Free True Colors by Krysten Lindsay Hager Page B

were leaving Friday afternoon, and we even got to leave school early. I wanted to bring my favorite stuffed mouse with me as a good luck charm, but I’d die if Devon saw him, so I shoved him into the bottom of my suitcase next to my makeup bag so I’d know he was there even if I couldn’t take him out. Devon’s mom was in the driveway packing up their SUV when my mom and I walked over.
    â€œThis is so exciting,” Devon said.
    â€œI’m kinda nervous,” I said, but I don’t think she heard me.
    I said goodbye to my mom and got in the Abrams’ SUV. Devon had flipped down the two middle seats so we could sit in the backseat and put our feet up.
    â€œAre you hungry?” Devon asked when we sat down. “My mom packed a ton of snacks. I have animal crackers, pretzels, juice boxes, and candy bars.” We pulled down the middle seat tray and made a little buffet. “You know, I’m glad we’re only auditioning for the young teen group,” she said. “I hear the older girls get asked if they’ll pose naked, and they have to wear swimsuits.”
    I almost choked on an animal cracker. “I would have passed out,” I said.
    â€œYeah, they can’t make girls under eighteen wear swimsuits because people would, like, protest or something,” she said rolling her eyes. “Whatever.”
    When we arrived, Mrs. Abrams checked us into our room at the hotel and told us where her room was. She said we were supposed to meet in the banquet room for orientation at five o’clock, and we’d eat at six. We had plenty of time, and Devon said she’d do my hair. She took out a curling iron with a bunch of different attachments. She used a waving iron on my hair, and it looked gorgeous. Since her hair was already curly, we used the straightening iron on it and then the big curling iron to put a little wave in it. Her hair looked just as gorgeous straight as it did curly.
    We went downstairs to get our information packets, and I got a funny feeling when I saw our nametags. My nametag was yellow, but Devon’s was blue. Oh no, they were going to split us up into groups. We sat down and the group leaders made us go around the room and say our names and what school we were from. I was glad Devon was there because the other people didn’t look friendly.
    Then we were divided up by the color of our nametags and had to sit in a circle and do this stupid getting-to-know-you game where we had to ask each other dumb questions. The first girl I was paired with never even looked at me. She kept leaning across the aisle to talk to her friend. I was getting sick of her saying, “Bella, oh wow!” every five minutes. I asked her if she had any pets, and she rolled her eyes. I reminded her I didn’t make up the questions.
    â€œA Bichon Frise,” she said. I figured it was one of those little frou-frou dogs who wore a bow in its hair and could fit inside of a purse.
    The next girl I was paired with looked like she thought she was too intellectual to sit with the rest of us or play such a stupid game. She called it “infantile.”
    â€œHm, my favorite book… I like Paula Danziger’s books, the Harry Potter series, and Jane Eyre ,” I said. I hadn’t actually finished Jane Eyre , but I thought it might impress her. She stared at me.
    â€œI’m currently reading Joyce and I love Faulkner,” she said. Okay, what was I supposed to say now? She spent the rest of the time staring at the clock above my head and snapping her gum. I don’t know why they even bothered with the book question anyway. It wasn’t like reading was important for being a model anyway. The servers began bringing out our dinners, which was some kind of chicken and vegetable thing smothered in a slimy gray sauce. I ate two bites, and Devon and I hit the vending machines before we went back to the “fun” activities.
    â€œIs it just me or