Read Fabulous Five 030 - Sibling Rivalry for Free Online Page B

of them with his cue.
    "Good shot!" Brittany called out as Marcel sank a
ball. Marcel nodded in recognition of the compliment.
    "Gosh, he can ski and play pool!" Julie
gushed so loudly, he was sure to hear.
    Brittany beamed in his direction. "He's good at
everything he does."
    Beth watched Marcel to see how he would react. At first his
face didn't change. Then he smiled at Brittany. "Not everything."
    "Oh, you're too modest," Brittany said, giving him
her best smile.
    Marcel continued to play and talk to his friend while the
girls flirted with him.
    "After your game," Brittany said, "would you
and your friend like to come back and dance with us?"
    Beth saw Julie's eyes widen in surprise at Brittany's nerve.
    Marcel checked his watch. " Oui . We have time for
a dance or two, don't we, Jake?"
    "Sure," replied Jake. "The movie doesn't
start till nine."
    "A movie?" Brittany gushed. "What're you
going to see?"
    "It's an old movie on TV," Marcel said.
"Humphrey Bogart."
    "I love Bogart!" Brittany cried, and Beth
knew she was hoping for an invitation.
    "Gosh, me, too," chimed in Julie. "Don't you,
Sarah?"
    "Definitely," agreed Sarah.
    Marcel grinned at the girls. His gaze shifted to Beth, and
he said, "And you, mademoiselle, do you also love Bogart?" He winked.
    "Sure," Beth said, "he's all right."
    Marcel smiled at her, then turned back to Brittany. "A
dance would be very nice."
    "Great," said Brittany. "We'll be in the
dining room waiting for you."
    She and her friends headed toward the door, but just before
she made her exit, she took two steps out of the way toward Beth and hissed, "Isn't
it past your bedtime , little sister?"
    Then she flounced out the door after her girlfriends.

CHAPTER 6
    Beth had no intention of going to bed. Not with Brittany and
the others headed back to the dining room and Marcel still here in the game
room. She wasn't going to do anything silly or theatrical to attract his
attention, of course. She would just sit here, acting incredibly mature, and
see what happened.
    "Geez! What are you doing in here ? I've
been looking all over for you."
    Todd came rushing into the game room followed by two of his
skiing companions. Both were about Todd's height, but one had curly red hair and
a sunburned face, and the other one was a sandy blond and as slim as a
toothpick. Todd was smiling so sweetly that Beth was immediately suspicious.
    "What do you want?" she grumbled.
    Todd raised his arms in mock surrender. "Not much, and
I'll pay you back. I promise."
    "That's right," said the red-haired boy.
"We'll get the money from our parents before we go home and give it to
Todd to give to you."
    "What!" shrieked Beth. "You guys actually
want to borrow money from me? You've got to be kidding."
    "No, we aren't," Todd said earnestly. Nodding
toward the other two, he continued, "This is Jason, and he's Mike. They're
great guys. Honest. We only need a few bucks, and we said we'd pay you
back."
    Beth narrowed her eyes. All three boys were looking at her
with angelic expressions on their faces. Did they honestly expect her to say
yes?
    "Sorry," she answered with a dismissive wave of
her hand. "I didn't bring much spending money, and I certainly don't have
any extra money to loan you."
    "Oh, yes you do," Todd said excitedly. "It's
in your ski jacket. The stuff you're saving for England. Jason and Mike and I
will definitely pay you back. I promise. Come on, Beth. We need it for the
video games."
    Beth exploded off the sofa and stood nose to nose with Todd.
"If you think I'm going to loan that money to you, you little twerp,
you've got another thing coming! I wouldn't trust you and your hot-dog ski
friends with my money for five seconds flat!"
    Suddenly she was aware of a deep-throated chuckle coming
from across the room. It was Marcel, and he was shaking his head and laughing
softly. Beth froze. She had forgotten he was there.
    "Siblings," he said, smiling at Beth. "They
are ze same ze world over. But believe me, when you two grow