WHILE LILI HAD BEEN BUSY admiring herself in the mirror, Ashley turned over the price tag. Six hundred dollars. She was shocked. Not because of the price, which was expensive, sure, but in keeping with the many designer clothes in her closet. She was shocked because it was only then that she realized that there was no way she could afford to buy it. Her mother had taken away her credit cards. The only card she had in her Céline wallet was a debit card linked to her allowance account. Which only had two hundred and fifty dollars in it. Enough to cover lunch, maybe a pair of jeans if she foud some Superfine ones on sale. But that was about it.
If she couldn’t have the dress, she couldn’t very well let Lili walk out with it either. Thank the L that Lili was so easy to manipulate. She certainly wasn’t going to spend six large after Ashley had called it the h-word. Ashley walked back into her dressing room feeling much better.
She left all the silly, overpriced clothes in a messy pile on the floor of the dressing room and walked around the store again. This place was such a rip. Now that she remembered she was effectively poor for the day, she had lost all interest in shopping. Well, maybe she could find something in the cheapo tables up front. Usually Ashley avoided the trinkets-and-candles section of the pricey designer boutiques. She knew they were there only so that those on smaller budgets could feel better about themselves. As if a ten-dollar key ring counted.
Then she found something. A gold plastic goblet decorated with fake jewel stones and emblazoned with the word PIMP in multicolored letters. A Pimp Cup. Hilarious. And it was only eighteen dollars. Score! She grinned, without realizing that this was exactly the kind of consolation purchase the tables were supposed to encourage. She brought it to the register, where A. A. was paying for a stack of Serfontaine jeans and a bunch of T-shirts.
“Do you think it’s cute?” A. A. asked, holding up a “Little Miss Bossy” T-shirt.
“So cute.” Ashley nodded.
“That’s all you’re getting?” A. A. looked curiously at the Pimp Cup.
“I didn’t like anything else,” Ashley lied. She would really have to let her mom have it when they got home. Her whole day was ruined.
Lili came up empty-handed as well, although Lauren appeared with a bunch of shopping bags.
“Cool!” said Lauren, pointing at Ashley’s Pimp Cup. “I want one!”
Of course you do, Ashley thought, as Lauren ran back to the bargain bins near the storefront window to grab her own.
• • •
The four of them exited the store, lingering on the sidewalk, where the line to get inside had grown exponentially since they’d arrived. The midday sun was beating down mercilessly, and Ashley was really starting to feel the heat, which prickled on her fair skin.
“Gross, I think I’m sweating,” she said, misting her face with an aerosol Evian can. She’d picked up the habit from when her family was in the Riviera over spring break last year. “Anyone else want a spritz?”
“Pass it over.” A. A. nodded, taking the can and giving herself a healthy dose.
“Girls don’t sweat, they glow,” Lili said, quoting from their gym teacher as she sprayed herself with mist.
Physical education at Miss Gamble’s was a bit of a joke. The other day they had learned how to play croquet and other “lawn sports.”
Lauren accepted the Evian mineral spray from Lili and pressed the button, releasing a sharp burst of water. She coughed and blinked, to the other girls’ amusement. Ashley smirked. You can take the geek out of the comic book convention, but you can’t take the comic book convention out of the geek.
“Where to next, Lauren?” asked A. A.
“Yeah, where are we going now?” Lili echoed.
But before Lauren could answer, Ashley decided that it was time to end Lauren’s tour of Los Angeles. “I think I saw Daphne go that way,” she said, motioning to the store across the street. “I’m going over there,” she added, fully expecting everyone to follow.
“That store does have the best shoe selection,” Lauren agreed, taking off her sunglasses and squinting in the direction Ashley was pointing. “But I thought we should check out this sale down the street. They have good stuff if you’re still looking for a dress to wear to the dance.”
“I vote for shoes,” A. A. decided.
“Well, I am still looking for a dress for the dance,” Lili admitted, looking warily at Ashley and A. A. before sidling up to Lauren.
Ashley’s eyes bugged out of her skull. Was Lili seriously going to ditch them to hang with Lauren? “Fine,” she said, as if she wasn’t bothered in the least. “It’s not like you need my permission,” she sniffed, rubbing it in because Lili looked like her permission was the very thing she wanted.
Lili colored. “We’ll meet you for lunch in half an hour?”
Ashley shrugged and said something noncommittal as she began walking away, A. A. following right behind her.
“What’s the deal with Lili lately?” Ashley asked as she pushed the glass door open so it tinkled as they entered the all-white boutique. “She’s acting like she’s not even our friend anymore. She’s, like, obsessed with Lauren.”
A. A. grunted but didn’t respond. That was the problem with A. A.—you could never get her to trash-talk about their other best friend. Much.
They looked at the shelves of shoes. Lauren was right, the store had a dazzling array of the latest designer footwear. Ashley surveyed the goods: exquisite jeweled sandals by Giuseppe Zanotti, gorgeous peep-toe Carmen Ho pumps, yummy Tory Burch Reva flats with the gold disk on the toe.
“Love these,” said A. A., snatching up a red patent-leather Jimmy Choo short boot from a nearby shelf and turning it over to check the price tag.
“Me too!” Ashley enthused, grabbing the other shoe.
“I know, aren’t they great?” a sultry voice asked from behind.
Ashley turned around to see Daphne Shepard parading in the very same shoes. She looked even skinnier and prettier up close, with brilliant hazel eyes and a dazzling smile. Her tan was a delicious shade of buttery caramel, and her knees were as tiny as her elbows. She moved like a bird—all flutter and light. She smiled at the girls and turned to the clerk. “I’ll take them.”
Ashley pinched A. A. hard on the underside of her arm, and A. A. did the same to the underside of Ashley’s arm, but neither of them said anything until Daphne left the store.
“That was so cool!” A. A. exhaled, releasing her grip. “Let’s call Lili and tell her what she missed.” She whipped out her cell.
“Let’s not and say we did,” said Ashley, grinning. Served her right for running off with Lauren.
“Don’t be mean,” A. A. admonished, dialing. “Huh. She’s not picking up.”
“Maybe she and Lauren ran off together.”
A. A. put her phone away and waved at the salesgirl. “Can we get two of these?” she asked. “Sizes five and five and a half?”
The salesgirl returned with two lavender boxes, and Ashley kicked off her flats to try them on. Next to her, A. A. was doing the same. Ashley stood up and admired how the high heel elongated her calf. She would have to hide them from her mother, though—she was only allowed to wear two-and-a-half-inch heels until her thirteenth birthday.
“These shoes rock,” she declared.
“We’re totally getting them,” A. A. agreed.
“Yes we are.” Ashley nodded. Matching shoes was a trademark of the Ashleys. Then her face froze. She couldn’t afford the shoes any more than she could afford that black dress from earlier, but if she just put it on hold, A. A. would ask why she had to do that, and she didn’t want A. A. to know her allowance was restricted. If there was one thing Ashley couldn’t stand, it was pity.
“How are we doing over here?” the salesgirl asked, coming over with an obsequious smile.
Ashley was about to offer an excuse, but before she could, A. A. handed her credit card to the clerk. “We’ll take them. They’re my treat.”
“Are you sure?” Ashley asked, suddenly wishing she hadn’t been so mean about laxjock. Even if he totally was a fat, homeschooled loser. Didn’t A. A. ever watch any Dateline? Hello.
“C’mon, it’s a birthday present,” said A. A.
“My birthday’s not for a couple of months,” Ashley pointed out.
“And I should probably get Lili a pair too,” A. A. added thoughtfully. “Her birthday was last week.”
“Thanks, A.” Ashley sighed. She sat back down on the couch, ruminating on her friend’s unexpected generosity. Maybe if she told her mom they were a gift, she would be allowed to wear them.
Everyone always thought Ashley Spencer’s life was beyond perfect, but sometimes even someone as perfect as Ashley Spencer couldn’t get by without a little help from her friends.