Disclaimer: I own all the characters in this story.


Chapter Eight


The Adams Estate

Sunroom

10:53 A.M.

Sunday, September 8th

Walking downstairs, Kayla managed to avoid Juanita, who was carrying her parents' dry cleaning in her arms. When she reached the bottom of the winding staircase, Kayla skipped into the living room, looking at the big windows that overlooked the front yard and the circle driveway. Seeing that it was raining outside, Kayla plopped down on the navy Italian silk couch and stretched her legs across the sofa.

Looking at the hallway, she observed that her family's butler, Reginald was pressing the up button on the HVAC system's panel, feeling the conditioned air more. A few moments later, Kayla plucked the latest issue of Vogue India from the coffee table in front of her and started skimming through the glossy pages of the magazine. Stopping on page thirty-four, she was captivated by a beautiful Indian model wearing a beautiful saree.

Grinning to herself, Kayla bookmarked the page and closed the magazine. Dropping it on the polished marble floor, she pulled her iPhone out of the front pouch pocket of her embroidered emerald-green WSLY cotton velour hoodie and used FaceID to unlock her cell phone. Kayla tapped on the Instagram app and scrolled through her page's account feed.

Seeing that people from school had posted pictures from Audrey's birthday party on their accounts, she stopped on a solo selfie that Audrey had taken before they had arrived at her house. Tapping on the heart icon to like the picture, Kayla continued to scroll through her account feed, she saw how everyone in school was sucking up to her and her friends. Rolling her amber eyes, Kayla let her iPhone sleep and sat upright.

She remembered that her mom had gone out, but finally finalized that her dad was home in his study right now. Letting out a sigh, Kayla recalled that her dad was currently going over the portfolio of one of his clients. Knowing that her dad didn't want her to bother him now, she gracefully rose from her seat and dropped her iPhone into the left-side slit pocket of her embroidered emerald-green WSLY cotton-blend velour track pants. Slowly making her way out of the living room, Kayla decided to head to the kitchen and walked past the winding staircase. When she paused in front of the kitchen doorway, Kayla looked inside and observed that her family's chef, David was cooking something for someone. She took a deep breath and walked inside.

Kayla halted in front of the marble countertop island. "David," she sighed airily, seeing that her chef had turned around while continuing to move the twelve-inch polished cast iron skillet. "I want you to bake me some lemon cookies."

"Of course, Miss Kayla," David nodded at his bosses' daughter as he returned his attention to the shrimp scampi with pasta that he was cooking now. "I'll start baking the cookies after I'm done cooking food for your father."

"Okay, David," Kayla said before grabbing a seat at the breakfast nook. "When you're done baking the cookies, I'll like for Reginald to bring them to my room."

"Got it, Miss Kayla," David said without losing concentration on the food he was cooking.

Without saying anything else to David, Kayla left the kitchen and hurried toward the winding staircase. When she reached the second-floor hallway, she walked across the luxurious pearl-white rectangular-shaped rugs and headed straight for her bedroom. Kayla walked inside and closed her bedroom door with her right foot. She then glanced around her room, admiring that her mom had redecorated her room this past spring.

Her entire room was covered in emerald green, white, and gold combo—the walls were painted white, and the wall behind her solid white wood headboard was covered in a plush emerald-green diamond wallpaper. The three-thousand-count microfiber sheets on her bed were white, and her bohemian emerald-green vertical-tufted queen-size comforter lay across her king-size bed. Four cooling pillows were covered in pillowcases that matched the comforter on the bed, and six white bohemian fringed throw pillows were placed in front of the cooling pillows.

Her long, white-framed, full-length mirror was between her walk-in closet and her private bathroom. On the opposite end of her room was her white bohemian vanity set with a lighted mirror and stool. The white table had her makeup stored neatly inside Aphrodite makeup bags and bottles of Dior perfume were on top of the table.

Beyond her white-and-gold bohemian-style closet doors stood her massive two-story white-and-gold walk-in closet stuffed with the latest designer clothes, shoes, accessories, and handbags, which had a sofa and coffee set in the corner of her closet. On both of her solid white wood nightstands were white ceramic table lamps with rattan shade standing on either side with a single intercom speaker, her silver iPad Pro, and her wireless Apple charging case that was holding her fully charged AirPods inside. Above her floating shelves filled with academic and talent show trophies was her 85-inch flat-screen smart TV.

Several emerald-green bookshelves were placed next to her custom-made mannequin, which was crammed with fashion magazines and textbooks that were from her old elementary school and her new school. Over her platform bed hung a set of medium bohemian paintings. Sitting in the middle of her bohemian white coffee table was a wide, wood table vase filled with green hydrangeas flowers.

Behind her coffee table was her gold Italian silk sofa covered with white fringed bohemian throw pillows. Right next to her desk was a rattan wastebasket filled with trash. Casting a soft glow over her room was a small bohemian-beaded wood chandelier. Automated bohemian curtains hug from curtains to block out the windows.

The Turkish white marble floor gleamed beneath a spread of white-and-gold bohemian mandala rugs. Behind some more bohemian doors was her very own bathroom. Skincare products were perfectly lined across the marble countertop of her solid wood white bohemian bathroom vanity. On the opposite end of her bathroom was an oversized walk-in shower with multiple nozzles, so her body could constantly be sprayed with water without her having to keep turning.

Outside of the shower and hanging from silver wall hooks were a couple of bohemian robes. Next to her shower was a freestanding acrylic soaking tub, facing another flat-screen TV. Next to the tub was a solid white wood bohemian side table filled with fluffy Egyptian cotton towels. Next to her bathroom was her solid white wood bohemian desk. On the tabletop was her MacBook Pro laptop, a bohemian pen holder filled with green faux-fur pom-pom pens was right next to her laptop, a neatly-stacked pile of school spiral notebooks sat on the opposite corner of her desk, and a white picture frame was filled with a picture of her and her parents sat in the other corner of her desk. Lastly, hanging behind her desk was a bohemian corkboard that was filled with outdated party invitations and pictures of her former elementary school classmates.

Inhaling, Kayla settled on her sofa and crossed her legs on the coffee table. Exhaling, She tapped on the Messages app and looked at the group text conversation that she had with Madeleine, Scarlett, Mackenzie, and Audrey when she'd woken this morning. Scrolling through the texts, Kayla immediately recalled that Madeleine, Scarlett, and Mackenzie had told her and Audrey about the fact that Lachlan, Scarlett, and Declan had asked them on their first official date during Addie's birthday party yesterday night.

Loving the fact that everyone in her circle of friends was asked out by their crushes, she scrolled even more through the texts and saw that they were how much fun was Addie's birthday party. Kayla also realized that they had asked Audrey why she didn't have a birthday cake at her party. Kayla observed that Audrey had said that birthday cakes were overrated and that she didn't want to eat in front of everyone at school. She also realized that they exchanged mean insults about their loser classmates' appearances.

Sighing, Kayla read that they had told each other their plans for today before deciding that she needed to text her cousin, Tinsley because of the giant argument that they had when they were leaving the Hamptions after summer vacation ended. A few seconds later, she immediately sent a text to her cousin, wondering if she'll instantly respond to her text.

Kayla: Hey, Tins. It's been a while since I've heard from you. What's happening in your life?

While Kayla waited for her cousin to reply to her text, she switched to the Tiktok app and waited for the app to load. As soon as the app opened, she watched as someone was attempting the latest Tiktok dance challenge and saw that the person had failed miserably. Just as Kayla was about to watch another video, she noticed that Tinsley had quickly responded to her text, sensing that her cousin's anger had cooled down from that argument.

Tinsley: Hey, stranger. It has been a while since I've heard from you. I thought you forgot about me.

Kayla: Tinsley, it wasn't my fault at all. School and my social life had taken a big chunk of time away from me.

Tinsley: It's alright, Kayla. But, I did see the beautiful selfie that you took before attending one of your friend's birthday parties.

Just as Kayla was about to respond to her cousin's text, she heard the sound of her bedroom door opening and glanced up from her iPhone. She caught sight of Reginald entering her bedroom with a silver tray in his white glove-clad hands.

Kayla sat up straighter in her seat and crossed her arms across her chest while her cell phone remained in her dominant hand. "Reginald, just drop the tray on the coffee table here," she told her butler.

"Okay, Miss Kayla," Reginald said with a stoic expression on his face. Setting the tray on the coffee table in front of Kayla, he lifted the round, silver cover, revealing the plate of lemon cookies that David had freshly baked for her. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Get me a glass of soy milk, Reginald," Kayla commanded as she dismissed him with a flick of her left manicured hand.

"Yes, Miss Kayla," Reginald replied with a stoic expression on his face. He walked out of the room and quietly shut the door behind him.

Seeing that Reginald was gone, Kayla reached for a lemon cookie while finally responding to her cousin's text. She took a dainty bite of it with her pearly white teeth and saw the reply to her text.

Kayla: Yeah, I was feeling myself after I had gotten dressed and done my makeup for my friend's birthday party.

Tinsley: Oh, Kayla, you picked the perfect outfit for your friend's party. And, your makeup was perfect.

Kayla: I know, Tinsley. Anyway, how has everything been over there?

Finishing the cookie in her dominant hand, Kayla tapped the back of her Louis Vuitton phone case with her emerald-green nails, thinking about her response to her cousin. Grabbing another cookie, she witnessed that Tinsley had sent a response to her text.

Tinsley: Kayla, the first and second day of school was stressful enough. And, I had to put up with my classmates being annoying.

Kayla: Okay, cousin. What about your friends, Amy and Aria?

Tinsley: Everything's okay. But, Aria managed to piss me off today.

Reading the text, Kayla's eyes widened in surprise because she remembered that her cousin and Aria were very close to each other. Wanting to know why Tinsley is mad at one of her friends, she sent a reply to her cousin's text.

Kayla: Oh, Tins, you have to share the tea with me now.

Tinsley: Well, Kayla, Aria had forgotten that we had planned something on Thursday afternoon, and also her boyfriend asked her out on a date the same day. So, she lied that something came up and went on the date. The most painful part was that she could have been honest from the very beginning instead. But now, we're fighting each other. And, Amy feels that she has to pick a side.

Kayla: Tins, it's gonna be alright. The both of you need to cool down before talking to each other. You guys don't wait to say something nasty to each other. And, make sure that Amy is there to mediate the talk.

Shoving the cookie into her mouth, Kayla chewed thoughtfully, wondering where Reginald was with her glass of milk. She then returned her attention to her cell phone and observed that Tinsley has swiftly responded to her text.

Tinsley: Got it, Kayla. By the way, I wanted to talk to you about something that's happening in my school now.

Kayla: What happened?

Tinsley: Some tenth-grade girl named Mia Smiles got pregnant over the summer. I think her parents are gonna force her to give the baby up for adoption. There's also the fact that I think that her parents are pulling her out for this school year, so this makes me think that they're gonna homeschool her. I heard from someone that she's gonna return to school next year and pretend that she didn't give birth to a baby.

Before Kayla could reply to her cousin's text, she heard the sound of her bedroom door opening again and looked up from her iPhone's bright screen. She caught sight of Reginald coming into her room with a glass of soy milk in his white glove-clad right hand.

Kayla squared her shoulders, knowing that she was gonna respond to her cousin's text soon. "Um, Reginald, just drop the glass of milk on the table," she ordered.

"Of course, Miss Kayla," Reginald responded with a stoic expression on her face as he placed the glass on the table near Kayla's plate of freshly-baked cookies.

"Alright, thanks, Reginald," Kayla said, dismissing him with a flick of her dominant hand. She observed that Reginald had walked out of her room and quietly closed her bedroom door behind him.

Smiling to herself, Kayla dunked another cookie into her glass of milk and took a giant bite of it. Dropping the half-bitten cookie on the plate, she sent a quick reply to her cousin's text.

Kayla: Oh my god, Tins! I remember you talking about her last Thanksgiving. Did anyone at your school say anything about her situation?

Tinsley: Definitely yes. People were saying that she was nothing but a bitch because she had stolen the boy from some girl that had moved to another state.

Kayla: Ouch, that sounds harsh. But at the same time, I think that she deserves what people are saying about her since it'll show her that she should have minded her own business.

Drinking several sips of milk, Kayla ate another lemon cookie and uncrossed her legs. Seeing that her cousin had instantly responded to her text, she looked up from her iPhone and looked over at her custom-made mannequin. It was adorned in a light-blue Sea flutter-sleeved top, concord-wash AG Jeans skinny jeans, silver Tory Burch ballet flats, medium metallic silver Marc Jacobs tote, a pair of sterling silver Tory Burch logo earrings, and a delicate sterling silver Tory Burch pearl necklace. Loving her outfit for tomorrow's hang-out with her friends and the boys, Kayla glanced back down at her cell phone, sending a swift reply to Tinsley's text.

Tinsley: Kayla, you might feel sorry for Mia, but you need to understand that she's not worthy of your pity.

Kayla: Alright, Tins. Is anything else happening in your school?

Tinsley: I also wanted to tell you about Mia's best friend, Lydia was caught cheating on her boyfriend with some boy she'd met on Instagram. Someone took a picture of her kissing the boy at central park and going on a date with him. Plus, that person posted the picture to the school website and spread the website URL to the entire student body.

Leaning back on her sofa, Kayla snickered at the gossip that was spreading around her cousin's school, not feeling bad for Mia and Lydia. Rolling her shoulders back, she ate the half-bitten cookie and washed it down with several gulps of milk. A few moments later, Kayla sent a response to her cousin's text.

Kayla: That's so funny, Tins. I can't believe that the two of them are absolute bitches to people that they are supposed to know.

Tinsley: Of course. Since I and my friends are the most popular girls in our grade, I witnessed Lydia's boyfriend calling her a slut to her face and breaking up with her in front of the school. There's also the fact that he told her that he's already blocked her on his cell phone and his social media accounts.

Kayla: Oh, Tins, I know that you were laughing at her spectacular humiliation in front of the entire school.

Taking a deep breath, Kayla blew some strands of her hair out of her eyes before reading her cousin's text.

Tinsley: Yes, Kayla. I also posted the video on my TikTok account for everyone in the world to see. Plus, Amy also made an edit of the same video and posted it on her Instagram page.

Kayla: Oh, snap. Tins, you and Amy made the right decision to post that video on your social media accounts. It'll allow her to finally realize that there isn't any place to hide on the internet and in public because anyone can recognize her for her deviousness and being a cheater.

Tinsley: I know. But, Kayla, I've got to go now. Um, I'm meeting Amy at Aria's house in two hours. And, I want to settle the fight with Aria, so I'll inform you about how the make-up talk would go.

Sighing, Kayla realize that her cousin had taken what she said to her and was now trying to smooth things over with Aria. Drinking several gulps of her milk, Kayla promptly sent a reply to her cousin's text.

Kayla: Got it, Tins. Make sure that you hit me up with details about the make-up fight with Aria. I hope that Amy manages to mediate the talk between both of you. So, please text me later.

Seeing that her cousin hadn't replied to her text, Kayla understood that Tinsley was getting ready to head over to Amy's house while trying to figure out a way to say sorry to her friend. Swiping up to get rid of the opened Messages app window, she immediately went straight to the Shopbop app and observed that the app was now loaded up. Seeing that she was logged in, Kayla went to the clothing section and grabbed a lemon cookie.

Scrolling through the clothing options, she took a dainty bite of the cookie in her left manicured hand, focusing her eyes on a green-and-beige Rosie Assoulin A-line skirt. Loving how wonderful loving it looked on the model, Kayla added the skirt to the shopping bag before going back to the clothing section. Scrolling through the clothing section again, she finished the same cookie and washed it down with several measured sips of her milk.

Fixing her gaze on a navy Silvia Tcherassi embroidered one-piece bathing suit, Kayla knew that the suit was gorgeous, thinking that she should wear it to Madeleine and Scarlett's ex-best friend pool party. Feeling that the girl would be jealous of her, she added the suit to the shopping bag before tapping on the back arrow icon to go back to the clothing options. Seeing a peach Mangishi Doll floral halter dress, Kayla promptly knew that this dress would look fabulous on her and added it to the shopping bag.

Going back to the clothing section, Kayla ate another lemon cookie without looking up from her brightly-lit iPhone screen. Thirty minutes later, she had added about thirty items to her shopping bag, loving the selections she'd chosen. Drinking more gulps of her milk, Kayla instantly checked out and observed that her platinum Mastercard number was still registered on her account.

Hitting the Accept button, she saw that her order went through before glancing up. Seeing that there were five lemon cookies left, Kayla popped another cookie into her mouth before looking back down at her iPhone. Chewing slowly, she looked through her notifications and saw that there were new Instagram posts.

Kayla went straight to the Instagram app while eating another cookie. Seeing that the app has opened up, she started scrolling through her page's account feed for a few moments before stopping on a picture that featured Hannah Copland and her friends on the sidelines at Audrey's birthday party. Scrolling past, Kayla didn't want to acknowledge this girl in real life and online.

Moments later, she lifted her glass of milk to her lips without moving her eyes away from her iPhone. Finishing the last gulp of her milk, Kayla dropped the glass on the table and stared at her cell phone. Scrolling through her account feed, she ate another lemon cookie and saw that her friends had tagged her on the group pictures that they had posted before heading over to Audrey's house.

Liking each picture, Kayla ate the last two lemon cookies and got up from the sofa while continuing to look at her cell phone. She managed to grab the empty plate and glass cup from the table, padding across the rugs. Pausing in front of her closed bedroom door, Kayla used her right elbow to open the door, leaving the glass cup and plate on the floor outside her bedroom for Juanita to clean up.

Closing the door again with her right foot, Kayla was feeling tired of looking through her Instagram page and swiped up. Getting rid of the Instagram app page, she inspected her iPhone's battery and saw that it was three-fourths still full. Letting out a sigh, Kayla stretched her neck from side to side, feeling the kink disappear from her neck. A few moments later, she wanted to leave the house for a few hours and then decided that she should go to Pinkberry by herself.

Kayla went straight to the intercom on her left-side nightstand and pressed the intercom's single button. "Reginald, are you there?" she asked.

"Yes, Miss Kayla?" Reginald questioned emotionlessly over the intercom.

"Tell Dean to get the car ready in three minutes," Kayla said into the speaker. "I'm going out."

"Of course, Miss Kayla," her butler broadcasted over the intercom.

Without saying anything else to her butler, Kayla went straight to her white-and-gold bathroom and entered inside. A few moments later, she checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror, she realized that she was wearing causal clothing that was perfect for her solo outing today. Smiling at herself, Kayla left her bathroom without turning the lights off or closing the door behind her.

Grabbing one of her signature perfume bottles from her vanity table, Kayla spritzed herself with Aphrodite 'Desire' perfume and set the bottle back on her vanity table. Loving that she smelled wonderful, she snatched her deep-green Ted Baker suede hobo she'd carried yesterday afternoon and walked across her room. Grabbing her iPhone and wireless Apple charging case, Kayla shoved them inside her purse and tossed her designer handbag over her right shoulder.

Turning around, Kayla stuffed her feet into a pair of emerald-green Miu Miu leather ballet flats that were laying around her room and opened her bedroom door. Looking down, she realized that Juanita had already grabbed the empty plate and glass cup on the floor outside her bedroom, rolling her shoulders back. Leaving her room without closing the door behind her, she raced downstairs and was about to open the solid oak front door when Reginald opened it for her.

Strutting outside, Kayla was blinded by the beaming sunlight as she pulled a pair of Havana honey-and-dark brown Miu Miu narrow cat eye sunglasses from inside her purse and slipped them on. Gracefully walking down the steps, she focused her gaze on her family's Mercedes, seeing that the car was causally puffing exhaust from the muffler. When she reached the Mercedes, Kayla opened the right-side blue rear door and climbed gracefully into the car. Sliding across the black leather backseat, she slid into her usual seat and abandoned her designer handbag on the adjacent seat beside her. Moments later, Kayla crossed her arms over her chest and looked directly at Dean.

Kayla cleared her throat loudly and perceived that Dean was now glancing at the rearview mirror. "Hey, Dean," she said sweetly. "Drop me off at Pinkberry, please."

"Of course, Miss Kayla," Dean said stoically while continuing to look in the rearview mirror.

Without saying anything else to Dean, Kayla pushed her sunglasses on top of her head and noticed that her driver was pulling the car out of the driveway. Feeling the motion of the car driving down the street, she closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. Kayla remained in that same position for the rest of the car ride to Pinkberry.


Westchester, NY

Pampered Paws Grooming Salon

12:19 P.M.

Sunday, September 8th

Holding her white Aphrodite umbrella over her blonde head, Madeleine didn't want her glossy honey-blonde curls to frizz up before staring directly down the wet sidewalk. Seeing that fashionably-dressed people were walking up and down the sidewalk with shopping bags in their hands, she sighed deeply and glanced at her cream Ted Baker wedges for a few seconds. Looking up, Madeleine headed straight for the doors of Pampered Paws Grooming Salon and guided Coco into the luxurious doggie spa.

She wrapped her dog's Burberry leash around her dominant hand so her Pomeranian would stay in her sightline. Sashaying over to the receptionist's desk, Madeleine waited behind an elderly lady dressed in a breathy shawl, who was holding a teacup Chihuahua. She closed the wet umbrella and tucked it into the umbrella stand that was near the receptionist's desk.

Inhaling the crisp conditioned air, Madeleine pushed the strap of her medium cream Saint Laurent monogrammed envelope leather shoulder bag before looking back up and observing that the old woman had disappeared around the corner. She stepped into the vision of Rosalie, the usual receptionist that always checked her in for Coco's appointments.

"Welcome to Pampered Paws Grooming Salon, Miss Stein," Rosalie told Madeleine as her fingers hovered over the spa's computer keyboard. "Are you here for your bimonthly appointment?"

Madeleine loosened the leash around her hand so Coco would have the freedom to walk around the spa. "Yeah, Rosalie."

"Okay, Miss Stein," Rosalie nodded as she entered the computer that Madeleine was here for Coco's appointment. "You could take a seat in our waiting room. And, someone would attend to you soon."

Nodding at Rosalie, Madeleine marched over the brown leather sofa and flipped down on her seat. Dropping her purse on the sofa seat beside her, she observed that Coco had slumped at her feet and was now licking her tiny paws. Grabbing an organic dog biscuit from a medium-sized crystal bowl, Madeleine let out a high-pitch whistle and discovered that her puppy instantly turned her attention to her Mommy.

Feeding Coco the treat, she leaned back in her seat and crossed her slender legs together. Madeleine let out a dramatic sigh before glancing out the shop's large glass window. She watched as people came out of the small boutique shop that was in front of the doggie spa. Tapping her left foot against the polished marble floor, she pulled her iPhone out of her purse and turned her cell phone on.

She realized that her cousins had completely blown up her iPhone with texts before really paying attention to the messages. Madeleine read and realized that they wanted to talk to her. Just as she was about to call her cousins, she noticed that a striking woman was sashaying across the polished marble floor to greet her, who was dressed in high-waisted black trousers and a black silk blouse.

"Ah, hello, Miss Stein," the woman greeted Madeleine warmly, grinning from ear to ear. "Please call me Beatrice. And, I'll be at your service today."

"All right," Madeleine spoke to Beatrice as she pulled Coco toward her and stroked her dog's head. "I specifically asked for the full grooming service for Coco."

Beatrice nodded and loved how the soft light from the spa's chandeliers highlighted her perfectly plump cheekbones. "Don't worry, Miss Stein," she said, smiling brightly. "Everything shall be done to your instructions. So, you just need to hand over your dog to me."

Madeleine nodded at Beatrice's statement before lifting Coco in the air so their eyes would meet. "So, baby, you need to be a good girl for mommy," she giggled. "Okay?"

Coco responded with a bark.

A couple of moments later, Madeleine handed her dog over to Beatrice and smiled. "I'll be waiting right here for my precious baby," she said, giving off an air of a mini-socialite. Madeleine then unclicked the leash from her Pomeranian's diamond dog collar and shoved it inside her purse.

"Of course, Miss Madeleine," Beatrice nodded before facing forward and walking away from the waiting room with Coco in her arms.

Knowing that the spa's staff would take good care of her puppy, Madeleine grabbed her iPhone from the left armrest of the sofa and plopped back down on her seat. She reached deep inside her designer handbag and snatched the AirPods from her Apple wireless charging case. Shoving them inside her ears, Madeleine unlocked her cell phone and realized that her AirPods were connected to her iPhone. Using FaceID to unlock her cell phone, she immediately asked Siri to call Aimee first before the call rang three times before her cousin picked up the other line.

"Hey, Maddie," Aimee chimed cheerfully, sounding

"Hey, Mimi," Madeleine greeted her cousin warmly as she shifted into a comfortable position in her seat. "I'm gonna add Esmee to the call now."

Aimee swallowed the cranberries and washed them down with some gulps of her Evian water. "Okay, Mads," she nodded in understanding.

Without saying anything else to Aimee, Madeleine asked Siri to call Esmee now, seeing that the call to Aimee was now on hold. Hearing through her AirPods, she realized that the call rang four times before her other cousin picked up on the other line.

"Hey, Mads," Esmee chirped, sounding very excited to hear from one of her cousins.

Madeleine checked her marine blue nails for a few seconds. "Hi, Ez," she chuckled dryly. "Hold on, let me merge the calls right now."

"Okay, Maddy," Esmee quickly said, her voice filled with excitement to hear from Aimee again.

Not saying anything to Esmee, Madeleine instantly merged the calls into a conference call and heard that her cousins' voices had come through her iPhone's microphone.

"Oh, Ez, what have you been doing since we last talked about three hours ago?" Aimee asked her other cousin through a mouthful of honeydew.

"Oh, Mimi, I'm getting a solo manicure and pedicure at Bliss right now," Esmee told her, forgetting that Madeleine was on the call with them. "All of my friends are busy with plans."

"So, cousins, why did you guys bombard my cell phone with texts?" Madeleine questioned Aimee and Esmee, interrupting whatever was happening between them.

"Oh, Mads, I eavesdropped on my parents' conversation this afternoon," Avery told her cousin, sounding very excited to dish this news to her cousin. "Thank god, I didn't caught by them. But, anyway, They were talking about how your dad and Aimee's dad are thinking that Esmee's dad should buy several hotels in LA for the family's hotelier business and have him be the CEO of those hotels while continuing to run his powerful talent agency. They're thinking about expanding the business to the west coast."

"That means that you guys would come over to the west coast a lot," Esmee added, her voice filled with excitement.

Madeleine fiddled with her signature pearl necklace. "Ez and Mimi, I usually never stick my nose in the family business, but at least, we won't be seeing Esmee every two years."

"Oh, Mads, my parents were also talking about how they should invite your parents to their Morroan-themed party on September thirteen," Aimee replied, sounding very warm.

"Oh, Mimi, I won't be able to make it to that party," Madeleine expressed, hearing in the background that Esmee was comparing her cuticles to a tumor while degrading one of the Bliss spa staff. "My friends and I have already decided to attend our school's first dance with her crushes. Every student in our schools is expecting the self-proclaimed royalty of their schools to attend this dance."

"Wait a second, Maddie," Esmee finally replied, sounding very surprised. "You have a crush on a boy. And, you didn't tell us at all."

Madeleine scooted forward in her seat and glanced around the doggie spa. She then observed that Jacqueline Everstone was standing in front of the receptionist's desk with her Yorkshire Terrier in her hands, wondering if this girl was now stalking her everywhere. "Well, things have been kind of hectic since I hung out with Mimi last Tuesday," she informed her cousins. "And, we just started talking about going on our first official date without my friends around.

"Oooh, Maddy, please tell me that you know this boy's name," Aimee said excitedly, sounding interested in her cousin's life.

"His name's Lachlan Hastings," Madeleine explained, focusing her gaze on Jacqueline and seeing that this girl had taken the sofa's other seat. "Yes, he has two older brothers in the same school as him and they are dating my fellow Prescott Queens."

"Now, that sounds like heaven to me," Esmee said right after Madeleine's statement, sounding very excited. "Um, Maddie, when did you realize that you like Lachlan? How did you guys meet?"

Madeleine heard in the background of Esmee and Aimee that they were currently jumping up and down in their beds. "So, Ez and Mimi, I first made the connection that I liked for the first time when I and Scar stopped Nick on his way driving the usual route to Kay's house," she chuckled, loving that her cousins were invested in what was happening in her life. "We saw them playing soccer on someone's lawn and stopped to introduce ourselves to them. After Scar and I introduced ourselves to them, we entered Lachlan's and his friends' numbers into our phones. Afterward, I had Nick start driving toward Kalia's house again. There's also the fact that my friends are crushing hard on Lachlan's friends as well."

"That's amazing news, Mads!" Aimee and Esmee nodded in unison, sounding even more excited about their cousin's social life. "Did anything else happen in your life?"

"You guys missed the fact that five girls from my school tried to get Lindsey and Avery to revoke my title as the sixth-grade Queen," Madeleine said loudly, knowing that one of the conspirators was sitting about a few feet away from her. She took a peek from the corner of her eye and noticed that Jacqueline was feeling uncomfortable about grabbing the sofa's other seat. "It turns out that they had a list of demands that they wanted my fellow Queens to agree to. These girls wanted scholarship kids to be included in the Prescott Queen system and try to make the school a better place for kids without a boatload of money."

"Maddie, I always believe that losers would always be envious of things that they don't have," Esmee said right after Madeleine's statement, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that these losers think that they have the right to further themselves in the social hierarchy.

"On the bonus side, they now understand that they would always be at the bottom of the social ladder," Aimee said coldly, thinking about the fact that her cousin would have been embarrassed to be challenged by these losers.

"Um, cousins, one of the conspirators is sitting right next to me now," Madeleine added, sending an evil smile at Jacqueline. "You guys wanna talk to her?"

"Of course, Maddie!" Esmee and Aimee said loudly after Madeleine had revealed to them that Jacqueline was in her surroundings right now. "Put your cell phone speakerphone now."

Without saying another word to her cousins, Madeleine turned the speakerphone on so Jacqueline could hear what her cousins is saying to her.

"So, you're the girl that tried to take over my cousin's throne," Aimee said icily, sounding disinterested in knowing Jacqueline's side of things. "Are you really that desperate to take something that isn't yours?"

"N-nooo," Jacqueline stuttered, sitting straighter up in her seat while trying to calm herself down. Hugging her dog against her chest, she then noticed that Madeleine had arched a perfectly waxed eyebrow in her direction. "We just want them to see things from our side. After all, Madeleine, Lindsey, and Avery should acknowledge that scholarship kids have to be included in the Prescott Queen system. Especially since Sofia wanted to be the first scholarship Queen at our school. No Prescott Queen has ever been picked from the student body since they choose their successors from a list of legacies."

"There's nothing that could make me understand why you think that you should instigate a coup against my cousin," Esmee said mockingly, sounding very happy to dress Jacqueline down.

A few tears sprung from Jacqueline's eyes, hearing the hatred in Madeleine's cousins' voices. "We just wanted a Queen that wouldn't be mean to us," she sniffed. "And, wouldn't use our secrets against us."

"I'm not exactly feeling sympathetic for you," Aimee added, her voice filled with coldness. "You deserve everything that is happening to you."

Madeleine snickered gleefully at Jacqueline's weeping face before turning the speakerphone off. "Anyhow, cousins, is there anything happening in your social lives?" she asked, switching conversation topics.

"Well, Maddie, on the first day of school, every student followed my orders and shunned Maria Cruz," Aimee murmured, her tone switching from coldness to happiness. "Just because I told Celeste that people in school should pretend that she isn't there."

"Some girl tried to poach Morgana from my friend group on the second day of school," Esmee muttered, still sounding angry. "When Morgana told her about her offer, I tracked this girl down and told her that her offer is been rejected. This girl dared to get in my face and told her straight to her face that Morgana would never betray her circle of friends. Just before I confronted this girl, I already had Morgana, Lilianna, and Dana steal crates of eggs from the cafeteria's kitchen while managing to keep themselves from getting caught by the lunch ladies. They followed the scheme that I created and waited by the school's front entrance for this girl to walk through. As soon as the girl walked out of the front entrance, the three of them started throwing eggs at her and made her cry easily. I was dying of laughter after my friends finished throwing the eggs at her. Plus, everyone was coming out of school and started laughing at her as well."

Madeleine raised her perfectly waxed honey-blonde eyebrows at her other cousin's statement. "No way," she said in disbelief, couldn't believe that Esmee came up with some scheme to deal with this girl before she became a problem to her. "Please tell me that you took a picture of this incident."

"'Don't worry, Maddy," Esmee reassured her cousin, cooing sightly at Madeleine's tone of excitement. "I did something better and put the video on TikTok for the entire world to watch. The comments that I saw on the video were encouraging me to continue to be mean to her."

"I went to Ez's Tiktok account," Aimee piped up, sounding delighted with her cousin's plan. "And, I was laughing along with the world at this dumb girl. The next time that she tries to break up friendships, people should play this video to remind her that she should stay clear of people that are out of her friendship league."

"I guess," Madeleine said excitedly, knowing that Esmee was proud of humiliating someone on her first day of school. "But I would keep that video as some kind of insurance. In case, she acts up again and tries to do something dumb."

"Can you guys hold on for a few minutes?" Aimee eagerly inquired, sounding like she was away from her cell phone.

"Yeah, Mimi," Esmee and Madeleine in unison, hearing in the background that Aimee was talking to someone right now.

A few minutes later, Aimee returned to the conference call that she was having with her cousins. "I'm so sorry, Ez and Mads," she replied. But, I've got to go now. Rosa just informed me that my mom needed me for something, so I'll probably talk to you guys another time."

Madeleine smoothed the front of her embroidered marine-blue Sandro fit-and-flare dress over her slender legs before crossing her slender legs together. "Okay, Mimi," she said sadly, remembering that her aunt was a very strict person and wanted people to follow through with her orders immediately. After hearing that Aimee ended the call on her side, Madeleine started paying attention to what Esmee was saying to her.

"Got it," Esmee said wistfully, sounding sad that Aimee had to leave the conference call. "But, Maddie, I need to focus my attention on LA traffic. So, I wouldn't be able to talk to you. And, I'm leaving the conference call as well."

"Alright, Ez," Madeleine said firmly, trying her best to not sound like a Debbie downer. "I'll call you in a couple of days."

"Very good, Maddie," Esmee said, sounding downhearted. She then ended the call on her side.

Realizing that her cousins weren't on the call anymore, Madeleine sighed lightly and let her iPhone sleep. She removed her AirPods from her ears and reached inside her purse with the Airpods in her clenched dominant hand. Shoving them into the case, Madeleine pulled her hand out of her purse and tossed her curls over her left shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, she sneaked a peek at Jacqueline, noticing that she wasn't sitting on the sofa anymore. She immediately thought that Jacqueline had probably left after her cousins had finished insulting her. Dropping her iPhone on the sofa's other seat, Madeleine leaned back against the back of the sofa and looked out of the doggie spa's windows.

Watching people walk to and from their destinations, she lost herself in her thoughts, thinking about when Lachlan would finally tell her where they were going for their first date. Madeleine then reflected on the fact that she was pleased that her cousins would always have her back. Sighing, she then thought she was pleased that she was able to take a breather from her hectic social life. Feeling someone's hand on her right shoulder, Madeleine jumped from her thoughts and gazed at the person. Seeing that Beatrice was back with Coco in her hands, she faced her and rolled her shoulders back.

"Miss Stein, here's your dog," Beatrice uttered, handing Coco over to Madeleine's manicured hands. "She has gone through to the full grooming service."

Madeleine ran her delicate fingers over her Pomeranian's clean fur. "Thank you, Beatrice," she nodded in understanding, seeing that Coco was looking back from her to Beatrice. "Was Lily the one that took care of Coco?"

"Of course, Miss Stein," Beatrice confirmed, his tone neutral. "She also made sure to not cut Coco's nails a bit short. And, brushed her teeth as well."

"All right, Beatrice," Madeleine said before dismissing Beatrice with a flick of her dominant hand. "So, baby, are you ready to go home?"

Coco responded with a bark.

Without saying another word to Coco, Madeleine grabbed the leash from inside her purse and clicked it back on her dog's collar. Sighing, she remembered that she needed to pay for the services that Coco's usual doggie spa provides for her every time. Tossing her purse over her right shoulder, Madeleine hold Coco against her right side with the leash around her thin right wrist and lowered her iPhone into her purse with her other hand.

Slowly making her way over to the desk, she stood behind the same elderly woman, noticing that the lady was paying for the services rendered to her teacup Chihuahua. Fifteen seconds later, she stepped up to the receptionist's desk and waited for Rosalie to acknowledge her presence. Madeleine watched the receptionist for three minutes before discovering that Rosalie was now looking at her.

"Ah, Miss Stein, are you ready to pay your bill?" Rosalie asked Madeleine. Her fingers hovered over the computer's keyboard.

Madeleine nodded and tenderly held Coco even closer to her chest. "I'm ready to settle the bill," she replied calmly, seeing that Rosalie was ready for her to hand over her credit card. Pulling her purple leather Aphrodite wallet from inside her designer handbag, Madeleine opened it and carefully looked through her credit cards. Plucking out her platinum Visa, she tapped it against the reader, observing that the transaction went through. A couple of moments later, Madeleine returned her credit card to her wallet and turned her attention to Rosalie.

"So, Miss Stein, your bill has been paid for," Rosalie informed Madeleine, waiting for the receipt to print.

"Got it, Rosalie," Madeleine nodded, seeing that Rosalie was holding her right hand to hand the receipt to her. She then took the receipt and crammed it inside her purse.

Facing forward, Madeleine dropped Coco on the floor and heading headed towards the doggie spa's doors with her puppy following behind her. Pushing her way onto the serene sidewalk, she stopped halfway between Pampered Paws Grooming Salon's front entrance and the cement curb. Looking down, Madeleine saw that Coco was sniffing the sidewalk before taking her cell phone out of her purse.

Unlocking her cell phone, Madeleine held it in front of her face, making sure that Coco was in the frame too. Taking a selfie, she made sure that the picture was saved to the Photos App and immediately switched over to the Instagram app. When the app finished loading, Madeleine tapped on the plus icon at the top of her iPhone's screen and choose the selfie she'd just taken.

She posted the picture on her Instagram page and picked the normal filter. Editing the photo, Madeleine adjusted the brightness and made sure that there was some warmth to the selfie. Loving how she edited the photo, Madeleine captioned the photo: Having a doggie spa day with my beloved Pomeranian.

She added the location of her favorite doggie spa underneath the picture and then shared the post with her followers. Madeleine suddenly felt better that she shared her outing with everyone. Keeping her cell phone in her dominant hand, she looked down the street, recalling that Nick is currently dropping her dad at the country club now.

Tapping on her iPhone's screen before it sleeps, Madeleine switched up, exiting the Photos and Instagram app. Knowing that she needed to call an Uber to pick her up, she promptly tapped on the Uber app and waited for the app to load up. As soon as she noticed that the home screen had popped up, Madeleine entered the pickup location and made sure to type underneath the pickup location to tell Uber that she was going home.

As soon as Madeleine was done pressing the done button, she gazed intensely at the first three options and clicked on the UberX ride that cost one hundred fifty dollars and thirty-five cents. She confirmed the ride and observed what the license plate looked like.

Realizing the driver would be here in five minutes, Madeleine's iPhone buzzed in her dominant hand, glancing back down at her cell phone. She noticed that it had fallen asleep again before seeing that her cell phone had been bombarded by Instagram notifications. Tapping on the notifications, Madeleine noticed that her iPhone unlocked immediately and went straight to Instagram.

Seeing over a thousand likes on an Aussie selfie she posted twenty minutes ago, she smiled to herself and saw that people were sucking up to her in the comments. Hearing some car's horn, Madeleine looked up from her cell phone and discovered that the Uber driver had already parked in front of the doggie spa. She tossed her brilliantly-lit iPhone into her designer handbag while sneakily making sure that the license plate was the same as the picture.

When Madeleine reached the car, she gracefully climbed into the car and plopped her butt on the seat behind the passenger seat. Feeling some weight on her lap, she glimpsed down and caught sight of Coco lying across the bottom half of her dress. Looking away, Madeleine abandoned her purse on the adjacent seat beside her and leaned back against her seat.

Closing her emerald-green eyes, she searched her mind for a few seconds, remembering that tomorrow was a random day off from school. Feeling better about having some more time to spend with her friends and family, Madeleine remained in that same position for the car ride, hoping that she was well-rested for the entire day tomorrow.


The Webster Estate

Audrey's Bedroom

2:29 P.M.

Sunday, September 8th

Staring at her computer screen, Audrey took a sharp breath, trying to figure out how to end her two-page essay for her art class. When she finished typing the last line, Audrey let an amused sigh while emailing the paper to her art teacher, Mr. Jerome. A few seconds later, Audrey removed her dominant hand from her mouse and got up from her desk chair.

Moving toward the front of her desk, she glanced intently at her mannequin, loving the fact that she had already picked her outfit for the hangout with her friends and the boys tomorrow. It was adorned in an ice-blue Paige double-breasted blazer, sleeveless white Rag & Bone V-necked top, matching Paige shorts, white Tory Burch espadrilles, mini bright-white Jacquemus Le Chiquito Moyen bag, flawless fourteen-karat diamond stud earrings, a single eighteen-karat Shay diamond choker, and a diamond-and-pearl Shay bracelet.

Loving that she had picked the right ensemble for tomorrow, Audrey leaned her perky butt against her desk and stared at her opened closet doors. Perceiving that Silvana had hung her dry cleaning in the closet, she moved away from the desk, deciding to eavesdrop on her dad. Grabbing her iPhone before racing downstairs. Audrey reached the bottom of the winding staircase and skipped toward her dad's study while shoving her cell phone into the left pocket of her dark-wash 7 for All Mankind skinny jeans. As soon as she paused in front of the study's black doors, Audrey pressed her right ear against the left-side study door and listened to the conversation her dad was talking about with Scarlett's dad on his cell phone.

"You know that your wife would kill you for keeping something from her," Ambrose told Harold as Audrey continued to listen to their broadcasted conversation.

"I already know that," Harold said, understanding that one of his friends was worried that Carol would give him some kind of harsh punishment. "That's why I sickled my daughter to keep her busy this Saturday because I don't want Carol to find out about my plans for our tenth wedding anniversary."

"I think that's a brilliant idea for your wife and daughter to spend some time together," Ambrose replied as Audrey's eyes widened in surprise, not believing that Scarlett's dad was planning something special for his wife. "It might keep your wife from sensing that you're planning something behind her back."

"Yeah, it's very hard to keep what I'm planning away from my wife," Harold spoke to his friend, sounding a bit guilty about keeping this secret away from Carol. "But, I still have to book some spa services at my wife's favorite spa."

"That's good, Harold," Ambrose finally replied as Audrey realized that she had to spread this news with Mackenzie, Madeleine, and Kayla. "Let's change the topic to something else. Before Arthur picked me up from work on Friday night, I had dinner at some restaurant in the city and some woman started flirting with me. I specifically told this woman that I wouldn't even entertain her advances and pretended that she wasn't talking to me."

Smiling at the fact that her dad wouldn't cheat on her mom, Audrey tiptoed away from the study's doors without making a sound, knowing that she needed to share her dad's conversation with Kayla, Mackenzie, and Madeleine. Knowing that they deserved to know about what was happening in Scarlett's life now, she went straight to the sunroom and walked inside. Plucking her iPhone out of her jeans left pocket, Audrey settled into the white linen wing chair next to the giant sunroom windows and immediately used FaceID to unlock her cell phone. She quickly tapped on the Messages app before tapping on the group chat that was between her, Mackenzie, Scarlett, and Kayla.

Audrey: Oh, beauties, I have some news about Scar to share with you guys.

Realizing that the sunlight was pouring from the sunroom's windows, Audrey bit her lower lip in excitement, waiting for the girls to respond to her text. Sighing, she felt her iPhone buzz in her manicured hands and looked back down at her cell phone's screen. Audrey's cerulean-blue eyes were reading her friends' texts, processing what they said back to her text.

Mackenzie: What news? Lett hasn't said anything to us.

Madeleine: Drey, you have to share everything with me.

Kayla: Addie, we have to wait for Scar to tell us about this news.

Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the wing chair, Audrey rolled her shoulders back before stretching her neck from side to side. Rolling her eyes at Kayla's text, she knew that she needed to tell them about the fact that Scarlett wouldn't be available to hang out with them next Saturday, but in the end, Audrey replied to her the girls' text.

Audrey: I can't wait for Scar to reveal this news on her own time. So, I'm revealing that Lett's dad is recruiting her help to keep her mom distracted this coming Saturday. So, she wouldn't be available for that day.

Madeleine: At least, it's for a great cause. Addie, we don't want Scar to feel guilty for missing anything happening that day.

Mackenzie: Yeah, Addy, we don't want Scar to realize that we know that she won't be able to hang out with us that day.

Kayla: I was hoping that Scar would be available that day because I would need her help to pick out an outfit for my date with James.

Squaring her shoulders, Audrey leaned against the wing chair, thinking about what her friends had just texted to her. Nodding in agreement with their statements, she sent a swift reply to her friends' texts.

Audrey: At the same time, girlies, I understand that Scar should be the distraction from her mom finding out that her dad is planning their tenth wedding anniversary without her finding out.

Kayla: Oh, yeah. I know that there would be some juicy gossip coming from Scar that day. After all, she'll be hanging out with her mom the entire day.

Madeleine: Yup! We shouldn't bring it up to Scar till she's ready to tell us. Anyway, besties, there's some gossip that I want to share with you guys.

Mackenzie: Oh my god, Maddie! You have to share the dirt with us.

Letting out a light sigh, Audrey raised a perfectly waxed platinum-blonde eyebrow at Madeleine's text, feeling that Madeleine was about to share the tea on Tia's embarrassing video that was accidentally shared on her Instagram stories. Breathing easily, she sent a swift reply to the girls' texts.

Audrey: Oh, Mads, are you talking about Tia's embarrassing Instagram video?

Madeleine: Definitely, Addy. When I woke up this morning, I was surprised by the fact that she had the guts to post this video on Instagram. But then, I read the comments and saw that Lachlan called her stupid in the comments.

Kayla: I wasn't laughing at the video for a few minutes, but then it got to the place where Tia was caught on camera sucking her thumb. That caused me to snicker into my left palm for a good twenty minutes.

Mackenzie: Ugh, Tia made the wrong decision to post that on her page. I just saw that someone had shared the video on TikTok. There are thousands of views on the video. And people were saying mean things about her, but at the same time, some of the comments caused me to laugh even more.

Starting to giggle gleefully at Tia's humiliation again, Audrey's manicured fingers hovered over her iPhone's keyboard for a couple of minutes before replying to her friends' texts.

Audrey: Yeah, I felt embarrassed for her, but then I realized that she deserves this humiliation for what happened last Thursday at lunch.

Mackenzie: Same, Drey. I was delighted that Tia was getting buried by everyone on the internet now.

Madeleine: I commented under the video that she earned the hatred of the internet. And, I felt a lot better than her right now.

Kayla: Me too. I was dying of laughter at the tags at the bottom of the video when she realized that she posted the wrong video to her Instagram stories. In the end, she didn't the video down till nine hours have passed.

Just as Audrey was about to send a text back to the group chat with her friends, she received a text notification from Aiden and tapped on it. Seeing that her crush had sent her a picture, she realized that Aiden was dressed in a fabulous ensemble while posing outside Lee's Chinese, surrounded by Lachlan, Scott, Declan, and James. Audrey sent a quick text to Aiden: Aiden, you and your friends are looking so amazing in this picture. As soon as she observed that James had read her text, Audrey flattened her white Róhe asymmetrical one-shoulder rip top before returning to the text conversation that she was having with Kayla, Mackenzie, and Madeleine. Audrey sent a swift reply to her friends' text while picking up the noise of Silvana polishing the marble floor outside the sunroom.

Audrey: All right, besties! Aiden just texted me a picture right now. The boys are all hanging out today.

Kayla: Oh, Addy, where are they hanging out now? I was thinking that I should create some kind of false encounter, so I can just talk to James without any interruptions.

Mackenzie: Um, Kay, that sounds very stalkerish. So, you need to calm down before you do something that you might regret soon.

Madeleine: Yeah, girls, you guys have to continue this conversation without me. Ingrid just told me that my mom needs me for something.

Dropping her iPhone in the middle of her crossed legs, Audrey gathered her long, silky platinum-blonde waves into a messy bun on top of her head before her mind went to the fact that Madeleine's mom needed her for something. She wanted to know what was happening in Madeleine's house before sending a quick reply to her friends' texts.

Audrey: Um, Maddie, what does your mom need you for?

Madeleine: It seems my mom is helping Addie's mom throw the annual Prescott and Crestview auction to raise money for next year's scholarships. She wants my input on what the students from both schools would like to eat and stuff.

Kayla: Geez, Mads! I'd rather listen to the sound of nails on the chalkboard instead. I know that your mom would want you to focus on planning this event with her and Addie's mom.

Mackenzie: Same. I usually find any excuse to get out of planning family events with my mom.

Tapping the back of her phone case, Audrey heard her stomach grumbling loudly, realizing that she had only eaten breakfast today. She wanted some snacks to carry her over till dinner arrives. Sighing, she stood on the wingchair and walked onto the white linen sofa near the right-side white oak side table. Plopping her butt on the same sofa, she reached toward the intercom speaker on the left-side white oak side table and pressed one of the intercom's buttons that was marked 'Kitchen'.

"Yes, Miss Audrey," Audrey's family chef, Sienna answered over the intercom.

Audrey flicked some imaginary lint off her top. "Sienna, I want you to place two snack-size classic Lays chips bags on a tray," she commanded into the intercom. "I also want to place an empty tall glass cup filled with ice and a bottle of Voss water near the bags. And, make sure that Alfred brings everything to me in the sunroom."

"I understand, Miss Audrey," her chef said over the intercom.

Hearing that Sienna had stopped responding to her orders, Audrey removed her left manicured index finger from the intercom button and grabbed her iPhone from the sofa's other seat. Moving her iPhone closer to her eyes, she observed that her friends were still waiting for her response to their texts before indefinitely replying to their texts.

Audrey: Wait a minute. I didn't know that my mom was over at Maddie's house today. She only told me and my dad that she'll be out for five hours today.

Mackenzie: Nice. I just finished spending some time with my mom and dad about an hour ago.

Kayla: Uh, Addie, our moms have the right to spend some time with their friends.

Madelene: Yeah, Addie, your mom came over at noon and had a girl chat with my mom before they went over the details that went into the Prescott and Crestview scholarship auction. So, pretties, I have to go because my mom just spoke to me over the intercom in the living room and told me to get my butt inside the sunroom now. Whoever texts or calls me for the rest of the day, I might be helping my mom and Addie's mom plan this auction, but I'll find a way to make an excuse to answer your texts and calls.

Hating the fact that Madeleine was now being forced to stop texting her friends because her friend's mom and her mom were capitulating her attention, Audrey discovered that her friend had stopped responding to her, Kayla, and Mackenzie's texts. Moments later, she heard the sounds of someone's shoes walking across the floor outside the sunroom and looked briefly at the sunroom's doorway. Seeing that Alfred was entering the sunroom with a black round tray in his white glove-clad hands.

"Alfred, just drop everything on the coffee table, please," Audrey said, crossing her slender legs together.

"Yes, Miss Audrey," Alfred noted as he set the tray on the table in front of his bosses' daughter and lifted the silver, round cover. Alfred presented the snack-size bags of chips, a tall glass cup filled with ice, and a chilled bottle of Voss water. "Is there anything else that you need?"

"No, Alfred," Audrey replied loudly, dismissing her butler with a flick of her left manicured hand. She then reached for one of the Lays chip bags and ripped it open.

Witnessing that Alfred was already gone from the sunroom with the cover tucked under his right arm, Audrey looked directly at her iPhone and noticed that she hasn't replied to her friends' text yet. Feeling better, she opened the bottle of Voss water with her dominant hand while texting her a quick reply to her friends with her other manicured hand.

Audrey: Sorry, girlies. I didn't mean to leave you guys on read. But, I had my butler just bring me a bowl of chips and water.

Kayla: It's okay, Addie. I have to leave the group chat because Dean just dropped me at Paradox.

Mackenzie: Um, Addie, my weekly yoga class is starting at four in the afternoon. I need to go get ready for my class, so I have to go as well.

Pouting, Audrey hated the fact that Mackenzie and Kayla were leaving the group chat conversation after Madeleine had just left as well. A few minutes later, she switched up and exited the Messages app. Pouring some water into the iced glass cup, Audrey dropped the bottle of spring water on the table near the bowl before taking a dainty sip of her water.

Loving how cold the water in the glass cup was, she scrolled through her notifications, observing that there were new Instagram notifications. Tapping on the multiple Instagram notifications, Audrey saw that the app had loaded and started scrolling through her Instagram page feed. Seeing that Lachlan and James had posted even more group pictures on their accounts, she loved that each individual had taken pictures inside the restaurant, seeing that her crush and his friends were having tons of fun with each other.

Smiling to herself, Audrey wondered where Aiden would take her for their very first date, especially when she wondered when he'll make the call to tell her the date and time. Eating some more chips, she tapped on the heart icon to like the pictures while managing to sip more of her water. Twisting the corners of her mouth wryly, Audrey continued to scroll through her page's feed, reaching deep inside the chip bag on her lap and nibbling on a chip.

Stopping on a picture that Olivia had posted on her account feed, she felt her breath get stuck in her throat, seeing that this girl was wearing the ugliest outfit ever on this planet. Laughing at Olivia's online humiliation, Audrey commented under the same picture: Even if you managed to get some kind of fashion sense, you would always be a loser in my eyes. Not feeling bad about what she commented on the picture, she took absolute pleasure in the fact that she had ruined the rest of Olivia's day.

Scrolling away from this loser's picture, Audrey briefly glanced at Hannah Copeland's post, laughing at her terrible picture caption. Observing that this girl was dumb enough to not double-check her tags, she ate everything from the chip bag and washed them down with several gulps of water. Audrey crumpled the bag into a ball and tossed it on the table.

Grabbing the other classic Lays chip bag, she ripped it open and set the bag on her lap. Gracefully chewing on some chips, Audrey plucked her glass of water from the coffee table and drank half of it. Returning the glass to the same table in front of her, she sighed deeply and swiped up.

Exiting the Instagram app, Audrey inspected her baby pink nails before tapping on the social media folder on her iPhone. Tapping on the TikTok app, she ate everything inside the chip bag and crumpled it into a ball. Flung it back on the table, Audrey saw that the app had loaded up while she drank the rest of the water from the glass cup.

Swirling the ice cubes around the glass cup, she then poured even more water inside the cup before looking back down at her cell phone. Seeing that a TikTok video was currently playing on her iPhone's screen, Audrey laughed at the person, who was showcasing that major fashion houses were allowing models to walk across the runway with normal household items in their hands or on their bodies. Tapping the heart icon to let the person know that she loved this video, she drank the entire contents in her glass cup before staring directly at the cup.

Perceiving that the ice was melting, Audrey was delighted that her hunger had been curbed for a while till dinner was ready later tonight. Not pouring any more water into the cup, she dropped the cup on the table before glancing briefly at the bottle of Voss water. Seeing that she had already drank half of it, Audrey rose to her bare pedicured feet, brushing some chip crumbs off her top and jeans.

Turning her iPhone off, she left the crumpled empty bags of chips and the ice-filled cup on the table for Silvana to clean up. Audrey walked straight out of the sunroom and headed toward the winding staircase. When she reached upstairs, Audrey skipped towards her bedroom, entering inside.

Closing the bedroom door with her right foot, Audrey checked the time on her iPhone and observed that it was almost three-thirty in the afternoon. Remembering that Mackenzie was supposed to be at her weekly yoga class at four o'clock, she took in a heavy breath before carefully dropping her iPhone on the right-side nightstand. Stretching her manicured hands over her head, Audrey yawned a bit, feeling a bit tired. Wanting to take a nap before dinner was served later today, she collapsed backward on her bed and crawled towards her pillows. As soon as Audrey's head hit the pillows, she hugged her knees to her chest before falling asleep a few minutes later.


Westchester, NY

Arise Yoga Studio

4:56 P.M.

Sunday, September 8th

Still thinking about the conversation that she had with the girls, Mackenzie flowed into the downward dog pose on her Burberry yoga mat, wondering how Scarlett would reveal the news that she needed to distract her mom this coming Saturday. Letting out a deep breath, she observed that her yoga teacher was telling the class to go into the cobra pose while guiding some of her yoga students into the pose. Feeling her muscles stretch, Mackenzie stayed in that pose for the next ten minutes like her teacher had told the class to do.

Breathing deeply, she flowed into the downward dog pose, keeping herself in that pose for the next ten minutes. Mackenzie then followed that pose by going into the crane pose, inhaling some air-conditioned air. Balancing herself, she managed to peek from the corner of her eye and noticed that her teacher was doing the same pose in front of the class. Keeping herself in the same pose, Mackenzie felt the muscles in her upper back, abdomen, arms, and wrists were stained, but she knew that her petite body was being strengthened even more.

Letting out a sharp breath, she stopped doing the crane pose and took several long sips of Voss water from her reusable water bottle. As soon as Mackenzie was finished taking a short break, she followed what her teacher was doing in front of the class and moved her body into the bow pose. Staying in the pose for twenty minutes, she inhaled and sat back cross-legged in the middle of her yoga mat. Hearing the sound of her teacher talking, Mackenzie perked up and paid attention to her.

"Ladies, I want us to finish this class with the corpse pose," Mackenzie's yoga teacher, Sandy said to the entire class. "While you're doing this pose, I want you guys to breathe from your lungs. That means that you have to stay in that pose for

"Okay, Sandy," the entire class replied in unison.

Without looking at anyone else in the class, Mackenzie laid back down on her yoga mat and assumed the corpse pose without any help from the teacher. Feeling the air fill her lungs, she remained in that pose for the next ten minutes while keeping her aquamarine eyes closed. A few moments later, Mackenzie opened her eyes and sat upright on her mat. Looking around the yoga room, she observed that everyone else was done doing the corpse pose as well while looking directly at Sandy. Facing forward, Mackenzie noticed that the teacher was about to say something else to the entire class before allowing herself to listen to what Sandy was saying.

"Okay, ladies," Sandy said to the class while sitting on her purple yoga mat. "We're out of time today. But remember that we meet up for another class next Sunday afternoon."

"Yeah, Sandy," the class responded together.

Seeing that the teacher had dismissed them all, Mackenzie knelt down, rolling her yoga mat while making sure that the ends were tucked in. Tossing her mat strap over her right shoulder, she got up from the spot she'd claimed at the beginning of class and headed straight for the studio's classroom doors.

"Mackenzie!" a voice called. "Hey!"

Pausing, Mackenzie felt people push past her to get to the studio's doors before staring directly over her right shoulder. Observing that one of her old friends from elementary school was the one calling her, she turned around, showcasing a blank stare at Eliie. Just realizing that she didn't see her come into the room at all, Mackenzie concluded that Ellie was probably stalking her social media accounts to find out her daily schedule.

"I've been trying for the last hour to get your attention," Ellie said, making Mackenzie jump from her thoughts.

Mackenzie adjusted the waistband of her navy Adidas by Stella McCartney yoga pants. "What for?" she sneered, not wanting to talk to the girl standing in front of her.

"Well, Mackenzie, I've been trying to get into contact with you for the last three weeks," Ellie chirped, wondering why Mackenzie was now being mean to her. She knew that Sia, Paige, and Ashley were in the same boat as her.

"So, Ellie, I'm being nice right now," Mackenzie sneered, folding her arms over her chest. She hated the fact that she was talking to one of her former best friends in the world. "So, I'll allow you to guess why I blocked you, Paige, Sia, and Ashley."

"I can't think of any other reason why you blocked us," Ellie noted sweetly, feeling that she, Paige, Sia, and Ashley didn't do anything wrong to Madeleine. "We didn't do anything wrong to you."

Mackenzie slicked her glossy strawberry-blonde hair into a high ponytail. "Oh, so you don't remember pranking me at the graduation party that we hosted together," she replied with a black uncaring face.

"Oh, that incident, Mackenzie," Ellie said with her right hand waving in the air. She was wondering why Mackenzie was making a huge molehill about that issue. "We were just playing a prank on you. Especially when we thought that you would have that prank funny.

Mackenzie's eyes were solely focused on Ellie, despising the bitch even more. "Really?" she said sarcastically, sounding very cold. "I didn't think that prank was funny at all. Especially when you guys dropped milk on me, everyone at the party was laughing at my expense."

"Um, Mackenzie, we thought that you would have cooled down if we left you alone for a few days," Ellie gulped, sensing that Mackenzie was still angry about that incident. "But, we found out that you blocked us on social media and your phone."

"Seems as though you're stalking me now," Mackenzie stated coolly as she straightened her matching Adidas by Stella McCartney cropped yoga top.

"Well, Mackenzie, this was the only way that I could get you to talk to us again," Ellie uttered, letting out a slight gasp at her old friend's statement.

Mackenzie rolled her eyes at Ellie's stupid answer."So, I should care about what you're saying now," Mackenzie replied haughtily, wanting her, Paige, Ashley, and Sia to understand that they were her past now. "The only thing I feel in my heart for you guys is hatred. So, can you please get out of my sight?"

"Okay, Mackenzie," Ellie said, feeling hurt at Mackenzie's dismissal. "I'll tell Paige, Ashley, and Sia that you want them to leave you alone as well."

Seeing that Ellie was now walking away from her, Mackenzie squared her shoulders, smirking darkly at her ex-friend's back. Loving the fact that she had hurt her feelings, she knelt back down and grabbed her water bottle. Mackenzie stood back up and glanced at the yoga room's mirror.

Feeling a lot better about confronting Ellie, she took a deep breath before turning to walk outside the yoga room's doors. When Mackenzie left the room, she saw that her ex-friend was gone while slipping her bare pedicured feet into a pair of white Aphrodite platform sneakers. Sitting down on a wood bench, she felt her yoga mat bump into her lower back before tying her shoelaces.

Rising, Mackenzie grabbed her oversized white-and-navy Adidas by Stella McCartney hoodie off one of the studio's hooks and wore her hoodie over her shoulders. Making sure that her cropped top was covered, she pulled her iPhone out of her hoodie's left front pocket, thinking that her friends deserve to know that she had run into one of her old ex-friends from elementary school. Remembering that she had been so humiliated at her fifth-grade graduation party, it took Mackenzie a while to realize that Ellie, Paige, Ashley, and Sia were never her friends and were using her for the perks to get into upper-class parties.

Hating them even more, she understood that she needed to keep that hatred in her heart for those four girls, knowing that she would never forgive them for that moment in time. Shaking her head from her thoughts, Mackenzie used FaceID to unlock her cell phone and sent a text to her friends.

Mackenzie: So, besties, I had an unfortunate encounter with one of my old ex-friends from elementary school. She literally stalked my social media accounts. Just to find out my normal routine for Sunday afternoon.

Inhaling, Mackenzie know that her friends would immediately to her texts before shoving her iPhone back inside her hoodie's left pocket. Storming out of the studio's doors, she breathed in some humid air and plucked the same Ray-Ban sunglasses she'd worn on Thursday. Slipping them on, Mackenzie stared directly at the cement curb, observing that her family's driver, Dimitri had followed her orders and was waiting in the car for her. When she reached the edge of the cement curb, Mackenzie opened the right-side dark-blue rear door and gracefully climbed into the car.

Settling into the seat in the middle of the buttery soft leather backseat, Mackenzie tossed her yoga mat on the adjacent seat beside her and leaned back against the backseat. Sighing, she felt that Dimitri had moved away from the curb and was driving the usual route to her house. Just as Mackenzie was about to stare outside the left-side rear window, her iPhone vibrated inside her hoodie's pocket, feeling the buzzing against her flat stomach. Plucking her cell phone from inside her hoodie's pocket, she tapped on her cell phone's black screen, noticing her friends responded to her text. Mackenzie unlocked her iPhone and started reading the girls' texts.

Scarlett: That sounds stalkerish, Kenzie. There's got to be a reason why you're avoiding this girl.

Madeleine: Oh, Mack, you sound so angry over text. What did this girl do to you?

Audrey: Tell us everything.

Kayla: Manzie, try to calm down a bit. So, that you would be able to go into the detail about what happened between her and you.

Feeling better from her friends' concern for her, Mackenzie needed to find the words to express the humiliation to her friends. Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she took a couple of deep breaths before finally responding to her friends' texts.

Mackenzie: Ellie, Paige, Ashley, and Sia thought it'll be a good idea to dump milk on me during our joined fifth-grade graduation party as a prank. In the end, everyone at the party laughed me out while I was still standing on the dance floor. This incident made me leave the party early since the milk was starting to smell.

Audrey: I can't believe you haven't told us about that incident. Uh, what happened at your fifth-grade graduation party?

Kayla: Um, Mack, you should follow what Addie's texting you. Please tell me what you did to get them back.

Scarlett: I want to meet these losers and insult them on their faces.

Madeleine: Don't worry, Manzie. You're gonna forget about them. And, show them that they were missing beautiful moments in your life.

Dropping her iPhone on her lap, Mackenzie shifted in her seat and cracked her knuckles. A few moments later, she loved that her friends were telling her that everything is gonna be alright. Mackenzie then fired a quick text to her friends' texts.

Mackenzie: Thanks, guys. I already blocked them across all my social media accounts. And, made sure that I avoid all the places where we used to hang out in White Plains.

Madeleine: Okay, Manzie. Just move on with your life.

Kayla: But, Mack, you should still get some payback from them.

Scarlett: Yeah. I agree with Kay that you need to seek some kind of revenge on them. Just because they tormented you.

Audrey: Um, Kay and Lett, stop trying to force Mack to seek some kind of revenge. I think she should just close that chapter of her life and pretend that they're not there anymore.

Loving the advice that Audrey and Madeleine had shared over their texts, Mackenzie let out a sharp breath before peering over her sunglasses. Looking at the car's touchscreen, she saw that it was almost five-ten in the afternoon, looked away, and saw that Dimitri was halfway down the usual route to my house.

Mackenzie: Maddie and Addie, that's some good advice. I might follow what you guys are texting to me. But at the same time, Kalia and Scar, your advice would cause me to pay attention to those girls when I'm trying to forget that they exist.

Scarlett: Oh, Mack, I'll take back what I just texted you. I'm not trying to pressure you into doing something crazy.

Kayla: Yeah, Kenzie. I agree that we're forcing our friend into doing something that would cause those girls to come into her radar again.

Madeleine: I was this close to telling the two of you that you've lost your goddamn mind. If you think that she should get revenge for something that happened two months ago, I think that Lett and Lala should kick rocks first.

Audrey: Of course, Maddie. My jaw dropped in disbelief. I couldn't believe what I was reading now.

Mackenzie's manicured fingers froze, and she stared at her friends' texts. Wondering how she would respond to them, Mackenzie wished that her cousin, Madelyn was here to give some advice to her, but she finally shook her thoughts from her mind. Mackenzie reread their conversations for a few minutes before firing a quick text to her friends.

Mackenzie: At least, you guys are finding a way to uplift my spirits with your texts. So, girlies, I have some gossip that I want to share with you guys. So, does anyone want to hear about it?

Audrey: Kenzie, please share that gossip with me now.

Madeleine: Oh my god! I haven't heard any new gossip since the private booking at Aphrodite yesterday.

Kayla: Share the dirt.

Scarlett: Yes, Mack.

Mackenzie's heart flipped at her friends' texts, thinking that she was having a good text conversation with the girls. Quickly taking a peek at Dean, she saw that her driver had turned the car onto another street before gazing back down at her iPhone. A few moments later, Mackenzie sent a swift reply to her friends.

Mackenzie: So, besties, I heard from one of my spies while Dean was driving me to my weekly yoga class. They said that the entire thing happened because of Sofia Addison.

Kayla: No way, Manzie! I definitely would have heard from Deliah and Emily.

Scarlett: Tiffany and Ivy would have expressed the gossip that they've overheard from her friends. Both of them would have the biggest grins on their faces when they say this information to me.

Audrey: What time did this spy tell you this gossip?

Madeleine: Yeah, Mack, I think that someone is messing with you.

Smiling at their replies, Mackenzie switched to the Instagram app, seeing that the app was loaded up. She sighed deeply and started scrolling through her account feed. Yvonne Phillips posted a decent picture of her and her group of girls standing outside of some restaurant in the city. Liking the picture, Mackenzie returned to her group chat with her friends and sent a quick text to her friends.

Mackenzie: Well, Addie, my spy told me this gossip at three forty-five in the afternoon. Maddie, I don't think that my spies are messing with me. They always give me awesome gossip and secrets. But, anyway, one of my spies has a friend in her class that sits right next to her. And, they expressed to me that Sofia hates the fact that every student except her friends is now avoiding her. So, that the stench of banishment doesn't spread to them.

Madeleine: I'm guessing that everyone's worried that I would turn my anger at them.

Scarlett: Of course, Mads. Uh, pretties, I need to leave this text conversation now. I need to get ready for my hang-out with Tiffany and Ivy. So, I'll text you guys if something interesting comes up.

Kayla: Scar, hope you have tons of fun with Tiffany and Ivy. But, Manzie, I thought that Sofia Addiaon had learned her lesson that she would have to remain at the bottom of the social hierarchy till middle school ends.

Audrey: Yup, Lala. Um, Mack, it hasn't crossed my mind that Sofia hates the fact that her being banished would cause people to stop talking to her.

Seeing that Scarlett had stopped responding to everyone's texts in the group chat, Mackenzie leaned forward in her seat while taking a sneak peek at the front of the car. Seeing that Dimitri was almost done driving the usual route to her house, she sent a swift reply to her friends.

Mackenzie: My driver is about to drop me at home. So, I'll text you guys when I get to my room.

Without waiting for her friends to reply to her text, Mackenzie let her iPhone sleep and shoved her cell phone back inside her hoodie's left pocket. Glancing up, she observed that Dimitri was several houses away from her house before leaning back in her seat and glancing at the car's ceiling. Mackenzie thought she needed to find a way to see when Declan was picking her up for their official first date.

A few minutes later, Dimitri pulled the Mercedes into the Frost's circular driveway but turned the car's engine off as he turned towards his bosses' daughter.

"Miss Mackenzie, we have arrived home," Dimitri said with a thick Romanian accent, causing the girl to jump from her thoughts.

Mackenzie looked directly at her driver. "Okay, Dimitri," she finally replied before opening the right-side dark-blue rear door and climbing out of the car. A few moments later, Mackenzie looked back inside the opened door and looked at Dimitri. "Um, Dimitri, are you going anywhere else?"

"Yes, Miss Mackenzie," Dimitri answered emotionlessly, looking at his bosses' daughter. "Your father wants me to pick from the city in the next three hours. And, your mother is waiting for me to pick her up from the Adams' house now."

"Got it, Dimitri," Mackenzie nodded in understanding, knowing that her parents were awaiting Dimitri to pick them up. Without a word, she closed the door and started marching up the driveway. The only things that mattered to Mackenzie were to take a very hot shower and relax for the rest of the day.


Westchester, NY

Scoops

5:59 P.M.

Sunday, September 8th

"I would have thought that Heather would have dressed wonderfully at Addie's birthday party yesterday," Scarlett laughed quietly, trying her best to stay quiet since she didn't want the ice cream shop's customers to listen to her conversation with Tiffany and Ivy. Knowing that she missing her weekly dance class at Perfection Pirouettes Dance Studio, she pushed her clear Le Specs square-framed sunglasses on top of her head and ate another spoonful of her cookies and cream sundae. "But, she looked terribly. I saw that you guys wrote some horrible comments under the pictures that she had posted to her Instagram account.

Tiffany leaned back in her seat and stared directly under the table at her gold laser-cut Ted Baker espadrilles. "Yeah, I was laughing at the pictures that she posted on her page," she said, eating a spoonful of her vanilla bean sundae. "She looked awful in what she'd chosen to wear to Audrey's party."

"There's something wrong with Heather," Ivy chuckled, sagging against her seat and licking some mango ice cream off her left pinky finger. "I looked through her Instagram account and saw that she posts terrible pictures on her account."

Scarlett toyed with the ends of her glossy icy-blonde curls before running her delicate fingers over her signature pearl charm bracelet. "No way," she said softly. "I didn't look through her Instagram account and was completely focused on the fact that she didn't shave leg hair."

"I don't think Heather even knows the meaning of hygiene," Ivy said mockingly, grabbing her iPhone off the table and checking her cell phone. Observing that Caleb had sent a text to her, she understood that her boyfriend was asking her to go on a solo date together before firing a reply to Caleb's text: Yeah, babe, what time should I be there? After feeling delighted that she was spending some time with her boyfriend, Ivy dropped her iPhone back on the table. "But thinking about how she smelled at Audrey's party. We should be coming up with the worst-case scenario when school starts again on Tuesday."

"Yeah, I scrunched up my nose in the air while passing her on the way to the VIP section," Tiffany sighed, eating another spoonful of her vanilla bean sundae. "I almost gagged at her body order. And, I saw her so-called friends moving away from her while fake smiling in her face.

"Wait a minute, there's no school tomorrow at all," Scarlett repeated, directly focusing her attention on what Ivy said before Tiffany chimed in.

Tiffany and Ivy focused their gazes on Scarlett, crossing their arms over their chests. They understood that Scarlett probably haven't looked at the school website at all. "Scar, there's no school tomorrow at all," they nodded in unison. "For some reason, it's a random day off."

Scarlett pushed her curls behind her ears, showcasing her flawless 6-karat diamond studs to Tiffany and Ivy. "I didn't know that there was any school tomorrow," she simpered, picking at her cuticles. "I never check the school's website, but now, can you guys share any more information with me."

"Well, Scar, I have a lot of blackmail about everyone in my grade," Tiffany and Ivy conveyed in unison, assuming the blackmail position since they didn't want anyone to hear what she was about to say to Scarlett.

"That's awesome, Iz and Tiff!" Scarlett quietly said, assuming the blackmail position while discreetly checking around to make sure no one was listening.

Tiffany pulled a straight strand of her silky chocolate-brown hair away from her glossy lips before giving Ivy a side glance. "I was visited by one of my usual spies at my house," she explained. "They told me that Danielle Sullivan's boyfriend was physically caught cheating on her with another girl from one of Westchester's public schools. My spy also said to me that she went nuts and started beating him with someone's bag."

Ivy's piercing-blue eyes drifted from Tiffany to Scarlett. "There's also the fact that she also beat the girl as well," she chirped, eating another spoonful of her mango ice cream. "I have the feeling that her ex-boyfriend and this girl's parents probably went to the police to file a report."

"Anyway, Lett, someone recorded her public meltdown," Tiffany said, keeping the same subject. Looking directly at Scarlett, she noticed that her fellow Queen of Information was actively listening to what she was saying without saying anything to them. "My spy sent me the link to the video and watched it. I laughed at the fact that she would be remembered as the girl who couldn't take the fact that her boyfriend was over her."

"When Tiff sent that link to me, I instantly watched the same video and couldn't stop chuckling at her public humiliation," Ivy noted meanly, sounding very happy at Daniella's misfortune. "After laughing for fifteen minutes, I sent the same video to Avery. Oh, I saw that she had responded to what I had sent her about twelve minters later and told me that she was sending this video to every student at our school."

Scarlett snickered and leaned back in her seat. "I don't feel bad for her at all," she elegantly shrugged her shoulders. "She should have known from the beginning that her boyfriend was cheating on her. After all, girls are supposed to have some kind of built intuition."

Ivy gave a half-smirk at Scarlett before flicking her glossy jet-black ringlets over her shoulders. "Well... I'm guessing it's my turn to relay some information to Scar," she told the girls. "Anyhow, I heard that Charlotte Luster was embarrassed by her former summer fling. I also know that she tried everything under the sun to get this boy's attention. Including changing her interests to his."

Tiffany's hazel eyes darted sideways for a few seconds and then refocused on the girls. "I laughed at her," she added after Ivy's statement. "I was there when I saw Charlotte couldn't even talk to the guy without blushing up a storm. I also managed to capture a video of her falling into the pool after the boy's girlfriend pushed Charlotte in."

"Oh my god," Scarlett quietly gasped, letting out a little snicker. She then ate some more spoonfuls of her cookies and cream sundae. "Just because Charlotte managed to embarrass herself in front of the boy she likes, but couldn't the boy's girlfriend understand that she's just trying to work through her feelings?"

"Wait a second, Scar," Tiffany said, raising a perfectly waxed chocolate-brown eyebrow at Scarlett's statement. Wondering if Scarlett was feeling bad for Charlotte, she then gave a side glance to Ivy, sensing that she wasn't gonna say anything to their fellow Queen of Information. "Are you feeling bad for Charlotte?"

Scarlett's eyes widened in surprise, thinking Tiffany was wondering if she was feeling bad for Charlotte. "Um, no," she answered honestly. "The only thing that I feel bad about was that the boy's girlfriend didn't insult her even more."

"Oh, really?" Ivy said, scanning around the ice cream shop and noticing that there were only five customers left in the store. "For a second, I thought that you were feeling terrible for her."

"Definitely not," Scarlett said, wrinkling at her pert little nose. She ate the last spoonful of her cookies and cream sundae. "I'm ready to hear some more blackmail about the seventh and eighth-grade students at Prescott.

Tiffany felt her stomach clench up for a few moments before sensing that it had let up. "Scar, I wanted to talk to you about the information that I have on Audrina Adare," she chuckled softly. "I remember that someone sent me this anonymous text last year. I read the entire text and noticed that person had said that Audrina was flirting with my boyfriend, Nathaniel. At first, I was angry that my boyfriend was entertaining this girl with his time, but then, Nate called right after I received this text. We had this huge fight. Just because I told him that he shouldn't be flirting with Audrina. It was major disrespect to me."

Ivy smirked at Tiffany and Scarlett. "I was hanging out with Avery, Lindsey, Chloe, Maia, Delilah, Emily, Nova, and Daniella when she received the text in front of us," she laughed. "I witnessed their entire fight and saw that Tiff had ended the call on Nate. And then five days passed before her boyfriend called her and said sorry to her."

"We eventually made up and spent some time together by ourselves," Tiffany said excitedly, her cheeks turned red. She remembered that Nick had booked the entire Uptown restaurant for their date.

Scarlett's heart swelled at Tiffany's statement, liking that she had managed to keep her boyfriend to herself before worrying that Audrina would take Nate from her. "That's amazing, Tiffany," she quickly piped in. "Ladies, I have to go to the bathroom. So, I'll be right back."

"Okay... Scar," Tiffany and Ivy shrugged before starting to chat with each other. They already knew that Scarlett was coming back to hear more information from them.

Standing up from her seat, Scarlett tugged her chambray-blue Alexander Wang smocked tank dress with a front button placket over her slender thighs before fixing her dress's ruffled shoulder straps. Grabbing her iPhone and her wireless charging case off the table, she started walking away without saying a word to Tiffany and Ivy. Immediately headed straight for the ladies' bathroom with her cell phone in her dominant hand, Scarlett sashayed inside and closed the bathroom door behind her.

Seeing that there was no one in there, she walked inside one of the bathroom stalls and locked the door behind her. Dropping her iPhone and charging case on the square toilet paper dispenser, Scarlett lifted the white lid of the toilet seat and pulled her blue Le Perla lace thong underwear down her slender legs. Squatting over the toilet, she carefully made sure that pee didn't stain her clear Steve Madden wedges while peeing directly into the toilet and then wiped her lower half with some toilet paper.

Feeling that the droplets of pee wouldn't stain her underwear, Scarlett balanced on her wedges and pulled her dress over her thighs again. Sighing, she pressed the silver button on top of the toilet to flush it before snatching her cell phone from the dispenser with her dominant hand. Unlocking the bathroom stall door with her left manicured hand, Scarlett slowly made her way over to the bathroom counter and lowered her iPhone on it.

Turning her facet on, she ran her hands under the pouring water before pumping some lavender-scented hand soap on her wet hands. Scrubbing her hands for twenty seconds, Scarlett made sure that the soap was gone before positioning her hands under the hand dryer. Feeling that her hands were dry, she moved away and grabbed her cell phone from the counter.

A few moments later, Scarlett's icy-blue eyes darted back and forth, thinking about what Tiffany and Ivy had revealed to her. Making an impromptu decision, she knew that her friends deserve to know what her fellow Queens of Information had told her. Using FaceID to unlock her iPhone, Scarlett immediately fired a text to her friends while managing to glance at her flawless reflection in the restaurant's bathroom mirror.

Scarlett: Girlies, I have some tea that I want to share with you guys. So, everyone should respond to me now.

Looking away from the mirror, Scarlett walked back inside the bathroom stalls with her cell phone in her manicured hands. Lowering the lid of the toilet seat, she sat down and crossed her slender legs together. A few moments later, her iPhone buzzed in her hands, chiming throughout the bathroom. Unlocking her iPhone, Scarlett then tapped on the Messages notifications, seeing that the app was now open. She inhaled and read her friends' text messages.

Mackenzie: What happened, Scar?

Kayla: Lett, spill the tea!

Audrey: Oh my god, I can't believe you have some juicy gossip for us!

Madeleine: Uh, Scar, tell us everything!

Exhaling, Scarlett smirked triumphantly, knowing that she had her friends' attention now. After reading their texts, she fired back a response to the girls' texts.

Scarlett: While Tiffany was busy texting someone on her cell phone, I managed to sneak a peek at her iPhone without her sensing that my eyes were on her. I saw that her boyfriend was asking her for another date.

Madeleine: Um, Scar, did they text anything else to each other?

Audrey: I can't believe that you managed to take a sneak peek at Tiffany's cell phone.

Kayla: Um, Lett, maybe it won't hurt to pry some more information from Tiffany about her boyfriend.

Mackenzie: I agree with Kalia that you should inquire about where her boyfriend is taking her for this date. When you get home later, you have to Facetime us and share the details with your friends.

Shifting into a comfortable position on the toilet seat's lid, Scarlett glanced at her cell phone's screen and saw that fifteen minutes had passed already. Thinking that Tiffany and Ivy were probably wondering why it was taking her so long to use the beat broom, she immediately knew that she needed to finish having this text conversation with the girls before heading out. Rolling her shoulders back, Scarlett instantly sent a text to her friends.

Scarlett: Yes, Maddie, I saw that Tiffany was texting something to her boyfriend. And, Kay and Kenzie, I'm not doing that because I don't want Tiffany to shut me out. Anyway, Tiffany and her boyfriend had a huge fight because of this girl called Audrina Adare. She went into detail that Nathaniel was entertaining this loser who was flirting with him in public. Tiffany felt that he disrespected her by not telling Audrina that he wouldn't even consider her for anything. After this fight happened, Tiffany and her boyfriend didn't talk for five days before he realized that he screwed up majorly. When they made up, it seemed like Tiffany's boyfriend had done something to make Tiffany forgive him.

Kayla: At least, her boyfriend is making an effort to keep their relationship. I'm still waiting for James to text me where he's taking me for our first official date.

Mackenzie: Whatever, Lala. Can you stop obsessing over James? It's kind of getting on my nerves now.

Audrey: Uh, Mack, you shouldn't be aggressive with Kalia at all. She's trying to understand why her crush isn't laying all the cards on the table.

Madeleine: Um, Manzie, you should calm down. And, let Kay try to explain herself.

Seeing that it didn't even take a minute for her friends to respond to her text, Scarlett sensed that the group chat was becoming tense, understanding that she needed her friends to cool down on their opposite sides. Exhaling, she sent a swift reply to the girls' texts.

Scarlett: Pretties, calm down for a minute and listen to me. You guys shouldn't be fighting amongst yourselves. So, can we all say sorry to each other?

Knowing that she needed to facilitate her friends saying sorry to themselves, Scarlett sat up straighter on the toilet seat and stared directly at the bathroom ceiling. A few seconds later, her iPhone buzzed in her manicured hands, vibrating throughout the bathroom. She glanced back down and read thoroughly the texts that her friends had sent straight away after her text.

Madeleine: Uh, Mack, I'm sorry for I'm ganging up with Addie and Kay.

Kayla: Kenzie, I'm sorry about following Addie and Kay's antics.

Audrey: Ah, Manzie, I'm seriously sorry I attacked you for trying to express that Lala should scale back on mentioning James every second.

Mackenzie: Forgiven, besties. I'm gonna try to be more understanding. And, try not to judge you for the fact that you're all boy crazy.

Before Scarlett could congratulate her friends for saying sorry to each other, she heard the sound of the bathroom door opening before looking through the cracks in between her bathroom stall door. Seeing that some customers had come into the bathroom, she instantly knew that they were coming to use the bathroom while uncrossing and crossing her slender legs together again. Listening to the sound of one of the customers farting, Scarlett scrunched her pert little nose in disgust while sticking her right index finger down her throat to pretend to gag.

Despising the fact that her privacy in the bathroom was over, she realized that she needed to get back to Tiffany and Ivy now. Thought that they were probably worried that she hasn't come back yet, Scarlett got up with her cell phone in her dominant hand and unlocked the stall door again with her free hand. Managing to weave through the group of middle school kids. Scarlett felt that several eyes were glaring intensely at her, but she ignored it.

Knowing that these losers weren't her priority, she gave herself a once over in the mirror while continuing to scrunch her nose up in disgust. Scarlett couldn't stand the farts that were coming out of the same customer. Observing that ice cream didn't spill on her dress, she fluffed her curls, pretending that the bathroom didn't stink.

Slowly turning towards the bathroom door, Scarlett forced the group of girls to move out of the way by sauntering towards the door. She didn't care that she was interrupting their conversation so that she could leave the bathroom. Leaving the bathroom, Scarlett finally took a deep breath, remembering that she had been keeping her for the last few moments.

Walking past the men's bathroom door, she walked towards the table, where Tiffany and Ivy had claimed a while ago. Dropping her iPhone back on the table, Scarlett observed that the girls were talking to each other before clearing her throat loudly. She then realized that Tiffany and Ivy were now paying attention to her.

"You guys wouldn't believe what was happening in the ladies' bathroom," Scarlett chuckled softly, quietly enough so only Tiffany and Ivy could hear. She folded her arms over her chest. "Some lady started doing some kind of symphony with her farts. And some other customers in the bathroom actually pooped in a public bathroom."

Tiffany and Ivy ate more spoonfuls of their ice cream sundaes, wrinkling their pert little noses. "Ewwww!" they voiced in unison, sounding disgusted at what Scarlett was telling them. "That would have smelled horrible.

"It was," Scarlett agreed, sliding back into her seat. She then checked her wedges for stains, seeing that her shoes were spotless."Her farting caused me to almost dry heave."

Ivy brushed some imaginary lint off her white Susana Monaco tube top, which she'd worn under a navy Smythe one-button blazer. "That's enough, Scar," she urged. "I don't want a visual to be stuck in my mind for days. So, let's shift the conversation to what we were talking about before Lett went to the bathroom."

Tiffany smiled affectionately at Scarlett while silently making her understand that the topic of bodily fluids was causing them to become uncomfortable with her eyes. "Yeah, if I remember correctly, I was talking about Audrina Adare," she replied. "So, Ivy should go back to what we're sharing."

"So, we were speaking about Audrina Adare," Ivy said immediately after Tiffany's statement, dipping her left pinky finger into her mango ice cream sundae and licking it off the same finger. "Since we're sharing information, I want Tiffany to chat about Ali McGraw now."

Scarlett managed finger-comb her delicate fingers through her curls. "All right," she nodded, knowing that Tiffany and Ivy were about to share some juicy details about this girl called Ali.

"I remember one of my reliable spies in school told me about how Ali walked around the same block three times," Tiffany sighed, straightening her metallic-gold Teri Jon by Rickie Freeman floral embroidered midi dress. A few moments later, she licked some cookies and cream ice cream off the back of her plastic spoon. "She was stalking her crush at his house, but his mother caught her coming around the block the fourth time. This lady called the police and made one of the officers arrest Ali."

"Yes, Scar, I was there when Tiffany received these details," Ivy chuckled, clearing her throat feeling wonderful. She then staightened her blazer's lapels. "Ali was later taken to the police station and booked with one charge of felony stalking. Her parents had to go through hoops to get her out. There was also the fact that Tiffany's spy implied that she was served with a restraining order that said she couldn't come within several feet of the boy. They told her that she would be rearrested if she ever came close to the boy again."

"No way," Scarlett simply nodded as she couldn't believe that Ali McGraw was actually arrested for something so minimal but then Scarlett knew that stalking would have caused the boy to change his life over, so no one would get close to her. "I can't believe that she was so dumb to think that people wouldn't notice if the same person was walking around the same block."

Ivy's smile lit up her whole face like someone had given her an awesome birthday present. "Yeah, Lett," she nodded in understanding. "I felt dumbfounded that Tiff's spy had managed to dirt up some damning information about Ali. Especially since I couldn't find anything."

A dazzling smile spread across Tiffany's face. "At first I was astonished that they had the time to dig through public court documents," she said. "But then I realized that they probably hired a PI to do that job for them anyway."

Scarlett rolled her shoulders back and touched her bracelet. "So, I'm guessing that they were tired of digging through useless information for you, Tiff," she sighed. "I don't like sitting around for long periods, so it's nice when someone else does the job for me."

"Well, yeah, obviously," Tiffany nodded, pushing her half-eaten vanilla bean sundae away from her. Feeling full, she instantly knew that she wasn't hungry anymore. "Somehow, I want to tell Scar about Sydney Knight right now."

Ivy raised a perfectly waxed jet-black eyebrow in Tiffany's direction. "Oh, Tiff, I recall that you texted me that you caught sight of her doing something weird at school."

"I wasn't expecting Tiffany to speak about Syndey," Scarlett said, resting her left elbow on the table. Feeling her cell phone buzz on the table, she grabbed it, moved her iPhone closer to her eyes, and discovered immediately that she had left her friends on read. Scarlett knew that she would probably respond to the girls when she got home. "One of my newer spies also shared the same information about the same girl."

Tiffany looked straight at Scarlett while positioning her moisturized elbows on the table. "I didn't know that," she told Scarlett. "But, anyway, I was walking through our school's second-floor hallway after the first day of school ended. As I was turning the corner, I saw from the corner that Syndey was wiggling her hips in front of her cell phone. Before she even saw me, I managed to find a hiding spot and watch as Syndey was doing one of the stupid TikTok challenges where people stole things from their school. Without her noticing me, I recorded her stealing an expensive microscope from one of the school's laboratories and sent it immediately over to Ivy afterward."

"Um, Scar, I was astonished when I received that text from Tiff," Ivy replied. She scuffed at the ice cream shop's black-and-white-checkered floor with her taupe Steve Madden suede ankle-clad feet, placing her knitted fingers on her lap. "As I was observing this video, I was dying of laughter because this loser didn't look around her surroundings and notice that someone was filming her. Then, Tiff texted right after sending this video to me and told me that she would be holding this video over Syndey."

Scarlett moved her half-eaten cookies and cream sundae from her sight. "Well, then," she said brightly, realizing that Ivy and Tiffany had a devious look in her eyes. "Oh, Tiff, can you please tell me the expression on her face when you showed her the video?"

"Well, Scar, her face completely turned pale white when I showed the video to her," Tiffany giggled with a gleeful expression in her eyes. "Syndey was completely afraid that I would use it to blackmail her or something."

Ivy shot a dazzling smile at Scarlett. "But instead, Tiff decided to recruit her into her spying ring," she added happily, feeling pleased that Tiffany managed to get Syndey to do her bidding. "So, she'll be able to be her eyes and ears for any new information."

"Maybe I should use that technique for my next spy recruit," Scarlett suggested. Grabbing her iPhone off the table, she checked the time on her cell phone, discovering that it was almost seven thirty in the evening. Remembering that Scoops closes at eight, Scarlett remembered her curfew for today was nine o'clock in the evening while blocking her iPhone. She then sent a text to her driver, Jason: Um, Jason, you need to come and pick me up now. As soon as Scarlett saw that the text went through, she dropped her cell phone face forward on the table, shifting her attention back to Ivy and Tiffany. "However, I think the person would probably laugh in my face before I have no option than to blackmail them into my bidding."

"Oh, Scar, they would eventually understand that they are under your control until you let them go for their excellent service to you," Ivy spoke to Scarlett, a menacing tone to her words. She brushed some lint off her light-wash 7 for All Mankind straight-legged jeans.

Tiffany nodded, feeling that Ivy was probably speaking what was on her mind to Scarlett. "Yeah, Scar," she said nonchalantly. "

A couple of seconds later, Scarlett's iPhone buzzed on the table, causing the girls to jump out of their skins. Without waiting for Tiffany and Ivy to say anything else to her, she clearly read the new Messages notification and noticed that Jason had texted her that he was on his way here. "It's okay, Tiff and Iz," she replied. "Just texted my driver to come pick me up. My curfew is at nine today."

"I understand," Tiffany nodded as she realized that Scoops was going to close. "Does anybody know what the time is?"

Ivy smiled broadly and checked the time on her iPhone, which had been resting backward on the table. "Seven fifty-forty in the evening, Tiff. Why are you asking that question?"

Tiffany inspected her dress, seeing that melted ice cream droplets didn't stain it. "Lindsey texted me earlier today. And, said that she was going to Facetime us at ten p.m."

"It seems like she has something serious to discuss with you guys," Scarlett said, sounding interested in the chat that was going to happen between Tiffany and her friends. A few moments later, she looked out of the ice cream shop's glass windows and saw that Jason wasn't there yet. Scarlett returned her attention to the girls sitting in front of her.

"Lindsey was pretty vague about the topic of discussion," Tiffany added while peeking from the corner of her eye and noticing that there were only customers left inside Scoops. "I've literally run over the millions of things that she wants to talk to us about."

"Uh, Tiff, you shouldn't be worried about anything," Ivy reassured her fellow Queen of Information, affectionately rubbing Tiffany's left hand. "I'm pretty sure that Lindsey probably wants to talk to you about the upcoming social club meeting."

Scarlett inspected her bare nails, remembering that she had used nail polish remover to remove the color from her nailbeds. Picking up the sound of some car's horn beeping, she looked out the glass windows again and observed that Jason was still not there yet. "Oh, I remember that Lindsey is the president of the social club," she interrupted sharply, suddenly thinking that they weren't sharing information about their loser classmates anymore. "Is there a way for me to join the club as well?"

Ivy grinned at Scarlett and squared her shoulders. "Oh, Scar, you're already inside the club," she expressed fondly. "We all voted last week Thursday night before school began the next day after. Your friends were also added to the list of members."

Tiffany giggled softly and leaned back in her seat. "It didn't take long for us to have a unanimous vote among ourselves," she added, feeling delighted that their successor was in the same club as them.

Just as Scarlett was about to say something to Tiffany and Ivy, she heard the sound of some car's horn beep again, which made her look outside the ice cream shop's windows again. Discovering that Jason was now pulling the Bentley up the cement curb, she diverted her concentration back to her fellow Queens of Information.

"Um, Iz and Tiff, my driver is here to pick me up," Scarlett informed Tiffany and Ivy as she got up from her seat and tossed her iPhone into her clear Aphrodite shoulder bag. "So, I'll probably text you guys later."

"Okay, Scar," Tiffany and Ivy chuckled in unison, grinning at Scarlett. "We're leaving soon since Scoops closes at eight p.m."

Without a word, Scarlett silently traded a side glance with Tiffany and Ivy, which made them understand that she was leaving now. Launching her designer handbag over her shoulder, she headed towards the ice cream shop's doors and stepped outside. When she reached the car, Scarlett opened the right-side white rear door and climbed into the Bentley.

Scarlett then settled into the seat in the center of the buttery soft leather backseat and abandoned her purse on the adjacent seat beside her. Closing the door behind her, she didn't say anything to her driver while feeling the motion of Jason driving the car away from the curb. Closing her eyes, Scarlett made a mental note to text Tiffany and Ivy when she gets home. Opening her eyes, she stared directly at the car's front windshield, observing that the brilliantly-lit moon was now dominating the sky. Turning her attention to the car's left-side tinted rear window, Scarlett stayed in the position for the rest of the car ride.


The Stein Estate

Kitchen

9:57 P.M.

Sunday, September 8th

Sitting down on the breakfast nook's banquette bench with Coco in her left arm, Madeleine dropped her Pomeranian on her lap, unlocked her iPhone, and pressed her cell phone to her right ear. Asking Siri to Maxwell, she hoped that her hairstylist was still at his salon, she discovered that the call rang five times before Maxwell finally picked up on the other line.

"Hello, Maxwell," Madeleine greeted her hairstylist warmly as she leaned back in her seat, placing her iPhone between her right shoulder and right cheek.

"Madeleine!" Maxwell squealed loudly, sounding very happy to hear from one of his longest clients. "It's been a while since I've heard from you."

Madeleine bit her lower lip in thought, scratching behind Coco's ears. "Well, Maxwell, I've been busy for the last two weeks," she answered her hairstylist's question. "So, I need to make an appointment quickly because my hair is starting to become oily and dirty. What time works for you?

"Madeleine, I have a spot open for September twenty at 2:30 in the afternoon," Maxwell replied. There was noise in the background, so he was moving something around. "Is that appointment okay for you?"

"Yeah, Maxwell," Madeleine said, crossing her right arm across her chest. "It's perfect. I don't have any school that day. So, I'll see you that day."

"Of course, Madeleine," Maxwell said excitedly before ending the call on his side.

Just thinking about how easy it was for her make an appointment with her usual hairstylist, Madeleine dropped her iPhone facedown on the nook's table and straightened her white Aqua eyelet smock dress over her slender legs. She rose gracefully from the bench and dropped Coco on the floor. Heading towards the fridge with her puppy currying at her bare pedicured feet, Madeleine grabbed a chilled bottle of orange-flavored Vitamin Water from inside the fridge and shut the fridge door with her other hand.

Opening the bottle of Vitamin water, she took several sips of her cold drink before closing it. Abandoning her Vitamin water into her dress's left front pocket, Madeleine snatched her cell phone from the nook's table and shoved it inside her dress's right front pocket. Remembering that her parents had already retired to their room, she decided that she needed to talk to her parents about spending some time together since Madeleine just realized that she had spent more than an hour and a half this whole week.

Sensing that her Pomerian was following behind her, Madeleine walked out of the kitchen and hurried over to the winding staircase. When she reached the top of the stairs, she skipped toward her parent's bedroom and stopped directly in front of their door. Before Madeleine knocked loudly on the door, she pressed her right ear against it, wondering what her parents were doing before interrupting them.

She picked up on the sound of lips moving together before she realized that she shouldn't bother them tonight. Covering her mouth so no noise would come out of it, Madeleine wrinkled her nose in disgust, recalling that they say some kind of secret phrase before heading up to their room. Turning away, she scooped Coco with her dominant arm and headed straight for her room. Walking inside, Madeleine lowered her puppy to the floor and closed her bedroom door with her left foot. Sighing, she looked around her room, loving how she had the idea to redecorate her room this summer.

Her entire room was covered in purple, white, and grey combo—three walls were painted purple, and the wall behind her grey upholstered diamond-tufted headboard was covered in white silk wallpaper. The three-thousand-count microfiber sheets on her bed were purple, and the modern white linen king-size duvet lay across her king-size bed. Four memory foam pillows were covered on pillowcases that matched the duvet on the bed, and grey faux-fur throw pillows were settled in front of the cooling pillows.

Her long, grey-painted, full-length mirror was set between her walk-in closet and her private bathroom. On the same wall was her medium-sized white modern vanity. The table had her makeup stored neatly inside her Lucille Brand makeup bags and bottles of Michael Koes perfume were on top of the table.

Beyond her modern white closet doors stood her massive two-story white walk-in closet filled with the latest designer clothes, shoes, accessories, and handbags, which had three purple wing chairs and a modern white coffee table in the center of her closet. On both of her solid white wood nightstands were grey table lamps standing on either side with a single intercom speaker, her silver iPad Pro, and her wireless Apple charging case that was holding her fully charged AirPods inside. Hanging from one of the corners of her bedroom was her 75-inch flat-screen Smart TV.

Above her custom-made mannequin hung several white floating shelves crammed with academic and junior-tennis league trophies. Eight grey bookshelves were placed around her room, which was stuffed to the brim with new and old fashion magazines, textbooks from her old elementary school and her new school, and novels. Over her modern bed hung a modern joyful mood painting from an emerging artist named Sakara Tsai.

Sitting in the center of her modern white coffee table was a grey vase filled with purple bellflowers. Behind her coffee table were her purple diamond-tufted linen sofa and grey linen wing chairs covered in white faux-fur throw pillows, which had matching side tables on either side of the sofa. Right next to her desk was a white wastebasket filled to the brim with trash. Casting a soft glow over her room a small modern white chandelier. Automated grey-and-white-striped curtains hung from curtain rods that blocks people from looking into her room.

The grey wood floor gleamed beneath a spread of large white shag rugs. Behind some more modern doors was her very own bathroom. Simple skincare brand products were perfectly lined across the quartz countertop of her solid white modern vanity. On the opposite end of her bathroom was an oversized walk-in shower with multiple nozzles, so her body could constantly be sprayed with water without her having to keep turning.

Outside of the shower and hanging from silver wall hooks were a couple of purple, white, and grey robes. Next to her shower was a freestanding acrylic soaking tub, facing another flat-screen TV. Next to the tub was a solid white modern side table filled with Egyptian cotton towels. Next to her bathroom was her modern white desk. On the tabletop was her MacBook Air laptop, a grey pen holder filled with purple and white faux-fux pom-pom pens was right next to her computer, a neatly-stacked pile of school spiral notebooks sat on the opposite corner of her desk, and a white picture frame was filled with a picture of her and her parents sat in the other corner of her desk. Finally, hanging behind her desk was a white corkboard that was filled with outdated party invitations and pictures of her and Scarlett.

Taking a deep breath, Madeleine moved toward the edge of her bed and collapsed backward on her bed. She crossed her ankles together and signed deeply. Thinking about what she heard in her parents' bedroom, Madeleine decided that her friends needed to hear about what was happening in her personal life.

Stretching her right arm towards her right-side nightstand, she grabbed her iPhone and moved her cell phone closer to her face. Before Madeleine used FaceID to unlock her iPhone, she grabbed her wireless charging case and plucked her AirPods from her case. Shoving them inside her ears, she asked Siri to call Scarlett, sensing that her friend had presently picked up on the other line.

"Hey, Mads," Scarlett greeted Madeleine warmly. "How have you been doing since you got home?"

Madeleine smiled brightly and stared directly at her bedroom's ceiling. "Been good, Scar," she replied, hearing from the tone of her friend's voice that Scarlett was excited to hear from her. "I'm getting Kay."

"Okay, Maddie," Scarlett suddenly responded to her friend's statement, sounding very calm.

Before Madeleine could add Kayla to the call with Scarlett, she felt something press against her bare pedicured feet and glanced down at her feet. She observed that Coco was lying on her dress-clad legs before ordering Siri to add Kayla to the call with Scarlett. A few moments later, Madeleine observed that the call rang three times while waiting for Kayla to pick up on the other line.

"Hi, Maddy," Kayla said after she picked up the other line.

"Hi, Kay," Madeleine replied, looking at her cell phone's screen. Tapping her nails against the back of her Kate Spade phone case, she kept laying backward on her bed while hearing that Scarlett's voice had come up in her AirPods microphone.

"Hey, Lett," Scarlett said after Madeleine's statement, her tone was breezy.

"Hey, Scar," Kayla expressed, sounding very delighted to hear from Scarlett.

Madeleine looked over at her opened closet doors and saw that Ingrid had hung her dry cleaning in her closet. She immediately know that her maid understood that she would put her clean clothes back in the places where they belonged. "I'm putting Kenzie on the phone," she said after Scarlett and Kayla had exchanged pleasantries with each other.

"All right, Maddie," Scarlett and Kayla said in unison.

Without a word, Madeleine let out a sigh and directly added Mackenzie to the call. She heard the call ring five times while waiting for her friend to pick up on the other line.

"Hello, Mads," Mackenzie immediately answered after she picked up the call on the other line.

Madeleine sat upright and moved toward the edge of her bed. She sat at her bed's edge and crossed her slender legs together. "Hey, Kenzie," she said happily.

"Hi, Mack?" Kayla added after Madeleine had said her formalities with Mackenzie, sounding excited to hear her friend's voice.

"Hey, Manzie," Scarlett beamed brightly, wondering if her friend was happy to hear from the both of them.

"Hi, girlies," Mackenzie grinned, her tone filled with warmth toward Scarlett and Kayla.

"I'll get Addie now," Madeleine voiced loudly as she scanned around her room and noticed that the curtains were still open. Stretching her left arm toward her left-side nightstand, Madeleine snatched a small white remote from the same nightstand and dug her right manicured thumb finger into a button marked 'Curtains.' Watching as her curtains closed automatically, she chucked the remote on her right-side nightstand before gazing at her bedroom's ceiling again.

"She's currently online shopping now," Kayla informed her friends, interrupting Madeleine's actions from adding Audrey to their conference call. "She's already called me three times to ask me if I need something from the Shopbop website."

"What did you tell her?" Scarlett and Mackenzie eagerly inquired in unison, wanting to know what Audrey asked Kayla about.

"I already shopped early on the website this afternoon," Kayla explained as she assumed that Audrey hadn't called Mackenzie and Scarlett for their opinions on what she was purchasing online yet.

Not saying anything else to the girls, Madeleine instantly added Audrey to the conference call and waited for her friend to pick up on the other line.

"What's up, Maddie?" Audrey asked after she picked up on the other line, sounding nervous about why Madeleine would be calling them late tonight.

Madeleine thought about how she'll explain to her friends that she heard her parents kissing each other while trying her best not to dry-heave herself. "Nothing much," she said sharply. "Except that I eavesdropped on my parents tonight."

"What happened, Maddie?" Audrey, Kayla, Mackenzie, and Scarlett questioned in unison, sounding interested in what Madeleine was about to tell them.

"While I was downstairs in the kitchen with Coco following me around, I thought that I should discuss with my parents making a reservation at the Indian Tower," Madeleine blurted as she rolled onto her right side. "So, I ran upstairs and was about to enter their room when I decided that I should listen to what they were doing in there. I literally heard the sounds of their lips smacking together. It caused me to wrinkle my nose in disgust. Then it allowed me to walk away from their bathroom door without alerting them to my presence."

"Maddie, you have to remember that your parents are human too," Scarlett told Madeleine, sounding surprised that her friend didn't understand that her parents don't show PDA in front of her. "They have desires just like you."

"I would have dry-heaved on the spot," Kayla offered, keeping her tone breezy. "Not caring if my parents would have heard me.

"Um, Mads, it's alright for your parents to show some kind of PDA in front of you," Mackenzie replied.

"Oh, Maddy, I seriously think that you should calm down," Audrey muttered. "And allow your parents to showcase their love in the open without judging them."

Madeleine paused and reconsidered her words. "Fine!" she huffed, mentally knowing that her friends were right about what they were saying to her. "Anyhow, I called to tell everyone that we have plans for tomorrow. We're grabbing some lunch at Lee's Chinese, then we're pampering ourselves for the next four hours at Pure Bliss Spa, and the boys are expecting us to hang out with them tomorrow after leaving our favorite spa."

"Okay, Maddie," Kayla nodded. "I can't wait to spend some more time with James."

"Same," Mackenzie agreed with Kayla.

"Can do," Audrey chimed in.

"I understand, beauties," Scarlett grinned.

"Whatever," Madeleine mumbled, pacing back and forth across her bedroom's floor. Looking over at Coco, she noticed that her dog was lying across her bed now. "See you guys tomorrow morning!"

"Um, good night, everyone!" Scarlett grinned, starting to feel tired.

"I"m going to bed now," Mackenzie and Kayla replied in unison "So, we'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, girlies!" Audrey said tiredly, sounding sad to get off the phone with her friends.

Without saying a word to the girls, Madeleine ended the conference call on her side and launched her cell phone on her bed. Folding her arms over her chest, she inhaled and looked around her room. Seeing that Ingrid had vacuumed her entire room, Madeleine rolled her shoulders back before deciding to take a warm, nice bubble bath.

Grabbing her iPhone from her bed, Madeleine walked inside her bedroom, quickly made her way over to the tub, and turned the single-polished nickel facet on. The hot water rapidly filled the tub and the steam started to rise. Madeleine peeled her dress off her petite body and folded her clothing.

Leaving her folded dress on her closed toilet lid, she managed to grab a bottle of lavender-scented Philosophy bubble bath from underneath her vanity and went straight to the tub. Opening the bottle, Madeleine poured a small amount of bubble bath soap into the water, seeing that the water was starting to fill with white suds. Closing the bottle, she dropped it on the floor beside the tub, sitting on the edge of her tub.

Abandoning her cell phone on the table beside her tub, Madeleine glanced directly at her bathroom's windows, observing that they were covered with automated curtains. A few moments later, she stuck her right pedicured toe into the soapy water to check the temperature and felt satisfied with the comfortable warmth. Stepping into the tub, Madeleine laid down and placed the back of her slender neck against the tub's lip.

Sighing deeply, she sunk further into the water, falling deeper into a zen state. Suddenly, Madeleine's iPhone chirped, shaking her from her zen daze. Wiping her wet hands on the fluffy purple Egyptian cotton hand towel that was resting on the lip of the tub, she carefully grabbed her iPhone from the side table and moved it closer to her face. Unlocking her cell phone, Madeleine saw that her crush had sent a text to her before starting to read it.

Lachlan: Have you ever been skiing before?

The question struck Madeleine as random and somewhat weird, but already becoming intrigued. She then decided to reply to Lachlan's text.

Madeleine: Yes, a couple of times when my family literally visited our family home in Aspen for winter break. Why?

Lachlan: Cool. Every year, my family and friends go to our Aspen home for an annual ski trip. So, I'm glad that we might run into each other.

For a split second, Madeleine seemed to forget about her relaxation while lifting her left sud-covered leg out of the water. She then let out an excited squeal and hurriedly typed back her reply.

Madeleine: Sounds awesome. Count me in when our parents actually head over to Aspen this coming December month.

Lachlan: Okay, Madeleine. Before I even sent this random question to you, I wanted to let you know that you and the girls should come over to Scott's house at five p.m. tomorrow afternoon.

Sinking lower into the bath of white suds, Madeleine kept her face close to her face as she managed not to drop her cell into the tub of water.

Madeleine: Okay, Lachlan. I can't wait to hang out with everyone, but at the same, I want us to have a deep conversation away from anybody else.

Lachlan: Don't worry, Madeleine. I'll find some way to squeeze some solo time from our group hangout.

Smiling to herself, Madeleine placed her iPhone back on the side table, knowing that she didn't need to respond back to Lachlan. Loving how her crush managed to come up with a topic so it'll be easier to talk to her, she couldn't believe that Lachlan had implied that they should hang out in Colorado together while making a mental note to tell her friends and invite them along as well. Madeleine knew this was the universe's way of rewarding her for relaxing in her freestanding tub. Letting out a sigh, she had to admit that relaxing had never felt so good.

Thirty minutes later, Madeleine felt that the water had gone cold before using her pedicured toes to switch her bathtub's trip lever which caused the water to go down the drain. Standing up, she pulled her long, heather-grey Polo Ralph Lauren terry robe off one of the hooks and slipped the robe on. Madeline tied it together before glancing over her right shoulder.

She noticed that the water was going down before moving over to the vanity. Turning the facet on, Madeleine brushed her teeth and then turned the facet off again. She then glimpsed at the bathroom mirror, twisting her damp curls into a messy bun.

Just as Madeleine was about to leave the bathroom, she grabbed her cell phone from the side table and dumped it into her robe's right front pocket. Walking outside, Madeleine closed the bathroom door behind her and opened her closet doors. Clapping her manicured hands together so the lights in her closet would turn on, she scanned around her closet and noticed that Ingrid had folded all of the huge piles of clothing.

Seeing that her maid had hung them all back on her closet's rods, Madeleine left her robe to fall off her shoulders onto the floor for Ingrid to pick up, feeling the air-conditioned air against her wet skin. She started pawing through her closet's drawers before plucking a pair of white Stripe & Stare pointelle cami and high-rise brief set. Slipping on her sleepwear, Madeleine clapped her manicured hands tighter so the lights in her wardrobe would turn off.

Trekking outside, she looked directly at her alarm clock, seeing that it was already eleven o'clock in the evening. Madeleine shut the closet doors behind her and crawled under her duvet. Sitting upright, Madeleine clapped her manicured hands together so the lights in her room were turned off. Slipping her sleep mask over her eyes, she dozed off, letting sleep take over. Only seventeen more hours until she hung out with her friends and the boys.


A/N:

Another chapter for you guys

Enjoy,

FashionLeMode