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Chapter one

My name is Nicole Sparks Welcome to the first day of the worst summer of my life

“Colie,” h as she walked down the train platform toward me She was in one of her FlyKiki workout suits, purple this ti by the station door, took a not-so-subtle look at her watch “Will you please try not to look so tortured?”

I fake-shtly over my chest

“Oh, that’s even worse,” she said Another sigh “With your hair that color and that thing in your lip you look terrible even when you’re s squeakyelse, they were brand-new “Honey, you know this is for the best You couldn’t stay by yourself at the house all summer You’d be lonely”

“I have friends, Mom,” I said

She cocked her head to the side, as if she doubted this “Oh, honey,” she said again “It’s for the best”

The best for you, I thought The thing about ood intentions But that’s as far as she usually gets

“Kiki,” said the assistant, whose naone by the tiot back, fired before they even reached the airport, probably, “we’ve got to go if ant to ht”

“All right, all right” My mother put her hands on her hips—the classic Kiki Sparks aerobic stance—and looked ht? It would be a shaht back”

“Yes”

“And you’ll eat healthy—I told you I’ the complete Kiki line—so you’ll have your foods with you at Mira’s”

“You told me”

She let her hands drop to her sides, and in that one brief uru and personal trainer of the masses Not the talk show Kiki, the infoht-loss products ide Just my mom