Viva Vermont! Read Online Free

her next step, her cane somehow missed the floor. Realizing she was about to plunge forward on her bad leg, and trying to balance herself as well as to avoid pain, DJ did something like a tuck and roll. It was a movement the girls used to avoid a bad fall when making a dive for the ball in a volleyball match. Naturally, this carried her straight off the narrow runway and right into the laps of a couple of very startled-looking older women.
    â€œOh, my!” cried one as she looked down at DJ.
    â€œI’m—I’m sorry!”
    â€œAre you all right, dear?” asked the other woman.
    Feeling like a complete fool, DJ struggled to get off as several other people attempted to help her. By then the music had quieted down, and DJ was certain that all eyes were on her. She was about to stand and take a bow, when she heard Taylor say, “You witch!”
    DJ looked up in time to see Taylor holding onto Eliza by the sleeve of her checked jacket. “You tripped DJ on purpose. I saw you kick her cane!” And then, to DJ’s shocked horror, Taylor slapped Eliza. The audience gasped. But that wasn’t the end of it. Eliza, usually so composed and careful, now had eyes filled with rage, and she lunged back at Taylor!
    Suddenly the two of them were actually fighting. Okay, it was that pathetic kind of girl fighting, where neither of them really knew what to do. Lots of slapping and grabbing and attempts to kick at each other. But it was definitely a fight. DJ could not believe her eyes.
    â€œLadies!” cried Grandmother from the podium. “Ladies! Ladies!”
    â€œAre you okay?” asked a gentleman as he handed DJ her cane.
    DJ nodded silently, but her eyes were still locked on Taylor and Eliza. Fortunately, they were being separated by several of the other models and some of the fashion show helpers. Grandmother was fanning herself with her notes and looked as if she might faint. How on earth was she going to get out of this little mess?

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    BUT GRANDMOTHER, being Grandmother, managed to maintain her usual sense of style and confidence. She even attempted to make light of the fiasco, saying things like “girls will be girls.” Then she asked the stunned audience to forgive the girls for their foolishness.
    â€œI suppose they simply wanted to liven things up a bit,” she said finally. “I had encouraged them to keep the energy up.” She laughed, but it was an uncomfortable laugh. “And with that in mind, where is the music? I believe it’s time to start this up.” So the music began once again, and the next model emerged.
    In the holding room, DJ realized that she never had completed her whole run, not that she cared. And certainly no one could blame her now. In fact, she felt fortunate that she hadn’t been seriously injured.
    â€œWhat happened out there?” asked Rhiannon with wide eyes. She was just finishing getting her outfit on. “I heard the commotion, but I was still in my underwear so I missed everything.”
    DJ gave her the lowdown.
    â€œNo way!” exclaimed Rhiannon as she slipped into her shoes.
    Then Taylor joined them. “Can you believe what that witch did to DJ?”
    â€œShe really did that?” asked Rhiannon with disbelief. “She actually tripped her?”
    â€œI saw her do it with my own eyes.” Taylor glared over to where Eliza and her mother were now having what looked like a pretty heated conversation in a far corner of the room. “While DJ’s cane was in the air, Eliza gracefully swung her foot directly at it, which is why the cane missed the floor and why DJ did her little acrobatic act.” Taylor grinned at DJ. “That was quite a flip you did off the runway, Deej.”
    â€œYou really did a flip off the runway?”
    â€œI guess … or more like a somersault …” DJ was still watching Eliza and her mom and, although she couldn’t hear anything, she could tell by