Read Online All That Glitters by Jill Santopolo - Free Book Online Page A

standing in front of the polish display. “Why don’t you come over here and pick your favorite color?” she said to Anjuli. “Aly and I can paint any color you want.”
    Anjuli walked over and started examining the display, but then she pointed to the strawberry donation jar.
    â€œWhat’s this?” she asked.
    â€œThat’s our donation jar,” Aly said. “Since no one has to pay in our salon, we’re asking for donations instead. Whatever you decide to give, we’ll donate to a charity once we have”—Aly did some fast thinking—“one hundred dollars. Every time we get to one hundred, we’ll give it to a different charity.”
    â€œThat’s really cool,” Bethany said.
    The other girls nodded and unzipped their backpacks, looking for dollar bills and coins.
    â€œOkay,” Jenica said, “let’s get going. We have a game to play this afternoon. We don’t want to be here all day.”
    But even as she said it, she was smiling at Aly. Like she probably wouldn’t mind if they were.
    Jenica sat down on the couch and picked up a string and some beads. The other girls followed her to the waiting area, except for Maxie and Joelle, who were going first. The two forwards sat down in thepedicure chairs, and Aly and Brooke got started.
    â€œDid you know Cute Lucas has a crush on Maria?” Joelle asked Maxie.
    â€œNo way!” Maxie answered. “Is he going to ask her to the Halloween dance?”
    â€œWhy do you call him Cute Lucas?” Brooke asked.
    â€œBecause Maxie thinks he’s really handsome,” Joelle answered.
    â€œI do not!” Maxie said. “Okay, fine, I do. But you do, too!”
    Maxie and Joelle started laughing. So did Aly and Brooke.
    The first two pedicures went pretty smoothly, though there were a few times when Brooke needed to use the wooden stick with polish remover on it.
    When Joelle and Maxie moved over to the drying area, Bethany and a girl whose name Aly didn’t know took their places in the chairs.
    â€œHi, I’m Aly,” Aly said while she was filling the basin with fresh water.
    â€œI’m Valentina,” the girl answered.
    Valentina, it turned out, was ticklish and needed to hear about the tongue trick.
    â€œYou really want me to bite my tongue?” she asked.
    â€œNot hard,” Aly told her.
    â€œIt works!” Jenica piped in.
    Valentina bit her tongue, and everything went well from there.
    As the other girls got polished, Aly and Brooke listened to them chat about their strategy for the soccer game, their Halloween dance costumes, and which teachers gave the hardest sixth-grade math tests. The girls seemed really comfortable, and Aly and Brooke started feeling comfortable too, just like they did when they were hanging out in Mom’s salon.
    Brooke had just done the first coat of rainbowpolish on Giovanna and was getting ready for round two when Giovanna looked down at her. “I love how this looks,” she said. “Maybe I’ll keep coming even after soccer season.”
    Brooke looked up. “I didn’t even know soccer girls liked sparkles until Jenica came to the salon.”
    â€œJust because we’re good athletes doesn’t mean we don’t like sparkles,” Giovanna said.
    â€œExactly,” said Jenica.
    â€œDefinitely,” said Mia, who was in Aly’s chair now. “Girls can be smart, strong, and sparkly.”
    Aly liked that idea. Smart. And strong. And sparkly. She made a brain note to work on that.
    After Giovanna and Mia were done, it was finally Anjuli’s turn.
    â€œI can do hands while you do feet,” Brooke said to Aly.
    â€œFine,” Aly said.
    â€œWhich color did you pick for your manicure?” Brooke asked Anjuli.
    â€œPower to the Sparkle,” she said, handing over a bottle.
    â€œThe multicolor glitter is really cool,” Aly commented from where she was crouched,