Alicia crouched on the floor and pretended to search her bag for something important, her face protected by a wall of shiny black hair. "It was canceled. He had an emergency surgery."

Alicia peeked through a s.p.a.ce in her hair to see if Ma.s.sie was buying it; so far, so good. Ma.s.sie was rifling through her pencil case.

"I can't find my favorite fuzzy purple pen."

Alicia exhaled for the first time all morning. Maybe Ma.s.sie believed her.

"What's wrong with you, by the way?" Ma.s.sie asked. "Huh?" Alicia became aware of her quickening heartbeat.

"Why did you have to go to the doctor?"

"Oh, uh, 'cause-"

"There you are," Olivia interrupted. "What's up with the sleepover tonight? Catherine and Meredith keep calling me for a time." Her white-blond hair was twisted into a ballerina bun on top of her head and her big navy blue eyes looked wide and innocent. "It would be so much easier if they just went to this school. Maybe they'll transfer next semester."

Alicia's olive skin turned gray. Then white.

Ma.s.sie turned to Olivia. "Who are Catherine and Meredith and why do they think they are coming to my sleepover?"

"We're back!" A clump of Dylan's long red hair was stuck to her lip gloss. "Help," she said, trying to remove it by lifting her shoulder to her mouth. "Someone help me; my hands are full." She was barely balancing a to-go box of lattes.

Kristen dropped her book of crossword puzzles on the floor and stood on her toes to pull the hair away for Dylan.

"Thank you," she said before turning to Ma.s.sie. "The line at Starbucks was in-sane."

"I say we try that new Dr. Juice place that opened up across the street. Starbucks is so September," Ma.s.sie said.

"Great idea," Dylan said, wiping her tea-soaked hands on her Citizen of Humanity jeans. "I'm over this."

Alicia prayed for a fire drill.

"Hey, Leesh, what are you doing here? Didn't you have a doctor's appointment?" Kristen said as she took a cup out of the box and handed it to Ma.s.sie. But Ma.s.sie ignored her, refusing to take her amber eyes off Olivia. Kristen handed the cup to Dylan.

"What?" Olivia took a few steps back. "Why are you staring at me?"

"You were talking about my sleepover," Ma.s.sie said, hooking a piece of dark brown hair behind her ear.

"No, I wasn't," Olivia said with an understanding smile. "I was talking about Alicia's. But you're going to come, right?"

"I don't remember getting an invitation," Ma.s.sie shot at Alicia.

"It's so funny, I was just about to explain when-"

"When what? When you decided it would just be easier to steal my ident.i.ty?" Ma.s.sie put her hands on her hips and stuck out her neck so her face was a little closer to Alicia's. "What is this, Freaky Friday? Freaky Friday?"

"I wasn't trying to steal your ident.i.ty," Alicia said, not exactly sure what what she was trying to do. she was trying to do.

Ma.s.sie rolled her eyes and looked at Kristen and Dylan. The two girls tilted their heads and looked at Alicia. Dylan broke the tension by burping the words Freaky Friday Freaky Friday. Kristen and Olivia busted out laughing.

Alicia wanted desperately to laugh with them. She wished she had never thought of hosting her own sleepover party and wanted her friends back. But Ma.s.sie's scowl reminded her that she was in too deep to just walk away without a scratch.

"Look," Alicia said, trying to stay calm. "This girl from jazz asked if I would give her a makeover and this was the only night she could do it." She noticed Ma.s.sie's face starting to soften and Alicia thought that everything was going to be okay. "We're going to eat tapas and drink virgin sangria and I would love it if you guys came-"

"Puh-lease," Ma.s.sie said. "Spare me the whole European act. You are more fake than Olivia's nose."

Kristen and Dylan giggled and Olivia turned bright red. Alicia widened her eyes and gasped.

"Don't look so surprised. I know all about your father being Fannish," Ma.s.sie said.

"What?"

"Fake Spanish?" Ma.s.sie said, as if everyone should have known what Fannish Fannish meant. "I happen to know his real name is Len meant. "I happen to know his real name is Len Rivers Rivers, NOT Len Rivera. He's from Brooklyn, not Barcelona, and he made up that last name so your grandmother would bless their marriage. So please stop trying to impress us."

"Ehmagawd," Kristen said. "I need a six-letter word for scandal scandal starting with starting with g g."

Alicia was usually the first one to try and guess Kristen's word games, but she wasn't in the mood for games.

"Gossip," Ma.s.sie shouted. "Gossip, gossip, gossip!"

"How did you know-" Alicia started to ask. But Ma.s.sie wasn't through with her yet.

"Face it, Alicia, you are an Eternal Wannabe, or EW, as I like to call them." Ma.s.sie put her hands on her hips and stuck her neck out. "You are never going to be me be me and your dad is never going to be from Spain, no matter how hard you both try." and your dad is never going to be from Spain, no matter how hard you both try."

At one point Alicia had been prepared to apologize, but not anymore. She had an overwhelming urge to rip Ma.s.sie's diamond studs out of her ears but didn't want to arrive at Teen Vogue Teen Vogue with bloodstained clothes. So she pressed her lips together and kept her anger inside. with bloodstained clothes. So she pressed her lips together and kept her anger inside.

"Hey, EW, have fun at your little fiesta tonight," Ma.s.sie called over her shoulder as she headed down the hall. Dylan and Kristen followed right behind her, giggling.

Alicia gathered up her books and twisted her hair into a low ponytail. Her cheeks were flushed red and it felt like her stomach was on fire. She tried her hardest not to cry. The last thing she needed was puffy eyes. Alicia turned on the heels of her brown Cole Haan square-toed boots and started walking in the other direction. Olivia scurried to catch up.

"Hey, Leesh." Kristen stopped walking and called back to her. "Did you by any chance remember to bring me a pair of jeans?"

Before Alicia could say "yes," Ma.s.sie tugged Kristen's arm and pulled her down the hall.

Alicia froze. She had no idea what to do next.

OCTAVIAN C COUNTRY D DAY S SCHOOL H HISTORY C CLa.s.s.

11:18 AM AM.

November 14th While Joel Morris droned on endlessly about the Roman Empire, Ma.s.sie tilted her Chanel compact mirror so she could see Alicia in the seat behind her. Was her mascara smudged from crying? Were her eyes all red and puffy? How much of her morning was spent sobbing in the bathroom? But Alicia's eyes looked the same as always: brown, bright, and beautiful. Why wasn't she devastated by their fight?

Ma.s.sie had known for days that Friday, November 14, was going to be a bad Alicia day. It was the official date of Alicia's Teen Vogue Teen Vogue interview, a coveted prize that really belonged to Ma.s.sie and Claire Lyons. And now everyone in school was congratulating interview, a coveted prize that really belonged to Ma.s.sie and Claire Lyons. And now everyone in school was congratulating Alicia, Alicia, wishing wishing her her luck and telling her how badly they wished they were her. luck and telling her how badly they wished they were her.

Ma.s.sie kept telling herself that the right time for revenge would be obvious. She just had to be patient. But now her Friday night sleepovers were threatened and Ma.s.sie couldn't sit still any longer. Alicia had woken the sleeping giant and the giant was p.i.s.sed!

"As I was saying, Ms. Block," Joel said, and Ma.s.sie jumped. "Caesar made his way to office by 62 BC, BC, but many of the Senate thought he was a dangerous, ambitious man. Sooooo, they deprived him of a triumph after his command in Spain and did their best to keep him out of the consulship. ..." but many of the Senate thought he was a dangerous, ambitious man. Sooooo, they deprived him of a triumph after his command in Spain and did their best to keep him out of the consulship. ..."

"ZZZZZZZZZZ." Ma.s.sie turned to Amanda Levine as soon as Joel rested his beady eyes on someone else. Amanda tapped her palm against her mouth and fake-yawned. Ma.s.sie smiled, then looked around the room. The entire seventh-grade history cla.s.s was one useless fact away from slipping into a coma. It was the perfect time to start working on a Christmas shopping list. Ma.s.sie flipped to a blank page in her notebook and began. ... Ma.s.sie turned to Amanda Levine as soon as Joel rested his beady eyes on someone else. Amanda tapped her palm against her mouth and fake-yawned. Ma.s.sie smiled, then looked around the room. The entire seventh-grade history cla.s.s was one useless fact away from slipping into a coma. It was the perfect time to start working on a Christmas shopping list. Ma.s.sie flipped to a blank page in her notebook and began. ...

Ma.s.sIE'S CHRISTMAS LIST Name Gift Naughty Nice Parents: Kendra & William Spa weekend .

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Dog: .

Bean Fur booties & cashmere poncho (white?) .

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Horse: .

Brownie Plaid Ralph Lauren blanket .

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Driver: .

Isaac Armani driving gloves .

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Housekeeper: .

Inez Chanel snow boots .

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Best friend: Kristen Walkie-talkie .

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Best friend: .

Dylan Walkie-talkie .

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New friend: .

Claire Cell phone (Nokia vs. good one?) .

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New crush: .

Cam Fisher Headphones vs. new leather jacket .

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Ex-friend: .

Alicia [image]

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For the first time ever, Cam Fisher made the list. She'd first noticed the ultra-ah-dorable seventh grader exactly fifteen days ago, at her boy-girl Halloween party, and hadn't stopped thinking about him since. She had always heard the name "Cam Fisher" because he was one of the best soccer players at Briarwood Academy, but Ma.s.sie had never been into team sports, so that didn't carry a lot of weight. What she liked about Cam were his eyes. One was green and the other was blue, and that made him rarer than a vintage Hermes handbag.

When it came to Cam's gift, Ma.s.sie was torn. Should she play it safe and get him a cool pair of headphones for his iPod, or buy him a brand-new leather jacket so he could finally stop wearing his older brother's ripped hand-me-down?

Ma.s.sie tickled the bottom of her chin with her fuzzy pen while she deliberated.

Everyone knows how much he loves that beat-up coat, she thought. she thought. He even wears it in the summer. And it would be so embarra.s.sing if I gave him something he never used. People would think he didn't like He even wears it in the summer. And it would be so embarra.s.sing if I gave him something he never used. People would think he didn't like me. me.

Ma.s.sie knew she had to find a clever way to convince him that a new one would be much cooler. All she had to do was spend a little quality time with him ... which was exactly why she'd made plans to attend her first Briarwood soccer game very soon.

Ma.s.sie imagined giving Cam a big rectangular box wrapped in red paper and tied with a big green bow. Cam would tear open the box and look at her lovingly with his one blue and his one green eye. Then he would try on the jacket and say, "Ma.s.sie, I love my new Hugo Boss leather jacket-but not half as much as I love you."

Ma.s.sie would smile shyly and would somehow know that he thought she looked beautiful.

"How can I possibly thank you?" he'd ask.

"I'll show you," she would say with a suggestive wink.