia has learned, if the parents show up that means the parents have nothing better to do, and if they have nothing better to do, then they’re not important.
    At least Daddy is on the phone as they leave school. Every real parent who shows up is always on the phone, because that shows how important they are too. Daddy has been talking on the phone a lot lately, and actually smiling again, which he didn’t do when he learned that Mom just dumped Imperia and Grace with his parents.
    Grace runs to the car. She’s smiling, which is a first as she comes out of school, and Imperia has to hurry to catch up to her.
    Daddy folds his phone closed, gets out of the car, and lets Grace hug him. He looks over her shoulder at Imperia, silently asking her what’s changed.
    She smiles too, and says, “Your idea worked. They won’t pick on Grace any more.”
    Daddy opens his mouth to ask what happens, when Grace leans back and says, “Imperia impressed all the girls in my class, and they like me now, and we had lunch together and everything .”
    And then she starts to chatter about her new little friends. Daddy puts his hand on Grace’s shoulder, leading her to the back seat where she’s safer (at least, that’s what all the experts say) and help her adjust her little book bag.
    He looks very suburban Dad-like, with his black and silver hair and his laugh lines and his glasses. He doesn’t look like that Disney prince much—or maybe he looks like an older version, but not as old as Grandfather, who just looks scary even with the same square jaw and blue eyes.
    “So it worked,” Daddy says as Imperia gets into the front seat. Grace has taken a breath, but it’s clear she’s not done (thank heavens), so Imperia just nods, and lets Grace dictate the conversation.
    Daddy gets behind the wheel and heads home, and he’s smiling a little too, and that’s when Imperia realizes that Daddy’s relieved. This is the first time since school started that Grace has chattered. Up until now, Grace has been really really quiet, even for Grace. Imperia just hadn’t realized how quiet.
    “What exactly did you do?” Daddy asks Imperia as they pull into the garage at the house. He hits the garage door remote, which brings the door down kinda like magic, although their housekeeper, Ruthie, explained it as something do with signals and technology and stuff, not that Imperia understands any of that either.
    “I told Skylar to leave Grace alone,” Imperia says, which