THANKSBLOGGING
Many hours of my day, every day, are spent staring at the wall (thankfully a soothing shade of light blue) scouring my brain for fresh ways to say the same old thing because I abhor cliche. Agreed, there are only sooo many ways to describe the feeling you get in your stomach when your crush enters the room. But I’ll be darned if I use the word “butterflies” to describe it. That said, I am going to do something incredibly cliche (just this once) and post a list of…..
The Ten Things I Am Most Thankful For in 2009
1. THANKFUL FOR: Friends who have become family and family who have become friends.
2. THANKFUL FOR: All of you. Thanks for reading. Thanks for laughing. Thanks for getting it.
3. THANKFUL FOR: We all survived another year!
4. THANKFUL FOR: I am still writing and still having a blast.
5. THANKFUL FOR: Everyone in this world who gives so much of themselves to help others.
6. THANKFUL FOR: Gelsons and your pre-cooked Turkey’s. I am having 17 people at my house for Thanksgiving and have no idea how to cook.
7. THANKFUL FOR: The 17 people have agreed to come to my house knowing I have no idea how to cook.
8. THANKFUL FOR: The person who hit me in his car while I was crossing the street on November 5th. I can’t move my neck but you didn’t kill me. Much appreciated.
9. THANKFUL FOR: The people who did me wrong this year. You taught me a lot about human nature and inspired me to search for ways to get over it. Those ways have made me a better, stronger person.
10.THANKFUL FOR: Heidi Pratt thanking God for her outfit while saying Grace in a recent episode of The Hills. I needed a good laugh.
SHOUT OUT to Alexandra B. Happy Birthday!!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!! PLEASE POST YOUR OWN LISTS. I’D LOVE TO READ THEM>
TTYW,
Lisi
November 25th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
First
November 25th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
AHHHHH I WAS FIRST!!!! NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE!!!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
MY BDAY IS NEXT WEDNESDAY LISI!!! U KNO I LUV U!! LOL, JK U DON’T HAVE TO GIVE ME A SHOUTOUT. bUT ITD B NICE
November 25th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
hULLO? NE 1 ON? whoops all caps
November 25th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Hey Lisi. I’m from Canada so we already had our thanksgiving enjoy yours!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Fourth! Never been this close to the top
November 25th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
OMG closest to the top ever! I got my swine shot and I’m alive!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Lol, i got the nasal spray
November 25th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
happy thanksgiving lisi!!! i hope your neck feels better
November 25th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
happy thanksgiving lisi!!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
AHHH I THE CLOSEST TO THE TOP I HAVE EVER BEEEN!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Things I Am Thankful For:
1. All the loving people in my life.
2. Books- I can’t survive school without a book (nawt a textbook, of course) with me. I know I sound like a complete nerd, but it’s true.
3. My Hungarian Scouts group- My little boys are ah-mazing and ah-dorable; they’ve learned so much since September. (It’s like volunteering to teach, but a LOT more fun!)
4. Thanksgiving- How many times a year do you get to eat a million delicious things with ALL of your family?
5. My comfortable and secure life- My parents have given me so much so that I have to opportunity to succeed.
6. All of the opportunities that have thrown at me in my life- I try to take advantage of as many as I could. It doesn’t always work out, and I’ve definitely messed up many of them, but they’ve all made my life more interesting in some way or another.
November 25th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
HAPPY THANKSGIVING LISI <3
Hope your neck feels better! ACK you got hit by a car?!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Hey! Anything on the new movie?
I am thankful for my family and my many book series!
(I have more but there is too many to type)
November 25th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
O YEAH! Happy Thanksgiving! Hope your neck feels better soon!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
13th!!! (prob 20th by now. <3 I love you LISI!)
but OMG seriously I’ve never been this close before!!!!
LISI CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE A SHOUTOUT TO MONICAAAA!!!! JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT I KNOW THAT YOU’RE ACTUALLY READING THIS.
hehe ookay so what i’m thankful for mostly is for my friends and family. We had our ups and downs but I know at the end of the day that they have my back and that they are the ones that I can count on the most.
And I uberly hope that everyone gets to eat on Thanksgiving. Because it’s not cool to go hungry. Everyone should be inside, warm, and fulllllllllllll.
I LOVE YOU LISI!
MONICA
November 25th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
omgosh i sound uber stalkerish….that’s creepy.
haha
November 25th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
haha abhor is 1 of my vocab words! it means strongly dislike if anyone wanted 2 no…
November 25th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
happy thanksgiving everyone! im thankful that lisi is still alive!!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
happy thanksgiving lisi
btw love the new cliqutionary 
November 25th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Happy Thanksgiving Every1! I just had my B-day wow Novembers a popular month!
Hope u feel better Lisi!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
i also forgot to mention that i am thankful for you writing the clique series!
November 25th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I am thankful for:
My friends. Especially Jessica, who has been there for me through my ups and downs.
My parents. They support me no matter what I try or want to accomplish.
Dance. It’s a way of expressing myself and great exercise.
Music. I play clarinet and piano, and music helps soothe me.
Books. Who doesn’t love being transported into another world?
November 25th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
I’m sorry about that guy that hit you.
And have a fantastic Thanksgiving! I’m sure you aren’t that bad of a cook
November 25th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Ah! so busy doing homework forgot to check the blah-g!
hey girls!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
EW! I have to get my swine shot in like…20 minutes!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
omg hi! i love the new clique book ! <3 now off to read the blah-g
November 25th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
OMG closs to the top!!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Hola!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
30!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I am so sorry about you getting hit!! I didn’t know that!! I thought they were rumors =(!! Get better Lisi!! Here’s my list:
- Thankful 4 - All of my family!!
- Thankful 4 - All of my animals!! Tommy, Moose, Peanut, Ace, Monster, Simon, Kovu (cats) Scooter, Skippy (rabbits) Jasper, Cruiser (ferrets) Ollie, Oscar, Mango, Guava, Sherman (fish) Luke (snake)
- Thankful 4 - My friends!! Katie, Angie, Allie, Allie, Jessica, Jessica
- Thankful 4 - All of the writing I’ve gotten done!! Editing Flood Warning, beginning FW2: No Trespassing, Starting a new book!!
- Thankful 4 - All of my inspirations!! Like YOU, Lisi!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I AM THANKFUL FOR YOU LISI lol
November 25th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I am thankful for a lot of things…..
1. my amazing friends (corny, I know, but they are really great) and classmates who are making seventh grade the best year of my life. i’m tearing up thinking of all the amazing memories we already have.
2. my hot, sweet, athletic crush, who loves everything I love to (except the he likes the Redskins….but nothings perfect LOL). hopefully some day he’ll like me back…
3. All my failures and the people who told me “You can’t.” They have made the strong girl I am today.
4. The inventors of tennis, Guitar Hero, and the iPod. They keep me going when I’m bored beyond bored.
5. Big cities like New York, L.A., and Chicago. The make the world seem like a big, beautiful, magical place where anything can happen.
6. It sounds really, really cheesy….but everytime I wake up and can roll out of bed, I’m thankful.
7. Juicy Couture! Coach! These and so many other brands make fashion so exciting!
8. That the Saints are doing amazing this year. Since my other team, The Ravens, is only half good, I like that one of my teams is a shoo-in for the SuperBowl.
9. Winston Churchill’s quotes. Cause everyone needs humor every now and then. Look up his quotes.
10. The world!! And everyone who goes againist the grain and makes a difference. See Bon Jovi’s music video “We Weren’t Born to Follow”.
November 25th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
hey Leah :),
don’t know if your still on…but i could use some advice..post if ur on still….
November 25th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
anyone one?
November 25th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
hey everyone….
i hope everyones having a good break. i feel like a freak because im obsessing over my crush. do make myself feel better (hehehe im so selfish) why dont we talk about our crushes?
November 25th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
hey alyssanoelle!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
wow….chealsea you have a lot of pets…
November 25th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
38th! this is my first time in top 50
November 25th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
LISI! I’m thankful for you! If it wasn’t for I woudln’t have my favorite series ever! Pleaes give me a shoutout!!!!!!!!!! LY!!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Oh and I”m thankful for my friends and family! That’s Given!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
anyone on???
November 25th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
anyone on???
November 25th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
i am on
November 25th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I’m listening to “empire state of mind” on youtube….i love that song….my friend might take me shopping in nyc in december… i hope she does because i took her to new moon the day it came out so she owes me…
November 25th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
whats up malia?
November 25th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
hey miranda…whats up?
November 25th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now? - Jhon Lennon
November 25th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
ooops..i meant to say i took her to see new moon the day BEFORE it came out…that’s why she owesme…
November 25th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
49th WOW!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
that’s a cool saying caitlin
November 25th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
hey leah haha u seem like u really want someone to be on
November 25th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
now I’m listening to don’t trust me….sorry i’m a music freak…and so is my crush he likes old music like journey and AC/DC…..but so do i. we’re perfect for each other but he hasn’t realized it yet…:(
November 25th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
everyone likes music
November 25th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
haha Caitlin….yeah i’m pretty bored and none of my friends pick up their freakin’ phones….LOL….
November 25th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
yeah…but im kind of weird like i know all these facts that no one else cares about….
November 25th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
hmm but what if he never does he could already like someone else u no
November 25th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
what’s your favorite song?
November 25th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
yeah…he went out with one of my friends last year… and another one this year….he moves from girl-to-girl. i hope he’ll like me because i talk to him now and we have a lot in common
November 25th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
wwwwwoooooooooooooo
November 25th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
OMG ITS YOU CAITLIN WE HAVENT TALKED IN FOREVER!!!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Savior -rise aginist
November 25th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
SARA!! How is max?
November 25th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Sara- srsly : P
November 25th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
leah-bitchy
November 25th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Hi lisi can you please make a very small shout out about my website without using my name? Please let people know to check out my website: girlshelpfultips.yolasite.com
for help from other girls or recive help thanks lisi… Not being rude
November 25th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
i can imagine!
Still with that new girl? or did she dump him for being stupid?
November 25th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
nope she thinks they are meant to be
November 25th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Sara- Max eh? billy bob jesus is better : P
November 25th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
PLEASE READ MY STOYR!!!!
ITS KINDA CHILDISH BUT HEY ITS GOOD
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INTRO
My name is Kate. I live in a far away land. Close to where the rainbow and the sky touch. Where at night I look up and can touch the stars, but in the day, I float on white clouds to travel place to place. Sometimes I use the rainbow as a slide, I slide down and place my feet on the wet grass, then climb back up. I always lay down and stick my head back and let the snow flakes melt on my tongue. A place where you can close your eyes and imagine something then the next thing you know its in front of you, and just when you reach out to grab it, it disappears.
Ok. I may be exaggerating a little, now for the truth. I live in the meadows. We are the only house for 35 miles. Sometimes I wish I could go to that wonderful place. Instead I am stuck here. The only place I can go is into the fields and close my eyes and image what I am doing. I wanna move to that rainbow, or at least get to see one. If it’s my true home, then why can’t i find it. My eyes and my brain aren’t enough to send me to the rainbow. Dorothy can do it…..”oh why can’t I??”
Now I’m in 7th grade. I have to travel an hour to get to school, Two hours to get to a grocery store, and three hours to get to a mall. I get made fun of. Only because people think it’s funny I live so far away, and how I live in the middle of a grassy meadow, but I ignore them.
When I close my eyes a whole new world opens up. It’s a gate to leave all my sorrows behind. I love how the grass tickle your tows and how you talk to yourself and no one cares, how you can run and run and there is no end, how you can laugh and there’s no one to ask you ‘what’s so funny’.
CHAPTER 1
The wind moved my hair. I stared up at the light blue sky and searched for rainbows. All I saw in the past three hours was a couple groups of birds and a lot of clouds.
My eyes were tired but my heart urged me on. I wanted to camp out there. I had asked my mom earlier, but the look on her face made me think twice about asking her again.
My arms tingled. I looked down at them, goosebumps where everywhere.
The temperature must have dropped at least 10 degrees. My knees began to shake. I could just feel my lips turning blue. Suddenly the sky got darker. I looked up at it. Any clouds looked down at me.
They seemed to say “You can run, but you can’t hide!”
Rain dropped landed on my nose and arms. Then seconds later,it was as if someones hose was on high, and the water was being pointed at me. My body began to shake more. The clouds began to road. I began running back to my house. It looked almost like a doll house from where I was standing.
I hurried, my feet griping the ground, begging not to run that I should wait a little longer for the rainbow. I didn’t listen. I pulled them up and ran faster.
About 15 minutes later I reached my house. I was cold, wet, and tired. The rain had calmed down a little. But I could still feel the raindrops hitting my skin.
I gripped the brass door knob then turned it.
“Mom, I’m back.” I yelled, sticking my head through the door.
There she was running to me, wiping her hands on her apron.
“Where have you been?” She asked, but didn’t let me answer. “Why are you so wet?”
“Well” I began to answer “I was out in the meadows, when it began to poor, I started running home, and now i’m here”
She ran up the crooked stairs and brought me down a fresh pair of clothes. I took the wet ones off on the porch and put the dry ones one inside.
I got in and placed my clothes on the clothes line in the back of the house and brought my laptop up stairs. It didn’t seem broken, and all the files and memory was still there. But it was wet, and the blue case on the outside was discolored and chipping.
I ran to my draw and pulled out some blue tap of the exact color. I tried my best to make it look perfect again, but it wouldn’t cooperate.
I began bitting my thumb, hopping the computer would be able to turn off as well as it turned on. It did. I placed it on my night stand and grabbed my diary from the draw. Then i began writing.
Diary
no sign of any rainbows
Rain is not good for computers
Will go out and search for rainbows later, after it stops raining.
It’s raining
I triple checked the entry before closing and locking my diary. I checked the clock, 5:03, then the window, it was still raining.
I watched the rain slide down the glass window. I counted the seconds between the time it thundered and the time it the lighting happened.
I grabbed my camera and snapped pictures for my diary. One of the sky, the rain, and the lighting.
After 2 hours went by. I ran up stairs, checked out the window, no rain. The grass looked damp and the sky still looked dark, but there was no rain, no thunder, and no lighting.
I opened the front door. Looked up at the sky which seemed to turn lighter by the minute. Every step I took was another step closer to my meadows.
I finally reached the middle of the meadows. I sat down on the soggy grass and looked up at the sky and there it was. A beautiful, colorful, rainbow.
I snapped shotes with my camera, then held it tight to my chest and screamed “YES FINALLY!”
Within minutes, It disappeared.
Chapter Two
The Car
11:00 am
Sunday
The sun shined down on the meadows, I watched as I drove by. The clouds were it perfect shapes. I loved to see each one of them pass by. The rain had gone away. Sadly so had the rainbow. I still didn’t get why, I was thinking about it all night.
November 25th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
~ minutes of akward silence pass ~
November 25th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Im so thankful for my boyfriend Josh(yay!) and to u Lisi… truly inspiring!
November 25th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Anyone on?! I’m in the mood to talk
November 25th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
TOP 10 THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR
10. Docters, nurses, and people who care for the sick and elderly, and even the new borns!
9. LISI (sounds super cheesy right?) she is the only author that actullay gets a teenage girls life. She knows there likes dislikes and truly understand, we girls have a lot of problams, and lisi, she puts them into cute little awesome covered books~
8. any one on this website that comments on my storys and really enjoys them, each comment really cranks up my self estem!
7. Inventers, the people who made cars, computers, cell phones, Wii’s DS’s (the dis and make up video game
)
6. My teachers in elementry school! They all cared and really loved me as a student and as a peron!!
5. FOOD, CLOTHES, SHELTER, ECT
4. my grandpa, he tought me how to fish, and cook and he was always a fun grandpa! ( i miss u
)
3. Any one and anything who has given me good, specil meaning to my life
2. My friends (SPECIL SHOUT OUT TO AMBER AND ASHLEY)
1. My mom, dad, sister and grandparents (and uncles and cosins 2)
~ Jess
November 25th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
hi courtney!!
November 25th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Lisi,
I just love Thanksgiving! All of my relatives get together and just pig out. It’s great! Here are the 10 Things I’m Thankful For:
1. My Parents who are always supporting me
2. My sisters who always cheer me up when I need a good laugh
3. My puppy for keeping me company
4. Books because they always entertain me and give me television in my head
5. My laptop. Without it, I wouldn’t get to visit this blog
6. My friends who are always there when I need them
7. My cousins who make me laugh, feel wanted and make my family complete
8. My grandparents who always fill me in on my past which is always interesting
9. My aunts and uncles.
10. Authors who come up with amazing ideas to share with the world
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. I hope your neck feels better
November 25th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
hey!!! never been this close to the top before!!! great blah-g!!! luv u lisi!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Lisi, omg r u all right fm the car accident? i heard it was posted on twitter but wuzn’t sure it was true or nawt
I’m thankful for:
1) My Family, who’ve always been supportive for the decisions that i make
2) My BSFs (Best Sister Friends) luv ya <3
3) The clique books becuz without them, my life and literature would have refused to mix, like oil and water or plaids and stripes
4) Laura Secord’s chocolates; couldn’t live without them
5) The always ever-inspiring music and other entertainment in our world. Without it, my world would be about as fun as watching paint dry
6) To all the charities helping out needy countries and people. Keep it up!
November 25th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
heyyy everyone
November 25th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
hey i know ur all pigging out on turkey right now but pleez take the time and comment!! k thnx and enjoy!
CH1
I was wondering if you guys wanted to hang at my house today pool party?? 
:) 
:) 
CHICAGO
ST. FREDERICK’S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Thursday, June 20th, 6:06am
At exactly 6:06am on June 20th, 1996
a shrill high-pitched scream of a new-born baby girl pierced the silence in St. Frederick’s Memorial Hospital. It could be heard very clearly, even with the clash of thunder that sounded outside and the pounding rain lashing at the windows. Just as the scream shattered the calmness of St. Frederick’s a ray of sunshine seemed to have broken through the heavy, ominous black clouds
in the sky and shone like a spotlight on Natalia Brookmill’s new born baby girl, Stephanie Rae-Anne Brookmill. Her middle name was Rae-Anne because of the ray of sun that had appeared at the exact time she was born. While delivering Stephanie, Natalia Brookmill hadn’t experienced so much pain in her whole 26 years of living. Family members of the Brookmills all gushed over this adorable new baby, which weighed 6.5 pounds and had little tufts of blonde hair and eyes that looked almost like sapphires. Stephanie’s older sister, Sabrina, who was four years old at the time, didn’t seem too happy about this random new-born baby intruding on her already perfect life. She didn’t want her mom giving up all her free time just to look after this baby. If this did happen, Sabrina just knew that her mom would forget about her. And her dad (Brent) was wayyyy too busy, being the CEO of his own company, to have time to go shopping with her or drive her to her friend’s house for that matter. Other family of the Brookmills were busy giving Natalia and Brent their gifts for this new baby. Cribs, warm-looking cashmere sweaters, stuffed animals, pacifiers, bottles, and pajamas were getting stacked beside the window facing the bed. As Sabrina recalled this later on in her life, she knew that she had under-estimated her sister. Because on June 20th, 1996, a true alpha had risen.
CH2
CHICAGO
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, STEPHANIE’S BEDROOM
Friday, July 1st
6:35 pm
The Brookmill family had just finished a calm and peaceful dinner. For once in 3 weeks, the whole family had been at the dinner table together. It was usually Sabrina or Brent not in attendance for dinner. Sabrina was usually with her boyfriend Gabe on a date or at her BFF’s house. It was the summer right after her senior prom and she was officially free of High School forever. Her excuse was that she was ‘trying to spend as much time as possible with her Clique before college started and they were separated.’ Brent was the CEO of his own company and usually came home at 8:00pm ‘cause he was so busy in office everyday. So dinner at the Brookmill house was usually just Natalia, Stephanie, Stephanie’s younger sister Shannon, who was 11 years old and their house-keeper, May. Stephanie liked Shannon better than Sabrina. She didn’t know why, but Sabrina just hated her since the day she was born. It was like she was a mud-covered, smelly, scrawny cat which was opposite of true. Stephanie knew that she was at least one of the top three beautiful girls at her private school that she attended, Cambridge Prep which was located in the heart of downtown Chicago. Cambridge was all the way exclusive; you could say that it’s kinda like the university of Cambridge in London. High expectations, high academic, pretty hard to get into, and world-famous. A couple grades below the average could cost you expulsion. It was for the best of the best. The fabulous of the fabulous. The talented of the talented. The alpha of the alpha. Stephanie was thinking about all this as she was brushing the fur of her adorable white yorkie terrier, Marshmallow. Oh whatever, she thought, it’s Sabrina who’s gonna miss out on all the fun. If she could be alpha of the alphas at Cambridge, she could be an alpha anywhere. She’d make celebrities look like random subway passengers. Anyways, the point was she didn’t need her sister. In her opinion, she was much prettier than her sister. Sabrina had wavy brown hair, a pointy chin, chestnut eyes and high cheekbones. It was your usual brunette beauty. And plus, don’t blondes have more fun?
At that moment, Stephanie’s mom, Natalia came in with her husband. They had very nervous looks on their faces, as if they were about to reveal something they didn’t want anyone else to know.
“Hi sweetheart, what are you doing?”
“Just brushing Marshmallow.”
“Uh, well, uh Steph, we have some news.” All of a sudden, Stephanie had mental pictures in her head of another mini-Sabrina being born. Oh, Lord! Please let that not be true! Her expression must’ve showed on her face because her parents said “No, it’s nothing like that.” Phew. OMG, they could be getting a new puppy! How cute, so then Marshmallow could have a playmate.
“Is it a new dog?”
“No.”
“Then is Sabrina moving out of the house?”
“No.”
“Oh, I got it___”
“Steph, we really don’t want to play twenty questions.” At this, her mom sighed. “We’re moving to Beverly Hills. Your father got a really good new promotion for his job and it pays twice as much as this one.” Stephanie could not have been more shocked if Marshmallow had just started to speak English. They were already rich. They didn’t need anymore money as it was. She felt as is if she was falling down a long dark well and everything that she loved in her life were happily waving goodbye from the top. She dropped Marshmallow and didn’t even notice when the dog barked a bark of indignation. This was the first time in Stephanie’s life that she was at a loss for words. “B-b-but what about my Clique, our estate, my school, and everything else here in Chicago??!! And what about our estate? Have you sold it yet?” There were a million other questions that she wanted to ask but she was stunned into silence. She couldn’t believe that her parents had made this decision and hadn’t bothered asking her opinion of it. Her great, no fabulous, 13 years in Chicago were about to end. She couldn’t even bear to think about her BFF’s(Violetta, Stacey, and Anna) reaction to this tragic and horrible x 100000000000 news. Her Clique needed her. She was their alpha. The one who gave them fashion advice, social-anything advice, boy tips, self-presentation advice and regular boosts of confidence. Why her?! Why__
“Stephie?” It was something her parents called her if they were ultra-concerned about her. “We’re really sorry about this and we knew that you weren’t expecting this but the move’s a done deal.” Her mom gave her a warm hug and Stephanie was immediately enveloped in Bvlgari’s perfume fragrance. She heard the faint click of her bedroom door being closed but it sounded so distant, as if she were hearing it from the other end of a phone line. She laid down afterwards on her Louis Vuitton bedspread-covered king size bed, not even bothering to undress. Stephanie stayed up for hours, until finally, at 1 o’clock in the morning, she cried herself to sleep.
CH3
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, STEPHANIE’S BEDROOM
Saturday, July 2nd
10:52am
Late in the morning, Stephanie woke up to the sound of clattering dishes. Oh great, she thought, we’re probably already starting to pack some of our dishes away. She changed out of her hot pink satin shorts and black Charlotte Ronson silk halter top and put on a coral mini-skirt, and a delicate white Marc Jacobs cotton spaghetti strap with lace. She was at least an eight. After that, she spritzed herself with Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume, grabbed her gold Motorola Razr then walked down the stairs for breakfast. No one was at the huge oval shaped dining table made of cherry wood. Natalia was probably out on her morning jog, Sabrina was most likely at the mall ransacking the shelves at Chanel, Shannon was probably IMing her BFFs and Brent was at work again. Stephanie glanced up at the clock on the stove and saw that it read 11:11am.Time to make a wish. She wished that somehow or other, they wouldn’t have to move out of Chicago to Beverly Hills. She hoped and hoped for her wish to come true but knew that all this wishing was just wasting her time. Her parents had already said that it was a done deal. Sighing with depression, Stephanie screamed for May. “Yes, m’dear?” came the sound of a fifty-something year old woman coming up the stairs leading to their humongous basement.
“Could you prepare some French toast along with some fresh fruit? Bacon would be nice too.” Last night’s crying session had made her hungry. “Certainly, m’dear” replied May. As soon as May disappeared into the kitchen, Stephanie immediately started texting her friends.
Stephanie: Whuzzup?
She tried masking her sadness with smiley emoticons. Seconds later, ding.
Violetta: What’s with all the smileys? Something’s gotta be wrong.
Sigh, she knew that she could never fake out her BFFs. They knew her too well.
Anna: Yeah, whattup w/ that?
Stacey : Dang,girl, why act like a Frauda?
Stephanie: ??????
Stacey: Why act all fake?
Stephanie: I’ll tell you guys at the pool party. At 1:00pm
Anna: I just got this adorable yellow floral print bikini from alice+olivia.
Stephanie: Gtg, May’s here.
It was true. May had just appeared with breakfast. Part of the reason she signed off was also because she didn’t want to burst into tears while texting her BFFs. God, she’d miss them like hell. And how soon would they be moving out of their estate? Stephanie was too shocked last night to bother asking. The instant the sweet smell of French toast mixed with maple syrup entered her mouth, she was instantly calmed. She decided to keep positive about this whole situation and have the most fun she ever had with her BFFs, even if she had to act like a Frauda to achieve that.
CH4
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, INDOOR POOL
Saturday, July 2nd
12:51pm
“What should I wear, what should I wear, what should I wear??” Stephanie kept mumbling to herself. Ughhhhh. If only she was in a better mood, the choice might’ve been easier. Her wardrobe was just not cooperating with her today. She was in her huge walk-in closet that was probably as big as a normal bedroom. She had 11 options of bikinis laid out in front of her. After five minutes of pondering, she finally decided on option five= a black Chanel bikini. She grabbed a baby pink towel from the towel rack in her beach-inspired washroom, snatched up a pair of Juicy flip-flops, then padded her way down to their indoor pool. It was at least ten feet deep and it had a diving board also. She called for May again to prepare some summer-y snacks. Within two minutes, VSA (Violetta, Stacey, Anna) came running down the steps toward Stephanie, who was on the diving board. They screamed ‘Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy’ but Stephanie pretended not to hear. Then she did a perfect swan dive and landed gracefully in the water. She stayed under water for 5 seconds, and like a supermodel in an advertising print campaign for bikinis, then emerged to the sound of applause.
“Oh my guh-od. Love the Chanel bikini. Looks great against your blonde curls.” Violetta cried.
“ Two letters. TT.” Said Anna. She had been making up abrievations since forever. Stephanie knew that if you had achieved a Total Ten then your outfit, or in her case, bikini was beyond being beyond.
“Sooooo, uh, what’s the big news?” asked Violetta. God, could her beta not understand that this was a time for fun, not exploding into waterworks?
“Tell ya later” replied Stephanie. As she did so, she turned on the radio and P!nk’s ‘So What’ bleated through the whole room.
‘So, so what, I’m still a rock star
I got my rock moves and I don’t need you’
At the rock star part, Stacey pretended to play an invisible guitar while rocking her head back and forth. This made everyone laugh. When Britney’s ‘Circus’ came on, everyone dive-bombed into the pool, not caring that they were acting like drunk people. Inflated rafts, noodles and boards were thrown into the pool as if they were confetti. They were having so much fun that they didn’t even notice when May arrived with watermelon/raspberry smoothies, pitas with hummus, chips, mini-subs and gummie kebabs.
At 2:45, everyone got tired and started hungrily munching on the snacks. All three pairs of eyes were on Stephanie with expectant and anxious looks on their faces. Stephanie surrendered under their looks and sighed a deep heavy sigh. “I’m moving to Beverly Hills.” Violetta dropped her pita, Stacey choked on her smoothie, and Anna almost hit the inside of her mouth with her kebab stick. They all stared at her as if she had red and green teeth. “No really.” Anna said. “Yes really.” Replied Stephanie with a trace of a sniffle. Immediately, VSA ditched their food and came running toward her with open arms. All of a sudden, Stephanie was enveloped in Violetta’s sharp, gentle, floral Nina Ricci perfume, Stacey’s romantic Ralph Lauren fragrance and the scent of Anna’s fresh, clean and delicate Miss Dior Chérie. When mixed together with her Marc Jacobs Daisy, it smelled bittersweet. But she refused to show her tears, even though they were rapidly gathering in the corners of her eyes. Like a true alpha, she’d never let people think she was ever a Frauda. She wasn’t cheap and fake. It was like she was a Prada, and everyone else was a cheap Ardene tote. She was prettier then them on the outside, had a high-quality standard then the others, texture/material was richer and every one of those Ardenes wanted to be just like a Prada but could never make that transformation. It was like Layne and Massie from the Clique, a weed and a rose, a broken down truck and a Mercedes. And Stephanie was going to live up to her Prada standard, even if this move was about to ruin anything and everything.
November 25th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
CH5
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, LIVING ROOM
Saturday, July 2nd
3:38pm
After her friends had left, and Stephanie was alone with no one but her mom, she asked the few questions that she desperately needed to ask.
“Mom, when exactly is this move?”
“In a week, dear. Actually, more like 5 days.”
“Five days?! You could’ve forwarned me like at least a month earlier so I could’ve prepared for this huge blow.”
“Steph, we really don’t want you to be mad about this. I for one, thought you’d be excited for this move because y__”
“Mom, does it look like I’m excited? And how could you think that ditching my BFFs forever classifies as exciting??”
“Stephanie Rae-Anne Brookmill, let me finish. I thought you’d be excited because you’ve always raved about how you wanted to be one of those Cali girls that sun-tanned at the beach everyday and went to an exclusive private school. You’ve always wanted to visit Beverly Hills.”
“Uh, mom FYI you can tan perfectly well at the beach here in Chicago and Cambridge Prep is already an exclusive private school for rich girls who have the potential to be successful. Yes, I do want to visit Beverly Hills not move there!”
“Which reminds me, we need to call the First Rate movers now to let them know that they should come on Thursday.”
“Steph, I need you to clean out your closet and figure out which clothes you want and which you don’t. Put the clothes you don’t want in a garbage bag and bring it down to the kitchen in an hour. I’ll have May ship it to the Free the Children clothing donation. The other day, I saw a silver Gucci scarf that you got a year ago and never seem to have worn yet.”
Whatttttttt?! It was like this move was changing her family members too. Since when had her mom been into charity? Well, she was right there was a Gucci scarf that she’d never worn yet. And come to think of it, there was also a pretty aqua Chanel blouse that was out of date too. As Stephanie started rummaging around in her closet she thought, Well it might take my mind off my friend’s sad looks when they left. To them, it seemed like the end of the world which was kind of true. They looked up to her. Sure, they were definitely pretty, had great senses of humour/taste in fashion, and they were the Pradas of their school. They stood out among the sea of Ardene totes. Violetta Tang had an exotic Asian beauty that was rare. She had the closest thing to amber eyes that Stephanie had ever seen, and exquisite straight black hair with wispy side-swept bangs. Her features were pretty and she had a perfect nose. Stacey Gibson had navy eyes and wavy dark brown hair with dirty blonde highlights. Her lips were heart-shaped and she had the best legs. Anna Rectler had auburn hair that was impeccably straight and pretty green eyes with long lashes and high cheekbones. After brooding over these thoughts for more than forty minutes, Stephanie was done her reject pile that was to be sent to charity. It had at least 20 pieces of outdated clothing that were cute-looking. The reject pile included two Louis Vuitton scarves, a cashmere Theory sweater, five pairs of True Religion/Seven jeans, a Burberry jacket and plaid rainboots, her never-worn Gucci scarf, her aqua Chanel blouse and a couple more things. Once she was done, she lugged her garbage bag down to the living room where her mom was watching the Tyra Banks show. “Mayyyyyyyyyyy!” Stephanie screamed. A second later, May came dashing into the living room. “The donation for Free the Children.” Then she kicked the bag to her. Then out of pure frustration, she stomped up the stairs with her Jimmy Choo heels scuffing the wood of the winding staircase. When she reached her room, Natalia’s voice came through the green-apple shaped intercom next to Stephanie’s gold Dell computer. “Stop scuffing the wood, the new owner is coming tomorrow to see the house again.” Stephanie sighed with frustration. Then she glanced around her room. Her room was well designed enough that the people at Pottery Barn should put up a poster of it in their store. It was all white with a touch of gold here and there. Oh and the green intercom. She had a white Louis Vuitton bedspread with matching pillows. Her bed was shaped like a circle and was a king size one. Marshmallow had a little doggie bed that was like a mini-version of her real-life one. On a painted-white mahogany table stood her gold Dell computer and her green-apple intercom. She had a 70 inch flat-screen TV with over 700 channels on it. Right next to her bed was a gold mini-fridge and on top of her room was a disco ball. Her closet doors were made of mirror and the inside was huge. It had spotlights on the ceiling that shined on the spring, summer, fall and winter sections of her closet. In the middle of the closet was a huge rotating circular shelf full of shoes. Right beside the first rotating shelf stood another circular rotating shelf that held tons of jewelry. On another shelf, it looked like a collage of purses, totes, wallets, clutches and bags were neatly arranged by designer name. And of course, the shoes, jewelry and clothes were all designer as well. Right outside the closet, she had a gold vanity filled with CoverGirl , Marc Jacobs, M.A.C. products and Sassy Sophistication lip gloss. Every day a new lip gloss and balm arrived at the Brookmill doorstep for Stephanie. It was an exclusive brand made by Sassy Sophie, as she was known by. And matching the gold vanity was a gold director’s chair. Her washroom was painted so that it looked like a day at the beach. The flooring looked like sand and there were painted beach umbrellas at certain intervals of the room. There were waves painted on the walls and real-looking shells and rocks so that it looked like the walls were immersed under water. She had a big white egg-shaped tub with nozzles set along the side and was being supported by four gold-painted paws. Her shower had glass doors and a big nozzle set at the top. Her toilet seat was painted gold and her sink had gold swan-shaped taps. There were yellow, light pink and white towels on racks right outside the shower. She was gonna miss her room so much. It was fit for a princess. Her mom had told her that she was gonna have a painter come over and paint everything back to it’s original color: a horrible beige. Like everything else in her life, her room was also gonna change, but not for the better. She prayed to god again that a miracle would happen before Thursday but unless her dad changed his mind, that was not gonna happen. The move was coming at her like a speeding train and there was no way she could stop it.
CH6
THE MALL, FOOD COURT
Sunday, July 3rd
1:14pm
Trying to spend as much time as possible with her BFFs, Stephanie had planned out a schedule for all of them:
Sunday July 3rd
*Shop till we drop at the mall
*Gossip session at Baskin Robbins
Monday July 4th
*Amusement park celebrating July 4th!! Fireworks at the end
* Bring plastic bags in case puke
Tuesday July 5th
*Spa- day at home with the girls inc. facials, skin-care, mani-pedis, massages, waxing (if needed), body-wraps and polishes, vichy, swiss shower and make-up applications
Wednesday, July 6th
*Day at the beach
*Screening party. Movie marathon!
*Sleepover at night
Thursday July 7th
*Family&Friends BBQ at Brookmill Estate
*Bring waterproof mascara. You’ll need it
*Hugs&Kisses! Goodbye VSA! x 100000
After reviewing her well-written schedule, Stephanie shared it with VSA. They were all excited about the five days of fabulousness that were ahead of them but couldn’t really bring their eyes to read the plan for Thursday. They knew that if their alpha had left them, they’d emotionally die. None of the 4 girls mentioned the move, which Stephanie took to be a good thing. They were just finishing up their A&W lunch and heading over to Baskin Robbins for their daily gossip session. Everyone ordered a different thing: Stephanie-a cappuccino blast, Violetta-a wild mango bold breeze smoothie, Stacey-a reese peanut butter cup sundae and Anna- a superfudge truffle ice cream cone. Stephanie paid for all their ice-cream as a little treat. The moment they all sat down, the gossip began.
“I have a piece of gossip that’s worth five-hundred G-points.” Violetta said.” I heard on Facebook that Hanna, Sabrina’s “friend” peed in her pajamas while she was watching a scary movie with her cousin. She didn’t even notice it until her sleeping bag was all wet.” Everyone laughed at this. “You totally earned your points.” said Stephanie. Violetta beamed with pride. She was now leading in G-points by 1000. Every week, the girl that had the most G-points was awarded a small treat from their alpha. Last week, it had been a deep purple bottle of Essie nail polish. This week it was gonna be a small Coach make-up bag, big enough to put your mascara, blush and lip-gloss in so that when you put them in your purse, they won’t get crushed by wallets and who knew what else. The reason why Stephanie didn’t bother giving out all these treats was because her mom’s best friend owned a department store that was full of designer brands of make-up. And she kept on giving them all these free stuff. They had tons of Essie nail polish and Coach make-up bags left. Her mom had wanted to throw them into the garbage, but Stephanie thought it might be a better idea to give them to her friends as G-point prizes. It was obvious that Violetta was gonna win for the fifth time in a row.
“I have a piece of gossip.” stated Stephanie.
“Worth”, asked Anna?
“Three hundred.”
“Well start spilling like an overturned bottle of pop.”
“Ok, so you know Gabby Grayhill from Cambridge?” They all nodded yes. “Well, she’s a bit (cough) major loser and lord knows how this happened, but she apparently got a date with Dan Birks.” When she said ‘Dan Birks’, she looked at Anna to see how she would take this news. As she had expected, Anna became quite still. Dan was her ex-boyfriend and there was a little part of her that still wasn’t over him yet even after being his ex for two months already. Then after a few seconds, she recovered and said “Whatevs, I’m over him times a 100.” But everyone knew she was lying. She was probably saying in her head how such a dorky girl got accepted on a date by Dan Birks? Gabby Grayhill was in the nerd group at school and was usually seen listening to her cheap mp3 alone at break or else reading a Harry Potter book. She was a member of the chess and knitting club. Her wardrobe was all Winners and her shoes looked like they had suffered significantly. She wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and probably couldn’t tell the difference between plaids and stripes. She had pink braces, her proportions and her face were actually ok-looking and she was the tallest girl at Cambridge. She towered at least a head over every other girl at Cambridge. How Dan could’ve fallen for her was an utter mystery. To make Anna feel better, Stephanie said “She’s so tall that she’s gonna have to stoop down like the Hunch-Back of No-Très-Dumb when she kisses Dan.” Everyone lol’ed. This made Anna feel better.
After shopping for three and a half hours, SVSA piled up in Stephanie’s white Lincoln-limo while Stephanie’s driver, Patrick, started driving each of them home. While in the back-seat of the spacious limo, SVSA laughed and talked about all the jokes, funny pieces of gossip, and stories they made of the people they hated. For the first time in what felt like a decade, Stephanie finally relaxed and let her brain avoid the thought of the move to Beverly Hills like it was smelly fish.
CH7
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, KITCHEN
Thursday, July 7th
9:02am
Finally, the day that Stephanie had been dreading arrived. The day started with a bang, literally. One of the clumsy First Rate Movers people had accidentally tripped over a box containing half of the Brookmill clothes while carrying a stack of delicate china plates that were usually reserved for tea. They had been a wedding gift to Natalia and Brent from one of Natalia’s good friends. The dozen or so plates had fallen from the clumsy hands of the First Rate Mover and clattered onto the hardwood floor, smashing into bits. It was so loud that it gave Marshmallow quite a startle and she refused to come out from under Stephanie’s bed until they gave her a doggie bacon treat.
Thus, Natalia’s anger began. She had screamed at the First Rate Mover for over ten minutes and which caused everyone in the household a headache. Natalia’s bad mood continued throughout breakfast, when she dumped maple syrup so hard on her pancakes that before she knew it, half the table was drenched in syrup. She raged silently to herself about how it had stained her new Lululemon sweats, than stomped upstairs to change. Her bad mood seemed as contagious as a yawn. Brent had finally taken a day off work to help pack, than realised that he had stepped on a small piece of glass from what was remained of the shattered plates. Apparently, May hadn`t cleaned the floor well enough. He swore as the cut on the bottom of his foot started leaking blood. For Sabrina, she was cross because she had to pack everything in her room by herself, having neglected it during the week. Shannon was getting moodier and moodier by the minute, because everyone kept yelling at her to stop playing her annoying Miley Cyrus CD. And Stephanie was just mad at the whole world because of the obvious reason. There was no escape now. She was doomed to restart her whole life again. Just thinking about all the time she had spent to make sure that she and her friends were on top and then having to restart it again, made her want to burst into tears. But no way was she going to cry in front of her whole family. And she couldn`t let VSA see her with red puffy eyes on her departing day. She had to look like she was still the ultimate alpha and that today was just another normal Thursday. But she knew that she was going to explode into a fountain when the time came to say her final goodbye. With reluctance, she changed out of her purple silk Victoria Secret PJs, took a 15 minute shower, and started to plan a TT outfit again. She had to look like she was going to a celebrity party, not a Family & Friends Goodbye BBQ. After half an hour of rummaging through her almost-packed closet, she found a perfect hot pink Chloé dress, paired it with black Jimmy Choo heels and a pair of Michael Kors shades. She then spritzed herself with Marc Jacobs Daisy, fluffed up her hair, applied on some mascara, eyeliner, Sassy Sophistication strawberry lip gloss and pinched her cheeks. Oh which reminded her, she had to change her SS lip gloss mailing address. She whipped out her Motorola Razr and sent a message to Sassy Sophie. Done, done and done. She was ready to face the worst.
Natalia had already ordered Dionne McMinster to plan this party a week ago. Dionne was one of the best party planners in the whole of America. She had planned parties for celebrities like Rihanna, Jennifer Aniston and Orlando Bloom. She could be seen in the backyard giving direction to a scrawny guy to move the food table to a different location. Stephanie really didn`t know why her mom was making such a huge deal out of this, since it was only a farewell party. I mean, her dad could grill perfect hamburgers and hot dogs, her mom could make some home-made sundaes and grilled corn and a tossed salad but nooooooo, they just had to have some major party planner do it. Her mom liked to overdo everything. While standing on the deck, Stephanie thought about all the good times she had had as a child in this house. It had been hers for 13 years and 17 days. Apart from her room, Stephanie loved the backyard. It was pretty big, contained a trampoline big enough to fit 10 people, a ten-feet deep circular swimming pool with heated warm water, a mini-golf course, a tennis court, a pitch of sand with volleyball nets, a huge deck, some oak and pine trees, large bushy sculptures shaped into animals, a marble fountain piece, and there was a mini-hill at the end of the yard where all the trees stood. It was Stephanie’s go-to place when she became stressed. She still remembered when she would just lie down on the hill and think about life in general, not even caring that her hair was touching dirty grass. Beyond the hill, there were wild-flowers and mushrooms everywhere. Stephanie had asked her dad to set up a hammock there. On one of the bigger trees stood a big tree-house that was painted canary-yellow. On the outside, there was a white painted wooden sign with the saying ‘SVSA ONLY’ in purple paint. In the tree-house, there was a small round table and 4 chairs. The table was big enough to fit four six year olds. When SVSA had first met at the age of six, they had formed their Clique. Almost every day after school, the four of them would come to the club-house and do everything they used to do: real tea parties with their Bratz and fashionably dressed Barbies, designing clothes for their Barbies, making clay sculptures to decorate the room with, cutting up images of things they loved from magazines and hanging it from the ceiling. Back then, they didn’t have Marshmallow but the Brookmills had a gray cat named Misty. Misty was the four girls club mascot and they used to decorate Misty with wreaths of wildflowers picked from the yard, sometimes even rubbing glitter on her tail. Misty hated it, but the girls all loved it. She laughed quietly to herself. She had still remembered the day when Misty started climbing the long ladder that led up to their clubhouse. Everyone had whipped out their cellphones and taken dozens of pictures. Violetta had even recorded a video and posted it on YouTube.
Between the ages of 11 and 12, Stephanie had ditched the idea of playing in the clubhouse. Instead, she and her friends went shopping, bought tickets to see plays/movies and came to the Brookmill’s home spa to have a relaxing day after cramming hard for mid terms and exams. There were tons of great memories preserved in the Brookmill house.
Suddenly, a door bell rang and in came Sabrina’s friends, Camilla, Bethany, Victoria and Aimee. Sabrina ran to gush-greet them with open arms. A few minutes later, Shannon’s BFFs, Tamara, Morgan, and Lizzie rang the doorbell. It was already 12:30 and VSA had promised to show up before 12:00. Finally the sound of Violetta’s laugh came through the open front window and Stephanie felt alive again. “Heyyyyyy girls!” Stephanie screamed with fake enthusiasm. “Omg, hey!” they screamed back, obviously trying to conceal their sadness with over-bright smiles. For some reason, Stacey had a bulging Marc Jacobs tote swinging over her shoulders and the moment Anna saw Stephanie raising an questioning eyebrow at Stacey, she said “Come on, let’s get some food. I’m starving.” It was obviously a tactic to lure Stephanie’s thoughts away from the tote, because Anna only ate a sundae in the whole afternoon. SVSA all gathered on the hammock after lunch, talking about all the great memories that the foursome shared together. At one point, Stephanie saw a tear escaping from Violetta’s heavily lidded brown eyes and forced herself to look away. If she saw her beta cry, she knew that she herself would start sobbing uncontrollably.
In what felt like 10 minutes, but really was two hours, Natalia’s voice came out through a microphone for everyone to check the house again in case the Brookmills had left any possessions behind. Stephanie ran up to her room alone, not to check if she had left anything behind, because she had already quadruple-checked, but to have one last look of her fabulous bedroom. Her eyes took in everything, from the gold decorations to her beloved disco-ball. She thought about all the times she had let out her happiness, her sadness, her anger, her despair and her stress in this room. After five minutes, Shannon called Stephanie down for the final goodbyes. Her friends were trying to (but not succeeding) to hold back their tears. They all ran to her with open arms and the four girls collided in a forceful hug, just like the hug they had had on the day of the pool party. VSA were all crying, and it was really hard for Stephanie not to cry. It was about as hard as staying on a bucking bronco with no hand support. But like the true alpha she was, Stephanie didn’t show one single tear. “Love you girls,” said Stephanie. “You’re all going to be fabulous in the future.” Stephanie knew that her girls had enough skill to survive without her. With their looks, personality, confidence and fabulousness, they’d be sure to make new friends. “Love you Stephanie.” They all said at slightly different times. Stacey was now actually sobbing. They did take direction well and had worn waterproof mascara. By the time the four girls pulled away, Stephanie’s eyes looked like mini-pools of water. Stacey then reached into her Marc Jacobs tote, and produced a magenta and gold scrapbook, an identical photo album, and a limited edition crocodile Prada clutch. ”We’re so sorry that we were late but the Prada clutch arrived at noon and we had to add some finishing touches to the scrapbook/photo album.” Stephanie gasp-sniffled. She knew how hard it must’ve been for her girls to do this for her, especially to get the limited Prada clutch. She pretended to wipe a loose strand of hair away, but really wiping her tears out of her eyes. Receiving it with wet tear-stained hands, Stephanie gushed “I love it.” Then she kissed each and every one of her girls on the cheek goodbye. She could hear her mom already honking the horn of their Mercedes-Benz. She had to hurry. “Love you bitches!” Their alpha blew air-kisses to her three betas, then rushed out the door, not daring to look back for fear she’d explode into waterworks. When she got in the backseat of the family’s red Mercedes-Benz, she erupted into sobs. As they were starting to reach the outskirts of Chicago, she stole one last glance through her tear-filled eyes at the glamorous life she was leaving behind for good.
CH8
BEVERLY HILLS, HENDERSON RD.
Friday July 8th
9:38pm
After spending a night at a hotel in who knew where, the Brookmills finally arrived at their new home.
Upon first glance of their new estate, Stephanie did feel a bit better knowing that her new home was going to be beside the beach and she was living in a neighbourhood where movie stars lived. She could spot Paris Hilton or somebody and they could become new BFFs…. Stephanie refused to finish that sentence because just thinking about those three letters made her want to tear up again. When they got through the wrought iron gates that separated their house from the rest of the world, Stephanie could see that her mom wasn’t lying. This estate was 10 times bigger than the old estate. It was white with a black roof and there were black shutters on the outside of all 26 windows. There was a huge fountain in their driveway and they had four garages. On the front lawn, there were large oak trees and bushes shaped into animals like the ones back in Chicago. This made Stephanie feel like she was still attached to their old house in some way. Once Brent had stopped their Mercedes-Benz, everyone got out and ran toward the magnificent glass doors.
“How many rooms does it have?”asked Shannon.
“About sixteen, dear” replied Natalia
“Omg , that means I can have a guest-room for when my new BFFs come!” she exclaimed.
New BFFs? Stephanie thought. How could Shannon be so convinced that she was gonna make new friends so soon? And how could she not even look sad upon mentioning the word BFF. It didn’t even seem like she missed Tamara, Morgan and Lizzie. Well then again, Shannon was an optimistic person. Stephanie was also, but she failed to see the bright side of this disastrous situation. How could their parents think that they could be easily fooled into thinking that the move was great just by buying some super expensive and gorgeous house? Sabrina had the same look of disgust on her face, like she had just drank stale milk. This was again one of the rare occasions when she and her sister had agreed.
“Dad hurry up! I want to get in already!” Shannon whined.
“Just looking for the keys”, mumbled Brent in return.
Shannon sighed out her impatience. After a couple more minutes of rummaging, Brent produced the key to Stephanie’s nightmare. When Brent unlocked the door, Shannon, Stephanie and Sabrina gasped accordingly. Shannon ran into the wide front hall with her dirty blond wavy hair leaving the scent of Herbal Essences shampoo behind. The walls were white, with paintings of fruit bowls and 20th century women dressed in puffed sleeved dresses, calmly sipping red wine. The frames of the paintings were all adorned in gold spray-painted leaves. On the right of the front entrance doors stood a huge spiral staircase made of marble. On the left of the front hall was the living room. It was naked right now but with some couches, a flat-screen, some flowers and a glass coffee-table, it’d look so chic. “What are you doing?” demanded Sabrina in her usual cold tone reserved especially for Stephanie. She was talking about Stephanie’s wide open tangerine-glossed mouth. “It’s called being impressed.” retorted Stephanie. She was about to say a rude remark on how Sabrina had to wax immediately because her legs were showing some hair but decided better of it. Immediately after she had said that she was impressed, she looked behind her to make sure that her parents hadn’t heard. She still wasn’t ready to give them the satisfaction that they wanted to see. Stephanie ran upstairs to claim the biggest room so she and Sabrina wouldn’t have to fight over it. All the rooms were fairly big with nothing in them. Stephanie decided to choose the far right room, which had a perfect view of the backyard. When she looked down into the garden, she saw a couple of small baby ducks in a pond on the edge of the backyard. There was a huge dirty-covered stretch of grass in the middle of the backyard where the previous owners had obviously put up a blow-up pool. This was so unlike her old home. It would definitely take a long time to get used to. To mark her territory, she spritzed the door with Marc Jacobs Daisy. Now everyone would know that that room was hers. “Stephanieeeeeeeeeee!” screeched her mom. “Whattttttt?” Stephanie screamed back. “Come down here, it’s almost ten and we still have to unpack our beds and PJs.” Stephanie had completely forgotten about that. She quickly ran downstairs to find the front hall’s charm gone, replaced by the un-charming smell of cardboard. When she entered the front hall, the sadness in Stephanie became stronger as she looked around and saw that nothing reminded her of home in Chicago. “What took you?” asked Sabrina. “None of your BeesWAX!” She enunciated the wax part because it was so not alpha to show hairy legs in public. It was a “friendly” hint that Stephanie had given to her sister, knowing that Sabrina was an alpha. She should be thanking me on bended knee, thought Stephanie. With brains like hers, it’ll take her days to notice. And after all, that could totally ruin her social status. Sabrina might be pretty and charming in a way, but she lacked majorly in self presentation, Stephanie thought while unpacking a box marked STEPHANIE CLOTHES. Immediately, the smell of Marc Jacobs Daisy emanated through the hall when the cardboard flaps of the box opened. Well at least something reminded her of what used to be.
CH9
THE BROOKMILL ESATE, 1282 HENDERSON RD.
Saturday, July 9th
10:20am
If someone had been looking down Henderson Road today at 10:20am in the morning, they would’ve thought that it was a peaceful and calm street with birds chirping on the trees and a slight breeze blowing through the air. But if that someone had looked through the window facing the backyard of number 1282, they would’ve thought otherwise.
Stephanie was lying in the fetal position on her king-sized bed, feeling that someone had buried her alive. The only other time she had felt like this was when her BF had dumped her a few months ago. But come on! She’d much rather lose her BF than her BFFs. If her BFFs left her, her BF couldn’t ever in a million years replace them. But if her BF dumped her, VSA could always make her feel 120 percent again by comforting and treating her. And that’s what they had done. Reluctantly, Stephanie let another tear fall from her eyes and add to the mini pools that were just beside her neck. She didn’t even care if there was water on her silk bed. Puh-lease! That was the furthest thing from her mind. She had wayyyyyyy more pressing matters than stained silk. The only time she’ll ever see VSA’s faces again is if she used a web-cam or if she visited them during school holidays. Her eyes were burning and she had refused to eat the 10:00pm dinner of ordered pizza. She’d probably have barfed it all out. Her parents just didn’t understand how much her friends needed her and she needed them. Leaving Chicago had been like leaving her heart behind. How could she survive without it? She felt dehydrated and famished (having had no lunch or dinner). She felt like somebody had crushed her alpha card into pieces with eight inch high Fergie pumps. She was no longer alpha of her Clique. That thought alone made her want to cry and cry until she had no more tears left in her. She had no friends to comfort her and she didn’t even have a go-to place anymore. The only someone she could let out her feelings to was Marshmallow, who was still asleep. Marshmallow was her only hope. She couldn’t tell Sabrina, she’d laugh in her face. Shannon wouldn’t make her feel any better with her talk of new BFFs and her parents weren’t an option either. She was going to erupt if she didn’t tell someone this very minute. She desperately scooped up Marshmallow and lifted her onto the bed. “Marsh, my world is collapsing. I feel so alone and friendless. I can’t see my friends anymore and there’s no one to confide in but you.” Her dog let out a bark, which Stephanie took to be a sign that she was listening to every word. “Nothing’s familiar here, Marsh. Shannon’s already talking about new BFFs. How can that be? I can’t even stand it when people utter those three letters. I still have to keep up my alpha status though but I don’t think I’ll be able to do that what with not being around VSA. They were my betas. And now I feel like I left my heart behind in Chicago. What’s Cambridge gonna do without me? I practically ran the school. It’s gonna socially fall apart Marsh. Mom and Dad are just being pure evil and so is Sabrina but then again she was just born that way. Lord knows how she became an alpha……..”
After talking to her dog for more than 20 minutes, Stephanie did feel a whole lot better. She didn’t feel like a volcano that was about to erupt insecurities anymore. She just desperately needed food and liquids. To quell the noise that her stomach was issuing, Stephanie ran down to the kitchen and looked around for her mom. She was usually up and around at 7:00am making coffee and toast but in her place stood a tall 40 something year old woman who was humming to herself while frying bacon. “Um who are you?” Stephanie asked not even caring that she sounded rude. She had to take her emotions out on someone that wasn’t her parents or they would’ve started grounding her. And that was so not an option. “Oh, hello, you must be Miss Stephanie. Hi my name is Cora and I’m your new house-keeper.” She extended her hand out to shake Stephanie’s. She reluctantly shook it and quickly let go. “Do you like it here in Beverly Hills?” she asked. “Yeah I love it.” Stephanie replied in faux-sweetness. “Well that’s great!” Cora replied. “Not” Stephanie coughed. “Pardon?” asked Cora. “Oh it’s nothing. Just a little cough.” Stephanie smiled sweetly. “That’s good, well what would you like for breakfast?”
“Well, if you don’t mind, I’ll take some chocolate-chip pancakes with hash browns and freshly squeezed orange juice.”
“Ready in ten.” replied Cora.
How had her mom failed to introduce her to their new house-keeper? God, her mom never waited until the last minute to introduce her to someone. What was happening? It was like stepping into a mirror where everything was reversed. While waiting for breakfast to be ready, Stephanie went out onto the deck to get a better view of the beach. Oh, how she’d love to be there right now, sun-tanning and just letting the gentle lapping waves wash off all her depression and insecurities. She looked around her and finally had to accept that she was in a completely different world away from Chicago. The only resemblance was the neighbourhood. It looked exactly like the one they had lived in in Chicago, with big hot tubs and tennis courts in the backyards and long circular driveways with marble fountains. Hopefully, she’d find some new BFFs worthy of being her beta. They had to at least be intelligent, pretty, humorous and loyal. She was bound to find some friends or acquaintances here, where every girl’s parents were famous directors or actors or big businessmen or designers.
“Breakfast, Miss Stephanie!” Cora practically sang. Looking at Cora’s over-bright happiness that was coming from her toothy smile, Stephanie wanted to knock her to the ground. She couldn’t stand when people were being overly cheerful when she was in deep depression. “Thanks,” Stephanie said rather grudgingly. “My pleasure, dear.” Replied Cora
While chewing on the delicious chocolate-chip pancakes Stephanie couldn’t help but think that Cora was an awesome cook. The chocolates just melted into her mouth like a Listerine breath strip. “Mmmmmm, thanks!” Stephanie said to a still-smiling Cora ten minutes later. “Huh?” replied the shocked maid. “Oh, you’re welcome.” For the first time in a couple days, Stephanie had finally said something honest and smiled without the faux-ness.
After breakfast, Stephanie planned to go to the beach. She tried IMing her friends but none of them were on. Then she texted them leaving a message that said “HELPPPPPPPPP!” She then went to inspect her new washroom. It wasn’t as good as the old one but it had to do. It had white sheepskin rugs that were laid on the floor at intervals. The shower looked like the old one except it wasn’t gold. The marble hot-tub was awesome and looked like real crystal. There was a large wood cabinet beside the shower that contained dozens of freshly washed towels and shower caps and sample shampoo like the ones you’d see in hotels. It was chic but Stephanie made a mental note to ask her mom if she could re-paint her washroom/bedroom.
“Mom, where are all my clothes?”
“In your bedroom.” Stephanie looked behind her and saw that several huge cardboard boxes were piled right beside her new walk-in closet. Stephanie walked toward the boxes and started the gruelling work of unpacking all her clothes and purses. After ten minutes of trying to rip at the thick packing tape with her perfectly mani’d nails, she gave it up as a bad job and defeat-sighed. Cora! She thought. How could she have been so stupid?? Why risk ruining her perfect nails when there was someone getting paid to do this tedious work? “Cora! C’mere!” Stephanie screamed. “Comingggggg!” Cora trilled in her annoying sing-songy voice. “I need you to help me unpack my clothes. Make sure not to get stains on the light-wash ones,” Stephanie said, glancing at Cora’s dirty fingers. “Oh, and don’t fold any of them ‘cause no one looks good in wrinkles. Kay thanks!”
“Uh miss Steph, are you sure these are all yours? Surely no one has this much clothes?” Cora said upon glancing at the 20 or so 4 feet high cardboard boxes.
“I’m positively sure these are all mine. If you’re not up for it I can certainly inform my mom on a lower pay check this month.”
“Oh nothing like that Miss Steph. I’d be willing to.” For once Cora’s voice didn’t sound so bright and rainbow-y.
“Then we’re good.” Stephanie smirked as she went to the washroom to brush her teeth. Having unpacked all her washroom necessities last night, she didn’t have to waste more time ruining her French manicured nails trying to hack at un-rippable tape. After taking a 20 minute shower, she emerged smelling like a mix of watermelon, passion fruit, tuberose, caramel apple and mandarins thanks to her Juicy Couture shampoo. Brushing her teeth with her Crest toothpaste made the chocolaty smell of breakfast’s pancakes go away. Unlike other people she didn’t need Crest Whitestrips. Her teeth were already well-kempt for. After applying on her coconut-scented body butter, cleanser, toner, scrub, foundation and perfecta eye cream, and her new delivery of raspberry sorbet Sassy Sophistication gloss, she felt better than ever. Nothing like a good shower and skin-care time like Natalia always said. That was something that Stephanie actually agreed with her mom on. The new and fresh Beverly Hills alpha was ready to show the world what she was really made out of. She was not someone who cried over lost BFFs and was starting to lose her alpha power because of one stupid move. Even though she was.
CH10
STEPHANIE’S NEW BEDROOM
Saturday, July 9th
11:52am
“There. Done, done and done.” Stephanie announced as she proudly emerged from the inside of her walk-in closet. She sounded as though she had just saved a baby from the hungry teeth of a starving tiger. But really she had picked out a selection of swimsuits for her 1st impression to recruit new betas. Being an alpha and admitting that she currently had no betas could seriously damage her status. And who wanted that happening to them? It didn’t even matter that she had just arrived in Beverly Hills less than 24 hours ago. A real alpha never gives excuses. Even at the most crucial times. And all Stephanie had left was her striking beauty and her alpha power. If she lost those, she’d have to spend the rest of her life hanging out with girls like Gabby Grayhill. Not an option at all. She’d sooner get a mushroom cut then let that happen. She laid down the 15 options of bikinis on her bed and pondered as to which one she should debut. It was a hard decision since they were all ah-mazing. Finally, she settled on the final two options: a white BCBG ruffle trim bikini or an all-black bikini with a gold belt attached around the bottoms. Stephanie finally came up with the solution to do a coin-toss. “Heads, go with BCBG. Tails go with black.” Stephanie said to herself. She flicked a random penny with her thumb, it went half a meter in the air and a second later, it landed on her Louis bedspread with an almost inaudible thud. Heads. “Ok, then BCBG it is.” She said as she started to change out of her Juicy Couture sleepwear. Everyone had always said that she looked good in either black or white. I know it reminds some people of a jailhouse but to me they’re flattering colors, Stephanie thought. She was about to ask VSA to rate her choice of swimwear but then remembered that they were miles away, unable to hear her. Trying not to cry at this thought, Stephanie spritzed a cloud of MJ Daisy and walked through it. At least it was familiar.
“Mom, I’m going to the beach!” Stephanie screamed.
“Fine but be back before dinner.” Natalia replied.
“Fine, whatevs” Stephanie murmured to herself. She still wasn’t in the mood to forgive her mom yet. She had made Stephanie restart her whole life again. And for what? Moving to a nicer house? Puh-lease! Grabbing her white towel, her ipod touch, a recent issue of Seventeen Magazine, sunscreen, a pair of white and gold BCBG flip-flops, a beach umbrella,some spare cash and some Versace sunglasses and putting all of them in her yellow beach tote, Stephanie walked through her backyard, opened the white fence, and emerged into a world of sunshine, laughter, happiness and relaxation. None of which she recently had. This was gonna be as easy as applying on lip gloss, Stephanie thought, already loving that half the hotties were staring at her like she was Angelina Jolie randomly appearing at the beach. One even made a “call me” gesture. She smile-winked back. Finally, a boost of confidence had surged through her body like a much-needed dash of water on a very hot day. She laid down her tote right in the heart of the beach. It was a 35 degrees celsius day and super warm. Perfect time for a tan. Stephanie thought. Forget the tanning. She had to find the perfect betas. They had to be ten times better than her old besties. She put on her sunglasses and grabbed her Seventeen magazine. Pretending to read a how-to do up your hair page, Stephanie looked around her behind her sunglasses so people wouldn’t think she was a creepy stalker. By the looks of it, there were tons of pretty girls (mostly blondes) that were dressed in colourful bikinis and lying on towels sun-tanning. There was only one problem. It wasn’t that Stephanie thought that the pretty blondes needed more of an edge, even though they did. It was that every group of girls she laid her eyes upon, that group already had an alpha. This is harder than it looks, Stephanie thought. All of a sudden, one of the PBs looked her way. “Love your bikini,” she called. “Thanks!” Stephanie replied, being honest. There hadn’t been many people complimenting her on her trendy style lately, except her dad, and he didn’t count. The PB’s alpha glared at her, silently reprimanding her not to speak her admiration. She turned her head back into her group’s conversation. Well at least I still have one of the hotties staring at me, she thought. He had dirty blond wavy hair with piercing blue eyes. Adorable. And by the looks of it, he was single. Score! She could ‘accidentally’ trip and fall into his tanned legs. Then again……. Wait a sec. Stephanie finally spotted a girl about her age trying to build a sand castle by herself. She wasn’t facing towards Stephanie but from the looks of it, she had dark brown scraggly hair tied up into two ultra-high ponytails, one on each side of her face. She was wearing a dark purple one piece bathing suit, probably garage sale bought. And she had a zitless back. Stephanie couldn’t get a good look at her face but with a little bit of time, Stephanie could make her look at least nine-worthy. That’s what alphas do. Done, done and done. She got up to introduce herself to Ultra-High Ponytails. She applied on a fresh coat of Sassy Sophistication Raspberry Sorbet lip gloss and walked elegantly toward Ultra-High Ponytails, who was about six meters away. Everyone was staring. Even the PBs. And like a true alpha, she made the attention stay on her. It was like the sun was dutifully shining on her, creating a magnificent bright glow around her body. Three more meters. Quick Stephanie, think of an alpha-worthy approach. She had to make this girl believe that she was her alpha. Even if she didn’t need one. She had to. Her entire social life depended on it. She could say something like “Heyyyyyyyy girl, ‘sup? I have such juicy gossip. You have to hear this, asap.” There that was a good enough intro. Assuming that the girl wasn’t completely stupid and did know how to ‘play along’. Please god, please! She prayed. This scene had to go perfectly. The girl had to act like a total bestie who hadn’t seen her alpha in a long time. One meter. The girl still wasn’t turning around and Stephanie could still feel the familiar heat of all eyes on her. That feeling alone charged her with the confidence that she could pursue this and make it work. Five inches. Four. Three.n Stephanie triggered on her play-along-or-I’ll-make-your-life-miserable look. Two. One. “Heyyyyyyyy girl ‘sup? I have such juicy gossip. You have to hear this asap.” The girl turned around. Finally. Oh. Ma. Guh. Od. The girl looked like a total before picture in the show Look a Like. Stephanie had imagined her to have alarming bright green eyes with naturally thick and long lashes. Rosy cheeks, plump lips and a beauty mark to the right of her nose should’ve completed the look. But instead, she was staring at a girl with dull mud-colored eyes, very few lashes, a small bump on her nose, biggish ears and lips that looked as thin as ribbon. Total disaster. Well, that teaches you to not get your hopes up high, Stephanie. Better expect low and be surprised at the end then get your hopes up, and be disappointed. How could she have made such a huge mistake? This could downgrade her to a loser for life. No wonder no one hung out with this girl. She was unattractive in__
“Ahmahgad, you do? Finally, no one has told me any juicy gossip in soooooo long, I almost thought people forgot about me. Tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell meeeeeee!” Ultra High Ponytails practically screamed. Well, at least she understood her play-along-or-I’ll-make-your-life-miserable look Stephanie thought, UHP’s semi-scream slapping her back to reality. She wasn’t completely stupid. She must be insanely lonely, Stephanie thought. Poor girl. “ Tell ya later. Oh and by the way, I’m Stephanie. Stephanie Brookmill.”
“I’m Mira. Mira Shelly.” Mira replied, her smile so big that it looked like it was attached to the bottoms of her ears. Which basically confirmed that she had zero friends. “So what’s up?” Stephanie asked. “Not much. I’m so bored these days. My friend’s away this summer. She went to Washington to stay with relatives and well, there are a few girls on my block who go to L.A. Prep but they’re all serious female dogs. And by female dogs, I mean if you turned up to school with a zit, they’ll take a picture of you with their super expensive cell phones and put it in the school’s yearbook.” Stephanie tried not to laugh at the last part because that’s exactly what VSA and herself would’ve done. Stephanie desperately didn’t want anyone to see her hanging out with this loser. But then again, she was extremely friendless at the moment and she wasn’t in the state to be ditching the only person that was talking to her. Stephanie decided to put Mira to the test by taking her shopping. She wanted to know which designer Mira liked to wear, and what she knew about the fashion world. If she had great style, Stephanie could take her on, give her an extreme makeover and train her on how to be the perfect beta. Done, done and done. “Kay, here’s the deal. Do you want to go shopping today at Melrose Avenue with me?” Stephanie asked.
“Do I look like stupid?” Mira responded. Stephanie tried not to laugh at this part. “Of course I’d love to come. No one’s asked me out shopping in so long.”
“So, when can you pick me up?” Mira asked.
“What? I was gonna meet you there wasn’t I?” Stephanie responded. Suddenly everybody just stopped looking her way as though Stephanie were hanging out with a three-legged rabid dog. She had to get her audience back. But how? “Ok, Mira play along or I’ll smear ketchup on all your clothes”, Stephanie said. “Ohmaguh-od that is too funny Mira. Just hilarious.” Everyone on the beach turned to sear their gazes at Stephanie’s bikini-clad back. Perfect. She had her audience back. “So anyways, about that gossip; you remember Chad? At the high school party?” Stephanie wink-inquired.
“Um no what high school party are you talking about?? I’m so confused.” Responded Mira with an utterly blank expression on her oily face.
At that moment Stephanie could just hear her world crashing and falling apart, like it was a snow globe and someone had whipped it at a hard brick wall. First the move, then losing her BFFs, dealing with the Russia-size pressure of finding new betas, having her alpha card slowly crack like it was hardened clay in desperate need of a trickle of water. What next? Having Marshmallow kidnapped? Calling VSA and having them tell her they’d forgotten about her? Trade her wardrobe for an all Sears one? And what__
“Yo blonde babe, nice girlfriend you have there”, some guy from the distance called. At that moment, Stephanie wanted to just burst into tears, not caring if the pretty blondes, their alphas, the hawtties and even Mira thought that she was a cry baby beta. She quickly thanked god that her sunglasses were covering her eyes so her tears wouldn’t leak down her face like mini river tracks. “Mira, meet me at my house tomorrow at eleven a.m.,” Stephanie said, as she pointed to her estate beyond the white fence.
“That’s your house?” Mira cried, as if she had never seen a house that big before.
“Yeah, why?”
“Well, it’s just so…………….big!” Mira said in a sad monotone, probably feeling jealous. Stephanie was glad that Mira envied her in some small way but she had to flee like a deer being chased by a cheetah before her tears over-spilled from her eyes. Stay strong, Stephanie. You’re still the ultimate alpha, she kept on repeating to herself as she said farewell to Mira. Walking back to the backyard entrance of her house, she could spot from the corner of her teary eyes that the cute guy with piercing ocean-like eyes was still subtly staring at her, as if he wanted to ask her out. She smiled her million dollar toothy white smile and wiggled her fingers goodbye. He responded with an adorable salute, then turned back to his surf buddies, probably to ask their opinion of her.
Once Stephanie entered her estate’s grand living room, the peach and apricot smell of her sister’s familiar perfume claimed her nostrils, which meant that she was in close range to Sabrina. She hurried up the spiralling mahogany stairs so as to avoid another snappy comment coming from Sabrina’s Lancôme’s juicy tubes berry coated lips. Mixing with the smell of peaches, apricots and berries was the scent of Sabrina’s grapefruit shaving cream. That could only mean one thing…… Hurrying back down the stairs, she sneakily snuck a peak at Sabrina making herself a sundae. There wasn’t a trace of hair on her shiny legs anymore. So Sabrina wasn’t utterly clueless and did understand how to ‘take a hint’, Stephanie thought. Well at least there was one small improvement coming from this disastrous day.
CH11
STEPHANIE’S NEW BEDROOM
Sunday, July 10th
10:49am
“Are you serious?!” Stephanie cried as she whipped her cell phone onto the silver and gold beanbags surrounding her flat-screen. It blended perfectly. She had been frantically checking her messages and every time she did, the inbox always read “0 messages”. It felt more painful than someone trying to shove a stiletto down your throat. The Motorola Razr landed with a soft thud-hiss that could be heard even with the thundering roar of water coming out of the nozzles from Sabrina’s shower in the room next door. Stephanie was prompt and alert when it came to even the slightest sounds these days. For the past 24 hours and a half, she had been waiting for the familiar ding that would signify that VSA had texted or IMed her. But the only sound she’d heard lately was the sigh of depression, the trickle of her tears, and the churning of her under-nourished stomach because she was officially on a diet of salty tears, water and the sucking in of air. The last time she had eaten anything decent was Cora’s well-prepared chocolate pancakes and that had been 24 hours ago, unless you counted eating a bowl of Cheerios with milk for a midnight snack. If she continued like this, she’d be skinnier than a piece of pepperoni in a couple of days. But she didn’t care. How could she, when her world was spinning out of control and about to crash? She wouldn’t be surprised if a meteor was speeding along and about to ram into her world and destroy it. Glancing into her vanity mirror to see if her eye’s redness was starting to fade, she saw a note scribbled hastily onto a piece of orange construction paper taped into the center of the mirror. It said: “M & S shopping spree at 11am 2morrow.” Shoot. She had written it down the night before but she had completely forgotten about it. Ripping up the construction paper, she balled it up and threw it in her black and white checkered trash can. It popped out between the piled up wet tissues filled with her recent crying session of tears. Taking a peek at her new gold and silver polka-dotted digital clock, it read 10:51 AM. “Are you serious?!” Stephanie screamed for the 2nd time in two minutes. She wanted to chuck the clock/radio into her trash can but she was in a race against time. She never forgot about a shopping spree, at least when she was still BFFs with VSA. With Mira, it was a completely different thing, Stephanie thought as she quickly brushed her teeth, put on her face/body cream, curled her eyelashes, applied on some mascara, smoky gray eye shadow and eyeliner so it would distract passer-bys from her red vampire-like eyes. Doing her daily usual routine of brushing her thick blond curls, glossing her lips (new triple berry SS) and of course, spritzing herself with MJ Daisy. 10:55. Personal record! , Stephanie thought marvelling at the fact that she had done all that in just 4 minutes. Choosing the perfect outfit was always time-consuming. She wanted the rich and fabulous people of Hollywood to think of her as a stunning alpha, not an insignificant beta. Riffling through her neatly arranged ‘summer’ section of her closet, she pulled out a black, hot pink and white plaid Betsey Johnson mini-dress and picking out her black toe pumps that her mom had gotten for her at a cute boutique in Brazil, she quickly re-checked her hair to see if it had messed up or not. Nope, it was the same beautiful blond curly hair that it had been just 1 minute ago. 10:57. Re-glossing another time, she playfully messed up her hair to give it that chic effortless look that people always complimented her on. Choosing to bring her Betsey Johnson black diamond patterned purse and stuffing it with triple berry Sassy Sophistication gloss, mascara, her heart-shaped coral coloured Marc Jacobs compact, her Gucci wallet, her ipod touch, her Motorla Razr (retrieved from the beanbags) and a copy of InStyle magazine with Drew Barrymore on the cover.
Diiiiiiiiiiiing-Dooooooooooooooooooong.
She had been waiting for that ding sound since the second she had left Chicago but it had never come, until now. And it wasn’t for the right reason either.
CH12
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, CROUCHING BEHIND THE BANISTER
Sunday July 10th
11:03 am
Crouching behind her swirling staircase’s banister, straining to hear every syllable of Mira’s mom’s and Natalia’s conversation was not the best position to be in, thought Stephanie, but compared to everything that had happened during the past couple of days, this was nothing. Mira and her mom, whose name apparently was Shona, were happily chatting away with Natalia, as though they had been best friends for years.
“I’m glad that Stephanie has started bonding with my Mira,” Shona babbled. “Her best friend Tara is gone for the whole summer, and Mira’s been real lonely, what with her sister being gone to do college.”
“Oh, Stephanie’s new to Beverly Hills, so I’m sure Mira would be a great first friend. Speaking of Stephanie, where is that girl?” Natalia asked randomly out of the blue.
“Oh hey Mira!!” Stephanie squealed, before her mom would start embarrassingly calling her name and having it echo around the house.
“Hiya chica!” Mira responded. Oh-muh-guh-od. This was how she greeted someone? Total turn-off. Stephanie gave her the familiar once-over, spotting a green spaghetti strap shirt that read ‘I re-cycle my shopping bags………. and my boys’ in swirly black and pink print. A gray denim skirt that reached her mid-thigh and blue flip-flops with sequins sewn onto the sides completed the fashion faux-pas. Come on! They were hitting Melrose of all places! This is the place to be spotted. Famous movie stars shopped there. You just couldn’t wear a frayed looking top with a cheesy cheddar popcorn like saying on it, a ripped denim skirt and hand me down beach foot-wear. Ughhhhh. What’s with LOLs (Losers of Life) and bad style? It’s like it’s natural for them or something. Like how you can’t get blush without the brush, or how you can’t get McDonalds fries without the grease. It just has to come together.
“So, I hear that my Mira will be going shopping with your Stephanie. Where to, might I ask?” Shona said.
“At Melrose,” Stephanie replied back with a trace of a sadness, because she’d always wanted to go shopping with VSA at Melrose, but that was then, this is now………
“My mom gave me 30 bucks and I have another extra 20 stored away in my purse.” Mira happily told everyone, as if 50 bucks was something to celebrate. Puh-lease! Fifty dollars couldn’t even buy you a decent hair-clip at Melrose. The poor girl obviously hadn’t ever been there before.
“Kay, but we take our limo,” Stephanie insisted. Presentation was ev-uh-rything.
“Actually, Stephanie, I thought maybe I could drive you and Mira there in our car,” Shona said. Glancing out of the window right beside the door, Stephanie spotted a silver Toyota Camry that was in desperate need of a carwash. Her eyes widened in horror. Definite no-no. “Um, Mira did I mention that our limo has a mini-fridge, a 25-inch flat-screen, vibrating seats and it’s very spacious too.” At the mention of all the luxuries, Mira’s eyes widened so that they looked about as round as bottle-caps.
“Oh, mommy mommy, pleeeeeeeease let me ride in their limo!! Please!” Mira pleaded, while failing miserably with her puppy-dog expression. It looked like she was about to barf, while covering it with a pout and widening her eyes.
“Ok, fine but behave and be respectful. That’s the most important thing.” Shona told Mira rather sternly.
“Yip, yip, Yippeee!!” Mira semi-screamed and squealed.
“Fine, since that’s settled, Stephanie I’d like you to meet our new chauffeur, Mason. Just call him once you’re done at Melrose and he’ll do his best to arrive ASAP,” Natalia explained in a hurry, as if she were somehow late to an important meeting.
“Well, bye mom!” Mira squealed, the news about the limo luxuries still having her all pumped up. Wow, Stephanie thought, how can this Mira girl afford to live in Beverly Hills and attend L. A. Prep? She must be either on a scholarship, or her mom is secretly a major Hollywood star and just wanted to live a normal life.
“Ahmahgod!! I love your limo!” Mira screamed with humongous envy leaking from her voice. Staring at the Brookmill family’s white Lincoln limo stretch, it seemed like she had just walked into her own surprise birthday party. Judging by her status, she probably didn’t have thatmany friends to throw her one.
“I feel like a princess right now!” Mira giggled. Stephanie tried picturing Mira as Hollywood royalty but it just didn’t mix, like plaids and polka dots or corn syrup and water. The girl was probably more clueless than Sabrina when it came to self-presentation. At least Sabrina knew that she had to wear decent clothing when going to Melrose.
Tuning to Chum FM on the radio, Mira sang along with Miley Cyrus during the song Party in the USA. It was even worse than having to sit beside a cow and smell it fart every 5 seconds. Ok, well possibly not as worse as that, but it was still hard to endure without it a snappy comment coming from her well-glossed lips.
Finally, after about a 20 minute drive, the Lincoln stretch finally pulled into Melrose. “Wait, Stephanie, what time is it?” Mira asked. “Cause I have to be home by 2:00 pm sharp or else my mom will kill me.”
Time for you to get a watch. Time for you to finally start acting like a worthy beta. Time for you to get a fashion sense of style. Time for you to shop and get new clothes that aren’t cheap and tacky. Oh, and one last thing……………… show-time.
November 25th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
CH13
MELROSE AVE., L.A.
Sunday July 10th
11:41 am
“Ah. Mah.Guh.Awd.” Mira said, sounding like a foreign exchange student trying to learn English. This is gonna be a long spree, Stephanie thought. Upon getting out of the limo, Mira had done nothing except gasp, point, widen her eyes, raise her eyebrows, and flail her arms like some poor girl trying to hail a cab in a storm. Oh and say the same four annoying syllables. Ah. Mah. Guh. Awd. The girl needed a dictionary more than she needed a sense of style. To break the building silence of tension between them, Stephanie randomly asked “ So, um, what store do you wanna go to first?”
“Is there an Old Navy here? Or a Claire’s?” Mira asked.
Stephanie quickly glanced around at the vicinity to see if anyone had heard Mira asking that. But no one even bothered to look in their direction. There was a married couple eating poutine, a mom struggling to calm her baby girl in a carriage and a couple of 10 year olds giddily laughing while listening to their ipod nanos. That would be ever so embarrassing if someone had heard her.
Instead, she quickly headed into Fred Segal to buy a nice pair of sunglasses that she saw on display. Mira might as well be useful coming on this spree, Stephanie thought. She could use Mira to tell her a little about L.A. Prep and its social standing, students, and standards. It probably wasn’t as good as Cambridge Prep, the best school that you could ever attend. Before attending Cambridge, Stephanie had just been another one of those rich pretty blond mainstreamers with a knack for fashion. But applying to Cambridge had transformed her into a completely different person. There, she learned that being a follower immediately meant bottom of the social ladder. There, the competition was as high as the CN Tower. If you got a C on a unit test, it’d spread like wildfire. Eventually, even though you may be a beautiful popular girl, people would start avoiding you just because of that one little letter of a C. At Cambridge, getting As on tests meant Alpha. Bs stood for Beta. Cs stood for Common People and Ds……………….. well, if you got a D, that would mean a couple of detentions. And detention would mean……………….. de-grading your social status. It seemed harsh………………but that was the expectations. Stand out or walk out.
“So, tell me a little about life at L.A. Prep” said Stephanie.
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it. Let me sum it up in one word: popularity.” Mira said huffily. “If you ain’t popular in anything, you might as well drop out or life at L.A. Prep will seem like a living hell. Trust me I’ve had way too much experience on this. Before becoming a star ballet dancer and head of the art club and having my artwork displayed in every room, I was a nobody. I had to completely change my life from a book worm and studious girl to an artistical dancer. It wasn’t easy. Firstly, I applied to A Twirl of Paradise dance studio and then I had to spend all my savings to go to professionally taught art workshops. And then after that__”
“Kay Mira you sound like a troubled desperate person ranting about your life on Oprah. I don’t need to hear every detail of your semi social uprising. Just tell me about L.A. Prep” Stephanie urgently let out, not caring that she sounded opposite of alpha.
“Well, you have really strict teachers that give out tons of assignments every day. But no one really bothers finishing their homework on time. They don’t even listen during class. Instead, they record everything the teachers say and text each other instead. And there’s at least 2 major parties that you have to attend every month. It’s kinda unfair to us ‘common people’ because we never get invited and then the whole school has a new batch of inside jokes that we CP won’t even get. There’s people who were super popular at their old school, but once they come to L.A. Prep, they socially fall apart because they don’t know what to expect.”
And then, at that very second, it hit Stephanie like a speeding Bentley. What if she had a major social downfall and no one liked her except Mira? What if she became one of those ‘common people’ and had to hang out with girls who loved to knit and read thick novels? Then what? She’d have to transfer continents! Without buying the sunglasses, she quickly sprinted out of the store and dragged Mira right along with her. This was no time to shop!! She had to have Mira tell her everything about L.A. Prep and what to do if you were a new girl there. Stephanie thought she’d never see the day when she’d turn down a shopping spree, but (it took pain to admit it) with a new move, comes new adjustments, new friends, and most importantly………… a new social standing.
CH14
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, BEVERLY HILLS
Sunday July 10th
8:45 pm
The sound of Stephanie leafing through the pages of the photo album that VSA had given her completely muted her surroundings. It was like being underwater. The album was covered with purple silk and had gold stars spelling out the lonely four letters ‘SVSA’. It had a record of all the good times the four BSF’s (Best Sister Friends)had had together before the move came along randomly and ruined and dashed every hope of happiness away. The pages of the photo album were all made of what looked like mixed pulp. On the 1st page of the album, in Violetta’s neat cursive, Stacey’s bold all-caps and Anna’s girly writing. It read:
This album is dedicated to our adopted sister,
SHE BROUGHT US TO LIFE WHEN BEFORE, WE WERE JUST PRETTY MANNEQUINS
She’s the mother of the alphas
And we are proud to say that we were her betas
SHE’S THE STRAWBERRY IN MY PATCH
The apple on my tree
The star in my dark never-ending sky
AND HER NAME IS STEPHANIE RAE-ANNE BROOKMILL
We luv you <3
Around the page, VSA had all signed their original signatures. Before she knew it, Stephanie was crying again. Not the ‘My mom won’t get me the latest cell phone’ cry or the ‘I just fell off my bike and scraped my knee’ cry. This was the ‘This realization just hit me hard: I’m never gonna see my BSF’s ever again’ cry. It was a trillion times worse! The disastrous spree with Mira didn’t help matters much. After Mira had told her the alarming news, Stephanie quickly thumbed in the number of her driver’s cell and told him to rush back to Melrose. Forget about the fact that he was in the middle of eating lunch at Monica’s! This was major! As in Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt broke up major. As in Michael Jackson is alive once more major. As in my world is spinning and reeling out of control major. She wanted to lash out at her parents, scream at the four well-decorated walls in her room, let out her despair in her go to place. But she didn’t have a go to place anymore. Her last one was miles away all the way in Chicago at her ex house.
Flipping to the 2nd page of the photo album, Stephanie widened her eyes at the first picture. It was framed with gold spray-painted leaves like the frames of the paintings in the front hall and it was also sprinkled in gold, silver and magenta glitter. It was when SVSA were only six years old; the 1st week they had met. They were posing in front of the tree/clubhouse with the climbing rope dangling behind them. They were all dressed in different coloured pastel spaghetti strapped mini-dresses with lace-up wedges. It was one of their favourite outfits for the springtime back then. But now, in the present, it seemed tacky and sooooo wannabe style. Flipping to the next page of the album, it showed 3 twelve year old girls and one 13 year old girl styled like perfect Bratz dolls at Violetta’s 13th birthday bash that was aired on national TV on the fifth of March. Her dad was (and still is) an Oscar-winning director. Her mom was a producer/screenplay writer/ costume designer. She had designed costumes for the Wizard of Oz, Pirates of the Caribbean and some other historical fiction movies. Violetta’s dad had major connections with the movie industry and had invited practically most of the A-List celebrities in America to her 13th birthday bash. In this particular photo, Violetta was donning a strapless turquoise beaded dress with pearly cream-colored necklaces and bracelets. It was a TT outfit to the extreme. Stephanie had been styled by one of Ms. Tang’s famed make-up artists. She looked smokin’ hot with her curly half-bunned half loose hair and her red knee-length tight red dress with the roses on the single strap. The four girls had been posing with Violetta’s super hot older brother, Glen, and Carrie Underwood. It had been an ah-mazing birthday that people gossiped about for weeks later. They were all smiling their wide-toothy smiles with their arms around one another. On top of the picture, they had written in purple sharpie ‘I like to partay with my BSFs’. It had been one of those memorable nights that got stuck in your memory like gum to the sole of a shoe. On the next page, there were the girls again at the beach near to Stacey’s cottage when they were 12. It had been taken at sunset and they were all standing there in their brand-name bikinis, staring at the sunset beyond the gentle lapping purple-ish pink waves. It looked like a picture perfect ad in a magazine, in which they were all air-brushed. A trickle of a tear slid down Stephanie’s cheek (no surprise there) and made its way down her neck and stained a bit of her purple silk PJs a shade darker. If she kept it up, it’d look like her wardrobe had been suffering a case of water-induced chicken pox. Ordinarily, this would have been noticed immediately by Stephanie and her sharp baby blue eagle-eyes but these days, you could’ve hit her in the nose with a baseball and she wouldn’t have noticed. She was too pre-occupied about one thought and one thought only: how much she missed her girls. That thought clogged her brain and left no space for any emotion or pain to transfer to her body. Trying to hold on to the only connection she still had with her girlies, she flipped to the next highly-decored page. It read in purple glitter script: Alpha-Beta 2gether 4ever
November 25th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Hey everyone! A brand new website is coming!
designerswarehouse.darkbb.com
Check it out and sign up! Its full of fashion, friends, and fun!
November 25th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Lisi,
I am thank ful for…….
!. My family i love them iwth all my heartand they always know how to cheer me up when im sad.
2. My choir friends- they always get me.
3. Books- the best thing ever, helps me
get out of reality.
4. my pets- they love you no matter what.
5.Mean girls- they help me learn that im a can be myself and not care what anyone thinks.
6. Lisi harrison -for taking time out of your busy scedule to talk to a bunch of book- obseesed teens. we love you!
7. Good deeds- we cant perfom miricles but every good deed makes you feel better and helps our planet.
I think that we all should do a good deed every day of this week to celabrate Thanksgiving and make the world a better place.
xoxo,
Morgan
November 25th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
OMG Lisi, you got hit by a car?!?! Well…get better! Your in my prayers:)
November 25th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Go To:
dramaqueenz.wordpress.com
I HAVE CHAPTER 7 UP!!!
ITS THE BEST CHAPTER YET!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
cool new blogg lisi
lillie i ablsolutely love ur story and whoever wrote love at first bite, i also love it and kaitlyn i love urs too
November 25th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
hey erin whats up
November 25th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Heyyy!!! Oh nos! You gots hit by a car?
Hope your neck feels betters.
The top 10 things I’m thankful for…
1. My two amazing best friends/sisters who I know will always be there and who I’ll love forever!
2. My family because they’re just awesome!
3. All the new people I have met since starting high school. You guys make my day every day.
4. For keeping everyone I love safe so far this year.
5. For Lisi making an amazing series that I can’t stop reading!
6. For music because if I didn’t have music, I wouldn’t be able to live.
7. For having all the amazing experiences that I’ve had this year.
8. For food because food=love. lol
9. For volleyball and cheerleading, the two loves of my life. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to grow as a person and to keep trying again and again.
10. The Hills, Gossip Girl, and Project Runway because these shows are just AMAZING.
November 25th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
1. Books! I am such a book worm I am not happy unless I have books I probably have around 1000 and am still buying them! Thank you Lisi since I have all of yours!
2. Nikki Reed: My new role model. Forget Paris Hilton Nikki is way prettier, cooler, smarter and over all better!
3. The Backstreet Boys: I will NEVER tire of their music ever. A true fan until the end.
4. Twilight: Books and movies I love them all
5. My family but mostly my grandma I couldn’t live with out her.
6. My friends who know me better than anything else in the world
7. My autograph collecting hobby, it keeps me sane and lifts my spirit when I get something new
November 25th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I’m Canadian so i already had thanksgiving.
is it today officially? I don’t even know, anyway have a fun time! or if it already passed…hope you had fun!! lol!
November 25th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I am thankful for the friends I have that touch my heart. I am thankful for the family that I have that has stuck with me through my life. I am thankful for my good health and thankful that I don’t have leukemia, swine flu, or any other kind of child sickness. I am thankful for the fact that Lisi keeps writing books and keeps blah-ging.
I am thankful for books just in general … what on earth would I do without them? I am thankful for beautiful music and wonderful movies that make you want to cry. I am thankful for my sweet calico mix kitty, Cali, who never fails to make me laugh and warm my soul. But I am also thankful for God.
November 25th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
HE GUYS!
I HAVE SOMETHING REALLY COOL ON:
dramaqueenz.wordpress.com
IT’S DIFFERENT THEN ANYTHING
November 25th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Okay. Well, here it goes. Let’s hope that I can think of enough.
1. Books. All books that I love. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have their entertainment to distract and cheer me up. That goes for you too, Lisi!
2. My friends. Seeing them every day at school cheers me up so much.
3. My favorite animals, cats, horses and rabbits. I have an undying love of horses and will always love seeing them every week at my horseback riding lessons. And I don’t know what I would do without my rabbit Violet. As for cats, I don’t have them because of allergies in the family. Only I still love them.
4. Blogs. I love blogs, I really do. And I loved reading a new post from one of my favorite authors.
It keeps me from going out of my mind when things get tough. It also lets me know that most of my favorite authors are also close going out of their minds and just holding on.
5. Junk food. What I would do without chocolate, I don’t know. I might have less to worry about, but besides that, I don’t know what I would do.
6. My family. But mostly my Mom since I know that I can go to her and tell her anything and she will listen.
7. School. It might sound weird, but school gives me a purpose and a chance to grow smart and to do something really awesome with my life. And, for now, it gives me a reason to get up in the morning. Oh, and it also makes me grow stronger.
8. Music. This is mostly for my flute, since I love playing my flute. Only I love listening to other music too.
9. The world. Yeah, I know that sounds even weirder than the school one, but I am thankful for the beauty of the world and all that it has to give. Things like beaches, monuments, European places…I could go on.
10. The Internet. It is what keeps me connected.
Have an ah-mazing Thanksgiving, Lisi!
November 25th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
HEYY!!! Anyone there??
November 25th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
closest to the top ive ever been
November 25th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Here are my top things
1. House m.d My favorite show i love it so much..marathon tomorrow guess what i’ll be doing? lol
2. Friends. I love them so so much and have spent the year getting rid of bad friends, and dealing with having to share my bfffl. It isn’t easy.
3. Books! The hunger games, Harry potter, Twilight saga, the clique, percy jackson and the olympians.
4. Fantasies. Most of the time i pretend i am famous, that i am hermione, massie, bella, annabeth, others.
5. My guinea pig. Enough said.
6.Writing writing writing!
7. All those things we should be thankful for, like family
November 25th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
francesca!!!
I am soooo bored!!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
I loved when Heidi did that on the Hills. I laughed so hard!!!!!!!! I’m Canadian so we celebrated Thanksgiving last month.
ONE MONTH TILL CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
hey leah are you still on???
November 25th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Yes i am!! Im almost ALWAYS on
November 25th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
anyone on?
November 25th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
yay! i need advice…
November 25th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
I am!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
About what???
November 25th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
okay…so there is a guy i like….
November 25th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
and….
November 25th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
we have a lot in common. but somedays hes nice and flirts with me, but the next day he barely says hi. hes generally nice, though. PLUS he went out with my friend,who still kind of likes him. any ideas on how i can win him?
November 25th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I’m thankful for….
1. family
2. friends
3. books
4. the authors who WRITE the books
5. and… FRIENDS AND FAMILY! i had to put it twice because they are so important
November 25th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Soorry about ur crash lisi!!
Thankful for:
1. my great family
2. my ah-dorable and sweet boyfriend
3. Lisi for writing all of ur books!!
4. Ina Garten and the barefoot contessa!
5. The world as we know it
November 25th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
talk to your friend about how she really feels about him…If she still KINDA likes him, then talk to her about it..Say that you wont go for him if she says you cant….But you really like him……I know this is what people say all the time “talk to them’ but it really helped me in the same probleme like…last year……ALSO…..So hes nice most of the time? And on some days he just doesnt say hi? on those days YOU talk to HIM …..Get him to say hi
November 25th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Dear Leah :),
Sounds like this boy isn’t worth u….
anyways to win him over:
1. be yourself and act confident- boys love a girl whos sure of herself
2. steal his email from someone and drop him a friendly email
hope this helps!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Let’s call this boy “Josh”
November 25th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
What do u think??
November 25th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
ok…josh…..
November 25th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
i know a boy named Josh and he is a jerk so lets do Jeremiah
November 25th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Callan - It isnt leah:) with the prob..its leah(no smile) with the prob…confusing i know
November 25th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
thanx Leah
!! thanx callan!! you guys are great and i hope it works….
November 25th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
sorry for jumping on ur guys convo
but i like to help and i know lots about boys
November 25th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
all right, jeremiah works…
November 25th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
all right, jeremiah works…
November 25th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
ur welcome leah
bye!!
November 25th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
oh i dont care callan the more advice the better!
November 25th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
oh i dont care callan the more advice the better!
November 25th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
bye callan!
November 25th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
ahh….jeremiah…haha im so weird
November 25th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
is anyone on???
November 25th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
OMG!Lisi really did get hit by a car!I hope your neck gets better!
November 25th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Im still on!!
November 25th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Im still on!!
November 25th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Oh and top 130! Lol.I beat last time.haha
November 25th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Hey lisi, hope your neck gets better.
I am thankful for:
family
friends
Lisi harrison and all the wonderful books she has written
for my house
and everything i have
November 25th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Thankful for:
family
friends
books
MUSIC
and harry potter
also thankful for the person who i wished knew who i was. i’ll stay away from “drews” like you (drew as in teardrops on my guitar, not ur name)
peeeeace out
November 25th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
anyone on???
November 25th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
yay! this is so cute and fun i’m already thinking of ideas. LISI i loved ur list!! hehe. way to think of the bright side of the car accident! hope ur neck feels better
i’ll post my list in a second
btw it may be more than 10
November 25th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
hey does anyone know what dance guard or color guard is? sometimes callded tall flags? well i’m in it and its a blast if any of you ugys are in it tell me!! i’d love to chat bout it
November 25th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
i meant guys not ugys
lol
November 25th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Hi Lisi! Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Top 10 Things I am Most Thankful For:
1. My awesome family and friends. For always being there for me no matter what and for always understanding me even when I don’t understand myself.
2. You and your books, Lisi. Without them I never would’ve gotten a good laugh or known how fun reading could be.
3. The internet. Without this baby I would’ve neve discovered your website, Polyvore, and Facebook. Not to mention it’s super-addicting =)
4. DVR. I’ve never missed an episode of Glee, So You Think You Can Dance, and Secret Life since then =)
5. Straightening irons. Keeps my hair looking fabulous everyday.
6. Fashion magazines. They give me inspiration for what to wear each week =)
7. My faith. Helps me get through anything and everything.
8. Abercrombie, Hollister, and Forever 21, for always carrying the cuh-yootest clothes.
9.Texting. A faster and super easier way to communicate.
10. Mascara. Always makes my eyes more noticeable and is super easy to put on =)
11. The doctors who have helped my dad get better while he was sick and in the hospital.
12. Food, for always being tasty. =)
November 25th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
things i’m thankful for:
1. my parents!! u r probably one of the coolest parents even though i disagree on my bedtime. all my friends love going to our house
2. my sister!!!!!!! u r miles and miles away and i miss u! thanks for being my confirmation sponser and an awesome sister!
3. my little brother!! u make me laugh and always keep me entertained! i’d be so bored w/o u!!! love u! (btw ur haircut is cute)
4. my two older brothers!! u guys r awesome! thanks for all the teasing it kept me tough and from being too much of a girly girl!
5. my bffs!!!! u guys r like sisters!! thanks for being there for me!!! love u all!! go backyardigans!
6. my family inculuding my funny cousins. u guys r a little weird but thats wat i love about u! thanks for being cool and fun and letting me be myself
7. the clique books!! cheesy maybe but true!! w/o them i would have like no books! i have read all of them like 20 times and i still love them. along with all the books in the world!
8. my house, food, water, and chocolate! w/o it i would die!
9. the mean girls! you guys will help me rememeber how happy i am to leave this school!! jk..kinda..
10.my crush. even though u might not like me, u have given me a bunch of laughs, given me self esteem, and given me some1 who understands me!!
gtg i’ll post more later!
November 25th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Thankful for:
1. My family. I love them all soo much!!
2. My friends. I couldn’t live a day without them!!
3. My Cows: Ellie, Sissy, Ruthy Ann, Mary, Katie, Fear, Deuce, Jimmy Angus Moo, Sunday Rose, and August Rush
4. My Horses: Bolero, BossaNova, and Tango
5. My Dog, Annie Tiffany!!
6. My Mac
7. Diamonds
8. Forever 21 and H&M
9. MY PURSES!!!!
10. My (book only) smarts, and thankful if I had some street smarts!
11. My beach condo, couldn’t survive with out the beach and a great tan!
12. My house (s)!
13. My Blackberry!
14. My camera!
15. BAND! Thank god for it, I don’t know if I would have a life without it, friday night football games and competitions!
16. CHOCOLATE!
17. My iPod, couldn’t function without it!
18. The piano, best thing EVER invented!
19. People Magazine, keeps me going through the week cause I know I get it on fridays!
20. Million Dollar Listing! LOOOOOVE that show!
November 25th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
im thankful for….
1. that lisi isn’t dead! what would i read?!
2.my family evn though they drive me crazy, for example my dad is singing a song he just made up right now that is called “bubblewrap factory”. i know, how laME, but one day it’ll be #1 on iTunes!
3. tv: glee, flash forward, project runway, the office… oh yeah! 8D
4.my ah-mazing bfflabs! mwah mwah luv ya dahlings!
5.the fact that im c plus(no that isnt my bra size, it means crush plus! gawd, havent u read the cliquetonairy?)because whenever he does anything nice 2 me i get happy happy!
6.tissues. i cry a lot.
7. the devil wears prada. ahhh bliss in movie form.
8.my clothes! but i still want more(yes i know im a greedy little pig when it comes to clothes. sue me.)DONATIONS FROM THE CLIQUE R WELCOME!
9. my social studies teacher. what would i do without him and his corny jokes?
10.my bffs mom. ehmagawd shes so nice…(i couldnt think of anyhting, OK?)
November 25th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
im thankful for….
1. that lisi isn’t dead! what would i read?!
2.my family evn though they drive me crazy, for example my dad is singing a song he just made up right now that is called “bubblewrap factory”. i know, how laME, but one day it’ll be #1 on iTunes!
3. tv: glee, flash forward, project runway, the office… oh yeah! 8D
4.my ah-mazing bfflabs! mwah mwah luv ya dahlings!
5.the fact that im c plus(no that isnt my bra size, it means crush plus! gawd, havent u read the cliquetonairy?)because whenever he does anything nice 2 me i get happy happy!
6.tissues. i cry a lot.
7. the devil wears prada. ahhh bliss in movie form.
8.my clothes! but i still want more(yes i know im a greedy little pig when it comes to clothes. sue me.)DONATIONS FROM THE CLIQUE R WELCOME!
9. my social studies teacher. what would i do without him and his corny jokes?
10.my bffs mom. ehmagawd shes so nice…(i couldnt think of anyhting, OK?)
November 25th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
im thankful for….
1. that lisi isn’t dead! what would i read?!
2.my family evn though they drive me crazy, for example my dad is singing a song he just made up right now that is called “bubblewrap factory”. i know, how laME, but one day it’ll be #1 on iTunes!!!!!!!!
3. tv: glee, flash forward, project runway, the office… oh yeah! 8D
4.my ah-mazing bfflabs! mwah mwah luv ya dahlings!
5.the fact that im c plus(no that isnt my bra size, it means crush plus! gawd, havent u read the cliquetonairy?)because whenever he does anything nice 2 me i get happy happy!
6.tissues. i cry a lot.
7. the devil wears prada. ahhh bliss in movie form.
8.my clothes! but i still want more(yes i know im a greedy little pig when it comes to clothes. sue me.)DONATIONS FROM THE CLIQUE R WELCOME!
9. my social studies teacher. what would i do without him and his corny jokes?
10.my bffs mom. ehmagawd shes so nice…(i couldnt think of anyhting, OK?)
November 25th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Things im thankful for in no particular order:
1. The ability to pitch and play softball
2. My good friend Jacob thanks for giving me 3 good years worth of laughs
3. My mom and dad thanks for everything without you i wouldnt be here
4. Homecoming sooooo much fun!
5. Forensic science without it i wouldnt have fun during first hour.
6. The Gettysburg Address Amen to Abe Lincoln a true inspiration to me
7. NEW MOON lemme see about 7 shirtless hot guys.
8. TOM FELTON The hottest wizard i know.
9. LISI and her books i would not have survived 7th grade without them.
10. My Cellular Device aka cell phone
11. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels the most adorable little dogs in the world.
12. SPACE BARS the best darn invention since chocolate.
13. Jesus Christ without you i would be nothing
14. Laminin without you i would be a pile of mush.
thats all i can think of.
November 25th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
1. thank-ahdor my bff
2 thank-ahdor my sisters and bro and parents
3. thank-ahdor forever21! and pacsun and Guess
4. thank -ahdor Lisi for writing the clique! (getting some of the clique books on black friday!)
5. thank-ahdor for who ever wrote the script for wild child with Emma Roberts getting that awn black friday 2!
happy Thanksgiving!
November 25th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
oh!
6.thank-ahdor Taylor swift justin bieber and cobra starship and paramore and a bunch of other ah-mazing artist!
November 25th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
omg!
thank-ahdor
twilight saga, harry potter, clique, it girl gossip girl, Alex rider, and many other books!
November 25th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
My top 10 things I am greatful for are:
1-my grandparents were able to hold out for another year.
2-my sister being safe on her flights
3-the rest of my family being healthy
4-the welcoming people who helped me realize it wasn’t that I wanted to be in the popular group(I hung out with them for a while they weren’t mean though…) I just needed good friends to hang out with which I had been lacking[except for the ones on this site]
5-my mom still has a job even with buget cuts
6-the new people I met that helped me do things I didn’t even think I could do
7-my guardian angel watching out for me at that party(there were parents there it wasn’t a high school party but there was a lot a grinding and the girls that girl-grinded kinda didn’t look hott to the guys they looked like freaks) and any other time I have needed him/her
8-Lisi and the girls on this sight for giving great advice
9-god for just being there
10-everyone who helped me get a better sense of style(it wasn’t bad it was just bland like no accessories or anything really)
November 25th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
is anyone on I will be on for a while so just say you are on the only way I won’t be on is if my internet starts acting gayyy(nothing wrong with being gay) because it is. It will just like stop working in the middle
November 25th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
im on sam
November 25th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
hi whats up
November 25th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Hey. Im on!!!!!!!!!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
OMYGOSH! CHECK THIS OUT : designerswarehouse.darkbb.com
The 3 main things for this website are FASHION,FRIENDS, and FUN!
~Fashion: Blog about all designers (new, famous, or even you!)… Post some of your designs…Share pics of models…discuss ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. The possibilities are endless!
~Friends: Bring your friends on and meet new ones too…create clubs under the ‘Social Clique’ section where you create, recruit, and make your own cyber cliques…and more!
~FUN!: All different sections of randomness: CONTESTS!…music…movies…writing…books…advice…beauty…
television…celebrity gossip…polls…photography…health…surveys…your own blog…magazines…videos…photos…art…role plays…interior design… reviews for movies, games, books, cell phones…cooking and cuisine…polyvore…school homework help (maybe its not fun but it helps!!)…hobbies…sports…ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGE&A LITTLE BIT MORE(:
SO CHECK IT OUTTTT!
-Joelle
Start a new trend,,,by registering!
November 25th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
OMYGOSH! CHECK THIS OUT : designerswarehouse.darkbb.com
The 3 main things for this website are FASHION,FRIENDS, and FUN!
~Fashion: Blog about all designers (new, famous, or even you!)… Post some of your designs…Share pics of models…discuss ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. The possibilities are endless!
~Friends: Bring your friends on and meet new ones too…create clubs under the ‘Social Clique’ section where you create, recruit, and make your own cyber cliques…and more!
~FUN!: All different sections of randomness: CONTESTS!…music…movies…writing…books…advice…beauty…
television…celebrity gossip…polls…photography…health…surveys…your own blog…magazines…videos…photos…art…role plays…interior design… reviews for movies, games, books, cell phones…cooking and cuisine…polyvore…school homework help (maybe its not fun but it helps!!)…hobbies…sports…ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGE&A LITTLE BIT MORE(:
SO CHECK IT OUTTTT!
-Joelle
Start a new trend,,,by registering!
November 25th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
10 things i am thankfull for !
-Starbucks, it keeps you running and doesn’t taste icky like Red Bull
-Jon and Kate Plus Eight. there helping the economy with all the books, wigs, and magazine covers, companies are making $$$
- Hot Tubs in the winter, cold pools in the summer.
-Things that spell my name correctly.
- Mini things! Excpesialy coach wristlets :))
- Teachers who don’t give HW !
- warm, fuzzy socks.
- older brothers who drive you home from Starbucks. And all your friends !
- And of coursee, the obv. Family, friends, dog, ect.
Have a great Thanksgiving every one!!
-
-
November 25th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
im thankful for a mil things…
1. family and friends
2. yummy food to eat
3. cobra starship♥♥
4. you of course
5. holiday spirit all year long
6. my mom and dad
7. the CLIQUE and alphas my fav books ever!
8. ummmmmm 30 cousins? and 14 uncles and aunts lol even though that would fall under the catagoey of family…hmmmm
well thats it for a quick thinking minute
♥Livia
PS and happy thanksgiving!!
November 25th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
two things im thankful for: (so what i have 2, get over it :D)
1. My ah-mazingly cute crush who has no idea that I like him!
2. My 20-pound turkey that I’ll probably devour tomorrow
November 25th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
HEy Everyone! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! here’s my list:
1. THANKFUL FOR: My family and friends
2.THANKFUL FOR: TEXTING!!!! with out texting i wouldnt be able to talk to my crush i get so nervous during phone calls
3.THANKFUL FOR: u and ur books!!! u and ur boooks rock!!!!
4.THANKFUL FOR: Polyvore.com! that website is the best. i can express my self thru art on there!(im horrible at drawing)
5.THANKFUL FOR: Being alive
6.THANKFUL FOR: an awsome math teacher.
7.THANKFUL FOR:books! with out them i couldnt escape into my own world ;D
November 25th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
I just finished Alphas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t like Allie J!!!!!!!!
I hope she gets kicked out of Alphas!!!!!!!!!
I hope Charley wins!!!!!!!!!
I hope Skye gets Taz!!!!!!!!!
I hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LYLAS,TTYL
-Erised
November 25th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Hey Lisi!
Happy Thanksgiving.
a few things,
1. Can you and everyone else keep my friend’s grandfather in your prayers? He is like my grandfather, and he is dying, and he might not make it to Christmas. So can everyone please pray for him, and their family? We are all very worried, and i really really want him to get better!!
2. i have mentioned this before, but i dont know if you have seen it, you should write a sequel to the prequel because there was a lot of stuff un answered.
3. Lastly, i am thinking of writing a book, but i dont know how to get started. i have an idea, a plot, characters, but i do not know if it is a good idea or whatever. so yeah, how do i know if it is a good idea?
November 25th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
I really want to stay and talk but it 11 and I have to go to my grandparents tomorrow morning I will try to be on night and Im at Disney friday cause today didn’t work out so Goodnight My Girlies
November 25th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
ohmygosh! i’m sad i lost my alphas book :(!!!! its so sad!! i’m nevver gonna let any1 borrow my books anymore!!! i always loose them!
btw i gotta finish the rest of my list!
November 25th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
What I’m Thankful for:
1) First of all I am thankfull for everyone in my life that I love me and hate hate me. Lovers because you have supported me during my IN and OUT moods. Haters because you all have let me just realize how much value I really have and that every own is worth something. Also you have taught me a lot about myself.
2) I am thankul for my friends, family, and my own health.
3) I am thankful for beign able to travel to two places I always wanted to go and hopefully will be able to do more of.
4) I am thankful for the basic things of life. For the flowers that grow, oxygen we breathe, and the sun that warms our skin.
5) I am thankful for being able to afford things during this rough economy.
6) I am thankful for having a family that treats me like I’m their world as they are mine.
7) I am thankful for my education that many of us take for granted. (I’m not a fan of Homework either but I like knowing things)
9) I am thankful for Lisi Harrison and all the lovely authors out there for their books that I L.O.V.E
10) *Drum roll*The very last thign I’m thankful for is……..for all the smiles I see.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Laura, OMG you did? I would be panicing like a maniac if I was you. Hope you find it! =] Did you try under your bed and in your backpack, I lose a lot of things that way.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
11. my AMAZING cheerleading team!!!!!!!! u guys r so fun and cool!!!
) CAKE BOSS, TABLE FOR 12, ICARLY
12. my family’s health and that it will continue! for all the doctors keeping people healthy
13. technology!! its pretty fancy! haha
14. my fave tv shows including: JON + KATE PLUS EIGHT (its over
16. my favorite restarants/places to eat including Panera!
I THINK THATS IT!! toward the end it got a little silly but o well.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Isabeauty- ik! it’s so sad! yeah i’m looking. thanks i’ll check there!
November 25th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
isabeauty- i like ur list! gtg ttyl HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERY1!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 25th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
OMG KINSLEY!!!! ur in band?!!! i’m in dance guard ( i don’t know if ur band has that but its the flag and rifle spinners)!! thats awsome!! wat instrument do u play? band/ guard is like my life!! i love it and my freinds are in it! we’re on big famly!
November 25th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
thankful for…idk. 2 much 2 type down! mostly my friends, family, my doggy, the clique, gum, twitter, being able to laugh, being able to draw, having tissues and cough drops, and reading. well guess i can’t put evrything…..w/e. Happy Thanksgiving!
November 26th, 2009 at 6:21 am
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!
November 26th, 2009 at 7:49 am
You got hit by a car??? Omg! Im glad thAt yoU r okay. luh-vved this blog! give us details on how ur thanks-giving party went… can’t wait 4 thanks-gifting (christmas)… my new name 4 it.. luv da clique n the alphas! keep up da great work!
November 26th, 2009 at 7:49 am
You got hit by a car??? Omg! Im glad thAt yoU r okay. luh-vved this blog! give us details on how ur thanks-giving party went… can’t wait 4 thanks-gifting (christmas)… my new name 4 it.. luv da clique n the alphas! keep up da great work!
November 26th, 2009 at 8:01 am
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! I hope today is filled with love, health, and lots of food for everyone! ♥
November 26th, 2009 at 8:05 am
TOP TEN THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR
1.) My family
2.) My friends
3.) A good home and a neighborhood
4.) The things I have (Talents)
5.) Writing
6.) Photography
7.) Fimmaking
8.) Good school
9.) God
10.) All the people who love and support me. I love you all!
I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT AND SAFE THANKSGIVING! WITH LOVE, ♥ MARY
November 26th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Stephanie Is Ah-Mazing:
What is your plot idea? I would love to hear it.
November 26th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Lisi!!!! My bdays today!! I posted that on last weeks blah-g too…. Aww… Darn!! Maybe next year! :0
Anyone on?
November 26th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Hey Lisi,
So you want my list, well be careful it’s a long one!!
1) My boyfriend who told me he loved me last night
2) My puppy, who at times is a handful
3) My parents, I just wish they weren’t so over protective
4) My amazing friends who have been through the world with me
5) Matt who can always get me to laugh
6) My brother, even though he gets on my nerves
7) God
9) Food, even though I can’t eat much of it
10) My youth group
11) Rain, I love dancing in the rain
12) My house
13) Books by my favorite author Lisi
14) Bowling, it’s so much fun!
If I didn’t stop now I would go on forever so that’s my list!
November 26th, 2009 at 9:09 am
what i am thankful for…
1. my family: including my stepmom, stepbrothers, and my awesome half-sister
2. my friends: you guys cheer me up when I am down and without you guys, school would be the worst place on earth
3. my boyfriend: thank you for asking me out, i practically died of happiness right on the spot when you did
4. my pet Bo, the bunny: even if you do make a mess, i still love you
5. technology: without it, i would not be on this blah-g or be provided with things like facebook which i am addicted to
6. books: without books, i would be bored to death when my computer breaks down or when the teacher is talking about something i dont care about
November 26th, 2009 at 9:09 am
So I will make my list. Here I go.
1. My family. They are so generous and fun. I love em!
2. My cellphone. How else would I keep up with my chickities??
3. God. He’s AWESOME!!
4. My wonderful friends. Hold on. Oh gosh. I’m back. My friend just called me and sang happy birthday.
5. Lulu. Shes my lavender stuffed lamb. I got her today. Love her. She smells like lavender. lol
6. Lisi Harrison’s blah-gs They are so fun to read.
7. Lisi’s little icon thing. It’s like Blah-g, every wednesday. And then random shots of Lisi.
8. My house. It is like 3 yrs old the inside is cuz stupid hurricane something flooded the inside of my house, holes in ceilings, molded carpet and etc so now we have it kinda like remodeled.
9. Girlslife. It’s the best magazine.
10. My awesome Converse. Today I got some that have cupcakes on em!
11. Life. WHO ISNT??
Thats it. My sis is beggin 2 go online. Uck! Maybe I should ask for a laptop for Christmas.
November 26th, 2009 at 9:12 am
hahahhaha! Amanda- When you made ur list
you went
# and then a ) Rite? But wen u did 8 ) it became a smileyface
November 26th, 2009 at 9:13 am
anyone on?
November 26th, 2009 at 9:15 am
I gtg srry!
November 26th, 2009 at 9:19 am
anyone on?!
November 26th, 2009 at 9:34 am
MY LIST OF WHAT IM THANKFUL FOR (not in order)
1. my friends and family (duh! id be nothing with out them)
2. lisi, her ahmazing books, the blahg, and all the girlies on this site. LUV U ALL!
3. My puppy who is liking my toes right now.
4. my bffl john, who has caught me many times from tripping and cracking my head.(im a total klutz)
5. TWILIGHT!!!!!!!
6. Sports. I would go crazy with out them.
7. sugar. where else do i get my energy?
8. my ipod
9. god
10.my other friend lauren, who cooked me dinner every night and stayed with me at my house when the rest of my family abandoned me for the Bahamas.
11. and for all of the people who will listen to me as a blab on to them randomly
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 26th, 2009 at 9:45 am
The Ten Things I Am Most Thankful For in 2009
1. THANKFUL FOR: Friends who have become family and family who have become friends. Apple-C, Lisi!
2. THANKFUL FOR: Lisi Harrison for bringing the Clique to life and for committing herself to blah-gging every Wednedsay.
3. THANKFUL FOR: Technology. Computers, TVs, Blu-Ray, sound systems, phones…you name it.
4. THANKFUL FOR: The weekend for obvious reasons.
5. THANKFUL FOR: Frozen yogurt. Private joke.
6. THANKFUL FOR: My mother’s ah-mazing gift for baking. Her hugs rock, too!
7. THANKFUL FOR: Christmas. All the preparing, cooking, decorating and shopping may be tiring but it’s worth it just to see a smile light up on someone’s face when they open a present you bought them.
8. THANKFUL FOR: The pilots who safely transferred me and my family as we flew back and forth through the United States of America this summer.
9. THANKFUL FOR: My daily horoscope at CaliforniaPsychics.com for always always always being right!
10. THANKFUL FOR: Ugly Betty, my favourite TV show, because it always makes me laugh.
November 26th, 2009 at 9:47 am
One thing I forgot to add that I’m thankful for is Polyvore.com because I can express myself freely there through one of the greatest creative arts, fashion! xoxo
P.S. I’m glad Lisi’s okay. I read about her being hit by a car and I thought they were rumours. Hope your neck feels better soon, Lisi!
November 26th, 2009 at 9:55 am
TOP TEN THINGS I’M THANKFUL FOR
1. Saks.com. BEST WEBSITE EVER!
2. My lovely laptop.
3. My wonderful family :]
4. My best friend Lindsey
5. My artisticness. Keeps me sane.
6. My smarts. Keeps me sane.
7. NO SCHOOL FOR FOUR DAYS.
8. Lisi’s books
9. Grey’s Anatomy still making good episodes.
10. Futurama having a sixth season.
Yes, I know that’s a lame list. I thought of it on the fly, what do you expect?
<3 Haven
November 26th, 2009 at 9:55 am
THE TOP 10 PEOPLE I’M THANKFUL FOR:
10. God, because He’s the only one I can talk to when I have a huh-uuuuge secret.
9. My music teacher, for making our musical amazing and never letting us down.
8. My little sister, cuz even though we fight all the time, I love her to death.
7. My dad, cuz even though he’s a boy and TOTALLY does not understand ridiculous teenage girl issues, he’s always there for me.
6. My momma, cuz without her, I would have no one to vent said ridiculous teenage girl issues to.
5. My cousin, cuz I can ask her anything about boys and know it will be helpful, cuz she’s three years older than me.
4. My dog, cuz he makes me feel so much better when I’m upset (hey, pets count as people too!)
3. ALL OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS, cuz without books, I would seriously be nothing.
2. ALL OF MY FAVORITE SINGERS, cuz without music, I would seriously be nothing.
AND THE NUMBER ONE PERSON I AM THANKFUL FOR…
1. MY FRIENDS. We fight, we act insane, we yell at each other, we do stupid things, we hate each other, we love each other, AND I WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU.
THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH TO ALL THESE PEOPLE. I LOVE YOU ALL, EVEN IF I DON’T ACTUALLY KNOW YOU :D.
November 26th, 2009 at 10:29 am
hey is anyone still on?
November 26th, 2009 at 11:16 am
HAPPY TURKEY DAY EVERYONE!!
~WHAT I AM THANKFUL FOR~
1) A beautiful, healthy, amazing family.
:) 
:) 
Earth, for providing a place where everyone could live and be happy
2) Awesome friends.
3) Lisi, and all my favorite authors ;D
4) ALL OF U GIRLIES! I’D BE NOTHING WITHOUT YALL! U GUYS PROB DON’T REMEMBER ME BUT I LUV YALL SO MUCH
5) Books (what else will entertain me?)
6) Music (entertains me when books get a tad boring)
7) Food, Shelter, Clothes, cause I kno some people dont have some of these things.
9) My sister (she gets her own little column) for making me laugh when im crying.
10) For my Grandma. Shes been going thro a lot. She could’ve died and she didn’t. So I am thankful for that. My grandma is amazing, and interdependent. She stayed strong when my Grandpa died and till this day on she still is.
I love ya’ll forever and always, have a happy turkey day
Hugs and kisses!
XOXO
~TaLiA<3~
November 26th, 2009 at 11:19 am
omg i have so much more to add onto my list….
11) writing
and
12) my characters in my stories whom i grew to cheris and love. Whom I cried when they cried. Whom I smiled when they smiled. Whom I went throu as much as they did.
now im really done! haha
November 26th, 2009 at 11:20 am
*independent not interdependant haha my bad
November 26th, 2009 at 11:23 am
TALIAAA
November 26th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Hey Lisi, LOL!!!
Hope your neck gets better!!!
I think that you should be thankful everyday, and Thanksgiving should nawt close malls, maybe early, but not not entirely!!!:(
The thing is, I broke one of my j’adorable sandals during school, and I have ta go shoe shopping, grrrr! Its soooo hard to find something ah-mazing. Also, I want to know if Eliana still comes on here, cuz shes stopped emailing me, its been two weeks, and Im getting worried that I hurt her feelings, or something.
November 26th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Whoops, srry to interrupt!!
November 26th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Here I go again,
Um whoever wrote the story about Madison and Danny, please, please, please, send me the story on my email, maahin.a.purplestar@gmail.com
November 26th, 2009 at 11:37 am
OMG Lisi I hope your neck gets better soon…
Lol the thing about Heidi Montag/Pratt made me laugh as well
1. THANKFUL FOR Family who are there for you no matter what
2. THANKFUL FOR Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor for creating the most amazing brand ever, Juicy Couture. Without you, my wardrobe would be incomplete.
3. THANKFUL FOR The Clique which picks me up and makes me laugh whenever I’m not feeling my best
4. THANKFUL FOR Polyvore! I can express myself and show my love for fashion through it.
5. THANKFUL FOR Taylor Swift!! I love you, Taylor!
6. THANKFUL FOR Teen Vogue/Seventeen. Magazines are theeee bestttt
7. THANKFUL FOR My siblings. You annoy me SO MUCH sometimes, but I love you really.
8. THANKFUL FOR Ben&Jerries Ice-Cream
9. THANKFUL FOR My laptop! I love youu..hehe.
10. THANKFUL FOR Everyone who has ever done something nice to me…whether you were that nice stranger in the street who picked up my things for me when my bag split open, or the woman at the Dior counter who gave me a free lip gloss because I was “sweet”, or even the librarian who cancelled my fine because I was ill
November 26th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Happy Thanksgiving!!
We don’t celebrate it in London (or the UK for that matter) but I hope everyone has a great day
November 26th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
mmkay, what am i thankful for…
1. THANKFUL FOR- my ah-noying brothers. but, you gotta love them (:
2. THANKFUL FOR- facebook for letting me talk to my friends and family that live far away.
3. THANKFUL FOR- the friends and family that make it possible for me to talk to them on facebook(:
4. THANKFUL FOR- sephora. sephora. sephora. and the ah-mazing people there that make me look beautiful x)
5. THANKFUL FOR- magazine subscriptions that make me ultra lazy.
6. THANKFUL FOR- starbucks, nuff said.
7. THANKFUL FOR- the man who decided that the day we come back from thanksgiving break is a two-hour delay. my gawd, i love that guy♥
8. THANKFUL FOR- i guess teachers should get put on this list too…
9. THANKFUL FOR- apple. i couldnt l i v e without an ipod or a mac to save me(:
10. THANKFUL FOR- books. (but only the paper kind. e-books are not included (: )
i♥all of these things.
xoxo,
♥Magdalaynaaaa
November 26th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I am thankful for…
1. my parents and all my family
2. my friends especially my bff teresa
3. creation
4. my aunt’s miracle she was suffering from cancer and she is doing really well right now
5. my home- i am grateful because so many people don’t have a home
6. struggles- without them how are we supose to grow.
7. school
8. dog - elway he is everything to me
9. basketball- it is my favorite sport
10. books- i once saw a qoute that said “a book is a present you can open agian and again”
Happy thanksgiving to all!! everyone have a great day
lisi please read
November 26th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
ERISED- even though u probably won’t see this, i agree with EVERYTHING u said about alphas!!!!!!!!!!! i love charlie and don’t like the fake allie!
November 26th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
17. MUSIC! w/o it me and every1 else in the music would look stupid dancing to nothing!! hehe
18. taylor swift! ur songs r so inspiring and have given me some songs that i love to sing to in the shower! lol
still have more hang on
November 26th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Kristin, I love that quote about the books!!
November 26th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
19. all the girls on lisharrison.com! u guys r awesome!
20. lastly i’m thankful for God and faith and my church!
adios amigas!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERY1!
November 26th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I HAVE A GOOD COMEBACK, LISI .
(:
are you kanye ? then why are you interrupting me ?
THIS IS COPYRIGHTED UNLESS LISI USES THIS .
November 26th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE! I HOPE EVERYONE’S HAVING A GREAT DAY!
November 26th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
heyy lisi!
I am thankful for…
1. my freiends- so nice!
2. my fammmy!- they are supportive
3. my cellphone- who could live without it?
4. food- yummy yummy yummy!
5. you- your such a great writer lisi!
November 26th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Heyy girls! Sorry for not commenting sooner today but i was at dance….
Anyone there??
November 26th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I’m def. thankful for:
*My Family and all the love they give me!
*writers like Lisi! Life wold not be complete without books!
*Sparkly nail polish! Who could live without it?
*Music. I love listening to it and making it.
*My house. Its warm and dry and ive lived their my hwhole life!
*UGGs. They are sooo warm and soooo cute!
*Taylor Swift. Her songs are so easy to listen to and she puts on a great concrt.
*Volleyball. Volleyball is the only sport that I’m really good at!
* there are so many things to be thankful for! But I cant list them all! Happy Thanksgiving!
November 26th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
aww
hope u get better. if u died i would of died of boredom without ur ah-mazing books. 
and about the thanksgiving list, i already had it up here in Canada but here’s what im thankful for anyway:
-lisi harrison, stephenie meyer and alyson noel for your awesome books.
-4TNZdot.com who created jacob black’s version of taylor swift’s you belong with me. mane my day today
-my family and friends
-hopefully a great last year in elementary school.
-my ipod which kept me from ditching homework which kept me from failling school.
-my laptop so i can check out lisi’s blah-g every week.
November 26th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
oh, i forgot, volleyball. its the best sport ever. dont have to run
haha im jks. love volleyball 
<3
November 26th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
November 26th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
GOBBLE GOBBLE X)
November 26th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Heyy girls!
Anyone there?
November 26th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Haha guys no offense but just because you say “this is copywrited” doesent mean its legally copywitred. You cant just say it.
November 26th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Oh and…… Thanksgiving is almost over! Next stop MY BDAY ANDDDDD CHRISTMAS. December is my fave month
November 26th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
bored as heck! sum1 talk 2 me pweez
November 26th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
I can’t stay and talk not that anyone is even on but tomrrow Im at Disney and I don’t know what time I will be back and Saturday and Sunday I have to finish a book report, a four page essay, my science project, and a foldable with pictures and definitions and color if I have time I will try to be on well Goodnight My Girlies
November 26th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
hey! here is chapter 21 of Puzzle Pieces, I kno its extremly short but trust me, it’ll get better just hold on and trust me lol
Chapter 21: That One Text Message
Danny’s P.O.V.
Do you want to honestly know how I feel right now? Okay then. Brace yourself.
I. Feel. Like. Shit.
Yup. There it is. I couldn’t have found any more profound words to describe these feelings that I have right now. And let me tell you, I don’t feel this way because I am locked inside a hospital room for head injuries. Yeah that sucks, but I would much rather deal with the doctors poking at me than my world completely crumbling down after everything I’ve done. Yeah, so you could say I hadn’t really had time to prepare myself for that one text message that changed everything.
Madelyn’s P.O.V.
Want to know what I look like right now? Okay then, just remember you asked.
I look like a raccoon in a water park.
Yeah. That pretty much sums it all up, but let me further explain because obviously, I am not literally a raccoon nor in a water park.
I am sobbing my eyes out right now. Crying more fierce than ever before. And even though I hate to say it, that includes the day my mom died. Because when my mom died, there wasn’t anyone to blame but bad luck. This time, there was something, rather someone, to blame.
Me.
For sending that one text message that changed everything.
November 26th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Ten Things I Am Thankful For
1.) i am thankful for God He is my Savior and there wouldnt be a me without him
2.) my family duh i love them sooo much words can’t express every single last one of them
3.)i am thankful for my friends i couldn’t survive without them and their support and everything they do for me
4.)America i wouldnt want to be anywhere else
5.) that i am still alive
6.) that all the people i love are still alive
7.) i am thankful that i am loved
8.) i am thankful that i know i am loved so much that i am literally crying while writing this haha =]
9.) i am thankful for just everything i have and i try not to take any of it for granted
10.) i am thankful that i have scholiosis (spelling?) because it reminds me hey, this world isnt the best place and you think you have something wrong with you? well look at the people who have cancer and stuff and i am thankful for having it because if i didnt idk if i would realize that
November 26th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Lisi,
I finished Charmed and Dangerous! It was ah-mazing! I love the way the girls met. By Massie’s charms. And I cannot believe Dylan has been thinking she’s the very, very thin. I felt bad for her. And when Alicia fell…And when Massie got ditched by the Ahnnabees…Oh, and when Claire’s mother pulled her away in front of the world! Man, that must’ve been tough. All in all, I loved it! Great job, Lisi!
~Christina~
November 26th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Erised, I love ur name
I’m a HUGE harry potter fan
November 26th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
I’m thankful for…everything.
November 26th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Hey everyone! I haven’t been here in forever. But. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
November 27th, 2009 at 7:18 am
hope everybody had a nice turkey day!
November 27th, 2009 at 7:38 am
This year was GREAT!!
1. I’m so thankful I’m still alive
2. For my whole family! Who can be annoying at times but keep me going!
3. My friends whom I LOVE and make my life interesting and changing every second!
4. For all the AH-MAZING authors out there that have given me joy by their books(including lisi!(:)
5. And for absolutley everything else in the world for I know I wouldn’t know where I’d be without it!!
6. GOD! FOR EVERYTHING HES GIVEN ME!!
THANKS!!!!!
November 27th, 2009 at 7:38 am
This year was GREAT!!
1. I’m so thankful I’m still alive
2. For my whole family! Who can be annoying at times but keep me going!
3. My friends whom I LOVE and make my life interesting and changing every second!
4. For all the AH-MAZING authors out there that have given me joy by their books(including lisi!(:)
5. And for absolutley everything else in the world for I know I wouldn’t know where I’d be without it!!
6. GOD! FOR EVERYTHING HES GIVEN ME!!
THANKS!!!!!
November 27th, 2009 at 7:55 am
What I’m thankful for:
1. God, that he is in my heart
2. My family, even though theres just three of us!
3.Dance, It’s my passion, and it’s therapy
4. I am thankful that my parents can afford to let me be on my dance company
5. I am thankful for my friends, they mean the world to me!
6. I am thankful for school because not everybody can have such schools like in america
7. I am thankful for my freedom
8. I am thankful that my parents adopted me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9. I am thankful for my role modes!!
10. I am thankful for fashion!!!!!!!!!!
11. I am thankful writers, like LIsi Harrison take time out of there lives to do this blog for us.
Thats just a little bit
But I am thankful for YA’LL to!!!
November 27th, 2009 at 8:20 am
OMg its so sa that we only had about 600 comments last time. We used to have like 1000-2000 every week
November 27th, 2009 at 9:50 am
hey everyone!
November 27th, 2009 at 10:40 am
10 Things I Am Thankful For In 2009
1. THANKFUL FOR: My sister, who always drives me in the right direction, even though half the time it drives me crazy
2. THANKFUL FOR: Lisi Harrison, Nicholas Sparks, and Stephanie Meyer
3. THANKFUL FOR: Televison. It keeps me leveled. (Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, Vampire Diaries, and JONAS)
4. THANKFUL FOR: The Jonas Brothers… who have given me so much inspiration
5. THANKFUL FOR: Miley CYRUSSSS. And her haters, who give me more of a reason to love her, her music, her movies. And yeah, I loved the fact that deleted her twitter.
6. THANKFUL FOR: TWITTTEEEERRRRRR which has seriously gotten me over some serious moments of BOREDOMM
7. THANKFUL FOR: Juicy Couture… which has made me feel more pretty every day, just cuz im wearing their perfume
8. THANKFUL FOR: My Aero skinny jeans. I would have been lost without them this year..
9. THANKFUL FOR: My iPod, which has let me listen to the Jonas Brothers, Demi, Miley and a zillion other artists without having to carry around a laptop with me
10. THANKFUL FOR: Me. Im happy to be me (:
November 27th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Top Ten Things I am Thankful for!!(not in any order!)
1. My grandma and grandpa
2.My dog who is a great listener
3.God
4.Books and lisi harrison
5.My bestest friend Dani whom I could NOT live without
6.My brother who even though sometimes annoys me hes still a good brother
7. My parents who are always there for me
8.My cousin Isis
9.My house because its good to know that when I’m sleeping that I have a roof over my head
10. I AM THANKFUL FOR ALL YOU GIRLIES HERE ON LISIHARRISON.COM!
November 27th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
IN HONOR OF THANKSGIVING…
The Funniest Things to be thankful for on LisiHarrison.com
*These are real quotes taken off the comments section of the site!*
1. The world!!
2. For food because food=love. lol
ANOTHER ONE (ABOUT FOOD):
Junk food. What I would do without chocolate, I don’t know. I might have less to worry about, but besides that, I don’t know what I would do.
3. The Internet
3. Fantasies. Most of the time i pretend i am famous, that i am hermione, massie, bella, annabeth, others.
5. Ina Garten and the barefoot contessa!
(Not sure what that above one means ^^^)
6. Straightening irons.
7. Mascara.
8. My Cows: Ellie, Sissy, Ruthy Ann, Mary, Katie, Fear, Deuce, Jimmy Angus Moo, Sunday Rose, and August Rush
9. my family evn though they drive me crazy, for example my dad is singing a song he just made up right now that is called “bubblewrap factory”. i know, how laME, but one day it’ll be #1 on iTunes!
10. my bffs mom. ehmagawd shes so nice…(i couldnt think of anyhting, OK?)
11. NEW MOON lemme see about 7 shirtless hot guys.
12. TOM FELTON The hottest wizard i know
13. Laminin without you i would be a pile of mush.
14. thank-ahdor for who ever wrote the script for wild child with Emma Roberts getting that awn black friday 2!
15. My (book only) smarts, and thankful if I had some street smarts!
16. Things that spell my name correctly.
17. you of course
(who is you?? ^^^) haha
18. Drum roll*The very last thign I’m thankful for is……..for all the smiles I see.
19. Bowling, it’s so much fun!
20. Lulu. Shes my lavender stuffed lamb. I got her today. Love her. She smells like lavender. lol
21. Lisi’s little icon thing. It’s like Blah-g, every wednesday. And then random shots of Lisi.
(hahahahahahahahahahahahaha ^^^)
22. My smarts. Keeps me sane.
23. starbucks, nuff said.
24. i guess teachers should get put on this list too…
25. My sister, who always drives me in the right direction, even though half the time it drives me crazy
IN HONOR (AGAIN) OF THANKSGIVING…
TOP 25 SWEETEST THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR ON LISIHARRISON.COM
1. Friends who have become family and family who have become friends.
2. All of the opportunities that have thrown at me in my life- I try to take advantage of as many as I could. It doesn’t always work out, and I’ve definitely messed up many of them, but they’ve all made my life more interesting in some way or another.
3. All my failures and the people who told me “You can’t.” They have made the strong girl I am today.
4. my grandpa, he tought me how to fish, and cook and he was always a fun grandpa! ( i miss u
)
5. Mean girls- they help me learn that im a can be myself and not care what anyone thinks.
6. My two amazing best friends/sisters who I know will always be there and who I’ll love forever!
7. School. It might sound weird, but school gives me a purpose and a chance to grow smart and to do something really awesome with my life. And, for now, it gives me a reason to get up in the morning. Oh, and it also makes me grow stronger.
8. My awesome family and friends. For always being there for me no matter what and for always understanding me even when I don’t understand myself.
9. My good friend Jacob thanks for giving me 3 good years worth of laughs
10. warm, fuzzy socks.
(AGREED ^^^)
11. I am thankful for the basic things of life. For the flowers that grow, oxygen we breathe, and the sun that warms our skin.
(I SENSE A WRITER ^^^)
12. I am thankful for being able to afford things during this rough economy.
13. First of all I am thankfull for everyone in my life that I love me and hate hate me. Lovers because you have supported me during my IN and OUT moods. Haters because you all have let me just realize how much value I really have and that every own is worth something. Also you have taught me a lot about myself.
14. Rain, I love dancing in the rain
15. My mother’s ah-mazing gift for baking. Her hugs rock, too!
16. NO SCHOOL FOR FOUR DAYS.
(THANK YOU THANKSGIVING ^^^)
17. God, because He’s the only one I can talk to when I have a huh-uuuuge secret.
18. MY FRIENDS. We fight, we act insane, we yell at each other, we do stupid things, we hate each other, we love each other, AND I WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU.
(AWWWWW!) ^^^
19. my characters in my stories whom i grew to cheris and love. Whom I cried when they cried. Whom I smiled when they smiled. Whom I went throu as much as they did.
20. my aunt’s miracle she was suffering from cancer and she is doing really well right now
21. America i wouldnt want to be anywhere else
22. i am thankful for just everything i have and i try not to take any of it for granted
23. I am thankful for school because not everybody can have such schools like in america
24. My sister, who always drives me in the right direction, even though half the time it drives me crazy
(YES, ^^^ THIS WAS ON THE OTHER LIST TOO. ITS JUST TOO SWEET TO IGNORE)
25. Me. Im happy to be me (:
HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT CHRISTMAS! KEEP POSTED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE UPCOMING SHORT STORY CONTEST!
-MARY
November 27th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
The Funniest Things to be thankful for on LisiHarrison.com
*These are real quotes taken off the comments section of the site!*
1. The world!!
2. For food because food=love. lol
ANOTHER ONE (ABOUT FOOD):
Junk food. What I would do without chocolate, I don’t know. I might have less to worry about, but besides that, I don’t know what I would do.
3. The Internet
3. Fantasies. Most of the time i pretend i am famous, that i am hermione, massie, bella, annabeth, others.
5. Ina Garten and the barefoot contessa!
(Not sure what that above one means ^^^)
6. Straightening irons.
7. Mascara.
8. My Cows: Ellie, Sissy, Ruthy Ann, Mary, Katie, Fear, Deuce, Jimmy Angus Moo, Sunday Rose, and August Rush
9. my family evn though they drive me crazy, for example my dad is singing a song he just made up right now that is called “bubblewrap factory”. i know, how laME, but one day it’ll be #1 on iTunes!
10. my bffs mom. ehmagawd shes so nice…(i couldnt think of anyhting, OK?)
11. NEW MOON lemme see about 7 shirtless hot guys.
12. TOM FELTON The hottest wizard i know
13. Laminin without you i would be a pile of mush.
14. thank-ahdor for who ever wrote the script for wild child with Emma Roberts getting that awn black friday 2!
15. My (book only) smarts, and thankful if I had some street smarts!
16. Things that spell my name correctly.
17. you of course
(who is you?? ^^^)
18. Drum roll*The very last thign I’m thankful for is……..for all the smiles I see.
19. Bowling, it’s so much fun!
20. Lulu. Shes my lavender stuffed lamb. I got her today. Love her. She smells like lavender. lol
21. Lisi’s little icon thing. It’s like Blah-g, every wednesday. And then random shots of Lisi.
(hahahahahahahahahahahahaha ^^^)
22. My smarts. Keeps me sane.
23. starbucks, nuff said.
24. i guess teachers should get put on this list too…
25. My sister, who always drives me in the right direction, even though half the time it drives me crazy
<3
<3
<3
TOP 25 SWEETEST THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR ON LISIHARRISON.COM
1. Friends who have become family and family who have become friends.
2. All of the opportunities that have thrown at me in my life- I try to take advantage of as many as I could. It doesn’t always work out, and I’ve definitely messed up many of them, but they’ve all made my life more interesting in some way or another.
3. All my failures and the people who told me “You can’t.” They have made the strong girl I am today.
4. my grandpa, he tought me how to fish, and cook and he was always a fun grandpa! ( i miss u )
5. Mean girls- they help me learn that im a can be myself and not care what anyone thinks.
6. My two amazing best friends/sisters who I know will always be there and who I’ll love forever!
7. School. It might sound weird, but school gives me a purpose and a chance to grow smart and to do something really awesome with my life. And, for now, it gives me a reason to get up in the morning. Oh, and it also makes me grow stronger.
8. My awesome family and friends. For always being there for me no matter what and for always understanding me even when I don’t understand myself.
9. My good friend Jacob thanks for giving me 3 good years worth of laughs
10. warm, fuzzy socks.
(AGREED ^^^)
11. I am thankful for the basic things of life. For the flowers that grow, oxygen we breathe, and the sun that warms our skin.
(I SENSE A WRITER ^^^)
12. I am thankful for being able to afford things during this rough economy.
13. First of all I am thankfull for everyone in my life that I love me and hate hate me. Lovers because you have supported me during my IN and OUT moods. Haters because you all have let me just realize how much value I really have and that every own is worth something. Also you have taught me a lot about myself.
14. Rain, I love dancing in the rain
15. My mother’s ah-mazing gift for baking. Her hugs rock, too!
16. NO SCHOOL FOR FOUR DAYS.
(THANK YOU THANKSGIVING ^^^)
17. God, because He’s the only one I can talk to when I have a huh-uuuuge secret.
18. MY FRIENDS. We fight, we act insane, we yell at each other, we do stupid things, we hate each other, we love
each other, AND I WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU.
(AWWWWW!) ^^^
19. my characters in my stories whom i grew to cheris and love. Whom I cried when they cried. Whom I smiled when they smiled. Whom I went throu as much as they did.
20. my aunt’s miracle she was suffering from cancer and she is doing really well right now
21. America i wouldnt want to be anywhere else
22. i am thankful for just everything i have and i try not to take any of it for granted
23. I am thankful for school because not everybody can have such schools like in america
24. My sister, who always drives me in the right direction, even though half the time it drives me crazy
(YES, ^^^ THIS WAS ON THE OTHER LIST TOO. ITS JUST TOO SWEET TO IGNORE)
25. Me. Im happy to be me (:
HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GOOD THANKSGIVING , NOT CHRISTMAS! HAHAHA.
November 27th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
What im thankful for
1. My best friend Ashton for loving me when i hated my self, and making me laugh everyday.
2. My mom for being such a lovely asian, and who pronounces my name caitleeeeeeeeeeeeeen
3. My dad for staying in surgeries for 10 hours to save people’s lives and for giving me all i could every want and more
4. My world class best friends who truly make me who i am.
5. My older sister Miley for having the same name as miley cyrus and putting up with being called hannah montana by me
6. My 10 month old baby brother riley for not doing much but sleeping and eating but who i expect great things out of.
7. School even tho i hate it so much i no that in 50% of the world girls dont even get educated.
8. My horse biloxi for taking me out of this world by sitting on his back
9. My iphone for giving me the music that gives me life and texting that keeps me attached
10. The great planet earth for giving us a place to live.
November 27th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
omg lisi u got hit by a car??????
November 27th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
NEW SITE IS UP! IT’S BLACK AND WHITE AND REALLY PRETTY. READ ABOUT THE NEW SHORT STORY CONTEST BY CLICKING THIS LINK:
http://anhonestlisiwriter.blogspot.com/
TALK TO YOU ALL LATER! EMAIL ME WITH QUESTIONS.
DEARMISSEDIT@YAHOO.COM
MARY
November 27th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
guys just got back from shopping went to verizon, best buy, borders, and a clothing store.
November 27th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
1) my friends who are always there (and always there to teach my enemies a leason :D)
which leads me to crushes. even the bad ones cause they teach you all the lessons you’ll need to have
2) family. if all else fails, theyre there for you
3) food. im not joking. just think of all those 3rd world countries and just be glad to have food.
4) LISI HARRISON!! no joke lisi the clique makes my world go round they are my favorite books i can always go to them when i need comforting. they are my comfort books (like comfort food, but without the unnessicary calories :D)
5) all books. i mean, what would i do without em?
6) movies. same
7) my guy friends. they are so awesome. you can be yourself without the worry. and besides, they’re always willing to find out some certain important info
9) my enemies. i know it sounds werid, but my life can always use an unexpected turn and they always give me a turn
and….
10) LIFE!! the biggest gift of all!!!!!
love you lisi!!
<3 julie <3
November 27th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
PS PLEASE come to my clique fan site its:
http://www.thecliqueisah-mazing.webs.com
YAY
November 27th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
AHHH TYPO
after number 7 it has a smiley face and a random face with sunglasses then its suppose to have a space and then number 8).
sorry people!!
julie
November 27th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
* hey girlies!*
November 27th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
*hey*
November 27th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
um so heres my story.
.:Prologue:.
I am at the coffee shop with Joann and Melody. Even Jason and Tally are here at last. And Trent stopped by. I know it is wrong for me to be here, but at the moment I don’t care. I miss Jason and Trent and even Tally so much to care about Kyle.
Tally looks at me and I try to smile at her. I used to kind of hate her, because when Jason started dating her, I rarely got to see him anymore. But then I realized that Tally was really nice and she was cool. Just the kind of girl for Jason. Believe me, if I didn’t think she was good enough, I wouldn’t approve. Only the best for my best friend since forever!
“Lynn. I thought you were meeting Kyle today?” she says, hesitating.
“Oh I’m sure he doesn’t mind.” I say, shrugging.
Tally stares at me and frowns, but she doesn’t say anything.
But I know she is thinking I am a bad friend for blowing off Kyle like that. But at the moment I don’t care what she thought of me. Not today. I wasn’t letting Jason’s girlfriend piss me off like that. Well, I was just mostly mad at myself.
“Lynn. Why didn’t you come? I was waiting for you!” Kyle says, frowning at me.
We were in my yard, and I’d just come home from the coffee shop. He doesn’t look very happy, kind of annoyed.
“I was with my friends.” I say, ignoring his cold looks.
“We made plans before them.” Kyle sighs, exasperated.
“But I haven’t seen Jason and Trent in such a long time!” I say, and it’s not a lie, either.
Kyle rolls his eyes at me, and says, “I’m sick of being blown off by you. You’re selfish, you know? You just don’t care about anybody. You just like to look popular. I’m sick of it. You used to be cool.” I frown at him. What lies! I wasn’t selfish.
When I don’t say anything, he continues. “Ever since tenth grade, that’s all you cared about. Being popular.”
That made me angry. I rip off the silver ring he gave me two summers ago and fling it at the ground.
He raises his eyebrow at me, then smirks.
“Why don’t you just go with them next time too? It seems like you don’t even care anymore, Lynn!” he laughs, almost like a crazed person.
“Fine!” I yell, not caring to pick up the friendship ring.
I didn’t realize it then, that I should’ve tried harder to stay friends with Kyle.
.:Chapter One:.
I step through the doors of Milbridge High, and the smell of rusty lockers and new books slap me in the face. The sound of lockers slamming and doorknobs turning and locks clicking and feet shuffling and students sound almost rhythmic.
But not quite. Just almost.
I feel like a stranger here, like I was breaking their rhythm. It was silly, I had gone here since freshman year. I was a senior now.
I thank the gods that I’ve memorized my locker number and my schedule so that I wouldn’t look like a stupid lost freshman.
A stupid lost freshman that I once was.
I laugh, and two juniors look weirdly at me. “What’s she laughing at?” One of them, a girl, says. Her friend laughs.
“What a freak. A senior, sure. But a freak. There’s no one with her. And everyone knows that’s the most loser-ish thing that can happen!” her friend says, smirking at me.
I flush, but I keep walking. I might’ve sped up a bit.
Yeah, probably
….
At lunch I rush out the doors of the class, pushing a slow girl out of the way. She scowls and calls me a b.itch, but other than that, she plainly ignored me.
I see Joann down the hall, and I quicken my pace. Sure, I bumped into a million people and pushed a bunch of people, but at least I got to her before she could get out of my sight.
“Joann!” I yell over the noise of the locks clicking and the lockers slamming and the doorknobs turning and the feet shuffling and the students talking. She turns around, a smile on her face. She is laughing at something her cute guy friend said.
When she sees me, she stops laughing.
She frowns, and then suddenly, a smile is plastered across her face.
“Hey Lynn..” she says, and suddenly I think her smile looks really fake. “Who’s your friend?” I ask, smiling at the cute stranger.
She looks at me, and scowls. “My friend.” She says, sounding annoyed.
I frown at her. “What’s wrong?” I ask. I wink at her friend, and he laughs. Joann however, was scowling.
“Excuse me, Gregory. I’ll meet you up in the lunchroom. Joann, I need to talk to you. Girls’ restroom.” she says, forcing a smile. Her friend, Gregory, flashes her the cutest smile ever, then walks away.
….
“What?” I say as soon as we’re in the restroom.
Of course, we’d checked that there was absolutely NO eavesdroppers.
Joann didn’t say anything. She simply rinsed her hands in the sink and flattened stray hairs.
“Gregory’s mine, so back off, Lynn.” Her voice cut through me.
I step back. She had to be kidding, right?
“Are you serious?” I say.
“… Rachel and I agree that we’re sick of you taking all the guys. Gregory, for example. I saw him first, and so far everything is fine. So you better not try to take him.” Joann says, crossing her arms.
The dripping of the water faucet seemed quite loud at that moment. Both of us didn’t say a word.
….
We walk into the doors of the cafeteria, Joann’s face plastered with a fake smile. I see Gregory, and he waves at us. I was about to wave back, when I remembered that Gregory was Joann’s guy.
I didn’t quite like that idea, but I didn’t object. No need to make Joann more annoyed.
“Hey Greg!” she greeted him with a genuine smile.
I was going to not even acknowledge him, but that seemed a tad rude so I slighted nodded my head to show that I knew of his presense.
He looked surprised at my subtle-ness. I flushed. Was I really that dramatic all the time?
Joann slid into the seat next to him, ignoring me. “Thanks for saving me a seat.” He looked away from me, and met her gaze. He tilted his head to the side before his face broke into a grin. “Don’t mention it.”
She reached over to his plate, taking a fry and popping it into her mouth. He laughed.
I looked away. Something told me Joann did not want me sitting near them, especially Gregory.
I weighed my options between sitting next to Faith opposed to sitting with Melody and her boyfriend, Brandon. I opted to sit with Faith. I had enough of my friends and their boyfriends for one day.
….
We all crowded around Melody afterschool. She and Liam were the only ones with cars, and Melody had the van. We didn’t know where Liam went off to, but then one of his friends, some girl from his class, tipped us off.
“Liam has a chess and science club meeting.” she says, pushing her purple plastic glasses up. She was actually pretty, if you looked closely. She was smart, like Liam. I wondered if he liked her. They would certainly look good together.
I say my thanks, and she smiles. “I’m Laurel. You must be Lynn.” She says, holding out her hand. Hesitantly, I shake it. “How did you know my name?” I ask, surprised because I hadn’t known her name.
Laurel laughs. “I’m Rachel’s cousin, and Liam was talking about you guys the other day during science club.”
“You’re Rachel’s cousin?” Trent says, surprised.
Laurel nods. “Yes. We pretend we’re not semi-related though.” She says, a half-smile spread on her face. “We’re like best friends when I go to her house twice a month.” She says.
And then, Laurel’s face suddenly lights up.
“I almost forgot! Would you guys like to attend my party on Friday at seven?” She exclaims. “I asked Liam to tell you, but he has so much going on… so I thought I’d just do it, since you’re all here.”
Tally steps in. “I’d be pleased to. In fact, I think we’d all love to come.” She says, smiling. Laurel squeals. “Alright. Here’s my address, and hope to see you there! That’s alright if you can’t attend though.”
She backs away. “I really must be going now. I was only getting my project from my car… I’m going to be late for the science club meeting!” She says, and waves before she dashes off.
…..
I sit in shotgun of Melody’s car, and Jason, Trent, Tally, Rachel, Erik and Timothy were all crowded into the back. Joann and Gregory were walking to Starbuck’s.
At first, Melody insisted that they come with us too, but Joann claimed that Gregory and her wanted to walk. Gregory confirmed, saying they needed some time alone. And that, started the giggling and winking and such. Joann just smiled and held onto his hand.
We arrive at Starbuck’s and amazingly, Joann and Gregory are already there, and they saved seats for us. Joann sips a Vanilla frappucino, and Gregory opted for some plain coffee.
Erik looks amazed.
“WHAT? How in the world did you get here faster than us?” He yells.
Joann smiles. Gregory just laughs before saying, “We rode on my motorcycle.” Erik gasps. “OMG. Joann! You must be so lucky… a motorcycle!” He shakes his head regretfully.
Gregory raised his eyebrows. “You want a ride on it too?” He offers. Erik’s grey eyes grow large and all watery. “Really?” He says, his voice almost a whisper. It has just a hint of a squeal in it.
He nods. Erik jumps around, yelling, “Hurray! I’m riding a motorcycle!!”
The eldery couple in the corner shake their heads at him and the lady tuts. “Kids these days. Them and their dangerous sports!” She grumbles, and her husbands nods, then he turns back to his newspaper.
Timothy writes our orders down and then goes to the counter to place our order. He pays, and come back to us, demanding we pay him back. Rachel laughs.
“Aww. No treat?” She whines. Timothy sighed. “Fine. Just for you.” And that triggers a round of “ooohs” and giggles. He just rolls his eyes and holds his hands out for the money. Tally stuffs a ten dollar bill into his hand.
“For mine and Jason’s drink.” She explains in a bored tone before she sits down again. Timothy raises his eyebrow, but pockets the money. I hand him a fiver silently.
I was bored outta my mind.
….
to be continued.
ch 1 is incomplete ^^
November 27th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
um so heres my story.
.:Prologue:.
I am at the coffee shop with Joann and Melody. Even Jason and Tally are here at last. And Trent stopped by. I know it is wrong for me to be here, but at the moment I don’t care. I miss Jason and Trent and even Tally so much to care about Kyle.
Tally looks at me and I try to smile at her. I used to kind of hate her, because when Jason started dating her, I rarely got to see him anymore. But then I realized that Tally was really nice and she was cool. Just the kind of girl for Jason. Believe me, if I didn’t think she was good enough, I wouldn’t approve. Only the best for my best friend since forever!
“Lynn. I thought you were meeting Kyle today?” she says, hesitating.
“Oh I’m sure he doesn’t mind.” I say, shrugging.
Tally stares at me and frowns, but she doesn’t say anything.
But I know she is thinking I am a bad friend for blowing off Kyle like that. But at the moment I don’t care what she thought of me. Not today. I wasn’t letting Jason’s girlfriend piss me off like that. Well, I was just mostly mad at myself.
“Lynn. Why didn’t you come? I was waiting for you!” Kyle says, frowning at me.
We were in my yard, and I’d just come home from the coffee shop. He doesn’t look very happy, kind of annoyed.
“I was with my friends.” I say, ignoring his cold looks.
“We made plans before them.” Kyle sighs, exasperated.
“But I haven’t seen Jason and Trent in such a long time!” I say, and it’s not a lie, either.
Kyle rolls his eyes at me, and says, “I’m sick of being blown off by you. You’re selfish, you know? You just don’t care about anybody. You just like to look popular. I’m sick of it. You used to be cool.” I frown at him. What lies! I wasn’t selfish.
When I don’t say anything, he continues. “Ever since tenth grade, that’s all you cared about. Being popular.”
That made me angry. I rip off the silver ring he gave me two summers ago and fling it at the ground.
He raises his eyebrow at me, then smirks.
“Why don’t you just go with them next time too? It seems like you don’t even care anymore, Lynn!” he laughs, almost like a crazed person.
“Fine!” I yell, not caring to pick up the friendship ring.
I didn’t realize it then, that I should’ve tried harder to stay friends with Kyle.
.:Chapter One:.
I step through the doors of Milbridge High, and the smell of rusty lockers and new books slap me in the face. The sound of lockers slamming and doorknobs turning and locks clicking and feet shuffling and students sound almost rhythmic.
But not quite. Just almost.
I feel like a stranger here, like I was breaking their rhythm. It was silly, I had gone here since freshman year. I was a senior now.
I thank the gods that I’ve memorized my locker number and my schedule so that I wouldn’t look like a stupid lost freshman.
A stupid lost freshman that I once was.
I laugh, and two juniors look weirdly at me. “What’s she laughing at?” One of them, a girl, says. Her friend laughs.
“What a freak. A senior, sure. But a freak. There’s no one with her. And everyone knows that’s the most loser-ish thing that can happen!” her friend says, smirking at me.
I flush, but I keep walking. I might’ve sped up a bit.
Yeah, probably
….
At lunch I rush out the doors of the class, pushing a slow girl out of the way. She scowls and calls me a b.itch, but other than that, she plainly ignored me.
I see Joann down the hall, and I quicken my pace. Sure, I bumped into a million people and pushed a bunch of people, but at least I got to her before she could get out of my sight.
“Joann!” I yell over the noise of the locks clicking and the lockers slamming and the doorknobs turning and the feet shuffling and the students talking. She turns around, a smile on her face. She is laughing at something her cute guy friend said.
When she sees me, she stops laughing.
She frowns, and then suddenly, a smile is plastered across her face.
“Hey Lynn..” she says, and suddenly I think her smile looks really fake. “Who’s your friend?” I ask, smiling at the cute stranger.
She looks at me, and scowls. “My friend.” She says, sounding annoyed.
I frown at her. “What’s wrong?” I ask. I wink at her friend, and he laughs. Joann however, was scowling.
“Excuse me, Gregory. I’ll meet you up in the lunchroom. Joann, I need to talk to you. Girls’ restroom.” she says, forcing a smile. Her friend, Gregory, flashes her the cutest smile ever, then walks away.
….
“What?” I say as soon as we’re in the restroom.
Of course, we’d checked that there was absolutely NO eavesdroppers.
Joann didn’t say anything. She simply rinsed her hands in the sink and flattened stray hairs.
“Gregory’s mine, so back off, Lynn.” Her voice cut through me.
I step back. She had to be kidding, right?
“Are you serious?” I say.
“… Rachel and I agree that we’re sick of you taking all the guys. Gregory, for example. I saw him first, and so far everything is fine. So you better not try to take him.” Joann says, crossing her arms.
The dripping of the water faucet seemed quite loud at that moment. Both of us didn’t say a word.
….
We walk into the doors of the cafeteria, Joann’s face plastered with a fake smile. I see Gregory, and he waves at us. I was about to wave back, when I remembered that Gregory was Joann’s guy.
I didn’t quite like that idea, but I didn’t object. No need to make Joann more annoyed.
“Hey Greg!” she greeted him with a genuine smile.
I was going to not even acknowledge him, but that seemed a tad rude so I slighted nodded my head to show that I knew of his presense.
He looked surprised at my subtle-ness. I flushed. Was I really that dramatic all the time?
Joann slid into the seat next to him, ignoring me. “Thanks for saving me a seat.” He looked away from me, and met her gaze. He tilted his head to the side before his face broke into a grin. “Don’t mention it.”
She reached over to his plate, taking a fry and popping it into her mouth. He laughed.
I looked away. Something told me Joann did not want me sitting near them, especially Gregory.
I weighed my options between sitting next to Faith opposed to sitting with Melody and her boyfriend, Brandon. I opted to sit with Faith. I had enough of my friends and their boyfriends for one day.
….
We all crowded around Melody afterschool. She and Liam were the only ones with cars, and Melody had the van. We didn’t know where Liam went off to, but then one of his friends, some girl from his class, tipped us off.
“Liam has a chess and science club meeting.” she says, pushing her purple plastic glasses up. She was actually pretty, if you looked closely. She was smart, like Liam. I wondered if he liked her. They would certainly look good together.
I say my thanks, and she smiles. “I’m Laurel. You must be Lynn.” She says, holding out her hand. Hesitantly, I shake it. “How did you know my name?” I ask, surprised because I hadn’t known her name.
Laurel laughs. “I’m Rachel’s cousin, and Liam was talking about you guys the other day during science club.”
“You’re Rachel’s cousin?” Trent says, surprised.
Laurel nods. “Yes. We pretend we’re not semi-related though.” She says, a half-smile spread on her face. “We’re like best friends when I go to her house twice a month.” She says.
And then, Laurel’s face suddenly lights up.
“I almost forgot! Would you guys like to attend my party on Friday at seven?” She exclaims. “I asked Liam to tell you, but he has so much going on… so I thought I’d just do it, since you’re all here.”
Tally steps in. “I’d be pleased to. In fact, I think we’d all love to come.” She says, smiling. Laurel squeals. “Alright. Here’s my address, and hope to see you there! That’s alright if you can’t attend though.”
She backs away. “I really must be going now. I was only getting my project from my car… I’m going to be late for the science club meeting!” She says, and waves before she dashes off.
…..
I sit in shotgun of Melody’s car, and Jason, Trent, Tally, Rachel, Erik and Timothy were all crowded into the back. Joann and Gregory were walking to Starbuck’s.
At first, Melody insisted that they come with us too, but Joann claimed that Gregory and her wanted to walk. Gregory confirmed, saying they needed some time alone. And that, started the giggling and winking and such. Joann just smiled and held onto his hand.
We arrive at Starbuck’s and amazingly, Joann and Gregory are already there, and they saved seats for us. Joann sips a Vanilla frappucino, and Gregory opted for some plain coffee.
Erik looks amazed.
“WHAT? How in the world did you get here faster than us?” He yells.
Joann smiles. Gregory just laughs before saying, “We rode on my motorcycle.” Erik gasps. “OMG. Joann! You must be so lucky… a motorcycle!” He shakes his head regretfully.
Gregory raised his eyebrows. “You want a ride on it too?” He offers. Erik’s grey eyes grow large and all watery. “Really?” He says, his voice almost a whisper. It has just a hint of a squeal in it.
He nods. Erik jumps around, yelling, “Hurray! I’m riding a motorcycle!!”
The eldery couple in the corner shake their heads at him and the lady tuts. “Kids these days. Them and their dangerous sports!” She grumbles, and her husbands nods, then he turns back to his newspaper.
Timothy writes our orders down and then goes to the counter to place our order. He pays, and come back to us, demanding we pay him back. Rachel laughs.
“Aww. No treat?” She whines. Timothy sighed. “Fine. Just for you.” And that triggers a round of “ooohs” and giggles. He just rolls his eyes and holds his hands out for the money. Tally stuffs a ten dollar bill into his hand.
“For mine and Jason’s drink.” She explains in a bored tone before she sits down again. Timothy raises his eyebrow, but pockets the money. I hand him a fiver silently.
I was bored outta my mind.
….
to be continued.
ch 1 is incomplete ^^
November 27th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
oops double post.
November 27th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
anybody on???????
November 27th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
The Funniest Things to be thankful for on LisiHarrison.com
*These are real quotes taken off the comments section of the site!*
1. The world!!
2. For food because food=love. lol
ANOTHER ONE (ABOUT FOOD):
Junk food. What I would do without chocolate, I don’t know. I might have less to worry about, but besides that, I don’t know what I would do.
3. The Internet
3. Fantasies. Most of the time i pretend i am famous, that i am hermione, massie, bella, annabeth, others.
5. Ina Garten and the barefoot contessa!
(Not sure what that above one means ^^^)
6. Straightening irons.
7. Mascara.
8. My Cows: Ellie, Sissy, Ruthy Ann, Mary, Katie, Fear, Deuce, Jimmy Angus Moo, Sunday Rose, and August Rush
9. my family evn though they drive me crazy, for example my dad is singing a song he just made up right now that is called “bubblewrap factory”. i know, how laME, but one day it’ll be #1 on iTunes!
10. my bffs mom. ehmagawd shes so nice…(i couldnt think of anyhting, OK?)
11. NEW MOON lemme see about 7 shirtless hot guys.
12. TOM FELTON The hottest wizard i know
13. Laminin without you i would be a pile of mush.
14. thank-ahdor for who ever wrote the script for wild child with Emma Roberts getting that awn black friday 2!
15. My (book only) smarts, and thankful if I had some street smarts!
16. Things that spell my name correctly.
17. you of course
(who is you?? ^^^)
18. Drum roll*The very last thign I’m thankful for is……..for all the smiles I see.
19. Bowling, it’s so much fun!
20. Lulu. Shes my lavender stuffed lamb. I got her today. Love her. She smells like lavender. lol
21. Lisi’s little icon thing. It’s like Blah-g, every wednesday. And then random shots of Lisi.
(hahahahahahahahahahahahaha ^^^)
22. My smarts. Keeps me sane.
23. starbucks, nuff said.
24. i guess teachers should get put on this list too…
25. My sister, who always drives me in the right direction, even though half the time it drives me crazy
<3
<3
<3
TOP 25 SWEETEST THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR ON LISIHARRISON.COM
1. Friends who have become family and family who have become friends.
2. All of the opportunities that have thrown at me in my life- I try to take advantage of as many as I could. It doesn’t always work out, and I’ve definitely messed up many of them, but they’ve all made my life more interesting in some way or another.
3. All my failures and the people who told me “You can’t.” They have made the strong girl I am today.
4. my grandpa, he tought me how to fish, and cook and he was always a fun grandpa! ( i miss u )
5. Mean girls- they help me learn that im a can be myself and not care what anyone thinks.
6. My two amazing best friends/sisters who I know will always be there and who I’ll love forever!
7. School. It might sound weird, but school gives me a purpose and a chance to grow smart and to do something really awesome with my life. And, for now, it gives me a reason to get up in the morning. Oh, and it also makes me grow stronger.
8. My awesome family and friends. For always being there for me no matter what and for always understanding me even when I don’t understand myself.
9. My good friend Jacob thanks for giving me 3 good years worth of laughs
10. warm, fuzzy socks.
(AGREED ^^^)
11. I am thankful for the basic things of life. For the flowers that grow, oxygen we breathe, and the sun that warms our skin.
(I SENSE A WRITER ^^^)
12. I am thankful for being able to afford things during this rough economy.
13. First of all I am thankfull for everyone in my life that I love me and hate hate me. Lovers because you have supported me during my IN and OUT moods. Haters because you all have let me just realize how much value I really have and that every own is worth something. Also you have taught me a lot about myself.
14. Rain, I love dancing in the rain
15. My mother’s ah-mazing gift for baking. Her hugs rock, too!
16. NO SCHOOL FOR FOUR DAYS.
(THANK YOU THANKSGIVING ^^^)
17. God, because He’s the only one I can talk to when I have a huh-uuuuge secret.
18. MY FRIENDS. We fight, we act insane, we yell at each other, we do stupid things, we hate each other, we love
each other, AND I WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU.
(AWWWWW!) ^^^
19. my characters in my stories whom i grew to cheris and love. Whom I cried when they cried. Whom I smiled when they smiled. Whom I went throu as much as they did.
20. my aunt’s miracle she was suffering from cancer and she is doing really well right now
21. America i wouldnt want to be anywhere else
22. i am thankful for just everything i have and i try not to take any of it for granted
23. I am thankful for school because not everybody can have such schools like in america
24. My sister, who always drives me in the right direction, even though half the time it drives me crazy
(YES, ^^^ THIS WAS ON THE OTHER LIST TOO. ITS JUST TOO SWEET TO IGNORE)
25. Me. Im happy to be me (:
HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GOOD THANKSGIVING , NOT CHRISTMAS! HAHAHA.
November 27th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
EVERYONE!
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http://www.dramaqueenz.wordpress.com
November 27th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Hey girlies Disney was fun but it was so cold and my feet hurt now. I probebly won’t be on again until Monday or Sunday night because I still have to do all my hw and projects. I can stay and talk till 10 my time thats like 15 minutes but if no one is on then Goodnight My Girlies so let me know
November 27th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
hey I just wanted to see who was on but prob no one it is 10:30 west coast time. I don’t want to offend anyone when I say this but I think the website is dying down there used to be 2000 comments now we barely get 400 and no one is on talking I just wanted to kno what happened because this is sad nd upsetting I remember what it was like the first time I signed on… its changed so much I just think we might need to think a little harder and regain some spirit because I love this website and talking to people but I feel lyk no one is on and idk things are different I kno change is a part of life but maybe a change that was made once can be changed back because I had a weird but fantastic night and I did something a little dirastic and I just need someone to share it with who doesnt kno and they won’t judge me
November 28th, 2009 at 5:40 am
HEYY PPL!
SIGN THISSS ADD #’S 2
!!!!!!!
NEW MOVIEEEE!
1. Jess <3333
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November 28th, 2009 at 7:59 am
yo anybody here?
November 28th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Sam_You can tell me i won’t judge.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:08 am
anyone still on?
November 28th, 2009 at 8:25 am
SAM SAM SMAMMMM– you are so right! and yea it is so sad. but yea we wont judge
November 28th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Sam is 100% right…Now the most comments there are is about 500..ITS SAD!! WE NEED TO SHOW LISI THAT WE STILL LUV…Even if she already knows
November 28th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Sam- don’t worry about it! All of you guys, this is normal. Over the summer there is usually the most comments. School is back, the holidays are coming, and people won’t be able to be on as much. I wouldn’t worry. People love Lisi now more than ever
November 28th, 2009 at 10:25 am
November 28th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Hey girlies! I have a new blog! Please read and comment! All u have to do is click on my name and POOF ur there! Thats all for now! Luv yall 4eva and always! Hugs and kisses!
XOXO
~TaLiA<3~
November 28th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Gooooooooooooo Gamecocks, BEAT clemson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 28th, 2009 at 11:56 am
im thankful for GETTING MY CAST OFF ON WEDNESDAY!!! on blahg day!!!
im thankful for everything good in my life
~t
November 28th, 2009 at 11:56 am
OMG! go gamecocks, Syd. i agree!!!
November 28th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Things I’m thankful for:
1.) My family who has supported me through everything
2.) My Friends, who are like sisters
3.) Dance, my passion and life
4.) Books, through ups and downs books have been there
5.) My home and how fortunate I am to have one.
There are lots more but it would take hours to write
Hope your neck is all right, Lisi!
November 28th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I am thankful for:
1. God
2. My faith
3. The angels and saints (always there to pray us through rough times
4. My family
5. That my dad has a job
6. Having epilepsy
7. Being homeschooled
8. My friends
9. Disney World (hehe)
10. Being so BLESSED!!
November 28th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
btw…..i agree with mary about tom felton….SO HOT!!!!
November 28th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Hey guys I am glad you agree and thanks mary that makes me feel a lot better. I said I am thankful for you guys on my list and this just backs it up.
I just went to a football game and I hung out with a lot of people from my school and we had fun which I feel like now I am actually in the loop because my brother goes to a private (high) school and he plays football so the games I go to are his while all my friends (we’re still in 8th grade) go to this public school’s games and last night we played them for the first time because they arent in our division but its playoffs so yeah. I guess I am excited that for once I am in the loop but if I told that to any of my friends I was hanging out with last night they would be like so its not a big deal and if I told it to any of my non popular friends they would be like your changing and yadda yadda yadda plus I am not as close with them anymore because they are still really immature.
November 28th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
anyone on?
November 28th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Obtw- go tcu kick new mexico’s butt.
November 28th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I am!!!
November 28th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
hey sam!
November 28th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
lalala- We won!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey anyone on?????????
November 28th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
White Butterflies
Chapter One
Who knows.
Who knows, I wondered, as I sat in the breezy field on the edge of town. My teacher had dismissed me early from school. My hair loose, getting tumbled in the wind, I thought about life. I could see for miles, mountains in the distance, the long bed of grass that stretched on and on. Flowers. It smelled so good.
I laid back and looked up at the sky. A beautiful sea of blue, not a cloud in sight. The trees in the distance swayed gently. My arms and legs were tired, and I rested in the cool grass. I wanted to sleep.
A few butterflies bounced through the air above my head, along with the sounds of softly chirping crickets. I turned my chin up to look at them. So pretty. Each one individual and special, but together a powerful group swarming through the sky.
They were all white. A milky color, some with spots. We had many of them in my town, and I had learned to love them. I lifted my wrist into the air, and one landed on the tip of my finger. These animals were not shy, we all realized, but they also did not do any harm.
I wished I could be like them. I wished I could fly away whenever I wanted, living on my own, starting a family. I would live a carefree life, knowing the ones that followed in my footsteps would be alright. That I hadn’t messed the world up at all, I left it better than how I came into it. My children would love it as much as I did.
But that wasn’t the truth. No, I would never have a family or live by myself. The lives that followed my generation’s would be worse than ever. They would be scared. Uneasy about the situation that seemed to grow in size almost every day.
I live in a village with all women. I have never seen a man before in my life, although we’ve heard things about them. Rumors, mainly. I wished I had been born just a few hundred years before now, and everything would have been different for me.
My teacher, Miss Anne, teaches us about the past. We used to be the biggest, strongest nation on earth. Our country was crowded with people of all ethnicities, who were free and could seek jobs and husbands. People from other places traveled to our country and wished never to leave because of the equalities and beautiful harmonies they found.
We were the most advanced. We were also the most eco-friendly. We were trying to save our dying earth, which was becoming black and rotten every year that went by. We were learning very quickly how to fix things, make lives easier. An American scientist named Mark Yale invented a cure for cancer. It was like a vaccine, given to everyone on the planet. I’m sure my ancestors took that medicine, unawares of the terrible side affects. All was seemingly well. The sicknesses stopped, and the streets were flooded with people leaves the hospital rooms, shedding their old gowns and raising their faces into the sunshine in happiness.
But delivery doctors were getting worried. At first, it was just a joke. But it turned to something much more sinister after research was conducted. Every child born that year was a female, and no one was sure why. People were terrified. Riots began, and people were killed. Mark Yale fled the country, for he knew he had made the mistake that would possibly end the human race.
It was a crisis. No one knew what to do. Wall Street crashed, then Washington D.C., and before we knew it, the population was dwindling. After another hundred years, it was quiet. Peaceful. The wind swept through the aching trees, but they were getting better. Earth was better than ever.
There was no more electricity, or power. We were left to live a life like the Native Americans, only we wouldn’t have families or fathers or brothers. No protectors, or hunters, or warriors. It was just women.
Every year, on January first, a huge carriage was pulled into our city by beautiful horses, their coats black and shiny. There would be newborn babies inside the carriage, and they were put up for adoption. The baby girls ran out fast. We had many women in the city who dreamed of one day being able to adopt one of those babies. It was their only chance at being a mother.
I was a carriage baby, as were most my friends. It was said the babies who were male were kept somewhere, at a different city, perhaps, in a science lab. They were destined to live their lives trying to find a way to un-do Mark Yale’s vaccine, to help the world. And once they did, once they discovered the cure, they would have to travel the world impregnating as many women as possible in a hope to save our race.
But this was a challenge. Most women’s reproductive organs, after almost a century of no use, were beginning to deteriorate. It was painful now, knowing most women could never, and would never, be mothers. Never feel the kick of a little one’s foot upon her stomach, feeling the life growing within.
I sighed, closing my eyes.
I had always been a quiet girl. I wasn’t exotically pretty, as some carriage babies were. We all looked extremely different. I had light skin, no freckles, and practically transparent blonde hair that fell to my belly button. I didn’t know who my biological mother was. Or my father. But I knew they probably didn’t love each other, as they probably conceived me as an experiment.
“Will this baby be a boy? Did this new treatment fix anything?” I imagined my parents said as they waited for me to be delivered. Once I was, looks of disgust probably passed over their faces.
“No.” I saw them in my mind, sighing and discarding me to the carriages. “Just another girl.”
I cried sometimes when I was alone. We all did. But there was nothing I could do about it, nothing to change the world.
But what I didn’t know, was that I would. I would. Destiny, a touch of destiny that I could not see and did not know about.
My hand dropped from the sky, the butterfly floating away, and I fell asleep.
Chapter Two
I woke up a while earlier, my tears drying, and walked back to town. It took a while. I lad to lift my skirts when going up the steep hill. At the top, I saw my whole town buzzing with activity. It was reaching noon, and everyone was up and about. A large shed-like building leftover from almost fifty years ago was now our school, although most girls had their classes outside. I did.
Dirt roads connected everything in my village. We had a local garden, surrounded by a little white picket fence. In the very center of the town we had our business buildings and such. And all circled around those buildings were the houses.
Everyone’s house looked the same- long, shiny planks of wood shaped into a rectangle. Mine was on the very edge of the town- since my family wasn’t as important.
We were all equal. At least, we tried to be. But some people were just more equal than others. They lived very close to the middle of town.
I walked past a few houses to get to the school. It was about time to pick up the younger girls from class, which was my job every afternoon. I counted- five- and we began the way home.
The younger girls never talked to me. They chatted amongst themselves, laughing. It didn’t take very long to get home, but it was always lonely. For me, at least.
We finally got home, and the girls ran inside. I took my time, scuffing my feel along the dirt road. Clouds of dust erupted beneath my toes.
In our house, the kitchen was the biggest room. I saw my aunt, Leah, cooking something. A bandana was tied around her dark, brown hair. She had hair like a horse, big eyes, and small lips. Rumors floated past my ears every so often, whispers being that her dream was to become a mother and move away from the city. The older women apparently felt bad for her and her childish pipe dreams. I passed her quietly, the sound of her gentle humming filling my ears. I turned the corner.
I went inside the bedroom, which was a long, circular room with cots lined up in a circle. Ten. I walked towards mine, silently scooting my way past the other girls, and sat down.
Amelia, my older sister, was laying down beside me, her eyes closed. But she sensed my presence and smiled.
“Scarlet. How was school?” She asked, running her fingers through her long, pretty red hair.
I shrugged. After a pause, she turned and looked at me, her eyes wide.
“Did you hear that Alexis Roseheart and Tina Rant were spotted kissing at the edge of town a few days ago? They are officially a couple now.”
I shivered, disgusted, thinking about the two girls. My sister’s eyes were alit, as they always were when discussing town gossip.
I responded quietly, hoping the little ones wouldn’t hear.
“It’s wrong. Just because we don’t have men around doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep our dignity.”
Amelia laughed. “You’re right. It is disgusting. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to do it. Us ladies, we get lonely sometimes. Don’t tell me you’ve never kissed a girl. We all have at some point, but it’s never serious. The ones who take it seriously are the girls like Alexis and Tina. I just hope neither one of them comes after me.”
She chuckled. Amelia was a very popular girl amongst her friends, and everyone knew it. I was lucky to be her sister, although sometimes I felt as if she only talked to me because she liked the sound of her own voice. Logical and intelligent it sounded when she talked to me. She loved to flap her mouth, as my mother said it. If there had been anyone else worth talking to, she would have chosen them over me. I was a last resort to her. It made me sad sometimes.
Especially since I didn’t have too many friends at school. I wasn’t popular. I had always tried to fit in with a girl named Michelle, but it had never happened. I would come home crying sometimes, feeling like I belonged nowhere. I just needed someone, just someone, to be my best friend.
“Scarlet?” My aunt, Leah, was at the door. “Will you go get me some rosemary for the soup tonight?”
I nodded and headed out the door. I picked up a silver pale that was laying beside the house and carried it, swinging it freely.
“Hey, can I walk with you?” I turned and saw Michelle coming from her house a few doors down. The town, now that it was reaching just about noon, was buzzing with activity.
Michelle looked me up and down, a slight look of disgust upon her face at my dirty clothes. But she cleared the expression quickly and began to lead down the road.
“Miss Scarlet Ebony.” She said quietly, her eyes focused somewhere in the distance. I felt like defiantly saying, ‘Miss Michelle Turner.’ But didn’t.
We got to the garden. And strangely, she followed me. “So? Heard any news lately?”
I turned my head up to look at her. She had tight spirals bouncing freely from her thin face, but she wasn’t necessarily pretty.
Her eyes were a little small, her chin pointed.
“None. Why?”
She grinned confidently at me and said, “Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
“At all?!”
I was getting annoyed. “Michelle, what is all this?”
She looked as if she were practically shaking with delight. Her mother, Katherine Turner, was one of the directors of the village, so if anyone had heard any “news” it would be her.
“Nothing, nothing. I guess you don’t know. There had been rumors about you getting chosen… But I guess you weren’t as good as they thought, now were you?”
I stood up, a few rosemary leaves tucked inside my palm. “Chosen? Chosen for what?”
She grinned in that evil way of hers, her chin pointing and her eyes turning upwards like a cat.
“If you haven’t already heard about it, there is no reason to tell. It’s supposed to be a secret, although many people of importance should already know. My mother knows.”
My intellectual mind faltered, but I thought up a quick remark to hopefully silence her annoying superior demur.
“Well, Miss Michelle Turner, have you been chosen?”
For what? I had no idea. But it was important enough for her to be utterly ecstatic, she must NOT have been “chosen.” If she had, she would have downplayed it and made it seem like no big deal, and all the other girls would simply reek with envy at her nonchalant attitude, wishing they could join her.
And I was right. Her face fell. “No. I’m not… Well, I guess you could say I’m not qualified yet. Eligible may be the correct term.”
“And what, I am?” I asked, confused.
“I don’t know. Are you? It’s not something you talk about freely, at least not with me.” Her grin reappeared. “You must have been forgotten. Oh, well. It would have been an amazing opportunity for you, since you haven’t had too many of those lately. Have you?”
She cocked her head, lifted her eyebrows, and then turned away, walking with a sway of importance. I saw a few of her friends in the distance begin to laugh, glancing at me.
I bent back down; aware they were still watching my every movement, yanked a few more rosemary leaves out of the ground and then walked home. Tears clouded my vision, and it only made Michelle laugh harder…
Chapter Three
That night, I ate dinner in silence. I felt terrible. My back hurt, and I felt nauseous. Amelia hogged up the attention at the table, like usual, ranting about a girl who threw water at her that day.
“She’s always been jealous of me.” Amelia shrugged naturally. “But throwing water? I can’t help it if she isn’t pretty. It’s not my fault.”
I was silent. I faded into the background. Maybe Michelle was right, maybe I could just disappear and no one would notice. She had said that so many times that I was beginning to believe it. I excused myself from the table early and went to bed.
The crickets sang, a nice breeze sweeping through the glass-less windows. Chattering continued at the table, the pretty color of sunset splashed all over the fading white walls. After all the girls were asleep, I heard the nervous but excited whispers of the women. Gasps, and squeals, and laughter.
“I’m so excited!” Amelia gushed.
My mother scolded back quickly. “Hush! We don’t want the girls to hear.”
My interest was growing bigger. I slipped out of my silky sheets and crawled towards the kitchen. It was dark now, the only light being the glow from under the cracks of the door.
“What else do you know, Leah?”
I laid my head down on the floor and listened.
“Well, I know that women over twenty five are no longer eligible. Which means I am barely making the cut-off, thank heavens. I want this more than I want anything in the world.”
“How young are some of the girls?”
“The youngest one so far is fourteen. We’re trying to get anyone we can who is eligible, not matter how young they are.”
My mother laughed quietly. “Don’t you think that’s a little sick, Leah? You’re taking them as young as you can get them?”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. And, Holly, I was meaning to ask you. I know you and Scarlet are close.”
“Oh course, she’s my daughter!”
“Is she…?”
My mother’s huffing voice silenced Leah’s. “No, and even if she was, I wouldn’t let her. I don’t want her having to go this way, this is a huge burden!”
“You’re letting Amelia.”
“Amelia is sixteen, almost seventeen.”
My sister’s voice was defiant. “I can do this, Leah. I can handle it.”
“I know, I know. But Holly, if Scarlet was eligible we would have her do it. We wouldn’t need your consent. Even if you thought she was too young, which, thirteen is a little young I would have to say, we would still go through with it.”
“Okay, fine. I’m thanking the Lord that she’s not.”
“Your family has a tendency to be early starters.”
My mother was getting angrier. “How would you know, Leah? Why act like you know everything? If you haven’t remembered, Scarlet is adopted, just like her sister.”
“That doesn’t always matter. It’s who she hangs out around. It’s who she’s closest to.”
There was a long pause.
“That’s enough.” My mother said. She was the eldest in the house, and therefore in charge. “I think it’s time to call it a night.”
I heard chairs sliding back, and footsteps. I stood, hurrying back to my sleeping bag. I closed my eyes, trying to steady my breathing.
“We’ll just have to see tomorrow.” Someone said, the light of the door suddenly much brighter as the door opened. The girls creeped into the bedroom. I heard my sister crawl into bed on my left, my mother on my right.
And all was still.
Chapter Four
I woke up the next morning feeling terrible.
I walked with my sister to school, feeling a little dizzy. I was wearing one of my favorite dresses, silky and white, like a sack of potatoes. But it was a pretty dress, and it fit me well.
Miss Anne greeted us outside the old school building. Her hair was in a scarf today, her hands clasped together excitedly.
“Girls in my class, we are having a special assembly. Right now.” She said, the younger girls in other classes stalking off angrily.
My sister went with her older teacher and her friends, and I was stuck standing alone in the middle of a sea of Michelle’s friends. I crossed my arms and looked straight ahead as they talked and laughed without me.
We walked to the middle of town. It took us a while. There, we sat in front of the big “city” building- old, crumbling bricks, and a dark green wooden door- and sat down in front of the steps. I crossed my legs and sat down, a sudden pain shooting across my stomach. I doubled over, sucking in a deep breath, but no one seemed to notice. Michelle sat down beside me.
“Morning, Ebony.”
I wasn’t in the mood. Not at all. “Morning, Turner. I hope you’re feeling better about being leftout.”
She turned her head slowly to look at me. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. I know that deep within, you truly wish you had been chosen. I’m sorry you didn’t.”
One of Michelle’s friends, Gretchen, leaned over towards us. Her blonde hair was short and cut in a little bob, her face round and child-like.
“Unlike you, we don’t want to get chosen for this stupid thing. Michelle said so herself.”
I grinned. “Now did she?”
Gretchen nodded, but when Michelle didn’t retaliate, Gretchen’s smile slowly faded. She sat back just as the crowd began to die down.
More and more women crowded around us. Finally, Katherine Turner walked out the door, standing as tall and beautiful as ever, looking over most of the adult women. Cheers erupted at the sight of her.
She smiled, her chin pointing. Her eyes curling upwards, she began. “Today is a wonderful day. Every day, we work harder to saving our world, keeping the human race alive. But today, today we actually do something. Something for the cause.”
A few of the adults in the back cheered.
“Has anyone heard of the top ten elite?” She asked, her hands pouring out over the crowd. I looked up at her nervously, nodding my head no. Michelle sneered at my ignorance, but she too, looked oddly nervous.
“They are a group of men that travel throughout the world. They have been treated with a newfound medicine enabling them to bear the fruit of male children.”
My back hurt. I just wanted to go home.
“They stop at each town for a month or so, and the outcome so far has been spectacular. Male children are getting born more and more now.”
We heard the sound of clapping. I nudged in the grass I was sitting on, still not feeling well. My stomach pounded inside itself.
“Unfortunately for us older women, the treatment does not seem to work as well. Our reproductive organs have never been put to use, and so we are like old machinery. Rusty, dusty, and hard to fix.”
I was dizzy. My head hurt, and my back ached. I tried to listen.
“We have hoped to get as many younger girls as possible so the outcomes will be better.”
I was gonna be sick. I held my breath, beginning to sweat.
“Twenty lucky women in the village have been selected to bear a child. Those twenty lucky ladies are-”
Just then, I grabbed my stomach and threw up. All over the grass, and partly on Michelle and her friends.
“Ewww!” They screamed, standing up and hollering. I was crying, still holding my stomach, looking around for someone to help me. I threw up again. Katherine Turner’s eyes expanded nervously.
My mother, on the outskirts of the meeting, pushed herself forward to help me.
“Come here, Scarlet.” She said, while everyone began to back away from me. It was loud and crazy, the audience either pushing to get away or pushing to get closer.
I was dizzy and tired, and my back hurt very badly. But I tried to stand up to walk to my mom.
But once I stood, everyone got quiet.
I heard Michelle gasp, her cat eyes widening, and her friends staring at me. Even my mother froze, and my sister looked amazed.
Aunt Leah put one of her hands over her mouth.
I was still crying, wondering what everyone was looking at. I grabbed my stomach and threw up again. I turned around and looked at my back, the horrible cramped feeling still there.
And I saw a huge, dark red stain.
What? What was that? Was I sitting on a plum or grapes or something? How was this happening? Out of all my friends, I was the least developed. The least mature. The least pretty, or funny, or popular. But still, in front of the whole town, I had just gotten my period. For the first time.
I’d learned the signs before, everyone had. But since our “lady organs” were never put to use, when someone actually did get their period, especially for the first time, it was traumatizing and dramatic. Throwing up, screaming in pain, and fainting were all part of the deal.
And in this age in time, it was normal for people to never even get a period. We still hoped. It was something that connected us to the world we used to live in.
If this had happened in any other situation, I would have been very relaxed about it. I mean, we’re all girls. But today, especially during an extremely important meeting, where a period meant I was to become a mother, was something I could not even begin to comprehend. I was scared.
I started to fall. Collapse. And on the way down I heard her voice becoming fainter and fainter as I reached the soft earth:
“Well, it looks like that’ll be twenty-one lucky ladies. Congrats Scarlet Ebony, you are to be a mother…”
November 28th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Hey guys! I don’t know whose on right now, but I just posted that part of my story. Haha I think I posted that before, and yes, it is about the girl who falls in love with the guy and is FORCED to get pregnant. It’s not my REAL story, it’s just something to work on when I get bored. It has an ending, too, which I guess I’ll post if anyone wants to find out what happens.
November 28th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Mary, i love that story!
November 28th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Mary, Could you?? Post the end, Ive read taht part of the story
November 28th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
oh my god, someone hit lisi with a car!
ahhhh
sorry im so behind i was away with no wifi for thanksgiving
November 28th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
mary-write more plzzzzzzz
November 28th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Anyone on?
November 28th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Ahh she posted this on my Birthday
I’m so sorry that you got hit by a car Lisi, but so glad that you’re ok. The same thing happened to my brother last year and now he’s sitting right by me in the kitchen with just a few scars (not to mention one on his forehead that makes him look like a blond harry potter in my opinion)
Also, i have a short story that i had to write for school so i’m going to put it in my next post. Maybe as a birthday present for me some of my fellow lisi lovers would like to help by commenting and editting
*shuffles feet shyly*
November 28th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
HEY! Yes you, (lol i’m sooo corny) please read my story and comment brutally and truthfully!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Meghan Wallace
October 15, 2009
Frayed
My fingers patter on the table in a fashion that shows my anxiety just as clearly as if I ran around shouting out my nerves to the world. The knowledge that a letter will be arriving today keeps me from wanting to burst out crying from fright, but certainly doesn’t help the urge to leap up and reach the ceiling. On any normal circumstance, Mrs. Brooke would have told me to contain myself, fortunately she’s just as excited as I am, and ignores my constant drumming on the mahogany wood. With such grim news about the war lately, her red rimmed eyes have been glued to the window anticipating a letter or the unspeakable. I refuse to succumb to these dreadful musings that she allows to enter her mind, since I find it much easier to simply suppress any thoughts about the possibility that Sterling would not return home safe.
Immediately we both startle at the sound of an automobile pulling up to the front of the house. I dance up to the door not even bothering to make sure that it’s the mailman, and open the door expecting to see the classic uniform of our mail carrier. The solemn men that greet me instead are wearing uniforms alright, but they’re certainly not the royal blue of the cheery mail career.
Silently, these two men salute us, and drop a letter into my frozen open hands as we try to wrap our heads around what is going on. As my knees begin to tremble and my mind enters a state of panic, I can hear a voice in the distance say, “We’re sorry to inform you that Lieutenant Sterling Brooke has been missing in action…” then my mind shuts off and I fall to the ground like a dying flower.
I wake up lying on the couch in the sitting room, the ghastly letter taken out of my hands. Even without it, my hands burn in the areas where they came in contact with the paper, as if it was made of fire. Immediately I know that I must take action against this war, and suddenly my women’s support group does not seem to be enough. I simply cannot bear to sit around hoping that Sterling will return safely, it just isn’t possible for a girl like me to do such a boring task. My course of action is clear, I will sign up to assist the wounded soldiers, and hopefully he will return to me in the meantime.
Clearly, help is needed, because not long after I sign up with the Red Cross, I am told that they’re ready to whisk me away to Europe to help the growing number of wounded soldiers. This keeps me busy enough to not worry, and even my first time flying doesn’t produce the expected amount of butterflies in my stomach. With the thought of Sterling lying wounded, captive, or in an unimaginable state leaving me nearly breathless, I don’t think that I’d be able to take any added nerves. As I ride the plane over to this foreign land with its raging war and death, I feel an almost numb sensation wash over me as my mind protects itself from the coming danger and pain. I shut my eyes, and wonder what it would be like to simply shut away this experience and live in happy dreams.
Blood, it’s all that seems to exist in this wretched place. Injured body after injured body stream in at a constant pace, and agonized cries fill the air as these people experience gruesome pain. Had I been the old me, I would have run in the other direction the moment I arrived here, but this new, willful me wanted to do otherwise. These fresh eyes saw each new mangled body as an opportunity to improve the predicament at hand, and these ears heard their cries and experienced a need to help.
When I wasn’t working hour after hour repairing and feeding the wounded, I searched for information about what had happened to Sterling. Some of the men I spoke with had been a part of his platoon, and assured me that my fiancé must be out there somewhere, but others eyed me with blatant expressions of pity. However grim and stolid the expression of his fellow soldier, refusing to let the unfathomable possibility of his fate get to me was best.
After weeks working with very little word on the recovering of missing soldiers, a sliver of hope arrived in the form of one of Sterling’s good friends. Though he was badly bruised, dehydrated, and thin as a rail; George managed to return despite his supposed imprisonment. In actuality he had hid from the pursuing axis in their hunt for captives. Maybe he will never realize how valuable his information was, but it could easily be said that he handed me all the money in the world at that moment.
He and Sterling had sprinted from the enemies pursuing them together, and it was Sterling who would have made it out safely had he not to pick up George when his leg was twisted when he tripped over a ditch. It was then that the enemy overtook them, and they were taken into captivity with the thought that they were sure to be killed. George endured immense torture that he didn’t wish to describe, but eventually he and Sterling discovered a crack in the fence surrounding the area, and managed to make a quick escape with the help of a kind German doctor assisting working for the Germans, but helping the captives that he found to be good hearted. After their courageous escape, Sterling and George attempted to take a path that would not lead into certain trouble, but one night the noise of footsteps awakened them both and sent them sprinting on opposite directions from each other. George never received a word from Sterling since.
Time began to pass, and thought I had vowed to not give up hope, my strong belief in his return began to falter. As my mind began to have lapses when I could not remember the exact shade of his eyes or the shape of the small scar on his hand, I began to sink deeper and deeper into a world that I was afraid I would never come out of. To set my mind away from my distress, I put my whole soul into the endless task of assisting the wounded, especially those wretched creatures who came to me with just their mouth visible beneath rolls and rolls of bandages. The war dragged on in such a way that I feared there would never be an end; for though the radio constantly attempted to convey hopeful news, those of us watching the scenes unfold before our very eyes new the real truth. Horrific stories were commonplace here, but tales of the actions being taken to kill the Jews and other minorities in German occupied areas were still the more terrible.
As lulled to sleep sitting in my chair taking a quick break from the chaos of the infirmary, a gentle hand graced my shoulder. I turned around and saw a fellow nurse with gentle eyes telling me to assist the latest wounded soldier, so while still in my deep stupor, I trudged to the bed of the latest arrival. With bandages covering nearly ever part of him but his eyes and mouth, I could hardly tell where his wounds ended, and whether he would even make it through the night, yet after a week, I saw hope.
“Poor thing,” I mumble quietly to myself.
Simply looking at him sends a rush through my entire being, as though I’m experiencing the same pain that he seems to be experiencing. My hands fumble in search of medicine for the poor soul lying before me, but I can’t seem to locate a bottle. Something about the set of the lips reminds me of someone I used to know, but I can’t quite put my finger on who that may be. No identification tags or anything that might tell me who this young fighter might be are nearby, so while in search of something to relieve his pain, I also look for any list that might indicate who he is. I find the medicine, but the identity remains a mystery, that is, until I see the tags that bear his name.
One quick glance at them reveals to me that his name begins with an S, and though I foolishly try to prevent it from occurring, my hearts begins to beat heavily against my chest. Thump, Thump, Thump it tells me, warning me that I should be Thump thumping my head on a large block of wood. My hand involuntarily grasps the chains, and the name of this soldier is complete: Sterling J. Brooke, my Sterling. Reaching out my hand, I envelope his wrapped ones carefully so as not to cause him pain, and let silent tears cascade down my cheeks. I no longer have to put on such a false act that prettily paints a withering wall, I no longer have to paste a smile over my ever present frown, and I never again have to bear with the knowledge that he may never return home. Ever so gently, I squeeze his hand in hope that he will respond, but knowing that all may be lost despite my rising hopes.
The answering wisp of pressure proves to me that all might be okay, and that together we can make it through this horrible war.
“We may remove his bandages now, m’am, but we got to warn ya this may be the worst of ‘em,” a doctor with a heavy Southern accent warned me.
“Yes sir, I’m sure he can pull through though,” I assure him while partially assuring myself.
Slowly, he unwinds the gauze from the wrapped head of my fiancé, until I feel my unsteady hands take over for him. A thin wisp of light hair is revealed first, and then resting eyes, and finally a strong jaw. I seem look at a face that I cannot seem to recognize.
“This is not Sterling Brooke sir, you must have a mistake,” my beating heart speaks for me as it plunges lower and lower into despair.
Then in answer to my mind’s thoughts the Southern gentleman commented,” If ya ask me this boy doesn’t even look like he’s one of us Americans.”
My eyes rested on the mark on his arms, from American bullets no doubt; and the scowl that so many Nazis bore. Then right there, on his wrist I saw no scar from a dog bite, but instead the Nazi symbol etched as a warning, “That’s because he isn’t.”
November 28th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
P.S. that’s my writing name, i think it has a nice ring to it, or something cool like Skye but didn’t want to copy lisi names.
lol not that i’m mark twain or anything
November 28th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Hey Guys! Anybody on?
Please check out my blog! The address is: http://thecliquelovers.blogspot.com/
I just posted!
November 28th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
oh and also…
I just finished the book The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen and I’m all depressed right now like I always am when I finish reading a REALLLLYYYY good book
November 28th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR A STORY?!?!!?!?!?!?!? IF YOU DO PLEASE TELL ME - Thanks :DD
November 28th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
hollabackgirl - Okay I’ll give you brutal and truthful comments, like you asked. But they are brutally amazing comments, I’ll tell you.
wow. wow wow wow! Are you a 25 year old author hiding in that body? I’m guessing so because that was a-maz-ing. You are such a good author and if you wrote a book that got published (which will probably happen) I would be the first to buy it!
November 28th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
hey caitlin! What’s up?
Sorry, but my idea bank in in debt. Got no ideas for you, sorry
November 28th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Hey francesca its cool : D i just rllly need one
November 28th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
hehe so what’s up? nobody is ever on anymore!
November 28th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I am thankful for:
1. My family. Sometimes we fight, but 99.99999999% of the time we just love each other.
2. My friends at school. They have all the great qualities of a friend, so I’m not going to try to name them all.
3. All the people on Lisiharrison.com, because I can talk to them when I can’t talk to anybody else.
4. All the bad things that have ever happened to me. They shape who I am, teach me lessons, and are the only things that make me realize how fortunate I am when good things happen to me.
November 28th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
well nobody seems to be on
bye! Wait…why am I saying bye to nobody..whatever. BYE!
November 28th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
hey francesca I am on!
November 28th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Mary your story was amazing can you post more of it. and is it a long novel or is it just a short story
November 28th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
hey
November 28th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Sam- thanks! not to be weird or anything, but my main character’s best friend/ a bunch of other stuff is named Sam. It’s a guy. I love him to death. just letting you know i love your name!
Caitlin- haha, u need an idea?
Hallabackgirl- you have an excellent voice! Now all you have to be worried about it plot and who your writing is read by. Example: Twilight was read by millions of girls, especially girls who maybe didn’t like to read in the past. Why was that? Because it had good plot and also because it wasn’t necessarily easy to read, but for less-able readers it wasn’t a challenge. It was a good book for ALL readers, which is what I’m trying to say. So, for the future- you could definitely go far if you have plot. Stephanie Meyer, who isn’t the world’s best writer in the literal sense, sold millions because of her plot. A writer is as good as the story he/she tells, not always how well that person may write it.
Alright, I’m done. Goodnight everyone!
November 28th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Oh, and, Hollabackgirl- you should enter the new Holiday descriptive short story contest! Details here:
http://anhonestlisiwriter.blogspot.com/
I bet you would do well.
Hmm. Just came back from a party. Anyone on?
November 28th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Mary I don’t find that weird and I have a blogspot click on my name and it will take you to my blog
November 28th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
cool did you have fun at the party?
November 28th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Sam- Cool site! Well, I definitely lovelovelove Sam. He is one of my favorite characters. He isn’t like most the jerky surfer guys you would think of if you think of Hawaii. He is strong and caring
My story is like this: A girl named Malia (Muh-lay-uh) is forced to move to the islands before her freshman year begins. She HATES it at first, serverely depressed and she even stops eating. But her school is amazing, and she eventually meets a few people. One of them being Sam. She doesn’t think much of him in the beginning, but things begin to change once she learns to appreciate the beauty of the islands…
Do you write much? I saw on your site you write something called “Diamond in the Rough.” I love that phrase. If you write, you should enter the contest thing. If you want just click my name.
The party was fun! It was my aunt’s bday party. I took pictures the entire time. There was this beautiful rose I kept taking pictures of- I love photography. wbu? what did u do today?
November 28th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Sam- I gtg watch Julie and Julia with my parents. I heard that movie was good! I’ll talk to you later if I can. Byee!
goodnight!
November 28th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I gtg to girlies I still have to write my 3-5 page essay so I may come on later tomorrow if I can so Goodnight My Girlies
November 28th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Mehh.
I had such a meh day.
Wake up early, sleepy plane ride sitting next to some creeper. Still have a dumb state essay, and theres E. coli bacteria in our water.
great.
stupid.
but my step dad thought since my neighborhood isnt on city water, its on its own little thing it would be fine but i read the states water bureau notice and it included our water service.
ugh.
and we have no bottled water.
fortunately ive only had a couple sips of water (i think….) but my family has had lots…ugh. yay.
November 28th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
DANI-
hola.
havent talked in quite a while.
i will read your story once i boil some water.
my family still doesnt believe me. whatever, im not the once whos gonna be nauseas and having diarrhea all night!
sorry for that mental image, everyone.
November 28th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
i just realized ive been taking like a fifteen minute video of myself on photobooth without realizing it…haha.
once i did that, minimized photo booth and went on the inner net (<– i know, okay?) and then fell asleep so i had like a 3-hour long video of me sleeping.
it was great, the ten seconds i actually watched of it.
im sure you all care.
November 28th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Hey is anyone there?
November 29th, 2009 at 12:16 am
yahola
hahaha im sooo sleeepy
i get so weird when mi sleepy
heheehehe ahhhhh
night night night everyone1yz hahahahehe
November 29th, 2009 at 2:42 am
HOLLYYYYY
Haha about the video
Uhh I have a ton of work…what’s everyone up to todayy?
November 29th, 2009 at 6:42 am
heyy i gots 2 questions-
1)anybody want a lockerz invite?
2)how should i wear my hair? FYI-Its wavy, thick, past my shoulders. I’m a brunette.
November 29th, 2009 at 6:58 am
Hey Gurliessssssssssssssss!!!!!
Any one on??
November 29th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Hey girlies anyone on? I miss yall so much! Haven’t been on in like forever. Bet no1 even remembers me and bet that tons of new girlies r on
November 29th, 2009 at 8:31 am
heyyy girlies i just woke up ……….whats up anyone on????????????
November 29th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Mandy- heyyyy, I’m on
November 29th, 2009 at 8:37 am
hey whats upppp btw idk if u checked ur blog and saw my comment there but i lov pretty little liars!
November 29th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Mandy- heyy nm writing, u??
ooh u did! i didn’t check! I LLLUUUUV PLL, I (LITERALLY) CAN’T WAIT TILL HEARTLESS! IM DYING TO GET IT!
November 29th, 2009 at 8:51 am
huh-loo u still there or is my re-fresh button not working?
November 29th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Yay i picked my confirmation name!!! But i need help with my sponsor….. Im kinda embarrassed to ask my brother, any advice?
November 29th, 2009 at 8:52 am
OMG I hate hw I have to a big english project that envilves 3 essay I have to write 2 essays for ss and then I have math make up work to do then I have to pack for this big 3 day long field trip
(excited for that part)
But I’m sorry if im complaining to Ya’ll but I’m STRESSed
But on a GOOD note, ANYONE ON???????????????????
November 29th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Talia!! I still we still remember u!! dont worry u havent been forgotten
November 29th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Syd- i amm
and i kno how u feel, school really suxs, the teachers give u all this hw thinking we have no life other than to study for test and do HW 
blah! dumb teachers!
Hannah:)- oh lalala! whats ur confirmation name? I’m recieving (god i spelt that wrong) conformation next year. My cuz is gonna be my sponser. Well u shouldn’t be nervous to ask ur brother because, well, he’s ur brother! so don’t be afraid to ask just take a deep breath and ask him
November 29th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Andrea!!!! Ha-ha yay! Some one remembers me! ha-ha and I’m not forgotten!!
:D
November 29th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Talia- How was your birthday?
November 29th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Andrea- awesome! haha i didn’t have to go to school. i actually went to a really coolio mall with my mom and bff
November 29th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Talia– Oh its St. Rose of Lima. Not b/c i like her name.. Because i like what she did. And thx ill try but… uhh its so hard. Ill tell my mom to.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Talia- I know it !!!!!!!!!
Teachers are mean , But i’m goin on a really big field trip this week that takes up three day 
, What grade are you in????????
November 29th, 2009 at 9:01 am
oh my god. my worst nightmare has come. microsoft word is not working and all my stories may have been deleted. omg. omg. im flipping out. first my laptop breaks. then when i finally get some of my stories onto my family computer and start writing this happens! ahhhhhhhh!!!
:( 
:( 
:(
November 29th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Hi Hannah!
Talia- really? cool! On my birthday I have to go to my choir concert at 7:00
and i cant skip the concert cause its required brb
November 29th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Hannah:)- thats nice
haha, thats something i would do. go tell my mom to ask. heehee good plan 
Syd- mhm their meanies. But that trip sounds pretty fun
im in 7th grade 
u?
November 29th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Andrea- oh man that stinks. okie dokie
November 29th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Talia- Do you know for sure that they have been deleted? cuz if not then theres still some hope
November 29th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Andrea- well a little box popped up saying all files may have been deleted
God I hope there’s still some hope left. Microsoft word isn’t even turning on when i click on it! Grrrr!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Talia- 7th also, and I’m sorry Your worst nightmare happened
Your a really awesome writer 
Andrea and Hannah :)- HEY!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:06 am
ok this is what it says…
microsoft word cannot access one or more files it needs to run. the files may have been renamed, deleted, or moved. try reinstalling microsoft word, and then starting again.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Talia- What word do you have (2003, 2007, or older??) and how old is your computer, Cause your computer might just be shutting down completly and about to take its last breath if its old
but if its newer it might just have a problem maybe too many files ????????????
November 29th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Sorry!! I hate to go noe im eating breakfast! Goodluck Talia!! nice talking to u again!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Syd- coolio! and its ok
and thankks! u’ve read one of my stories before?
November 29th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Andrea- thanks!
nice talking to u too
Syd- umm im not sure it says microsoft works task launcher. it is very old…oh god i hope not, one of my stories is on there and its 22 ( going on 23) pages
November 29th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Yeah ,I just havent been on but ive always read the blog
November 29th, 2009 at 9:15 am
hey guys! anyone on? I remembered that I didn’t post my “thankful” list on. Here goes:
1. My family. Mom, Dad, lil’ sis, luv u all!!!!
2.4 my friends. I have so many, i can’t count ‘em. Thanks 4 always helping through the embarasing moments (white pants+rainy day yesterday+running+mud i didn’t see=wanting to hide underneath a rock and never coming out) LOL
3. Books. Here’s a list of my favs:
1.Percy Jackson and The Olympians
2. The Clique Books
I could go on and on, but my fingers are already sore from typing stories Word Document
4.My teachers at Transit Middle School. You guys do your best to teach me and my class everything you know. luv you all!! xoxoxo
5. Lip gloss. I swear i’m addicted. It’s sweet and sugary and keeps me going. luuuuuuuuuuuv it!!!!!!!!!!
6. Starbucks. No wait! Tim Horton’s. Fine, any place that makes a good cappuccino or frapuccino. Ahhh, the caffeine!!!!
Thanks 4 keepin’ me alive!!!
7. music. it’s my life. seriously. I’ve been taking vocal lessons for 7 years now. I swear I’ll have a song stuck in my head ’till the day I die.
8. My room. It’s like my fav place ever-wait no, disney world is. whatevs, I still luv, luv, luv them both!
9. BNYC. That stands for Buffalo Niagara Youth Chorus. It’s a special choir that you have to audition to get into. it’s my home away from home. LA LA LA LAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
10. Summertime-showtime. It’s thing where u sign up and audition to take part in a Broadway caliber/Broadway style musical. I had so much fun!!! Can’t wait till next summer!!!!
That’s my list. Hope u guys didn’t can’t bored reading it. U know how I said I need Boys R Us spoilers? I need Charmed and Dangerous spoilers to!!!!!! Help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BTW, do u think I should get Boys R Us, Charmed and Dangerous, or The Cliqutionary from Barnes and Noble? I can only get one. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Luv U All!!!!!!!!
Anjor:)
:) 
:) 
November 29th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Syd- ooooh ok
November 29th, 2009 at 9:16 am
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO It might be a sample program cause i got that on my computer but then i had to download everything for money! I hope it dosent shut down on you and WOW 22/23 pages wow!!!!!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:17 am
ok im gonna shut down my computer and try all over again. so girlies i will be back, just restarting my computer
:( and praying that all of my files r still on microsoft word, i don’t care if their all renamed! as long as i have my babies 
November 29th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Anyone on? I’m desperate here!!!! Save My Soul!!!!! (SMS)
November 29th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Talia- Yeah, I sound stalkerish now OHHH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:18 am
UR AWSOME LISI!!! lol, im going to see if i can make ur Blah-G my Homepage for my comp!! i LOVE the Clique Books, and it TOTALLY Relates to my life. im in 7th Grade. im thankful for my Family, My Friends, My Pets, Starbucks Hot Chocolate!!!, A House, Food, and U and the Clique Books!!! and i also Adore Alphas!!! I Hope to become a Wrighter like u someday!!! Also, i LOVE to read, and i just read this AMAZING Book called, “Sleeping Freshmen never Lie.” ITs SPECATACULAR!! haha, it has a lot of good literary terms in it, and i actually learned alot about different kinds of writing, like, poetry,couplets,expository writing, and much more!! U Should Read it!! It makes me want to write a story write now!! but, ive got a BIG Science Test this Tuesday, and i have a D in Science, so i have Got To STUDY for it! Toodaloo!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Syd- haha thats nuthing compared to my Madison’s Purple Diary story, thats like 80 pages. maybe its a sample program. i’ll have to ask my computer wiz of a cuz. but right now im gonna restart my computer and try again. wish me luck, and i’ll be back
November 29th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Hey Syd, Talia? I don’t know u guys, but I’m desperate for someone 2 talk 2. Help!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:19 am
haha no u don’t Syd!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:19 am
OKKK have fun hahaha
November 29th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Bye Ya’ll Ive got to go I’lll see Ya’ll later!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:24 am
anybody on?
anyone?
November 29th, 2009 at 9:24 am
heyya everyone
November 29th, 2009 at 9:26 am
YAY MICROSOFT IS WORKING AGAIN!
bye Syd
Hey Leah! ur name is so pretty
November 29th, 2009 at 9:28 am
omg talia thats good. And hey everyone! but you ar eso lucky you can write stories. I can only write essays… Im best at expository essays though.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:28 am
who loves the song already gone by kelly clarkson?!? i do! it reminds me of someone……i also like happy by leona lewis that’s my theme song and telephone by beyonce and lady gaga and empire state of mind
November 29th, 2009 at 9:29 am
thank talia! i like my name because no one else i know has it….you have a pretty name too….
November 29th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Leah- haha never heard of any of those songs except for Empire State of Mind. Thats my fave song! Its about my hometown
Hannah:)- yes i kno! i was about to cry but microsoft is now working! ha-ha. what do u mean u can only write essays?
November 29th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Leah- thanks but u don’t have to lie, i hate my name and kno its ugly. haha
November 29th, 2009 at 9:33 am
I’m Back that was fast wasnt it!!!!!!!!!
No i was just being me …. AGAIN ! I thought my momma was callin me to go christmas decoration shoppin with her but she didnt so yeah, I’m babbling on the computer is that possible??????????????
November 29th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Syd- haha yes it is possible. Your already decorating for Christmas! My mom is gonna do that next week or maybe the week after that. I love my Christmas tree. I think its magical
November 29th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Talia- Like im only good at essays, we write ALOT at school
November 29th, 2009 at 9:38 am
brb my peeps. yall should check out my bloggie all u have to do is click on my name.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Hannah:)- I bet that’s not true. I bet ur an AMAZING writer. U just haven’t noticed it yet. Hey look at me. I’m a terriable writer but I love it so I do it. If u love to write u should. Everyone should do what they love.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Yeah last year we decorated late so this year we bought a new plastic tree (:(/:)) so we could put it up late but its like 9 ft so my mom cant reach the top (cause she is kinda of heightly challenged) and it looks really good until you get tto the point, cause there isnt one hahhahahaa :)j
Annd talia your name is NOT UGLY it is beautiful, my names really common where i live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:42 am
oh yea im back! hee-hee
November 29th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Leah- Hey!!!!!!!!!!!! Whats up????
November 29th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Syd- ooooooooh haha
and my name is ugly, i hate it
why do u think no one has my name? haha everyone has ur name cause its perdy (pretty) haha
November 29th, 2009 at 9:44 am
i think u’r name is pretty Talia, no lie. Swear 2 gawd.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Hannah :)- If you can write essays UR AN AMAZING WRITER, just not in the way you think you are essays are so hard to write, but im not a good writer at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:47 am
wait a minute!!!!
my computer clock says 11:46, but when I post something, it comes up as 9:44 or something!! Do you guys live in California? Or a different time-zone? I live in New York (no lie!). OMG!!!!!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Talia- I really like unusual names it already gives you standoutablity and it gives you soo much character like even bye hearing your name i think your a creative person !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:48 am
i think i’m a good writer, don’t know 4 sure. Hear, i’ll post some of my stuff. it’ll take a sec…..
November 29th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Syd- haha thanks
I’m debating weather or not I should post one of my stories…hmmmm
November 29th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Your welcome, and you ttoottaallyy Should!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Syd-
haha okie dokie then. the thing is tho that my chapters r well, kinda long. like for the one i wanna post, well the chapters r 9 pages. so i will post like just 2 or 3
November 29th, 2009 at 9:53 am
PINE TREE ACADEMY
Amelia [called Mia for short] Potter sat in the back of the back of the car her parents had rented, looking out at the rolling hills and green trees and grass of New York. Now she understood why tourists bought those tacky, I LOVE NY t-shirts; the place was amazing!
“Mia,” Said her mother sleepily, glancing at her from the passenger seat. “Look outside. You’ll probably see Pine Tree Academy soon.”
Mia sighed happily at the name of Pine Tree Academy, the oldest, and most honored boarding school in America. But the main part of the school was its esteemed theater program. Girls came from across the world just because of the theater. At Pine Tree, you had to be one of the best singers and dancers and actors to get in. And now, Mia was finally going!
“Mia,” Her mother said. “Remember that your father and I are going to stay for today and tomorrow, so don’t make plans. We want to take you out to a good-bye lunch.”
“Don’t worry mom,” Mia smiled. “Any friends I make will just have to wait.”
“Look!” Her father cried. “It’s Pine Tree!”
Mia turned to look outside the window to see if her father was right. And he was. Mia saw the sign on the gates. The sigh had a green Pine tree standing on a black stage, the red curtains open. PINE TREE ACADEMY was spelled out in gold letters underneath. Leaves of yellow and red were scattered across the grass and the road to the school.
A man walked up to them as they drove to the closed gates. “Name?” He asked Mia’s dad. “David Potter. Father of Mia Potter-I mean Amelia Potter.” The guard checked his list and smiled. “Welcome to Pine Tree Academy.” He stepped back to his booth and opened the gates.
Mia gasped she saw what is front of her. White fences lined both sides with horses grazing and galloping behind them. “A riding program!” Exclaimed her mother.
As her father drove further in, she saw three stables and quite a few sheds. They crossed a bridge over a gurgling stream. Trees were everywhere, some them ablaze with fall colors. But most of all, there were Pine trees, tons and tons of Pine trees. Then came a sign that read “ACADEMY SQUARE”.
A white marble fountain stood in the center of the square. Four mansions were lined around the sides each of them had a statue of an animal standing next to it. Two mansions on each side with one giant one in the middle. Small shops and restaurants on the outside. Mia knew after reading the handbook that the teacher and the headmaster had wanted some variety in what the students ate. So, every day they could choose from different gourmet foods from around the world. And, the food was free.
A path curved around the mansions and restaurants and shops, with girls and parents carrying luggage, chatting, and the parents drinking coffee. Mia noticed a building that said library on the outskirts of the square.
“This way sir.” A man waved a flag and Mia’s father followed another path to a parking lot. Two more signs were at the parking lot. The one on the north side read “TRAILS AND FOREST”. The one on the east read “THEATER CLASSES AND THEATER”. Mia couldn’t wait!
CHAPTER 2
“That’s the last of it.” Her father said, as he pulled out Mia’s last suitcase from the trunk. “Thanks daddy!” Mia kissed her father on the cheek and grabbed her two smaller bags, while her mother carried her purse and her rolling trunk containing shoes, and her father took the three suitcases.
“I wish they had trolleys like the airport.” Her father groaned. “It’s like we flew here all the way from Virginia to carry your heavy suitcases.”
“Let’s see if that gym membership paid of, dad.” Mia joked. She knew that her father had joined a country club, but never used the gym, even though he paid for it. “The only weight lifting he does is the weight of his ice-cream sundaes!” Her mother played along.
“Hey, don’t tease me or I’ll pack you both up and take you back to Virginia.” Her father laughed. “Dad!” Mia giggled along with him as they walked to the Academy Square.
“I’m in the Shakespeare house.” Mia said once they arrived at the square, which was buzzing with activity. “The Shakespeare house?” Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Yep,” Mia answered. “There’s also the Marie Curie house, the Gandhi house, and the Einstein house, all great people of the world.”
Her mother took in a deep breath of air. “I like this school already.”
They walked to the Shakespeare house, the one with the fox statue next to it. “So, Marie Curie has a deer statue, Einstein has an owl statue and Gandhi has an elephant statue. That makes sort-of makes sense.” Her father said as they climbed the steps to the mansion.
Once inside, Mia felt a swell of pride. The inside of the foyer had creamy white tiles on the floor, a curving staircase with a red carpet, glossy banisters, a very large second floor [she knew there was a third floor to], freshly cut flowers on a blue vase on an antique table, comfy chairs to sit around on, shoe racks against the wall, and lots of kids and parents talking before they had to go.
“Hello!” A pretty woman with blond hair and green eyes stepped up to Mia and her parents. “I’ll be your Shakespeare House leader and dance teacher, Miss. Angela. If you ever need anything come to me.” She gave Mia a large, laminated map and a piece of blue paper.
“That’s your map and schedule.” She explained. “Oh! And you’ll be in dorm 5. You’ll be sharing it with Lucy Reynolds. One of our house prefects will take you up, all right? I hope you’ll have a good time here at Pine Tree Academy. Don’t forget, Dr. Block, our headmistress will give the opening speech in exactly two hours. Parents must leave in one hour, okay?”
“Yes, thank you.” Mia’s mom said. A prefect stepped up. “Come on, I’ll take you to your room.”
“Okay.” The prefect led them up the staircase, and as they passed each door, she told Mia what it was.
“That’s the common room for you sixth graders. It has two TV’s with cable, a CD player, a video player, four computers, a radio, a fireplace, couches, a shelf for all the things you girls brought like books and puzzles, and some tables and a sink, and Friday there’s a movie, don’t worry, they always pick good one’s.” She leaned in closer to Mia and said: “And everyone who has had this common room has found that it’s great for having midnight feasts.” Mia giggled.
By the time they got to room 5, Mia knew that light’s out was at 9:30; you had to be in your house by 8:00, where the bathrooms were, tennis courts and five and most importantly, when try-outs for the musical were.
“Miss. Angela will be telling you, but I found out early. We’re doing DRAGON, a musical that Mrs. De Angelo wrote. The tryouts are exactly next Sunday at four, the call-backs Tuesday at five –and their open to watch-, and the Cast List will be hung in all the common rooms on Thursday. Mrs. De Angelo the-director-and Miss. Louis have to work fast to get decide quickly if they want to have the musical ready two months from now.”
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you there, right?” Mia asked. The prefect smiled. “Sure. By the way, my name is Lauren Rivers. I’m in 9th grade this year. Just call me if you need anything. Oh! And around here, in the Shakespeare House, all the grades pull pranks on the others. Its fun, but last year, my grade has pulled the meanest pranks, so keep your eyes open!”
“All right!” Mia knew a few mean pranks herself. But first, she would get settled in.
“This is your room!” Lauren said as they stopped in front of two French double doors. Inside, she could make out two beds, but everything else wasn’t as clear because of the foggy glass.
Lauren said, “See-ya!” And turned and went off. Her parents came soon, her dad huffing and puffing.
“Here dad.” Mia opened the door to let her parents in. Once they were in, she walked inside herself. “Wow…..” Mia whispered.
There were two twin beds, one with stripe’s on the comforter and pillows, the other with dots. It was a hardwood floor with two rugs on the floor. A small desk stood between the beds with a small vase of flowers and a lamp on top. Two cedar wardrobes stood next to the beds; a shoe rack and a shelf next to the wardrobes. Two desks sat at the North side [the beds on the South], each with matching polished chair and glass knobs on the pull-out drawers. There was a white Macintosh computer on another desk, the color of the computer setting of nicely with the green walls. And a brown fan hung on the ceiling [the ceiling had glow-in-the dark stars on it], and the fan had lights on it. A coat and hat rack stood next to the door and there was a bay window on the East side of the room.
“This is a beautiful room!” Mia’s mother cried. “It’s just wonderful!” Mia nodded. “It is great.”
“Well,” Said her father. “We have to leave soon or our hotel reservation will be gone. They said we had to come by five or it was good-bye reservation. Apparently we picked a very popular hotel to stay at. A lot of the girl’s parents will be staying there.”
“Bye honey,” Said Mia’s mother, hugging her. “Remember the credit card we gave you is for emergencies only! And if you need to call us, you have the cell-phone we gave you. We’re going to miss you!”
“Bye!” Mia called. Her parents excited her room. “Bye!” They called back.
Mia gave a sigh and plopped down. She wondered when her room-mate was going to get here.
Oh well. She thought. Better call a bed and unpack. Then I can explore.
“I call the bed closest to the do-or!!!” Mia whipped her around to face the doorway. A girl with strait medium length black hair and sea-blue eyes stood in front of the open door. She carried three small bags and handbag. She was pushing a cart with three suitcases and a trunk.
She giggled. “We have an awesome room. Check out the computer!”
“Hi,” Mia smiled. “I’m Amelia, but just call me Mia.”
“Lucy,” The girl held out her hand. “Sorry about the yelling; I like to make a big entrance.”
Mia laughed. “That’s okay.” Lucy pushed her cart over to the bed closest to the door. “Like I said,” She giggled. “I call the bed closest to the door!”
Then Lucy dropped her handbags on the floor, opened the doors to the cedar wardrobe and stuffed the bags inside. “Got that out of the way.”
Then she took of her coat, and hung it on the rack. “Want to explore?” She asked. “Sure!” Mia replied. This semester was already of to a great start!
CHAPTER 3
Mia followed Lucy as she knocked on the door of dorm 4. “LEAH!!!!” She yelled.
The door flung open and a blond haired, green-eyed girl stood in the doorway. She had rosy cheeks and glossy pink lips. She was so pretty, Mia felt herself fingering her own black hair and thinking about her plain black eyes.
“Lucy!” She cried in frustration. “I have to get un-packed!”
“Do it later!” Lucy mentioned for Mia to come with her as they stepped into the dorm. “And this is Mia, my room-mate.” Lucy introduced her.
Mia smiled. “Nice to meet you.” She said. Leah smiled. “At least your polite.” Leah glared at Lucy who pretended not to notice. Instead, she stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes at Leah.
“Arrgh!” Leah held up her hands in frustration. “Lucy! Why can’t you act like a normal civilized human being?”
Lucy smiled. “Because I’m not.” She answered sweetly. Leah playfully threw a pillow at her. “That’s why I said act!”
Before Mia knew it, Lucy ran over to her in a war cry, and hit her with the pillow. “Your on!” Mia laughed.
“We can take her, right Leah?” Lucy asked. “No way!” Leah grabbed another pillow. “Every man for his own life!”
“Actually, if you hadn’t noticed, I’m a girl!” Lucy snatched the pillow from Leah’s hands and ran to hit Mia again. But this time Mia was ready. She stepped to the left and put her foot.
“DDDDIIIIEE-AAAA!” Lucy tripped over Mia’ foot and landed on the rug. Mia grabbed a pillow and hit Lucy with it. Lucy laughed as she got up. “Okay, official Pillow fight! ATTACK!!!”
As they lunged at each other, Mia really felt like she belonged here. She had two kind-of friends, and she loved campus. She was really starting to enjoy herself.
“Wait! Okay, stop, stop.” Leah threw her arms in the air. “I have to get un-packed. I doubt you’ve un-packed either Lucy, so you might as well. And Mia, are done un-packing? I don’t want to be bossy, but if we un-pack now, you guy’s can help do………..something. I’m not telling you what though.”
Lucy groaned and threw her pillow at Leah’s head. “Spoilsport! You know that I’m going to do as you say because I can’t stand surprises. Arrgh! I will get back at you Leah, I so will.”
“Don’t!” Mia grabbed Lucy hand. “Save all your tricks so we can pull some on the upper grades. Lauren, the prefect who showed me up here, said so.”
Lucy smiled. “Ya’ know, I’m going to start planning that right now! This’ll be so much fun! We can put rubber snakes and spiders in their beds. Put a bucket of water on a slightly opened dorm door, put ice in their popcorn-when they get some for a movie-, OHH! I have a really mean one. If they pull a really mean prank on us, then we’ll take all their homework and put it somewhere where they can’t find it!” She rubbed her hands together and laughed like an evil villain. “And this is just the beginning!”
“Lucy, I will not let those poor souls suffer like that. They’ll never now what hit em’!” Leah shook her had and started pushing Lucy out of the door. “And please don’t come back. I’ve got a terrible mess to clean up, and my roommate isn’t here yet!” Then she turned to Mia. “Don’t worry,” Leah assured her. “You can still come back here.”
Mia laughed and Lucy marched out of the room in mock anger. “Don’t worry Leah!” She called. “I’ll still pull those tricks on you!” Lucy announced loudly in the hall.
“Arrgh!” Leah threw her hands up in frustration, and then helped Mia pick up the pillows. “My roommate will be here any second, and this room looks like it’s just been searched and robbed, thanks to Lucy!”
Mia felt guilty. “Well, I did the pillow fight too, so I’m to blame as well.”
Leah reached out for her hand. “Don’t worry,” She reassured Mia. “We’re all friends, and I don’t really mean anything. Lucy and I have known each other for a long, long, long time. Trust me; I don’t really get mad at her.”
Mia nodded and reached for a pillow. Pretty soon, Leah and Mia had the room cleaned and looking like Tornado Lucy hadn’t just hit it.
Suddenly, there a knock on the door. “Is this dorm 4?” Asked a tinkling, timid voice that sounded like bells in a British accent. Leah and Mia looked up to see a long blonde haired girl with blue eyes. She was carrying two small bags, pushing cart with four bags and two trunks, crammed inside.
Leah looked up. “Yes this is, and I’m your roommate, Leah. This is my friend Mia. She’s staying in the dorm 5 with my other friend Lucy.” Leah walked over and held out her hand.
The girl gave Mia and Leah a weak smile as she shook hands with Leah. “My name is Belle.” She said. “And you can probably guess I’m from England.”
She gave another tinkling laugh that sounded so much like bells; Leah and Mia couldn’t help but laugh along.
“Hey,” Lucy popped inside the room. “Look’s like theirs another member of our gang. Yo! Name’s Lucy, you?”
Belle smiled. “Belle.” She said. “You must be Lucy, who I’ve heard about just now.”
Lucy laughed good-naturedly. “That’s Leah for you. Doesn’t mention me until the very end. Anyway, with you and Mia, I’m sure I can stand Lucy.” She laughed again, and this time Belle laughed with her.
Mia could see that they had instantly clicked. The warmth in Belle’s eyes and the friendliness and humor in Lucy’s was obviously hinted that they were warming up to each other.
“Hey! You sixth graders! Better hurry if you want to make it to the speech in time!” Mia looked up to see Lauren leaning idly against the door frame smiling. “I was told to tell the sixth graders, so hurry up or you’ll make look bad!” She joked good-naturedly.
“What!” Leah nearly screamed as she glanced at her watch. “That doesn’t start for half-an-hour! What are you saying? My watch clearly isn’t wrong-“
“Hey,” Lauren interrupted Leah’s lecture of how she was organized. “I was told that we’re having a surprise BBQ, so we have to start the speech half-an-hour early, so PLEASE don’t yell, please!”
Leah sighed, and then smiled. “We might as well get going.” She held her arm out to Mia, who took it. They now looked like they were square dancing. Lucy and Belle did the same and they headed of to the speech.
CHAPTER 4
Lucy, Belle, Mia, and Leah headed down the crowded cobblestone path to the main mansion; the one where there was the auditorium, dance studio, faculty bedrooms, classrooms for many classes, and a cafeteria. They used the cafeteria for breakfast, lunch, and in case there was a blizzard or storm which took the lights out. The main mansion had the generator and there were enough sleeping bags and enough room in there just in case.
“Ya’ know,” Lucy said. “We should check out that Indian restaurant tomorrow. It would be fun!”
The other’s agreed and the plan was set.
Mia drew her breath in as they took their seats in the aud. It was large, but probably not as large as the real theater. But, she was sure they would look alike; red cushion-y seats, complicated sets of ropes, wooden stage, and big, fancy red curtains.
“Is everyone here?” Asked a pretty woman at the front, on the stage. She had red curls and sparkling green eyes that surveyed the room.
Almost immediately, there was a hush over the room as everyone’s eyes turned to face their headmistress. Mia felt Belle clasp her hand tightly, and she met Belle’s gaze, smiled encouragingly, and squeezed back.
“Well,” Dr. Block smiled. “That sure got everyone’s attention! Now, let’s begin. What can I say? Welcome to a fresh new year here at Pine Tree Academy. I know quite a few of you are from different state’s, and some of you are from different countries as well! Some of you are just starting sixth grade here, and we all hope you stay until your final and last year here, 12th grade!”
There was applause at this, the clapping echoing in the large aud. Lucy, Mia, Leah, and Belle looked at each other and smiled. They all knew that they were thinking the same thing; that they hoped they could all stay on until 12th grade together!
“Also,” Dr. Block continued. “We all hate to say goodbye at our senior class, the 12th graders!” There was more clapping, and Mia saw out of the corner of her eye, the 12th grade guidance counselor nod sadly.
“So,” Dr. Block said. “We hope all you do have a very good year. As you all know, there is a very time honored tradition here at Pine Tree to have a barbeque after my speech. I promise you, I won’t take long. Now, we have our fabulous Mrs. De Angelo and Miss. Louis here to help you all with our annual fall musical. There’s one every semester, but let’s focus on this one right now. Mrs. De Anglo has written the musical you’ll be doing, called DRAGON. I look forward to seeing it, and I hope you all are as excited as I am to watch or try out for it.”
Everyone burst into clapping and cheering at the mention of the musical. Dr. Block looked pleasantly surprised and smiled, her green eyes looking proud.
“I can tell you’re excited!” Dr. Block laughed. “But we must get on in time for the barbeque! So, all of you must study hard! We had introduced horses two years ago, and it was hit. Now, many of you have had your own horses come here, so had to build two new stables. We are also introducing Italian as another second language along with Spanish and French. We all the regular subjects as well, Math, Science, English, Reading, Social Studies, Computer, Chemistry, Woodworking, Lab for 9th and up, Acting, Singing, and Dancing. Taking Voice lessons or an instrument is optional. And back by popular demand are……Movie and Tech classes!”
A huge cheer irrupted despite what Dr. Block had said about time. “That sounds so cool!” Leah and Lucy said at the same time. “Jinx! You owe me a soda!” Lucy yelled. Leah smiled and groaned.
Belle laughed and turned to Mia. “We should really do that, don’t you think Mia?” Mia smiled and nodded. “I agree with you times ten!”
“All right! All right. Settle down children.” Dr. Block waved her arms. Another hush fell over the girls. Their eyes were glued to the stage again; Mia knew it was because all the girls were still in awe of Dr. Block.
“Anyway,” Dr. Block smiled, crinkling her eyes. “Study hard, learn lessons, pay attention and have fun at the barbeque! I’ll be with you on your journey to learning and don’t forget to come to me or any teacher or staff member if you have a problem! I’ll see you at the barbeque! Have a great year! Now go, although you must wait for your prefect’s to go though.”
Mia, Lucy, Leah, and Belle waited until it was their time to go. As they walked out of Academy Square, Mia wondered where they were going for the barbeque. As they approached the parking lot, the gasped.
There were huge poles that held up a large blue waterproof canvas. There were six of them, all right next each other. There were park tables in rows in five of them, and the grill in the back. Plates were ready and waiting. There was salad, pizza, cookies, brownies, ribs, chicken, Coke, Sprite, Limca, tea, coffee, lemonade, water, root beer, popcorn, sliced fruits, six snow-cone machines, and the smell of barbeque sauce hanging in the air.
Lanterns were hung strung from pole to pole, and Mia saw three blankets on each side of the table’s bench.
“Lucy! You’re coming with me. Mia! Belle! What do you want? Mia, tell me what you want, and Belle, tell Lucy what you want. You two go save us seats in the front and we’ll get the food.” Leah ordered.
“I’d like some chicken, a slice of pizza, two cookies, water and a bag of popcorn. I can get a snow-cone after I’m done.” Mia said. “Me too.” Belle chided in.
“Leah nodded. “Go!” She yelled, and Belle and Mia ran to the table in the front…………..which was taken. They went to the one behind it and bagged four seats.
“Look’s like Leah was smart to tell us to get seats now; I mean look at all those people!” Mia said, pointing to all the people now scrambling to get good seats.
Belle nodded. “Leah was right.”
Soon, Leah and Lucy came back, each carrying a tray and two snow-cones.
“I said I didn’t want my snow-cone now, “Mia teased as Leah handed Mia her food. Leah shook her head in mock despair. “You should consider yourself lucky I got you anything at all!”
“Look!” Lucy pointed to the front, where Dr. Block was now standing. The other girls seem to notice, and pretty soon everyone was quiet.
Dr. Block nodded and smiled. “I’m glad to see you liked the decorations,” She said. “I will be enjoying the barbeque alongside all of you. I’d just like to let you know that classes start the day after tomorrow. Thank you!”
Leah, Lucy, Belle, and Mia bit in, later going back for seconds. As Mia smiled and laughed and ate, she knew that she would truly enjoy it here at Pine Tree Academy.
i hope u like!!!!!! i know it’s nawt that good; but i just didn’t want to show my other works-in-progress-their not good yet. i still have a lot of work 2 do!!! hope u enjoy girlies!!!!!!!!!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo,
Anjor
PINE TREE ACADEMY
Amelia [called Mia for short] Potter sat in the back of the back of the car her parents had rented, looking out at the rolling hills and green trees and grass of New York. Now she understood why tourists bought those tacky, I LOVE NY t-shirts; the place was amazing!
“Mia,” Said her mother sleepily, glancing at her from the passenger seat. “Look outside. You’ll probably see Pine Tree Academy soon.”
Mia sighed happily at the name of Pine Tree Academy, the oldest, and most honored boarding school in America. But the main part of the school was its esteemed theater program. Girls came from across the world just because of the theater. At Pine Tree, you had to be one of the best singers and dancers and actors to get in. And now, Mia was finally going!
“Mia,” Her mother said. “Remember that your father and I are going to stay for today and tomorrow, so don’t make plans. We want to take you out to a good-bye lunch.”
“Don’t worry mom,” Mia smiled. “Any friends I make will just have to wait.”
“Look!” Her father cried. “It’s Pine Tree!”
Mia turned to look outside the window to see if her father was right. And he was. Mia saw the sign on the gates. The sigh had a green Pine tree standing on a black stage, the red curtains open. PINE TREE ACADEMY was spelled out in gold letters underneath. Leaves of yellow and red were scattered across the grass and the road to the school.
A man walked up to them as they drove to the closed gates. “Name?” He asked Mia’s dad. “David Potter. Father of Mia Potter-I mean Amelia Potter.” The guard checked his list and smiled. “Welcome to Pine Tree Academy.” He stepped back to his booth and opened the gates.
Mia gasped she saw what is front of her. White fences lined both sides with horses grazing and galloping behind them. “A riding program!” Exclaimed her mother.
As her father drove further in, she saw three stables and quite a few sheds. They crossed a bridge over a gurgling stream. Trees were everywhere, some them ablaze with fall colors. But most of all, there were Pine trees, tons and tons of Pine trees. Then came a sign that read “ACADEMY SQUARE”.
A white marble fountain stood in the center of the square. Four mansions were lined around the sides each of them had a statue of an animal standing next to it. Two mansions on each side with one giant one in the middle. Small shops and restaurants on the outside. Mia knew after reading the handbook that the teacher and the headmaster had wanted some variety in what the students ate. So, every day they could choose from different gourmet foods from around the world. And, the food was free.
A path curved around the mansions and restaurants and shops, with girls and parents carrying luggage, chatting, and the parents drinking coffee. Mia noticed a building that said library on the outskirts of the square.
“This way sir.” A man waved a flag and Mia’s father followed another path to a parking lot. Two more signs were at the parking lot. The one on the north side read “TRAILS AND FOREST”. The one on the east read “THEATER CLASSES AND THEATER”. Mia couldn’t wait!
CHAPTER 2
“That’s the last of it.” Her father said, as he pulled out Mia’s last suitcase from the trunk. “Thanks daddy!” Mia kissed her father on the cheek and grabbed her two smaller bags, while her mother carried her purse and her rolling trunk containing shoes, and her father took the three suitcases.
“I wish they had trolleys like the airport.” Her father groaned. “It’s like we flew here all the way from Virginia to carry your heavy suitcases.”
“Let’s see if that gym membership paid of, dad.” Mia joked. She knew that her father had joined a country club, but never used the gym, even though he paid for it. “The only weight lifting he does is the weight of his ice-cream sundaes!” Her mother played along.
“Hey, don’t tease me or I’ll pack you both up and take you back to Virginia.” Her father laughed. “Dad!” Mia giggled along with him as they walked to the Academy Square.
“I’m in the Shakespeare house.” Mia said once they arrived at the square, which was buzzing with activity. “The Shakespeare house?” Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Yep,” Mia answered. “There’s also the Marie Curie house, the Gandhi house, and the Einstein house, all great people of the world.”
Her mother took in a deep breath of air. “I like this school already.”
They walked to the Shakespeare house, the one with the fox statue next to it. “So, Marie Curie has a deer statue, Einstein has an owl statue and Gandhi has an elephant statue. That makes sort-of makes sense.” Her father said as they climbed the steps to the mansion.
Once inside, Mia felt a swell of pride. The inside of the foyer had creamy white tiles on the floor, a curving staircase with a red carpet, glossy banisters, a very large second floor [she knew there was a third floor to], freshly cut flowers on a blue vase on an antique table, comfy chairs to sit around on, shoe racks against the wall, and lots of kids and parents talking before they had to go.
“Hello!” A pretty woman with blond hair and green eyes stepped up to Mia and her parents. “I’ll be your Shakespeare House leader and dance teacher, Miss. Angela. If you ever need anything come to me.” She gave Mia a large, laminated map and a piece of blue paper.
“That’s your map and schedule.” She explained. “Oh! And you’ll be in dorm 5. You’ll be sharing it with Lucy Reynolds. One of our house prefects will take you up, all right? I hope you’ll have a good time here at Pine Tree Academy. Don’t forget, Dr. Block, our headmistress will give the opening speech in exactly two hours. Parents must leave in one hour, okay?”
“Yes, thank you.” Mia’s mom said. A prefect stepped up. “Come on, I’ll take you to your room.”
“Okay.” The prefect led them up the staircase, and as they passed each door, she told Mia what it was.
“That’s the common room for you sixth graders. It has two TV’s with cable, a CD player, a video player, four computers, a radio, a fireplace, couches, a shelf for all the things you girls brought like books and puzzles, and some tables and a sink, and Friday there’s a movie, don’t worry, they always pick good one’s.” She leaned in closer to Mia and said: “And everyone who has had this common room has found that it’s great for having midnight feasts.” Mia giggled.
By the time they got to room 5, Mia knew that light’s out was at 9:30; you had to be in your house by 8:00, where the bathrooms were, tennis courts and five and most importantly, when try-outs for the musical were.
“Miss. Angela will be telling you, but I found out early. We’re doing DRAGON, a musical that Mrs. De Angelo wrote. The tryouts are exactly next Sunday at four, the call-backs Tuesday at five –and their open to watch-, and the Cast List will be hung in all the common rooms on Thursday. Mrs. De Angelo the-director-and Miss. Louis have to work fast to get decide quickly if they want to have the musical ready two months from now.”
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you there, right?” Mia asked. The prefect smiled. “Sure. By the way, my name is Lauren Rivers. I’m in 9th grade this year. Just call me if you need anything. Oh! And around here, in the Shakespeare House, all the grades pull pranks on the others. Its fun, but last year, my grade has pulled the meanest pranks, so keep your eyes open!”
“All right!” Mia knew a few mean pranks herself. But first, she would get settled in.
“This is your room!” Lauren said as they stopped in front of two French double doors. Inside, she could make out two beds, but everything else wasn’t as clear because of the foggy glass.
Lauren said, “See-ya!” And turned and went off. Her parents came soon, her dad huffing and puffing.
“Here dad.” Mia opened the door to let her parents in. Once they were in, she walked inside herself. “Wow…..” Mia whispered.
There were two twin beds, one with stripe’s on the comforter and pillows, the other with dots. It was a hardwood floor with two rugs on the floor. A small desk stood between the beds with a small vase of flowers and a lamp on top. Two cedar wardrobes stood next to the beds; a shoe rack and a shelf next to the wardrobes. Two desks sat at the North side [the beds on the South], each with matching polished chair and glass knobs on the pull-out drawers. There was a white Macintosh computer on another desk, the color of the computer setting of nicely with the green walls. And a brown fan hung on the ceiling [the ceiling had glow-in-the dark stars on it], and the fan had lights on it. A coat and hat rack stood next to the door and there was a bay window on the East side of the room.
“This is a beautiful room!” Mia’s mother cried. “It’s just wonderful!” Mia nodded. “It is great.”
“Well,” Said her father. “We have to leave soon or our hotel reservation will be gone. They said we had to come by five or it was good-bye reservation. Apparently we picked a very popular hotel to stay at. A lot of the girl’s parents will be staying there.”
“Bye honey,” Said Mia’s mother, hugging her. “Remember the credit card we gave you is for emergencies only! And if you need to call us, you have the cell-phone we gave you. We’re going to miss you!”
“Bye!” Mia called. Her parents excited her room. “Bye!” They called back.
Mia gave a sigh and plopped down. She wondered when her room-mate was going to get here.
Oh well. She thought. Better call a bed and unpack. Then I can explore.
“I call the bed closest to the do-or!!!” Mia whipped her around to face the doorway. A girl with strait medium length black hair and sea-blue eyes stood in front of the open door. She carried three small bags and handbag. She was pushing a cart with three suitcases and a trunk.
She giggled. “We have an awesome room. Check out the computer!”
“Hi,” Mia smiled. “I’m Amelia, but just call me Mia.”
“Lucy,” The girl held out her hand. “Sorry about the yelling; I like to make a big entrance.”
Mia laughed. “That’s okay.” Lucy pushed her cart over to the bed closest to the door. “Like I said,” She giggled. “I call the bed closest to the door!”
Then Lucy dropped her handbags on the floor, opened the doors to the cedar wardrobe and stuffed the bags inside. “Got that out of the way.”
Then she took of her coat, and hung it on the rack. “Want to explore?” She asked. “Sure!” Mia replied. This semester was already of to a great start!
CHAPTER 3
Mia followed Lucy as she knocked on the door of dorm 4. “LEAH!!!!” She yelled.
The door flung open and a blond haired, green-eyed girl stood in the doorway. She had rosy cheeks and glossy pink lips. She was so pretty, Mia felt herself fingering her own black hair and thinking about her plain black eyes.
“Lucy!” She cried in frustration. “I have to get un-packed!”
“Do it later!” Lucy mentioned for Mia to come with her as they stepped into the dorm. “And this is Mia, my room-mate.” Lucy introduced her.
Mia smiled. “Nice to meet you.” She said. Leah smiled. “At least your polite.” Leah glared at Lucy who pretended not to notice. Instead, she stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes at Leah.
“Arrgh!” Leah held up her hands in frustration. “Lucy! Why can’t you act like a normal civilized human being?”
Lucy smiled. “Because I’m not.” She answered sweetly. Leah playfully threw a pillow at her. “That’s why I said act!”
Before Mia knew it, Lucy ran over to her in a war cry, and hit her with the pillow. “Your on!” Mia laughed.
“We can take her, right Leah?” Lucy asked. “No way!” Leah grabbed another pillow. “Every man for his own life!”
“Actually, if you hadn’t noticed, I’m a girl!” Lucy snatched the pillow from Leah’s hands and ran to hit Mia again. But this time Mia was ready. She stepped to the left and put her foot.
“DDDDIIIIEE-AAAA!” Lucy tripped over Mia’ foot and landed on the rug. Mia grabbed a pillow and hit Lucy with it. Lucy laughed as she got up. “Okay, official Pillow fight! ATTACK!!!”
As they lunged at each other, Mia really felt like she belonged here. She had two kind-of friends, and she loved campus. She was really starting to enjoy herself.
“Wait! Okay, stop, stop.” Leah threw her arms in the air. “I have to get un-packed. I doubt you’ve un-packed either Lucy, so you might as well. And Mia, are done un-packing? I don’t want to be bossy, but if we un-pack now, you guy’s can help do………..something. I’m not telling you what though.”
Lucy groaned and threw her pillow at Leah’s head. “Spoilsport! You know that I’m going to do as you say because I can’t stand surprises. Arrgh! I will get back at you Leah, I so will.”
“Don’t!” Mia grabbed Lucy hand. “Save all your tricks so we can pull some on the upper grades. Lauren, the prefect who showed me up here, said so.”
Lucy smiled. “Ya’ know, I’m going to start planning that right now! This’ll be so much fun! We can put rubber snakes and spiders in their beds. Put a bucket of water on a slightly opened dorm door, put ice in their popcorn-when they get some for a movie-, OHH! I have a really mean one. If they pull a really mean prank on us, then we’ll take all their homework and put it somewhere where they can’t find it!” She rubbed her hands together and laughed like an evil villain. “And this is just the beginning!”
“Lucy, I will not let those poor souls suffer like that. They’ll never now what hit em’!” Leah shook her had and started pushing Lucy out of the door. “And please don’t come back. I’ve got a terrible mess to clean up, and my roommate isn’t here yet!” Then she turned to Mia. “Don’t worry,” Leah assured her. “You can still come back here.”
Mia laughed and Lucy marched out of the room in mock anger. “Don’t worry Leah!” She called. “I’ll still pull those tricks on you!” Lucy announced loudly in the hall.
“Arrgh!” Leah threw her hands up in frustration, and then helped Mia pick up the pillows. “My roommate will be here any second, and this room looks like it’s just been searched and robbed, thanks to Lucy!”
Mia felt guilty. “Well, I did the pillow fight too, so I’m to blame as well.”
Leah reached out for her hand. “Don’t worry,” She reassured Mia. “We’re all friends, and I don’t really mean anything. Lucy and I have known each other for a long, long, long time. Trust me; I don’t really get mad at her.”
Mia nodded and reached for a pillow. Pretty soon, Leah and Mia had the room cleaned and looking like Tornado Lucy hadn’t just hit it.
Suddenly, there a knock on the door. “Is this dorm 4?” Asked a tinkling, timid voice that sounded like bells in a British accent. Leah and Mia looked up to see a long blonde haired girl with blue eyes. She was carrying two small bags, pushing cart with four bags and two trunks, crammed inside.
Leah looked up. “Yes this is, and I’m your roommate, Leah. This is my friend Mia. She’s staying in the dorm 5 with my other friend Lucy.” Leah walked over and held out her hand.
The girl gave Mia and Leah a weak smile as she shook hands with Leah. “My name is Belle.” She said. “And you can probably guess I’m from England.”
She gave another tinkling laugh that sounded so much like bells; Leah and Mia couldn’t help but laugh along.
“Hey,” Lucy popped inside the room. “Look’s like theirs another member of our gang. Yo! Name’s Lucy, you?”
Belle smiled. “Belle.” She said. “You must be Lucy, who I’ve heard about just now.”
Lucy laughed good-naturedly. “That’s Leah for you. Doesn’t mention me until the very end. Anyway, with you and Mia, I’m sure I can stand Lucy.” She laughed again, and this time Belle laughed with her.
Mia could see that they had instantly clicked. The warmth in Belle’s eyes and the friendliness and humor in Lucy’s was obviously hinted that they were warming up to each other.
“Hey! You sixth graders! Better hurry if you want to make it to the speech in time!” Mia looked up to see Lauren leaning idly against the door frame smiling. “I was told to tell the sixth graders, so hurry up or you’ll make look bad!” She joked good-naturedly.
“What!” Leah nearly screamed as she glanced at her watch. “That doesn’t start for half-an-hour! What are you saying? My watch clearly isn’t wrong-“
“Hey,” Lauren interrupted Leah’s lecture of how she was organized. “I was told that we’re having a surprise BBQ, so we have to start the speech half-an-hour early, so PLEASE don’t yell, please!”
Leah sighed, and then smiled. “We might as well get going.” She held her arm out to Mia, who took it. They now looked like they were square dancing. Lucy and Belle did the same and they headed of to the speech.
CHAPTER 4
Lucy, Belle, Mia, and Leah headed down the crowded cobblestone path to the main mansion; the one where there was the auditorium, dance studio, faculty bedrooms, classrooms for many classes, and a cafeteria. They used the cafeteria for breakfast, lunch, and in case there was a blizzard or storm which took the lights out. The main mansion had the generator and there were enough sleeping bags and enough room in there just in case.
“Ya’ know,” Lucy said. “We should check out that Indian restaurant tomorrow. It would be fun!”
The other’s agreed and the plan was set.
Mia drew her breath in as they took their seats in the aud. It was large, but probably not as large as the real theater. But, she was sure they would look alike; red cushion-y seats, complicated sets of ropes, wooden stage, and big, fancy red curtains.
“Is everyone here?” Asked a pretty woman at the front, on the stage. She had red curls and sparkling green eyes that surveyed the room.
Almost immediately, there was a hush over the room as everyone’s eyes turned to face their headmistress. Mia felt Belle clasp her hand tightly, and she met Belle’s gaze, smiled encouragingly, and squeezed back.
“Well,” Dr. Block smiled. “That sure got everyone’s attention! Now, let’s begin. What can I say? Welcome to a fresh new year here at Pine Tree Academy. I know quite a few of you are from different state’s, and some of you are from different countries as well! Some of you are just starting sixth grade here, and we all hope you stay until your final and last year here, 12th grade!”
There was applause at this, the clapping echoing in the large aud. Lucy, Mia, Leah, and Belle looked at each other and smiled. They all knew that they were thinking the same thing; that they hoped they could all stay on until 12th grade together!
“Also,” Dr. Block continued. “We all hate to say goodbye at our senior class, the 12th graders!” There was more clapping, and Mia saw out of the corner of her eye, the 12th grade guidance counselor nod sadly.
“So,” Dr. Block said. “We hope all you do have a very good year. As you all know, there is a very time honored tradition here at Pine Tree to have a barbeque after my speech. I promise you, I won’t take long. Now, we have our fabulous Mrs. De Angelo and Miss. Louis here to help you all with our annual fall musical. There’s one every semester, but let’s focus on this one right now. Mrs. De Anglo has written the musical you’ll be doing, called DRAGON. I look forward to seeing it, and I hope you all are as excited as I am to watch or try out for it.”
Everyone burst into clapping and cheering at the mention of the musical. Dr. Block looked pleasantly surprised and smiled, her green eyes looking proud.
“I can tell you’re excited!” Dr. Block laughed. “But we must get on in time for the barbeque! So, all of you must study hard! We had introduced horses two years ago, and it was hit. Now, many of you have had your own horses come here, so had to build two new stables. We are also introducing Italian as another second language along with Spanish and French. We all the regular subjects as well, Math, Science, English, Reading, Social Studies, Computer, Chemistry, Woodworking, Lab for 9th and up, Acting, Singing, and Dancing. Taking Voice lessons or an instrument is optional. And back by popular demand are……Movie and Tech classes!”
A huge cheer irrupted despite what Dr. Block had said about time. “That sounds so cool!” Leah and Lucy said at the same time. “Jinx! You owe me a soda!” Lucy yelled. Leah smiled and groaned.
Belle laughed and turned to Mia. “We should really do that, don’t you think Mia?” Mia smiled and nodded. “I agree with you times ten!”
“All right! All right. Settle down children.” Dr. Block waved her arms. Another hush fell over the girls. Their eyes were glued to the stage again; Mia knew it was because all the girls were still in awe of Dr. Block.
“Anyway,” Dr. Block smiled, crinkling her eyes. “Study hard, learn lessons, pay attention and have fun at the barbeque! I’ll be with you on your journey to learning and don’t forget to come to me or any teacher or staff member if you have a problem! I’ll see you at the barbeque! Have a great year! Now go, although you must wait for your prefect’s to go though.”
Mia, Lucy, Leah, and Belle waited until it was their time to go. As they walked out of Academy Square, Mia wondered where they were going for the barbeque. As they approached the parking lot, the gasped.
There were huge poles that held up a large blue waterproof canvas. There were six of them, all right next each other. There were park tables in rows in five of them, and the grill in the back. Plates were ready and waiting. There was salad, pizza, cookies, brownies, ribs, chicken, Coke, Sprite, Limca, tea, coffee, lemonade, water, root beer, popcorn, sliced fruits, six snow-cone machines, and the smell of barbeque sauce hanging in the air.
Lanterns were hung strung from pole to pole, and Mia saw three blankets on each side of the table’s bench.
“Lucy! You’re coming with me. Mia! Belle! What do you want? Mia, tell me what you want, and Belle, tell Lucy what you want. You two go save us seats in the front and we’ll get the food.” Leah ordered.
“I’d like some chicken, a slice of pizza, two cookies, water and a bag of popcorn. I can get a snow-cone after I’m done.” Mia said. “Me too.” Belle chided in.
“Leah nodded. “Go!” She yelled, and Belle and Mia ran to the table in the front…………..which was taken. They went to the one behind it and bagged four seats.
“Look’s like Leah was smart to tell us to get seats now; I mean look at all those people!” Mia said, pointing to all the people now scrambling to get good seats.
Belle nodded. “Leah was right.”
Soon, Leah and Lucy came back, each carrying a tray and two snow-cones.
“I said I didn’t want my snow-cone now, “Mia teased as Leah handed Mia her food. Leah shook her head in mock despair. “You should consider yourself lucky I got you anything at all!”
“Look!” Lucy pointed to the front, where Dr. Block was now standing. The other girls seem to notice, and pretty soon everyone was quiet.
Dr. Block nodded and smiled. “I’m glad to see you liked the decorations,” She said. “I will be enjoying the barbeque alongside all of you. I’d just like to let you know that classes start the day after tomorrow. Thank you!”
Leah, Lucy, Belle, and Mia bit in, later going back for seconds. As Mia smiled and laughed and ate, she knew that she would truly enjoy it here at Pine Tree Academy.
Note: Mia’s dress: Ankle length, lavender colored dress, with bell sleeves, and white ballet flats Hair for Mia: Take some hair on both sides of her hair, braid, bring to back, tie with hair-tie and a ribbon over it. Belle’s dress: A yellow short-sleeved floor-length gown, make bun with hair and leave two curly strands of hair on each side of face, yellow wedges. Lucy’s dress: A light-blue short-sleeved gown, just blow her knee’s and brown ballet flats, hair in French braid. Leah’s dress: A short sleeved red floor-length gown, white gloves that stretched just past elbow, and white wedges
“Midsummer Night’s Dream” Ball
Mia felt a sense of helplessness. She didn’t know what to do. Belle had her date with Cam, Leah was running around making sure every single detail was fine, and Lucy had a food craving [which Mia knew, Lucy liked to be left alone while she had one]. What was she going to do?
Oh well. She thought. At least everyone else is having a great time.
“Um, excuse me,” A voice interrupted her thoughts. Standing in front of her was a brown haired, green eyed boy. He was wearing a suit and had white gloves on his hands, just like most of the other boys at the ball.
He held out his gloved right hand. “I’m Leigh. I was wondering if you would…… um…..dance with me?” Mia felt herself blush. A boy-an extremely cute one- was asking her to dance! But his name, what was so familiar about it? It sounded like someone had mentioned it to her. Oh well. She thought. Must be a common name.
“I’m Mia,” She put her hand in his. “And I’d love to dance.”
As he whisked her onto the dance floor, a slow song started.
As she passed Belle, whirling by with Cam, Belle gave her a smile.
“So,” Leigh said. “I heard you got the second lead in DRAGON. Very impressive.” Mia smiled. “I heard you got the part of Romeo in the new version of Romeo and Juliet that your director wrote. That’s also impressive.”
Leigh smiled. “Well, I hope it’s still impressive even though we can’t compete in the All Schools Drama Competition.” Mia was confused. “But why?” She asked.
“We need someone to play Juliet. You know St. Alan is an all-boy school, so we didn’t have anyone to play any of the female parts. So, our director is having girls from Justice Towers, Fisher Academy, and Pine Tree Academy try out for those parts. Actually, we’ve already had tryouts for all the female leads except for Juliet. Mrs. Delacour wanted the girls from Pine Tree to try out for Juliet. So, will you be trying out?”
This question caught Mia by surprise. Did she want to try out for Juliet? Well, maybe. But she had her other part as Aurora in DRAGON. Could she handle to parts? But, then again, she could always drop one part. And them there was another but, did she want to go through auditions again? Well, yes. Now that Mia thought about it, she did want to go through it again. So, she’d try out!
“Yes!” Mia said. “I’d love to try out for Juliet.” Leigh smiled, and as they danced around, they talked about many things; school, friends, family, musical they loved and hated, songs, vocal lessons. So by the time they were done dancing to three songs, Mia couldn’t understand how she’d been bored at the beginning.
“Hey. Listen up here!” The music stopped as the DJ picked up the mike. All the couples stopped in mid-dance.
“I’ve got a contest for all you.” The DJ continued. “I want to know who the best dancing couple is here! Third place gets to pick the next four songs, second place gets two jerseys signed by last years winning All Schools Hockey Competition Team, and first place gets……………………..FOUR TICKETS TO A YANKEE’S GAME IN NE W YORK!!!!!!!!” He screamed. There was loud cheering at this. “At get this,” He said. “You get a free soda and hot-dog, with passes to meet the Yankee’s after!”
There was even more cheering at this. Leigh looked Mia in the eye and smiled. “You wanna show them we have the grooves?” Mia laughed. “Sure do partner, sure do.” She answered. “Then what are we waiting for?” He asked.
He went over and signed them up while Mia went to get them sodas.
“Heyyy,” Mia turned around to see Lucy and Belle. “So,” Lucy grinned. “Did I really see you dancing with that dark haired cutie? Tell us everything.” Lucy pretended to look bored, even though she knew Lucy was bursting to get the information.
“Um, how’d it go with you and Cam?” Mia tried to veer around Lucy’s question by asking Belle about Cam.
Belle smiled. “It went fine, and we’re still dancing. But I wanna know about you.” Belle and Lucy leaned forward.
“Okay,” Mia began. “His name is Leigh and he’s really nice. He got the part of Romeo in the version of Romeo and Juliet that his director wrote. He asked if I wanted to try out for Juliet, and I said yes!”
Lucy and Belle gave squeals of delight.
Suddenly, a voice interrupted them. “Hi Mia’s friends!”
Lucy, Belle, and Mia whirled around to face Leigh.
“Hi!” Lucy smiled. “I’m Lucy and she’s Belle.” Belle nodded. “We’ll leave you two alone.” Lucy and Belle giggled and walked away waving.
“Are they your close friends?” Leigh asked. Mia nodded. “But I have another one, her name is Leah Botts. She’s running around making sure all the details are okay. She was elected head of the committee you know. That’s why she was doing this stuff.”
Leigh smiled an “I-don’t-believe-this-smile”. “You know, my full name is Leigh Botts. And if Leah has blonde haired, green-eyed girl, than Leah’s my twin!”
CHAPTER
Mia felt a rush of feelings. Should she be mad? Sad? Happy? Angry? ALL OF THEM!!!!??????
Leigh took her right hand in both of his. “Don’t be.” He simply said. “If knowing Leah’s my sister is uncomfortable, then just tell me, please.” Then he took her other hand and stroked them both with his thumb. “And we gotta dance! We’re fifth in line.”
Mia gave him her half-smile. Leigh was so nice! Could he tell she was melting faster than butter on toast? “Ya’ know,” Mia cocked her head. “I don’t want to do it anymore, do you?”
Leigh grinned. “I was hoping you would say that. Do you wanna go for a walk to the lake? I promise that we’ll back in time for lights out.”
Mia felt herself blush. Alone with a boy? A walk to the lake? Okay, Leigh was nice and all, but they had just met! Should she go?
“I have an idea!” Leigh told her. “Why don’t Cam and Belle come with us?
Name’s of Yankee players: Joba Chamberlain* Pitcher 2007-2009 (Present)
Francisco Cervelli* Catcher 2007-2009 (Present) Robinson Cano* Second Base 2005-2009 (Present) Melky Cabrera* Outfielder 2005-2009 (Present) Alfredo Aceves* Pitcher 2008-2009 (Present)
November 29th, 2009 at 9:56 am
November 29th, 2009 at 9:56 am
HA thanks guys. oMG TALIA YOU are GOOD!
syd- ive never sen you write but im sure you are good.
I think my problem is i dont have a very good imagination.
KK gtg byezzz
November 29th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Hannah :)- Bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! when i have to write for school I get all of my ideas from my momma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! shes really creative!!! just ask one of your friends for an idea and if you love it try to write it!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Hannah:)- no prob. I don’t think I’m good at all but thanks
~Just Stand Up~
Chapter 1
~Sadie~
I met Abby in Kindergarten. It was weird because we were both the new kids. I was from Ohio, and she was from California. Everyone already had a best friend since it was the second year into school. So when we had no other choice but to sit next to each other at lunch we just clicked. We were inseparable since then. We tell each other everything and always seemed to know when something wasn’t right. That’s why when I got that call from Abby I sensed that something was wrong. I pulled up into Abby’s drive way and got out of the car. It was a cold November evening and rain clouds were forming in the sky. I went up to her porch and rang her door bell. Abby’s mother Ella opened up the door. Her eyes were red and puffy and her mascara was running. “Hi Sadie, come in” Ella said softly. I stepped inside the house and kicked my sneakers off. “Abby is upstairs in her room” she said. I nodded my head and took the stairs two at time. Once I reached her door I knocked. “Come in” Abby’s soft as a whisper voice called out. I turned the knob and stepped inside her all pink room. Abby was sitting on her pink bed her legs dangling over. When she looked up her eyes locked with mine. I stepped in some more and suddenly I found myself on her bed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Her eyes were just as bloodshot as her moms were. She kept her mouth shut.
“Abby?”
“It’s just so terrible” she spoke up.
“What is it?” I asked once more. She still didn’t talk.
“You know you can tell me anything” I continued.
“Sadie?” she asked.
“Yes?” I said.
“I have Cancer”.
* * *
Cancer. Once she spoke the word it seemed like the world was falling apart.
“No” I said.
“Yes” she whispered. I took a good look at Abby. She had the most beautiful blue eyes that I have ever seen. You just want to stare into them all day. It was like diving into an ocean. She had thick blonde hair which is impossible to think that any of it would all fall out during chemo therapy. I covered my mouth.
“No” I croaked. The tears started to well up in my eyes.
“Yes” Abby said. And then we were sitting on her bed and crying. I pulled Abby in for a hug. I rubbed her back and we both cried on each other. Snot bubbles exploded out of my nose and the tears stung my eyes.
“You don’t deserve this Abs, you don’t deserve this” I said. Abby broke away from me.
“When I found the lump…” Abby cracked.
“Lump?” I asked. Abby nodded.
“You have breast cancer?” I asked.
“Yes” she said and then she broke down crying all over again.
“I don’t understand how this happened” I said.
“Well it’s obvious” Abby said.
“What?” I asked.
“My Grandma, you know how she died” Abby says.
“I do?” I asked.
“She got breast cancer, was diagnosed, fifteen years later she died” Abby continued.
“But, no, no you can’t die!” I practically yelled.
“There’s a chance that I may…”she seemed to drift away.
“NO! You can’t act like that! You have to stay on the positive side! You can’t do that to yourself” I yelled. “You can’t do that to me” I said in a lower voice. “Abby I need you, I need you!” I said even lower.
“No Sadie! You don’t need me. If anyone needs anyone it’s me! I need you more then anything now Sadie. I can’t go through this alone. I need you” Abby screamed. I looked up into Abby’s blue eyes once more.
“I’ll be there for you Abby I’ll be there for you”.
“You will?” Abby asked. Her tears were spilling faster then before. I placed both of my hands on her cheeks and swiped her tears away.
“Of course!” I said. I gave her a kiss on her cheek and pulled her in for another hug. “Of course” I repeated in a lower voice. “It’s going to be okay, I promise” I say.
“Sadie you can’t promise that”.
“And why not?” I asked. We broke apart and she just stared into my eyes.
“Because you don’t know if it’s going to be okay, you don’t know” Abby practically whispered.
* * *
November 29th, 2009 at 10:00 am
oh biiiii hannah:) ha-ha.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:02 am
whoah!!!! typo!!!! sorry guys!!!!!!!!!! don’t read that part. if you have read it, don’t judge!!!! it’s really bad. sorry times ten!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 10:05 am
um, hey guys? do u think u can anwser me? is the story good? puh-lease tell!!!!!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 10:05 am
pllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez read and critique! title suggestions would be mucho appreciated thnx
CH1
CHICAGO
ST. FREDERICK’S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Thursday, June 20th, 6:06am
At exactly 6:06am on June 20th, 1996
a shrill high-pitched scream of a new-born baby girl pierced the silence in St. Frederick’s Memorial Hospital. It could be heard very clearly, even with the clash of thunder that sounded outside and the pounding rain lashing at the windows. Just as the scream shattered the calmness of St. Frederick’s a ray of sunshine seemed to have broken through the heavy, ominous black clouds
in the sky and shone like a spotlight on Natalia Brookmill’s new born baby girl, Stephanie Rae-Anne Brookmill. Her middle name was Rae-Anne because of the ray of sun that had appeared at the exact time she was born. While delivering Stephanie, Natalia Brookmill hadn’t experienced so much pain in her whole 26 years of living. Family members of the Brookmills all gushed over this adorable new baby, which weighed 6.5 pounds and had little tufts of blonde hair and eyes that looked almost like sapphires. Stephanie’s older sister, Sabrina, who was four years old at the time, didn’t seem too happy about this random new-born baby intruding on her already perfect life. She didn’t want her mom giving up all her free time just to look after this baby. If this did happen, Sabrina just knew that her mom would forget about her. And her dad (Brent) was wayyyy too busy, being the CEO of his own company, to have time to go shopping with her or drive her to her friend’s house for that matter. Other family of the Brookmills were busy giving Natalia and Brent their gifts for this new baby. Cribs, warm-looking cashmere sweaters, stuffed animals, pacifiers, bottles, and pajamas were getting stacked beside the window facing the bed. As Sabrina recalled this later on in her life, she knew that she had under-estimated her sister. Because on June 20th, 1996, a true alpha had risen.
CH2
CHICAGO
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, STEPHANIE’S BEDROOM
Friday, July 1st
6:35 pm
The Brookmill family had just finished a calm and peaceful dinner. For once in 3 weeks, the whole family had been at the dinner table together. It was usually Sabrina or Brent not in attendance for dinner. Sabrina was usually with her boyfriend Gabe on a date or at her BFF’s house. It was the summer right after her senior prom and she was officially free of High School forever. Her excuse was that she was ‘trying to spend as much time as possible with her Clique before college started and they were separated.’ Brent was the CEO of his own company and usually came home at 8:00pm ‘cause he was so busy in office everyday. So dinner at the Brookmill house was usually just Natalia, Stephanie, Stephanie’s younger sister Shannon, who was 11 years old and their house-keeper, May. Stephanie liked Shannon better than Sabrina. She didn’t know why, but Sabrina just hated her since the day she was born. It was like she was a mud-covered, smelly, scrawny cat which was opposite of true. Stephanie knew that she was at least one of the top three beautiful girls at her private school that she attended, Cambridge Prep which was located in the heart of downtown Chicago. Cambridge was all the way exclusive; you could say that it’s kinda like the university of Cambridge in London. High expectations, high academic, pretty hard to get into, and world-famous. A couple grades below the average could cost you expulsion. It was for the best of the best. The fabulous of the fabulous. The talented of the talented. The alpha of the alpha. Stephanie was thinking about all this as she was brushing the fur of her adorable white yorkie terrier, Marshmallow. Oh whatever, she thought, it’s Sabrina who’s gonna miss out on all the fun. If she could be alpha of the alphas at Cambridge, she could be an alpha anywhere. She’d make celebrities look like random subway passengers. Anyways, the point was she didn’t need her sister. In her opinion, she was much prettier than her sister. Sabrina had wavy brown hair, a pointy chin, chestnut eyes and high cheekbones. It was your usual brunette beauty. And plus, don’t blondes have more fun?
At that moment, Stephanie’s mom, Natalia came in with her husband. They had very nervous looks on their faces, as if they were about to reveal something they didn’t want anyone else to know.
“Hi sweetheart, what are you doing?”
“Just brushing Marshmallow.”
“Uh, well, uh Steph, we have some news.” All of a sudden, Stephanie had mental pictures in her head of another mini-Sabrina being born. Oh, Lord! Please let that not be true! Her expression must’ve showed on her face because her parents said “No, it’s nothing like that.” Phew. OMG, they could be getting a new puppy! How cute, so then Marshmallow could have a playmate.
“Is it a new dog?”
“No.”
“Then is Sabrina moving out of the house?”
“No.”
“Oh, I got it___”
“Steph, we really don’t want to play twenty questions.” At this, her mom sighed. “We’re moving to Beverly Hills. Your father got a really good new promotion for his job and it pays twice as much as this one.” Stephanie could not have been more shocked if Marshmallow had just started to speak English. They were already rich. They didn’t need anymore money as it was. She felt as is if she was falling down a long dark well and everything that she loved in her life were happily waving goodbye from the top. She dropped Marshmallow and didn’t even notice when the dog barked a bark of indignation. This was the first time in Stephanie’s life that she was at a loss for words. “B-b-but what about my Clique, our estate, my school, and everything else here in Chicago??!! And what about our estate? Have you sold it yet?” There were a million other questions that she wanted to ask but she was stunned into silence. She couldn’t believe that her parents had made this decision and hadn’t bothered asking her opinion of it. Her great, no fabulous, 13 years in Chicago were about to end. She couldn’t even bear to think about her BFF’s(Violetta, Stacey, and Anna) reaction to this tragic and horrible x 100000000000 news. Her Clique needed her. She was their alpha. The one who gave them fashion advice, social-anything advice, boy tips, self-presentation advice and regular boosts of confidence. Why her?! Why__
“Stephie?” It was something her parents called her if they were ultra-concerned about her. “We’re really sorry about this and we knew that you weren’t expecting this but the move’s a done deal.” Her mom gave her a warm hug and Stephanie was immediately enveloped in Bvlgari’s perfume fragrance. She heard the faint click of her bedroom door being closed but it sounded so distant, as if she were hearing it from the other end of a phone line. She laid down afterwards on her Louis Vuitton bedspread-covered king size bed, not even bothering to undress. Stephanie stayed up for hours, until finally, at 1 o’clock in the morning, she cried herself to sleep.
CH3
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, STEPHANIE’S BEDROOM
Saturday, July 2nd
10:52am
Late in the morning, Stephanie woke up to the sound of clattering dishes. Oh great, she thought, we’re probably already starting to pack some of our dishes away. She changed out of her hot pink satin shorts and black Charlotte Ronson silk halter top and put on a coral mini-skirt, and a delicate white Marc Jacobs cotton spaghetti strap with lace. She was at least an eight. After that, she spritzed herself with Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume, grabbed her gold Motorola Razr then walked down the stairs for breakfast. No one was at the huge oval shaped dining table made of cherry wood. Natalia was probably out on her morning jog, Sabrina was most likely at the mall ransacking the shelves at Chanel, Shannon was probably IMing her BFFs and Brent was at work again. Stephanie glanced up at the clock on the stove and saw that it read 11:11am.Time to make a wish. She wished that somehow or other, they wouldn’t have to move out of Chicago to Beverly Hills. She hoped and hoped for her wish to come true but knew that all this wishing was just wasting her time. Her parents had already said that it was a done deal. Sighing with depression, Stephanie screamed for May. “Yes, m’dear?” came the sound of a fifty-something year old woman coming up the stairs leading to their humongous basement.
“Could you prepare some French toast along with some fresh fruit? Bacon would be nice too.” Last night’s crying session had made her hungry. “Certainly, m’dear” replied May. As soon as May disappeared into the kitchen, Stephanie immediately started texting her friends.
Stephanie: Whuzzup? I was wondering if you guys wanted to hang at my house today pool party??
She tried masking her sadness with smiley emoticons. Seconds later, ding.
Violetta: What’s with all the smileys? Something’s gotta be wrong.
Sigh, she knew that she could never fake out her BFFs. They knew her too well.
Anna: Yeah, whattup w/ that?
Stacey : Dang,girl, why act like a Frauda?
Stephanie: ??????
Stacey: Why act all fake?
Stephanie: I’ll tell you guys at the pool party. At 1:00pm
Anna: I just got this adorable yellow floral print bikini from alice+olivia.
Stephanie: Gtg, May’s here.
It was true. May had just appeared with breakfast. Part of the reason she signed off was also because she didn’t want to burst into tears while texting her BFFs. God, she’d miss them like hell. And how soon would they be moving out of their estate? Stephanie was too shocked last night to bother asking. The instant the sweet smell of French toast mixed with maple syrup entered her mouth, she was instantly calmed. She decided to keep positive about this whole situation and have the most fun she ever had with her BFFs, even if she had to act like a Frauda to achieve that.
CH4
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, INDOOR POOL
Saturday, July 2nd
12:51pm
“What should I wear, what should I wear, what should I wear??” Stephanie kept mumbling to herself. Ughhhhh. If only she was in a better mood, the choice might’ve been easier. Her wardrobe was just not cooperating with her today. She was in her huge walk-in closet that was probably as big as a normal bedroom. She had 11 options of bikinis laid out in front of her. After five minutes of pondering, she finally decided on option five= a black Chanel bikini. She grabbed a baby pink towel from the towel rack in her beach-inspired washroom, snatched up a pair of Juicy flip-flops, then padded her way down to their indoor pool. It was at least ten feet deep and it had a diving board also. She called for May again to prepare some summer-y snacks. Within two minutes, VSA (Violetta, Stacey, Anna) came running down the steps toward Stephanie, who was on the diving board. They screamed ‘Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy’ but Stephanie pretended not to hear. Then she did a perfect swan dive and landed gracefully in the water. She stayed under water for 5 seconds, and like a supermodel in an advertising print campaign for bikinis, then emerged to the sound of applause.
“Oh my guh-od. Love the Chanel bikini. Looks great against your blonde curls.” Violetta cried.
“ Two letters. TT.” Said Anna. She had been making up abrievations since forever. Stephanie knew that if you had achieved a Total Ten then your outfit, or in her case, bikini was beyond being beyond.
“Sooooo, uh, what’s the big news?” asked Violetta. God, could her beta not understand that this was a time for fun, not exploding into waterworks?
“Tell ya later” replied Stephanie. As she did so, she turned on the radio and P!nk’s ‘So What’ bleated through the whole room.
‘So, so what, I’m still a rock star
I got my rock moves and I don’t need you’
At the rock star part, Stacey pretended to play an invisible guitar while rocking her head back and forth. This made everyone laugh. When Britney’s ‘Circus’ came on, everyone dive-bombed into the pool, not caring that they were acting like drunk people. Inflated rafts, noodles and boards were thrown into the pool as if they were confetti. They were having so much fun that they didn’t even notice when May arrived with watermelon/raspberry smoothies, pitas with hummus, chips, mini-subs and gummie kebabs.
At 2:45, everyone got tired and started hungrily munching on the snacks. All three pairs of eyes were on Stephanie with expectant and anxious looks on their faces. Stephanie surrendered under their looks and sighed a deep heavy sigh. “I’m moving to Beverly Hills.” Violetta dropped her pita, Stacey choked on her smoothie, and Anna almost hit the inside of her mouth with her kebab stick. They all stared at her as if she had red and green teeth. “No really.” Anna said. “Yes really.” Replied Stephanie with a trace of a sniffle. Immediately, VSA ditched their food and came running toward her with open arms. All of a sudden, Stephanie was enveloped in Violetta’s sharp, gentle, floral Nina Ricci perfume, Stacey’s romantic Ralph Lauren fragrance and the scent of Anna’s fresh, clean and delicate Miss Dior Chérie. When mixed together with her Marc Jacobs Daisy, it smelled bittersweet. But she refused to show her tears, even though they were rapidly gathering in the corners of her eyes. Like a true alpha, she’d never let people think she was ever a Frauda. She wasn’t cheap and fake. It was like she was a Prada, and everyone else was a cheap Ardene tote. She was prettier then them on the outside, had a high-quality standard then the others, texture/material was richer and every one of those Ardenes wanted to be just like a Prada but could never make that transformation. It was like Layne and Massie from the Clique, a weed and a rose, a broken down truck and a Mercedes. And Stephanie was going to live up to her Prada standard, even if this move was about to ruin anything and everything.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:06 am
CH5
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, LIVING ROOM
Saturday, July 2nd
3:38pm
After her friends had left, and Stephanie was alone with no one but her mom, she asked the few questions that she desperately needed to ask.
“Mom, when exactly is this move?”
“In a week, dear. Actually, more like five days.”
“Five days?! You could’ve forwarned me like at least a month earlier so I could’ve prepared for this huge blow.”
“Steph, we really don’t want you to be mad about this. I for one, thought you’d be excited for this move because y__”
“Mom, does it look like I’m excited? And how could you think that ditching my BFFs forever classifies as exciting??”
“Stephanie Rae-Anne Brookmill, let me finish. I thought you’d be excited because you’ve always raved about how you wanted to be one of those Cali girls that sun-tanned at the beach everyday and went to an exclusive private school. You’ve always wanted to visit Beverly Hills.”
“Uh, mom FYI you can tan perfectly well at the beach here in Chicago and Cambridge Prep is already an exclusive private school for rich girls who have the potential to be successful. Yes, I do want to visit Beverly Hills not move there!”
“Which reminds me, we need to call the First Rate movers now to let them know that they should come on Thursday.”
“Steph, I need you to clean out your closet and figure out which clothes you want and which you don’t. Put the clothes you don’t want in a garbage bag and bring it down to the kitchen in an hour. I’ll have May ship it to the Free the Children clothing donation. The other day, I saw a silver Gucci scarf that you got a year ago and never seem to have worn yet.”
Whatttttttt?! It was like this move was changing her family members too. Since when had her mom been into charity? Well, she was right there was a Gucci scarf that she’d never worn yet. And come to think of it, there was also a pretty aqua Chanel blouse that was out of date too. As Stephanie started rummaging around in her closet she thought, Well it might take my mind off my friend’s sad looks when they left. To them, it seemed like the end of the world which was kind of true. They looked up to her. Sure, they were definitely pretty, had great senses of humour/taste in fashion, and they were the Pradas of their school. They stood out among the sea of Ardene totes. Violetta Tang had an exotic Asian beauty that was rare. She had the closest thing to amber eyes that Stephanie had ever seen, and exquisite straight black hair with wispy side-swept bangs. Her features were pretty and she had a perfect nose. Stacey Gibson had navy eyes and wavy dark brown hair with dirty blonde highlights. Her lips were heart-shaped and she had the best legs. Anna Rectler had auburn hair that was impeccably straight and pretty green eyes with long lashes and high cheekbones. After brooding over these thoughts for more than forty minutes, Stephanie was done her reject pile that was to be sent to charity. It had at least 20 pieces of outdated clothing that were cute-looking. The reject pile included two Louis Vuitton scarves, a cashmere Theory sweater, five pairs of True Religion/Seven jeans, a Burberry jacket and plaid rainboots, her never-worn Gucci scarf, her aqua Chanel blouse and a couple more things. Once she was done, she lugged her garbage bag down to the living room where her mom was watching the Tyra Banks show. “Mayyyyyyyyyyy!” Stephanie screamed. A second later, May came dashing into the living room. “The donation for Free the Children.” Then she kicked the bag to her. Then out of pure frustration, she stomped up the stairs with her Jimmy Choo heels scuffing the wood of the winding staircase. When she reached her room, Natalia’s voice came through the green-apple shaped intercom next to Stephanie’s gold Dell computer. “Stop scuffing the wood, the new owner is coming tomorrow to see the house again.” Stephanie sighed with frustration. Then she glanced around her room. Her room was well designed enough that the people at Pottery Barn should put up a poster of it in their store. It was all white with a touch of gold here and there. Oh and the green intercom. She had a white Louis Vuitton bedspread with matching pillows. Her bed was shaped like a circle and was a king size one. Marshmallow had a little doggie bed that was like a mini-version of her real-life one. On a painted-white mahogany table stood her gold Dell computer and her green-apple intercom. She had a 70 inch flat-screen TV with over 700 channels on it. Right next to her bed was a gold mini-fridge and on top of her room was a disco ball. Her closet doors were made of mirror and the inside was huge. It had spotlights on the ceiling that shined on the spring, summer, fall and winter sections of her closet. In the middle of the closet was a huge rotating circular shelf full of shoes. Right beside the first rotating shelf stood another circular rotating shelf that held tons of jewelry. On another shelf, it looked like a collage of purses, totes, wallets, clutches and bags were neatly arranged by designer name. And of course, the shoes, jewelry and clothes were all designer as well. Right outside the closet, she had a gold vanity filled with CoverGirl , Marc Jacobs, M.A.C. products and Sassy Sophistication lip gloss. Every day a new lip gloss and balm arrived at the Brookmill doorstep for Stephanie. It was an exclusive brand made by Sassy Sophie, as she was known by. And matching the gold vanity was a gold director’s chair. Her washroom was painted so that it looked like a day at the beach. The flooring looked like sand and there were painted beach umbrellas at certain intervals of the room. There were waves painted on the walls and real-looking shells and rocks so that it looked like the walls were immersed under water. She had a big white egg-shaped tub with nozzles set along the side and was being supported by four gold-painted paws. Her shower had glass doors and a big nozzle set at the top. Her toilet seat was painted gold and her sink had gold swan-shaped taps. There were yellow, light pink and white towels on racks right outside the shower. She was gonna miss her room so much. It was fit for a princess. Her mom had told her that she was gonna have a painter come over and paint everything back to it’s original color: a horrible beige. Like everything else in her life, her room was also gonna change, but not for the better. She prayed to god again that a miracle would happen before Thursday but unless her dad changed his mind, that was not gonna happen. The move was coming at her like a speeding train and there was no way she could stop it.
CH6
THE MALL, FOOD COURT
Sunday, July 3rd
1:14pm
Trying to spend as much time as possible with her BFFs, Stephanie had planned out a schedule for all of them:
Sunday July 3rd
*Shop till we drop at the mall
*Gossip session at Baskin Robbins
Monday July 4th
*Amusement park celebrating July 4th!! Fireworks at the end
* Bring plastic bags in case puke
Tuesday July 5th
*Spa- day at home with the girls inc. facials, skin-care, mani-pedis, massages, waxing (if needed), body-wraps and polishes, vichy, swiss shower and make-up applications
Wednesday, July 6th
*Day at the beach
*Screening party. Movie marathon!
*Sleepover at night
Thursday July 7th
*Family&Friends BBQ at Brookmill Estate
*Bring waterproof mascara. You’ll need it
*Hugs&Kisses! Goodbye VSA! x 100000
After reviewing her well-written schedule, Stephanie shared it with VSA. They were all excited about the five days of fabulousness that were ahead of them but couldn’t really bring their eyes to read the plan for Thursday. They knew that if their alpha had left them, they’d emotionally die. None of the 4 girls mentioned the move, which Stephanie took to be a good thing. They were just finishing up their A&W lunch and heading over to Baskin Robbins for their daily gossip session. Everyone ordered a different thing: Stephanie-a cappuccino blast, Violetta-a wild mango bold breeze smoothie, Stacey-a reese peanut butter cup sundae and Anna- a superfudge truffle ice cream cone. Stephanie paid for all their ice-cream as a little treat. The moment they all sat down, the gossip began.
“I have a piece of gossip that’s worth five-hundred G-points.” Violetta said.” I heard on Facebook that Hanna, Sabrina’s “friend” peed in her pajamas while she was watching a scary movie with her cousin. She didn’t even notice it until her sleeping bag was all wet.” Everyone laughed at this. “You totally earned your points.” said Stephanie. Violetta beamed with pride. She was now leading in G-points by 1000. Every week, the girl that had the most G-points was awarded a small treat from their alpha. Last week, it had been a deep purple bottle of Essie nail polish. This week it was gonna be a small Coach make-up bag, big enough to put your mascara, blush and lip-gloss in so that when you put them in your purse, they won’t get crushed by wallets and who knew what else. The reason why Stephanie didn’t bother giving out all these treats was because her mom’s best friend owned a department store that was full of designer brands of make-up. And she kept on giving them all these free stuff. They had tons of Essie nail polish and Coach make-up bags left. Her mom had wanted to throw them into the garbage, but Stephanie thought it might be a better idea to give them to her friends as G-point prizes. It was obvious that Violetta was gonna win for the fifth time in a row.
“I have a piece of gossip.” stated Stephanie.
“Worth”, asked Anna?
“Three hundred.”
“Well start spilling like an overturned bottle of pop.”
“Ok, so you know Gabby Grayhill from Cambridge?” They all nodded yes. “Well, she’s a bit (cough) major loser and lord knows how this happened, but she apparently got a date with Dan Birks.” When she said ‘Dan Birks’, she looked at Anna to see how she would take this news. As she had expected, Anna became quite still. Dan was her ex-boyfriend and there was a little part of her that still wasn’t over him yet even after being his ex for two months already. Then after a few seconds, she recovered and said “Whatevs, I’m over him times a 100.” But everyone knew she was lying. She was probably saying in her head how such a dorky girl got accepted on a date by Dan Birks? Gabby Grayhill was in the nerd group at school and was usually seen listening to her cheap mp3 alone at break or else reading a Harry Potter book. She was a member of the chess and knitting club. Her wardrobe was all Winners and her shoes looked like they had suffered significantly. She wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and probably couldn’t tell the difference between plaids and stripes. She had pink braces, her proportions and her face were actually ok-looking and she was the tallest girl at Cambridge. She towered at least a head over every other girl at Cambridge. How Dan could’ve fallen for her was an utter mystery. To make Anna feel better, Stephanie said “She’s so tall that she’s gonna have to stoop down like the Hunch-Back of No-Très-Dumb when she kisses Dan.” Everyone lol’ed. This made Anna feel better.
After shopping for three and a half hours, SVSA piled up in Stephanie’s white Lincoln-limo while Stephanie’s driver, Patrick, started driving each of them home. While in the back-seat of the spacious limo, SVSA laughed and talked about all the jokes, funny pieces of gossip, and stories they made of the people they hated. For the first time in what felt like a decade, Stephanie finally relaxed and let her brain avoid the thought of the move to Beverly Hills like it was smelly fish.
CH7
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, KITCHEN
Thursday, July 7th
9:02am
Finally, the day that Stephanie had been dreading arrived. The day started with a bang, literally. One of the clumsy First Rate Movers people had accidentally tripped over a box containing half of the Brookmill clothes while carrying a stack of delicate china plates that were usually reserved for tea. They had been a wedding gift to Natalia and Brent from one of Natalia’s good friends. The dozen or so plates had fallen from the clumsy hands of the First Rate Mover and clattered onto the hardwood floor, smashing into bits. It was so loud that it gave Marshmallow quite a startle and she refused to come out from under Stephanie’s bed until they gave her a doggie bacon treat.
Thus, Natalia’s anger began. She had screamed at the First Rate Mover for over ten minutes and which caused everyone in the household a headache. Natalia’s bad mood continued throughout breakfast, when she dumped maple syrup so hard on her pancakes that before she knew it, half the table was drenched in syrup. She raged silently to herself about how it had stained her new Lululemon sweats, than stomped upstairs to change. Her bad mood seemed as contagious as a yawn. Brent had finally taken a day off work to help pack, than realised that he had stepped on a small piece of glass from what was remained of the shattered plates. Apparently, May hadn`t cleaned the floor well enough. He swore as the cut on the bottom of his foot started leaking blood. For Sabrina, she was cross because she had to pack everything in her room by herself, having neglected it during the week. Shannon was getting moodier and moodier by the minute, because everyone kept yelling at her to stop playing her annoying Miley Cyrus CD. And Stephanie was just mad at the whole world because of the obvious reason. There was no escape now. She was doomed to restart her whole life again. Just thinking about all the time she had spent to make sure that she and her friends were on top and then having to restart it again, made her want to burst into tears. But no way was she going to cry in front of her whole family. And she couldn`t let VSA see her with red puffy eyes on her departing day. She had to look like she was still the ultimate alpha and that today was just another normal Thursday. But she knew that she was going to explode into a fountain when the time came to say her final goodbye. With reluctance, she changed out of her purple silk Victoria Secret PJs, took a 15 minute shower, and started to plan a TT outfit again. She had to look like she was going to a celebrity party, not a Family & Friends Goodbye BBQ. After half an hour of rummaging through her almost-packed closet, she found a perfect hot pink Chloé dress, paired it with black Jimmy Choo heels and a pair of Michael Kors shades. She then spritzed herself with Marc Jacobs Daisy, fluffed up her hair, applied on some mascara, eyeliner, Sassy Sophistication strawberry lip gloss and pinched her cheeks. Oh which reminded her, she had to change her SS lip gloss mailing address. She whipped out her Motorola Razr and sent a message to Sassy Sophie. Done, done and done. She was ready to face the worst.
Natalia had already ordered Dionne McMinster to plan this party a week ago. Dionne was one of the best party planners in the whole of America. She had planned parties for celebrities like Rihanna, Jennifer Aniston and Orlando Bloom. She could be seen in the backyard giving direction to a scrawny guy to move the food table to a different location. Stephanie really didn`t know why her mom was making such a huge deal out of this, since it was only a farewell party. I mean, her dad could grill perfect hamburgers and hot dogs, her mom could make some home-made sundaes and grilled corn and a tossed salad but nooooooo, they just had to have some major party planner do it. Her mom liked to overdo everything. While standing on the deck, Stephanie thought about all the good times she had had as a child in this house. It had been hers for 13 years and 17 days. Apart from her room, Stephanie loved the backyard. It was pretty big, contained a trampoline big enough to fit 10 people, a ten-feet deep circular swimming pool with heated warm water, a mini-golf course, a tennis court, a pitch of sand with volleyball nets, a huge deck, some oak and pine trees, large bushy sculptures shaped into animals, a marble fountain piece, and there was a mini-hill at the end of the yard where all the trees stood. It was Stephanie’s go-to place when she became stressed. She still remembered when she would just lie down on the hill and think about life in general, not even caring that her hair was touching dirty grass. Beyond the hill, there were wild-flowers and mushrooms everywhere. Stephanie had asked her dad to set up a hammock there. On one of the bigger trees stood a big tree-house that was painted canary-yellow. On the outside, there was a white painted wooden sign with the saying ‘SVSA ONLY’ in purple paint. In the tree-house, there was a small round table and 4 chairs. The table was big enough to fit four six year olds. When SVSA had first met at the age of six, they had formed their Clique. Almost every day after school, the four of them would come to the club-house and do everything they used to do: real tea parties with their Bratz and fashionably dressed Barbies, designing clothes for their Barbies, making clay sculptures to decorate the room with, cutting up images of things they loved from magazines and hanging it from the ceiling. Back then, they didn’t have Marshmallow but the Brookmills had a gray cat named Misty. Misty was the four girls club mascot and they used to decorate Misty with wreaths of wildflowers picked from the yard, sometimes even rubbing glitter on her tail. Misty hated it, but the girls all loved it. She laughed quietly to herself. She had still remembered the day when Misty started climbing the long ladder that led up to their clubhouse. Everyone had whipped out their cellphones and taken dozens of pictures. Violetta had even recorded a video and posted it on YouTube.
Between the ages of 11 and 12, Stephanie had ditched the idea of playing in the clubhouse. Instead, she and her friends went shopping, bought tickets to see plays/movies and came to the Brookmill’s home spa to have a relaxing day after cramming hard for mid terms and exams. There were tons of great memories preserved in the Brookmill house.
Suddenly, a door bell rang and in came Sabrina’s friends, Camilla, Bethany, Victoria and Aimee. Sabrina ran to gush-greet them with open arms. A few minutes later, Shannon’s BFFs, Tamara, Morgan, and Lizzie rang the doorbell. It was already 12:30 and VSA had promised to show up before 12:00. Finally the sound of Violetta’s laugh came through the open front window and Stephanie felt alive again. “Heyyyyyy girls!” Stephanie screamed with fake enthusiasm. “Omg, hey!” they screamed back, obviously trying to conceal their sadness with over-bright smiles. For some reason, Stacey had a bulging Marc Jacobs tote swinging over her shoulders and the moment Anna saw Stephanie raising an questioning eyebrow at Stacey, she said “Come on, let’s get some food. I’m starving.” It was obviously a tactic to lure Stephanie’s thoughts away from the tote, because Anna only ate a sundae in the whole afternoon. SVSA all gathered on the hammock after lunch, talking about all the great memories that the foursome shared together. At one point, Stephanie saw a tear escaping from Violetta’s heavily lidded brown eyes and forced herself to look away. If she saw her beta cry, she knew that she herself would start sobbing uncontrollably.
In what felt like 10 minutes, but really was two hours, Natalia’s voice came out through a microphone for everyone to check the house again in case the Brookmills had left any possessions behind. Stephanie ran up to her room alone, not to check if she had left anything behind, because she had already quadruple-checked, but to have one last look of her fabulous bedroom. Her eyes took in everything, from the gold decorations to her beloved disco-ball. She thought about all the times she had let out her happiness, her sadness, her anger, her despair and her stress in this room. After five minutes, Shannon called Stephanie down for the final goodbyes. Her friends were trying to (but not succeeding) to hold back their tears. They all ran to her with open arms and the four girls collided in a forceful hug, just like the hug they had had on the day of the pool party. VSA were all crying, and it was really hard for Stephanie not to cry. It was about as hard as staying on a bucking bronco with no hand support. But like the true alpha she was, Stephanie didn’t show one single tear. “Love you girls,” said Stephanie. “You’re all going to be fabulous in the future.” Stephanie knew that her girls had enough skill to survive without her. With their looks, personality, confidence and fabulousness, they’d be sure to make new friends. “Love you Stephanie.” They all said at slightly different times. Stacey was now actually sobbing. They did take direction well and had worn waterproof mascara. By the time the four girls pulled away, Stephanie’s eyes looked like mini-pools of water. Stacey then reached into her Marc Jacobs tote, and produced a magenta and gold scrapbook, an identical photo album, and a limited edition crocodile Prada clutch. ”We’re so sorry that we were late but the Prada clutch arrived at noon and we had to add some finishing touches to the scrapbook/photo album.” Stephanie gasp-sniffled. She knew how hard it must’ve been for her girls to do this for her, especially to get the limited Prada clutch. She pretended to wipe a loose strand of hair away, but really wiping her tears out of her eyes. Receiving it with wet tear-stained hands, Stephanie gushed “I love it.” Then she kissed each and every one of her girls on the cheek goodbye. She could hear her mom already honking the horn of their Mercedes-Benz. She had to hurry. “Love you bitches!” Their alpha blew air-kisses to her three betas, then rushed out the door, not daring to look back for fear she’d explode into waterworks. When she got in the backseat of the family’s red Mercedes-Benz, she erupted into sobs. As they were starting to reach the outskirts of Chicago, she stole one last glance through her tear-filled eyes at the glamorous life she was leaving behind for good.
CH8
BEVERLY HILLS, HENDERSON RD.
Friday July 8th
9:38pm
After spending a night at a hotel in who knew where, the Brookmills finally arrived at their new home.
Upon first glance of their new estate, Stephanie did feel a bit better knowing that her new home was going to be beside the beach and she was living in a neighbourhood where movie stars lived. She could spot Paris Hilton or somebody and they could become new BFFs…. Stephanie refused to finish that sentence because just thinking about those three letters made her want to tear up again. When they got through the wrought iron gates that separated their house from the rest of the world, Stephanie could see that her mom wasn’t lying. This estate was 10 times bigger than the old estate. It was white with a black roof and there were black shutters on the outside of all 26 windows. There was a huge fountain in their driveway and they had four garages. On the front lawn, there were large oak trees and bushes shaped into animals like the ones back in Chicago. This made Stephanie feel like she was still attached to their old house in some way. Once Brent had stopped their Mercedes-Benz, everyone got out and ran toward the magnificent glass doors.
“How many rooms does it have?”asked Shannon.
“About sixteen, dear” replied Natalia
“Omg , that means I can have a guest-room for when my new BFFs come!” she exclaimed.
New BFFs? Stephanie thought. How could Shannon be so convinced that she was gonna make new friends so soon? And how could she not even look sad upon mentioning the word BFF. It didn’t even seem like she missed Tamara, Morgan and Lizzie. Well then again, Shannon was an optimistic person. Stephanie was also, but she failed to see the bright side of this disastrous situation. How could their parents think that they could be easily fooled into thinking that the move was great just by buying some super expensive and gorgeous house? Sabrina had the same look of disgust on her face, like she had just drank stale milk. This was again one of the rare occasions when she and her sister had agreed.
“Dad hurry up! I want to get in already!” Shannon whined.
“Just looking for the keys”, mumbled Brent in return.
Shannon sighed out her impatience. After a couple more minutes of rummaging, Brent produced the key to Stephanie’s nightmare. When Brent unlocked the door, Shannon, Stephanie and Sabrina gasped accordingly. Shannon ran into the wide front hall with her dirty blond wavy hair leaving the scent of Herbal Essences shampoo behind. The walls were white, with paintings of fruit bowls and 20th century women dressed in puffed sleeved dresses, calmly sipping red wine. The frames of the paintings were all adorned in gold spray-painted leaves. On the right of the front entrance doors stood a huge spiral staircase made of marble. On the left of the front hall was the living room. It was naked right now but with some couches, a flat-screen, some flowers and a glass coffee-table, it’d look so chic. “What are you doing?” demanded Sabrina in her usual cold tone reserved especially for Stephanie. She was talking about Stephanie’s wide open tangerine-glossed mouth. “It’s called being impressed.” retorted Stephanie. She was about to say a rude remark on how Sabrina had to wax immediately because her legs were showing some hair but decided better of it. Immediately after she had said that she was impressed, she looked behind her to make sure that her parents hadn’t heard. She still wasn’t ready to give them the satisfaction that they wanted to see. Stephanie ran upstairs to claim the biggest room so she and Sabrina wouldn’t have to fight over it. All the rooms were fairly big with nothing in them. Stephanie decided to choose the far right room, which had a perfect view of the backyard. When she looked down into the garden, she saw a couple of small baby ducks in a pond on the edge of the backyard. There was a huge dirty-covered stretch of grass in the middle of the backyard where the previous owners had obviously put up a blow-up pool. This was so unlike her old home. It would definitely take a long time to get used to. To mark her territory, she spritzed the door with Marc Jacobs Daisy. Now everyone would know that that room was hers. “Stephanieeeeeeeeeee!” screeched her mom. “Whattttttt?” Stephanie screamed back. “Come down here, it’s almost ten and we still have to unpack our beds and PJs.” Stephanie had completely forgotten about that. She quickly ran downstairs to find the front hall’s charm gone, replaced by the un-charming smell of cardboard. When she entered the front hall, the sadness in Stephanie became stronger as she looked around and saw that nothing reminded her of home in Chicago. “What took you?” asked Sabrina. “None of your BeesWAX!” She enunciated the wax part because it was so not alpha to show hairy legs in public. It was a “friendly” hint that Stephanie had given to her sister, knowing that Sabrina was an alpha. She should be thanking me on bended knee, thought Stephanie. With brains like hers, it’ll take her days to notice. And after all, that could totally ruin her social status. Sabrina might be pretty and charming in a way, but she lacked majorly in self presentation, Stephanie thought while unpacking a box marked STEPHANIE CLOTHES. Immediately, the smell of Marc Jacobs Daisy emanated through the hall when the cardboard flaps of the box opened. Well at least something reminded her of what used to be.
CH9
THE BROOKMILL ESATE, 1282 HENDERSON RD.
Saturday, July 9th
10:20am
If someone had been looking down Henderson Road today at 10:20am in the morning, they would’ve thought that it was a peaceful and calm street with birds chirping on the trees and a slight breeze blowing through the air. But if that someone had looked through the window facing the backyard of number 1282, they would’ve thought otherwise.
Stephanie was lying in the fetal position on her king-sized bed, feeling that someone had buried her alive. The only other time she had felt like this was when her BF had dumped her a few months ago. But come on! She’d much rather lose her BF than her BFFs. If her BFFs left her, her BF couldn’t ever in a million years replace them. But if her BF dumped her, VSA could always make her feel 120 percent again by comforting and treating her. And that’s what they had done. Reluctantly, Stephanie let another tear fall from her eyes and add to the mini pools that were just beside her neck. She didn’t even care if there was water on her silk bed. Puh-lease! That was the furthest thing from her mind. She had wayyyyyyy more pressing matters than stained silk. The only time she’ll ever see VSA’s faces again is if she used a web-cam or if she visited them during school holidays. Her eyes were burning and she had refused to eat the 10:00pm dinner of ordered pizza. She’d probably have barfed it all out. Her parents just didn’t understand how much her friends needed her and she needed them. Leaving Chicago had been like leaving her heart behind. How could she survive without it? She felt dehydrated and famished (having had no lunch or dinner). She felt like somebody had crushed her alpha card into pieces with eight inch high Fergie pumps. She was no longer alpha of her Clique. That thought alone made her want to cry and cry until she had no more tears left in her. She had no friends to comfort her and she didn’t even have a go-to place anymore. The only someone she could let out her feelings to was Marshmallow, who was still asleep. Marshmallow was her only hope. She couldn’t tell Sabrina, she’d laugh in her face. Shannon wouldn’t make her feel any better with her talk of new BFFs and her parents weren’t an option either. She was going to erupt if she didn’t tell someone this very minute. She desperately scooped up Marshmallow and lifted her onto the bed. “Marsh, my world is collapsing. I feel so alone and friendless. I can’t see my friends anymore and there’s no one to confide in but you.” Her dog let out a bark, which Stephanie took to be a sign that she was listening to every word. “Nothing’s familiar here, Marsh. Shannon’s already talking about new BFFs. How can that be? I can’t even stand it when people utter those three letters. I still have to keep up my alpha status though but I don’t think I’ll be able to do that what with not being around VSA. They were my betas. And now I feel like I left my heart behind in Chicago. What’s Cambridge gonna do without me? I practically ran the school. It’s gonna socially fall apart Marsh. Mom and Dad are just being pure evil and so is Sabrina but then again she was just born that way. Lord knows how she became an alpha……..”
After talking to her dog for more than 20 minutes, Stephanie did feel a whole lot better. She didn’t feel like a volcano that was about to erupt insecurities anymore. She just desperately needed food and liquids. To quell the noise that her stomach was issuing, Stephanie ran down to the kitchen and looked around for her mom. She was usually up and around at 7:00am making coffee and toast but in her place stood a tall 40 something year old woman who was humming to herself while frying bacon. “Um who are you?” Stephanie asked not even caring that she sounded rude. She had to take her emotions out on someone that wasn’t her parents or they would’ve started grounding her. And that was so not an option. “Oh, hello, you must be Miss Stephanie. Hi my name is Cora and I’m your new house-keeper.” She extended her hand out to shake Stephanie’s. She reluctantly shook it and quickly let go. “Do you like it here in Beverly Hills?” she asked. “Yeah I love it.” Stephanie replied in faux-sweetness. “Well that’s great!” Cora replied. “Not” Stephanie coughed. “Pardon?” asked Cora. “Oh it’s nothing. Just a little cough.” Stephanie smiled sweetly. “That’s good, well what would you like for breakfast?”
“Well, if you don’t mind, I’ll take some chocolate-chip pancakes with hash browns and freshly squeezed orange juice.”
“Ready in ten.” replied Cora.
How had her mom failed to introduce her to their new house-keeper? God, her mom never waited until the last minute to introduce her to someone. What was happening? It was like stepping into a mirror where everything was reversed. While waiting for breakfast to be ready, Stephanie went out onto the deck to get a better view of the beach. Oh, how she’d love to be there right now, sun-tanning and just letting the gentle lapping waves wash off all her depression and insecurities. She looked around her and finally had to accept that she was in a completely different world away from Chicago. The only resemblance was the neighbourhood. It looked exactly like the one they had lived in in Chicago, with big hot tubs and tennis courts in the backyards and long circular driveways with marble fountains. Hopefully, she’d find some new BFFs worthy of being her beta. They had to at least be intelligent, pretty, humorous and loyal. She was bound to find some friends or acquaintances here, where every girl’s parents were famous directors or actors or big businessmen or designers.
“Breakfast, Miss Stephanie!” Cora practically sang. Looking at Cora’s over-bright happiness that was coming from her toothy smile, Stephanie wanted to knock her to the ground. She couldn’t stand when people were being overly cheerful when she was in deep depression. “Thanks,” Stephanie said rather grudgingly. “My pleasure, dear.” Replied Cora
While chewing on the delicious chocolate-chip pancakes Stephanie couldn’t help but think that Cora was an awesome cook. The chocolates just melted into her mouth like a Listerine breath strip. “Mmmmmm, thanks!” Stephanie said to a still-smiling Cora ten minutes later. “Huh?” replied the shocked maid. “Oh, you’re welcome.” For the first time in a couple days, Stephanie had finally said something honest and smiled without the faux-ness.
After breakfast, Stephanie planned to go to the beach. She tried IMing her friends but none of them were on. Then she texted them leaving a message that said “HELPPPPPPPPP!” She then went to inspect her new washroom. It wasn’t as good as the old one but it had to do. It had white sheepskin rugs that were laid on the floor at intervals. The shower looked like the old one except it wasn’t gold. The marble hot-tub was awesome and looked like real crystal. There was a large wood cabinet beside the shower that contained dozens of freshly washed towels and shower caps and sample shampoo like the ones you’d see in hotels. It was chic but Stephanie made a mental note to ask her mom if she could re-paint her washroom/bedroom.
“Mom, where are all my clothes?”
“In your bedroom.” Stephanie looked behind her and saw that several huge cardboard boxes were piled right beside her new walk-in closet. Stephanie walked toward the boxes and started the gruelling work of unpacking all her clothes and purses. After ten minutes of trying to rip at the thick packing tape with her perfectly mani’d nails, she gave it up as a bad job and defeat-sighed. Cora! She thought. How could she have been so stupid?? Why risk ruining her perfect nails when there was someone getting paid to do this tedious work? “Cora! C’mere!” Stephanie screamed. “Comingggggg!” Cora trilled in her annoying sing-songy voice. “I need you to help me unpack my clothes. Make sure not to get stains on the light-wash ones,” Stephanie said, glancing at Cora’s dirty fingers. “Oh, and don’t fold any of them ‘cause no one looks good in wrinkles. Kay thanks!”
“Uh miss Steph, are you sure these are all yours? Surely no one has this much clothes?” Cora said upon glancing at the 20 or so 4 feet high cardboard boxes.
“I’m positively sure these are all mine. If you’re not up for it I can certainly inform my mom on a lower pay check this month.”
“Oh nothing like that Miss Steph. I’d be willing to.” For once Cora’s voice didn’t sound so bright and rainbow-y.
“Then we’re good.” Stephanie smirked as she went to the washroom to brush her teeth. Having unpacked all her washroom necessities last night, she didn’t have to waste more time ruining her French manicured nails trying to hack at un-rippable tape. After taking a 20 minute shower, she emerged smelling like a mix of watermelon, passion fruit, tuberose, caramel apple and mandarins thanks to her Juicy Couture shampoo. Brushing her teeth with her Crest toothpaste made the chocolaty smell of breakfast’s pancakes go away. Unlike other people she didn’t need Crest Whitestrips. Her teeth were already well-kempt for. After applying on her coconut-scented body butter, cleanser, toner, scrub, foundation and perfecta eye cream, and her new delivery of raspberry sorbet Sassy Sophistication gloss, she felt better than ever. Nothing like a good shower and skin-care time like Natalia always said. That was something that Stephanie actually agreed with her mom on. The new and fresh Beverly Hills alpha was ready to show the world what she was really made out of. She was not someone who cried over lost BFFs and was starting to lose her alpha power because of one stupid move. Even though she was.
CH10
STEPHANIE’S NEW BEDROOM
Saturday, July 9th
11:52am
“There. Done, done and done.” Stephanie announced as she proudly emerged from the inside of her walk-in closet. She sounded as though she had just saved a baby from the hungry teeth of a starving tiger. But really she had picked out a selection of swimsuits for her 1st impression to recruit new betas. Being an alpha and admitting that she currently had no betas could seriously damage her status. And who wanted that happening to them? It didn’t even matter that she had just arrived in Beverly Hills less than 24 hours ago. A real alpha never gives excuses. Even at the most crucial times. And all Stephanie had left was her striking beauty and her alpha power. If she lost those, she’d have to spend the rest of her life hanging out with girls like Gabby Grayhill. Not an option at all. She’d sooner get a mushroom cut then let that happen. She laid down the 15 options of bikinis on her bed and pondered as to which one she should debut. It was a hard decision since they were all ah-mazing. Finally, she settled on the final two options: a white BCBG ruffle trim bikini or an all-black bikini with a gold belt attached around the bottoms. Stephanie finally came up with the solution to do a coin-toss. “Heads, go with BCBG. Tails go with black.” Stephanie said to herself. She flicked a random penny with her thumb, it went half a meter in the air and a second later, it landed on her Louis bedspread with an almost inaudible thud. Heads. “Ok, then BCBG it is.” She said as she started to change out of her Juicy Couture sleepwear. Everyone had always said that she looked good in either black or white. I know it reminds some people of a jailhouse but to me they’re flattering colors, Stephanie thought. She was about to ask VSA to rate her choice of swimwear but then remembered that they were miles away, unable to hear her. Trying not to cry at this thought, Stephanie spritzed a cloud of MJ Daisy and walked through it. At least it was familiar.
“Mom, I’m going to the beach!” Stephanie screamed.
“Fine but be back before dinner.” Natalia replied.
“Fine, whatevs” Stephanie murmured to herself. She still wasn’t in the mood to forgive her mom yet. She had made Stephanie restart her whole life again. And for what? Moving to a nicer house? Puh-lease! Grabbing her white towel, her ipod touch, a recent issue of Seventeen Magazine, sunscreen, a pair of white and gold BCBG flip-flops, a beach umbrella,some spare cash and some Versace sunglasses and putting all of them in her yellow beach tote, Stephanie walked through her backyard, opened the white fence, and emerged into a world of sunshine, laughter, happiness and relaxation. None of which she recently had. This was gonna be as easy as applying on lip gloss, Stephanie thought, already loving that half the hotties were staring at her like she was Angelina Jolie randomly appearing at the beach. One even made a “call me” gesture. She smile-winked back. Finally, a boost of confidence had surged through her body like a much-needed dash of water on a very hot day. She laid down her tote right in the heart of the beach. It was a 35 degrees celsius day and super warm. Perfect time for a tan. Stephanie thought. Forget the tanning. She had to find the perfect betas. They had to be ten times better than her old besties. She put on her sunglasses and grabbed her Seventeen magazine. Pretending to read a how-to do up your hair page, Stephanie looked around her behind her sunglasses so people wouldn’t think she was a creepy stalker. By the looks of it, there were tons of pretty girls (mostly blondes) that were dressed in colourful bikinis and lying on towels sun-tanning. There was only one problem. It wasn’t that Stephanie thought that the pretty blondes needed more of an edge, even though they did. It was that every group of girls she laid her eyes upon, that group already had an alpha. This is harder than it looks, Stephanie thought. All of a sudden, one of the PBs looked her way. “Love your bikini,” she called. “Thanks!” Stephanie replied, being honest. There hadn’t been many people complimenting her on her trendy style lately, except her dad, and he didn’t count. The PB’s alpha glared at her, silently reprimanding her not to speak her admiration. She turned her head back into her group’s conversation. Well at least I still have one of the hotties staring at me, she thought. He had dirty blond wavy hair with piercing blue eyes. Adorable. And by the looks of it, he was single. Score! She could ‘accidentally’ trip and fall into his tanned legs. Then again……. Wait a sec. Stephanie finally spotted a girl about her age trying to build a sand castle by herself. She wasn’t facing towards Stephanie but from the looks of it, she had dark brown scraggly hair tied up into two ultra-high ponytails, one on each side of her face. She was wearing a dark purple one piece bathing suit, probably garage sale bought. And she had a zitless back. Stephanie couldn’t get a good look at her face but with a little bit of time, Stephanie could make her look at least nine-worthy. That’s what alphas do. Done, done and done. She got up to introduce herself to Ultra-High Ponytails. She applied on a fresh coat of Sassy Sophistication Raspberry Sorbet lip gloss and walked elegantly toward Ultra-High Ponytails, who was about six meters away. Everyone was staring. Even the PBs. And like a true alpha, she made the attention stay on her. It was like the sun was dutifully shining on her, creating a magnificent bright glow around her body. Three more meters. Quick Stephanie, think of an alpha-worthy approach. She had to make this girl believe that she was her alpha. Even if she didn’t need one. She had to. Her entire social life depended on it. She could say something like “Heyyyyyyyy girl, ‘sup? I have such juicy gossip. You have to hear this, asap.” There that was a good enough intro. Assuming that the girl wasn’t completely stupid and did know how to ‘play along’. Please god, please! She prayed. This scene had to go perfectly. The girl had to act like a total bestie who hadn’t seen her alpha in a long time. One meter. The girl still wasn’t turning around and Stephanie could still feel the familiar heat of all eyes on her. That feeling alone charged her with the confidence that she could pursue this and make it work. Five inches. Four. Three.n Stephanie triggered on her play-along-or-I’ll-make-your-life-miserable look. Two. One. “Heyyyyyyyy girl ‘sup? I have such juicy gossip. You have to hear this asap.” The girl turned around. Finally. Oh. Ma. Guh. Od. The girl looked like a total before picture in the show Look a Like. Stephanie had imagined her to have alarming bright green eyes with naturally thick and long lashes. Rosy cheeks, plump lips and a beauty mark to the right of her nose should’ve completed the look. But instead, she was staring at a girl with dull mud-colored eyes, very few lashes, a small bump on her nose, biggish ears and lips that looked as thin as ribbon. Total disaster. Well, that teaches you to not get your hopes up high, Stephanie. Better expect low and be surprised at the end then get your hopes up, and be disappointed. How could she have made such a huge mistake? This could downgrade her to a loser for life. No wonder no one hung out with this girl. She was unattractive in__
“Ahmahgad, you do? Finally, no one has told me any juicy gossip in soooooo long, I almost thought people forgot about me. Tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell meeeeeee!” Ultra High Ponytails practically screamed. Well, at least she understood her play-along-or-I’ll-make-your-life-miserable look Stephanie thought, UHP’s semi-scream slapping her back to reality. She wasn’t completely stupid. She must be insanely lonely, Stephanie thought. Poor girl. “ Tell ya later. Oh and by the way, I’m Stephanie. Stephanie Brookmill.”
“I’m Mira. Mira Shelly.” Mira replied, her smile so big that it looked like it was attached to the bottoms of her ears. Which basically confirmed that she had zero friends. “So what’s up?” Stephanie asked. “Not much. I’m so bored these days. My friend’s away this summer. She went to Washington to stay with relatives and well, there are a few girls on my block who go to L.A. Prep but they’re all serious female dogs. And by female dogs, I mean if you turned up to school with a zit, they’ll take a picture of you with their super expensive cell phones and put it in the school’s yearbook.” Stephanie tried not to laugh at the last part because that’s exactly what VSA and herself would’ve done. Stephanie desperately didn’t want anyone to see her hanging out with this loser. But then again, she was extremely friendless at the moment and she wasn’t in the state to be ditching the only person that was talking to her. Stephanie decided to put Mira to the test by taking her shopping. She wanted to know which designer Mira liked to wear, and what she knew about the fashion world. If she had great style, Stephanie could take her on, give her an extreme makeover and train her on how to be the perfect beta. Done, done and done. “Kay, here’s the deal. Do you want to go shopping today at Melrose Avenue with me?” Stephanie asked.
“Do I look like stupid?” Mira responded. Stephanie tried not to laugh at this part. “Of course I’d love to come. No one’s asked me out shopping in so long.”
“So, when can you pick me up?” Mira asked.
“What? I was gonna meet you there wasn’t I?” Stephanie responded. Suddenly everybody just stopped looking her way as though Stephanie were hanging out with a three-legged rabid dog. She had to get her audience back. But how? “Ok, Mira play along or I’ll smear ketchup on all your clothes”, Stephanie said. “Ohmaguh-od that is too funny Mira. Just hilarious.” Everyone on the beach turned to sear their gazes at Stephanie’s bikini-clad back. Perfect. She had her audience back. “So anyways, about that gossip; you remember Chad? At the high school party?” Stephanie wink-inquired.
“Um no what high school party are you talking about?? I’m so confused.” Responded Mira with an utterly blank expression on her oily face.
At that moment Stephanie could just hear her world crashing and falling apart, like it was a snow globe and someone had whipped it at a hard brick wall. First the move, then losing her BFFs, dealing with the Russia-size pressure of finding new betas, having her alpha card slowly crack like it was hardened clay in desperate need of a trickle of water. What next? Having Marshmallow kidnapped? Calling VSA and having them tell her they’d forgotten about her? Trade her wardrobe for an all Sears one? And what__
“Yo blonde babe, nice girlfriend you have there”, some guy from the distance called. At that moment, Stephanie wanted to just burst into tears, not caring if the pretty blondes, their alphas, the hawtties and even Mira thought that she was a cry baby beta. She quickly thanked god that her sunglasses were covering her eyes so her tears wouldn’t leak down her face like mini river tracks. “Mira, meet me at my house tomorrow at eleven a.m.,” Stephanie said, as she pointed to her estate beyond the white fence.
“That’s your house?” Mira cried, as if she had never seen a house that big before.
“Yeah, why?”
“Well, it’s just so…………….big!” Mira said in a sad monotone, probably feeling jealous. Stephanie was glad that Mira envied her in some small way but she had to flee like a deer being chased by a cheetah before her tears over-spilled from her eyes. Stay strong, Stephanie. You’re still the ultimate alpha, she kept on repeating to herself as she said farewell to Mira. Walking back to the backyard entrance of her house, she could spot from the corner of her teary eyes that the cute guy with piercing ocean-like eyes was still subtly staring at her, as if he wanted to ask her out. She smiled her million dollar toothy white smile and wiggled her fingers goodbye. He responded with an adorable salute, then turned back to his surf buddies, probably to ask their opinion of her.
Once Stephanie entered her estate’s grand living room, the peach and apricot smell of her sister’s familiar perfume claimed her nostrils, which meant that she was in close range to Sabrina. She hurried up the spiralling mahogany stairs so as to avoid another snappy comment coming from Sabrina’s Lancôme’s juicy tubes berry coated lips. Mixing with the smell of peaches, apricots and berries was the scent of Sabrina’s grapefruit shaving cream. That could only mean one thing…… Hurrying back down the stairs, she sneakily snuck a peak at Sabrina making herself a sundae. There wasn’t a trace of hair on her shiny legs anymore. So Sabrina wasn’t utterly clueless and did understand how to ‘take a hint’, Stephanie thought. Well at least there was one small improvement coming from this disastrous day.
CH11
STEPHANIE’S NEW BEDROOM
Sunday, July 10th
10:49am
“Are you serious?!” Stephanie cried as she whipped her cell phone onto the silver and gold beanbags surrounding her flat-screen. It blended perfectly. She had been frantically checking her messages and every time she did, the inbox always read “0 messages”. It felt more painful than someone trying to shove a stiletto down your throat. The Motorola Razr landed with a soft thud-hiss that could be heard even with the thundering roar of water coming out of the nozzles from Sabrina’s shower in the room next door. Stephanie was prompt and alert when it came to even the slightest sounds these days. For the past 24 hours and a half, she had been waiting for the familiar ding that would signify that VSA had texted or IMed her. But the only sound she’d heard lately was the sigh of depression, the trickle of her tears, and the churning of her under-nourished stomach because she was officially on a diet of salty tears, water and the sucking in of air. The last time she had eaten anything decent was Cora’s well-prepared chocolate pancakes and that had been 24 hours ago, unless you counted eating a bowl of Cheerios with milk for a midnight snack. If she continued like this, she’d be skinnier than a piece of pepperoni in a couple of days. But she didn’t care. How could she, when her world was spinning out of control and about to crash? She wouldn’t be surprised if a meteor was speeding along and about to ram into her world and destroy it. Glancing into her vanity mirror to see if her eye’s redness was starting to fade, she saw a note scribbled hastily onto a piece of orange construction paper taped into the center of the mirror. It said: “M & S shopping spree at 11am 2morrow.” Shoot. She had written it down the night before but she had completely forgotten about it. Ripping up the construction paper, she balled it up and threw it in her black and white checkered trash can. It popped out between the piled up wet tissues filled with her recent crying session of tears. Taking a peek at her new gold and silver polka-dotted digital clock, it read 10:51 AM. “Are you serious?!” Stephanie screamed for the 2nd time in two minutes. She wanted to chuck the clock/radio into her trash can but she was in a race against time. She never forgot about a shopping spree, at least when she was still BFFs with VSA. With Mira, it was a completely different thing, Stephanie thought as she quickly brushed her teeth, put on her face/body cream, curled her eyelashes, applied on some mascara, smoky gray eye shadow and eyeliner so it would distract passer-bys from her red vampire-like eyes. Doing her daily usual routine of brushing her thick blond curls, glossing her lips (new triple berry SS) and of course, spritzing herself with MJ Daisy. 10:55. Personal record! , Stephanie thought marvelling at the fact that she had done all that in just 4 minutes. Choosing the perfect outfit was always time-consuming. She wanted the rich and fabulous people of Hollywood to think of her as a stunning alpha, not an insignificant beta. Riffling through her neatly arranged ‘summer’ section of her closet, she pulled out a black, hot pink and white plaid Betsey Johnson mini-dress and picking out her black toe pumps that her mom had gotten for her at a cute boutique in Brazil, she quickly re-checked her hair to see if it had messed up or not. Nope, it was the same beautiful blond curly hair that it had been just 1 minute ago. 10:57. Re-glossing another time, she playfully messed up her hair to give it that chic effortless look that people always complimented her on. Choosing to bring her Betsey Johnson black diamond patterned purse and stuffing it with triple berry Sassy Sophistication gloss, mascara, her heart-shaped coral coloured Marc Jacobs compact, her Gucci wallet, her ipod touch, her Motorla Razr (retrieved from the beanbags) and a copy of InStyle magazine with Drew Barrymore on the cover.
Diiiiiiiiiiiing-Dooooooooooooooooooong.
She had been waiting for that ding sound since the second she had left Chicago but it had never come, until now. And it wasn’t for the right reason either.
CH12
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, CROUCHING BEHIND THE BANISTER
Sunday July 10th
11:03 am
Crouching behind her swirling staircase’s banister, straining to hear every syllable of Mira’s mom’s and Natalia’s conversation was not the best position to be in, thought Stephanie, but compared to everything that had happened during the past couple of days, this was nothing. Mira and her mom, whose name apparently was Shona, were happily chatting away with Natalia, as though they had been best friends for years.
“I’m glad that Stephanie has started bonding with my Mira,” Shona babbled. “Her best friend Tara is gone for the whole summer, and Mira’s been real lonely, what with her sister being gone to do college.”
“Oh, Stephanie’s new to Beverly Hills, so I’m sure Mira would be a great first friend. Speaking of Stephanie, where is that girl?” Natalia asked randomly out of the blue.
“Oh hey Mira!!” Stephanie squealed, before her mom would start embarrassingly calling her name and having it echo around the house.
“Hiya chica!” Mira responded. Oh-muh-guh-od. This was how she greeted someone? Total turn-off. Stephanie gave her the familiar once-over, spotting a green spaghetti strap shirt that read ‘I re-cycle my shopping bags………. and my boys’ in swirly black and pink print. A gray denim skirt that reached her mid-thigh and blue flip-flops with sequins sewn onto the sides completed the fashion faux-pas. Come on! They were hitting Melrose of all places! This is the place to be spotted. Famous movie stars shopped there. You just couldn’t wear a frayed looking top with a cheesy cheddar popcorn like saying on it, a ripped denim skirt and hand me down beach foot-wear. Ughhhhh. What’s with LOLs (Losers of Life) and bad style? It’s like it’s natural for them or something. Like how you can’t get blush without the brush, or how you can’t get McDonalds fries without the grease. It just has to come together.
“So, I hear that my Mira will be going shopping with your Stephanie. Where to, might I ask?” Shona said.
“At Melrose,” Stephanie replied back with a trace of a sadness, because she’d always wanted to go shopping with VSA at Melrose, but that was then, this is now………
“My mom gave me 30 bucks and I have another extra 20 stored away in my purse.” Mira happily told everyone, as if 50 bucks was something to celebrate. Puh-lease! Fifty dollars couldn’t even buy you a decent hair-clip at Melrose. The poor girl obviously hadn’t ever been there before.
“Kay, but we take our limo,” Stephanie insisted. Presentation was ev-uh-rything.
“Actually, Stephanie, I thought maybe I could drive you and Mira there in our car,” Shona said. Glancing out of the window right beside the door, Stephanie spotted a silver Toyota Camry that was in desperate need of a carwash. Her eyes widened in horror. Definite no-no. “Um, Mira did I mention that our limo has a mini-fridge, a 25-inch flat-screen, vibrating seats and it’s very spacious too.” At the mention of all the luxuries, Mira’s eyes widened so that they looked about as round as bottle-caps.
“Oh, mommy mommy, pleeeeeeeease let me ride in their limo!! Please!” Mira pleaded, while failing miserably with her puppy-dog expression. It looked like she was about to barf, while covering it with a pout and widening her eyes.
“Ok, fine but behave and be respectful. That’s the most important thing.” Shona told Mira rather sternly.
“Yip, yip, Yippeee!!” Mira semi-screamed and squealed.
“Fine, since that’s settled, Stephanie I’d like you to meet our new chauffeur, Mason. Just call him once you’re done at Melrose and he’ll do his best to arrive ASAP,” Natalia explained in a hurry, as if she were somehow late to an important meeting.
“Well, bye mom!” Mira squealed, the news about the limo luxuries still having her all pumped up. Wow, Stephanie thought, how can this Mira girl afford to live in Beverly Hills and attend L. A. Prep? She must be either on a scholarship, or her mom is secretly a major Hollywood star and just wanted to live a normal life.
“Ahmahgod!! I love your limo!” Mira screamed with humongous envy leaking from her voice. Staring at the Brookmill family’s white Lincoln limo stretch, it seemed like she had just walked into her own surprise birthday party. Judging by her status, she probably didn’t have thatmany friends to throw her one.
“I feel like a princess right now!” Mira giggled. Stephanie tried picturing Mira as Hollywood royalty but it just didn’t mix, like plaids and polka dots or corn syrup and water. The girl was probably more clueless than Sabrina when it came to self-presentation. At least Sabrina knew that she had to wear decent clothing when going to Melrose.
Tuning to Chum FM on the radio, Mira sang along with Miley Cyrus during the song Party in the USA. It was even worse than having to sit beside a cow and smell it fart every 5 seconds. Ok, well possibly not as worse as that, but it was still hard to endure without it a snappy comment coming from her well-glossed lips.
Finally, after about a 20 minute drive, the Lincoln stretch finally pulled into Melrose. “Wait, Stephanie, what time is it?” Mira asked. “Cause I have to be home by 2:00 pm sharp or else my mom will kill me.”
Time for you to get a watch. Time for you to finally start acting like a worthy beta. Time for you to get a fashion sense of style. Time for you to shop and get new clothes that aren’t cheap and tacky. Oh, and one last thing……………… show-time.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:07 am
CH13
MELROSE AVE., L.A.
Sunday July 10th
11:41 am
“Ah. Mah.Guh.Awd.” Mira said, sounding like a foreign exchange student trying to learn English. This is gonna be a long spree, Stephanie thought. Upon getting out of the limo, Mira had done nothing except gasp, point, widen her eyes, raise her eyebrows, and flail her arms like some poor girl trying to hail a cab in a storm. Oh and say the same four annoying syllables. Ah. Mah. Guh. Awd. The girl needed a dictionary more than she needed a sense of style. To break the building silence of tension between them, Stephanie randomly asked “ So, um, what store do you wanna go to first?”
“Is there an Old Navy here? Or a Claire’s?” Mira asked.
Stephanie quickly glanced around at the vicinity to see if anyone had heard Mira asking that. But no one even bothered to look in their direction. There was a married couple eating poutine, a mom struggling to calm her baby girl in a carriage and a couple of 10 year olds giddily laughing while listening to their ipod nanos. That would be ever so embarrassing if someone had heard her.
Instead, she quickly headed into Fred Segal to buy a nice pair of sunglasses that she saw on display. Mira might as well be useful coming on this spree, Stephanie thought. She could use Mira to tell her a little about L.A. Prep and its social standing, students, and standards. It probably wasn’t as good as Cambridge Prep, the best school that you could ever attend. Before attending Cambridge, Stephanie had just been another one of those rich pretty blond mainstreamers with a knack for fashion. But applying to Cambridge had transformed her into a completely different person. There, she learned that being a follower immediately meant bottom of the social ladder. There, the competition was as high as the CN Tower. If you got a C on a unit test, it’d spread like wildfire. Eventually, even though you may be a beautiful popular girl, people would start avoiding you just because of that one little letter of a C. At Cambridge, getting As on tests meant Alpha. Bs stood for Beta. Cs stood for Common People and Ds……………….. well, if you got a D, that would mean a couple of detentions. And detention would mean……………….. de-grading your social status. It seemed harsh………………but that was the expectations. Stand out or walk out.
“So, tell me a little about life at L.A. Prep” said Stephanie.
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it. Let me sum it up in one word: popularity.” Mira said huffily. “If you ain’t popular in anything, you might as well drop out or life at L.A. Prep will seem like a living hell. Trust me I’ve had way too much experience on this. Before becoming a star ballet dancer and head of the art club and having my artwork displayed in every room, I was a nobody. I had to completely change my life from a book worm and studious girl to an artistical dancer. It wasn’t easy. Firstly, I applied to A Twirl of Paradise dance studio and then I had to spend all my savings to go to professionally taught art workshops. And then after that__”
“Kay Mira you sound like a troubled desperate person ranting about your life on Oprah. I don’t need to hear every detail of your semi social uprising. Just tell me about L.A. Prep” Stephanie urgently let out, not caring that she sounded opposite of alpha.
“Well, you have really strict teachers that give out tons of assignments every day. But no one really bothers finishing their homework on time. They don’t even listen during class. Instead, they record everything the teachers say and text each other instead. And there’s at least 2 major parties that you have to attend every month. It’s kinda unfair to us ‘common people’ because we never get invited and then the whole school has a new batch of inside jokes that we CP won’t even get. There’s people who were super popular at their old school, but once they come to L.A. Prep, they socially fall apart because they don’t know what to expect.”
And then, at that very second, it hit Stephanie like a speeding Bentley. What if she had a major social downfall and no one liked her except Mira? What if she became one of those ‘common people’ and had to hang out with girls who loved to knit and read thick novels? Then what? She’d have to transfer continents! Without buying the sunglasses, she quickly sprinted out of the store and dragged Mira right along with her. This was no time to shop!! She had to have Mira tell her everything about L.A. Prep and what to do if you were a new girl there. Stephanie thought she’d never see the day when she’d turn down a shopping spree, but (it took pain to admit it) with a new move, comes new adjustments, new friends, and most importantly………… a new social standing.
CH14
THE BROOKMILL ESTATE, BEVERLY HILLS
Sunday July 10th
8:45 pm
The sound of Stephanie leafing through the pages of the photo album that VSA had given her completely muted her surroundings. It was like being underwater. The album was covered with purple silk and had gold stars spelling out the lonely four letters ‘SVSA’. It had a record of all the good times the four BSF’s (Best Sister Friends)had had together before the move came along randomly and ruined and dashed every hope of happiness away. The pages of the photo album were all made of what looked like mixed pulp. On the 1st page of the album, in Violetta’s neat cursive, Stacey’s bold all-caps and Anna’s girly writing, it read:
This album is dedicated to our adopted sister,
SHE BROUGHT US TO LIFE WHEN BEFORE, WE WERE JUST PRETTY MANNEQUINS
She’s the mother of the alphas
And we are proud to say that we were her betas
SHE’S THE STRAWBERRY IN MY PATCH
The apple on my tree
The star in my dark never-ending sky
AND HER NAME IS STEPHANIE RAE-ANNE BROOKMILL
We luv you <3