Revenge of the Wannabes (4 page)

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.

O
CTAVIAN
C
OUNTRY
D
AY
S
CHOOL
H
ISTORY
C
LASS

11:18
AM
November 14th

While Joel Morris droned on endlessly about the Roman Empire, Massie tilted her Chanel compact mirror so she could see Alicia in the seat behind her. Was her mascara smudged from crying? Were her eyes all red and puffy? How much of her morning was spent sobbing in the bathroom? But Alicia’s eyes looked the same as always: brown, bright, and beautiful. Why wasn’t she devastated by their fight?

Massie had known for days that Friday, November 14, was going to be a bad Alicia day. It was the official date of Alicia’s
Teen Vogue
interview, a coveted prize that really belonged to Massie and Claire Lyons. And now everyone in school was congratulating
Alicia,
wishing
her
luck and telling her how badly they wished they were her.

Massie kept telling herself that the right time for revenge would be obvious. She just had to be patient. But now her Friday night sleepovers were threatened and Massie couldn’t sit still any longer. Alicia had woken the sleeping giant and the giant was pissed!

“As I was saying, Ms. Block,” Joel said, and Massie jumped. “Caesar made his way to office by 62
BC,
but many of the Senate thought he was a dangerous, ambitious man. Sooooo, they deprived him of a triumph after his command in Spain and did their best to keep him out of the consulship. …”

“ZZZZZZZZZZ.”
Massie turned to Amanda Levine as soon as Joel rested his beady eyes on someone else. Amanda tapped her palm against her mouth and fake-yawned. Massie smiled, then looked around the room. The entire seventh-grade history class was one useless fact away from slipping into a coma. It was the perfect time to start working on a Christmas shopping list. Massie flipped to a blank page in her notebook and began. …