Growl Power! Read online

  “I can’t wait for the day when we can just stand there and go with the flow, ’cuz it’s our show,” Galleria says.

  Miggy and Mo’ are being ushered onstage. “Good luck!” I whisper to them. They wave back, smiling. They may be little, but they sure are pros!

  “That’s my girls!” Uncle Skeeter says when we get back to the holding area. He takes turns giving me and Angie hugs and “squiggles,” like he used to when we were little. “I’m so proud of you two,” he says, tears in his eyes.

  “We’re proud of you, too, Skeeter,” Angie says.

  “Are you gonna become part of Fish ’N’ Chips?” I ask him.

  “Well, why not?” Uncle Skeeter says, looking at Mr. Fish and Mr. Carter. “You know what? I finally figured out what I’m really tired of.”

  “What?” I ask, curious.

  “I’m tired of not chasing my dreams,” he says, wiping the sweat off his forehead. “I love the rhythm, you know—I guess it’s in the Jasper blood—so I’m gonna have to ‘go with that flow,’ as your girl Galleria here would say.”

  We chuckle at how astute Uncle Skeeter is. He gets everybody’s program real quick.

  “I really dig your little group,” he says, pointing to all five of us now. “When are y’all going back home?”

  “Not until we get an autograph from Karma’s Children—and a photo,” Galleria huffs.

  “Not until we go to the Galleria Mall and go window-shopping!” Chanel smirks.

  We turn to Dorinda to see what she’s gonna say, but she just shrugs her shoulders and says, “Not until you kick me out.”

  Bless her little heart.

  “And I know you’re not going before you eat my Thanksgiving dinner!” Ma says, getting into the mix. “You know, I never knew what Aqua and Angie meant when they told me you girls had ‘growl power’—but after watching you perform in front of five thousand people, I’ll tell you this—ain’t nobody gonna stop the Cheetah Girls!”

  It’s Raining Benjamins

  For the first time in her-story

  there’s a weather forecast

  that looks like the mighty cash.

  So tie up your shoes and

  put away your blues

  ’cuz we’re going around the bend

  at half past ten

  to the only place in town

  where everything is coming up green

  You know what I mean:

  It’s raining Benjamins

  for a change and some coins

  It’s raining Benjamins

  I heard that, so let’s make some noise

  It’s raining … again!

  Now maybe you’re wondering

  what’s all the thundering—

  But we’ve got the root of all the loot

  that got past Santa’s chute

  without collecting soot.

  So put on your galoshes

  and bring the noshes

  to the only place in town

  where money is falling on the ground

  That’s right, y’all:

  It’s raining Benjamins

  for a change and some coins

  It’s raining Benjamins

  I heard that

  It’s raining … again!

  So here’s the rest of the hex-story

  now that there’s no longer a mystery.

  It’s the precipitation in the nation

  that’s causing all the sensation

  in the only way that dollar bills

  can give you thrills.

  Yeah, that’s what I mean:

  It’s raining Benjamins

  for a change and some coins

  It’s raining Benjamins

  I heard that, so make some noise

  It’s R-A-I-N-I-N-G … AGAIN!

  (Say it, again! Okay …)

  The Cheetah Girls Glossary

  The blues: Heart-thumpin’ music from back in the day. B. B. King and Muddy Waters are the kings of “snappin,’ tappin”’ blues music, but the legend of the blues will live forever.

  Boostin’: Jammin’.

  Dee-vorced: Divorced. No longer married.

  Get the rodeo on the road: Bounce. Make moves.

  Hush the mush: Stop whining. Stop getting mushy.

  Manners-impaired: Someone who is so clumsy that they keep stepping on your foot even though a blind crocodile could see it!

  Mausoleum: A big, gloomy place where dead people are buried in cemeteries.

  Pawnshop: A place where you can bring your valuable stuff when you’re po’ up from the floor up and they lend you some duckets and give you a pawnshop ticket for your belongings.

  Sanitation department: Garbage collection.

  Spookies: A bad case of creepy, crawly feelings. Also known as the “willies” and the “heebie-jeebies.”

  Squiggle: A hug with squealing and shaking involved.

  Acknowledgments

  I have to give it up to the Jump at the Sun peeps here—Andrea Pinkney, Lisa Holton, and Ken Geist—for letting the Cheetah Girls run wild. Also, Anath Garber, the one person who helped me find my Cheetah Girl powers. And, Lita Richardson, the one person who now has my back in the jiggy jungle. Primo thanks to the cover girl Cheetahs: Arike, Brandi, Imani, Jeni, and Mia. And to all the Cheetah Girls around the globe: Get diggity with the growl power, baby!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Deborah Gregory earned her growl power as a diva-about-town contributing writer for Essence, Vibe, and More magazines. She has showed her spots on several talk shows, including Oprah, Ricki Lake, and Maury Povich. She lives in New York City with her pooch, Cappuccino, who is featured as the Cheetah Girls’ mascot, Toto.

  All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2000 by Deborah Gregory

  ISBN 978-1-4976-7721-0

  This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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  New York, NY 10014

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