Free Taffy Sinclair 008 - Taffy Sinclair and the Melanie Make-Over by Betsy Haynes Page A

want to be friends with us anymore, anyway. "
    " You ' re right, " said Katie. " Some friend Melanie ' s turned out to be. She and Taf fy Sinclair deserve each other. "
    We had reached the girls ' bathroom, and I pushed the door open and led the way in. I should have known. Taffy Sinclair was standing in front of the mirror, as usual, and she was dabbing her mouth with a paper towel again. I was tempted to tell her that she was the most conceited person in the whole world, but I noticed that she got a look of panic on her face when she saw my friends and me come in. Just then I heard a familiar retching sound, and someone in one of the stalls began to throw up.
    " Melanie! " I shrieked. " Is that you? Are you okay ? "
    The sound of the toilet flushing almost drowned me out, and Katie and Christie and Beth all began talking at once.
    " What ' s going on? "
    " Is Melanie sick? "
    " Where did Taffy go? "
    I spun around to see the bathroom door closing. Taffy was gone. Vanished. An instant later Melanie came out of the stall. I frowned as I looked at her. I had never seen her looking so pale.
    Nobody said a word. We just stared at her as she went to the lavatory and washed her face. Then she cupped her hands and got a drink of water, which she sloshed around in her mouth and spit into the sink. Only then did she meet our eyes.
    " It ' s a model ' s trick, " she said apologetically. " Taffy told me about it. She does it all the time. You can eat anything you want if you throw it up as soon as you eat it. You just stick your finger down your throat and it comes back up. "
    We must have had shocked looks on our faces because she stopped talking for a minute and looked at each of us.
    " That ' s why you were throwing up before, isn ' t it? " I asked accusingly. " The day you said you were allergic to cheese. "
    Melanie nodded.
    " And Saturday, when you fainted, " I went on, " it was because you were too weak to do the exercises, wasn ' t it? "
    She nodded again, and this time tears filled her eyes.
    " Don ' t you know that what you ' re doing is dangerous? " shouted Katie. " If you do that too much, you might not be able to stop. That has happened to some girls. Some girls have even died. "
    Melanie shrugged and took a step toward the door. " But Taffy said . . ." Suddenly her knees buckled and she grabbed the sink to keep from falling.
    My friends and I rushed to help her. " Come on, " I said. " We ' re taking you to the school nurse. "

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
    Mel anie did not come back to class in the afternoon, and we were sure the school nurse had called her mother to take her home. As for Taffy, she kept her eyes down on her schoolwork for the rest of the day. She didn ' t try to butter up Wiggins or flirt with Randy or anything, and she didn ' t show up on the playground at afternoon recess, either.
    I couldn ' t remember when I had been so mad at Taffy Sinclair. I knew she wasn ' t really going through with that awful diet " trick " herself, no matter what she said to Melanie. She was pulling a trick, though. She was tricking Melanie into thinking she needed Taffy instead of Laura or anybody else in order to be thin and become a model. I couldn ' t let her get away with a thing like that.
    My friends and I had made a promise to Mona that we would teach her the things we were learning at modeling school at Katie ' s house after school, and we kept it. As usual, she was shy at first, but she started giggling when we told her all the things she would have to do to walk across a room.
    " Hold your head up, " I began. " Keep your shoulders low, and pull your tummy in. "
    As soon as she did that, Beth added, " Now relax your arms and let them hang by your sides. Then take a deep breath. "
    Everyone was giggling by now as Mona took a deep breath, swelling up her chest and looking as if she might explode.
    " You can let it out, silly, " Christie said with a laugh. " Now walk in small, even steps, always stepping out on your right foot first