Taffy Sinclair 008 - Taffy Sinclair and the Melanie Make-Over Read Online Free PDF Page A

thing we ' re here to talk about, " Laura said triumphantly. " Let ' s get started. We have lots of work to do. "
    She picked up a stack of booklets that said " Runway to Beauty " on the outside and passed out one to everybody. She told us to put our names on them and to bring them to class each time because they would be like textbooks for the school. Then she said she had some important things to tell us.
    At first I thought it was going to be a long three hours. She started out talking about personality development, good manners in public and on the phone, and things like that. I couldn ' t help squirming in my chair through some parts. It ' s not that I was bored, because I wasn ' t. I guess I was just a little antsy. Anyway, finally she told us to stand up.
    " Now we are going to work on visual poise, " she said. " To be more specific, we ' re going to practice dealing with the situation Mandy brought up. We ' re going to learn how to walk across a room when everyone is watching. "
    I sprang to attention. Now we were getting to the good stuff, the stuff I could use to impress Randy.
    Laura stepped to the center. " The first thing to remember is to let your eyes go first. "
    Giggles raced through the room as we looked at each other and shrugged. Probably everybody was imagining the same thing I was: a pair of eyes dropping out of a face and rolling across the floor.
    Laura smiled. " By that I mean, look toward the spot you ' re going to walk to. "
    " Or the person, " offered Megan.
    " That ' s right. Or the person. Then hold your head up; keep your shoulders low; pull in your tummy; relax your arms and let them hang by your sides; take a deep breath and walk in small, even steps. Always step out on your right foot first and put your heel down and then your toe. That ' s all there is to it! You ' ll glide across the room and look wonderful doing it. " Then she demonstrated, and she was right. She looked terrific.
    Laura smiled around the room confidently, but my heart sank. How could I remember all of that? Look at where you ' re going. Hold up your head. Pull in your tummy. Take a deep breath, then relax your arms at your sides. Or was it the reverse? Relax your arms at your sides and take a deep breath? It was no use. I would never be able to do it. If I tried to remember all of that, I would probably fall flat on my face right in front of Randy.
    " We ' re all going to practice in a moment, " said Laura. " But first I ' d like to ask Taffy and Melanie to demonstrate what I ' ve just told you. Okay, Taffy. You go first. "
    Taffy stood up and then said as prissy as you please, " First I ' m looking at the spot I ' m walking toward. Now I ' m holding my head up and keeping my shoulders low. I ' m tucking in my tummy, letting my arms relax by my sides and taking a deep breath. Now I ' m stepping out with my right foot and putting my heel down first and then my toe. " She walked the whole length of the room looking absolutely perfect. Then, as if that weren ' t enough, she turned around and walked back to her chair.
    " Very good, Taffy, " said Laura. " Now, Melanie. Will you show us your walk, please? "
    Melanie stood up and walked across the room. She didn ' t talk about what she was doing, and she wasn ' t quite as good as Taffy, but there was no doubt about it, she was good.
    Next Laura called us up one by one. Nobody did it right. Darcy swung her arms. Heather forgot to look where she was going. Kim took long, bouncy steps. But I was the worst. I forgot to hold in my tummy. It stuck out so far and was so round that I probably looked like a beach ball with legs. I was so embarrassed I thought I ' d die. Only Taffy and Melanie were perfect.
    I slouched down in my seat and thought about how I had almost made up with Melanie before class began. Miss Perfect, the teacher ' s pet, I thought. I was glad I hadn ' t made up with her. Not only that, maybe I never would .

CHAPTER SIX
    W hen modeling class was over, my three friends