Standing Up For Grace Read Online Free PDF Page A

is true. Imperia did tell her that first thing in the morning, and it didn’t work.
    “That was it?” Daddy asks as he shuts off the ignition.
    “Actually,” Grace says, “she—”
    “I got some help from this girl named Janie,” Imperia says. “She says that Skylar’s mom is some famous actress, but Janie’s grandfather runs the studio so Skylar has to listen to her.”
    “ That ’s who Janie is?” Grace asks. “I knew she was somebody important.”
    Imperia sighs silently. Grace is already moving into Hollywood speak, which is probably better than not talking at all.
    “So you’ve made a friend too,” Daddy says.
    Imperia shrugs, then opens the door. The garage is really clean and smells of exhaust. She heads to the house, hoping she doesn’t get any more questions.
    “Janie’s really tough,” Grace says behind her. Grace is clearly talking to Daddy. “But even she wouldn’t take on Skylar without Imperia.”
    “That’s good, right?” Daddy asks.
    Imperia pulls the door open. The scent of chili wafts over her. Apparently, Ruthie has been cooking.
    “That’s really good,” Grace says. “Together, they’re like super tough chicks.”
    Imperia goes in the door. The garage door leads to an entry where she’s supposed to hang up her coat, if she ever needed a coat, which she hasn’t so far. The smell of chili makes her stomach growl.
    “Super tough chicks,” Daddy says slowly. He’s suddenly right beside Imperia. “Is that hyperbole?”
    “Of course it is, Dad,” Imperia says before Grace can answer. “What do you think we’re doing? Kicking butt like those girls in the urban fantasy novels from your store?”
    Daddy frowns at her. “You’ve been reading those?”
    “A few of them,” Imperia says, working hard to suppress her smile of triumph. Topic of conversation successfully changed.
    For the moment, anyway.

 
     
     
     
    FIVE
     
     
    Imperia counts the entire evening as a win. Daddy doesn’t notice her darkened hands, which means he hasn’t noticed her bruised knuckles, and he gives her The Lecture on reading books that are too old for her, which she can recite in her sleep (and which she’s been ignoring for years) and Grace actually mentioned at dinner that she’s looking forward to school the next day.
    Can’t get better than that.
    Or so Imperia thinks. Then she goes to school.
    Skylar’s there. White tape makes an X across her nose, her eyes are black-and-blue and her face is puffy.
    Best of all, she won’t even look at Imperia. All Skylar’s little minions just glare at Imperia whenever she walks by, but they keep their distance.
    “I thought she’s having some kind of Barbie surgery,” Imperia says to Janie at lunch. They’ve hooked up for hamburgers again. Grace is sitting with her newfound friends and actually holding court.
    “I guess she can’t,” Janie says. “Apparently you can’t have plastic surgery before you stop growing.”
    “But she’s all black-and-blue,” Imperia says.
    “Well, duh,” Janie says. “You broke her nose. They had to reset it. She’ll have a crooked nose for years. Good job.”
    But is it a good job? Imperia wonders that in class after class. She’s a little appalled at the way Skylar looks. So appalled, in fact, that she actually thinks of apologizing, at least for a minute, until she remembers how mean Skylar was to Grace.
    Imperia’s keeping an eye on Grace, but mostly, she’s keeping an eye on Skylar’s friends. Because Imperia doesn’t trust them. They’re being too quiet.
    Something bad is going to happen: she just knows it.
    And of course, something bad does happen. Just not in the way she expects.

 
     
     
     
    SIX
     
     
    “Imperia!” Daddy says. He has a sound in his voice she’s never heard before. In fact, if she had to guess who was talking, she might’ve said it was Grandfather, not Daddy. She never realized that they had similar voices before.
    She’s doing some math homework at the