by J. Minter
But through all the chaos my eyes latched onto the most shocking sight in the room: Feb, wearing a bronze, metal-plated Roberto Cavalli dress and black Jimmy Choo stilettos, dancing wildly on the coffee table.
I must’ve stood there in front of the wide open door for a full minute before Liesel noticed I was there and tried to shout hello over the din. Then there was a kind of ripple effect around the room, and it seemed like pretty much everyone turned around at the same time and screamed, “Hi, Flan!”
For a moment I felt stunned, but all of a sudden I felt really, really martini-glass-throwing mad. I had been going crazy dealing with Feb’s insane over-protectiveness, and then she turned around and threw a huge party the minute I was out of the house? And on a precious “school night,” no less. I slammed the door shut behind me, then, pushing past a couple wearing togas and laurel leaves, shouldered my way up to the middle of the living room.
“Hey, Feb!” I yelled, tugging at her heavy skirt. It felt like chain mail.
“Flanny!” she shrieked exuberantly, jumping off the table like she was wearing sneakers instead of skinny heels. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“What’s going on?” I demanded as the aqua fish kite sailed over my head.
Feb clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh no, you’re mad at me. Don’t be mad, Flanny! What happened was Liesel and Philippa and Mickey were at Sara-Beth’s Halloween party—which I was not invited to, by the way—but apparently the place was swarming with all these loser Kermits. So, anyway, Patch told them they could come on over here, and then they invited their friends, and their friends invited their friends, and, well …” She flung her glitter-covered arms out and teetered slightly on her heels.
I crossed my arms and scowled at her, although it’s hard to stay mad at Feb when she’s in a good mood.
“Oh, Flan,” she said, dropping her arms again. “I’m so sorry I’ve been so terrible these last couple weeks.”
“Umm …” What was I supposed to say? No, you haven’t been? It’s okay? “Does this mean you’re going to stop now?”
Feb laughed loudly and ruffled my hair. “I quit my internship.”
“You did? Really?”
“Yeah! My friend came back from her sick leave, and I was like, sayonara.” February almost knocked my tiara off my head as she waved good-bye to the imaginary law firm. “Whoops.” She giggled. “Seriously, though, the minute I walked out those doors, I was like, I am so never going to do that again. Or anything like it. They trick you into thinking it’s the real world with the fluorescent lights and the paper cuts and the alphabetizing you can never get straight. But I just kind of wilted in there.”
I started to smile a little. Feb had a special, very annoying way of “wilting.”
“Which got me thinking—I don’t want you wilting, Flan. I really don’t. I mean, I ran out of that law firm so fast I broke my heel, and I don’t want you running away from me like that.” Her big blue eyes started to look a little watery.
I looked around the disaster that had become our living room and thought about her grounding me, making me come home after school, and being impossible to talk to during a week when I really could have used a big sister. Then I did something that surprised even me: I gave her a big hug.
Feb squeezed me back, then held me out at arm’s length. “I don’t know what I was so worried about—you’re practically all grown up!”
“I don’t know about that,” I said, looking down sheepishly at my princess dress.
“I said practically. Hey—Mom and Dad came back early from their trip!”
I almost jumped a mile. “They did? Where are they?” I looked over my shoulder, like they might be wearing lampshades and swing dancing behind the couch.
Feb scrunched up her forehead. “Well, they had to go up to Quebec for this benefit dinner for some iodine deficiency thing, but they’re definitely coming back sometime soon … I think. They were only here for like an hour. Mom needed to grab some shoes.”
“Great.” I sighed.
“Hey, don’t look so glum, kiddo! They left us gift certificates for that new manicure shop down the street. We’ll go tomorrow! Besides, when the cat’s away …” She grabbed me by the hand. “Come on.”
“Feb …”
But it was too late: she was pulling me up onto the coffee table with her, and with everyone partying and cheering all around us, I really had no choice but to dance.
“Oh, I totally forgot,” she yelled. “There’s some guy here who’s been waiting around to talk to you all night!”
“Where?” I whirled around and there was Adam, sitting quietly on a side chair that he was much too big for, and he had Noodles in his lap, and Noodles was fast asleep. He got up and handed Noodles to Philippa, and I could see that he just couldn’t stop smiling. Then all he did was walk over to me and say, “Hey, can we talk when you’re finished dancing?”
“Sure—” But of course, right then Feb thought it’d be the funniest thing in the world to push me off the coffee table with her hip. I screamed and went up into the air and then fell right into Adam’s arms.
“Feb!” I yelled.
“Well, somebody had to do it!” she screamed as she pulled a bunch of other kids onto the table.
“Are you okay?” Adam asked. I had my arms around his neck, and I kicked off my heels. They landed in a potted plant past the couch, and I just sighed.
“Way, way better than okay,” I said.
ALSO BY J. MINTER
the insiders
pass it on
take it off
break every rule
hold on tight
girls we love
inside girl
For an Inside Girl,
life isn’t always so sweet.
Find out what happens next in Some Kind of
Wonderful, an Inside Girl novel by J. Minter
Still recovering from a disastrous Halloween party at Sara-Beth Benny’s house and a short-lived but way-annoying phase when older sister Feb decided to be responsible, Flan Flood is through with romance, and she is hoping to prove to her friends that they mean more to her than any boy. But her old flame Bennett is still lingering in the background, and Adam, the gorgeous quarterback, is as sweet and cute as ever. In this third installment of the Inside Girl series, can Flan Flood stay true-blue to her friends, or will the love bug bite again?
Learn more about Flan and the Inside Girls at
www.insidegirlbooks.com
DON’T MISS A MINUTE OF FLAN’S FABULOUS LIFE—
“I wish I’d known Flan Flood in high school–and not just because she has a hot older brother with hot older friends (although that totally helps). Don’t let the name fool you– this is one girl you must get to know, now.” –Lisi Harrison, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Clique
CHECK OUT ALL THE BOOKS IN THE INSIDE GIRL SERIES!
WWW.INSIDEGIRLBOOKS.COM
Find out how it all began in
the Insiders series, also by J. Minter
“The Insiders are the guys to watch. But if you fall in love with them, get in line, right behind ME!”
—Zoey Dean, author of The A-List
For more info on the guys, visit
www.insidersbook.com
Copyright © 2007 by J. Minter
All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
First published in the United States of America in 2007
by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
E-book edition published in December 2012
www.bloomsburyteens.com
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury Children’s Books,
Published by Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Minter, J.
The sweetest thing: an inside girl novel / by J. Minter.—1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Flan’s life is in turmoil when her older siblings decide to act like strict parents to keep her from becoming out of control like themselves, friends Judith and Meredith fight over a football player who might just have a crush on Flan herself, and Sara-Beth tries to find her style.
[1. Friendship—Fiction. 2. High schools—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction. 4. Family life—New York (State)—Fiction. 5. Dating (Social customs)—Fiction. 6. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.M67334Swe 2007 [Fic]—dc22 200700889
ISBN 978-1-61963-074-1 (e-book)