Wishing on a Star Read Online Free PDF Page A

wheel
,
and strap yourself in for the man of steel.
    Welcome to the Glitterdome.

It’s any place you call home.
    Give me props, I’ll give you cash
,
then show you where my sparkle’s stashed.
    Glitter, glitter. Don’t be bitter!

Glitter, glitter. Don’t be bitter!

Glitter, glitter. Don’t be bitter!

There’s no place like the Glitterdome!
”
    “I like it, Bubbles!” Chanel says, then starts harmonizing with me. “There’s no place like the G-l-i-t-t-e-r-d-o-m-e.”
    She is always down for bringing on the noise. There is nothing we love doing more than singing together—and Chuchie is better at putting music and melody to words than I am.
    “Glitter, glitter. Don’t be bitter!” Dorinda suddenly belts out, hitting the notes higher than even Chanel does.
    “You
can
sing,
mamacita
,” Chanel coos.
    Chanel is like my sister, but I didn’t choose her. We were bound together by lots of Gerber baby food and our diva mothers. Dorinda is different. She is just
like
us, and we only just met her!
    “You should come with us to Drinka Champagne’s Conservatory on Saturday,” Chanel says excitedly. “That’s where we take vocal lessons.”
    “How much is it?” Dorinda asks nervously.
    “No duckets involved, Do’,” Chanel counters. “We’re on special scholarship.”
    “Do’. I like that,” I remark, pulling out my Kitty Kat notebook. “Do’ Re Mi. That’s your official nickname now.”
    “Okay.” She giggles, then scrunches her munchkin shoulders up to her ears. “I’m Do’ Re Mi. My sister is gonna like that.”
    “What’s her name?”
    “Twinkie. She’s nine.”
    “Like my brother, Pucci. Maybe we can hook them up,” Chanel heckles on the mischief tip.
    Then she gets an idea. “Oh, Bubbles, you know what would really be dope? Bringing Do’ Re Mi to the Kats and Kittys Klub!”
    “What’s that?” Do’ Re Mi yuks.
    “Me and Bubbles belong to this ‘shee, shee, boojie, boojie, oui, oui’ social club—’for empowering African American teens!’ Chanel chimes in, imitating the Kats president. “Before, they let us come for free because our mothers were members. Now we have to pay membership fees, but we can go by ourselves—finally!”
    “How much does it cost?” Dorinda asks.
    Clearly, Dorinda is all about the
ka-ching, She ching.
She is so smart. I really like her.
    “It’s about six hundred dollars, or is it six hundred fifty dollars a year for us till we’re eighteen?”
    “I think it’s six hundred fifty dollars now.”
    “But don’t worry, Do’ Re Mi. We got you covered. We want you to sing with us, right, Galleria?”
    “Uh-huh,” I say. Chuchie doesn’t make a move without asking me first. That’s my girl-ital “We’re getting together a girl group, like The Spice Rack Girls, only better.”
    Dorinda brightens. “Awright! Where we gonna sing?”
    “I don’t know. We’ll figure it out,” I say. “We were thinkin’ of singin’ at the Kats and Kittys Halloween Bash. My mom’s already makin’ us Halloween costumes, anyway. I bet I can get her to make one for you, too.”
    “What does
your
mother do?” Chuchie asks Dorinda on the nosy tip.
    “Nothing,” she answers nervously. “She stays at home.”
    “How many brothers and sisters you have?” Chanel asks, fluttering her eyelashes. Nosy posy just won’t quit.
    “Ten,” Dorinda says.
    “That’s a lot of kids!”
    “I know. But they aren’t really
her kids
. I mean, she’s a foster mother—and she’s our mother, just not our
real
mother.”
    For once, Chanel stopped batting her eyelashes.
    “Really? Are they your ‘real’ sisters and brothers?”
    “No, but she’s nice, my foster mom. She lets me do what I want, as long as I help her and stuff.”
    “You gonna come with us Friday, right?” Chanel says, not waiting for an answer. “We’re on the party committee and we get to help plan all of the events.”
    I can tell she really likes Do’ Re Mi. She is acting like a big