How to Get Dirt Read Online Free Page A

and had watched out for every dollar. Pick les remembered eating large bowls of noodle soup for a month straight. Yet here she was in a store that had pants priced at two hundred dollars. She didn ’ t need to be told this was a lot.
    â€œ Isn ’ t that, you know, a lot of money? ” Pickles asked.
    Miranda frowned. “ You have had it tough , haven ’ t you? You can ’ t even go shopping without thinking of adult things. You ’ re only twelve , you know. It ’ s okay to forget about money and everything every once in a while. ”
    Pickles shrugged. Silence swarmed the store. Somehow, silence could be more deafening than any loud sound. Miranda grabbed her hand and started to drag her away from the store entrance. They came to the back, where the kids ’ section was. Dresses hung alongside sparkling denim pants embroidered with feminine designs .
    â€œ I want you to pick out something, ” Miranda said. “ I don ’ t want you to look at the price tag. I don ’ t want you to even think about it. What is the one thing back here you want? ”
    â€œ But— ”
    â€œ Nope, ” Miranda said, leaning downward and placing a hand on her shoulder . The smell of her sweet fruity lotion wound around Pickles, adding to the embrace. “ Just pick something. Don ’ t think, just pick. ”
    But what if it ’ s too much money? Yet Pickles knew this wasn ’ t something Miranda wanted to hear, so instead she stepped forward, into the world of bright colors and clothes which she had never before known. She couldn ’ t believe she would actually get something . It wasn ’ t like it was Christmas or her birthday either.
    She turned around to see a pair of bright blue pants with sparkles embedded in the material . A rack of shirts which would hang down to her thighs came with black belt s to go around the waist . On a shelf above the rack, sparkling earrings glinted in the store lights. S he couldn ’ t wear those because she didn ’ t have her ears pierced . Sun glasses so large they would engulf half he r face , perched on a rack next to the earrings . As her gaze slid from one item to the next, Pickles suddenly spotted the one thing in the store she wanted, the one that called to her heart more than anything else.
    It was a cowboy hat. A cowboy hat with a red rope tied across the brim . She stepped forward, selected it, and then put it on her head. Turning, she stared into a mirror . Perfect. Just what I always wanted. The hat made her feel like the coolest person in the whole world.
    â€œ Do you like that? ” Miranda asked with a big grin on her face .
    â€œ Yes, I love it, ” Pickles said.
    â€œ Do you know what I think would look great with that hat? ”
    Pickles shook her head.
    â€œ This, ” Miranda said, pulling a bright red T -shirt with cowgirl written on it in sequins from a nearby shelf. “ Why don ’ t you try it on? ”
    â€œ Really? ” Pickles asked, putting her hand on the brim of her hat.
    â€œ Of course, ” Miranda said.
    ****
    Heavy plastic bags rested against Pickles ’ leg while she sat in the mall cafeteria. The sound of chatter filled the air along with the smell of fried food from the Chinese, pizza, and hamburger restaurants inside of it. She sank her teeth into the greasy, cheesy pizza and closed her eyes, savoring the tomato sauce seeping over her tongue . Across from her, Miranda had a salad topped with steaming, golden chicken , which smelled almost as good as her pizza . Pickles felt like the luckiest girl in the whole world. On the way out of the store, Miranda had spotted a pair of bright red cowboy boots and insisted they add them to their purchases.
    â€œ I ’ ve been meaning to ask, ” Miranda said, drawing Pickles away from her thoughts, “ do you know why your parents decided to name you Pickles? ”
    Pickles frowned. “ My parents didn