Read Shop in the Name of Love for Free Online

is so jealous because they can’t roll their Rs like I do.
    That is my
cultura
for you, I smile to myself, as I take a piece of Godiva chocolate from the box Bubbles’s mom gave each of us for Halloween. I’ve hidden the box from Pucci’s little grubby hands.
    A voice machine comes on, telling me the Princess is out, and to call back later. Great. There’s never a psychic around when you really need one.
    I get off the bed, and put a few oranges on my little altar table as an offering for Santa Prosperita. I don’t know if she is a real saint, but she is
my
saint, and if you want something bad enough, you can get it, Princess Pamela says. She should know.
    “I know it’s not right to ask for anything material, but
por favor
, I need just one little thing,” I whisper to my Santa Prosperita. “Just one little Prada bag!”
    See, the Kats and Kittys Klub is selling raffle tickets for community service. Each of the members has to sell as many raffle tickets as possible, and all the proceeds are going to the needy. The best part: the grand prize is two Prada bags! I have got to have them—at least one of them! The only problem is, I’m not too lucky at these kind of things. So I figure I’d better buy a
lot
of tickets.
    Of course, that could be a problem, since my pile of duckets is now down to just fourteen. But hey—no
problemo
! I go to my math notebook and open it up to the last page. There, I have written the number and expiration date of my mom’s credit card!
    I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not true—I only wrote it down just in case I lost the card, or forgot the number or something! And I
meant
to cross it out when I gave the card back, but I haven’t had the chance. And now …
    Well, look. It’s a worthy cause,
está bien?
All those poor needy people in the world—how could I not reach out to help them?
    I’m sure my mom won’t mind, especially since, if I win, I’ll definitely give her one of the Prada bags. Besides, I’ll pay her back for everything, once the Cheetah Girls hit it big—which we’re sure to do, now that we’re signing on with Mr. Johnson and making a demo tape! I mean, how long could it be before we’re rolling in
dinero
?
    I call up the Kats and Kittys Klub. Mrs. Goodge, the secretary, gets on the line. “Oh, hello, there, Chanel! What can I do for you?”
    I tell her.
    “A hundred tickets? Why, Chanel, that’s very generous of your mother!”
    “Yes it is, Mrs. Goodge,” I say. “My mom is one of the most generous people there is, and she really cares about needy people, too!”
    “How will she be paying? Cash or check?” Mrs. Goodge asks.
    “Um, she gave me her credit card number to give you,” I say
    “Oh. I see … well, I suppose that’ll be all right,” she says.
    I give her the number.
    “That’s one hundred raffle tickets at two dollars each, for a total of two hundred dollars.
    Thank you so much, Chanel—and be sure to thank your mother for us!”
    “I’ll do that, Mrs. Goodge,” I say.
    Yeah, right. Sure I will. That would not be a smart thing to do, now, would it? I hang up, feeling guilty but excited. I’m sure to win the Prada bags, with odds like these. A hundred tickets! How can I miss?
    I flop back on the bed and flip through my Oophelia’s catalog once again, even though I know every page by heart. How can I pass up these lime green suede boots? I wonder….
    My mom is gonna kill me. Well, at the rate the group is growing, the Cheetah Girls will probably be rich soon, so I can pay my mom back then, I tell myself. I pick up the phone and punch in a number, and I hear my own voice ordering the lime green suede boots from the Oophelia’s catalog operator.
    Then I spot something else I just have to have. Ooh, this rug is so cute. It has a big
mono
, monkey face on it. I love monkeys! Ooh, it has a matching blue stool with a
mono
on it, too! I guess it won’t hurt if I order just one more thing. Mom won’t mind, I tell myself.