January 17th, Friday, 1998.

So, like, you see my problem, right? I was entering an Annual Ashley Sleepover with thoughts of Gretchen! Gretchen! I should have been thinking of braiding hair, gossip, Jason Priestly and his perfectly coiffed loins!

It really worried me, but ugh, could I have BEEN any wronger?

Oh, wait, I'm writing a little too loudly, just a sec.

Ashley wiggled out from under her blankets and plushies, popping her head out to see if anyone had stirred awake. It was 23:30 now, and the Ashley's had finally gone to bed (as ever, they were allowed privileges other kids their age didn't have, like far later bedtimes, even during sleepovers).

Ashley Q was lying in her portable waterbed esque sea blue sleeping bag, cuddling up to a cardboard cutout of Matthew Perry and kissing it every once in a while. Her legs seemed to kick in her sleep, like she was running. She mumbled 'Yes, Chandler, I'm graceful AND tough, isn't that a 2 for 1 deal or what? Could I BE any hotter?'.

Ashley T was wrapped up like a cocoon in her sleeping bag, a muted green one with musical notes draped all over it. Barbshley slept next to her in a smaller sleeping bag with musical notes draped all over it, only hers was pink and emboldened with a logo. Despite the fact that she was supposed to be sleeping on the ground, Ashley T had somehow found her way onto Ashley's Q's bed, grabbing onto her waist and big spooning even though she was smaller. She had a facial mask on, which made it a little harder to nuzzle up to Ashley Q, but it didn't stop her from muttering in her sleep 'Never fear, Q, Seniorita Fusion will dispel the confusion... In song...'.

'What good BFF'S!', Ashley A thought, smiling softly to herself. It was nice to see The Ashley's get along again after the wack of recent weeks.

Of course, there was also Ashley B, who was gracefully positioned in her tanning bed, clapping to turn on her self-help disc feat. MMMBop.

'Ashley B is the best. Ashley B is the prettiest. Even more than Ashley A. Ashley B is smart and funny and worth listening to. We love Ashley B.', the disc chanted in robotic fashion.

'Like, I totally love Ashley B too...', Ashley B slurred out, giggling as she gently resumed sleeping.

Ashley A smiled again. 'B seems to be feeling better. She's been so weird recently.'

Then, Ashley remembered how the sleepover had gone. 'They've all been weird. Including me.'

Scared, she placed her eye mask (pink with roses drawn on it) on her face and tried to hide from the scary. 'God, if you're listening, I'm... I'm scared, okay? Gosh, no need to make me say it, it's embarrassing ENOUGH.'

Sighing, she kept on whispering, hugging herself and clutching her Hello Kitty plush, the covers forming a tent her only refuge. 'This was supposed to be my most normal and fun day of the week! This was, like, my refuge from geek loser germs! My sanctuary from science and freak-ism's! My escape from... From... From Gretchen!'

Sighing, she removed the eye mask and began writing again in her diary. 'And it's not that I didn't have fun. I did. That's the scary part.'

She gulped, feeling her heart hammer and her shoulders shake.

'...That maybe it would have, like, totally been funner and nicer with Gretchen...'

A few hours earlier...

'Ah! Is there ANYTHING better than an Annual Ashley Sleepover?', Ashley A asked in a sophisticated tone, as she daintily sipped on some Chamomile tea from her expensive London set, each cup draped in British symbolism (English flag colors, royal emblems, etc.). Her pinkie was, of course, out.

'Perish the thought!', Ashley Q replied, taking a modest munch of her Strawberry jam filled scone, then wiping her mouth with a golden napkin.

'Don't make us titter, Ashley dear!', Ashley T laughed mockingly, pouring a cup of blackcurrant tea for Barbshley.

'Quite right! While our fellow youth participate in such vulgar activities as watching "Superhero cartoons" or "playing video games" or what-EVER, WE are far more elegant and graceful!', Ashley B finished, setting her fascinator on her head, the white hat adorned with a yellow Daisy.

'Like, totally!', all four chorused, when suddenly, the TV blared out the ending of the latest Friends episode, "The One with the Embryos":

"Would you all stop yelling in our apartment?! You are ruining moving day for us!", Chandler shouted.

"Will you stop calling it your apartment?!", Rachel shouted back.

"But it is OUR apartment!', Joey joined the shouting.

"No it's not!", Rachel replied to him, and they all descended into a massive argument, when suddenly...

Phoebe burst out from the bathroom, excited. "You guys! You guys! You're gonna have a baby! They're gonna have a baby!"

"MY SISTER'S GONNA HAVE MY BABY!", Frank shouted, referring to Phoebe carrying his and his wife's baby.

'OMG, I CAN'T , GIRLS, AAAAAAAA!', Ashley A squealed, shaking her fists in amazement.

The rest of the Ashley's agreed too, squealing and shaking each other. 'PHOEBE'S GONNA HAVE A BABY! OMG, I WASN'T SURE IF WE'D GET THAT!', Ashley B screamed, her hat flying off onto Ashley M, who sighed.

'THANK GOD WE DIDN'T GET SPOILED!', Ashley T cried, genuinely wiping some tears for Phoebe.

'THANK GOD FOR VCR!', Ashley Q expressed, sighing romantically and falling back onto the bed. 'Sure, it's a baby for her brother, which is kinda yucky, but STILL! A BABY! A LIL CUTE BABY!'

All the Ashley's squealed again, as the episode's credits began to roll. Suddenly, the tape cut to what it was recorded on: An episode of "Senior Fusion".

"NEVER FEAR! SENIOR FUSION WILL DISPELL THE CONFUSION!", Senior Fusion cried, running towards the building full of cannibals holding his lady love hostage.

'Huh? What's that doing on your tape, Ashley T?', Ashley B asked, raising an eyebrow. Ashley A had to agree, it was weird. Geek stuff like "Senior Fusion" was, alongside video games, schoolwork and sports, considered to be beneath Ashley sensibilities. Like, way way beneath. Like, Mariana trench deep (something Ashley now knew was apparently very deep).

Ashley T suddenly seemed a little pale (impressive, considering her excellent skin care knowhow). She began to stammer as she desperately searched for Ashley A's VCR remote. 'Oh, um, must have been my little brother, Tyler! That mischievous little jerk! I can't believe he recorded his dumb cartoon show over, um, "Sister, Sister", I guess, I MEAN, I KNOW!'

Ashley B was a little less convinced than her compatriots, but they decided to trust Ashley T's assertions. Ashley B, meanwhile, proudly lifted a video tape from her Gucci bag, which was honeybee colored. 'Well, never fear, Ashley B is here!', she mock quoted the superhero "adorning" (read: shaming) the TV screen.

'Actually, it's "Never fear, Senior Fusion will dispel the confusion", it rhymes with the name, not fear...', Ashley T started, only to suddenly clasp her mouth. When she opened it slightly, she peeped 'Which is stupid, I learned about that to mock it.'

That seemed to impress Ashley B and Ashley Q, who brushed her hair simultaneously. 'Like, work that mock, girl! Gotta love that off the clock meanness!'

Ashley T bit her lip and stared only at Q, smiling shyly. 'Anything for my girl...s.'

'So, what's on the tape, B?', Ashley A suddenly reminded them of their current activity, replacing B to brush T's hair.

'Well, since last sleepover was, like, totally not like the rest, because we were all trying to make up for, um, the Purple Day Breakup...', Ashley B mentioned, trying to move on from the awkward moment. She smirked as she once again lifted the video tape. 'Well, we all sort of kind of totally missed the last Sabrina episode, soooooooooo, I taped the rerun!'

'OMG, ASHLEY B!', the other girls squealed once more, overjoyed at their fellow Ashley's brilliance. 'Being this far behind, when everyone else must have seen it... Oh, it gives me the creeps!', Ashley A expressed, shivering.

'Well, allow me to remove those creeps AND those Menlo cooties!', Ashley B declared, hugging Ashley A, which felt different thanks to the hazmat suit she was wearing in the color of her usual outfit.

So were Ashley Q and Ashley T. Ashley A didn't find it insulting. If she thought her friends had cooties, especially Menlo cooties? Yeah, she would wear the hazmat suit. 'Besides, they still look TOTALLY chique!', Ashley A observed internally, reciprocating the hug.

'Well, what are we, like, waiting for? Pop it in!', Ashley T bounced up and down, careful not to spill Barbshley's tea. Ashley Q smirked and sat back a bit, fingers floating in a gossipy fashion. 'I heard from a 6th grader that Sabrina has a green blouse in the beginning of the episode that's to DIE for! Green is SUCH a hot color!'

Ashley T pretended that she wasn't wearing that color, especially when the episode started and Sabrina was indeed wearing a green blouse not dissimilar to her green dress.

'Ooh, it IS to die for! Though you know what's a good color combination? Blue and white!', Ashley A exclaimed, thinking of how Gretchen pulled her look off surprisingly well, the more and more she knew her, she thought that.

Ashley T eyed Ashley A in dismay and disdain, a little green envy coating her cheeks. 'That's MY thing! I like that color combo!'

'...What?', Ashley A asked, confused.

Ashley T realized she was being weird again, and instead pointed at the screen. 'Hey, look, funny.'

'Ooh, funny! That's in right now!', Ashley A, Q and B all said and stared back at the screen, making T sigh in relief. 'Stupid thoughts, stupid feelings. No, don't say that! Look, just because Ashley Q is OBVIOUSLY the most chique of all the other Ashley's doesn't mean anything weird and immoral! I mean, maybe I just want to be more Ashley like her! Yes, that's what it is! Nothing else!'

Meanwhile, the episode showed Aunt Hilda return from an awful date with Mr. Kraft. As the girls laughed at what an uncool loser dweeb he was, Sabrina and Salem too made fun of Hilda's date:

"A heavy heart beloved I have borne from year to year.", Sabrina made fake googly eyes at Salem.

"Hold me Willard!", Salem shouted back dramatically.

The two made kissy noises at each other.

"A cat is doing an imitation of me kissing my niece's Vice-Principle. So this is my lowest moment.", Hilda commented.

As the theme song rolled, all 4 Ashley's giggled, rolling on the bed.

'Salem is SOOO funny!', Ashley B waved her hand. 'I love how sassy he is!'

'And Sabrina is too!', Ashley A expressed with leg kicking and a sigh. 'What an icon. And since I'm clearly the Sabrina of my life, then I'm an icon too. Literally magical.', Ashley A flaunted, smirking smugly and fluttering her eyelashes.

Meanwhile, Ashley Q and T, wanting to make the others laugh (and also mimic what they just saw), motioned for the others to see them reenact the scene.

'A heavy heart beloved I have worne from year to year!', Ashley T cried, trying to sound like Sabrina. Ashley A and B giggled. 'Good impression, T!', A complimented, trying to be nice like she was with Gretchen.

'Hold me, Willard!', Ashley Q cried back, in her best Salem impression. It was weird to hear her speak deeply, of course, and so the other Ashley's burst into fits of giggles, almost hiccupping.

Ashley T laughed hardest, and then, the two tried to imitate the kissy faces. While Ashley A and B laughed again, holding their stomachs, and Ashley Q simply acted her role, Ashley T opened her eyes, and saw Q's firm yet soft lips trailing towards her. T had never been kissed before... Especially not by a girl as pretty as Q. Q didn't need kissing experience to be good at it, T bet. In fact, Q was probably better at it than any stinky boy...

Realizing what she was thinking, T screamed and bounced away, rolling into Ashley A's cupboard.

This caused Ashley B to laugh uproariously, hat falling off onto the floor. Ashley Q chuckled slightly, unsure if Ashley T was okay or not, and if she should react. Ashley A, meanwhile, did get concerned. 'Are you, like, literally all right, Ashley T?', she asked, a timber of worry coating her words. She paused the episode so they could focus on the matter at hand.

'Ashley A, don't make me laugh! You're supposed to be laughing!', Ashley B critiqued, but not in a bad way. She shook her head playfully. 'She crashed into your closet! Now THAT'S comedy!'

Ashley A blinked in surprise. Maybe that seemed funny once, but now it felt a little odd to laugh at that, no?

'Still, we're having a good time. It's just like before all this Purple Day drama.', Ashley smiled softly to herself, making Ashley B think she now found the closet accident funny. 'We're laughing, being fancy and pretty, having a tea party with plushes? LIKE, IT'S LITERALLY SCANDALOUS TO HAVE THIS MUCH FUN!', she suddenly cried out the last part, just so excited that everything was okay now, normal.

'I know, right?', Ashley B replied, Ashley Q nodding enthusiastically. 'The Ashley's are SO back!'

'Literally! Now can you pick me up, please? I think I died and went to the Abercrombie's in the sky!', Ashley T cried out, and Ashley A laughed haughtily. 'My style is simply to DIE for!', making the others laugh again.

Nothing, nothing could go wrong!, Ashley thought, skipping happily to pick Ashley T up.

Only for Ashley T to reveal that one specific pair of clothing fell on her.

The Ashley R outfit.

Time seemed to freeze, as Ashley A looked around to see her soul sister's reactions. Ashley T seemed mostly just confused, the outfit covering her face. Ashley Q, crinkling her nose and scrunching up her face like she was sucking on a sour lemon while attending a Haggis lovers festival, removed it from Ashley T's face and observed it quizzically. She seemed... Puzzled. Not necessarily confused, just confounded by the piece of information, though she was slowly piecing together where it was from.

Ashley B, to her credit, snapped to the solution immediately. How could she forget the embarrassing verbal beatdown that nerd had laid down on her? And also Ashley Q and Ashley T, she supposed.

'Isn't that what...', Ashley Q started, only for Ashley B to loudly declare 'That's the pathetic excuse for an "ensemble" that L-O-S-E-Ashley-R wore!'

'OMG? EWW!', Ashley T whined and cried, shaking her hands as if she was covered in disease carrying slimy worms. 'GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!'

'Sure thing, T!', Ashley Q smirked, happy to have a chance to save Ashley T because it made her look good in front of he... Everyone. Everyone. Yes.

Pulling off the clothes with her hazmat suit gloves (Ashley T having clearly forgotten that she was wearing hers), Ashley Q tossed the outfit away, not realizing it had fallen on Ashley A.

'Like, gr-OSS! Poor Ashley A has enough germs going around her perfect figure! Must we poison her further?!', Ashley B criticized Ashley Q, and with her suit, she dumped the outfit back into the closet.

'Quickly, Ashley's! Form a judgmental shield!', Ashley B ordered, and she, Ashley Q and Ashley T all stared at the outfit with mocking and hating sneers and scowls. 'Like, talk to the hand, because our bodies don't want you, wack weirdo!'

Satisfied with that declaration of disgust, the three Ashley's turned to Ashley A, who stared at all this in confusion, fear, and perhaps just a little bit of... Sadness.

'I can TOTALLY explain what that, um, thing, was doing in my closet.', Ashley tried, though her words didn't hold her usual bark and bite. She sounded more like a puppy than a prize pooch.

'Oh, no need to explain, Ashley A!', Ashley B reassured, trying to show Ashley A that she did indeed trust her despite what had happened. 'I think that even WITH recent events, we ALL know that you would literally ne-VER wear such a revolting and repulsive look!', she exclaimed, patting her back in support.

'Like, totally! You assembling such a vomitrocious outfit? As if!', Ashley T added, smiling kindly as she stroked Ashley A's hair.

'Oh, I don't know...', Ashley Q started, only to giggle and add 'Not! It's, like, first grade! Ashley has flawless fashion sense, the sun revolves around me, we watch Veronica's closet for the plot and fashion tips and not for any of the naughty things, you know, simple basic facts any stupid baby knows.'

Ashley A tried to smile despite herself, feeling that they were being a lil harsh on the outfit. It wasn't THAT geeky, no? Ashley thought it was kinda cute. Did this mean her impeccable fashion sense was weakening? 'Heh, heh, yeah, like, SOOOO true. Preach, sister.'

The girls began gathering on the bed again, taking off their hazmat suits (after Ashley B quickly used a "cootie-mometre" to check if Ashley was in remission, which she seemed to be), revealing their frankly, kind of adorable pajama tops: Ashley A was of course already wearing her soft pink hearts over white pajamas, having had no hazmat suit; Ashley B was wearing brilliant golden stars on her white pajamas; Ashley Q was wearing fluffy white clouds over her blue pajamas; and Ashley T was wearing her grass green circles over her dark green pajamas. Now, they were ready for one of their favorite sleepover traditions (and really, any time activity): Braiding each other's hair. They took up their usual positions: Ashley A would give Ashley Q a 3-strand braid (with her wide toothed comb, hair spray, a white hair tie, and a blue ribbon), Ashley Q would give Ashley T a 5-strand braid (with a green brush and a diamond shaped hair pin), Ashley T would give Ashley B a fishtail braid (with her fine toothed comb, and a yellow brooch) and Ashley B would give Ashley A a French Braid (because of course, with a pink brush, hair spray and pink barrettes).

Each one was as delicate and caring as possible, as if it was their own hair they took care of. The Ashley's were so adapt at this that they could do this standing up in the playground, let alone in a perfect condition such as Ashley A's soft bed. Ashley A sighed in satisfaction, as she got to work on Ashley Q, happy to get her hands on something and create something beautiful. 'Now THIS is an Ashley sleepover. All my stupid concerns have, like, totally disappeared from my conscious mind and I no longer feel existential about my beloved allies!', she thought, not noting how Gretchen that sounded, as they kept on braiding.

And for a few, glorious minutes, there was nothing but hard work, appreciation of aesthetic, and friendship.

Then, unfortunately, Ashley B had to open her big fat mouth.

'Say, you know what stupid baby WOULDN'T know those simple, basic facts?', she asked, Ashley A not thinking anything of it yet and closing her eyes in peace.

'Who?', Ashley Q asked, enjoying how soft Ashley A's fingers were, making her hair feel like a cloud.

'Ashley A's loser cousin, Ashley R, the one with the terrible outfit.'

Ashley A suddenly jerked, eyes open wide, pulling on Ashley Q's hair by mistake.

'Ow!', Ashley Q cried out in pain, and Ashley A was quick to apologize. 'Sorry! I, like, totally bugged out for a second!'

'It's okay.', Ashley Q replied, trying to suppress the urge to get angry. 'I'd probably jerk like that too, if my cousin was like that.'

That didn't make Ashley A feel better. Neither did Ashley T's addition to the conversation. 'Oh, totally! I can't believe how rude she was to us a few days ago!'

'Yeah! Doesn't she know that's OUR hobby?', Ashley B complained, placing a hand on her heart, asking the others. 'Copycat. Why, I bet she doesn't have a single Gucci accessory. Her mom probably buys her clothes at The Gap!'

Ashley A tried her hardest not to confirm that yes, she had indeed shopped for those clothes at The Gap. The shock AND horror she felt about that fact were beaten by the shock and horror displayed by the girls. 'Surely it's not THAT bad... Right?', Ashley asked herself, biting her lip.

'Ugh, totally. And she's SOOOOO boring! Imagine being interested in, like, smart stuff. The brain is the LEAST sexy internal organ. No one leafs through a Victoria's Secret catalogue or a Milan model show book and goes "Hey, did that slip on accentuate her pink wrinkly thingy?", Ashley Q stated, quite correctly to be fair, but Ashley A still hated to hear it. She was only slightly interested in smart stuff, and it was KIND of fun! Maybe not Annual Ashley Sleepover fun, but still, not BOR-ing.

'Yucky yucky!', Ashley T cried out, sticking her tongue out and gagging. She made a "Gag me" sign by pointing her finger into her mouth. 'If I see her act all meek and scared again, I'll scream! What's a lady without total confidence?'

Ashley didn't think there was anything THAT wrong with needing a lil bit of help. At least, from Gretchen. She hated to be weak, but Gretchen didn't make her feel weak whenever she needed help. Didn't the other Ashley's see it that way too?

'And don't get me STARTED on her friendship with Gretchen Grundler!', Ashley B finally exclaimed, earning agreed "gag me" signs from Ashley Q and T, all 3 chorusing "EWW!'

Ashley A gulped. She didn't even want to defend that in her mind. 'As if! I'm not thinking about that unless I'm alone in bed with Dear Diary!', Ashley A thought, ignoring the fact that being friends with Gretchen was never meant to be an issue in the first place.

'Did you SEE them? Talking science and... Being all... High five! Ugh, my eyes have been sullied with nerd friendship! Quick, Ashley A, tell me you're my BFF again!', Ashley B cried, smiling brilliantly at her best friend, begging for reprieve.

Ashley A, still sort of out of it, shook awake.

'Huh?', she asked, confused, eyes blinking, as she braided Ashley Q's hair perfectly without even looking.

Ashley B's smile didn't waver, though her eyes flickered a faint trace of panic. 'I said, tell me you're my BFF again, so I don't have to think about Ashley R and Gretchen!'

Ashley A gulped, eyes wide, and she tried to unlock her jaw and wrestle the words from her throat. Normally, it would have been so easy, the most obvious fact in the world, as natural as breathing and as involuntary as a heartbeat.

But Ashley's heart beat to a different drum as of late.

Perhaps it was because of how the mean and venomous comments directed at her Ashley R outfit, or perhaps it was the way they were talking about Ashley R and Gretchen's friendship.

Perhaps the reason could even be found later, when they were watching the episode and Mr. Kraft's, um, "Principal Prickley but somehow even more fascist" energy inspired more gossipy and bitchy complaints from the other Ashley's:

Westbridge High School Cafeteria, and all the students participating in the skiing trip were assembled in the room as Mr. Kraft handed out instructions.

"Okay, now in order to ensure everyone's safety on this trip, I have established a few simple guide lines.", he said in his dry and authoritarian way.

Harvey read out the first two out loud in disbelief. "No snacking between meals? Lights out at eight o'clock!"

Sabrina read the next one, even more outraged. "No laughing?!"

"And since we'll be staying at my ex-father in law's condo to save a little bit of money, everyone will have to pitch in with the chores.", Mr. Kraft added, as if that wasn't totally unfair and mean.

Mutters and mumbles filled the halls.

"Will we get paid?", Harvey asked, searching for some sort of silver lining, but Mr. Kraft soon dispelled those clouds with stormy ones. "You will be paid with up to forty five minutes a day of ski time, mister. Well, since it's about ten minutes until school starts, I'm sure you've got some homework you've forgotten or some property to destroy.".

And on that cheery note of cynicism, he turned to leave through the gathered students. "Coming through.", he ordered, leaving a shocked student hall, and specifically a shocked and frustrated Sabrina and Harvey.

And the Ashley's just had to react to such unfair grown up uncoolness!

'SCANDALOUS! BUT IN A BAD WAY!', they all cried out at the same time, Ashley A allowing herself a small smile at the shared moment of agreement.

'Ugh, Mr. Kraft is SOOOOOOO mean!', Ashley T exclaimed, closing her eyes like she just saw someone wear white after Labor Day. She held onto Ashley Q and shivered, Ashley Q rolling her eyes and tossing her towards Ashley A's lap. Ashley T opened her eyes and gagged again. 'MAJOR WACK!'

'Yeah, W to the A to the C to the K, we get it, you're old, don't you know none of us care about you LOSERS who used to go to school with Dino-SNORES?!', Ashley Q berated in an annoyed tone. If she could give that Kraft a good smack with her Armani handbag...

'He's mean, wack, old, a loser, and unfair. Remind you of anyone?', Ashley B smirked in that way she did when she was about to unleash a pandora's box worth of insults towards someone she hated.

The other Ashley's all leaned in, eager to find out who they were insulting now.

Ashley B (affectionately) rolled her eyes and made a cuckoo sign next to her temple. 'DUH! Ms. Grotke!'

'Oh, yeahhhhhhh!', The other Ashley's all elongated their yeah in agreement.

'Ms. Grotke is always saying such LAME and ILLOGICAL things like "Don't hold toys ransom to see how much the girls you hate beg" and "Stop psychologically torturing that new kid" and "Is that MY credit card?". I don't understand half of those words! What does she take us for, brainiacs?', Ashley Q asked, the others all nodding passionately.

'Yeah, brainiac, that's what she is! Making us work hard every night, sometimes for a whole week on a project! It's not easy manipulating your partner to do all the work and walking ALL the way to the nerd's table and choking on the stench to get them to do your homework if you stare at them for 5 seconds!', Ashley T complained, her tone growing whinier and whinier by the second. 'Hmm, I've made myself upset! Ashley M, come purr on me, chop chop!', she clapped her hands, and an annoyed Ashley M crawled over to do just that. She couldn't help but wonder sometimes if this really was the best high society could offer.

'TOTALLY! You really lucked out though, didn't you, Ashley A?', Ashley B asked, winking. Ashley A, still snickering at the other comments, swiveled her head towards Ashley B, curious. 'What do you mean?'

'Oh, sure, being paired up with Gretchen is LITERALLY THE WORST, especially since we all wanted you two to make like a tree and leaf each other, but not only did you get her to do all the work, but you got your lame freak cousin to do it too!', Ashley B cheered, clearly impressed. She sounded almost overawed. Her polite but appreciative applause was followed by Ashley Q and T joining in as well.

'Truly a classic Ashley A masterclass in adorable meanness!', Ashley Q declared with gusto.

'We are TRULY, like, literally SOOOO not worthy!', Ashley T bowed over and over.

'Oh, it was nothing... AS IF!', Ashley A declared, having to sell the bit (but also sort of enjoying the praise, a throwback to simpler times... Better times...). 'I have them twisted around my perfectly manicured finger!', she showed off her pink nail polish, that sparkled in the golden light.

Everyone sighed in relief at this, lying down together in comfort, heads touching.

'Isn't this nice? Us Ashleys, truly back again!', Ashley A stated, burying deeper into Ashley T and B's heads.

'Sing it, queen!', Ashley T replied in agreement, a broad grin on her face that could hardly be contained. 'No more stupid problems and SCANDALOUS scandals! Just us against the freaks and geeks, like always!'

'Cream of the crop, top of the pops, the model models!', Ashley Q smiled calmly, eyes closed, chorusing their praises.

'And NOOOO dumb, ugly, annoying Gretchen or dumb, ugly, annoying Ashley R or dumb, ugly, annoying Ms. Grotke to ruin it for us!', Ashley B finished, and everyone giggled maliciously, happy to get their revenge.

'Wait, revenge?', Ashley A wondered, unsure how much she agreed with that last statement.

'Say, Ashley A, it's been LITERALLY SOOOOOO long! How about a good old fashioned pity party protest about Ms. Grotke assigning you Gretchen?', Ashley B asked, eager for that time honored tradition.

'Oooh, and maybe also some Gretchen insults? Those are ALWAYS in!', Ashley Q offered. Ashley T nodded enthusiastically. 'Can you, Ashley A? Can you?'

Ashley A bit her lip, a little hesitant, before snapping back to reality. What was she thinking? 'I'm Ashley motherfucking A! I'm the queen of mean, the princess of pejoratives, the Ginger AND Posh Spice of naughty and nice! Talk to the hand, because my mouth is about to hand you defeat!', she cried, not realizing it was aloud, not that the girls disagreed.

Readying herself, she began. 'Like, yeah, Ms. Grotke, force me to work with Gretchen even though I asked nicely. I guess being Richist is okay!', she exclaimed, though as she mulled the words over, she couldn't help but thing something was wrong with them. After all, did Ms. Grotke actually do anything wrong? It was a random draw. Sure, she wouldn't believe it if it was Ms. Finster (that woman didn't have a good bone in her body. Ashley A would bet her entire family's fortune that they were total opposites), but Ms. Grotke was the nice member of the faculty (alongside Hank the Janitor). She didn't really lie. Ever. 'Plus, what was she supposed to do, just rearrange Gretchen and me? Pretty much all the other pairs would have asked to, on account of them, like, not being usual pairings.', she mused, tapping her chin in thought. She would NEVER have thought like this once. What was this fair talk, and why didn't it make her want to spew her guts out?

'Richist?', Ashley T asked, confused.

'Racist against rich people.', Ashley B explained solemnly.

Ashley T gasped. 'But... But we're adorable!'

'Alas, not everyone has the intelligence needed to see that you are very adorable, Ashley T!', Ashley Q cursed, not realizing she was going to cause a heart attack if she kept on.

'Anyway, good one, Ashley A! Call out her fake ideals like the fake jeans she wore to the last school dance!', Ashley B congratulated, smiling so wide you could park TWO of her family's Ferrari's there. 'Now insult Ashley R!'

Ashley A tried to, though she sounded far less assured than the norm. 'Oh, yeah, um... Wow, she's sooooo uncool! It makes me wanna, like, die and go to heaven to ask Lady Di to exile her to somewhere terrible, like Antarctica, or Jersey! I mean, like, she likes learning? And doing new and different things she didn't know weren't half bad? And being silly in a non-Ashley acceptable way? And drawing tooth rottenly sweet things? And being actually nice here and there? And writing drama? And GRE...', Ashley A almost finished, but the rest were already laughing haughtily, so she thought it was a good place to finish.

'SAY NO MORE, SAY NO MORE!', they all announced in unison, before then saying 'ACTUALLY, SAY MORE! SAY MORE!'

'I know! Do Gretchen this time!', Ashley B grinned evilly, and Q and T joined in, rubbing their hands in glee. 'Yes! Yes! Pretty please, with Nick Carter on top?'

By then, Ashley A was really struggling. Especially now that she had to insult Gretchen. Because, truth be told, by now...

What was there bad to say?

Sure, sometimes she was a bit of a know it all.

But so was Ashley.

And sometimes she was a bit TOO nerdy and geeky.

But she kinda... Didn't mind that.

And sure, she probably wasn't big on her girly side.

But she didn't make fun of her for that. She didn't make her feel bad.

In fact, she made her feel...

Good.

Happy.

Appreciated.

Just like the other Ashley's did.

And now, she had to insult her?

She, the insult innovator, the greatest banter babe ever...

Couldn't.

She opened her mouth, then closed it. Nothing came out.

Her eyes twitched, her palms sweated, her hair itched.

What, oh what was she to do?

The others, meanwhile, were growing suspicious. 'Ashley A? Did you hear us?', Ashley B asked impatiently, arms crossed in a huff. Ashley Q raised an eyebrow in doubt, while Ashley T just seemed confused.

'Think, Ashley, think!', Ashley A begged herself, but even if her brain COULD think of something, her heart refused, locking her lips, words trapped in her throat.

'I... I...', Ashley tried so hard to push through something, anything. Even the most pathetic insult imaginable.

But she was drawing blanks.

And it was going to cost her cover.

'Ashley A, it really shouldn't be so hard. This is Gretchen we're talking about. Remember? Your ONCE and NEVER AGAIN friend?', Ashley B asked, voice growing a little darker and more frustrated. Was something amiss?

If another 5-10 seconds had passed with no answer or interruption, it may very well had been it for Ashley and Gretchen's lie.

But, as if he had heard her troubles, Mr. Armbruster came swooping in for the rescue.

'Hey, girls! I just came back from work, and thought "Hey, you might all be peckish", so does anyone want a snack? Our kitchen takes ANY order! Freshly bought caviar!', he opened the door and tempted them, shaking the jar in front of their greedy little eyes, wearing that silly chef hat of his with the dumb apron.

'Hmm, perhaps another time. I want chocolate pudding!', Ashley B demanded, without a hint of politeness. It was only Ashley A's father, pretty much the help, really. Her manners were reserved for far more deserving folk, such as the other Ashley's.

'Oooh, yes, chocolate pudding would hit the spot, garcon!', Ashley Q ordered, clapping her hands. 'Chop chop!'

'Oh, and maybe some Hot Chocolate please?', Ashley T asked politely, before getting nudged by Ashley Q and B. 'Oh, right, the help. Ahem, Hot Chocolate now! No please!', Ashley T stuck her tongue out, then stared at Ashley Q and B for approval. 'Did I do good?'

The hair pets confirmed she did.

Ashley A meanwhile knew this was her chance to distract. 'OH, UM, GREAT TIMING OPENING THE DOOR AND REMINDING ME THAT THE DOWNSTAIRS EXIST, DADDY!'

'...You're welcome?', Xavier A replied, a little lost. He scratched his head with the caviar jar, dropping his hat, which fell down the stairs.

'OH, LET ME HANDLE THAT!', Ashley A cried, stepping out towards the stairs.

'Oh, that's nice of you, Ashl...', Xavier A started, only for Ashley A to shake her head, still shouting in a loud and thoroughly unconvincing voice. 'AND BY HANDLE THAT I MEAN GOING DOWN THE STAIRS LIKE THE HAT DID BECAUSE I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM TO CRY ABOUT JUST HOW... GRETCHEN GRETCHEN IS, YES, I NEED TO CRY ABOUT HOW SHE'S SO GRETCHENISH, THAT'S JUST HOW MUCH I... H... A... T... E... HER...', Ashley choked out so hard that she actually began tearing up a bit. 'SEE, ALREADY! WELL, CIAO, I'LL BE BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!', and so, she ran down the stairs and into the bathroom.

Everyone in the room stared blankly at each other for a minute.

Then the Ashley's broke into applause.

'A master at work!', Ashley Q crowed.

'SOOOO jealous!', Ashley T cried.

'I WANNA BE HER!', Ashley B shouted out.

Xavier A, meanwhile, was confused by his daughter's behavior there, so he decided to follow her example by going downstairs towards the bathroom. Taking slow steps so as to warn Ashley A beforehand of his arrival, he very gently knocked on the door while looking away. 'Princess? Are you okay?'

Small sniffles echoed from the room, Ashley's words coated by the tears caught in her throat. 'O... Of course I'm okay! I'm... I'm not confused or torn at all!'

'Well, that's good!', Xavier replied, a little stupidly. Then, he added 'I gather it's your cooties, then?'

Ashley tried to calm down and sound convincing for a change. 'No, they're, um, getting better. I'll probably be able to go to school on Monday.'

'...Are you sure everything is all right? You want me to buy you something? A Barbie dreamhouse, a VHS tape, Apple stocks?', Xavier asked, voice growing softer, leaning on the door.

Ashley could hear just how much he wanted to help her, and a part of her wanted to just... Just run out, scream her feelings, confess everything, let him rock her like he sometimes did when she missed out on a shoe sale.

'But if I do that, I'll put Gretchen in trouble. I can't even trust daddy to keep it a secret. And I'm too far into this to give up.', Ashley acknowledged, before grimacing. 'I'm... I'm too far into liking Gretchen to betray her like that.'

Instead, Ashley slowly walked out and opened the door a crack, her small face peeping out. In a way, it was hard to remember Ashley A was 9 years old, going on 10. She felt both sophisticated and childish for her age. But it was a diva sort of childish. She strove to be like the teens she so admired and idealized, so she acted like that, did anything she could to feel older, more important, more vital to the world. She was BIG.

But at this moment, with these stormy feelings, she was a little girl perhaps for the first time in her life.

'...I'm just, like, feeling kinda... Strange.', she admitted, almost staring away in shame from the very thought of it.

'During an Annual Ashley Sleepover? Are you sure you're not still suffering from cooties?', Xavier asked, using a golden thermometer to check her fever. Removing it, the bar said "Literally SO in right now".

'I know, right? Ugh! It's like, I don't know, it's been so long since we've been together that I'm, like, trying to get used to it again, it's like I still need to relearn that feeling!', Ashley A tried to explain, fucking up and forgetting that technically the Ashley's had spent time with Menlo Ashley A.

Thankfully, Xavier was kinda stupid, plus overworked, so he didn't think about that too hard. 'That WOULD be a problem. Oh, I wish I could buy you a solution, sunshine.'

Perking up, he remembered his current mission. 'Well, at least I can make you girls some Chocolate Pudding and Hot Chocolate! Would you like yours with all the fixings?'

'Please, daddy, I'm confused, not insane. Right away.', she haughtily replied, then clapped, sending him off.

But then, just as she began making her way towards the stairs...

She froze.

She thought of the hot chocolate Ms. Grundler had made for her and Gretchen.

She thought of the peanut butter cups Gretchen had shared with her.

Yeah, they didn't take that much work.

Practically none.

But both actions had warmed Ashley A's heart figuratively and literally.

Both had made her feel more at home, more welcome.

'And maybe that's what will make this Annual Ashley Sleepover feel like an Annual Ashley Sleepover!', Ashley snapped her fingers in Eureka, before smirking. 'Why, just another SCANDALOUSLY STUPENDOUS SCHEME from yours truly! A thank you, a thank you!', she bowed to no one, then stood to the side, pretending she was...

'Why, Ashley A, that was MOST ingenius of you! Even I couldn't have come up with that, and I am VERY smart! You're so cool, it's scientifically unquantifiable!', Ashley impersonated Gretchen, then stepped back to where she had been and waved a hand, pretending to be shy. 'Oh, Gretchen, do keep showering me with praise!'

Snapping back to reality, Ashley ran off towards the kitchen, relieved that her father had yet to start making the pudding and drinks.

When he turned around to see her smirking like an eager cat from behind him, he jumped, startled. 'Oh, Ashley! I didn't see you there! Is there something you want? A pre-snack snack, perhaps?', he suggested, opening the fridge.

'Oh, no, perhaps another time.', Ashley rejected in a casual tone, like that was normal. 'I just wanted to know if you would like me to help you.'

Xavier looked like he had just heard Ashley say she was "An agent of Satan sent to resurrect John F. Kennedy", because even that was more likely than Ashley willingfully volunteering to help with... Well, anything!

'Are you POSITIVE you're not still sick?', Xavier asked, tapping the thermometer with a puzzled expression.

'Ugh, is it REALLY that shocking that I'd, like, want to help?', Ashley asked, rolling her eyes. Just before her father could answer, she shushed him. 'Talk to the hand, daddy. I'm to FAINT to hear your answer.'

'Well, while I AM a little bit surprised, I'm also quite pleased! I'd be GLAD to have your most exalted assistance, oh most fashionable and bitchin' princess!', Xavier bowed ridiculously low, smiling to himself when Ashley couldn't stifle a giggle. 'Your words please me, sir. Yes, I will be of great and most SCHWAY assistance!', she curtsied, unable to repress the grin on her face. Things were finally looking up!

Now, just because Ashley thought that helping to make the pudding and hot chocolate so as to make her and The Ashley's finally feel as close as they wanted to feel was a worthy cause, didn't mean she thought it would be fun. After all, Ashley A HATED working hard unless it was to her own benefit, and while this was to her own benefit, it was kitchen work. She wasn't designing an outfit or arranging a tea party or taking a personality quiz on SEVENTEEN magazine. She wasn't even putting up posters. She was making desserts, which meant measuring stuff, fetching things, stirring (oh her poor, perfect for linking with cute hunks arms!), and inevitabley getting a BIT messy.

And while her overreactions to one splotch of chocolate on her "Spoil the cool" apron was a TAD traumatic...

She had...

Fun.

Stirring the sweetened cocoa powder and powdered sugar in a saucepan (plus whisking in 3 quarters of whole milk) was exhausting at first (and she had to take two breaks), but they kept a good pace by singing "Backstreet's Back", and in a way, it almost felt like a game.

So much that when Ashley heard there was even MORE stirring to do, she didn't mind it.

In a large bowl, they whisked the remaining milk with cornstarch, egg yolks and salt (Ashley was surprised to learn salt was useful in desserts, and Xavier was surprised to see her actually open to new information and not just yawning and asking to move on), which went well, as did pouring the warm milk/cocoa powder mix into the egg yolk mix. Ashley handled the slow pouring while Xavier whisked rapidly, the latter again surprised to see his daughter work together with someone well (sure, she sort of worked well together with the other Ashley's, but this wasn't an area of her expertise).

While Xavier took on the harder and slightly more dangerous part of stirring on the stove, Ashley suddenly got an idea (now too active to just sit down and wait). That feeling of safety from Gretchen's place activated, Ashley decided to take a bit of a risk: She would make special drawings for each Ashley to come with their desserts.

Xavier tried not to get overly emotional when he saw Ashley drawing on the kitchen table, showing not an ounce of fear. Her drawings were what she once dared not show: Silly, kitschy, overly girly.

Ashley B would get a bouquet of flowers in every color of the rainbow, with honeybees buzzing happily around the petals, buzzing the first bar of their favorite Spice Girls song, "Wannabe".

Ashley Q would get a drawing of her favorite "Friends" episode, "The One with the Flashback", specifically the cute Chandler and Monica compliment scene that had her and Ashley T screaming like maniacs ('Who am I kidding, I screamed too', Ashley A admitted with a sheepish grin).

And Ashley T would get a drawing of her and Barbshley singing, since Ashley A knew how much Ashley T loved singing with her doll.

Hearts, balloons, rainbows, stars, clouds, circles, sparkles, glitter, you name it, if Ashley thought it would make the girls feel happy and appreciated (and herself apart of them again), she drew it, working as hard as she could, heart on her sleeve.

Once she finished the final drawing, the chocolate chips, vanilla and butter had to be mixed in, and so she and Xavier worked together again, eagerly anticipating the girls' reactions.

After some straining through a fresh mesh sieve, garnishing with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, and thanks to that whipped cream coming in a ready-made box, easily making some hot chocolate with all of Ashley's favorite toppings, they were ready to deliver the goods.

'Do you think they'll like the toppings? Do you think I chose the right plates? We don't have any green plates, maybe Ashley T doesn't like red? Maybe I should burn those drawings...', Ashley A ranted, only for Xavier to place a comforting hand on her shoulder and smile comfortingly as she tried to balance all the plates and mugs.

'Ashley, if a simple grown up like me can do it, then the most popular girl in town can. I bet it's better than ANYTHING I've ever made! You've got this, sweetheart.'

Ashley A did NOT cry in front of her parents, or anyone, really. If she did, it was simply out of a tantrum. So those wet things in her eyes? Humidity. Yeah, in January. Global warming and all that.

'Okay, daddy.', she replied, then walked up to the door, only to turn around and whisper 'Um... Thank you.'

Perhaps it was a bad sign that hearing a real and honest thank you from his daughter was a pleasant surprise that would leave him glowing the rest of the weekend.

Scratch that, it was definitely a bad sign.

But right now, Xavier Armbruster didn't care.

He just felt even happier to be the father of one Ashley Armbruster.

So, as Ashley slowly opened the door, all seemed to be looking up, right?

Yeah, you probably know where this is going.

'Sorry for taking so long, girls!', Ashley explained apologetically, taking her time, step by step, to avoid any accidents. She set the gigantic platter down on her bed, careful not to spill anything. 'But, see, daddy and I were...'

'OMG, CHOCOLATE PUDDING AND HOT CHOCOLATE, EEEEE!', the other Ashley's squeed, ignoring Ashley A. Diving in, Ashley B muttered 'What took you so long, by the way? We literally paused the episode for you.'

Ashley decided not to comment. Hunger made anyone act a bit rude. Instead, she giddily took out the drawings from her purse and bounced from foot to foot, eager to show them this too. 'Well, like, I was thinking, since I felt sort of outside of the clique today, that we need a BIIIIIIG pick me up to get that, like, Annual Ashley Sleepover magic SPARKLING again!', Ashley made whoosh noises and wiggled her fingers as if she was spreading sparkles.

The other Ashley's chewed happily and muttered a 'mmhmm' between bites.

'Anywho, I thought, why not draw you all something special, to show my appreciation to being accepted back into the group, so, like, here ya go, ugh, totally tell me what you think, but like, literally be gentle, OMG, just TELL ME I CAN'T TAKE IT UGHHHH!', Ashley blurted out in rapid fire, hiding her face, unstoppable smile stretched across her face.

But that smile soon died as she heard laughter.

From Ashley B.

Turning around, Ashley A observed the strange scene, eyes wide, brain barely able to comprehend it. While Ashley T had let out a characteristic 'DAWW! TOTALLY ADORABLE!' at her drawing and Ashley Q had let out a semi characteristic laugh and 'Like, that's schwaytacular!' exclamation at her drawing, Ashley B had burst into a fit of laughter, but not a nice kind of laughter.

It was mocking, teasing, as if that was so incredibly beneath her and the other Ashley's. She wiped tears of mirth and shook her head like a scolding schoolteacher. 'Oh, Ashley A, now THIS is comedy! That's funnier than anything in the episode!'

'It... It is?', Ashley A squeaked, unsure as to how Ashley B's drawing was meant to be funny. Cute, sure. But funny?

Unfortunately, it became gravely clear what she had meant.

'Like, after all the times we've told you to cut with the kitsch and the schmaltz, you say that THIS would make things feel right? Now THAT'S the Ashley A I know! A prankster of the level that that dumb Detweiler could only dream of reaching!', Ashley B chorused, every word crushing Ashley A's heart.

She stood up and gave Ashley A a big hug, the latter taking a moment to hug her back. 'Thanks, Ashley. Up until now, I was afraid Gretchen had changed you! I guess that you didn't actually help make all this and pranked your daddy, too! Cold, cool, calculated and cute, that's our code! Right, girls?', she asked the other Ashley's, who slowly nodded, unsure of how to react to all this.

Ashley A wasn't either.

Throughout the rest of the episode.

Throughout Dressup.

Throughout the eating of the desserts and drinking of the mugs.

All the way up to getting into bed.

Well, sort of.

When the girls had reached a certain part of the Sabrina episode (the kids were waiting next to a bus and Libby said "This bus better hurry up. I'm starting to feel a camaraderie with you people."), and the other Ashley's insisted that despite Libby being a jerk, that was a great line for future insult situations, Ashley A couldn't help but puzzle over that.

Libby was a jerk. THE jerk. She constantly terrorized Sabrina. And the girls loved Sabrina, she was cool. They wanted to be Sabrina. They thought they were Sabrina, who even when making a mistake like giving Mr. Kraft a teenager's mind, only to make him act more and more childish, meant well, was a kind, sweet, lovable girl.

But what if...

'The Ashley's are Libby's?', Ashley thought in terror, looking at their actions that night, other nights. How they insulted anyone who wasn't like them, mocked them, and acted out selfishly and rudely unless it was to each other, and even then. Ladies only to those who deserved it, bitches to anyone else.

Ashley A for the first time in her life had properly been at the brunt of it. Sure, Ashley R had suffered too, but in a way, it was hearing it now, in her safe place, as who she was, that hurt far harder.

It didn't matter that Ashley B had complimented her dress up outfit (the two dressed as their favorite Spice girls, Ashley A as Ginger and Posh, Ashley B as Scary Spice) and that they all sang the Spice Girl's album songs together.

It didn't matter that they had a peaceful time brushing each other's hair before bed, then Ashley M.

It didn't even matter that the others had called it their best Annual Ashley Sleepover EVER!

Ashley was still awake, still thinking back to it all, still feeling torn.

"2 Become 1" by The Spice Girls played, but it didn't lull her to sleep, it just kept her thoughts on the Ashley's and Gretchen.

She could overhear her mother with the other Ashley's mothers, all laughing and gossiping and being vintage Ashley's. What was she doing wrong?

She looked over at the clock.

00:00.

'Magical things happen in midnight.', she thought, thinking of her favorite fairy tails, that daddy would read to her before bedtime before she decided she was too sophisticated for it (about 2 months ago).

Clasping her hands together, Ashley thought of how earlier that day, she and Gretchen had had a quick rehearsal. It was fun despite being educational, lighthearted despite being work, and Gretchen never once commented on her drawings, differences to her, or outfit.

Shedding a single shiny tear, snuggled up to a million dolls and pillows and blankets and her friends yet still feeling cold, Ashley prayed to god for one simple favor.

'I know that I... I ask for a LOT. But THIS is more important than Disneyland tickets or dancing with Natalie Portman.', Ashley whispered, staring as hard as she could at the roof.

'Please, lord. Please that once this project is over, once all this mess is sorted, I finally feel free. Please that I know what to do. Please...'

She sniffled, begging like she had never begged before for anything, even her prize outfits.

'Please that I feel happy where I belong.'

And Ashley would find out soon that the answer to that...

Was far more complicated.

Was hoping to post this back in Saturday, but I had so little writing time last week, so it's a bit late.

I forgot to acknowlege this last time, but recently we passed the 6 months anniversary for this story! I can't believe it's been that long, nor that I would have grown so attatched to this story, but here we are! Thanks to all those who have read and reviewed so far, there's a whole lot more left!

This was sort of a hard one to write as well, which was a surprise. I was sure it would be easy. I think it's because I felt bad for Ashley A XD poor bby just wants to be happy. Which she might soon...

I also want to talk about the other Ashley's personalities. We're entering a point in the fic where I have to really start showing off who they are, and with all respect to the OG show, outside of Ashley A (and sort of Ashley Q here and there), we didn't get much. As so, I had to make inferences based on my experience, TV Tropes, fandom hc, and my own hc. As so, to fully sum it up:

Ashley A is the leader, and like she is in the show, just more open to character development after all.

Ashley B is the second in command and Ashley A's BFF, and the meannest (but it's complicated).

Ashley Q is good at sports (thanks to that one episode) and more of a grump than a jerk.

Ashley T is the nicest (or at least, quietest) according to most, plus a potential closeted geek. Also, since it's obvious, she's gay for Q XD

Q and T, as you've noticed, are not AS mean as B, though still quite mean. It's all building up to something...

Pay close attention to the Spice Girls song playing while Ashley prays in bed. The lyrics are... Interesting XD (blame the Spice Girls) but my intention is what it means for Ashley and Gretchen in a friend/maybe more sense!

The chocolate pudding recipe is one you can easily find on google!

The pajamas are so cute, based on a drawing of my sisters!

That's about it! Next time: THE BIG ONE, BIGGEST SINCE THE MUSEUM DATE! GAY FLUFF ABOUNDS!

(Coming hopefully in three-four weeks, though, cause I have to work on one or two Guardian chapters).