The Clique (9 page)

Like most hot guys, Chris Abeley was a “firsty-lasty.” This meant no one called him “Chris” and no one called him “Abeley.” He was always Chris Abeley.

“Mmmmerrrrrrr.” Dylan tried to speak, but Massie’s hand was still in the way. After two silent minutes Dylan forced her tongue through her smashed lips and licked Massie’s palm.

“Ew!” Massie quickly removed her hand.

Dylan took a huge bite of her chocolate raspberry supreme bar and wagged her food-filled tongue at Massie.

“You’re disgusting.” Massie laughed. She wiped her hand across the hedges to dry it off.

“What would you rather?” Alicia asked with a mischievous smile. “A kiss from Chris Abeley after he ate a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and drank pickle juice or … a kiss from Chris Abeley after he barfed up clam chowder?”

“Both,” Massie said. “Now be quiet!”

The stakeout had required a lot of preparation. First Massie had to tell Isaac that she was going to the library after school and that he wouldn’t need to pick her up until 4:30
P.M
.. Once the pickup was confirmed, she had to plan their escape from OCD. Since both schools let out at the exact same time and were precisely seven minutes apart, they had to be on the move no later than 3:13
P.M
. Massie would have been fine with 3:14 if they had been wearing comfortable shoes, but they weren’t. Everyone had made it as planned except Kristen, who had yet to show.

“I think I see him, over there at three o’clock. Beside the statue of that army guy,” Dylan said.

“No, there’s a prefat Leo by the bike rack,” Alicia said. She was pointing straight ahead.

“That’s not him. There are prefat Leos all over the place—look for the messy hair,” Massie said.

“So he really asked you to meet him on Saturday?” Alicia asked. She was looking through her binoculars while she spoke.

“He said, and I quote, I’ll be back next Saturday when the trails are open to the public. Maybe I’ll see you then? End quote. Then he said, and I quote, It’s a date. End quote,” Massie said.

“Was he making eye contact with you when he said, ‘It’s a date’?” Dylan asked.

“Full on. He even winked.” Massie let her binoculars fall around her neck and looked at her friends. “A
wink
.”

Alicia and Kristen dropped their gear and slowly turned to face Massie. It was as if she had just told them she was engaged to be married.

“That’s sooooo amazing!” Alicia squealed.

All three girls hugged each other and started bouncing up and down.

“This looks more like a freak-out than a stakeout.” Kristen stood in front of them with a serious look on her face and waited for an explanation. “What did I miss?” She was struggling to untangle the knots in the rope that hung from her binoculars.

“Nothing, we were just talking about Chris Abeley,” Dylan said.

“Again?” Kristen said.

“Where were you?” Massie asked.

“We ended up getting this major assignment in Women in the Workforce and I couldn’t just leave,” Kristen said.

“Shhh,” Massie said.

“What do you have to do?” Alicia whispered.

“I have to start my own company,” Kristen practically mouthed. “The whole walk here I was trying to come up with an idea and I couldn’t think of anything.”

Alicia picked up her binoculars and wiped the lenses off on the inside of her blazer. She had already lost interest.

“Maybe you should invent something for people who don’t have ideas,” Dylan said.

Massie and Alicia laughed.

“How ’bout something for people who make really
stupid
suggestions,” Kristen snapped back.

“How ’bout something that helps me find Chris Abeley,” Massie suggested sarcastically.

Everyone returned to their posts.

“Are you sure we didn’t miss him already?” Kristen asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“How do you know?” Kristen asked.

“Because I’m looking right at him,” Massie said slowly, as if any sudden movement would blow her cover.

“Ehmagod, where?” Alicia asked.

But they spotted him before Massie had a chance to tell them. He was the only person walking down the front steps of the building. Massie wasn’t sure if everyone on the campus had suddenly vanished or if it just felt that way because she only had eyes for him. He had a beat-up leather book bag over his shoulder and a can of Red Bull.

“
Oh
.”

“
My
.”

“
God
.”

“Zoom in as tight as you can,” Massie said. “See that freckle right above his lip? How hot is that?”

Massie pulled a tube of gloss out of her denim blazer and managed to apply it without putting down her binoculars.

“It looks like he’s walking toward us, doesn’t it?” Kristen said.

“Yeah, almost like he knows Massie’s here,” Dylan offered. “Could this be any more romantic?” Dylan spit a pit out of her mouth after she spoke. She reached into a Ziploc bag and pulled out another cherry. Her red-stained lips were the only proof that the bag had been full minutes ago.

“
Shhh
. He’s crossing the street,” Massie said.

Chris Abeley walked directly over to the hedge that separated him from the girls. He stood with his back facing them. Inches away the four girls were having a frantic conversation, using only their wide, panic-filled eyes to communicate.

Kristen reached out her hand and pretended to squeeze

Chris Abeley’s butt. This made Alicia and Dylan shake with suppressed laughter. Even Massie had to fight the urge to crack up.

MASSIE:
WHAT IZY W8ing 4?

DYLAN:
U

MASSIE:

Massie was enjoying the thought of Chris Abeley waiting for her after school too much to notice that something cool and sticky was trickling down her back. She lifted her head slowly. A stream of pink liquid was making its way from a can of Red Bull onto her scalp. Massie covered her phone with both hands to protect it from the moisture.

A blue BMW blasting tinny guitar-heavy boy music pulled up in front of Chris Abeley.

“How was detention?” a guy’s voice shouted over the music.

“Killer!” Chris Abeley cheered sarcastically. “Best time ever.”

He scooped his bag off the ground and whipped the empty can behind the hedge. It ricocheted off Alicia’s kneecap and she let out a loud yelp. Luckily the drum solo that blasted from the car’s stereo kept her from being heard.

As soon as the car sped off, the girls rolled around on the grass howling with laughter. They held their stomachs and wiped the tears from their eyes as they pointed at Massie’s wet hair. Once they finally caught their breath, Alicia’s bright red knee made them crack up all over again.

“You guys look ridiculous,” Dylan said.

“Look who’s talking.” Alicia pointed at the mountain of cherry pits piled high beside Dylan.

Her lips were so red, she looked like the Joker from
Batman
.

“You know, that’s not a bad color,” Massie said. “I wish someone sold that.”

Dylan pulled her silver hairbrush out of her bag and flipped it over.

“You’re right.” Dylan puckered up for her reflection and blew herself a kiss.

“Maybe she’s born with it,” Massie sang.

“Maybe its Maybelline,” the others responded.

Later that night, before she went to sleep, Massie made a record of the afternoon’s events.

O
CTAVIAN
C
OUNTRY
D
AY
S
CHOOL
F
IRST
-F
LOOR
B
ATHROOM

9:25
A.M
. September 5th

Massie and Dylan stared at themselves in the bathroom mirrors while they spoke.

“I can’t believe my lips are still stained.” Dylan grabbed a soft white facial towel off the cosmetics table by the window and rubbed it across her lips, but it only made them look redder.

“Top it off with a clear gloss and you’d be onto something,” Massie said to Dylan’s reflection.

“It’s not funny. My sisters called me Liperacchi all night and my mother threatened to cancel my Zone deliveries if I keep eating high-sugar fruits that aren’t part of the program,” Dylan said.

Massie slid a tube of gold shimmer across her lips.

“I wish my makeup lasted that long,” she said.

“Maybe Kristen should start a makeup company for her class project,” Dylan joked. “She can sell cherries.”

“Brilliant!” Massie clapped with excitement. “We’ll make everything ourselves using all-natural ingredients. Your mom can have us on
The Daily Grind
so we can promote our new line and—”

“Are you kidding?” Dylan asked. “Do you really think it’s a good idea or are you just making fun of me?” Dylan worked her brush through a tangle.

“No, I’m serious,” Massie said.

“We’ll call it Homebody,” Dylan suggested. “You know, because all of our ‘body’ products will be made from ‘home.’” She added air quotes to “home” and “body” just in case Massie didn’t get how genius her suggestion was.

“Maybe the name should be more glamorous,” Massie said.

Dylan pulled strands of red hair out of her brush and shook them to the ground, but they clung to her like spider-webs.

“I think it’s all about being catchy and clever,” Dylan pushed.

“There’s nothing catchy or clever about Guerlain, Dior, or Clarins,” Massie said. “And they’re doing a little better than Hard Candy and Urban Decay, don’t you think?”

“Maybe this whole thing is stupid,” Dylan said. “We have no clue how to make cosmetics.”

“That’s what the Internet is for,” Massie said.

“Do you think Kristen will like it?” Dylan asked.

“We’ll
make
her like it.” Massie walked into a bathroom stall and closed the door behind her. The discussion was over.

“You can go ahead without me—I may be a while,” Massie offered.

“’“Kay,” Dylan answered.

“We’re gonna be rich!” Massie sang. Her swinging feet were visible through the opening at the bottom of the stall.

“We already are,” Dylan said on her way out. “See ya at lunch, Coco.”

“Au revoir, Estee,” Massie said.

When Massie was sure Dylan was gone, she reached into her bag and pulled out her PalmPilot. She was feeling inspired. She thought about how great it would be to have everyone in the school, especially the older girls, rely on her for the latest beauty products and makeup advice. Chris Abeley would be in awe of her high-powered hobby and forget all about their age difference. She would never have to worry about little things like Claire threatening her social status again. She would be untouchable.

T
HE
G
UESTHOUSE
T
HE
L
IVING
R
OOM

5:00
P.M
. September 5th

“Did Mom tell you I’m having a sleepover party tonight?” Todd asked Claire. She was lying on the white L-shaped couch, flipping through the TV channels and eating mint chocolate-chip ice cream.

Claire rolled her eyes. “I’m going out with my new friend Layne,” she said.

Todd reached over and tried to force his spoon into the carton, but Claire blocked him with her elbow.

“Wait, how many people are coming over?” Claire asked. She found it hard to believe he already knew enough people invite to a “party.”

“Eleven,” Todd said. “Twelve if Stevie Levine can get out of his stepbrother’s bar mitzvah dinner.”

Todd lunged again, knocked Claire’s spoon out of the way, and scooped out the biggest chunk of chocolate there was. Claire didn’t flinch.

“How do you have twelve friends already?” Claire asked.

“The raisins.” Todd said. “I told you.”

Kendra knocked lightly on the front door, letting herself in before anyone could answer. She was wearing a pair of crisp-looking black pants and a baby blue cashmere sweater set. Even when she was just spending the day at home, she still looked perfectly put together.

As soon as Claire spotted Kendra she took her feet off the couch and sat up straight.

“My mom isn’t home,” Claire said.

“Actually, I came to see you, Claire.” Kendra’s voice was calm and smooth.

“Oh!” Claire squeaked with surprise. “You did?”

“Every Friday night Massie has a sleepover and I’d like you to come tonight,” Kendra said. “That is, of course, if you don’t already have plans.”

“Thanks, but I’m sure Massie doesn’t want me at her party,” Claire said.

“Who would?” Todd said.

“Shut up,” Claire mumbled. She pinched her brother on the arm and kicked him off the couch. None of this fazed Kendra. She was all business.