Part 3 (2/2)
Fffffffpuuurpppp. Fffffffpuuurpppp.
Claire stomped her bare foot. She knew that fake fart sound anywhere. ”Todd, come out!” She yelled at her daisy-print comforter.
A shock of orange hair appeared from under the bed. It was attached to a small freckly boy wearing Batman pajamas and a mischievous grin.
”Ehmagosh, was he under there the whole time?” Sari screeched, her thin upper lip practically disappearing from the horror of it all.
Claire responded by shoving Todd out the door. How would she ever convince her friends to spend New Year's Eve at her house again if they were flanked with a snooping brother and a hyper-protective babysitter?
”It's way past your bedtime, Toddy.” Kelsey reached for his hand. ”Now, back to night-night for you.” She closed the door behind her, purposely leaving it open a crack.
”Now what?” Sari yawned.
Claire checked the timer-nine more minutes until their next sugar hit. ”How 'bout a dance contest?' She flicked on her clock radio.
A commercial for Simmons Toyota urged people to drive on down before midnight to take advantage of their crazy year-end deals.
”Let's Google dirty words.” Mandy wiggled her thick black eyebrows.
”We did that last Sat.u.r.day,” Sarah whined.
”Well, maybe there are more,” Mandy tried. ”It's been a week.”
Sarah shot her hand in the air. ”I know! Let's pretend we're ghosts and scare Kelsey.”
Claire giggled at the thought.
Sari and Mandy yanked the white sheet off the twin bed. They gathered underneath in a giddy cl.u.s.ter, b.u.mping into each other and giggling with glee.
”Shhhhhh, listen.” Mandy suddenly poked her head out.
”Fffffffpuuurpppp.” Sari did her best impression of Todd's fake fart. Sari did her best impression of Todd's fake fart.
Sarah and Claire cracked up.
”No, seriously.” Mandy threw the sheet off their heads. ”Turn up the radio.”
Claire hurried over to the white Sony Dream Machine and rolled the dial. Sc.u.m 101.1's late-night DJ was playing the Miss Kiss theme song.
”That's right, it's Dr. Party,” he announced in the raspy, sleep-deprived voice that had earned him his moniker. ”And joining me tonight is the lovely Miss Kiss. Miss Kiss, your reign ends at midnight. How do you feel about that?” He made a crude sniffing sound. ”By the way, has anyone ever told you you smell like grapefruit?”
She giggled. ”It's Happy, by Clinique. One of the wonderful sponsors I had the opportunity to work with over the past year.”
”Well, it's making me me happy, I'll tell you that.” Dr. Party chuckled like a perv. happy, I'll tell you that.” Dr. Party chuckled like a perv.
The girls rolled their eyes.
Miss Kiss giggled again. ”Sorry, what did you ask me?” Her high-pitched voice sounded slightly m.u.f.fled, like she was curling up shyly and speaking into her shoulder.
”Are you going to miss Miss Kiss?”
”Oh yeah,” she said, suddenly sounding serious and rehea.r.s.ed. ”I'm going to miss it so much. I've gotten to work with so many wonderful people, charities, and mammals. And I learned bunches about all the different car shows in the state of Florida. Did you know there are over nineteen different exhibitions on the Gulf Coast alone? And that doesn't include antique shows or monster trucks.”
”We have to take another break, but for those of you dying to get a whiff of this lovely lady beside me, be the first caller to properly name the last five Kissimmee pageant winners. If you can, you and Miss Kiss will ride in our station limo to see tonight's midnight performance of Orlando's very own boy band, ThRob, at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Their song 'Twice the Fun' will be broadcast live via satellite on Merri-Lee Marvil's New Year's Yves New Year's Yves. And so will you you, when twins Theo and Rob plant a big smooch on your lips, making you their first kiss of the New Year. And you know what they say? You never forget your first, right?” He snorted, making Trojan, his sidekick, cackle-cough. ”Phone lines are open. The number to dial is 1-800-YRU-Sc.u.m. That's 1-800-YRU-Sc.u.m. Back in a flash with Dr. Party and Trojan on Florida's destination station, Sc.u.m 101.1.”
”Ahhhhhhhh!” The girls scrambled for their Nokias.
Claire, who had been forbidden to get a cell phone until her sixteenth birthday, ran into her parents' bedroom and grabbed the tan cordless off the cradle. She dialed and immediately got through. Her insides soared. Finally, a New Year's Eve worth remembering. ”I'm in,” she shouted-ran back to her room, forgetting all about Kelsey and her sleeping brother.
”Me too.” Mandy sucked on a piece of black hair.
”Same.” Sarah bounced on her toes.
”Number three!” Sari announced.
Mandy and Sarah immediately ended their calls.
”Why'dya do that that?” Claire gasped.
”I had number fifty-nine.” Mandy sighed.
”Sixty-one.” Sarah moped.
An automated voice informed Claire that she was eighty-seventh in line.
”How did you get so close?” Claire asked Sari, hanging up.
”I have them on speed-dial,” confessed the bony blond. ”For All-Request Wednesdays.”
”Dr. Party and Trojan, back with the lovely Miss Kiss during her last moments as our reigning hottie.”
She tee-heed at the compliment.
”Time to turn to the phones and find some lips for Theo and Rob, the twin brothers in ThRob, to kiss at midnight. Caller one, can I have your name please?”
”Theo and Rob can kiss my pimple-infested a-”
Dr. Party disconnected the line with an embarra.s.sed chuckle. ”Next caller. Can you name the last five winners of the Miss Kiss pageant?”
”Oh my lord, Dr. Party, is that really you? I swear I'm a huge fan. I saw you perform at the Comedy Castle last month and you were hair-sterical!”
”Thank you, uh...”
”Jillian!”
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