Read Dial L for Loser for Free Online Page B

Alicia stopped. Massie dragged her forward the same way she dragged Bean when the puppy didn’t want to go for a walk in the cold.
    “Stop.” Alicia pointed to the actresses, who were sitting on the floor by the white leather couch. “Look!”
    “It’s a massage train.” Kristen fixed her narrow aqua eyes on the spectacle.
    “And look who’s riding it!” Massie didn’t know whether to laugh or call the authorities.
    Hadley Durk was the caboose, kneading a younger boy’s shoulders. And the boy, who was in the middle, was karate-chopping Abby Boyd’s neck.
    “You are so dead!” Claire shouted.
    “Funny, I don’t feel dead.” The boy turned his head and winked at Hadley. It was Todd Lyons.
    “How much do you
love
this guy?” Hadley twirled one of her signature Pocahontas braids and chuckled. Her brown, almond-shaped eyes narrowed and her flawless skin glowed. She looked airbrushed.
    “Ehmagawd, you’re even prettier in real life,” Kristen blurted.
    Massie immediately elbowed her in the rib cage.
    “Thanks.” Hadley smiled, flashing her Dentyne Ice–shaped teeth.
    “Todd, how did you get here?” Claire demanded, completely oblivious to the actresses.
    “I was hiding in the back of the Range Rover. When Isaac went to the bathroom, I hopped out and snuck in the side door with the Poland Spring delivery dude.”
    “How funny is that?” Abby slapped her knee; the gold bangles on her left arm backed her up with a clang. She was wearing a yellow chiffon dress over straight-legged black velvet pants. A fedora shaded her hazel eyes.
    “It’s pretty funny.” Claire turned bright red, as if she finally realized who she was talking to. Then she hovered above the actress and stared, her face frozen in a wide smile, as if some cosmic pause button had been hit while she was posing for a picture.
    “That’s my poor sister, Claire.” Todd lowered his voice to a sympathetic whisper. “She was born with this weird disease that makes her freeze up whenever she pees in her pants.”
    “What?” Claire stomped her foot. “Don’t listen to
him
.” She turned red again.
    “It’s okay,” Todd said kindly. “No one is making fun of you.”
    Abby and Hadley lowered their heads, obviously trying to conceal their grins.
    “I’m calling Dad.” Claire waved her scratched Nokia in Todd’s face, then turned on the heels of her Keds and stormed into the hallway.
    Massie rolled her eyes, silently distancing herself from Claire’s uptight behavior and cheap cell phone. She cleared her throat. “Hey, I’m Massie.”
    “I
know
who you are.” Todd grimaced. “We used to have a thing, remember?”
    “Ew.” Massie smacked the top of his head. “We did nawt!”
    “Nice to meet you.” Abby waved. Her nails were painted navy blue, and each of her fingers was adorned with a different hard-to-miss cocktail ring. “Massie, right?”
    She nodded. Hearing her name come out of Abby’s mouth was borderline creepy. It was like the actress’s red-carpet shot had come to life and started talking to her from the pages of
Us Weekly.
It made Massie shudder with a kind of eerie excitement.
    “Hi, I’m Alicia and this is Kristen.”
    “Hhh-eyyyy.” Abby’s voice vibrated as Todd’s karate chops began working their way down her spine.
    “Hi.” Hadley tugged on one of her eyelashes, then wiped her finger on the white couch, leaving behind a mascara skid mark.
    “So, are you guys contest winners or something?” Abby inspected their outfits. “Is that why you’re here?”
    “Ew, no.” Massie winced. “We’re tight with Merri-Lee. We come to all the shows.”
    “Don’t you have school?” Hadley wondered.
    “We dropped out.” Massie immediately glared at Todd, warning him to keep his mouth shut.
    “Cool!” Abby snapped her fingers two times.
    “Why?” Hadley seemed genuinely curious. “I kind of miss going to school.”
    “Uh, modeling.”
    “Really?” Abby was suddenly interested. “Fashion or