"Oh my god. Quick. Run!" I yell, sprinting in my new Christian Louboutins. Not an easy feat for the average girl… but I'm not your average girl. I guess you can say I'm an über-girly girl. I've had years and years of practicing in heels. Mia Warren, my best friend, keeps in stride with me, and the third member of our trio, Payton, is only a step back.
"Wait, why are we running again?" Payton asks between breaths.
"Uh, I'll explain later. Let's just concentrate on getting where we're going," I said. Mia and I exchanged a look. It was useless to keep Payton clued in, since she was so nice… too nice, actually. If she knew that we were running away from the school crybaby, Autumn Brooks, we would never live it down. She would insist on letting her tag along, and we would be forced to listen to her whine and complain the whole time. For some weird reason, Autumn thought we were her friends… well, Payton kinda was, but we sure as hell weren't. And somehow, that girl was too clueless to take a hint. She would run up to us at school and start talking to us like we were her friends and we would be forced to listen to her whine about how Julian, our school's star football player, and Wes, my freaking boyfriend, were both in love with her. Seriously. Could that girl be any more insensitive? You can clearly see why neither of us wanted to hang out with her. Plus, as Mia so cleverly pointed out, her ratty sneakers are a bigger fashion don't than those Michael Kors knockoffs sold on street corners.
We reached my car, and I hurriedly got in the driver's seat, Mia riding shotgun, and Payton in the back. As we drove to the mall, we chatted about all the amazing sales that were popping up.
"I hope Bloomie's has the new Kate Collins purse. I've been looking for it for months!" Mia crowed.
"I know what you mean, girl. That purse is gorgeous!" Payton enthused.
"We're here, girls," I announced, taking my keys out of the ignition.
Payton, Mia, and I spent a while trying on dresses for the upcoming dance.
"OMG! That red dress looks really cute on you, Mia," Payton gushed. "You have to get it!"
"What about me?" I asked jokingly, modeling a short teal dress with a puffy skirt. "Does this look hot or super hot?"
"The teal dress totes flatters your complexion," Mia nodded. "It's a given."
"What are you gonna get, Payton?" I asked.
Payton stepped inside the dressing room. Just then, my cell rang. I looked at my screen.
Autumn.
Ugh, what does this whiny little brat want? I thought to myself. Seriously, all the adjectives I could use to describe Autumn with could also describe a cranky kindergartener.
"Who is it?" Mia asked, noting my expression.
"Autumn," I mouthed, conscious that Payton was within earshot.
"I guess there's only one thing to do," Mia smirked, a devious glint in her eye.
"You said it," I snickered. Sliding my thumb to the left, I pressed Ignore.
Mia and I giggled.
"What's so funny?" Payton came out of the dressing room in a purple dress.
"Nothing," I said offhandedly. "Hey, that dress looks great on you. You should totes get it." I smiled.
"Yes, definitely," Mia agreed.
"Okay! Now my girls and I all have our dresses! Let's go get manicures!" Payton squealed. With that, we all went to pay at the register.
The next day
"I see you couldn't wait to model your new Ouch Ouch Pretty Feet booties," I teased Payton. We were at school the next morning, meeting at Payton's locker.
"Neither could you," Payton grinned. I laughed.
"I see I'm not the only one," Mia smiled.
Payton's was in red, Mia's were black, and mine were my signature color, pink.
Just then, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around, hoping it was Wes surprising me with flowers or something (he occasionally did that), but no such luck.
"Hey, did you get my call?" Autumn asked.
"What call?" I smiled oh-so-innocently. There's a reason I am considered the nicest girl in school, after all. Only Mia, and sometimes Wes, knew about my true thoughts and feelings.
I pulled my phone out of my Balenciaga bag and pretended to check the call log.
"Oh! Sorry. I probably didn't hear it since we were out shopping." I put my most sympathetic face on.
Then, Autumn noticed our booties. "Oh, I see. You guys went to the mall without me?" Her face fell.
Yes. We did. And I'd do it again, I thought inwardly. Outside, I kept my expression neutral.
"I didn't realize you were all hanging out at the mall yesterday," Autumn continued in her soft, whiny voice. Her brown eyes started to glimmer with tears.
"Oh, don't get all dramatic about it. It wasn't like some big don't-invite-Autumn thing," Mia snapped.
"That's a thing?" Autumn wailed.
Actually, it is, crybaby, I thought.