Free Revenge of the Wannabes by Lisi Harrison

walked off the job. All she could do was roll her eyes and pray for the moment to pass.
    “So when are we going to meet this Cam?” Jay asked, removing his wire glasses and sticking them in the front pocket of his blue Brooks Brothers shirt.
    “I dunno, whenever,” Claire said. “It’s not like we hang out every day after school or anything. We just e-mail each other and stuff. We’re just friends.”
    Claire wished there was more to it than that, because Cam was the sweetest, most thoughtful boy she had ever met. But they never actually hung out alone and sometimes Claire wondered if maybe there was some other girl he liked better.
    Claire slapped the scoop of ice cream in her float with the back of her spoon. “So what game are we playing?”
    “Hey, Dad, what do you feel like playing?” Todd said as he walked over to the oak armoire where they kept the board games.
    “Anything—I’m feeling lucky,” Jay said, rubbing his chubby hands together.
    “Cranium?” Todd held the purple box over his head.
    “No, you always pick that,” Claire said, brushing the blonde bangs out of her eyes. “Let’s play Trivial Pursuit.”
    “Claire, I’m ten,” he said. “The only trivia I know is who got kicked off last night’s
Survivor.
”
    Claire watched her parents crack up.
    “Cranium it is,” Jay said, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. A clear brown kernel shell stuck to his cheek and Claire watched it bob up and down while he chewed. It finally fell off and landed on his sweatshirt.
    In Orlando, Jay and Judi were thought of as attractive. They both had bright blue eyes, big warm smiles, and deep tans. But ever since they moved to Westchester, Claire had become aware of their imperfections. She noticed that her mother and father were relatively short and that they dressed too casually and were both about ten pounds overweight. When Claire found out Massie’s parents had personal trainers and nutritionists, she was ashamed hers still got excited every time Ben # Jerry’s came out with a new ice cream flavor. But in time she learned to appreciate their shameless snacking habits, because they were the only people in Westchester who didn’t give her dirty looks when she ate a bit of junk food.
    “Who wants more ice cream?” Todd said, jumping to his feet.
    They had been playing for two hours and Claire and Judi were one right answer away from winning.
    “You always do that when you’re about to lose,” Claire said to her brother.
    “Do not.”
    “Do.”
    “Fine,” Todd said. “Go.” He turned the hourglass over as quickly as he could, clearly hoping to catch them off guard.
    But Claire refused to let him intimidate her. “Okay, Mom.” The whole game was riding on Judi’s ability to sketch a picture with her eyes closed. She picked up her tiny pencil and started drawing.
    “Belly button,” Claire shouted.
    Judi shook her head.
    “Stomach woman!”
    “No,” Judi said. She shut her eyes tighter and drew faster.
    “Belly mover. Belly button shaker. Stomach dancer. BELLY DANCER!”
    “Yes!” Judi screamed. She pulled Claire into a hug.
    Claire smiled brightly. Beating Todd at Cranium was the only way to put him in his place these days. “Losers clean up,” she announced. She couldn’t wait to escape the mess of candy wrappers and empty froth-stained root beer glasses that Todd and her father were obligated to clean. All she wanted to do was take off her orange Old Navy cargo pants, slip into her flannel Power Puff Girls pj’s, and return Cam’s e-mail.
    Suddenly Claire heard the front door open.
    “Who’s here?” she asked her mother.
    “No idea,” Judi said with a trace of fear in her eyes. “Jay? You expecting anyone?”
    “What, dear?” he called from the kitchen.
    Claire’s stomach clenched with nervousness and excitement when the mystery guest walked into the living room. “H-hey, what’s up? What are you doing here?” she asked.
    Judi brought her hand to her