Warner Bros: And the Winner Is... (Full House: Sisters #3) STEPHANIE Chapter 1 Eight A.M.?" Stephanie Tanner moaned. She brushed her long blond hair out of her eyes and stared at the buzzing alarm clock on her bedside table. "It's Saturday. What was I thinking?" She hit the button to stop the alarm. Her best friend, Allie Taylor, sat up in her sleeping bag and yawned. She rubbed her eyes. "You were thinking we needed to get up early so we could get to the new mall right when it opens. Remember?" "Oh, right." Stephanie glanced over at Michelle's bed on the side of the room. The bed was empty, which meant that Stephanie's ten-year-old sister was up already. She leaned over the other side of her bed and poked her other best friend, Darcy Powell, on the shoulder. Darcy groaned and turned over in her sleeping bag. "What time is it?" she croaked, keeping her dark brown eyes shut tight. "Time to hit the mall," Stephanie answered. "Rise and shine!" Darcy groaned again and pulled the top of her sleeping bag over her head. Stephanie and Allie grinned at each other. Darcy was high-energy when she was awake, but sometimes it took her a while to get that way. "Come on, Darce," Allie said. "Don't you want to be there to meet Fiona and Felicia Miarra?" "I can't believe that the Miarras are opening a boutique here in San Francisco," Stephanie said. "It's so cool!" "And they'll actually be here for the next two weeks," Darcy added. "Imagine walking through the mall and meeting two of the most famous fashion designers in the world!" Allie stretched her arms and yawned. "Just because they're opening a new boutique here doesn't mean they'll be walking around the mall with the rest of us." "You never know." Stephanie tossed her pillow at Allie. "And just in case they are there, we'd better make sure we look awesome. Who knows? Maybe they'll decide to put us in their next big fashion show in Paris!" She wiggled her eyebrows up and down and smiled. "Yeah, right," Allie said. Then she sniffed the air. "Mmm, I smell pancakes." "Yum," Darcy stood up. "I love your dad's pancakes. Let's go get some!" The three friends hurried down the stairs of Stephanie's big Victorian-style house and headed straight for the kitchen. They found the rest of the family gathered around the big wooden table. Stephanie and her friends took their seats at the table. "Morning, everyone," Stephanie said cheerfully. She glanced around at the eight other people in her family. Her family wasn't exactly what you'd call typical, but Stephanie kind of liked it that way. Aside from Stephanie and Michelle, there was her dad, Danny, and her nineteen-year-old sister, D.J. Danny's best friend, Joey, and his brother-in-law, Jesse, moved in almost nine years ago to help out when Stephanie's mother died. Then Jesse married Becky. Later the two of them had twins, Nicky and Alex. Now they lived in the attic apartment. All together, they were nine people and one large golden retriever named Comet under one roof. Sometimes, the full house drove Stephanie crazy. But most of the time, she knew she wouldn't want to live any other way. D.J. glanced up from her pancakes. "Why are you guys awake so early on a Saturday?" she asked. "Yeah. What's the occasion?" Danny turned away from the stove and headed to the table, carrying a platter piled high with golden pancakes. "You three usually snooze until noon after one of your sleepovers." "Get with it, Danny," Joey said, playfully. "They haven't even gone to sleep yet. They're just coming down for an eight A.M. snack." Stephanie smiled. "Come on, stop kidding around," she told her family. "You know the new mall opens today. I've been talking about it all week." "Oh, is that this weekend?" Danny set the pancakes on the table and smacked his forehead. "I'm sorry, Steph. I totally forgot. I can't drive you there. I made other plans." "What?" Stephanie gasped. "But, Dad, you promised!" Michelle quickly covered her mouth with a hand, her face turning red. Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest. Then she eyed the rest of her family. They stared at her as if they were all about to burst out laughing. "What's going on?" she demanded. "Gotcha!" D.J. cried, breaking into a grin. Everyone else started laughing. "Boy, you should have seen your face, Steph," Joey said. "You looked like Comet did the day he ate that super-hot chili powder I left on the counter." Stephanie tried not to smile. "Very funny," she muttered. "I knew you guys were joking." Michelle grinned. "Admit it. We got you good!" "Don't worry, Steph," Danny said, passing Darcy the pancakes. "You three still have a ride to the mall this morning." "Don't you mean you four?" Michelle asked. "I want to see to the new mall, too. Remember, Dad?" Stephanie grinned at Michelle. "Well, then pass the maple syrup," she told her sister. "The sooner we finish eating, the sooner we can get to the mall!" "Do you believe this place?" Darcy asked. Stephanie gazed around at the escalators, and at the glass elevators in the mall. Each level was outlined in glowing neon. Beneath her feet, the floors were paved with clear plastic blocks that changed color as you stepped on them. "It's like a cross between a mall and a club," Allie said. "Or something from the future," Stephanie added. Ahead of them she saw Danny, Joey, and Michelle step through a colorful arch and into a glass elevator. Joey waved as they were whisked to one of the upper levels. They would all meet in a few hours to go home. Stephanie pointed at the large fountain in the center of the mall. People hurried toward it from all directions. "I wonder what's going on over there?" "There's one way to find out," Darcy said. She led the way toward the crowd. When Stephanie, Darcy, and Allie reached the edge of the plaza, Stephanie saw a huge sign posted near the fountain. A crowd of girls surrounded it. "'Celebrate our grand opening in style,'" she read aloud. "'Enter the Miarra San Francisco's Most Fabulous Sisters Modeling Contest.'" She turned to her friends. "That sounds like fun. Maybe we should do it." Allie nodded. "We can all be models together!" Stephanie and her friends quickly scanned the rest of the sign. "Wow!" Allie breathed. "The grand prize is a shopping spree in five stores in the mall." "Only five?" Stephanie asked. "They're all designer boutiques," Allie explained. "With really incredible clothes. Plus you get a dinner with the Miarras at Pacific Rim—that restaurant at the north end of the mall." Dinner with the Miarras, Stephanie thought. She pictured herself in the ritzy new restaurant. She and the two glamorous designers would sit around a fancy table, getting to know one another. Then they would comment on Stephanie's natural fashion sense and tell her that she should become a designer—just like they are! "Bummer!" Darcy said. "You can enter the contest only if you have a sister. See? It says since Fiona and Felicia Miarra are sisters, the contest is for 'San Francisco's most fabulous sisters.'" "Sisters?" Stephanie echoed. "I wonder if I could get D.J. to enter with me. She's a great dresser, and she's pretty, too." Stephanie read on, feeling more excited by the second. Each pair of sisters that entered the contest would get free modeling lessons and a professional makeover. They would also get to take part in a real fashion photo shoot. For the final contest they had to provide their own clothes, which were supposed to reflect their special sense of sisterly style. That's what they would be judged on. "This is perfect," Stephanie said. "D.J. and I have great sisterly style. As soon as I get home, I'm going to ask her to enter the contest." Allie stood on tiptoe to see the sign. "It looks like there are more rules and stuff written at the bottom," she pointed out. Stephanie couldn't see the rest of the sign. She made her way through the crowd, trying to get a better look. As she moved through a knot of people, she felt her elbow bump someone. "Oops! Excuse me," Stephanie apologized. She turned to see whom she'd bumped. A tall, slim girl with shiny dark hair gazed back at Stephanie. Her big green eyes were fringed with long lashes. She wore a lavender minidress. She was the prettiest girl Stephanie had ever seen. I hope she's not entering the contest, she thought. She'll win for sure. "It's okay," the girl said with a perfect smile. "My name is Rianne. Are you going to enter the contest?" "I'm thinking about it," Stephanie said, trying to sound casual. "I have to see if my sister D.J. can do it with me. What about you?" Rianne nodded. "I'm going to enter with my sister Rhonda." She gestured to a tall girl standing nearby. Stephanie gulped. Rhonda was Rianne's twin. Rhonda looked exactly like her gorgeous sister, except that her dark hair was cut in a short, stylish bob. "That's great," Stephanie said weakly. "Good luck" Then she walked back to her friends. "Who was that girl you were talking to?" Darcy asked. "She's really pretty." "Tell me about it," Stephanie said. "She has a twin sister. And they're both entering the contest. Talk about competition!" "Don't worry about it." Allie placed a hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "You and D.J. have something special." "I hope so," Stephanie said. "Anyway, a little competition is a good thing, right? It just means that D.J. and I will have to try our hardest." "So what did the small print say?" Darcy asked. "What are the other rules?" "I forgot to look," Stephanie admitted. "There are some entry forms over there." Allie pointed to a table set up next to the fountain. "I bet the rules are printed on them. Be right back," she said, and walked away. When Allie returned, she handed a form to Stephanie. "What does it say?" Darcy asked. "There's a schedule of the events. A photo shoot class on Monday, a runway modeling class on Wednesday, and a makeover on Friday," Stephanie said. "The fashion show is in one week—Saturday afternoon." Stephanie read the rules aloud to her friends. "'All contestants must be U.S. citizens,'" she said. "'Parents must sign permission slips,' blah, blah, blah . . ." Then her gaze stopped short. "Wait a second," Stephanie said. "All contestants must be age eighteen or under?" "What?" Allie said. "But that means . . ." "I know." Stephanie felt her heart sink. "D.J. is too old to enter the contest with me!" MICHELLE Chapter 2 So how does it feel to be entering the working world at age ten, Michelle?" Danny joked as he and Joey walked her down the wide central aisle of the mall. Michelle giggled. "It feels great! Thanks again for helping me get this part-time job, Dad. And thanks for helping me keep it a secret from Stephanie." Danny gave her a quick hug. "Wild horses couldn't drag it out of me. After all, it's for a good cause." Joey tugged gently on Michelle's strawberry-blond hair. "I'd say earning money for Stephanie's surprise birthday present is an excellent cause." Michelle smiled. Stephanie's birthday was coming up in two weeks, and Michelle wanted to buy her something really special. There was just one problem. Michelle didn't have any money. Then her dad found out that their neighbor, Mrs. Cruz, was opening a taco stand in the new mall. He asked if Michelle could help out there for a week, and Mrs. Cruz said yes! Michelle gazed ahead, trying to see where the food court began. It was a long walk from where they entered the mall. Michelle didn't mind, though. It meant that they were less likely to run into Stephanie and her friends. Joey slowed down as they passed a bookstore. "I want to see if they have any new joke books," he said. "I'll catch up with you guys later." Michelle walked a little faster. She didn't want to be late on her very first day. "Michelle! Mr. Tanner!" a voice called.