Birthday Vicious

by Melissa de la Cruz

  "Max!" She scrambled after him, but he had already disappeared into the crowd in the lobby. The only guy she could see was her father, looking for her in the powder-room line.

  "Would someone mind letting my daughter cut in, just to wash her hands?" he was asking, and Daria Hart, who was next in line, started waving and smiling at Lili. She probably

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  thought this meant they'd be besties on Monday. As if!

  Lili couldn't even manage a grateful smile. She slipped into the powder room and rinsed the congealing cake off her hands in the tiled Moroccan sink. Her hands were shaking so badly it was hard to get soap on them.

  Max hated her. He never wanted to see her again.

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  32 ROMEO AND JULIET DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ON THESE TWO

  Y ES!" TRI THREW DOWN HIS CONTROL STICK I in triumph and rocked back on the leather sofa. He'd I beaten A.A. in Black Dragon. In fact, he'd beaten everyone--the other two Gregory Hall boys who'd managed to sneak into the den were his first opponents, because A.A. had been slow joining the secret party. She'd been dancing with the other Ashleys in their VIP area, even though it was difficult to dance to burlesque rockabilly when you were wearing a tight dress.

  And though the VIP area was a cool idea, in reality it wasn't so much fun. Ashley danced facing the rest of the room, preoccupied with spotting the mysterious Cooper. Lauren was so busy fluttering little waves at Christian that she kept flubbing the choreographed steps--plus, without any shoes she looked kind of weird.

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  Lili had run in whispering something about "cake" and "disaster" as well as "Max,"

  "break up," and "life over." Ashley soon left to deal with the cake crisis, Lili looked depressed and didn't want to talk, and Lauren and Christian were in their own world, so A.A. had headed straight to the den, as promised, with a stack of soda cans and a handful of red-and-white-striped straws.

  She'd played a couple of rounds, and then there was a huge commotion from the party and the other guys went to check out what was happening--probably just Ashley getting her birthday gift in the front yard.

  That left just two of them in the den--A.A. and Tri. She gurgled the last of her soda and told Tri she didn't feel like playing another game.

  The whole evening felt really flat. She didn't even care about getting beaten by Tri--she wasn't making much effort, so it really didn't count. He seemed to sense her strange mood.

  "What's up?" he asked, tapping her on the arm with his soda can.

  "Nothing." She shrugged. She didn't have the energy to get up and rejoin the party. Maybe she should just call the Fairmont driver and go home. Tri sat his empty can on the coffee table and turned to face her.

  "You know the other day in the diner?" he asked her, his voice quiet and serious. "I was trying to tell you something."

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  "About breaking up with Cecily, I know." A.A. leaned her feet against the edge of the table. These shoes were killing her.

  "Yeah, but I also wanted to explain what happened with Ashley a while back."

  "Oh, that." A.A. waved her hand. She knew everything about Ashley and Tri's breakup--Ashley had told her the whole thing, every boring detail. "That's ancient history."

  "But I'm not sure you know the truth," Tri persisted.

  "What do you mean?" A.A. couldn't face listening to this sorry saga again.

  "The truth Ashley didn't want anyone to know," said Tri. He gazed down at his pants and picked at an imaginary thread.

  "Know what?" asked A.A. impatiently.

  "That the day after the ... um, the Seven party, I went to see her."

  "Yeah, I know all about that," she snapped. The last thing A.A. wanted to hear was how Tri went crawling back to Ashley on his knees, whining about how she was the only girl for him--just hours after he was kissing A.A.!

  But Tri soldiered on with his story. "So I went to see her, and I told her that I'd kissed you, and that I thought it was best if she and I broke up."

  A.A. did a double take. Say what?

  "But she asked me if I would just keep pretending to be her boyfriend for a few more days. Until that whole Preteen

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  Queen thing was over. And I know it was really lame of me to say yes, but I felt guilty about kissing you, I guess. I thought that once the Preteen Queen party was over, I could ask you out. But then you were with Hunter so I kind of got mad at you, and then things have been all weird between us ever since."

  "You told her about what happened at the Seven party?"

  "Yup." Tri nodded, hanging his head. "She asked me not to say anything to you about our ... our arrangement. I thought she didn't want to be humiliated, so I went along with it."

  A.A.'s stunned mind was swinging faster than Ashley's trapeze. This was all news to her. According to Ashley, she'd broken up with Tri, not the other way around. She never said a word about knowing Tri had kissed A.A. Could all this be true? Had Ashley really lied to her?

  "She never told me any of this." A.A. shook her head in disbelief.

  "So now you know the truth." Tri gave her a hopeful smile. "I'm not telling you all this so you'll be mad at Ashley. I was just wondering--can we forget everything that's happened this semester and, um ..." Tri blushed. "I mean, I think you know how much I like you."

  A.A. glanced over at him. Tri's face was red, and he looked intensely nervous. How weird: This was exactly what she'd been hoping to hear from him this evening, but now

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  that he was saying it, telling her he liked her, asking her out ... it didn't feel right. It was all just too much to process.

  On the one hand, Ashley had lied to her, so the whole time A.A. was annoyed with Tri, it was really unfair.

  On the other hand, if Tri was such a pushover, giving in to Ashley's outrageous demands even though he knew it would hurt A.A.'s feelings, what kind of guy was he?

  He must have seen how upset she was, how embarrassed she was when he never called her after they'd kissed. He did nothing, and then waited all this time to set the record straight. Was that what she wanted in a boyfriend--someone so indecisive and weak? Maybe they were better off just as friends.

  "I don't know," A.A. told him, and that was the truth. She didn't know what to think or what to do. She didn't know anything anymore.

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  33 MARIE ANTOINETTE WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD

  A SHLEY STARED, BLINKED, AND THEN STARED again. Was this really her cake? This giant squashed ball that looked like it had been picked up by a tornado, dumped somewhere in Kansas, scooped up by a digger, and then bounced cross-country back to her dining-room table?

  Was that really supposed to be her, in miniature, cut in half and waving forlornly from the top of the ball, looking as though she was being swallowed alive by a giant half-sucked piece of candy? And what were those gold strings hanging everywhere--ropes or boogers?

  "Sweetie, I don't know what happened," her mother was saying, one arm around Ashley's trembling shoulders. "I'm so sorry. We'll get you another cake next week, twice as big!

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  We'll have it sent to Miss Gamble's, so all the girls can have a slice. We'll get a cake so big it'll be included in the next Guinness Book of World Records!"

  "It's okay, Mom," Ashley said. "I think I know what to do."

  Lili had prepared her for the cake catastrophe, but Ashley had no idea it was this bad. She made up her mind quickly and walked over to the other side of the house, where the gaggle of ghouls were still laughing over their heinous breach of etiquette. Lili was right--they were a bunch of rebels without a clue. At least they had the decency to stop when they saw Ashley headed their way.

  "Lili told me about the accident," Ashley said, a tense smile on her face. "But don't worry about it. I just want to make sure you guys have a good time."

  They looked surprised at her reaction, and then one of the girls--the one with the unfortunate nose-pierce--piped up, "Yeah, this sucks. Is there anything else
to eat around here?"

  "Yeah, I'm hungry," one of the guys agreed.

  "Of course," Ashley replied smoothly. "William," she said, calling on her butler. "Can you make sure these guests get more cake? You know, the one that was specially made?"

  William raised his eyebrows, but he didn't protest. "Right this way."

  Ashley watched them follow the butler and then dig into

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  plates of the "special" cake with a smile. Revenge is sweet.

  What the horrid hangers-on didn't know was that the cake was special, all right. It was made especially for Princess Dahlia von Fluffsterhaus. They were eating dog food.

  But Ashley didn't wallow in her victory for long. Something much more tragic was happening--the fact that she was about to turn thirteen at midnight and she was still NBK!

  If only Cooper had come. Nobody else here counted. Well, that wasn't totally true--the other Ashleys counted. Of course they did. And her parents counted. They'd done everything they could to make her party a dream come true.

  "And I'm really sorry I've been so distracted lately," said her mother, when Ashley had returned from her revenge errand. Matilda kissed the top of Ashley's head. "This new baby has been quite a shock for me and your father. For you, too, I know. And you've been such a little trooper!"

  "I know," Ashley sniffed again. She really had been a trooper. Because her mother had been so out of it, all the responsibility for the party had fallen on Ashley's shoulders.

  If it weren't for her dedication, everyone here tonight would be sitting at home feeling miserable and deprived, as though their lives were without meaning. Ashley had brought them so much happiness. And all she got in return

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  was a no-show sort-of boyfriend and a trashed cake! Life was tragic, she supposed. Better get used to it now, before she was old and gray, i.e., twenty.

  "Here are my girls!" Her dad rushed into the room, looking handsome in his sharp, well-cut suit, even if the only tie he could find read: ELVIS COSTELLO US TOUR '84.

  He gathered up Ashley in his arms and squeezed her tight, crushing her. "Tildy, I think we should give Ashley her gift now, and not wait until later. To make up for this terrible cake fiasco."

  "Yes!" Matilda's blue eyes widened, and she clasped Ashley's hands. "What a lovely idea! Are you ready, darling?"

  "I guess." Ashley sighed, allowing herself to be led out of the dining room, through the lobby, and out the mansion's grand double doors. A crowd had already gathered on either side of the driveway, all cheering and clapping. But no Cooper. Why hadn't he come?

  The gates swung open, and William--still in his lion suit-- waved at her with a giant, furry paw. Then, to the oohs and aahs of the crowd, in roared a tiger-striped Vespa, driven by a guy in a black helmet.

  Just what Ashley had wanted! She clapped her hands together and jumped up and down on the spot. Even though it wasn't the biggest surprise in the world, and even though she wasn't wearing her tight calfskin leather Vespa outfit as

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  planned, she was happy. She hugged her father and gave her mother a big kiss.

  "Here you are, darling." Matilda handed her the golden Vespa helmet that the Ashleys had given her as a prebirthday gift.

  "Yay, Ashley!" cried Lili and Lauren in unison. They were both standing on the steps farther down, smiling proudly. Ashley waved to them and blew kisses, wondering why A.A. wasn't with them.

  "But before you put it on," suggested her father, "maybe you want to get your other gift from the driver?"

  Ashley scampered down the stairs, the Vespa helmet swinging from one arm. What was this other gift? A ticket to Rome, maybe? A bracelet with thirteen diamonds? A platinum Neiman Marcus card?

  "Hello," she sang, beaming her widest smile at the Vespa driver. "I've come to ask for my other gift. What is it?"

  The driver, dressed all in black, slowly pulled off his helmet. Ashley gasped.

  It was Cooper!

  But how? She looked over at her mom. "Did you have something to do with this?"

  "Maybe." Matilda smiled. "Let's just say maybe some young gentleman came over the other day to RSVP personally for your party. He said it was important that you know he was going to be there."

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  Her mom was 5000 cool. Ashley almost forgave her for having another child.

  She turned to Cooper, who suddenly looked shy.

  "Happy birthday, Ashley," he said, and leaned toward her. He was so handsome, she almost forgot to close her eyes. Her first kiss! It was even better than she'd hoped. It didn't even matter that there were a hundred people watching, or that the pesky Guinevere Parker was taking a digital picture, probably from an unflattering angle, to stick in the Miss Gamble's newspaper.

  Cooper was here, helping her onto the Vespa, telling her to buckle on her helmet and hold on tight. She wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled to herself as he turned the scooter around and drove down the driveway, off into the night.

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  34 JUST CALL LAUREN DR. FRANKENSTEIN

  B YE, ASHLEY!" LAUREN STOOD ON THE STEPS, waving, as the Vespa purred through the gates and into the street. It was kind of silly, waving good-bye to Ashley like this, when all she was going to do was turn around in five minutes and come straight back to the party. Cooper didn't look old enough to go anywhere but the end of the driveway. And anyway, the band still had another set to play. There was going to be a juggling contest at ten, and an acrobatics display at midnight. Ashley still had another two outfits to model.

  Lili was instantly dragged off by her father to get her coat and say her farewells to the Spencers. Christian, who'd been standing behind them during the Vespa-giving ceremony, had loped off to get them ice-cream cones, so Lauren sat

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  down on the broad stone steps to wait for him, hoping her shoeless feet weren't getting too dirty.

  Not that Christian would care about something like that. She was so happy they were back together. She didn't even really mind the way Sadie had moved in on Alex right away. What did it matter, right? As long as Alex was happy, and Christian was happy, and she was happy, and Sadie was ...

  Hang on. Wasn't that Sadie sitting two steps away? And who was that guy she was leaning all over, giggling in a high-pitched, affected way that Lauren had never heard before?

  It certainly wasn't Alex.

  Lauren clambered to her feet and marched straight over.

  "Sadie?" She looked from the blond bombshell to the beefy jock lolling next to her on the stairs. This was most definitely not Alex. "And sorry, your name is?"

  "Todd," slurred the guy, winking at her. OMG! He had his hand on Sadie's knee!

  "Would you excuse us for a second, Todd?" Lauren faked a smile and grabbed one of Sadie's perfectly manicured hands.

  "Hey!" she protested, but Lauren continued to tug her first to her feet and then down the stairs. The gravel of the pathway dug into Lauren's bare feet, but it was too bad. She had some important business to deal with.

  "What happened to Alex?" she hissed. Sadie pouted and rolled her eyes.

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  "He kept talking about you all the time," she whined. "I think he just wanted to come with me tonight to make you jealous. I don't really care. I dumped him five minutes ago, and it's no biggie--I already found another guy. Isn't Todd a doll?"

  She looked back over her shoulder and made smoochy sounds in Todd's direction. Yuck!

  "Who is he, anyway?" asked Lauren, almost grossed out by her behavior.

  "He was here with that ho." Sadie pointed at a girl huddled by a potted bay tree, who looked like she was about to cry. "But I stole him right from under her nose. Pretty clever, huh?"

  Lauren shook her head in despair.

  "That's just mean," she said, frowning at Sadie's triumphant grin. "I don't get you. One minute you like Alex, and the next you're all over some other guy? Some other girl's boyfriend?"

  "Don't be such a prude," Sadie snapped.
She looked down her long, thin nose at Lauren, as though Lauren wasn't good enough to polish her Saint Laurent heels. "You said it yourself, earlier tonight. I look amazing. I am amazing. You're right. I shouldn't care what people think about me. And now I don't have to. Not when I look like this. It's all about me now!"

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  Lauren didn't know what to say. Sadie might look beautiful, but the way she was acting was plain ugly.

  Lauren had groomed her to infiltrate the Ashleys, but she'd gone too far. Now Sadie was even worse than the Ashleys--mean, self-centered, fickle, and disloyal. Lauren's brilliant plan was a disaster, as spoiled as Ashley's birthday cake.

  She'd created a monster.

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  EPILOGUES

  Dear Diary,

  All's well that end well. At least between Christian and me. I like him so much, my head hurts thinking of what I put us through. He's so sweet and funny. I'm so glad it's just the two of us now. and Alex will be okay -at Ashley's party I saw him talking to same girl from Helena Academy who wasn't at all unattractive.

  I'm a bit worried about the Sodie situation, however, on Monday she showed up at school; looking très glam, when wearing knee-high boots with the uniform! You should have seen Ashley's face. She'd never thought of that. That's the very next day, Sheridan Riley, the girl who used to worship the Ashleys, turned up in the same exact pain of knee-high boots! So now Sadie and Sheridan are running around calling themselves " The S. Society " Looks like they mean to give the Ashleys a run for their money.