Read Let's Rock! for Free Online Page A

in our house. Almost everything was destroyed, and we don’t have any insurance to pay for it. So until my mom makes enough money for us to afford a new place and furniture, we have to stay here.”
    Bria tried to imagine what she was saying. What would happen to her family if there was a fire in their home? She guessed they would go live with her aunt Robbi or with Gram Loraine and Poppy Blake in Connecticut. The Divas would lend her clothes, and if they needed aplace to go, Scarlett and her mom would surely take them in.
    â€œBut don’t you have any family or friends you could stay with?” she asked Reese.
    â€œMy mom is the only family I’ve got. We’re a team,” Reese added. “I guess I could have stayed with a school friend, but I wanted to be with my mom.”
    Bria nodded. She understood what it was to be a team, and how important it was to stick by each other through it all.
    â€œI’m really sorry this happened to you, Reese,” Bria said. “I hope your mom gets some money soon.”
    â€œMe, too,” Reese said. “It’s really noisy here at night and it makes it hard to study.”
    Bria noticed the book in her hand. “Oh no. Earth science. That is the worst!”
    â€œTell me about it,” Reese groaned. “Worms totally gross me out.”
    â€œMe, too!” Bria smiled. “But I do happen to be a worm expert—if you want a few tips.”
    Reese thought for a moment. “I guess that would be okay,” she said. When it was time to leave, Reese and Bria exchanged school e-mails and promised to stay in touch. “If you get stuck, just e-mail me,” Bria said. “The next unit on oceanography is super tough.”
    Reese nodded. “I will, Bria. Thanks. I mean, for coming over and everything.”

    During the entire car ride home, Bria wondered what Reese had meant by “thanks … for coming over and everything.”
    â€œI don’t get it,” she told the other Divas. “All I did was talk to her and kinda help her with some homework.”
    â€œYou did a lot more than that,” Toni replied. “You treated her with kindness, compassion, and respect.”
    â€œWhy wouldn’t I?” Bria asked.
    â€œBecause not everyone does,” Toni insisted. “I wanted you all to come here tonight and see foryourselves what homelessness looks and feels like.”
    â€œWhy?” Gracie asked. “Did we do something wrong?”
    Toni sighed. “No, I did. I went about teaching you the whole Little Tramp routine wrong. When we get back to the studio tonight, I have a whole new choreography to teach you,” Toni said. “We’re going to give those judges and that audience a lot to think about.”

Back at the studio that night, all the girls could think about was the experience at the homeless shelter.
    â€œOne lady told me that when her husband died, she lost their house and had nowhere to go,” Anya shared. “I felt so bad.”
    â€œMe, too,” Bria added. “I want to go back there and see Reese. She was just like us. She even dances.”
    Toni held up her hand. “Volunteering is wonderful, and I encourage you to do so. But there is a lot more we can do.”
    She pulled Bria to the center of the room.“Since you seem to have the walk down, you are going to be the Little Tramp—and the rest of you are going to be society,” she explained.
    â€œWhat’s society?” Gracie asked. “Is it like a club?”
    â€œSort of,” Toni continued. “It’s everyone else in the world. They don’t understand what it means to be lonely, cold, hungry, and homeless. So they’re going to turn their backs on Charlie. They’re going to push him away.” She demonstrated a graceful
pirouette
that landed her facing the back of the room. “You ignore him, shun him—no matter how hard he tries to make you