Model Menace 2 by Carolyn Keene Page B

after we finished three stores, and I could sense everyone growing tired of shopping. It didn’t help, of course, that none of the dresses the producers had chosen actually seemed suitable.
    Finally the final dress was filmed, and Vic’s mom seemed to please Hans by telling Syd it was a little tight. Syd chuckled, and we all perked up a little, assuming this meant we could leave the store and have lunch. But then Donald announced that Hans was going to do one-on-one interviews, starting with the moms. He pulled them into a separate room as Syd dropped next to me on the sofa with a sigh.
    I waited until the full crew was out of earshot before turning to her with an incredulous look. “ How have you put up with this all week?!” I demanded.
    Syd just laughed. “Oh, Nance,” she said, squeezing my arm. “I’m sorry, you guys. I know this is tough. Being a reality TV star isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!”
    I shook my head. “No, no. We’re fine. This is just one long day for us, but you’ve been doing this since you arrived in town! You must be going nuts.”
    Syd leaned back against the sofa and shrugged. “It’s not fun, sometimes. But ever since I took Vic back, I have a new philosophy.”
    George leaned in. “Which is?”
    Syd smiled. “I love Vic,” she replied. “And I’m getting married to him, and that’s all that matters.”
    Akinyi moved closer, shaking her head. “Still,” she said irritably, “don’t you ever regret agreeing to get married on television? I mean, I would get sick of these guys following me around, making me re-enact everything so they can film it in the right light.”
    Syd frowned, looking thoughtful. “Well, you know, I was originally against it,” she replied. Yes—you and your mom, I thought. “But when I did the math I realized Vic was right. Filming the whole thing might be a little uncomfortable, but in the end, we’ll have a great DVD to show our kids and a nice little nest egg to start out with!”
    Akinyi raised an eyebrow. “How much of a nest egg?” she demanded. “Because I’m telling you, I would want to be able to quit my job to put up with as much as you’re putting up with.”
    I could sense everyone squirming uncomfortably. Granted, Akinyi was still dealing with her very sudden breakup, but she seemed to get more irritable and cranky every day. And asking Syd exactly how much she and Vic were getting for this special seemed a little impolite.
    Syd didn’t look upset, though. “Let’s put it this way,” she explained. “Vic and I will be able to put a down payment on a nice house—and have enough left over to throw a whole other wedding, if we want.”
    Akinyi looked skeptical. “Okay,” she replied, turning away. “If that’s enough for you.”
    I saw a little crease form between Syd’s eyebrows. It looked like her friend’s criticisms were finally starting to get to her. “Listen,” she said, “the producers have been very generous. They’re giving us a nice lump sum, plus they’re paying for the wedding, paying for the honeymoon, they wrote that nice check for the Books for Kids Foundation—”
    But then Syd broke off, putting her hand over her mouth, as though she realized she’d said something she shouldn’t.
    “Huh?” Bess asked. “What’s the Books for Kids Foundation?”
    Syd glanced over at the door to the room where the mothers were being interviewed, then lowered her voice. “I’m really not supposed to say anything about this,” she whispered, “but the producers wrote a nice check to my mother’s favorite charity, Books for Kids. That really changed her perception of them, and of whether this TV special was a good idea.”
    I met George’s eye. Aaaaahhh. That explained Ellie’s sudden turnaround—and her ambivalence about the whole TV issue, especially when her daughter was threatened.
    “Isn’t that a lot of money?” Deb asked, tilting her head. “It must be expensive for them to film, too. It seems