“It was no big deal, really,” Jo mumbled. “We fell asleep in the guesthouse watching movies.” Well, it was the truth. She just left out the part about them messing around, because no mother alive wanted to think her daughter put out for anyone, even Mr. Perfect, Dillon Masters. “I’ve got some stuff to do before his parents’ party this afternoon,” she said, meeting her mother’s eyes as she inched her bedroom door open. “So if you’ll excuse me…”
“You be careful, baby girl,” Bootsie said, and caught her by the shoulder, holding on firmly. “The Glass Slipper Club takes their debutantes very seriously, and you know the rules. Any public indiscretion could cost you your position.”
Public indiscretion?
“It’s not like we were getting it on in the street, Mother, for God’s sake,” Jo Lynn grumbled. “If anyone spreads any nasty gossip about me or Dillon, it’ll just be because they’re jealous.”
But the warning look didn’t leave Bootsie’s narrowed eyes. “I’m serious, baby. You need to watch yourself. All it takes is one unforgivable slip, and the GSC will review your Rosebud status. If that happens, I won’t be able to do a thing about it. We’ve already had to terminate one girl, and it hasn’t been pleasant.”
“Who?” Jo Lynn perked up, hoping against all hope it was that fat blob Laura Bell.
Bootsie gave a little shake of her head. “Now, Jo, you know I can’t discuss that with you. You’ll find out soon enough, I’m sure. Besides, it’s not anyone else’s daughter I’m worried about. It’s you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me, I swear. It won’t be me who slips, I promise you,” Jo Lynn insisted, but Bootsie didn’t look completely reassured.
Bootsie nodded, giving her shoulder a squeeze before she released her. “Why don’t you get cleaned up, and I’ll see you at brunch at eleven? Jacques has a new stuffed French toast he’s trying out on us this morning, and a soufflé with green peppers and caviar.”
“Egg soufflé with caviar?” Jo Lynn made a face, and Bootsie laughed.
“You can stick to the French toast.”
“I do believe I will,” Jo said, watching her mother stride down the Oriental runner toward the stairs. Then she pushed into her room and shut the door, locking it behind her. She had something to take care of before she showered and made herself presentable for brunch.
She dumped her shoes on the floor and slid into her cane-backed desk chair. Settling in front of her wide-screen flat-panel monitor, she palmed her mouse, which was yellow and shaped like a VW Bug. When she clicked on it, tiny headlights lit up and it beeped. She pulled up a bookmarked page and prepared to place an order, her third in the past few weeks. Last time, it was for Godiva. This time, it was for two dozen brownies from the Fairytale Bakery. Just for the hell of it, she added a Caramel Endings dessert sauce and a bag of cashews. How many calories are in those suckers? she wondered. Like, a million?
Enough, she was sure, to lead the already oversized Laura Bell on a course to debutante destruction, if she wasn’t already on the fast track to an early exit. We’ll see if big girls do cry, Jo Lynn thought, pulling out her prepaid debit card, the one she’d bought with cash so there’d be no way to link it back to her. She smiled as she clicked on “Order Now.”
Excerpt copyright © 2008 by Susan McBride. Published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
* * *
White dress, white gloves…white lies!
Anyone can be a Deb!
Enter the Lilly Pulitzer®
“Deb Club” Makeover Contest!
Debutantes are known for their community service.
In 250 words or less, tell us how you and your friends have made a difference in your community!
All entries must be received by October 17, 2008.
One grand-prize winner will win a trip for four to New York City for a shopping spree at the new Lilly Pulitzer® store on Madison Avenue.
For complete rules and details,
log on to www.lillypulitzer.com or www.thedebsbooks.com
* * *
ALSO BY SUSAN McBRIDE
The Debutante Dropout Mysteries
Too Pretty to Die
Night of the Living Deb
The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club
The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
Blue Blood
Published by Delacorte Press an imprint of Random House Children’s Books a division of Random House, Inc.
New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2008 by Susan McBride
All rights reserved.
Delacorte Press and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
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Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McBride, Susan.
The debs / Susan McBride.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Rising high school seniors and life-long best friends Laura, Mac, and Ginger hope for invitations to be introduced to Houston, Texas, society as Glass Slipper Debutantes, while each faces family and boyfriend issues and Jo Lynn plots Laura’s downfall.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89110-6
[1. Debutantes—Fiction. 2. Interpersonal relations—Fiction. 3. Wealth—Fiction. 4. Houston (Tex.)—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.M478276Deb 2008
[Fic]—dc22
2007051590
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
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