Birthday Vicious

by Melissa de la Cruz

  But she needn't have worried. Cooper seemed to get the gist. "Sure." He nodded.

  It was only after Cooper had flashed his dazzling smile again, only after he'd loped off into the sunset, only after Ashley finished retying the Sunfish's rope and started making her way back through the marina, that she remembered one crucial point.

  Her party was canceled.

  Huh. So maybe she would have to go back home and tell her mother that after much careful consideration, the smaller, more intimate gathering Matilda had proposed was acceptable after all. So maybe there would be no tigers jumping through hoops, no crowd-pleasing entrance on a Vespa, no seven-foot-tall big-top birthday cake.

  But maybe there would be something better. One very important, very handsome guest.

  You couldn't invite a guy to a party if there wasn't one, could you?

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  8

  IS IT BIRTH-DAY OR BIRTH-WEEK? FOR THE ASHLEYS ONE CELEBRATION IS NEVER ENOUGH

  L ILI PUSHED OPEN THE GLASS DOOR OF BLOWFISH Sushi and beamed at the black-clad hostess. This was more like it--no crummy diners this weekend; no unpleasant posers from inferior schools, either. Max was a sweetheart, but sometimes Lili had some serious doubts about his taste. He would probably think Blowfish Sushi was overly trendy and pretentious. But what Max thought didn't really matter. Not on this particular Sunday night, anyway.

  "I have a reservation for four," Lili told the hostess. "Under Ashley Li."

  "One of your party is already here, Miss Li." The girl was

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  wearing a really cute mini and gladiator sandals. When Lili grew up, she was going to run her own nightclub, and this was just the kind of outfit she'd wear as she cruised the place every evening, making sure everything was perfect. "Please follow me."

  Lili spotted A.A. at the Ashleys' favorite table near the back of the restaurant, close to the black-lacquered sushi bar with its reed-seat bar stools and giant exotic fish tank. This restaurant had the Ashleys' SOA, so it was the perfect choice for one of their ritual events--the prebirthday gift exchange. It was a school night, but even her uptight parents understood the importance of such an event and made an exception.

  "Hi, pretty!" Lili called, dropping her mother-of-pearl evening bag into the nearest empty chair and stretching to air kiss A.A. Even sitting down, A.A. looked long and lean in a black silk L.A.M.B. jumpsuit that probably looked good on only two people in the world--Gwen Stefani and A.A.

  "Hey, pretty!" A.A. responded. "I love that color on you."

  "Thanks." Lili knew this wasn't just flattery--she loved her new outfit. She'd convinced her mother to take her to New York last weekend, and Lili had scored a hot Thakoon dress, right out of the showroom.

  "Hey, guys!"

  They looked up to see Lauren making a beeline for the table, followed by a boy carrying a gigantic gold box with a huge red bow on it.

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  "Hi, pretty!" A.A. and Lili chorused, making Lauren turn pink. Lili leaned over to kiss her on both cheeks-- without touching, of course, because nobody wanted red lip smudges all over their face. Lauren was so eager to be greeted that she bumped noses with A.A.

  Lili wasn't sure if it was touching or pathetic, the way Lauren still wasn't comfortable with being an Ashley. Maybe it wasn't that surprising. Lauren was new to this game, while the other Ashleys had been queens of Miss Gamble's for years. Sometimes it felt like they'd been born into royalty.

  "You guys all know Christian, right?" Lauren asked, blushing more deeply as she introduced tall, blond, and handsome standing next to her, who put the gift on an empty chair.

  "Oh yeah, we met at Lauren's last week, right?" A.A. asked pleasantly.

  But Christian looked confused. "I don't think so," he said with a puzzled smile.

  "No, we totally met--you and Lauren had just come back from ..." A.A.'s voice trailed off, as it was only then that she noticed that behind him, Lauren was shaking her head so vigorously her earrings were in danger of falling off.

  Lili tried to hide a smile. Obviously A.A. was thinking of Lauren's other boyfriend. She sized up Christian from head to toe. She'd met Alex the other week, and this one was definitely a looker too. That girl sure got around.

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  Lauren kissed her boyfriend good-bye and sat down next to Lili. "Is Ashley here yet?" she asked.

  Tonight they'd present Ashley with her Big Gift, saving smaller presents for her actual birthday and a third round of gifts for the night of her party. This tradition had been established in fifth grade, and the only thing different this year was the fact that Lauren was there. Lauren was so thrilled to be included that she'd volunteered to pick up Ashley's birthday gift herself.

  Lili thought Lauren was probably trying to make up for the fact that she'd been totally flaky lately--she hardly joined them for lunch anymore and seemed to have some kind of meeting, appointment, or extra class every day. And just yesterday she'd practically run away when Lili saw her at Gino's. Lili had gotten a special dispensation to go off campus to get doughnuts for the Honor Board meeting. She'd been surprised to see Lauren there, and even more surprised when Lauren booked as fast as she could in the other direction. What was going on with that girl? It wasn't as if Lili was going to slap her with a demerit. They were friends.

  "You'd better sign the card," A.A. reminded her as Lili settled into her seat, tucking the tiny evening bag behind the small of her back, the way her mother always did. "Ashley'll be here any minute."

  "I had it designed exactly as you specified," Lauren told

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  Lili, producing a thick marbled envelope from the shopping bag at her feet.

  "You went to the Venetian place?" Lili scrutinized the envelope. This was the first time she'd handed this task over to someone else. "You asked for the handmade paper?"

  Lauren nodded, her long sleek, chestnut hair swinging.

  "And I asked them to use thirteen different colors in the marbling, because it's Ashley's thirteenth birthday." Lauren beamed. Then her face fell.

  Lili looked around. What was up? At the doorway was a girl from school, one of those nobodies--Sadie something, who'd recently returned from wherever ... oh yeah, Lili remembered now. "Check it out! Isn't that Boogers Graham?" Lili nudged A.A. and smirked.

  "Oh, hush." A.A. laughed.

  Lauren didn't join in the laughter and stared at Sadie with a shocked expression.

  A.A. peered at Sadie more closely. "You know what, she looks different."

  "Yeah, out of our awful uniform she actually looks normal," Lili conceded. The Ashleys had discovered that the key to looking good was to accessorize the uniform to the extreme, so that it was forced to look flattering. Wearing a simple black top and blue jeans, with her hair pulled back, did wonders for Sadie's looks.

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  Sadie was about to leave the restaurant with her family but turned around and stared at their table intently. Then she began heading their way.

  "I've, uh--I've got to go to the bathroom!" Lauren declared, pushing her way past Lili and hurrying to the ladies'.

  When Sadie arrived at their table, she looked confused.

  "Can we help you?" Lili asked, not trying to be rude, but seriously, who invited her?

  "No." Sadie shook her head. She looked at Lauren's empty seat and blinked. "Huh."

  Lili and A.A. exchanged shrugs as Sadie walked away. Lauren returned to their table after what seemed like an inordinately long time.

  A.A. took a sip of virgin sake from a tiny, cerulean blue cup. "Hurry up, Lili--she's here!"

  Lili capped the gold pen Lauren had handed her and quickly returned the card to its envelope. Sure enough, Ashley was sashaying toward them, looking like a streak of gold herself. Her blond hair was loose, apart from one long braid wound around her head like a band, interwoven with a filmy gold ribbon. She wore a layered, Grecian-style silk dress, which she informed them was vintage, and Halston. She must have spent all day getting ready--no wonder she'd skip
ped school that day.

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  "My mother met Rachel Zoe at a celebrity fashion benefit last month," Ashley told them after the obligatory double kisses. "And Rachel told her this look would be perfect for me."

  "She was right." A.A. grinned.

  "You look like a movie star," Lauren agreed.

  Lili had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Why did A.A. and Lauren always have to be such kiss-asses when Ashley was around? Had they forgotten about AshleyRank already? Maybe Lili should remind them who was currently wearing the crown.

  She picked up the giant box wedged into Ashley's seat and lifted it onto the table, Lauren quickly moving the delicate sake cups out of the way.

  "For me?" gasped Ashley, feigning surprise. She slipped into her seat and thrummed the box with her gold-tipped fingernails.

  "I brought this with me," Lauren said, offering her a ceramic letter opener, "so you can look at your card without getting your nails dirty."

  "So sweet!" Ashley was certainly in a friendly mood tonight. Lili was amazed by how long she spent looking at the card, counting the different colors in the delicate marbling and reading the calligraphy message ("To the fairest of them all") aloud several times. This was kind of strange: Usually

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  Ashley dispensed with the card in ten seconds because she couldn't wait to rip her gift open.

  "Don't you want to see what's in the box?" A.A. asked. Her puzzled expression suggested that she was surprised as well. Was this the new, modest, number-four-with-a-bullet Ashley?

  "Sure." Ashley sighed, carefully slitting through the packaging with the ceramic opener. Lili couldn't wait to see her face when she opened the box. Lauren may have collected the present from Neiman Marcus, but it was Lili's idea, and Lili was the one who'd called the store with specific instructions.

  "You're going to love it," Lauren told her.

  Ashley peeled back the layers of marbled tissue paper, and her eyes widened.

  "How ... how apropos!" She reached her hands into the box and pulled out a golden helmet, the initial A picked out in crystals.

  "It's for your Vespa!" A.A. cheered. They all knew exactly what Ashley was getting for her birthday.

  "It's Chanel!" Lauren added. "Special order!"

  "I love it," said Ashley, holding it up to her face and smiling. Lili gave her a sidelong look: Ashley was certainly quite subdued tonight. Normally she had one of two reactions to a gift.

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  If she didn't like it--because it wasn't what she was expecting, or the item in question was no longer sufficiently "it," or she'd just seen a picture of someone like Ghauncey Raven, the beleaguered pop star who'd recently lost custody of her two kids, with the exact same thing--Ashley would usually make a pouty face, thank them in a faint, pained voice, and put the present away in its box or bag immediately.

  If she loved the gift--because it was what she'd told them to buy, or because she'd just seen a picture of someone like Sloan Hess, the way-too-hip and way-too-skinny British supermodel with the exact same thing--then she would shriek with joy and make sure the whole restaurant could see it. But tonight she was doing neither of these things. She was just acting like a normal person does when they get a gift. And this made Lili deeply, deeply suspicious. Something had to be going on.

  "So what's the deal with all the party arrangements?" A.A. asked, after Ashley had finally stowed the helmet in its box under her seat and a platter with an extra-long dragon roll (made with thirteen ingredients, as Lauren took pains to point out) had been placed on the table between them.

  "Oh, you know," said Ashley, blithely gesturing with her chopsticks. "Mona Mazur is taking care of pretty much everything. "

  "What have you decided about the unicyclists' costumes?"

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  Lauren asked. They'd discussed this at length just a few lunchtimes ago, but Lauren had missed the whole conversation: She'd felt faint on the way into the refectory and had to spend lunchtime lying in a darkened room in the sick bay. Just another lunchtime powwow she'd missed that week. No wonder she was so behind the curve.

  "Oh, you know. Whatever." Ashley nibbled at the piece of dragon roll squished between her chopsticks. "I've been meaning to tell you all--I met the cutest boy down at the marina yesterday after school. His name is Cooper, and he's totally adorable. And he was totally into me!"

  "Did you invite him to the party?" A.A. wanted to know.

  Ashley nodded. "Uh-huh. And he's tall, so much taller than Tri."

  "That wouldn't be hard." A.A. snorted.

  "How old is he?" Lauren took a giant bite of dragon roll, half the rice spilling onto the tablecloth.

  "He looks like he's our age. I forgot to ask him which school he goes to--duh!"

  Lili toyed with the food on her square black plate, expertly lifting a stray slice of ginger with her chopsticks. Ashley was gushing on about this new guy but seemed very reluctant to talk about the party, which was unlike her. That wasn't the only uncharacteristic trait she was displaying that evening.

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  "What do you think?" Ashley asked, showing them a sample of the party invitations. She didn't meet Lili's eyes as she held up the piece of paper.

  "They're so cute!" said Lili, trying to hide her surprise. She was telling the truth: The invitations were chic--very graphic and fifties, with silhouetted figures dancing around an old record player. She noticed that Ashley had bought them from Kate's Paperie, and the cards were made from beautiful textured paper with embossed seals for each envelope.

  Ashley had fantastic taste--nobody could ever dispute that. But considering all the over-the-top plans for the party Ashley had been talking about for the last two weeks, Lili thought the invitations would be much more special. She was expecting something amazing and custom-made, not a box of ready-made cards. They didn't even have a circus theme!

  "So what are the StripHall Queens like?" Lauren asked, taking a sip from her citrusy "gin and tonic" (the gin a dash of ginger ale). "Did you get to meet them yet?"

  "And is Cirque du Soleil going to perform 'Zumanity' or 'O'?" A.A. wanted to know.

  Ashley looked momentarily flustered, but before she could answer their questions, all the lights in the restaurant went dark, and the speakers started playing a grand orchestral theme, interspersed with the StripHall Queens' latest hit,

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  "Lick Me! Eat Me! I'm Your Cake!" A whizzing, sparkling, glittering confection was brought over to their table.

  The cake was made up of a towering ball of pink cotton candy, decorated with thirteen sparklers. It looked like a gorgeous pink bomb. On cue, Lili led the Ashleys in their version of "Happy Birthday." ("Happy Birthday to you. You belong at Nobu. With Mary-Kate and Ashley, and Lindsay Lohan, too.")

  "Happy Birthday, pretty," Lili said, reaching over to give Ashley a huge hug and kiss. Okay, so maybe she sometimes hated Ashley a little bit for always having to be numero uno, even when certain blogs had decreed otherwise, but it was her birthday, and Ashley was still her best friend. When all was said and done, she loved the biatch.

  "Make a wish!" A.A. urged, while Lauren took too many pictures with her digital camera.

  Ashley closed her eyes and blew out the flames. When she opened her eyes, they were sparkling. "You guys are the best!"

  Lili sighed. Ashley deserved everything that was coming to her.

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  9

  THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH OLD FRIENDS: THEY WANT TO DO THE SAME OLD THINGS

  L AUREN LOOKED OVER HER SHOULDER. EVER SINCE Sadie had come back to Miss Gamble's, she'd been developing neck strain from looking around all the time to watch out for the Ashleys. School had let out for the day, and Sadie had insisted they hang out after school like they'd always done before. Sadie wanted to see the famous Page mansion and wouldn't take any of Lauren's excuses.

  Bad luck for Lauren: It was the very day the Ashleys were planning a huge shopping trip to prepare for Ashley's party. Try as she might, Laure
n couldn't dissuade her old friend, so she'd begged off the retail rampage by saying her mom wanted her to come home and help choose a color scheme for the new wing.

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  Of course, so that she wouldn't blow her cover with the Ashleys, she had to get Sadie in the car, and out of sight, as soon as possible. Now where was Dex? You'd think some guy who didn't have much to do other than drive her around would be on time for once.

  Lauren craned her neck toward the street, willing the Bentley to appear, and then stretched the opposite direction at the school gates to watch out for the Ashleys again.

  "Why do you keep looking over there?" Sadie asked.

  Lauren didn't answer, feeling a cold stab of fear when she saw a glint of Ashley's new Cartier bracelet in the sun. The three girls were walking past the playground and would be right at the front gates in a second. She'd be caught with Sadie! If only--

  "Dex!"

  The silver Bentley crested the hill, and Lauren grabbed Sadie's hand and led her to the car. She bundled Sadie into the backseat just as the Ashleys appeared. Lauren slammed the door. "Let's go!"

  "What's the rush?" Dex asked, annoyed. "Easy on the hardware, okay, Page?"

  If Sadie was annoyed at being rushed inside the car, she didn't show it. She was too busy staring at Dex. If possible, Dex was even cuter when he frowned. He wasn't Lauren's type in any way--he was way too old and too much of a brother

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  figure for anything like that to come into play--but she could see the effect he had on everyone else she knew.

  She suspected A.A. had had a major crush on him earlier this semester. Guinevere Parker had even asked Lauren if she could interview him for the school newspaper, part of some bogus feature on parking issues during rush hour in Nob Hill.