The Ashley Project

by Melissa de la Cruz

  After that morning’s incident, she decided to change tactics. She’d been such a dummy. Of course her Extreme Makeover wouldn’t be enough to entice the Ashleys to become her friend. And she had to befriend them first, otherwise how would she ever learn how to take them down? So it was time for a more direct approach: Operation Kiss-Up.

  Trudy rang the bell again just as the Spencers’ butler, a white-haired gentleman in a crisp morning suit, opened the door with a polite nod.

  “Good afternoon,” he greeted them. “May I take your coats and contribution?”

  Lauren took off her brand-new fur-trimmed Chloé windbreaker, while Trudy handed over her hot pink Burberry trench. The mother-daughter welcome back tea had been instituted just last year at Miss Gamble’s, and some well-meaning souls on the Mothers Committee had decided that it would be potluck. The idea was to make the tea more democratic, since it was more than obvious that any of the Miss Gamble’s parents could easily have provided a four-course spread on their own, complete with cater-waiters and valet parking.

  As it was, whoever hosted the tea provided the catered spread anyway, and the potluck aspect merely served to highlight the vast chasm between the scholarship students and the legacy kids.

  Last year Trudy had brought homemade picnic sandwiches to the tea at Ashley Li’s house and, to their supreme embarrassment, discovered that a Miss Gamble’s potluck meant that everyone had brought miniature French pastries and tea sandwiches from chic Nob Hill gourmet shops. Lauren had been utterly devastated upon encountering the tiny squares of smoked salmon and minute cucumber wedges. They never did find out what happened to those four sad turkey sandwiches, and the two of them had never discussed it.

  This time, instead of handing over a sagging brown bag, Trudy proudly gestured to a portly Englishman wearing chef’s whites who followed behind them. “This is Graham,” she said. “Can you show him and his staff the kitchen, please?”

  The chef and his crew lugged overstuffed grocery bags bearing the logo of the city’s premier gourmet grocery, as well as a towering structure that was a scale-size replica of the school’s main building. To compensate for last year’s faux pas, Trudy had flown in a private chef from one of London’s best restaurants to concoct authentic and delicious English treats. And just in case that wasn’t impressive enough, she’d thrown in a massive chocolate fountain based on the school’s architecture as well.

  To Lauren’s mother’s disappointment, the Spencers’ butler didn’t look at all surprised and ushered the Pages into the sunroom and Graham and his workers to the kitchen without comment.

  Lauren had never been in Ashley Spencer’s house before, and she looked around eagerly, as if the sun-dappled walls would provide a clue as to how to make Ashley like her more. They walked past the marble entryway into the light-filled great room with a CinemaScope view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the blue waters of San Francisco Bay.

  Last year the two of them had been intimidated by the Li family’s lavish home, but this time they hardly blinked at seeing the Picasso hanging above the grand piano. After all, they now owned two of the great master’s works themselves. However, Lauren couldn’t help but notice that the Spencers’ view of the bridge was just a little nicer than theirs.

  “Trudy! Lauren! Welcome!” Matilda Spencer said, graciously receiving them with her customary warmth. Ashley’s mom was dressed in a simple linen sheath, a lustrous pearl necklace as her only accessory. She looked stunning.

  Lauren could never understand how Ashley could be so mean when her mom was just so nice. She probably didn’t even realize that her daughter was a beast from hell.

  “Ashley, come say hi to our guests,” called Matilda.

  The three of them waited patiently for Ashley to say hello. When she finally made her way to her mother’s side, Lauren’s only thought was, Oh, no.

  Ashley was wearing the same exact bib-front Chloé dress and ankle-strap platforms.

  Lauren watched Ashley’s expression change from indifference to horror upon seeing her. She was sure Ashley’s head would explode.

  Thinking fast, before Ashley could say anything, Lauren gave her a big, bone-crushing hug. “Cute outfit, Ashley! I wish I looked as good as you do in it! I know it’s all wrong for me, but it looks killer on you.”

  “Really?” Ashley asked, pinking. Her shoulders relaxed. “It looks cute on you, too,” she said graciously.

  Lauren exhaled. Okay. If Ashley Spencer was this easy to please, maybe there was still hope.

  6

  DON’T MESS WITH THE QUEEN OF PARLOR GAMES

  COULD LIFE BE EVEN MORE unfair? this was not how it was supposed to go down. You’d think that after the welcome splat they’d given her that morning, this Lauren chick would get the message. So what if her dad had become some kind of Internet gazillionaire like everyone in class was saying? And okay, so maybe Lauren was now really pretty. Even Ashley had to grudgingly admit that the girl was like some sort of Jennifer Lawrence clone.

  But c’mon, this was Lauren Page they were talking about—in kindergarten the Ashleys had made her eat mud! Every day! Until Lauren’s mom had finally complained to the school that her daughter was coming home with strange stomach pains, and they had to stop. Things just didn’t change around Miss Gamble’s. There were those on top and those at the bottom, and that was how it was. Everyone knew their place. Otherwise the whole system could come crashing down.

  And now this!

  The back-to-school tea was supposed to be all about debuting her new look. She’d picked out the Chloé dress especially for its unique design, and to see Lauren wearing it was, like, more than blasphemous. Her thunder was totally stolen.

  Ashley stood with a huge fake smile plastered to her face as her mother made nice with Lauren’s scary mom. Someone should tell that lady that zebra print, leopard print, and paisley should never, ever be worn all at the same time. When Matilda finally led Lauren’s mom away, Ashley abruptly turned on her heel and walked quickly back to her friends. She made it clear that she didn’t expect Lauren to follow her, but Lauren kept up anyway, matching her stride for stride.

  The Ashleys were seated in a prime spot by the window. Lili was sipping carefully from her teacup, while A. A. was playing with Princess Dahlia von Fluffsterhaus, Ashley’s labradoodle puppy. They both looked up when they saw Ashley and Lauren.

  Lili gasped. “Twins!” she squealed, beginning to laugh. But she quickly cupped her hand over her mouth when she saw the death-ray look on Ashley’s face.

  “I know. We’re, like, separated at birth!” Lauren joked, brazenly taking a seat next to A. A. on the floor as if she had always been in their inner circle.

  “If only.” Ashley smiled thinly, knowing she would have to continue to pretend that the whole debacle didn’t bother her in the least, although now that she was pretending to be so chummy, it looked like they had planned to wear the same clothes on purpose. As if they were friends or something. Hello.

  “Cute puppy! Can I hold him?” asked Lauren, looking nervous.

  A. A. looked at Ashley, who shrugged. Let Lauren play with Princess Dahlia. Maybe if she was lucky Princess Dahlia would bite her.

  Ashley knew that the other girls at the tea were beginning to notice that Lauren was seated with them. Now everyone would think that the Ashleys liked Lauren, when nothing could be further from the truth.

  She licked her teaspoon and watched Lauren laugh with A. A. while they played with the puppy. This had to stop. She could smell an interloper a mile away. In fourth grade, Kennedy Taylor had tried the same thing—to join the Ashleys. She had the complete set of Bratz dolls and thought that was all it took.

  But if anyone could be an Ashley, then what was the point of being an Ashley? Kennedy had to transfer schools after the Ashleys were through with her.

  Somehow Ashley got the feeling Lauren wouldn’t be so easy to get rid of. She would have to take the matter in hand immediately.

  “I’m bored!” Ashley ann
ounced, putting down her teacup with a clatter on the coffee table. She bit her cuticle and looked around the pale paneled room, with its fluted columns and crystal vases filled with abundant bouquets. Some big fat guy in chef’s whites was passing out a tray of hors d’oeuvres to the oohs and aahs of the assembled guests. Her mother was still greeting new arrivals by the entrance, playing with the string of pearls around her neck and trying to look interested in what Suki Atwater-Smith’s mother had to say.

  “I call Truth or Dare,” she finally decided. “Who’s in?”

  A. A. and Lili perked up, while Lauren looked slightly anxious. Good.

  She decided to start off slowly. “Lili.”

  “Dare,” said Lili, tossing her glossy curls over one shoulder and looking game for anything Ashley had in mind.

  “I dare you to kiss Princess Dahlia on the lips,” Ashley said with a grin, knowing that Lili wasn’t too fond of animals.

  Lili rolled her eyes, scrunched up her face, and gave the puppy a quick smack on the lips. “Done,” she said. She daintily wiped her lips with a Kleenex. “Puppy cooties, eww.”

  “Princess Dahlia is cleaner than you!” Ashley retorted, picking up the dog and kissing her on the lips as well. “Pick your victim.”

  Lili pointed a breadstick in A. A.’s direction, but put it down before eating it. “A. A. What’ll it be?”

  “Truth,” A. A. said cheerfully.

  “Do you stuff your bra?” Lili asked quickly, so it was obvious it was a question she’d been meaning to ask A. A. for some time now.

  Ashley snorted. “Lil, that’s so lame. We all know A. A. is rolling Cs,” she said, noticing A. A. hug herself tightly so no one could look at her chest. “Do-over,” she ordered.

  “Fine,” Lili huffed. “Truth again?”

  A. A. mulled it over. “I’ll take a dare this time,” she mumbled.

  Ashley whispered in Lili’s ear, and when she pulled away Lili had a slightly mocking smile on her face. “I dare you to text your boyfriend you love him,” she said. All the while, Ashley noticed that Lauren was hunched over her teacup, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

  “Do I have to?” groaned A. A.

  “You know the rules,” Ashley reminded her gleefully.

  A. A. sighed, took out her phone, and began to type. “Okaaaay. God, I hope he doesn’t think I’m some kind of stalker!” she said, putting away her iPhone.

  She turned to Ashley. “Your turn!”

  “Dare,” Ashley said, knowing that A. A. thought up the least exciting dares. Sure enough, A. A. came through. “I dare you to yell ‘Miss Gamble’s sucks!’ right now,” A. A. ordered.

  “Easy,” Ashley mocked. “Watch this.” She threw her head back and yelled, “MISS GAMBLE’S SUCKS!” to the surprise of the room. Spoons clattered to the floor. Her mother shot her a look, but she shrugged it off.

  “Done,” she said. “Now it’s my turn to choose.” Ashley looked intently at the three girls. She loved this part—the anticipation on her friends’ faces, the barely disguised anxiety on Lauren’s. Ashley prided herself on thinking up the most revealing questions and the most impossible dares. Last time they’d played, Lili had to walk around at the mall with her skirt tucked into her underwear and toilet paper hanging out, and A. A. had to moon a bus filled with Gregory Hall boys. A picture of A. A.’s butt was still floating around in cyberspace.

  “Lauren,” she finally decided, zeroing in on the intruder in their midst. “Truth or dare?”

  “Dare?” Lauren asked tentatively, with a nervous smile frozen on her face.

  “Good choice.” Ashley got up and walked through the room, pausing to smile at a few mothers on her way out of the party.

  “Uh, bye,” said A. A. as she looked at Lili. “Totally random.”

  Ashley smiled to herself. If Lauren thought her dare would be as easy as kissing a dog, she had another thing coming. And then she was back, holding out her hand to Lauren. On her palm were a few dark clumps. “I dare you to drop these into the chocolate fountain,” she said.

  “What? Why?” asked Lauren, giggling nervously.

  “Because I dared you, duh,” Ashley snapped.

  “What are they?” Lauren asked.

  “Poisonous mushrooms grounded up. I’ve been saving them for a special occasion. Oh, don’t look at me like that, A. A. They’re not going to kill anyone. These are pretty benign. All they’ll do is make a few people throw up.”

  “C’mon it’ll be funny,” Lili cooed.

  “No, it won’t,” muttered Lauren, picking up the puppy and holding her so close that they couldn’t see her face.

  “You could call a double dare,” put in A. A. helpfully. “But I wouldn’t, since Ashley’s double dares are even worse than her dares. And if you take a ‘Promise to Repeat,’ you can postpone it, but then you’d have to do it twice in the future.”

  “Either way, you’re just making it worse, really,” Lili pointed out.

  “And if you forfeit a dare, you have to do whatever we tell you for a whole week. Those are the rules,” Ashley declared. “And we all have tons of homework, don’t we, girls?”

  “Tons.” A. A. nodded. Ashley wasn’t kidding. Miss Gamble’s was one of the top academic institutions in the city, and everyone obsessed over ISEE scores, which were mandatory for prep school admission.

  “Gee, and it would be nice if someone could get us lunch from Gino’s Deli every day too. I’m so tired of brown-bagging,” Lili agreed.

  “You don’t want to have to fetch our lunch every day, do you, Lauren?” asked Ashley sweetly.

  Lauren paled. She put the dog down, snatched the mushrooms from Ashley’s hand, and slowly walked over to the chocolate fountain.

  Ashley watched her go with satisfaction. No one ever dared turn down a dare. After Lauren put the mushrooms in, she would make her eat some chocolate from the fountain. This was even more fun than kindergarten.

  7

  SO THIS IS HOW RUMORS GET STARTED

  WHILE LAUREN WENT TO SABOTAGE her mother’s precious chocolate fountain, Ashley motioned to her friends to put their heads together. It was decision time, Lili knew. She had been wondering how long Ashley would let that charade last. Poor Lauren, why did she even try? Ashley never made new friends. She was like a barracuda. All teeth.

  “She seems okay,” A. A. ventured, cuddling Princess Dahlia. A. A. said that about everybody.

  “A. A., have you lost your mind? She’s a total zero. She’ll always be a total zero,” Ashley said vehemently, stretching forward so her elbows were balanced on her knees.

  “She’s a zero who’s wearing your dress,” Lili reminded her, taking a strawberry tart from the three-tiered dessert tray on the coffee table, then putting it down, untouched, on her plate after noticing that neither of her friends was eating anything. Her stomach grumbled, but she’d have to wait to eat till she got home.

  “Shut up,” said Ashley, annoyed. She looked to the other side of the room and watched intently as Lauren slipped the mushroom dust into the molten chocolate pool.

  “Don’t tell me to shut up!” Lili complained.

  “Shut up!” Ashley yelled again. She was so impossible sometimes, Lili thought, although she was temporarily mollified when Ashley gave her a playful swat on the arm to show she was kidding. Ashley motioned the other girls to move closer so they wouldn’t be overheard, but before she could lay down her verdict, Sheridan Riley came over to say hello.

  Lili didn’t like Sheridan Riley very much. Even though Sheridan was an SOA, Lili had no patience for Sheridan’s crew. They blatantly worshipped the Ashleys and wanted nothing more than to be like them. Unfortunately, Sheridan had too-short bangs and a tendency to spit when she talked. Plus, her name was Sheridan. And on parents’ days her mom and dad wore matching Burberry outfits.

  “Hey, guys. Did I just see you hanging out with Lauren Page?” Sheridan asked, getting immediately to the point.

  “Yeah, we have to be nice
to her. She’s had such a hard life,” Ashley said, her voice dripping with concern. She pulled out a pot of lip balm from her bag and began to apply a thick smear on her lips. “Medex?” she offered.

  “Really?” Sheridan asked, slouching down to sit on the window bench next to Lili while she reached over and stuck her finger right into the center, making a huge dent in the wax. Lili saw Ashley grimace. You were supposed to dab lightly.

  “I heard the total opposite. Her dad is, like, the head of YourTV.com and they’re worth, like, billions. Plus, I heard Lauren’s going to have her own reality series on TeenNick,” Sheridan told them as she carefully applied the balm to her chapped lips.

  Lili recoiled, and she could see her friends chafe at that revelation as well. Lauren Page, television star? Now that was a blow. Usually only the Ashleys were the subjects of such celebrated gossip. Lauren’s makeover was way more successful than they had given her credit for. Lili wondered what Ashley would do about it and wasn’t surprised when Ashley motioned Sheridan closer.

  “Keep it,” Ashley said, waving away the lip balm Sheridan held out. “Now, I don’t like to say stuff about people, but I heard something about Lauren’s family,” she said, in her most self-righteous voice. Lili was always impressed at how Ashley was able to preface her catty comments with a goody-goody disclaimer so that she wouldn’t look too snotty, and somehow, it always worked.

  Sheridan looked eagerly at Ashley, waiting to hear whatever rumor she might be about to reveal.

  “You’re not going to tell anybody, right?” Ashley asked.

  Sheridan shook her head and made an X sign above her chest. The girl lived to spread dirt on everyone.

  Ashley sighed as if it broke her heart to disclose what she was about to say. She motioned the girls even closer. “It’s all Mafia money.” She looked at Lili and A. A. to back her up, and both girls nodded in agreement.