Layne stood up and walked toward the locker room, her arms folded across her chest. “Nice split ends,” she growled when she passed Alicia.
“Banana boobs,” Alicia said back.
Claire looked at Alicia. Her eyes were so red from the chlorine, it looked like she had been crying. “Why are you so mean?”
“I was gonna ask you the same question, Kuh-laire,” Alicia said.
Claire lifted her thumbnail to her mouth and started biting.
“Don’t worry, I forgive you,” Alicia said. “I know how hard it is to say no to Massie Block. You were forced to be mean to me, just like I had to be mean to you when you moved here.”
Claire looked down at her pruned fingers. She sat on her hands. “I was mean because you cheated me, Alicia. Not ’cause Massie made me.”
“I know and I’m sorry for that.” Alicia rested her hand on Claire’s wet back. “FYI, I’m considering therapy.”
Alicia paused to read Claire’s face. Was she buying it?
“Claire, look at me,” Alicia insisted. “There’s no way that mural was your idea.”
Claire didn’t respond. She just kicked her legs and started at the blue and white tiles on the floor.
Alicia sighed. “Sometimes I felt like I had no choice too.”
Claire lowered her head and Alicia knew she finally said something right.
“I’m sorry,” Claire mouthed. She raised her shoulder and wiped a tear away from her eye. “I felt so bad doing that to you, but you really hurt us. We worked so hard on that uniform design and—”
“I know,” Alicia said. “And I’m so sorry.” She lifted a wet strand of hair to her eye and squeezed a drop of water off the end when Claire wasn’t looking. “Please, please forgive me.”
Claire looked up just as a “tear” slid down Alicia’s cheek.
“Here, take this,” Claire said, handing Alicia the white hoodie she had stuffed behind the bench.
“Thanks.” Alicia dabbed her eyes. “I can see why Cam likes you so much.”
“Does he really?” Claire said, shifting slightly to face Alicia. “He e-mails you every day; why do you sound so surprised?” Claire shrugged. “I dunno—I guess I keep expecting him to change his mind and go for someone prettier.”
Alicia watched Claire lower her eyes and turn bright red.
“The only one prettier than you is me and I’m into older guys,” Alicia said with a naughty wink. “His brother, Harris, and I have kinda been hanging out lately.”
Claire raised her eyebrows.
“It’s true,” Alicia said. “Hey, how cool would it be if we went over there one day after school? It could be like a double date.”
“Incredibly cool,” Claire said, clapping the soles of her feet together. “But I dunno.” Her legs suddenly stopped moving and her voice trailed off. “I’m kinda having second thoughts about him lately.”
“It’s just nerves. Don’t worry, I’ll go with you,” Alicia said. “What are you doing after dinner Friday night?”
Now that Friday night sleepovers were no longer on Alicia’s calendar, she wanted to fill the time.
“Uh,” Claire said. “This Friday?”
“Yes, this Friday.” Alicia paused. “Oh, you’re probably going to Massie’s, right?”
“No, I was just there last night because—”
“I know, I know,” Alicia cut her off, not wanting to be reminded. “You know you’re not officially IN if you haven’t been invited to be a regular at the sleepover. And if you’re not officially IN, Massie has no right to tell you who you can hang out with.”
Claire’s eyes shifted back and forth while she considered Alicia’s point.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul.” Alicia held out her pinky and Claire grabbed it with hers. They shook.
“Friday night is our secret,” Alicia said. “I promise.”
“’Kay,” Claire said with a guilty smile.
Alicia jumped up and switched back to her old seat on the other side of Faux-livia. She was so pleased with herself, she could hardly sit still. “Did you find us a Kristen?” she whispered.
Faux-livia stuffed some loose strands of blond hair into her bathing cap. “What about Kori Gedman?” she said into Alicia’s ear. “If you can look past the bad posture, she’s actually kinda cool.”
Alicia leaned forward and took a peek.
She thought Kori looked like a parenthesis because she was arched over all the time. “Explain,” Alicia whispered.
“Well, she’s like the second-best athlete in our grade, for starters,” Faux said, “Kristen being the first. …”
“Yeah, yeah, no need to mention her name,” Alicia said, waving Kristen’s name out of the air.
“Sorry,” Faux said. “But you have to admit she even kinda looks like her. You know, the thin blonde hair, the braids; she even has a psycho laugh. It would almost be like getting another Kris … another one.”
“Yeah, without the annoying parents,” Alicia said, warming up to the idea. “I like it. Good work.”
“Switch,” Miss Kuznick announced.
“Thanks,” Faux said, feeling the top of her head for her goggles.
Alicia leaned back on the bench and touched the outside of the Ziploc. It was important that the bag was sealed and tucked safely out of harm’s way before she jumped back in the pool. Now that she could deliver Claire to Cam, Alicia could get the last two digits of Harris’s phone number. And she wasn’t about to let the dripping wet girls in group two soak her battery.
When the bell rang, Alicia raced out of the pool and speed-walked to the locker room. She had twenty minutes to change and call Cam before French. As she was towel-drying her hair and checking for split ends, Faux burst through the locker room doors with the sealed cell phone.
“Thanks.” Alicia grabbed the bag out of her hand. “If I wasn’t in such a hurry, I would have grabbed it myself.”
“No problem.” Faux shrugged it off like it had been nothing. She seemed happy to be of service, much like Alicia had been with Massie all those years.
Alicia flipped open her phone, hit 11, and tapped her nails against a metal locker while she waited for Cam to answer.
“Hey,” he said when he picked up. “Did you talk to her?”
“Yeah, we’ll be over Friday night,” Alicia said.
“Nice.”
Alicia could tell he was trying not to sound excited. “Now give me the rest of Harris’s phone number. I have exactly eight minutes.”
Within seconds Alicia was dressed and dialing Harris Fisher’s cell phone number. She walked over to the mirror and quickly put on a bit of mascara.
“It’s ringing,” she said to Faux. But spoke loud enough for Strawberry and Kori to hear too. “Shoot, I got HARRIS FISHER’S ANSWERING MACHINE. I guess I’ll LEAVE HIM A MESSAGE.”
Kori and Strawberry peered around their open lockers. Alicia pretended not to notice anything except an imaginary piece of hair on the sleeve of her blazer. She pulled it off casually, knowing full well that she was playing to a captive audience.
“Yo, this is Harris and if you don’t know what to do by now, hang up,” his voice message said.
After the beep Alicia started pacing. She loved his smooth confident voice and was determined to sound just as alluring.
“Uh, h-hey there, Harris, it’s me. Alicia. You know, uh, Rivera.” Alicia looked up and noticed that at least five more girls had gathered round to listen. Alicia knew she finally had something Massie Block didn’t have—experience with boys.
She casually placed her foot on the changing bench and rested her arm against the top of her leg before continuing. She wanted her pose to scream confidence.
“Anyway, just wanted you to know I’ll be over Friday night around dinnertime …” Then she changed her tone to a soft purr. “To drop off a little something I know you want.” She threw in a naughty giggle for effect and then ended with a “ciao.”
Alicia snapped her ph
one shut and nonchalantly twisted her damp, tangled hair into a ponytail as though phone calls like this were part of her daily routine.
Six girls stood motionless and stared at Alicia with their mouths open. It looked like she had hit pause on a scene in a movie. It was perfect.
“That was incredible,” Faux-livia said to Alicia as they pushed past the dumbfounded girls.
“Which part?” Alicia said with a Massie-esque half smile.
“All of it. I love how you started it with ‘hey’ instead of ‘hi.’ That was so cool.”
“Thanks,” Alicia said, bursting out of the locker room and into the busy halls. She walked with perfect jazz posture.
“Uh, maybe we should go the other way,” Faux-livia said when she saw Kristen and Dylan at the Starbucks kiosk drinking Dr. Juices.
“No, it’s okay,” Alicia said, heading straight for them. “I knew they’d be here.”
“Huh?” Faux-livia said.
“We won’t have to find a knockoff Kristen and Dylan if we can have the real ones, right?” Alicia said, never taking her brown eyes off her targets.
“Brilliant,” Faux said.
Alicia took a deep breath. “Wait here—I’ll be right back.”
“Good luck,” Faux whispered as Alicia marched on.
“Hey,” Alicia said when she stopped in front of Kristen and Dylan. She spoke as if nothing had happened. “Why aren’t you drinking chai lattes?”
Dylan popped a yogurt-covered soy nut in her mouth and stared off into the distance.
“Well?” Alicia said with a playful smile.
Kristen lowered her head and searched her LeSportsac.
“I’m sorry for cheating, okay?” Alicia said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just so over Massie bossing me around—”
“We get it,” Kristen whispered, looking around to see if Massie was coming. “Massie made us do the mural thing. We actually felt pretty bad about it. But you shouldn’t have cheated us.”
“I know,” Alicia said. “Believe me, I wish I could take it all back. I miss you guys.”
“Yeah, it sucks,” Dylan said, dropping a handful of soy nuts into her open mouth. “But we can’t be friends now.”
“Why? You don’t have to stay friends with Massie.” Alicia spoke quickly. “I’m doing so much better on my own. I have plans with Harris Fisher Friday after school, and a few of the girls from synchro want to start hanging out.” She paused for dramatic effect. “I feel free.”
“Pause. Rewind,” Kristen said, punching imaginary buttons in the air. “You’re hanging out with Harris?”
“Yup.” Alicia raised her palm in the air.
“Think you could introduce me to some of his friends?” Dylan asked.
“Given,” Alicia said with pride. “I am also setting up weekly shopping trips into the city. Massie still only does those once a month, right?” Alicia didn’t give them time to answer. “Oh, and my loco cousin Nina is visiting soon from Spain. She’s the one who taught me how to make out.”
“Really?” Kristen whispered.
“Yup.”
“Back away from the EW; move quickly or risk contamination,” a familiar voice said.
Alicia felt a chill run down her spine. She turned and came face-to-face with Massie, who was sipping from a big plastic cup that said Sugar-Free Strength on the side.
“Let’s go,” Massie said.
Alicia looked at Kristen and Dylan, urging them with her eyes to tell Massie off. “Coming,” Kristen and Dylan said at the exact same time.
Alicia waited for them to whisper something to her like, “We’ll call you later,” but they simply walked away without saying another word.
THE BLOCK ESTATE GLU HEADQUARTERS
8:16 PM
November 21st
“Bean, stay away from the Godivas. They’re for the guests.” Massie pulled the gold foil out of her dog’s mouth and put the chocolate back in the center of Kristen’s goose down pillow. She smoothed the sleeping bags with her hands and pulled the bottoms to make sure there were no creases in the nylon.
“It’s easier setting up for three, isn’t it, Bean?” Massie said.
Bean barked twice.
At first Massie set up a fourth place out of habit but immediately stuffed the bedding back in the closet when she remembered that Alicia wouldn’t be joining them.
Massie checked her cell phone. Kristen and Dylan were sixteen minutes late. She added a few more BBQ soy nuts into the white china bowl on the juice bar and restacked the chocolate-covered Rice Krispie squares so they made a perfect pyramid. The Sub-Zero fridge was stocked with Perrier, Red Bull, and Inez’s virgin piña coladas, and the chilled pasta salad was the perfect temperature. Red licorice and big swirled lollipops jetted out of crystal Tiffany vases on the window ledges, and the thirty vanilla candles that had been placed around the room were already giving off a warm, sweet smell. Even the six-CD player was loaded with the perfect mix of pop and rap. Everything was in its proper place. Her guests were the only things missing.
Massie quickly looked up when she heard the sliding glass door open.
“It’s about time,” she said.
“What, sweetie?” Kendra said. Bean ran over to her side and started nipping at the bottoms of her black satin pajamas.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
“I brought a few extra cashmeres just in case you get cold.” She pulled three cream-colored blankets out of an orange Hermès shopping bag.
“Thanks,” Massie said, looking at her naked wrist. She had taken off her red leather Coach watch while she was helping Inez ice the Rice Krispie squares and forgotten to put it back on. “What time is it?”
“I stopped wearing a watch three days ago,” Kendra said, shaking out the blankets. “We just finished The Power of Now in my self-help book club and it’s all about living in the present. So technically, the time is now.” She smiled and looked at Massie with raised eyebrows.
Massie rolled her eyes and grabbed her cell phone out of the pocket on her green Juicy hoodie. She flipped it open and saw that it was 8:19 PM … almost twenty minutes late! She snapped it shut and heard another purple rhinestone land on the new light beige floors.
Kendra hung the blankets over the thigh adductor machine. “It’s going to be great having a home gym, isn’t it?” She walked toward Massie, her kitten heel slippers clacking against the floors with every step she took. She put her thin, bony arm around Massie’s shoulders and pulled her close. “Isn’t it?”
“I guess,” Massie said, looking around the barn that used to belong to her horse, Brownie.
When the horse was little, Massie had covered the walls with posters of young fillies that she thought Brownie would find sexy. She drew pictures of big grassy fields and rainbows for her horse and tacked them into the soft wood around his stall. She even buried her old shirts in the haystacks so Brownie would always know that Massie was close by. But now the white stallion lived at the upscale stable Galwaugh Farms. And the only thing left from Massie’s past was the mural she had painted with Kristen, Dylan, and Claire.
“I can’t wait for the mirrors to go up,” Massie said, turning her back to the wall.
“It’s a shame we have to cover up your painting,” Kendra said, admiring her daughter’s mural. “It was such a neat art class assignment. We never did anything like that when I went to OCD.”
“I already handed in photos of the mural, so I don’t need it anymore.”
“What did Mrs. Nish think of it?” Kendra asked.
Massie walked over to the fridge, pulled a piece of ziti out of the pasta bowl, and dropped it in her mouth. She casually dropped one for Bean, hoping her mother wouldn’t notice. “She said it was very effective. I think I got an A.”
“That’s great, sweetie,” Kendra said in a relaxed tone.
Usually her mother’s voice sounded strained and anxious. “What else are you doing in school these days?”
Massie watc
hed as her mother lowered herself onto an exercise bench. She crossed her legs and leaned forward, her chin resting in the palm of her hand. It was like she was about to watch one of her favorite Lifetime movies.
“We’re learning all about J. C.’s campaigns and how he did everything because he wanted to be popular and famous,” Massie said.
Kendra jumped to her feet. Her inner-peace moment was over.
“They’re teaching you that Jesus Christ did everything to be popular?” She sounded ready to sue.
“No.” Massie crinkled her nose and looked at her mother like she had gone mad. “Julius Caesar.”
“Ohhh,” Kendra said, sitting back down again. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. “Go on.”
“He wanted to be known for being a great leader,” Massie said. “He even wrote about all of his campaigns in a journal and sent his books to Rome so people would know his name throughout history.”
“Sort of like you when you were younger,” Kendra said, a soft smile forming on her tight face. “You used to keep those in-and-out lists. They were so cute.”
“Ehmagawd, I still do that,” Massie said in a burst of uninhibited excitement. “Me and J. C. are so the same.”
“And don’t you love Caesar salads?”
Massie rolled her eyes and looked at the door. “Thanks for the blankets, Mom. You probably want to get back to the house before the rain, right?”
“Rain?”
Massie looked at her Steve Madden sheepskin slippers and nodded. With any luck, Kristen and Dylan would be arriving any minute. And she didn’t want them to know her mother had been in GLU headquarters, even though technically Kendra was the owner.
Kendra hurried over to her daughter and kissed her on the forehead. “Have fun, my little Caesar. You too, Bean.” She shook the dog’s paw.
After her mother had left, Massie lifted Bean onto her lap. “Bean, if I’m going to conquer Alicia, I have to create loyalty among my troops. It’s the only way to keep them from leaving me and joining her army. Julius probably did the same thing.”
Bean barked three times.
“What? What’s wrong? I’m not hurting anybody this time. It’s a nice plan,” Massie pleaded.
Revenge of the Wannabes Page 12