8:25 AM
November 14th
The next morning Alicia felt lightheaded and slightly nauseous. She declined her English muffin with raspberry jelly for two sips of apple juice. She was too nervous to eat.
“What is wrong with you?” Nadia asked as Joyce, their live-in housekeeper, scraped Alicia’s uneaten food into the garbage. “Are you anxious about Teen Vogue? You shouldn’t be. You look beautiful.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Alicia replied, knowing that she’d made the right choice by going with the camel Ralph Lauren suede cargo pants, turquoise-and-brown argyle V-necked sweater, and brown nubby Nanette Lepore blazer with the flirty turquoise flower on the lapel.
Alicia was glad she’d had the foresight to plan her outfit days in advance, because she was too stressed about Massie and the sleepover to give it the proper attention.
“I told you, I’m worried about my history quiz,” Alicia said, avoiding eye contact with her mother. “That’s why I asked Dean to take me early. I want to go over my notes one more time before class.”
She grabbed her Prada bag and headed toward the door.
“Good luck today.” Nadia kissed her daughter’s forehead.
“Thanks, I’ll need it.”
Alicia’s real plan was to get her books and hide out in math class until the first-period bell rang. She knew she couldn’t avoid Massie forever but thought it was a good idea to lay low until she could think of the best way to tell her about the sleepover. But a traffic accident slowed down the morning commute and Alicia arrived at her locker the same exact time as Massie.
“I like your outfit today,” Alicia said to Massie as Massie took off her black wool coat.
Massie adjusted the thick black leather belt so it hung perfectly around her emerald green drop-waist jersey dress. “I got it last night after school.” The dress had cap sleeves and Massie was wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt underneath, paired with matching gray tights and black wedge ankle boots.
Alicia wished they could trade outfits. Massie looked way more Teen Vogue than Alicia did. “Well, I think it looks great,” she said, aware of her own shaky voice.
“Cool.” Massie smiled, but her eyes stayed fixed.
Alicia looked away. Did Massie already know?
“Gawd,” Massie said, looking down the long hall. “Where are Kristen and Dylan with my chai latte? I would have asked them to get you one, but I thought you had a doctor’s appointment.”
Alicia crouched on the floor and pretended to search her bag for something important, her face protected by a wall of shiny black hair. “It was canceled. He had an emergency surgery.”
Alicia peeked through a space in her hair to see if Massie was buying it; so far, so good. Massie was rifling through her pencil case.
“I can’t find my favorite fuzzy purple pen.”
Alicia exhaled for the first time all morning. Maybe Massie believed her.
“What’s wrong with you, by the way?” Massie asked. “Huh?” Alicia became aware of her quickening heartbeat.
“Why did you have to go to the doctor?”
“Oh, uh, ’cause—”
“There you are,” Olivia interrupted. “What’s up with the sleepover tonight? Catherine and Meredith keep calling me for a time.” Her white-blond hair was twisted into a ballerina bun on top of her head and her big navy blue eyes looked wide and innocent. “It would be so much easier if they just went to this school. Maybe they’ll transfer next semester.”
Alicia’s olive skin turned gray. Then white.
Massie turned to Olivia. “Who are Catherine and Meredith and why do they think they are coming to my sleepover?”
“We’re back!” A clump of Dylan’s long red hair was stuck to her lip gloss. “Help,” she said, trying to remove it by lifting her shoulder to her mouth. “Someone help me; my hands are full.” She was barely balancing a to-go box of lattes.
Kristen dropped her book of crossword puzzles on the floor and stood on her toes to pull the hair away for Dylan.
“Thank you,” she said before turning to Massie. “The line at Starbucks was in-sane.”
“I say we try that new Dr. Juice place that opened up across the street. Starbucks is so September,” Massie said.
“Great idea,” Dylan said, wiping her tea-soaked hands on her Citizen of Humanity jeans. “I’m over this.”
Alicia prayed for a fire drill.
“Hey, Leesh, what are you doing here? Didn’t you have a doctor’s appointment?” Kristen said as she took a cup out of the box and handed it to Massie. But Massie ignored her, refusing to take her amber eyes off Olivia. Kristen handed the cup to Dylan.
“What?” Olivia took a few steps back. “Why are you staring at me?”
“You were talking about my sleepover,” Massie said, hooking a piece of dark brown hair behind her ear.
“No, I wasn’t,” Olivia said with an understanding smile. “I was talking about Alicia’s. But you’re going to come, right?”
“I don’t remember getting an invitation,” Massie shot at Alicia.
“It’s so funny, I was just about to explain when—”
“When what? When you decided it would just be easier to steal my identity?” Massie put her hands on her hips and stuck out her neck so her face was a little closer to Alicia’s. “What is this, Freaky Friday?”
“I wasn’t trying to steal your identity,” Alicia said, not exactly sure what she was trying to do.
Massie rolled her eyes and looked at Kristen and Dylan. The two girls tilted their heads and looked at Alicia. Dylan broke the tension by burping the words Freaky Friday. Kristen and Olivia busted out laughing.
Alicia wanted desperately to laugh with them. She wished she had never thought of hosting her own sleepover party and wanted her friends back. But Massie’s scowl reminded her that she was in too deep to just walk away without a scratch.
“Look,” Alicia said, trying to stay calm. “This girl from jazz asked if I would give her a makeover and this was the only night she could do it.” She noticed Massie’s face starting to soften and Alicia thought that everything was going to be okay. “We’re going to eat tapas and drink virgin sangria and I would love it if you guys came—”
“Puh-lease,” Massie said. “Spare me the whole European act. You are more fake than Olivia’s nose.”
Kristen and Dylan giggled and Olivia turned bright red. Alicia widened her eyes and gasped.
“Don’t look so surprised. I know all about your father being Fannish,” Massie said.
“What?”
“Fake Spanish?” Massie said, as if everyone should have known what Fannish meant. “I happen to know his real name is Len Rivers, NOT Len Rivera. He’s from Brooklyn, not Barcelona, and he made up that last name so your grandmother would bless their marriage. So please stop trying to impress us.”
“Ehmagawd,” Kristen said. “I need a six-letter word for scandal starting with g.”
Alicia was usually the first one to try and guess Kristen’s word games, but she wasn’t in the mood for games.
“Gossip,” Massie shouted. “Gossip, gossip, gossip!”
“How did you know—” Alicia started to ask. But Massie wasn’t through with her yet.
“Face it, Alicia, you are an Eternal Wannabe, or EW, as I like to call them.” Massie put her hands on her hips and stuck her neck out. “You are never going to be me and your dad is never going to be from Spain, no matter how hard you both try.”
At one point Alicia had been prepared to apologize, but not anymore. She had an overwhelming urge to rip Massie’s diamond studs out of her ears but didn’t want to arrive at Teen Vogue with bloodstained clothes. So she pressed her lips together and kept her anger inside.
“Hey, EW, have fun at your little fiesta tonight,” Massie called over her shoulder as she headed down the hall. Dylan and Kristen followed right behind her, giggling.
Alicia gathered up her books and twisted her hair into a low ponytail. Her cheeks were flushed red and it felt like her stomach was on fire. She tried her hardest not to cry. The last thing she needed was puffy eyes. Alicia turned on the heels of her brown Cole Haan square-toed boots and started walking in the other direction. Olivia scurried to catch up.
“Hey, Leesh.” Kristen stopped walking and called back to her. “Did you by any chance remember to bring me a pair of jeans?”
Before Alicia could say “yes,” Massie tugged Kristen’s arm and pulled her down the hall.
Alicia froze. She had no idea what to do next.