It's Not Easy Being Mean Part 4

"Great, Cathy, thanks so much for the visit." Ma.s.sie clapped twice.

"It's Ca-rrie," she huffed.

Ma.s.sie double-clapped again.

Carrie turned and stormed off.

Ma.s.sie crumpled her white paper napkin and tossed it on her uneaten California rolls. "We totally totally need a private room." need a private room."

You didn't have to be so mean, Claire felt like saying. But secretly she was relieved Carrie was gone. Accepting all of this attention and praise over a movie no one had seen felt dishonest, like getting an A on a test she hadn't taken.

Ma.s.sie leaned forward. One second later, the Pretty Committee was nose-to-nose in the center of the table. "So. In the poem? When Skye was talking about Glamour Glamour-don't style? Who do you think she meant?"

"Derrington," Kristen offered, with a trace of leftover n.o.body-wanted-my-autograph jealousy.

"He does does wear shorts in the winter." Dylan bit into her turkey-bacon burger with low-fat cheddar. wear shorts in the winter." Dylan bit into her turkey-bacon burger with low-fat cheddar.

"Point."

"According to the poem, that means she kissed kissed him." Ma.s.sie bit her lower lip. him." Ma.s.sie bit her lower lip.

Claire wanted to ask how Skye and Derrington knew each other and if anyone thought they had been "knowing each other" behind Ma.s.sie's back. But she didn't, for obvious reasons.

"Do you think he cheated on me?"

Claire tugged an errant cuticle, Dylan picked a sesame seed off her bun, Alicia checked for split ends, and Kristen folded her napkin into a tiny, tiny rectangle.

"Ehmagawd!" Ma.s.sie managed, despite the thumping heart in her throat. "You think he cheated cheated on me?" on me?"

Kristen opened her mouth.

"Ehmagawd, you do!"

"No, I-"

"Stand up, you!" bellowed Kori Gedman as she approached their table. A tight tan sweater accentuated her notoriously bad posture. She looked like a croissant. "I have to see what you're wearing. Everyone in third period was raving."

Her best friend, Strawberry, was beside her, dressed in a dark pink off-the-shoulder sweatshirt that matched her berry-colored hair. "Yeah, let's see."

Ma.s.sie, Alicia, Dylan, and Kristen pushed back their chairs. A symphony of screeching metal sliced through the buzzing lunchtime chatter, causing a roomful of heads to turn their way.

One at a time, each girl gave her best supermodel spin.

"No, I want to see Claire. Claire." Kori's arched neck shot forward.

Claire's cheeks felt hotter than the Blocks' Jacuzzi.

"Yeah," nodded Strawberry. "We want to see what a real movie star wears."

"Ha!" Ma.s.sie blurted, then quickly covered her mouth, like it had just slipped out.

"Come on." Kori shook her tray of Tater Tots. "Show us."

Lifting her light blond eyebrows apologetically, Claire tried to remind Ma.s.sie that she hadn't asked for any of this.

Ma.s.sie fired back a yeah-right glare.

Ignoring the jealous whispers of her supposed BFFs, Claire stood.

"Cute top." Kori bit her thumbnail while she scanned Claire's pink-and-purple-flowered thermal. "Is it a Marc Jacobs?"

"No," Alicia answered for her. "It's a Marc Down." Down."

Giggles erupted from the Pretty Committee.

Claire sat.

"How much do you love her?" Kori cooed to no one in particular. "She's still so down-to-earth."

"Look." Strawberry wiggled her foot. "I'm wearing Keds. You totally got me into them."

"Same." Kori revealed the light blue slip-ons from the Rave line, the same ones Claire had worn on the movie set. They must have seen them in the interviews. "Which ones do you have on?"

Claire poked her leg out from under the table. "Denim Champion Destroyed."

"Love those!"

"Know what KEDS stands for?" Ma.s.sie interrupted.

Kori and Strawberry shook their heads.

"It means Kuh-laire, E-nuf Discussing Shoes!"

Claire tried to laugh with everyone else.

"Can I just ask one thing about your jeans? Is that a light wash or are they naturally faded?" Kori tucked a chunk of b.u.t.terscotch-colored hair behind one elfin ear.

"Enough!" Ma.s.sie slammed her hands on the table. A geyser of pastel confetti shot into the air. "We're in the middle of something, okay?"

Kori and Strawberry inched back.

"She's right." Claire smiled sympathetically. "Let's catch up after school."

Strawberry's cheeks reddened with rage. She grabbed her friend's arm, pulling her away, but Kori turned and called, "Kristen, see you at soccer practice!"

"Can't wait." She lifted her palm.

Kori broke away from Strawberry and scurried back to high-five Kristen. "We're going all the way this season."

"How 'bout you go all the way back to the LBR table?" Ma.s.sie shooed her away as though she were one of Dylan's salami burps. "Ugh! I can't take the constant drive-bys." She flicked a yellow piece of confetti off her gray kimono dress. "It's so ah-nnoy-"

"Welcome back!" Layne Abeley waved. Her index finger was stained bright orange.

Claire willed her friend not to stop at table eighteen, but Layne was not one to take a hint, telepathic or otherwise. She dragged a chair from a nearby table, squeezed in between Claire and Kristen, then pulled a bag of Crystal Light On the Go out of her hay-colored World Famous backpack.

"What are you wearing? wearing?" Claire asked, unable to hide her shock and embarra.s.sment.

Layne's suspenders, hiking boots, and red fedora-complete with a built-in water dispenser that reached from the brim to her mouth-were farther from the pages of Teen Vogue Teen Vogue than a size-eight model. than a size-eight model.

"Is The Sound of Music The Sound of Music cool again?" Dylan asked. cool again?" Dylan asked.

Layne poked her finger into the bag of peach-flavored tea mix. "Excuse me for not wanting to spend my morning walking 2.3 miles in stiletto boots and a prom dress."

"Ew, who would wear stiletto boots with a prom dress?" Alicia shook at the thought.

"You walked walked to school?" asked Claire. to school?" asked Claire.

"Yeah, Chris wouldn't give me a ride because he wanted to visit Tricky. It's her birthday." She popped open a gold heart-shaped locket around her neck and showed Claire a picture of her brother's black horse.

"Awwww."

"I totally totally understood, but his girlfriend, Fawn, was p.i.s.sed!" She removed her finger from the bag, skillfully transferring the anthill of sugar on her finger to her mouth. Then she squeezed her eyes shut. "So tart." understood, but his girlfriend, Fawn, was p.i.s.sed!" She removed her finger from the bag, skillfully transferring the anthill of sugar on her finger to her mouth. Then she squeezed her eyes shut. "So tart."

"L," Ma.s.sie coughed.

"B," Alicia sneezed.

"R," Dylan yawned.

Kristen cackled.

"Listen, Layne, can I call you-"

"So are you moving to Hollywood or what?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I'm meeting with my agent tomorrow." Claire chewed her thumbnail. "You know, about the whole moving thing."

"Your parents gonna let you go?"

"If I'm really serious and it's a good opportunity, they'll move with me," Claire said, ignoring the Pretty Committee's four-way eye-roll.

"What about Cam?"

The mention of his name made Claire's stomach dip. "Dunno. We're gonna wait and see what happens."

"Hey, Layne?" Ma.s.sie called.

"Yeah?"

Ma.s.sie slapped a napkin down on the table and slid it toward Layne. It said, in dark green eyeliner, Pretty Committee meeting in session. No Laynes allowed. Pretty Committee meeting in session. No Laynes allowed.

Layne soaked her finger with spit, stuck it inside the bag of Crystal Light, and wrote OK, OK, with a chalky mixture of peach-flavored crystals and saliva. with a chalky mixture of peach-flavored crystals and saliva.

Ignoring the chorus of ew!s ew!s that followed her message, Layne stood and smiled. "Claire, call me tonight after that followed her message, Layne stood and smiled. "Claire, call me tonight after CSI Miami." CSI Miami."

"'Kay." Claire blushed.

"Finally." Ma.s.sie tossed her plate of California rolls in the trash. "Let's get started." She flipped open her Motorola Razr. "Let's text. For privacy."

Claire powered on her rhinestone-encrusted, special-edition Dial L for Loser Dial L for Loser phone-a gift from Rupert Mann, the film's director. phone-a gift from Rupert Mann, the film's director.

Seconds later, their meeting was in session.

Ma.s.sIE: K, what r Skye's hobbies? K, what r Skye's hobbies?

KRISTEN: Read her Mys.p.a.ce profile. Luvs mini things. mini-m.u.f.fins, mini-sharpies, mini-perfume samples, mini-Chicklets...also luvs animals, Hershey's Kisses, glitter pens & dance. Read her Mys.p.a.ce profile. Luvs mini things. mini-m.u.f.fins, mini-sharpies, mini-perfume samples, mini-Chicklets...also luvs animals, Hershey's Kisses, glitter pens & dance.

Ma.s.sie's thumbs scuttled across her keypad.

Ma.s.sIE: D, who else got the CD-ROM? D, who else got the CD-ROM?

DYLAN: Duh-livia Ryan. She's already wearing a key chain around her neck. Also Layne's alt.com BFF, Heather. Saw her making a list of boys in math. Researching others. Duh-livia Ryan. She's already wearing a key chain around her neck. Also Layne's alt.com BFF, Heather. Saw her making a list of boys in math. Researching others.

Ma.s.sIE: A, who has she kissed? A, who has she kissed?

Alicia slid four sheets of legal-size paper facedown onto the center of the table. She looked over each shoulder, then nodded, letting them know it was safe to take a look. Claire flipped hers over, and like the others, held it close to her chest while she read.

Skye's Kiss List 5th Grade (Beyond ew!) .

Todd Lyons Todd Lyons 7th Grade .

Derrington ( Derrington ([image]!)

Josh ( Josh ([image]!)

Chris Plovert Chris Plovert