by Ana Huang
“How is it my fault when you’re the one who has a deathly fear of tree parts?”
“That’s not what I meant. I—“
“Excuse me, can I help you?” Mr. Martin’s voice stopped me.
I looked up and saw a skinny boy holding a brown paper bag in his hand. “I have a delivery for…” He looked down at the receipt. “Maya Lindberg?”
Mr. Martin frowned at me. “What’s this, Maya?”
“Um…uh…” I had absolutely no idea. “It’s—“
“Here you go,” the boy said, dropping the bag on my desk once he saw me respond. He left without another word.
Unable to help my curiosity, I peeked into the bag, my eyes widening when I saw a sushi combo box, a bowl of miso soup, and a bottle of water. My stomach growled again, even louder this time.
“Maya missed lunch today and I just ordered in something for her to eat,” Parker explained to the class as a whole, and to get Mr. Martin off my back.
Of course, it worked.
“You didn’t really order this, did you?” I whispered, pulling out the sushi box. It was terribly rude to eat in class, but I couldn’t help it. I was just so hungry.
“If I say yes, will it get me laid? Ow!” He winced in pain as I stomped on his foot.
Mr. Martin shot us a scandalized look but didn’t say anything.
“There’s your answer,” I replied sweetly, bringing a dragon roll up to my mouth. My eyes nearly crossed at the heavenly goodness. Oh my god, this was…this was unbelievable. I’ve never tasted anything so good in my entire life! I eagerly scarfed down another roll as Parker plucked something out of the bag.
“Oh, hey, there’s a note.”
I stopped. “Really?” I snatched the note from him and opened it.
Maya,
Check the bottom of the bag. It’s to make up for the Almond Joy.
~Carlo
I blinked in surprise, touched. Carlo had sent me the food?
Although I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Who else could've done it?
Curious, I reached in the bottom of the bag and pulled out…a Twix. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Parker asked, obviously baffled as to what could be so hilarious about a chocolate bar.
“Nothing,” I chuckled, feeling…well, I wasn’t sure what I was feeling. But this was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me.
Today was just turning out to be a day of surprises.
* * *
“Where are you taking me?” I asked suspiciously, as Parker wound his Lamborghini down a road I’ve never been down before.
“Relax, honeybee, you can trust me,” he answered cheerfully.
“You’re a girl. You’ll love it.”
“Honeybee?” I was appalled. “You can’t come up with a better nickname than that? Actually, can you just not call me by any nickname? It’s weird.” I perked up as a thought hit me. “Are you taking me to a spa?”
“Nope.” Parker smiled slyly. “Of course, if you really want, I can give you a personal massage…”
I was about to whack his arm when I decided that wasn’t the best idea, considering he was maneuvering this deathmobile of his at ninety miles per hour. “Sorry, but that’s a privilege only my real boyfriend gets to have, perv,” I said cheerily.
“Ouch, that hurt.” Parker pouted. “See, that’s why I call you honeybee. You look sweet as honey but you sting like a bee.”
I snorted. “How clever of you, Ricky Martin. Seriously, though, where are you taking me? I need to be back in time for dinner.”
“No you don’t. I already called your mom and told her you’ll be with me.”
My jaw dropped. “What? You can’t just—just go around, calling other people’s families!” I spluttered. “Besides, I have homework!”
“You’re such a nerd,” Parker complained. “Stop stressing. It’ll be fun. Besides, it won’t take that long.” He paused. “Actually, knowing Adri, it’ll take very long.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, disgruntled. “What will be fun.?”
Parker came to a stop and pointed at something out the window. I followed his gaze and gasped when I saw the gleaming private jet idling on the tarmac we were currently parked by. “That will be.”
“A jet?” I couldn’t help but be awed at the sight. This was the first time I’ve ever seen a private jet in real life. “Why do we need a jet?”
Parker turned off the engine. “Homecoming’s coming up and Adri decided it’s time to find an outfit,” he explained. “And since you’re my girlfriend now, you can’t exactly go to homecoming in any old dress from the mall.”
I stared at him warily. “So where are we going?”
“Relax.” He ruffled my hair. “We’re just taking a short trip to New York.”
CHAPTER 11
“You look like a pumpkin.”
This came from Zack, who was lying on the velvet bench with his head hanging off the side, and who had managed to stop playing Clash of Clans on his phone long enough to throw his ever-so-astute observation at his sister.
Adriana rolled her eyes. “Thanks, it’s nice to know I have such a supportive brother,” she replied sarcastically.
She frowned in the mirror. The pale orange Lanvin dress did make her look a bit like a pumpkin. Albeit a skinny one.
“Well, I happen to think you look like a beautiful pumpkin,” Parker told her, stifling a smile.
Adriana sighed in annoyance. “How sweet of you, Parker, really, but you should save those kind words for your girlfriend.”
“Are you saying I look like a pumpkin?” Maya asked, raising her eyebrows as she turned to examine her backside in the Givenchy dress she was currently clad in.
“Of course not, honeybee, you look like a work of art,” Parker assured her.
“Literally.” This time, it was from a cranky-looking Roman, who looked more than a little pissed that he’d just spent the last two hours following Adriana and Maya from Bergdorf’s to Bendel’s and then finally to Barneys. His gaze swept over Maya’s black-and-white frock. “You look like that modern art shit my father hangs up in his office.”
“Roman!” Adriana snapped. God, what was she going to do with him?
“What?” Roman shrugged. “It’s true.”
Luckily, Maya didn’t seem at all fazed. “Well, at least I’m not in a yellow Mickey Mouse shirt that makes me look like a demented banana who just escaped from Disney World,” she replied sweetly.
Roman immediately turned a bright red and slumped sulkily down in his chair, but he didn’t say anything else--a fact that didn’t escape Adriana’s notice.
“Huh?” Zack looked confused. He glanced at Roman’s shirt. “But he’s not wearing a yellow shirt.”
“Oh, you know, I was just being hypothetical,” Maya said blithely.
“Oh.” Zack’s brow creased. “Girls are weird,” he muttered.
“Excuse me, Miss Perry, but here are the dresses you requested.” Tracy, one of Adriana’s favorite saleswomen at Barneys, walked in, carrying an armful of designer silk.
“Thank you, Tracy. You can just hang it up right there.”
Tracy nodded, hanging the dresses on the rolling rack she’d brought in specifically for Adriana and Maya before discreetly exiting.
Adriana flipped through the dresses, until she found the one she was looking for. “Aha!” She pulled out the Fendi piece triumphantly. “You should try this on,” she encouraged Maya. “It’ll look amazing with your coloring.”
“Really?” Maya took the dress doubtfully. “I guess…what are you going to wear?”
“Oh, I already know which dress I’m going to wear to homecoming,” Adriana said airily, holding up the purple satin Proenza Schouler in question. “I was just shopping for some other clothes to add to my collection. Go ahead, though, try yours on!”
Maya fiddled with the price tag of the beautiful silk chiffon dress. Suddenly her eyes widened. �
�Adriana! This is…this is almost three thousand dollars,” she exclaimed hoarsely.
Adriana was a bit confused. “Yeah. It’s Fendi.”
“It’s three thousand dollars? That’s kinda cheap,” Zack commented, going back to his game. “Adriana’s dresses usually run in the five thousand range.”
Maya shook her head frantically. “I can’t afford this,” she protested. “The most I can spend today is five hundred, and that’s already stretching it.” She bit her lip, looking embarrassed.
Adriana was appalled. “Five hundred dollars? Sweetie, that’s for a pair of sunglasses, not a homecoming dress!” She guided Maya to a dressing room. “Look, just consider it a gift from me.”
“I can’t take such an extravagant gift!” Maya sounded horrified.
“It’s not extravagant at all,” Adriana insisted. She lowered her voice. “Trust me, watching you rip Roman a new one was worth at least what this dress costs.”
Maya snickered a bit. “Well…I don’t know…”
“Just take it or I’m going to be personally offended.” Adriana crossed her arms over her chest.
“Gee, how can I say no now? You’re so persuasive,” Maya joked as she reluctantly entered the dressing room. "I'm only trying this on though. I probably won't get it."
Adriana smiled. If her instinct was right—and it usually was—Maya was going to kill in that dress, so much so that she would have to get it.
“Good. Now my eyes can stop bleeding.” Roman’s tone was caustic.
Adriana was about to scold him again but Carlo beat her to the punch. “Rome, give it a rest,” the Colombian warned.
“Yeah, you need to lay off my girlfriend,” Parker added, a bit belatedly in Adriana’s opinion.
Roman glared at them. “Oh, so now you’re choosing that girl over me?”
“Excuse me, but ‘that girl’ is still in the room; hence, she can still hear everything you say,” Maya snapped, stepping out.
The room fell silent.
She blinked. “What? Do I look that bad?” she asked nervously.
Adriana herself was a bit stunned, which was no small feat. “Bad?” she echoed. “Maya, you look freakin’ gorgeous!”
And she did. The dress’ soft cream color stood out in stark contrast next to Maya’s tanned skin and glossy dark hair. The bodice was fitted and showed off her smooth shoulders, but the skirt fell in soft folds to just above her knees. The gold band encircling the waist gave the entire outfit a Greek-goddess feel.
“Really? It’s not too…I don’t know, it’s not too much?” Maya examined herself in the mirror.
“Of course not! Right?” Adriana asked the boys pointedly.
The four of them just stared at Maya like they were in a trance, even the usually composed Carlo.
Even Roman, Adriana thought, rather wickedly.
“Uh, right.” Parker snapped out of it first, a mischievous smile spreading over his face as he wrapped his arms around Maya’s waist. “Man, I’m so lucky to have such a hot girlfriend.”
Adriana smirked when she saw Maya wriggle a bit.
Anyone less dense than Roman and her brother could tell Maya and Parker weren’t really dating.
Thankfully, though, most people in Valesca weren’t that observant, which suited Adriana just fine.
She had her own plans for Maya.
* * *
“Ugh! Why do girls shop so much?” Zack complained, throwing two armfuls of shopping bags from almost every store on Fifth and Madison Avenues into the booth. “Who invented shopping anyway? It’s like torture.”
“Well, you didn’t have to come with us,” Adriana pointed out, looking unconcerned. “You could’ve just stayed home.”
Zack snorted. “Right. Valesca versus New York. Gee, I wonder which one is more exciting? Although I probably should’ve stayed home. At least I could’ve played Halo,” he muttered.
I just laughed. The Perrys’ relationship was just too funny. I stared happily out the window. It felt so good to be away from Valesca, even if I did have to be here with the Scions. They really weren’t that bad, though. Well, except for Roman.
“Hey, I never got a chance to thank you for the lunch, by the way,” I murmured to Carlo, as he slipped a seat next to me. For some reason, I didn’t want the others to know what he’d done.
“It’s no big deal,” Carlo answered, smiling a bit. "I had to make up for that horrific Almond Joy experience somehow."
I nodded slowly. "True, that was a pretty horrific experience," I agreed laughingly, before turning back to the others, who were still on the topic of shopping. More specifically, they were talking about boys and shopping.
“…just because I understand girls doesn’t mean I necessarily enjoy shopping, at least not for myself,” Parker was insisting. “I’m not metropolitan, you know.”
Adriana eyed him dubiously. “I don’t think that’s the right word.”
“Isn’t it cosmopolitan?” Roman sounded bored.
“No, that’s a drink.”
“Isn’t it neapolitan?” Zack tried.
Adriana rolled her eyes. “That’s an ice cream flavor.”
This time, I rolled my eyes. “Metrosexual. It’s metrosexual, people,” I cried, throwing up my hands. “And this is what Valesca charges a hundred thousand dollars a year in tuition for?”
“No, they charge that money so they can switch the chandeliers from Swarovski to Baccarat,” Adriana corrected me.
“It’s good to see my money’s being put to good use,” I huffed.
“I thought you were on scholarship,” Parker pointed out.
“That’s not the point.”
I fished through my bag for my phone as a waitress came over to take our drink orders. After all that shopping, everyone had agreed to stop for some refreshments before heading to some restaurant named Masa for a sushi dinner.
“Oh, no!” I exclaimed.
“What’s wrong?” everyone asked at the same time.
“I think I left my phone in Barneys.” My face fell as I scrambled to get out of the booth. “I gotta go get it! My mom will kill me if I need to get another phone again.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Parker asked, playing the role of concerned boyfriend perfectly.
I shook my head. “No, it’s fine.” I was already halfway out the door. “I’ll be right back!” I called over my shoulder.
I nearly ran down the street back to Barneys, glad I was inNew York so I didn’t have to feel too bad about knocking into people.
When I arrived at the dressing room, I was relieved to see Tracy was still there.
She looked surprised to see me. “Hello again, Miss Lindberg,” she greeted me politely. “Can I help you? Is there something wrong with your purchases?” She sounded worried, obviously thinking about her commission.
I shook my head. “No, but did you find a phone by any chance? I think I might’ve left mine here.”
“Oh, well…” Tracy glanced at the closed dressing room door. “A gentleman went in right after you left. In fact, he’s in there now, so after he leaves, perhaps you can check.”
I nodded a bit impatiently. “Ok, thanks.” If that “gentleman” steals my phone, I’m going to kick his butt, I thought, a bit appalled at how violent I was becoming.
Stupid Roman Fiori. This was all his fault.
Ok, so it wasn’t directly his fault that I forgot my phone, but he makes a convenient scapegoat.
A few minutes later, the dressing room door swung open, and a tall, sandy-haired guy walked out.
My jaw dropped in shock. “James?”
He looked up, his eyes lighting up when he saw me. “Maya!” he exclaimed happily. “What a coincidence!”
“What—what are you doing here?” I stammered. I hadn’t spoken to him since the first time Roman “kidnapped” me and caused me to break my phone.
James shrugged, holding up a black suit. “I have an interview for an internship coming up, and I needed
to get some business clothes,” he explained. “What about you? You don’t really strike me as the type of girl who shops at Barneys. And I mean that in the best way possible,” he added hastily.
“Oh, uh, I was just here to check out some homecoming dresses,” I replied. “But I think I may have left my phone here…”
