The Fresh New Face of Griselda by Jennifer Torres

Author:Jennifer Torres
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2019-10-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

What day is so dark that there is no ray of sunshine to penetrate the gloom.

—MARY TODD LINCOLN

I didn’t realize they could just sell his truck like that. There’s no fresh start without Dad’s truck. Even if I wanted to, I can’t invite Sophia over today. I need to sell lip gloss. Four tubes a day, I remind myself. Even on weekends. I need ideas. I need help.

I need Maribel.

She’s in our bedroom, frowning at eye-shadow palettes and moisturizer jars and perfume bottles as if they are pieces in a puzzle she’s trying to put together. Already stacked next to her makeup bag are fifteen boxes of Sugar Plum lip gloss.

She’s so focused on packing up makeup that she doesn’t hear me come in and jumps when I clear my throat.

“Geez!”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Dad’s not coming after all.”

“Shocker.” She rummages through containers of blush, in every shade from strawberry lemonade to fruit punch.

I pick one up. Gorgeous as Guava. “So, can I go with you today?”

“Put that back.” She swats at my hand. “What? No. Sorry, Geez.”

“Come on. Why not?”

“Listen, I know you’re all sad and lonely and confused about everything, but not this time. This is business.” She hasn’t done her hair yet. It’s loose and wavy, and when it falls into her face, she twists it into a bun that she holds in place with her pencil.

“But I go door-to-door with you all the time.”

“Geez, I’m not going door-to-door today. I’m going to Ms. Dominguez’s.”

“Tía Carla’s friend? With all of this?” Ms. Dominguez wears a lot of makeup, but still. Maribel has already packed enough to last her years, and she keeps adding to the pile: brow pencils, bronzers, nail polish.

“She invited some of her friends over for a party,” Maribel explains. “I’m going to make them over, show them some samples, and you know”—she squeezes an eyelash curler open and shut before tossing it into her bag—“get them to buy it.”

The women in Ms. Dominguez’s living room can’t be so different from the students in the El Dorado School cafeteria. I could learn so much just from watching Maribel. “But I don’t understand why I can’t go with you.”

“This could be a really important new market for me, and it’s all about word of mouth. I have to make a good impression. Another time, okay?”

It feels like a door shutting in my face. But if there’s one thing I’ve already learned from my sister, it’s never to give up before you find another way in. I start building a tower, stacking mascara boxes one on top of another.

“How did you get so good at business, anyway?” I try to sound casual, not daring to look Maribel in the eyes. “Did you take classes for it? Like, in high school or something?”

She pulls a mascara off the top, and the whole tower tumbles. I help her reorganize the boxes and pack them into her satchel. “Classes? No. I don’t know. I guess I’m just good at figuring out what people want.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.