Aries8: We’re eating so much pizza we won’t be able to fit into our kewl outfits! Wah!
BrynnWins: New York pizza’s the best in the universe! My fave is black olives and shrooms. My mouth is watering!
Grrrrace: You guys are lucky. You’ll get some exercise. But tomorrow we have to lie around in a spa! Tough luck, right?
“That sounds so cool,” Brynn said to Alex. “Have you ever had a facial? I’m going to have one for my next birthday.”
“No, I have never had a facial,” Alex said unhappily. But she wasn’t sure Brynn even heard her. It was obvious Brynn was amped over Natalie’s sleepover. Alex should have realized her boring old life could never compete with Natalie’s exciting New York adventures.
NatalieNYC: hi! nat here! my mom just donated some kewl purple zebra print napkins and sunglasses for our table.
“I almost forgot about the purple problem,” Brynn said to Alex.
But Alex was even madder. She sputtered, “I asked if there was anything I could get at the party store when I went to return my blue and red napkins and the tablecloth. And Julie said no!”
“I guess she thought Natalie’s napkins were more ‘trendy,’” Brynn said, making air quotes. “Natalie really is rubbing it in.”
NatalieNYC: u so should have come down 2nite! when u guys come in tomorrow we’ll have lunch & decorate our table. Julie sez we can go in 30 min early.
Alex was humiliated. She was the one who got to do stuff like that, not Natalie Goode! It was like the whole reunion had become Natalie’s personal property. Even though this had been her first summer at Camp Lakeview, and Alex was a mega-legacy, everyone was letting Natalie run it. Just because she was rich and her father was an international movie star and she lived in New York. It wasn’t fair!
“Scoot over,” she said to Brynn. Brynn rose out of Alex’s desk chair and Alex sat down.
SoccerLover: Well, I hope you & YOUR friends have fun at YOUR reunion!
Alex logged off.
There was a moment of silence in Alex’s bedroom as her computer powered down. Then Brynn said, “Whoa.”
“I’m sorry,” Alex said. She was trembling. “I just lost it.”
“No, Natalie really dissed you,” Brynn added. “Just completely ignoring all your hard work to get things for the table. I’m proud of you for sticking up for yourself.”
Alex gazed up at her. Brynn nodded at her. “You’ve got what my mom calls moxie.”
“Moxie?” In spite of her freakout, Alex laughed. “It sounds like a disease!” Her voice dropped. “Do you really think I should have said that?”
“Yeah! Natalie was just lording it over us how much more fun they’re having than us,” Brynn said. Then her eyes got huge, as she realized what she’d just said. “Oh, Alex, I didn’t mean it that way!”
Alex felt even worse. But she forced herself to smile as she said, “I know. It’s okay.”
A wave of dizziness overcame her and she added, “I’m sorry, Brynn, but I have to go to bed now. I know it’s early, but I’m worn out. It happens.”
“Oh, I’m totally fine with that,” Brynn assured her. “But I don’t know if I can sleep. I’m so irritated with those guys!”
Alex knew how she felt. But she also knew how she would feel in the morning if she didn’t get enough rest. So she resolutely went through her nightly ritual—brushing her teeth, washing her face, and climbing into her bed.
Brynn slithered into her sleeping bag on the floor beside her and said, “Good night! Don’t let the bedbugs bite!”
“I won’t,” Alex said feebly.
Then Alex turned out the light and stared into the darkness for what seemed like forever.
The next thing she knew, she sleepily opened her eyes and looked at her clock. It was only one in the morning, and she wondered why she had awakened.
She whispered, “Brynn?”
There was no answer.
Alex got up and tiptoed out of her room. There was a light on in the living room. Brynn was curled up in her dad’s leather recliner with a book. Her head was down, and Alex couldn’t tell if she was reading or sleeping.
She said softly, “Brynn?”
Brynn didn’t respond. Alex didn’t know what to do. If Brynn was asleep, she didn’t want to wake her up.
She tiptoed back into her room and climbed back into bed.
I’ll go check on her in a little while, she decided, bunching up her pillow. Then she turned out the light. Some fun for Brynn, reading a book while I snooze. I’m sure she’d rather be at snobby Natalie’s.
Natalie, who’s stealing all the fun!
chapter SIX
Alyssa sat next to Natalie on the couch as the girls devoured microwave popcorn and watched Dying Too Young on Natalie’s widescreen TV. Natalie had state-of-the-art high-definition everything.
“Have Alex or Brynn come back online?” Natalie whispered in her ear.
“No,” Alyssa whispered back.
Everyone had gone over the entire IM conversation a million times, but no one had a clue why Alex had gotten so mad at Natalie. Alyssa suggested they phone, but Natalie said no. Alex had logged off, and that meant she wanted her space.
“This movie is depressing me,” Grace groaned. “It’s about people dying!”
It was very depressing. The lead character was a young mother who had just had a baby and then discovered she had an incurable disease.
“Hello? Title? Dying Too Young?” Jenna said impatiently. “You voted to watch it.”
“Well, only because I’ve already seen the Super Ninja Twins like sixty times!” Grace insisted. That had been Jenna’s choice.
It was as if Natalie’s bad mood had infected everyone like a virus.
“Well, I’m glad Chelsea’s not here to see it,” Alyssa said softly. “A movie about dying would not be cool for her.”
“You’re right,” Natalie replied. At the mention of Chelsea, she got nervous all over again.
“Shhh, the doctor’s coming in with her test results,” Grace said, the silhouette of her hand gesturing at the screen. “Maybe it’s good news.”
“I hope so. The doctor is a total hottie,” Jenna said. “So maybe they’ll get married or something.”
Natalie murmured to Alyssa, “I thought I would have the most problems getting along with Chelsea. Now I’m dreading seeing Alex.”
“It’ll be okay,” Alyssa counseled her best friend. She patted her arm. “You’ll see.”
“Oh, no!” Grace cried in the darkness. “Natalie, I just dropped my pizza sauce-side-down on over your mom’s carpet!”
Natalie winced as she leaped to her feet. She said, “Blot it with the napkins. I’ll get the cleaning stuff. Don’t feel bad, Grace. It happens all the time.”
But the truth was . . . it didn’t. Natalie’s local friends were supercareful when they came over.
“I’ll help you,” Alyssa told her.
“Thanks,” Natalie replied gratefully.
They dashed into the kitchen together.
“More napkins!” Grace yelled.
As Natalie grabbed a roll of paper towels and a spray bottle of stain remover, she glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was after one in the morning. Her mom was in bed, sleeping through everything. That was where Natalie wished she were. Her nerves were frayed. Alex was mad at her, Hannah might be mad at her, and her friends were trashing her apartment! She wanted to turn off the movie and tell everyone to go to bed.
Then they’ll all be mad at me, she thought.
“Grace!” she heard Jenna moan. “You used up all the napkins!”
“Well, there’s tons of gooey cheese and ham, okay?” Grace replied.
As Natalie headed back toward the living room, she teared up, overwhelmed. It was only the first night of the big weekend, and she had had it.
“Hey, we’ll get it cleaned up, okay?” Alyssa said, giving Natalie’s arm a squeeze. “Tomorrow morning, no one will even be able to tell there
was a mess.”
“Thanks,” Natalie said, meaning it. But tomorrow morning seemed very, very far away.
Alex woke on Saturday morning with a start. Her clock radio blared a way-too-perky pop song as she groaned and fumbled for the snooze button. Then she stopped herself. Snoozing was not an option. She had to get up and get going if she was going to make her soccer game on time.
It was still dark in her room. She flicked on the lamp and peered into the darkness. Brynn was asleep in her sleeping bag, with one arm thrown over her head. Alex wondered how late Brynn had remained in the living room.
She got up and tiptoed over to Brynn, gazing down at her by the soft light of the lamp.
“Brynn?” she whispered. “We have to get up for my soccer game, okay?”
Brynn didn’t move.
“Brynn?” she whispered more loudly.
There was still no response.
She touched her sleeping bag and gave it a little nudge. Nothing.
Alex didn’t know what to do. Brynn had said she wanted to watch Alex’s game, but she was so tired, Alex was having trouble waking her up. Brynn would want to be rested for all the fun at the party and Natalie’s sleepover.
Alex decided to think about it as she got on her soccer uniform. But after she had dressed in her dark blue shorts and white jersey, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and brushed her teeth, Brynn was still fast asleep.
On her way into the kitchen, Alex spotted a book balanced on the arm of the recliner. She picked it up and examined the title. It said, NEW YORK CITY: 101 COOLEST PLACES TO GO.
She turned to a page that Brynn had marked by folding down the corner. It was labeled THEATER SCENE. In the margin she had written, Ask Natalie about this!
There were a lot of other pages turned down at the corners. Brynn had read and studied her guidebook with as much care as Alex would give a textbook. Being rested for their trip to the city was surely more important to Brynn than watching Alex’s stupid soccer game.
Alex scrambled some eggs and toasted English muffins. Everything was ready when her mom walked into the kitchen. She was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt that read SOCCER MOM! ASK ME HOW!
Yawning, she said, “Good morning, honey. Ready for your game?” They talked in low voices so they wouldn’t wake up Alex’s father and brother, who both had the luxury of sleeping late.
“Yes,” Alex replied. She dished the scrambled eggs onto two plates.
“What about Brynn?” her mom asked, as she picked up the plates and carried them to the dining room table. “Isn’t she joining us?”
“She stayed up really late. I think she’d rather sleep,” Alex said, sitting down. She picked up her fork and began to eat the fluffy eggs.
“Oh?” Her mom cocked her head. “At dinner she said she couldn’t wait to see you play.”
“That was before she stayed up all night reading,” Alex confided. “I know she doesn’t want to be tired for the reunion.”
“Maybe you should ask her what she wants,” her mom said.
“Then she’ll be awake,” Alex pointed out. “Anyway, there’s no time now.” She gestured with her fork at the clock. “We have to leave as soon as we’re finished eating.”
Her mom glanced at the clock. “Oh! You’re right about that. But I hope she’s not too disappointed.”
“Trust me, Mom,” Alex said. “I know what I’m doing.”
Only, she didn’t, exactly. She really, really, really hoped she was doing the right thing. But she wasn’t totally positive she was.
I hope Brynn’s okay with this.
“Hey, sleepyheads,” Natalie’s mom called to the four girls cocooned in their sleeping bags. “It’s time to get up, or you’ll miss your spa day.”
Natalie slowly raised her head, to see her mom in a pair of black yoga pants and a tight-fitting black workout top. She had probably worked out in her bedroom, something she did when she was too busy to get to the gym.
“Hi, Mom,” Natalie said sleepily.
She and the others had rolled out their sleeping bags after Dying Too Young (luckily, the cute doctor had saved the mom’s life and then they had gotten married). They must have dozed off during their next movie. It was a silly comedy titled Summer Secrets, directed by Natalie’s dad’s friend, Haley Schricker.
“I’ve got fresh croissants and muffins heated and waiting,” her mother said. “And hot chocolate.”
“You know how to tempt a kid,” Natalie told her. She sat up and yawned. “But I’m still half-asleep!”
Jenna, Grace, and Alyssa were also slowly waking, stretching and murmuring good morning to each other. Although the scene was very different from the post-bugle call rush of their bunk, it reminded Natalie of their mornings at Camp Lakeview. It gave her a comfortable feeling, reminding her that these girls were old friends of hers.
Plus, they had done an awesome job cleaning up the pizza disaster. There was no stain on the thick gray carpet!
“I need to go into the gallery for a while,”Natalie’s mom told her. “I’ll take you to the spa on my way, but you’re going to have to hurry to make it on time. Then you guys can relax and enjoy all your beauty treatments.”
It was a lucky thing there were three full bathrooms in the apartment—one in Natalie’s mom’s suite; one in Natalie’s room; and the guest bathroom. Since Natalie’s mom had to get ready for her day, too, that left two bathrooms for four girls. What a luxury compared to the single bathroom at camp!
But everyone seemed to be out of practice with hurrying. Despite her efforts to be patient, Natalie was almost pacing by the time it was her turn to take a shower. Then after that, she had to blow-dry her hair and do her makeup.
All four of them devoured the buttery, flaky croissants and muffins loaded with blueberries and walnuts. No one ate the cold pizza. Natalie drank down her sweet, warm hot chocolate in four gulps.
As they finished up and carried their plates into the kitchen, Natalie relaxed a little. Even if they were a teeny bit late, the next three hours were fully planned. Everyone was sure to have fun at an exclusive New York spa!
They took the car to the spa. Natalie’s mom accompanied them. As Noah pulled the car over, Natalie’s mom called Skye, the spa receptionist, on her cell phone.
“Okay, they’re on their way,” she told Skye. She hung up and gave Natalie a kiss as the girls piled out of the car.
They went inside the building and into a brass elevator.
“Take a last look at the old us!” Grace said as she stuck out her tongue at herself in the reflective surface.
They zoomed to one of the highest floors, and the elevator opened. Ahead stood the frosted glass double door of the spa.
Natalie led the way. Skye greeted them, rising from behind her oval glass desk. She was wearing a white gauze tunic and flowing jade green skirt. Her hair was gathered back in a sloppy bun and she wore hardly any makeup. Her skin glowed.
There was a simple stone wall behind her desk. A sheet of water flowed gently over it. Soft flute music played softly in the background.
“It’s so nice to see you, Natalie,” she said, as Natalie introduced each of her friends. “Welcome to our spa.”
She handed each girl a little booklet outlining all the beauty treatments the spa provided. Natalie had seen it before, of course, and she had already planned out what she was going to have: a manicure, a pedicure, and a facial.
“Oh,” Jenna said slowly, turning the pages. “There sure is a lot to pick from.”
“I’ll say,” Grace agreed, scratching her head. She looked at Skye. “What do you recommend?”
“Well, it depends on what you’d like to get out of your session. Some of our clients come to relax. Others come to have makeup applied, or to get a haircut.”
One of the spa employees, a young woman with short, spiky hair, appeared from behind the stone wall with a flat stone-colored tray. There were four handleless cups and a plate of flat orange discs.
“Please
refresh yourselves with some herbal tea and dried mango,” Skye invited them.
“Dried mango?” Grace asked, looking hesitant.
“Thank you.” Alyssa took a cup of tea and a piece of mango. She bit into the mango. “Oh, this is great,” she enthused.
Jenna and Grace picked up teacups and pieces of mango. Natalie took the last teacup. She glanced up at the clock. Because they were late, they were already almost fifteen minutes into their three-hour booking. She started to feel nervous.
“You guys, you need to decide what you’re going to have done,” she said.
“Okay, okay,” Grace said, drinking down her tea.
“What I would recommend for you is a nice spa manicure and a pedicure,” Skye told Grace. “And perhaps a hot oil treatment for your hair.”
“My hair?” Grace frowned and touched her crazy mass of curls. “Is there something wrong with it?”
“No, of course not,” Skye said easily. “It’s beautiful. The hot oil treatment is simply to pamper it.”
“Oh.” Grace exhaled, looking a little happier. “Okay, that sounds fun.”
Jenna said, “I’d like to get a French manicure and pedicure. I’d like to get flowers painted on my nails, too.”
“Fingers and toes? We can do that. We can use little jewels for the centers of the flowers,” Skye told her.
“Cool!” Jenna cried.
“Can I get my hair cut?” Alyssa asked.
“Ah, a brave one,” Skye said approvingly. She cocked her head and studied Alyssa, as if seeing her in a brand-new look.
“Brave? A haircut is nothing for this wild child,” Jenna scoffed. “You should have seen what she did to her hair last summer.”
Everyone giggled at the memory of Alyssa’s dye job—instead of the cool red tint she had been aiming for, she had wound up looking like Ronald McDonald. But Alyssa had figured out a way to make that fashion disaster seem cool.
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