Ma.s.sie thought about shoving her onto the ground, hoping it would get rid of that c.o.c.ky smile on her face. "Source?" she asked.

"Cam told me himself, Sat.u.r.day after the soccer game. Didn't he, Faux-livia?"

"Yup." Olivia nodded.

The more Ma.s.sie thought about it, the more Alicia's words made sense. Claire did did say Cam left a bag of gummy feet under her seat. But the whole time Ma.s.sie a.s.sumed that they had been for say Cam left a bag of gummy feet under her seat. But the whole time Ma.s.sie a.s.sumed that they had been for her her and that Claire had just stumbled upon them by accident. And after the game, when he came over to talk to them ... had he and that Claire had just stumbled upon them by accident. And after the game, when he came over to talk to them ... had he really really come to see Claire? Was it possible? Even though she showed him her roundhouse? come to see Claire? Was it possible? Even though she showed him her roundhouse?

"So Claire, are you totally shocked and excited?" Alicia said.

"I am," Ma.s.sie blurted.

Claire giggled. "I wanted to tell you, but I could never get you alone."

"That's funny," Alicia said. "Because Cam said he could never get you you alone, Claire. He said Ma.s.sie always shows up and gets in the way every time he tries to talk to you." alone, Claire. He said Ma.s.sie always shows up and gets in the way every time he tries to talk to you."

Ma.s.sie felt like Alicia had just kicked her in the stomach with her hideous square-toed boots. She could barely choke down her own breath. Every time she tried, her mouth got drier. Her ears started ringing and the voices in the Cafe were starting to sound tinny and hollow. Ma.s.sie wanted to run away and scream, but everyone was looking at her, waiting for her reaction.

"Look." Claire reached into her backpack and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She handed it to Alicia. "It's the first note Cam ever wrote to me. He gave it to me after we lost the uniform design contest. I take it everywhere."

Ma.s.sie took a sip of Diet c.o.ke while she watched Alicia unfold the note. She took another sip while Alicia read it aloud.

"Dear Claire, you must have really hated the CD I made you, cuz you never got back to me about the movie. Anyway, I thought your uniform was awesome and I think you should have won.-Cam. P.S., the Keds were a cool touch." Alicia pressed the open note against her chest and shook her head slowly. "He is so sweet. But remind me to kill him for saying you should have won the contest." She forced a playful smile.

"He is a door and a ball," Kristen said.

"What?" Dylan hissed.

"A-door-a-ball." Kristen grinned.

"I love that, that," Dylan said.

Ma.s.sie reached for the pug charm on her bracelet and held it tight, wishing the real Bean were there with her.

"So did you ever go to the movie with him?" Olivia asked.

"No, not yet." Claire lifted the hood of her fuchsia Gap sweater over her head. "But he keeps asking me."

Ma.s.sie watched Claire squirm and fidget and wondered how Cam could possibly find her more attractive. It wasn't that Claire wasn't cute; she was was. Ma.s.sie just always thought of herself as cuter. But maybe she wasn't. ...

"Uh, excuse me," Ma.s.sie said, snapping her fingers in the air. "Attention, please. I hate to say this, because Cam is a nice guy, but he's a major EW."

Claire took her note back from Alicia and stuffed it in her bag.

"I mean, he's such an eternal Harris wannabe." Ma.s.sie leaned forward in her chair and glared at Dylan.

"You're right," Dylan said. "He is like a total highlight/copy/paste of his older brother: the leather jacket, the Strokes obsession, and his green eye are all one hundred percent Harris."

"And there's nothing more pathetic than a wannabe, wannabe," Ma.s.sie said, turning to Alicia.

"But he's so sweet," Claire said.

"So is Equal, but it's not the real thing," Ma.s.sie said. "You deserve someone special. Not a cheap knockoff."

Claire brought her thumb to her mouth and started chewing on her nail. Ma.s.sie felt a little guilty about hurting Claire, but she was determined to wipe the smug look off Alicia's face.

"Claire, there are tons of cute boys at Briarwood, with personalities of their own," Ma.s.sie said. "I'll totally introduce you."

"Puh-lease, Cam totally has his own personality," Alicia said, pulling up the low neck of her sweater. "Harris never played soccer."

"I know. Harris played lacrosse," Ma.s.sie said. "Cam tried out for lacrosse but never made the team." She sat on her hands so no one would see that her fingers were crossed.

"You're just jealous," Alicia said to Ma.s.sie. "I saw you flirting with him after the soccer game."

"I wasn't flirting with him," Ma.s.sie hissed. Her heartbeat quickened.

"You showed him your roundhouse," Alicia said.

Ma.s.sie gasped. "I did not!"

"Ehmagawd, you did did show him your roundhouse," Dylan said. show him your roundhouse," Dylan said.

"But that doesn't mean anything," Kristen said. "Does it, Ma.s.sie?"

"Of course not-that mating call is so dead to me," Ma.s.sie said.

"Claire, stop biting." Alicia knocked Claire's thumb out of her mouth. "This is all very simple."

Alicia slid off the edge of the table and slowly walked over to Ma.s.sie. "Cam likes Claire. Claire likes Cam." She stood over Ma.s.sie's chair. Her arms were folded across her chest. "And no one no one likes a sore loser. So accept it, Ma.s.sie, and let Claire find a little happiness." likes a sore loser. So accept it, Ma.s.sie, and let Claire find a little happiness."

Ma.s.sie stood up and looked into Alicia's big brown eyes. "Alicia, if I liked Cam, I would be hanging out with Cam." She tried her best to control her shaky voice. "Besides, Cam has BO." Ma.s.sie dropped back down into her seat. She ripped a few sc.r.a.ps of wrapping paper before she looked across the table. "Kuh-laire, if you like Cam, don't let me stand in your way."

An expression of relief washed over Claire's face.

"But-" Ma.s.sie looked straight into Claire's wide blue eyes. "If you do end up hanging out with him, don't bother talking to me. I don't want one of my best friends best friends a.s.sociated with an EW. It makes me look trashy." a.s.sociated with an EW. It makes me look trashy."

Claire sighed anxiously and pulled on her bangs.

"Don't let her get to you," Alicia said to Claire. "Ma.s.sie's just jealous because she she likes Cam." likes Cam."

Claire placed her palm on the table and dragged a red ribbon sc.r.a.p toward her. Her bottom lip stuck out while she looked down and tied it into a knot.

Alicia rolled her eyes. "Let's go, Faux."

"Ma.s.sie, will you introduce me me to some cute Briarwood boys too?" Olivia said. to some cute Briarwood boys too?" Olivia said.

"Sure," Ma.s.sie said with fake enthusiasm. "Once we're friends friends."

"Come on." Alicia grabbed Olivia by the arm and pulled her away.

Suddenly a voice bleated over the loudspeaker, saving Ma.s.sie from having to answer any questions.

"What's up, OCD, this is Comma Dee letting you know that it's time for the Give Thanks on Thanksgiving gift exchange. Please take all of your prezzys to the auditorium so we can get started. ..."

Kristen, Dylan, and Claire grabbed their gifts off the table and stood up. Ma.s.sie stayed seated.

"Hey, here's one for ya. ... What part of the turkey does Snoop Dogg love to eat? ... Give up? ..."

"You coming?" Claire asked Ma.s.sie. She sounded tired.

"Yeah." Ma.s.sie stood up. Her legs felt like lead.

"The GRIZZLE ... Snoop loves to eat The Grizzle. Get it?"

Everyone groaned when they heard Comma Dee's corny punch line.

"That girl is such a loser," Dylan said.

I know," Kristen agreed. "She actually thinks people like her."

Ma.s.sie walked a few paces behind her friends, wondering if one day people would be saying that about her her.

THE B BLOCK E ESTATE GLU H GLU HEADQUARTERS.

7:55 PM PM.

November 17th Claire loved the rich woodsy smell of cedar in the Blocks' old horse barn. But she had been painting in there for over an hour and a sharp, pungent odor hovered in the air like a noxious cloud. Ma.s.sie opened a window, but all that did was let in the cold.

"How's everyone doing?" Ma.s.sie asked, taking a step back to survey the freshly painted wall.

"Good," Kristen said from the top of her stepladder.

Dylan nodded while she tightened the Pucci scarf around her head.

"I'm almost done," Claire said, dipping her brush in paint. She tapped it against the side of the can, then lifted it to the wall.

Claire knew what they were about to do was wrong. But she couldn't turn back now. Ma.s.sie would never invite her to do anything with them again.

"Shoot," Claire said looking at her shoe. "I just dripped paint on my white Keds."

"Looks like you'll finally have to get rid of those," Ma.s.sie said with a teasing smile.

"Why? Your clothes have paint all over them," Claire said, referring to Ma.s.sie's blotchy turquoise outfit.

"Yeah, but they're supposed to be like this. These are my Primp Splatter Sweats; I bought them for the occasion." Ma.s.sie ran her hand over the unicorn patch that had been sewed to the front. "And by the way, these stains are bleach, not paint."

"I can't believe your mom is letting us paint the walls," Kristen said, wiping her hands on her old gray soccer sweats. "My parents would never let me do this."

"It's part of her self-help homework," Ma.s.sie said, reaching for her Dr. Juice. The clear plastic cup had Power Power written across it in big black letters. The protein-omega-3-banana-soy blend was her new favorite. "Everyone in her book club has to do something this week that shows they can 'let go.' So she said we could paint the walls." written across it in big black letters. The protein-omega-3-banana-soy blend was her new favorite. "Everyone in her book club has to do something this week that shows they can 'let go.' So she said we could paint the walls."

"My mom said she's only letting us do this because they're putting mirrors on the walls in a couple of weeks," Claire said.

"Yeah, but until then this place is all ours," Ma.s.sie said. "And I am officially declaring it GLU headquarters." She raised her juice and the girls cheered. "Ehmagawd, it's eight o'clock. Lucinda said she'd know by now if we got the modeling jobs." Ma.s.sie flicked open her Motorola. Another purple rhinestone fell off and bounced along the hardwood floors. "I am so getting a new phone. This one isn't responding well to my jewels."

Ma.s.sie's amber eyes shifted back and forth while she listened to her messages. "Alicia called to say she's going to be here at eight-thirty," she reported. "That means we have to hurry up and finishing painting." Ma.s.sie hit delete and Claire watched her eyes shift again while she listened to the next message.

"It's Lucinda," Ma.s.sie shouted. The girls jumped off their stepladders and grabbed each other's hands like finalists on America's Next Top Model America's Next Top Model.

"IN!" Ma.s.sie snapped her phone shut.

Claire had waited months to hear that word.

"We're gonna be models." Dylan was so excited she actually tackled Ma.s.sie. They fell to the ground and landed on a dusty drop cloth, laughing hysterically. Dylan was so excited she actually tackled Ma.s.sie. They fell to the ground and landed on a dusty drop cloth, laughing hysterically.

"Go to h.e.l.l, Gisele!" Kristen shouted as she dove on top of them.

"Walk the planks, Tyra Banks," Claire shouted before she joined the giddy pile.

"I am so starting a raw food diet," Dylan announced as she stood up and wiped the dust off her mother's old maternity caftan.

Dylan's serious tone was an instant buzz kill. Everyone got off the floor, smoothed her hair, and got down to business.

"Did she say when it was?" Kristen asked, opening her day planner.

"December sixth," Ma.s.sie said.

"Cool, I already have that weekend off," Kristen said.

"Be careful. Something might happen to your character character if you're not wrapping presents for a few days," Ma.s.sie said. if you're not wrapping presents for a few days," Ma.s.sie said.

Kristen rolled her eyes and slapped her planner shut.

Everyone laughed at Ma.s.sie's joke and Claire was relieved when Kristen joined them. She was the only one who knew that Kristen's family was poor and that Kristen was extra sensitive to the comments people made about money when she was in the room.

Claire remembered the day she snuck onto Ma.s.sie's computer and got Kristen to confess over IM. Of course, Kristen thought she was confiding in Ma.s.sie. When she finally found out it was Claire, Kristen begged her not to tell anyone. After that Claire had promised herself she'd never do anything mean or sneaky again. But the paint on her shoe reminded Claire that she was going back on her promise. She stared at the purple stain and sighed. This would be the very last time. ...

"Wait until the boys at Briarwood find out we're going to be models," Kristen said. "Our stock is gonna go way up."

"Now that it's official, I can't wait to tell Cam." Claire tugged on the strap of her overalls. "I can't wait to see his face when-"

Ma.s.sie shot Claire a stern look and Kristen and Dylan rushed to Ma.s.sie's side. Claire could feel her heart starting to pound.

"So you're choosing Cam over us?" Ma.s.sie's question sounded more like a statement.

"No, not at all." Claire hated herself for mentioning Cam. She had done such a good job keeping their recent e-mails a secret and she'd just snitched on herself. "You didn't let me finish." Her armpits were starting to sweat. "I was going to say, I can't wait to tell him, but I won't won't because I don't talk to him anymore." Claire searched Ma.s.sie's face to see if she believed her. "I swear. We are so done." because I don't talk to him anymore." Claire searched Ma.s.sie's face to see if she believed her. "I swear. We are so done."

Ma.s.sie held out her palm.