“Well, I’d like a haircut and some acrylic nails,” Alyssa said decisively. “And I want the nails to be dark, dark purple.”
“Whoa.” Grace, Jenna, and Natalie stared at her.
“You do realize,” Skye said, “that if you get acrylic nails you’ll have to maintain them once you get home?”
Alyssa nodded. “Or take them off, right? With acetone?”
At the stares the others were giving her, Alyssa said, “What? Nat and Marissa spent all summer reading fashion magazines. I did listen.”
Skye lifted Alyssa’s hand and examined her nails. She said, “We could easily paint your own nails dark purple. Perhaps instead of the acrylics, we could add some temporary purple highlights to your hair.”
“Purple highlights . . . hmm,” Alyssa considered. “Let me think.”
Think quickly, Lyss! Natalie glanced again at the clock. Now they were almost twenty minutes into their three hours. She tried to signal to Alyssa that she had to make up her mind. But Alyssa was glancing down at the pages of the spa booklet.
“Let’s see . . .” Alyssa said.
“Alyssa,” Natalie blurted. “Please hurry.”
Alyssa glanced at her. “Oh, sorry.” She shut the booklet. Her cheeks were pink. “Whatever.”
“The haircut, the highlights, and a manicure with purple polish?” Skye asked her.
“Sure.” Alyssa smiled, but she didn’t look totally okay with the plan.
“You should get what you want,” Natalie said, feeling bad for rushing her best friend.
“It’s cool. I’ll love it,” Alyssa told her.
“Okay. Natalie, you’re the last one to pick,” Skye said. “What would you like?”
“A manicure, a pedicure, and a facial,” she said.
“Oh.” Skye crinkled her forehead. “I’m not certain we’ll have time for all that. But we can try,” she said, smiling. “All right?”
I knew it! Natalie thought. She was disappointed. But she reminded herself that she would have plenty of other chances to come to the spa. She smiled politely and said, “All right.”
“Okay.” Skye gathered their little booklets. The other employee collected their teacups. “If you will all follow me, I’ll show you where to put your clothes.”
“Put our clothes?” Grace cried. “Are we going to get undressed?”
“Not if you would prefer to stay in your own things,” Skye explained. “We provide special robes for you to wear while you’re here.”
“Oh.” Grace looked at the others. “Are you guys going to wear them?”
“I am,” Natalie told her.
Alyssa nodded.
“O-kay, then,” Grace said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s do it!”
chapter SEVEN
Alex’s soccer game was a disaster.
And it was Alex’s fault.
She was distracted, and it showed in her playing. She was nervous about winning the game for her team—or at least, not losing it for them! The pressure made her try too hard, and she started kicking the ball out of bounds twice in a row. After that she hung back, letting another team member—any other team member—take the ball.
She tried to remember her mantra—I know I can, I know I can—but she just couldn’t keep her mind on the game. Her teammates looked more and more unhappy with her as the other team continually took the ball and scored off her errors.
I wish Brynn were here, she thought. Not to watch how well (or how badly!) Alex played. Right now, she needed a friend who didn’t care if she totally messed up. Someone to be supportive of her and not judge her.
Maybe it was the stress of worrying, or maybe she hadn’t gotten enough sleep. But by the time the game ended—with a win for the other team—Alex had a pounding headache. She remembered the last time her head had hurt this much. It was at camp, just before she had gone into diabetic shock.
She told her mom about it on the drive home. Her mother gave her a piece of candy to eat and said, “We’re going to have a good lunch, and you’re going to take a nap.”
“But Mom! Brynn and I will miss our bus!” Alex protested.
“And after your nap, we’ll discuss whether or not you feel up to going to the reunion,” her mom added.
Her stomach flipped. Not go? To the reunion?
“But, Mom!” she argued. “If I can’t go, Brynn can’t go.”
“Just take a good nap and we’ll see, all right?” her mother said firmly.
Alex nodded glumly and looked out the window.
As soon as they pulled up to the house, Brynn burst out of the front door. She was dressed in her reunion outfit and her hair was curled. And she looked very, very mad.
“I can’t believe you!” she cried. She stomped right up to Alex as she got out of the car. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Alex’s mom gave her a sympathetic smile, then walked into the house. The two girls were left alone outside.
“I got up in the middle of the night, Brynn. I saw you reading in the living room,” Alex confessed. “I was afraid you’d be too tired to have any fun in New York. So I let you sleep.”
Brynn rolled her eyes. “What are you, my mother? You knew I wanted to go to your game! I asked you to wake me up!”
“I know.” Alex exhaled heavily. “I’m sorry.” She touched her temples. “I didn’t know what to do and . . .” Her head hurt too much to go into it. “Brynn, I don’t feel good. I need to lie down.” She closed her eyes and put her hands to her forehead.
“Alex, are you going to faint?” Brynn cried, putting a steadying hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Mrs. Kim! Alex needs you!”
“Shhh,” Alex pleaded, her head throbbing. “My mom knows. She’s the one who told me to lie down.” She dropped her hands to her sides and trudged toward the house. “I’m sorry to make you wait to go to New York.”
“Don’t be dumb,” Brynn said. “It’s more important that you feel better.”
“That’s how I felt about waking you up for the game,” Alex explained. “It was more important that you got enough rest. You know what it’s going to be like to have an all-bunk sleepover. What if you were just too tired to enjoy it?”
Then she realized she had to tell Brynn what her mother had said. She bit her lower lip.
“Brynn, my mom told me that if I don’t feel better, I won’t be allowed to go at all.”
Brynn’s eyes widened. “Oh, no!”
“I know.” She nodded. “So I’d better go take that nap, okay?”
“Yes, sure. Oh, Alex!” Brynn gave her a big hug. “Don’t worry. Even if we can’t go, we’ll have fun together.”
Alex was nearly in tears. Brynn was, too. She knew Brynn was just trying be a good friend. How much fun had she had so far? And how could anything they did compare to missing the reunion?
Alex said, “You are being really cool about the situation. Thank you so much, Brynn.”
“It’s no biggie,” Brynn said, her cheeks reddening. “Go. Rest.”
“I will totally rest,” Alex promised.
As Alex headed for her bedroom, her mom brought her a sandwich and took a fingerstick to check her blood sugar level. She looked down at the little readout and said, “It’s good, honey. Maybe you’re just overtired. Have some food and take that nap.”
She said to Brynn, “She needs some time alone, all right, Brynn?”
“Okay.” Brynn smiled very hard. “Can I help with anything? Do you need some vegetables chopped?”
“No, thank you. Maybe you’d like to watch a movie,” Alex’s mom said. “I’ll show you what we have.”
Alex’s mom walked with Brynn toward the shelves where they kept their DVDs. Alex took that as her cue to go into her room.
She shut her door as she gobbled down half of the sandwich.
Then she froze, and caught her breath.
Draped over her desk chair was a totally sweet outfit!
Brynn had pulled it together for her, and it was incredible. Brynn h
ad paired Alex’s navy blue polo shirts with her black jeans. That would have looked plain and boring, the kind of thing Alex wore. But then Brynn had added a sense of drama by threading a feathery black and silver fringe scarf through the belt loops. The scarf was nothing like anything Alex owned—although she had been wanting a fringed scarf forever. And to use it as a belt was beyond cool.
Then Brynn had arranged a black velvet choker over the neckline of the navy blue top. A silver half moon dangled from the center of the choker. Two black barrettes balanced on either shoulder. They were decorated with silver beads that caught the sparkle of the silver moon.
It was completely, totally perfect for the reunion!
She thought about calling out to Brynn to thank her, but she knew she would end up trying on the outfit with her. To get to the reunion she needed to quietly finish her sandwich and get some rest.
Smiling big-time, feeling better already, she walked to her closet and found her black flats. She wished she had some silver ones, but Alex had always been a conservative dresser.
Until today, she thought excitedly. And I have Brynn to thank for my bold new look!
Maybe Brynn had been angry with her for leaving her at home, but that hadn’t stopped her from being a great best friend.
I’ve got to feel better, Alex told herself. No way am I keeping Brynn from going to that reunion!
Natalie was having trouble enjoying her manicure.
Getting her nails buffed, polished, and dried took too long. She was twenty minutes over the three hours her mother had booked with the spa.
She was very hungry. It had been hours since breakfast, and all they had had to eat since then were a few bites of dried mango and a cup of tea.
Skye came in. She said, “Would you like some more tea or water?”
“Um, I’m okay,’ Natalie said. “Are the others all done?”
“Yes,” Skye assured her. “They’re fine. They’re entertaining themselves in the reception area.”
Natalie was afraid to ask what that meant.
Through the closed door she heard a lot of high-pitched laughter. She recognized Grace’s giggle and closed her eyes. She said, “I’m sorry about the noise.”
“I will have to go ask them to be a little quieter,” Skye said. “Excuse me.”
Finally, her nails were done. She hurried back into her clothes and rushed to the reception area.
Her three friends were sitting in chairs facing her. Alyssa looked fantastic in a stylin’ new haircut—but Grace and Jenna were a couple of freaks! Their faces were covered with blue goo and they were holding lime-colored cotton balls over their eyelids.
Natalie burst into shocked giggles. They were imitating the photograph Jenna had snapped of her sister, Stephanie, who had been a CIT in Bunk 3A. They had given the picture to Tyler, the swim instructor, whom Stephanie was crushing on. Stephanie had been furious.
“You guys!” Natalie cried.
“Surprise!” Jenna boomed as she and Grace took the cotton balls off their eyes. Alyssa just smiled quietly and shook her head.
Just then, a man and a woman in black suits and wrap-around sunglasses walked through the frosted glass entrance doors of the spa. Natalie knew them. They were Hannah’s mother’s security detail. Since she was an ambassador, she occasionally traveled with two bodyguards in tow.
The two bodyguards froze when they saw Natalie’s three friends. The man raised his wrist toward his mouth and said, “Delay the ambassador’s entrance.”
“It’s all right!” Natalie assured them. “These are my . . . friends. They’re visiting me.”
As she spoke, Grace and Jenna sat up straight, like little girls who had been sent to the principal’s office.
Skye appeared next. She came from behind the water wall and said, “Oh, the ambassador is here.” She stared with dismay at Natalie’s two blue-faced friends.
“We’ll go wash our faces,” Jenna said, getting to her feet. She looked guilty. Natalie figured she was the one who had thought up the prank.
Before they had a chance to make a quick exit, the spa doors opened again. Hannah’s exotic mother paused regally at the threshold.
Skye gushed, “Ambassador. How lovely to see you this morning.”
“Hello, Skye. And Natalie,” Hannah’s mother said, embracing Natalie. “What a pleasant surprise. Is your mother here?”
“No, I’m here with my friends,” Natalie replied.
Alyssa and Grace both rose—only Grace moved so fast that she knocked over her chair.
“Sorry!” she blurted. Her pink lips were a bizarre contrast to her bright blue face.
Natalie introduced them one by one to Hannah’s mother.
Grace did a sort of curtsey. “We’re the Blue Girl Group,” she explained.
Despite her initial embarrassment, Natalie laughed. Grace was making a reference to the very weird performance group called the Blue Man Group. Natalie had seen them perform, and she had liked them a lot.
“Perhaps you could perform at my embassy sometime,” Hannah’s mother teased. “We encourage an exchange of cultures.”
“We’re kind of our own culture,” Jenna added.
“Camp Lakeview culture,” Grace added.
“Do you know if your mother is free for lunch today?” Hannah’s mother asked Natalie. “I’ve just discovered the most fascinating Ethiopian restaurant. They have the best engera I have ever tasted.” She leaned toward the girls. “That’s a kind of bread.”
“I love Ethiopian food,” Alyssa offered. “I’m a vegetarian.”
Hannah’s mother raised her brows. “Then you must try this restaurant. It’s called Teff, Natalie. It’s across the street from Rockefeller Center. Just a little way past the Hilton.”
“Is it Teff to get in?” Grace wisecracked. When the ambassador just blinked at her, she added, “I mean, do you need reservations?”
“Not if you’re Tad Maxwell’s daughter,” Hannah’s mother replied, her eyes twinkling. “You should take your friends, sweetie. It’s just wonderful.”
“That’s a great idea!” Natalie said, thrilled. A cool new New York restaurant. Her friends would be able to brag about it when they got home.
“Ambassador, we’ll be bringing you some tea and mango slices in your private room,” Skye said. Just as she spoke, the same spiky-haired young woman appeared with the same stone tray, one teacup, and some familiar-looking orange discs.
“This way, ma’am,” the woman said.
The ambassador began to follow her. She said over her shoulder, “Good-bye, Natalie. I’ll tell Hannah I saw you.”
She disappeared behind the water wall.
“Thanks,” Natalie called to her.
“I hope we didn’t, like, freak her out,” Grace said.
“We look like space aliens!” Jenna wailed. “I was a freak in front of a woman who has her own limo!”
“No way,” Natalie said lightly. “After all, this is a spa.”
“In New York City,” Alyssa added.
“Well, let’s go wash our faces before someone else Natalie knows shows up,” Jenna said. “Like Jesse McCartney or Hayden Christensen or somebody!”
The two scurried away. Alyssa stayed while Natalie went over the gi-normous bill with Skye. It was all good. Her mom had told her how much they could spend and they had stayed well under the limit.
“Do you need us to chip in?” Alyssa asked, sounding anxious.
“No, it’s fine,” Natalie told her. “It’s on my mom.”
“That’s really generous of her,” Alyssa said. “You know I could never afford in a million years to come to a place like this.”
“Don’t even say that, Lyss,” Natalie chided her. “Someday you’re going to be a rich and famous artist. You’ll be the one taking us to fancy places!”
“Yeah, in my private jet,” Alyssa drawled, but Natalie could tell she was catching fire a little bit.
“Why not? My dad was dirt-poor when he was our ag
e.” Natalie decided to skip over the fact that now he did actually own a private jet.
“Well, it’s nice to dream.” Alyssa gave Natalie’s a hand a squeeze. “And to have a friend who has faith in me.”
“Of course I do! What are friends for?” Natalie replied.
About a minute later, Jenna and Grace returned with freshly scrubbed faces.
“Oh, I am so totally exfoliated!” Grace quipped, patting her cheeks. “I look younger, right?”
“Yeah, you’re ten again!” Jenna said. The two started cracking up.
Skye returned with four mango-colored paper sacks with straw handles. Natalie opened hers to find samples of the spa’s line of products—a tiny bar of peach-colored soap, a little bottle of hand lotion, and a vial of body mist. Everyone started opening the bottles and spraying themselves with body mist.
“Mango-scented body spray! Yum!” Grace said, sniffing the air like a rabbit.
Natalie had an idea. “Skye, may I buy some more of these?” She turned to the other girls. “We can put them on our table. We need ten more for the bunk, including Marissa and Julie.”
“Cool!” said Grace.
“Is this for the big party you’re attending?” Skye asked. “Your mother mentioned it when she booked your spa time.”
“Yes,” Natalie told her.
“We’d be happy to make a gift of them, then,” Skye told her. “It was such a pleasure having all of you here.”
Soon the girls were carrying a large spa bag containing the extra gift sacks. As Natalie thanked her again, Skye replied. “We hope you’ll come again soon.”
Was it Natalie’s imagination, or did she sound relieved that they were leaving?
chapter EIGHT
The four girls took the elevator to the street level. The doorman nodded at them as they pushed through the revolving glass door.
Outside, the day had warmed, and the snow was melting. Sunshine glistened on the high-rises. The eight-lane street before the girls was bumper-to-bumper with cars blaring their horns. The sidewalk was almost as crowded, with New Yorkers in their winter coats and caps.
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