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 Massie 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 Hermès handbag.
When it came to Cam’s gift, Massie 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?
Massie 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.
He even wears it in the summer. And it would be so embarrassing if I gave him something he never used. People would think he didn’t like
me.
Massie 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.
Massie 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, “Massie, I love my new Hugo Boss leather jacket—but not half as much as I love you.”
Massie 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.
Massie would take his hand and lead him up the stairs to her bedroom.
“What about your mother?” Cam would ask.
What a considerate guy,
Massie would think while turning the glass knob on her bedroom door.
“She won’t be home for another hour,” Massie would say, pushing the door open and revealing her immaculately clean all-white room.
“This is perfect,” Cam would say as he started to take off his leather jacket.
“No, leave it on,” Massie would say.
He would smile appreciatively.
“Are you ready to do this?” Massie would ask.
“I can’t wait,” Cam would say.
“Awesome, let’s go.”
Cam would plug his iPod into her speakers and blast some Strokes song that Massie had never heard before. But she would bob her head and pretend to love it anyway. Then Massie and Cam would start pulling the books off her bookshelf and hurling them on the floor. They would tear the goose feathers out of her down comforter and throw them at each other like they were having a snowball fight. They would toss her CDs around like Frisbees and yank the evenly folded sweaters out of her walk-in closet and lob them into the air, giving each other points every time one of them landed on top of the white shade of her floor lamp. They would wrap toilet paper around her mannequin and write their names with lipstick on her bay window. They would be laughing so hard Massie’s stomach would start to feel like she had just done a thousand crunches. But she would ignore the pain because she’d be having too much fun. She was so tired of her mother nagging to her keep her room “spotless” and couldn’t think of anyone she’d rather mess it up with than Cam Fisher, the cutest boy in …
The familiar smell of chocolate, spices, and vanilla filled the air and pulled Massie out of her fantasy. She was no longer laughing with Cam. She was back in Joel’s mind-numbing history class and Alicia Rivera was standing in front of her, reeking of Angel perfume.
Massie refused to look up. Instead she moved her fuzzy purple pen vigorously across the lined pages of her Claire Fontaine notebook so Joel would think she was taking notes. She could feel Alicia glaring and knew it was time to remind the EW who she was dealing with. Massie was about to stand up and confront her when Alicia swatted Massie’s pen out of her hand. It looked like a purple fuzzy dart as it shot through the air and landed on the light brown carpeting two rows away. Massie looked straight into Alicia’s eyes, trying her hardest not to let the rage she was feeling show on her face. She stuck her leg out in front so she could drag the pen toward her with the wedge heel of her new boots. But Alicia beat her to it. She stepped on the pen and twisted her toe into it like she was grinding out a cigarette. Massie leaned forward in her chair and pushed Alicia’s leg, but Alicia was too quick for her. She hooked her thin fingers around the chunky gold chain of Massie’s charm bracelet and closed her fist around it. Massie struggled to pull away, but Alicia was stronger than usual. Massie took a deep breath in and counted silently in her head. …
One … two … THREE.
On the final count Massie pulled back as hard as she could, but Alicia held on with all her might and ripped the bracelet right off Massie’s wrist.
The tiny bell, the Eiffel Tower, the miniature black pug, the white-gold horse, three stars, and her favorite charm of all, the diamond-encrusted gold crown, scattered and bounced across the carpet like a handful of dice. Massie fell to her hands and knees. She needed to get that crown back.
Massie could hear the girls in the class snickering but didn’t dare look up. She was too humiliated. Why wasn’t Joel getting involved? Why was Alicia
doing
this to her? Why wouldn’t everyone stop laughing?
“Looking for this?” Alicia said, standing over Massie. She slowly opened her fist and revealed a sparkly gold crown in the center of her palm. Massie reached for it, but Alicia closed her fist and stuffed it in the front pocket of her Ralph Lauren suede pants. She let out a maniacal laugh, grabbed the Prada shoulder bag off the back of her chair, and strolled out of the classroom, looking calm and confident.
Massie was still on her hands and knees gathering her charms when all eighteen girls stood up and applauded for Alicia. Even Joel was clapping.
“Why are you taking
her
side?” Massie shouted. “She started this.”
But everyone kept clapping.
Massie tilted her neck back, hoping the tears would fall back inside her head, but they were coming too quickly now and couldn’t be stopped. When the first one managed to escape and roll down her cheek, Massie surrendered. She had no choice. She curled up on the floor and broke into loud sobs in front of the entire class.
Suddenly she felt a light tickle on the back of her neck, but she refused to react. It could be a trap. But when Massie felt it again, she looked up. For some odd reason, she was back in her seat.
“What?” she snapped.
“You dropped this on the floor when you nodded off,” Joel hissed. He was holding Massie’s fuzzy purple pen between his fingertips like it was a dirty pair of underwear from the lost and found. “I’ll try to make things more interesting for you next time, Ms. Block.”
“Thanks,” Massie said as she took it. “You know, for the pen, not for making class more interesting.”
The girls in the class burst out laughing. They didn’t realize she was being sincere, but Massie didn’t care. At least they were laughing with her, not at her.
Joel shook his head and then walked away. Massie curled in toward her desk and examined the pen like she was on
CSI Westchester.
There were no signs of it getting crushed under Alicia’s boots or dragged across the carpet by Massie’s heel. It was in perfect condition.
Massie grabbed her wrist and instantly breathed a sigh of relief. The diamond-encrusted crown was exactly where it was supposed to be, on her charm bracelet right between the pug and the stars. It was all just a dream. …
Or was it an omen? Massie rolled her pen between her palms, thinking about Alicia and how to keep that dream from becoming a reality.
Finally the bell rang, marking the end of history and the beginning of World War III.
O
CTAVIAN
C
OUNTRY
D
AY
S
CHOOL
L
UNCHTIME
12:30
PM
November 14th
The minute the lunch bell rang, Alicia gathered her books and bolted out of history class. She couldn’t handle another nasty confrontation with Massie. She’d tried her best not to cry after Massie called her an EW and even managed to put on a happy face while Massie was spying on her with her compact mirror. But she didn’t know how much longer she could keep her cool. Thankfully it was time for her to meet Olivia and head into Manhattan for the
Teen Vogue
interview. She needed to get out of OCD for a while.
“How was history?” Olivia asked when Alicia arrived at their meeting spot by the alumni photos. “Did you talk to her?”
“Nope, now let’s go before we see her. She always goes by here on her way to the Café.”
“Let’s go out the back,” Olivia said.
“Done.” Alicia put her gray wool coat on while they zigzagged through the bustling lunchtime crowd, avoiding anyone who might have heard about the fight.
“What’s up, gang?”
a voice bleated over the school’s intercom system.
“Deena Geyser here with your afternoon news brief.”
Alicia and Olivia rolled their eyes the minute they heard Deena’s voice.
“Is she chewing gum?” Alicia said. “She always
does
that. It’s sooo unprofessional.”
“Is that what that slurping noise is? I always thought she had a speech peppermint.”
Alicia stopped walking and looked at Olivia with a puzzled look on her face. “You mean a speech
impediment?”
“Really? You think she has
both?”
Olivia said, her blue eyes filled with pity.
“Probably.” Alicia didn’t bother correcting her.
“But before I get started,”
Deena continued,
“I have a few announcements to make. … Since I like to put humor in my daily broadcasts, I am officially changing my name from Deena to Comma Dee. Funny, right? And the best part is I can spell it with just a comma and the letter
D. …
I’d show you, but this isn’t television, people; use your imaginations. …”
Alicia heard gasps and giggles from every girl she passed.
“I would also like to say congratulations to Alicia Rivera and Olivia Ryan once again for winning the OCD Fashion Week Uniform Contest last week. …”
A round of applause erupted in the halls.
Olivia started jumping up and down. “That’s us!” she screamed. But all Alicia could do was look over her shoulder for signs of Massie.
“They are about to leave for their big interview with
Teen Vogue,
so if you would like to see them off, please head over to the parking lot ASAP. …”
Everyone they passed in the halls looked at them with envy in their eyes. Alicia unbuttoned her coat so they could get a good look her new suede pants, argyle sweater, and nubby blazer. She slowed down to her regular leisurely pace, deciding to enjoy this red carpet moment.
“Why are they looking at us funny?” Olivia whispered out of the side of her mouth. She tucked a white-blond strand of hair behind her ear and looked uncomfortably at the ground. After a second she shot her head back up and looked straight into Alicia’s big brown eyes. “They must have heard about your fight with Massie.”
“This has
nothing
to do with
Massie,”
Alicia snapped while managing to keep her head up, shoulders back, and eyes fixed on the Exit sign at the end of the hall. “They wish they were the ones getting interviewed by
Teen Vogue
this afternoon. They want to be us.”
“Really?”
Olivia covered her mouth and widened her eyes. “You mean they’re actually jealous of me?”
“And
me,”
Alicia reminded her.
“Maybe they’ll come back with the inside scoop on some new trends. …”
Alicia knew her fake broadcasts were ten times better than “Dee’s” real ones, but she wasn’t going to trash her. Alicia needed the publicity.
“…
and speaking of trends, it seems like Massie Block’s infamous charm bracelet has started a phenomenon. I’ve been seeing charm belts, charm necklaces, and even charm key chains hanging off some of your pocketbooks. … I guess this is turning into a real CHARM SCHOOL. …”
Deena started laughing at her own joke.
“She makes it seem like Massie invented
jewelry,”
Alicia said as she pushed open the heavy wood doors that opened onto the school’s parking lot.
“Oh. My. Gawd,” Olivia said, her wide eyes fixed on the crowd.
Alicia froze too. She couldn’t believe how many girls had skipped lunch to see them off. “I bet there are at least fifty people here.”
“What are they doing on the other side of the parking lot?” Olivia asked.
“No one expected us to sneak out the back door,” Alicia said. “If anyone asks, we did it to avoid Principal Burns, NOT Massie, okay? Let’s go.”
Alicia moved across the cracked gray cement in the parking lot with ease and confidence. Olivia was a few paces ahead.
As she got closer, Alicia could see that everyone was bundled up in their puffy winter jackets, hats, and scarves, but she was too excited to notice the biting wind and left her coat unbuttoned.
“Look,” Cindy Bennett shouted when she saw Alicia and Olivia coming toward her. “There they are!” The crowd of girls ran across the parking lot to greet them.
“Oh my Gawd.” Cindy tried to catch her breath. “You are so lucky.” She pushed her way through the crowd and stood right beside them. “If you see Orlando Bloom, pleeease take a picture of him for me?” Cindy handed Alicia a silver Sony camera. “He was on last month’s cover. I have it up in my locker right now.”
Alicia took the camera and dropped it in her Prada bag, “No problem.”
“You guys look incredible,” Denver Gold shouted. “Smile!” She snapped their picture. “Don’t forget us when you’re famous.”
“We’ll do our best.” Alicia kissed her hand and waved back. She had never been happier in her entire life. For once everyone was there for
her.
Massie who?