Pretty Little Devils Read Online Free PDF Page A

loaded with kid art. Among the crayon drawings Hazel noticed a photograph of a mother, a father, and a little boy holding a Siamese cat. He had a cute buzz cut and large, thick glasses.
    â€œThat’s Charlie, the kid I’m sitting,” Ellen said, pointing to the picture. “His mom died six months ago. Cancer.”
    â€œOh my God,” Hazel said. The woman looked far too young to have died of anything.
    â€œYeah. It sucks.” Megan sighed. “So, what do you want to drink? People bring stuff, and Charlie’s dad contributes to the cause without realizing it.”
    Ellen giggled. “Some of the parents we sit for have so much booze lying around they don’t miss it if we take something here and there.”
    Hazel gazed at the counter. It was a glittering row of liquor bottles. The stars of the school were pressed hip to hip, pouring drinks and carrying on. A heady mixture of perfume, cigarette smoke, and alcohol hung in the air.
    I’m here, Hazel thought. These parties are for real and I’m here — as a guest of the PLDs.
    â€œWe have a rule that everyone must drink in the kitchen,” Sylvia explained. “It makes it easier to clean up. Spills, you know.”
    I guess the rules just don’t apply to Sylvia, Hazel thought, glancing at the glass Sylvia had carried with her from the living room.
    â€œGo ahead,” Megan urged. “Pick your poison.”
    Hazel scanned the liquor bottles. She didn’t do much drinking, but there were a few things she knew she liked. She reached for the bottle of Amaretto and got herself a paper cup from a stack beside the stove.
    â€œYou’ll have to drink a lot of that to get a buzz on,” Megan said. “This does the job quicker.” She picked up a fifth of Jim Beam.
    Hazel poured Amaretto into her cup. “That’s okay—I need to pace myself.”
    â€œA girl who knows her limit,” Sylvia noted. “I like that.”
    â€œHey, who’s the new chick?” a low voice asked. Hazel felt a hand slide over her butt. She jerked. The Amaretto splashed around her cup.
    â€œDon’t be fresh, Stephan,” Sylvia scolded. “This is Hazel.”
    Hazel glanced over her shoulder at Stephan Nylund.
    â€œHey-zel. Lookin’ good.” His eyes scanned her up and down. “We’re going outside for a while,” he said, making quotation marks in the air. “Want to come?”
    â€œGoing outside?” What did that mean? Hazel looked to Sylvia for help, but she was pouring herself a drink. “Maybe later,” she told him. “I just got here.”
    â€œCool.” He gave her another long, lingering gaze before sliding open the glass door. “By the way, Meg, how’s it hangin’?” he shouted as he sauntered out.
    Megan glared at his back and hissed, “Ignore him. He’s such an asshole.”
    â€œYou’d do well to follow your own advice, ma petite ,” Sylvia put in.
    Megan clamped her mouth shut.
    Hazel’s eyes returned to the picture on the refrigerator. “So where’s the little boy?”
    Sylvia gestured with her head. “Up in his room. He gets these really bad headaches. He has to lie down a lot. Ellen will check on him in a little while.” She threaded her arm through Hazel’s. “But don’t worry about him. Let me show you around. This is your first time at one of our parties. They’re not like the keggers you’re probably used to.”
    Lowering her voice to a purr, she added, “We’re low-key, but we have a hell of a lot more fun.”
    â€œSo I’ve heard,” Hazel said.
    Sylvia shrugged. “Gossip is so déclassé. People who have lives don’t bother chattering about people who do.”
    â€œI couldn’t agree more,” Hazel replied.
    Sylvia gave her an appraising look. Hazel stayed cool.
    â€œTell me, how did you wind up with Lakshmi Sharma