Read The Ashley Project Online
Authors: Melissa de la Cruz
The Ashley Project (22 page)
“All the seventh-grade girls are ranked according to how cute and popular they are. Totally addictive. You know,” Lili smirked, “like watching
Shark Week
. A feeding frenzy. Who gets to rule the oceanâor in this case, seventh grade.” She reached into her beige Proenza bag and retrieved her BlackBerry, frowning a little as she tapped on the miniature screen. “Here it is. AshleyRank, one through thirty-six.
“Cass Franklin is number thirty-six,” Lili said, her voice full of pity and condescension. She didn't have to check the blog again because she'd already memorized the key details.
“That's the girl I told you about,” A. A. said to her mom. “The one who should be living in a plastic bubble. She has to keep an oxygen tank in her bag in case of emergency.”
Jeannine looked concerned. “How awful!”
“Yeah. It's social death,” Lili added.
A. A. laughed, then felt a little bad about laughing.
“More to the point,” continued Lili, who looked a bit impatient, “the Ashleys hold the top three spots. That's why everyone thinks we came up with this.”
“And you're sure you didn't?” Jeanine sounded amused.
“I know
I
didn't,” said A. A.
“I certainly didn't.” Lili was indignant, and A. A. knew why: Lili was the number three Ashley, behind A. A. and,
at number one, the universally acknowledged Queen Bee of Miss Gamble's herself, Ashley Spencer.
The intercom chimed, and the front desk clerk announced another guest. A. A. told him to let her in: It was Ashley, arriving for her share of the South American fashion loot. The girl must have ESP. Jeanine was about to open the next suitcase and start pulling out fabulous clothes for her daughter to try on. Anything A. A. didn't want, Lili and Ashley could grab, and it was always funny watching them fight over A. A.'s leftovers.
The private elevator that opened directly into the apartment dinged.
“Hey, Ash, right on time as usual,” A. A. called, looking up with a grin that soon disappeared from her pretty face.
Because when the elevator doors opened, and Ashleyâcool, blond, and stylishly dressed, as usualâstrolled in, she wasn't alone. Holding her hand in the most lame and embarrassing way, and gazing up at her with adoring puppy-dog eyes, as though they were actually, yuckily,
in love
, was Tri Fitzpatrick.
MELISSA DE LA CRUZ
is the
New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal,
and
Publishers Weekly
best-selling author of many books, including the Beach Lane series; the Blue Bloods series, which has 3 million copies in print; and the Witches of East End series, which is now an hour-long drama on the Lifetime network.
Frozen,
the frst book in her new fantasy series, Heart of Dread, is cowritten with her husband. She is a former journalist and has written for
Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Marie Claire,
and
Allure.
Melissa attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, which served as an inspiration for the school in the Ashley Project series. She currently lives in Los Angeles and Palm Springs with her family.
ALADDIN
Simon & Schuster, New York
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
This Aladdin hardcover edition June 2014
Text copyright © 2008 by Melissa de la Cruz
Previously titled
The Ashleys
Jacket illustration copyright © 2014 by Jason Brooks
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Jacket design by Jessica Handelman
Interior design by Mike Rosamilia
Jacket illustration copyright © 2014 by Jason Brooks
The text of this book was set in Adobe Caslon Pro.
Library of Congress Control Number 2014935261
ISBN 978-1-4424-9033-8 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-0666-6 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4424-9034-5 (eBook)