True Colors Read Online Free Page B

those girlie princess movies. They always cheered me up. Of course, my mother always had to remind me the whole “prince coming to rescue the girl thing” was dangerous for my “impressionable mind” and how women need to find their own solutions and not wait for some man to save them. Still, it was nice to escape to fantasyland for a little while. I was deciding between Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty when I saw Ericka’s dad, Mr. Maines, at the cash register. I looked over at the new releases and saw Ericka and Tori, who were cracking up over a video game display. I ducked down and pretended to be interested in the bottom shelf.
    â€œLandry, why are you sitting on the floor?” my mom asked.
    I knew she’d wonder why I wasn’t invited to hang out with Tori and Ericka if she saw them in the store, and I didn’t want my mom to know what was going on. She bent down, and I asked her to help me decide between movies. She said I could get them both, and we went to pick up the pizza.
    I tried to concentrate on watching the movie my mom had picked out, but all I could think about was what Ericka and Tori were doing. They were probably having a great time talking about how much they hated me. It was one thing for Ericka to be mad at me because she was always sorta mad about something, but Tori and I had never gotten in a fight before.
    â€œLandry, stop twirling your hair. You’re getting grease in it,” my mother said.
    My life was over, and she was concerned about greasy hair. She’d probably give my hair a nice rinse before calling 911 if I killed myself. Even if I did die, those two wouldn’t come to my funeral. I bet the school would give the class a half-day to come to my funeral, and everybody would take the afternoon off to hang out.
    â€œWhy’d we get a half-day off?” someone would ask. “Didn’t some girl toss herself off a bridge or something?”
    â€œYeah, the chick with the light blonde hair. What was her name? I think it’s one of those names sort of like a last name… Smith or Harley or something…”
    â€œI think it was Harley.”
    â€œPoor Harley. Oh well, off to the movies.”
    ****
    I spent the weekend watching movies and eating junk food. I know Sleeping Beauty falling into a deep sleep was supposed to be tragic, but right now I wouldn’t mind a good coma. Then I wouldn’t have to put up with those jerks giving me dirty looks and talking behind my back. It hurt to see Tori siding with Ericka because she always said I was her real best friend. I kept waiting for Tori to call and say we should make up, but the phone never rang, and I knew it was working because I checked it just in case. Sleeping Beauty had it made.
    Then I realized Cinderella and I had a lot in common. Ericka was like the evil stepmother, and Tori could be both stepsisters because she was so two-faced. Of course, I didn’t have a handsome prince to rescue me. We did have a rodent problem last year, but Mom called an exterminator. I don’t think those mice would have been helpful in whipping up any designer clothing for me anyway. Maybe the modeling contest would make me a big star and I could leave this stupid town and never look back.

Chapter Three
    I managed to avoid Tori and Ericka on Monday. I even ate one of my mom’s protein bars in the bathroom so I wouldn’t run into them at lunch. I was going to try to talk to them in the bus line, but then I heard Ericka and Tori talking about me. I didn’t hear everything, but I did catch the “ugly jacket” part, the “so stuck up” part, and worst of all, the “I never thought she would have gotten picked in a zillion years” part. I stood in the back of the line and sat with Ashanti when I got on the bus. I didn’t want to start crying in front of Ashanti, so I told her I liked her purse. We started talking about clothes, and we found out we