Read Pink & Green is the New Black for Free Online Page B

through it. People can make appointments with me on a first-come, first-served basis.”
    â€œShe really is a professional!” Zoe laughs, and I think I’m starting to like her a little bit more. Sure, she’s obsessed with Erica, but she’s not afraid of her. That’s impressive for someone who’s met her so recently.
    We’re discussing when we should post the sign-up sheet and who else in the spa should do the makeup, so I go out into the reception area and get a pen and a pad to take notes. And who do I see walking right by the spa window?
    Yamir. And he’s not alone. He’s with Clint and Anthony and two girls I don’t know.
    At first I pretend I don’t see them, trying to look like I’m scavenging through the desk for materials. But then I can feel that they’ve seen me, and how long can a person possibly look through a desk drawer? So I pick my head up and we make eye contact.
    Me in the spa reception area at eight on a Friday night, andYamir on Ocean Street with his friends and two mystery girls.
    I waffle between going out there or just waving from in here and hoping that they leave, but eventually the decision is made for me. Yamir and his people are coming in. Right now.
    â€œWorking the late shift, Luce-Juice?” Yamir asks.
    â€œUm, kind of.” I fold my arms across my chest, because I don’t know what else to do with them. “Erica, Zoe, and Sunny are in back. We’re discussing plans for the dance.”
    â€œAh, Eighth-Grade Masquerade. What memories.” Clint’s being sarcastic, so I ignore him. He’s pretty much sarcastic about everything. I’m used to it by now.
    â€œWhat’s that?” one of the girls asks.
    â€œOh, right. You’re new. It’s basically just this big dance where people wear costumes. It’s kind of like an eighth-grade prom, but better,” Yamir says, and I’m surprised he’s actually saying that something from eighth grade is cool. He seems so into the high school thing now.
    â€œFun,” she says, but it doesn’t sound like she thinks it’s fun. She’s wearing black leggings and an oversize sweatshirt, and even though that sounds like a sloppy combination, she looks like a model.
    â€œWhere are you from?” I ask her. “I’m Lucy, by the way.”
    â€œOh, so
you’re
Lucy?” she asks, like she’s been hearing about me for years. “I moved from Westport. I’m Sienna.”
    I make a mental note to ask Sunny about this girl later, but before I realize what’s happening, Yamir and his crew are traipsing through the spa, looking into the treatment rooms. They find our group in treatment room A, and soon it feels like there are a thousand people in the spa.
    â€œIs this what they use to clean your pores?” Anthony asks, holding the pumice stone for pedicures.
    â€œNo. Don’t touch that.” I take it away from him.
    The longer they stay in here, the more stressed I get. They shouldn’t be in here, they definitely shouldn’t be touching everything, and I can’t be in the same room as Yamir with all these other people. It feels like we’re all in a balloon that’s about to pop at any second.
    â€œOh, Yamir—Lucy’s boyfriend,” I hear Zoe whisper to Erica, and I ignore her, hoping that Yamir doesn’t hear her. But it’s clear he does—suddenly he starts fiddling with the string on his hooded sweatshirt and making some dumb joke about how he’d like a spa treatment.
    Then he’s standing in the corner, looking at the wall and admiring the abstract painting of a tree like he’s at some kind of fancy art museum. He looks as stressed as I feel.
    â€œYamir, don’t you want to sit next to your girlfriend?” Erica sings. I look down at my feet, but I can feel Sienna staring at me.
    â€œIt’s okay, guys, I think it’s time to go anyway,”