A Tale of Two Pretties

by Lisi Harrison

  “We talked to Jay and Judi Lyons,” Kendra said carefully.

  Massie’s cheeks started to thaw, and she practiced turning up the corners of her mouth to see if her face was finally unfrozen. It felt okay, so she tried lifting her eyebrows. They wiggled up and down.

  “You must have a really good friend in Claire, Massie, because they practically begged us to let you stay.” Kendra paused and then sighed, looking resigned to her daughter’s fate. “You can finish the year here and live with the Lyonses.”

  Massie almost screamed in pain when her jaw dropped. Clearly her face wasn’t entirely thawed yet. She stared hard at her mother. Had she heard Kendra right? Had the frostbite traveled to her brain?

  “What?” she breathed.

  “Your father and I were angry that you made all these plans without talking to us first. And we were hurt that you didn’t want to be with us,” Kendra continued. “But we should have realized…” Her voice trailed off and she fixed her big bright eyes on Massie. “We understand that we’re uprooting you in your last semester of middle school. And we know how unfair that is.”

  Massie slumped down into the bench under the heat lamp and tried to clear her mind of the music and lights and sushi and Marvilous Marvils promos and Hermia visions that made up the bulk of her night. What was her mother talking about? Why did her parents keep telling her things and then taking them back? Big, huh-yuge, life-changing things?

  Kendra sat down next to her. “So even though we’ll miss you, you can stay.” She smoothed a lock of Massie’s hair so it fell behind her ear. “Promise me we’ll Skype every day?”

  Massie just looked at her. Her skin felt prickly and sharp, and the heat coming from the lamp above was too hot, too bright for her to handle. She tried to register what her mother was saying—that she didn’t have to go to England yet, that she could stay in Westchester and OCD and spend the rest of the year with the Pretty Committee. And with Landon!

  Landon. Massie felt her heart sink deeper into her chest. What had Hermia said about Landon? That she didn’t see him in her vision of Massie? That Massie was destined to have a great adventure, and that she could turn any lump of coal into a sparkling diamond?

  Kendra was waiting for a response, looking expectantly at Massie as she sat there, vacillating wildly between feeling too hot and too cold, like fire and ice, just like the theme of the party. She stared helplessly at her mother. An hour ago, hearing those words would have made her night.

  But after talking with Hermia, Massie couldn’t help but wonder if the universe was offering her the perfect gift, and it wasn’t a black diamond bracelet or a Louis Vuitton iPad case. It was the gift of the unknown. Of adventure. Of new lessons, new places, new people.

  And maybe it was exactly what Massie needed.

  WESTCHESTER, NY

  OUTSIDE THE NEW YEAR’S YVES PARTY

  Friday, December 31st

  11:41 P.M.

  Claire felt a twinge of guilt run through her bloodstream as she watched the next band set up their instruments and perform a quick sound check. The lead singer was a woman with wild purple hair and a tight red dress, but somehow, she reminded Claire of Cam, all proud and confident as she strummed her guitar and said “Testing, testing” into the microphone. Cam and the band were playing their first gig at a small house party on the outskirts of Westchester. Claire tried to picture the scene as she followed Alicia, Dylan, and Kristen to the edge of the dance floor where the crowd was thicker, the temperature was warmer, and tuxedoed servers held out trays of food and drink.

  As she watched another set of fireworks blast off over the trees, she doubted Cam’s party was anything like this one. Instead, it was probably low-key and quiet, cozy and simple—the kind of party she was used to. She pulled out her phone from the shiny clutch purse she’d borrowed from Dylan and began thumbing him a text message. She’d been so preoccupied by the Massie situation that she’d forgotten to check in with him all night, and she was aching to hear from him.

  Claire: Hey Music Man! How’s it going at ur 1st gig?

  Cam:

  You caught me just between sets! We’re a hit

  Claire: I knew u would be! <3

  Cam: How’s the Marvil party?

  Claire paused, her thumbs frozen over her keypad. How could she explain to Cam how utterly exhausting and yet equally exhilarating this party had been so far? It was almost too much. But Cam was her boyfriend, and he’d always said the right thing at the right time.

  Claire: It’s complicated. Massie’s not staying at my house this year:(

  Cam: England’s back on?

  Claire: According to her parents, it was never off.

  Cam: U will still have me around. I’m gr8 at insults ;)

  Claire tried to smile at Cam’s last text, but his words struck her. Is that what everyone thought—that Massie just threw around insults as often as she threw around money? She licked her chapped lips and glanced around for Massie, who was still huddled under a heat lamp a few feet away. Massie and Kendra were talking intently, their matching amber eyes flashing like the twinkle lights that were still strung up over the Marvils’ roof. Maybe when Claire had first moved into the Block guesthouse, it had felt like Massie insulted her at every turn, just for the sake of it. But getting to know Massie, and witnessing tonight’s big reveal of truth, made her realize something: Massie wasn’t always trying to insult her. It wasn’t a game, or something she did just for gossip points. It was Massie’s way of trying to help Claire.

  And maybe it could be misinterpreted as meanness, but that was just Massie. She was who she was. Just like Claire couldn’t change into what Massie had first wanted her to be, Massie couldn’t change, either. And Claire didn’t want her to. She wanted Massie, the true Massie, the one who taught Claire the difference between silk and synthetic, to always be her friend.

  And now her best friend was moving away, and there was nothing they could do about it. Like Layne Abeley’s wardrobe, it was a fact they were all going to have to live with.

  She tucked her bangs behind her ear and sighed, surveying the party. It looked like everyone else was having a blast. Now that the house band was back onstage, the lead singer shimmying in her red dress and crooning into the microphone, the dance floor was packed again as the crowd sang along and waved their hands in the frigid air. Behind her, clusters of friends were scooping up caviar and cream puffs. Two videographers were broadcasting a live feed of the party onto the back of the house, and a professional photographer was snapping candid shots of people in front of the roaring fire pit. Claire watched as two blond girls approached the photographer for their turn.

  “Say cheese!” the photographer called. The taller blonde nudged the shorter one and they giggled when the flash went off.

  Claire’s smile faded. With Massie moving, would she ever again be able to take a picture with her best friend like that?

  A fresh batch of hot tears pooled behind her eyelids and she blinked rapidly to clear them. She couldn’t cry again. But she was worried times ten about what was going to happen to her when Massie left. She wiggled her toes and looked forlornly at her Rock & Republic platforms. Who was going to be hawnest about Claire’s Keds? Who was going to make an emergency call to Jakob when her bangs were too shaggy? She glanced at her phone, still resting in the palm of her hand. Who was going to listen to her when she fought with Cam?

  It was all too unfair. She cleared her throat and inched closer to Alicia, Dylan, and Kristen. The band finished a song, the crowd cheered and chatted, and then it was quiet for a moment. The remaining members of the PC looked at each other.

  “And then there were four,” Dylan mumbled. Her words rang ominous in Claire’s ears.

  “We’ll get through this, right?” Kristen asked, her eyes shifting from one girl to the next.

  For a long minute, no one answered. Claire kept opening her mouth, but no words were coming out. Alicia was looking at the ground so intently that Claire wondered i
f the answers to their questions about the future of the Pretty Committee were etched in the grass. And Dylan was burping her misery into the freezing cold night air.

  Kristen’s question spun around and around in Claire’s mind until she grew dizzy at the thought of it. She remembered the last time the PC had fractured, when Alicia had created the SoulM8s with the PC’s crushes and Massie had formed the MAC with a group of models from Manhattan. That time, Claire had been forced to choose between the two cliques, and it had nearly ruined her.

  Claire finally found her voice. “I don’t think we have another option. We have to get through this.”

  Kristen looked relieved, and Dylan and Alicia smiled at her. Claire glanced over at Massie and Kendra. They were still in deep conversation, looking more serious than Lindsay Lohan’s legal problems. Claire frowned. What on earth could they be talking about? Didn’t Kendra know that Massie needed to spend all her remaining free time in Westchester with the PC?

  She was so focused on watching Massie and Kendra that she didn’t see her own mother dodging her way through the dance floor until she landed in front of her.

  “Claire-bear!” Judi beamed, hugging her daughter. Claire returned the hug, wrapping her arms around her mother and inhaling her familiar scent. There were moments in a girl’s life when she needed her mother more than anything, and this was definitely one of those times. She was about to start sobbing into her mother’s shoulder when Judi pulled back and grinned widely at Claire. “Did Massie tell you yet, hon? We talked to the Blocks, and your father and I convinced them to let Massie stay. She can move into your room!”

  Claire gaped as Judi mother-smothered her in another hug. The Blocks had caved? Massie wasn’t moving to England? A tidal wave of relief washed over Claire. Massie was staying! The PC didn’t need to elect a new Ralpha (Replacement Alpha)! They’d be able to graduate from eighth grade together, start high school together, learn how to drive together, go through finals together, cheer Kristen on at soccer games together, watch Alicia perform at dance competitions together, attend the red-carpet premiere of Marvilous Marvils together… Claire was growing giddier by the minute. She never thought she’d be excited for the stress and pressure that high school would bring, but now that she knew she and Massie would be tackling it all together, she couldn’t wait.

  Judi disappeared into the crowd and Claire tried to contain her excitement, but it was like Perez Hilton trying to contain the juiciest gossip: impossible times ten. She was about to spill the ah-mazing news to the rest of the PC when she side-eyed Massie, who was finally getting up from her intense conversation with Kendra and heading back over to the PC. She felt a thousand butterflies flap their wings inside her stomach, but then she remembered: It was Massie’s good news to break, not hers. And she was going to let Massie deliver it like she was Katie Couric on the nightly news.

  Claire discreetly squealed when she saw Massie finally head her way. She was glide-striding confidently over to them, her Rachel Roy dress glittering like the stars, when the light hit Massie’s face and Claire could see it clearly. She stopped squealing immediately. The butterflies in her stomach dropped to the ground like someone had just released a bug bomb inside of her.

  For someone who was about to announce the best news the PC could ever hear, Massie sure didn’t look thrilled about it. In fact, Claire realized as she came closer, Massie looked ready to deliver the worst news of Claire’s life.

  WESTCHESTER, NY

  MERRI-LEE MARVIL’S NEW YEAR’S YVES PARTY

  Friday, December 31st

  11:57 P.M.

  Claire made a desperate beeline for the nearest candy station. Luckily it was just next to the hot chocolate and coffee bar, so she filled her hands with various gummies and dashed back to the PC just as Massie arrived, still looking glum. Claire popped all the candy in her mouth. She wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but it felt like a sugar emergency.

  “Everything okay, Massie?” Dylan asked.

  Claire, still chewing her loot, leaned in closer. She studied her expression, looking for any sign of relief or excitement—anything that would match what Claire’s mom had just told her. But instead, Massie looked like she’d just watched an episode of Rock of Love: confused, torn, and a little sick. Then she straightened up, adjusted her white sequin dress, and applied another coat of lip gloss.

  “My mom was just apologizing for nawt letting me stay at Claire’s,” Massie said assuredly. “And she reminded me that Hermia was right. The Pretty Committee’s had an ah-mazing run.” She met each of their eyes, one by one. “But now we’re all off on different adventures. Claire, you have a new house and photography class with Cam. Kristen, you’re going to be a star Soccer Sister. Dylan, you’re going to be dodging paparazzi. Alicia, your troupe is going to dominate tap…” Her sequined dress caught the light from a torch and reflected small teardrop-shaped lights across Claire’s face. “And I’m moving.”

  Everyone leaned in to Massie for another hug, but Claire stomped her foot. What was Massie talking about?

  It took her a few more moments to completely swallow her candy, but as she expected, the sugar gave her an instantaneous rush. She felt more energized—and confused—than she had all night.

  “But Massie!” she question-cried. Everyone spun around to look at her. “You’re allowed to stay!”

  Claire could barely breathe while she waited for Massie to say something. Kristen, Alicia, and Dylan glanced worriedly at each other as Massie’s face flushed, then paled, and then finally crumpled.

  “I am,” she finally confessed.

  Everyone sucked in their breath, and the rest of the party fell away. It felt like it was just her and Massie and the PC, hanging out at GLU headquarters, tallying gossip points, playing What Would You Rather, making packing lists, dressing the Massiequin, busting on Alicia’s boobs, Dylan’s burps, Claire’s bangs, and Kristen’s boy shorts. Eating snacks, rating each other, and evaluating their crushes. Claire crossed her fingers. Maybe if she wished for it hard enough, instead of the clock ticking midnight and the YSL dropping, she could rewind time and stay with her best friends in the eighth grade at OCD forever. Because that’s what would happen if this was a dream. And sometimes dreams came true.

  Her friends were proof of that.

  “So stay!” Claire urged. The words tumbled out faster than Shawn Johnson’s floor routine. But she had to know why Massie, after everything, was choosing to move to England instead of staying in Westchester with Claire.

  Massie looked at Claire head-on. Her amber eyes crackled with confidence. Before she said anything it was obvious her decision had been made and would not be undone. “After everything Hermia said, and all of these changes, it feels like the right thing to do. How VH1 would it be if I was still clinging to the past while everyone else moved on?”

  Kristen, Alicia, and Dylan nodded, but Claire shook her head.

  “What are we going to do without you?” She sighed.

  “You don’t need to worry about me nawt being around, Kuh-laire,” Massie said. Her eyes lit up. “I’m taking the PC international! We have Skype, Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, and who knows what new thing will be out next year? We can talk every day! Summers in Europe anyone?” Massie grinned triumphantly. Dylan and Kristen high-fived her and each other. “I’ve done all I can do in Westchester. I can’t hold myself back anymore. And neither can any of you!”

  “Point,” Alicia nodded.

  Slowly, Claire began to understand what Massie was saying. Just because she wouldn’t physically be there with them didn’t mean she wouldn’t be there at all. She was already so much a part of them, and them of her.

  Massie took off her charm bracelet and held it out to Alicia. “You can do this.”

  Alicia sniffed back a tear and nodded. Massie clipped the bracelet around her tanned wrist and stood back to admire it. “Perfect,” she said, admiring the charms she had collected over the years. “Make sure you add more.”

 
Alicia began to sob. “Okay.”

  They all looped arms until they were a closed circle standing tall under the stars. Love and perfume emanated from their pores and drifted to the sky, forming an invisible heart-shaped cloud that would follow each one of the girls for the rest of her life. No matter where they were, who they were with, or what they were doing, all they’d have to do was look up, and there it would be.

  Just then, the crowd began counting down to the New Year and the Pretty Committee joined in.

  “Ten… nine… eight…”

  Their eyes were full of tears, as they shouted.

  “Seven… six… five…”

  It was the end of an era.

  “Four… three…”

  And the beginning of a new one.

  “Two…”

  The YSL bag touched down.

  “One! Happy New Year!” they yelled, their voices getting lost in the merriment around them. Fireworks lit up the sky. The band started up again with a rock version of “Auld Lang Syne,” and the crowd, led by Merri-Lee on the stage, sang along.

  Claire met Massie’s eyes over the chaos and winked at her. Massie winked back, her eyes sparkling, and mouthed, “Heart you, Kuh-laire.”

  “Heart you, Mass,” Claire wanted to say but a swell of emotions left her mute. She lifted her head to reverse the tears just as a heart-shaped firework exploded in the navy sky.

  The Pretty Committee followed her gaze and watched as it faded to smoke and then vanished. Leaving behind five tear-soaked faces and another perfect memory.