Playing for Keeps Read Online Free Page A

computer and joined a group chat with her girls.
    Alicia:
What’s the dealio? Any word?
Carmen:
My mom says she has 2 talk 2 your mom.
Alicia:
Tell her 2 call now. She’s still up. Remind them—mom is chaperoning! We’ll behave!
Jamie:
I’m going to Austin!!! Dad said okay.
Alicia:
Cool. Da Amigas are heading to the Lone Star State!
Carmen:
Good news + bad news.
Alicia:
Bad news first.
Carmen:
Domingo can’t come. He’s got 2 work.
Alicia:
But you’re coming. That’s awesome.
Carmen:
Gonna miss him though.
Alicia:
It’s just two weeks.
Carmen:
Says the only girl whose guy is coming.
Jamie:
True that. Dash has got a golf tournament.
Alicia:
Trying to get Gaz 2 music festival in Austin. He’ll be busy @ nite. Girls will hang.
Carmen:
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?
Jamie:
It’s working for me and Dash. No time 2 argue. He travels so much on the golf circuit when he comes home, we just chill and have fun.
Carmen:
Gonna miss Domingo soooooo much.
Jamie:
Text him every day.
Alicia:
Write him real letters. More romantic.
Jamie:
Buy him a cowboy hat.
Carmen:
:^)
Alicia:
We’ll buy all our guys cowboy hats.
Jamie:
Preppy Dash in a ten gallon hat. Hi-larious.
Alicia:
I’m fading. Got 2 go.
Carmen:
Ciao for now.
Jamie:
Later, ladies.
    As soon as classes let out the Friday of spring break, the members of Amigas Inc. rushed to their various homes to pack for their trip. Their flight was early the next morning, and they were going to be together for two weeks, but before the fun could start, there was just so much to do!
    Alicia paced her room. Her mother had treated her to a brand-new suitcase—a leopard-print hardcase with a hot pink interior. It was huge, so Alicia knew it would hold everything she needed. The problem was that she had no idea what to bring. The pile of neglected clothes sat in a big mound on the floor. The suitcase itself was empty, except for her toothbrush.
    This was an emergency. She decided to call Carmen for some expert advice.
    â€œCarmen, I don’t know what to pack!” Alicia cried, cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder. “You’re the fashion genius; I’m drowning here, and I desperately need your help.”
    In Carmen’s room, a silver vinyl duffel bag sat fully packed and ready to go by the door. Besides being a kick-butt fashion designer, Carmen had been blessed with the genetic ability to pack both lightly and fashionably—without even trying. Her suitcase was like the ones you saw in fashion-magazine articles, where seven items morphed magically into twenty-one different outfits.
    â€œWell, it’ll be cooler in Austin than it is in Miami, especially at night,” said Carmen calmly. “So, plan to layer.”
    Alicia, who was dressed in a black miniskirt, cream-colored sleeveless sweater, and black pearl necklace, shook her head. “Come on, chica , you know I don’t do layers. I do miniskirts and cute tops.”
    Carmen laughed.
    â€œHold on, I’m getting another call,” Carmen said. She switched lines. It was Jamie.
    Jamie was standing in her own bedroom staring miserably into her vintage steamer trunk, which was empty except for a set of watercolor paints, her sketchbook, and a toothbrush.
    â€œCarmen, you gotta help me out!” Jamie cried. “I don’t know what to pack.”
    â€œNot you, too,” Carmen said. “I love you ladies, but you have got to get it together!”
    â€œCome pack for me,” Jamie begged her. “I’ll give you this cool vintage dress I just scored on eBay.”
    Carmen’s eyes lit up. Jamie was the queen of vintage finds; from the thrift stores of Miami Beach to the coolest Japanese vendors on eBay, the world was just a treasure chest of goodies waiting for Jamie to find them.
    â€œNew or used?” Carmen asked, interested.
    â€œMint condition,” Jamie replied. “But I guess you’ll have