Hey, everyone! Another of my longer chapters…review, please! It doesn't matter if it's a bad review. I won't bite, I promise :)
School today had been a blur. I had had to focus so hard on not showing my anger from the fight with my family that I couldn't focus on anything else.
Now, however, I was about to have some fun watching Hanna be embarrassed. We had met afterschool and were now on the subway, heading towards the fashion show. I had wanted to rent a limo, but instead, for some strange reason, we were riding a rickety subway train that smelled like pee, drinking cheap wine and getting dirty looks from an old cat lady across the aisle.
They were all wearing outdated DVF dresses, which was going to look so lame when they got kicked out of the show. I, meanwhile, had put on a simple Marc Jacobs dress—something that I would wear anywhere (and yet still I looked 10 times better than any of them). This way, I would be the only one that didn't look like a washed-out wannabe who got rejected from a couture fashion show.
Finally, the subway clattered to a stop. We walked up into the streets of New York City, blinking in the bright sunlight. "This way!" Hannah ordered smugly, acting as though she was queen of the world. I rolled my eyes—she had probably searched where Bryant Park was on Google Maps.
Naomi nudged me. "We should go to that restaurant you read about in Daily Candy, shouldn't we?"
That restaurant had sounded awful, but I had suggested it because I knew that we wouldn't be going to any restaurant at all after we weren't admitted to the show. "Definetely!" I chirped. "But only if Hanna wants to." I hated kissing her ass, but I needed her to think that I had her back.
We strode through Bryant Park, celebrities bustling around us. The others were squealing and clutching each other, but I really didn't think that it was that exciting. All of these people would work for me one day. Cameras focused on our group. Hanna noticed and tried to act nonchalant, squinting and puffing out her lips. I almost doubled up laughing.
We walked up to the tent. "Hi, our reservations are under Marin," Hanna said, trying and failing to hide her excitement. She swiveled around and grinned at us, and I leered back. Here it comes.
The man glanced at the tickets and let out a girlish giggle. "How sweet. Someone knows how to use Photoshop!"
Hanna put on a pouty, confused expression. "Huh?"
He tossed the invites in Hanna's face. "Honey," he said, smirking condescendingly, "To get into this tent, you need a black key with the DVF logo on the front. One hundred people received them a month ago. These flimsy things won't get you squat."
Hanna look as though he had smacked her. "My mom sent me these!" she squeaked. "They're real!"
The guy raised his tweezed eyebrows. "Mommy's got some explaining to do." Turning away, he said, "Go back to daycare, girls."
Hanna backed away. Cameras flashed; soon this would be all over the blogs. I grinned—it had been better than I had expected.
Meanwhile, the girls were screaming at Hanna. Naomi shoved her roughly against a tree. "What the hell, Hanna?"
"She did this on purpose!" Riley screeched, pointing a manicured fingernail at Hanna. "You were right, Naomi. Someone like her could never get tickets to this thing."
Hanna's eyes darted back and forth like a trapped animal's. "I didn't know!" she stammered frantically. "I'll call my mom. She can work this out."
Kate took over the catfight, nudging Naomi and Riley out of the way. "There's nothing to work out," she told Hanna, her voice low and malicious. "We gave you a chance, and you blew it!"
I crossed my arms, watching with enjoyment.
"You're never going to be popular at Rosewood Day again!" Naomi was saying. "Let's go to the Waverly Inn. Don't you dare follow us!" she threatened, pulling us away. We left Hanna standing alone in the crowd, mascara running down her cheeks as she cried silently.
I felt a twinge of panic. They were supposed to be so upset that they would forget about staying overnight in the hotel room. I didn't have time to stay in a hotel: I still had to tell Hanna and Aria that I was Ali, and I needed to do it tonight so they would have some time to get used to the fact.
Pulling out my iPhone, I feigned a look of surprise. "Oh! My mom's calling." Naomi, Riley, and Kate stopped and listened to me talk. I felt strange, having a conversation with nothing but silence on the other end of the phone. "Mom? Yeah, I'm at the fashion show that I told you about. What? But we were going to spend the night…Aw, c'mon! That's stupid. But…alright, fine."
I put the phone back in my purse and formed my face into an irritated expression. "My mom says I need to come home to 'spend quality time with my family.'"
Kate wrinkled her forehead. "You can't even stay for dinner?"
I shook my head. "No, my mom can be a real hard-ass sometimes."
"Oh," Naomi said, pursing her lips. "Well, I guess we'll see you at school tomorrow?" I nodded, waving good-bye and walking away.
I quickly jogged back to where we had left Hanna, but she wasn't there. Damn. Could she have gotten back on the subway already? Frantically looking around, I finally spotted her on the steps to a library.
I slowly walked up to her, making my face have a soft, sweet expression. Hanna looked up. "Oh," she blurted.
"Hi." I waited for her to say something else.
"What do you want?" she asked rudely, turning away.
Well, someone had a case of the bitchiness. "Are you okay?" I asked, sitting down. When she didn't respond, I added, "They'll get over it."
Hanna's eyes filled with tears. "No they won't! I blew it! I'm officially a loser," she vented.
Yes, you are. "No, you're not."
"Yes, I am!" she argued. Looking as though she didn't want to admit this, she said, "Before I met your sister, I was really lame. I don't even know why she wanted to be friends with me. I'm not cool. I've never been cool. I can't change that."
She wanted to be friends with you because she could use you easily, idiot. "Hanna." My voice was firm. "That's the stupidest thing you've ever said."
She sniffed. "You've known me for two days."
Here we go. "I've known you for a lot longer than that." It was true.
She looked confused. "Huh?"
Huh? I mimicked in my head. Alright, how best to put this? "Come on. I thought you'd known for a while. Since the hospital."
"The…hospital?"
How slow was she? "Don't you remember?" I asked, speaking slowly. "I visited you while you were in a coma."
She thought hard. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes widened. "Ali?"
Finally! I spread out my arms, as if to say, Yep! In the flesh.
Hanna looked queasy. "What?" she stuttered. "How?"
I told her my somewhat distorted version of events. Even though this was my third time reciting this, it never got any less intense. Amazingly, Hanna seemed to lap it all up as quickly as Spencer and Emily. Now I just needed to seal the deal: to say what she had wanted to hear all along.
Staring into her eyes, I said seriously, "Hanna, I never thought you were a loser. And seriously, look at you now. You're…stunning." Lies, lies, and…lies.
Hanna looked as though her dreams had come true. "Thanks," Her voice was hushed.
Now I would help her get back at Naomi, Kate, and Riley, in order for her to fully believe that I was on her side. Also, it would be a nice little payback on-the-side to Naomi and Riley for not realizing that their best friend had been replaced by a psycho. They hadn't been so evil that I needed to kill them, just give them a taste of revenge.
"You and I are the ones who deserve to be popular, Hanna. Not your stepsister. And especially not Naomi and Riley. So you know what we need to do?"
"W-what?" she stammered.
This was nice—I was, once again, cool and in control. I finally knew what those love letters I stole would be good for.
I smiled evilly. "We ditch the bitches," I told her. "And then we take them down."
I hailed a taxi, and one pulled over immediately. I tossed my hair over my shoulder and got inside, not surprised. Of course it did—I'm Ali and I'm fabulous.
