The Beauty Queens

by FashionLeMode

What if the girls were unique in their own way? What if Madeleine was already chosen by the upper queens at school to be the Queen of the entire Sixth Grade? Will they ever grow into a court? Will Scarlett, Kayla, Mackenzie, and Audrey settle into their designated roles in the court? Will Madeleine be able to reign over an entire grade?

5. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I own all the characters in this story.

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Chapter Four

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The Greyson Estate

Front Porch

10:23 A.M.

Wednesday, September 4th

Feeling anxious about meeting Lindsey and Avery, Madeleine took a couple of deep breaths, playing with the white single-strand pearl bracelet around her thin right wrist. Rolling her shoulders back, she then stabbed the doorbell with her right manicured index finger and took a step back. Waiting for someone to open the solid oak front door, Madeleine caught a glimpse of herself in the polished nickel door handle, analyzing her outfit.

She donned a ruffled, lilac Maje button-detailed top with a black Miu Miu cady A-line skirt that added a modest and sophisticated touch to her ensemble. Black leather Miu Miu platform Mary Jane pumps covered her feet, and a mini black Prada 'Galleria' tote rested on the crook of her left elbow. Large, silver Sydney Evan pearl hoop earrings dangled from her ears, and her glossy honey-blonde hair had been slicked back into a high ponytail. Finally, her makeup had been done perfectly and carefully, looking neutral.

Liking how her outfit looked on her, Madeleine fanned herself as the humid air caused her even-toned skin to sweat a bit. Grumbling, she wondered when someone would open the door for her. As soon as Madeleine saw that someone had appeared at the frosted window in the door, she stepped forward, wanting to get inside the air-conditioned house.

"Good morning, Miss Madeleine," the clean-shaven middle-aged butler greeted her formally as he held the door open for the girl.

"Oh my god, it's so hot outside," Madeleine replied, welcoming his greetings. She rushed inside and breathed in the crisp air-conditioned air. "Do you know where Lindsey and Avery are?"

"Well, Miss Madeleine, they're waiting on the back porch for you," the butler noted with a stoic expression on his face as he closed the front door behind the girl.

Madeleine rocked back and forth on the sculpted heels of her pumps and nodded. "Where's the location of the back porch?" she asked, trying to remain calm and collected.

"So, you'll need to walk underneath the second-floor balcony in front of you," the butter finally responded, a neutral expression on his face. "And then, you'll have to saunter across the living room before reaching the French doors that led to the back door."

Nodding at the butler's directions, Madeleine sauntered underneath the balcony, walking past the dining room and the winding staircase. Looking around the rooms, she discovered that the walls were covered with oil paintings in gold ornate frames before sashaying across the living room. Stopping in front of the opened French doors, Madeleine took several calm breaths for a few moments before waltzing onto the back porch as though she owned the world.

Biting down on her lower lip, she didn't announce her presence to Lindsey and Avery as Madeleine took the opportunity to take them in. Their glossy hair framed their heart-shaped faces that contained pert noses and perfectly waxed eyebrows that framed their sparkling eyes. Their outfits and makeup looked flawless on her.

Grinning to herself, Madeleine was ecstatic about these girls knowing their fashion inside out, hoping that she'll always pursue the latest fashion craze. Scanning Lindsey's back porch, she perceived that the girls were sitting on a pristine cream-silk couch as they talked to each other. A three-tiered cake stand filled with Ladurée macaroons and cream puffs was being devoured by Lindsey and Avery.

A giant black-and-white-striped patio umbrella shaded the girls from the intense sun rays. A half-filled porcelain teapot of white tea sat right next to the cake stand, and three filled porcelain teacups were set directly on saucers in front of the couch. The latest hits of music were playing from someone's wireless Beats speaker. Lastly, several vanilla-scented candles burned on top of the porch's ceiling, filling the area with a sweet smell.

"Hey, everyone!" Madeleine exclaimed, talking over the loud music. She then realized that the girls had turned their attention to her.

Avery munched an orange blossom-flavored macaron and smiled playfully. "Hi, Madeleine," she responded.

"Hey, M," Lindsey said with a chuckle as she turned the volume down a bit on her white iPhone 12 so her wireless speaker would quietly play the newest Aurora Thames song throughout the porch. "Did you have any trouble finding my house?"

Madeleine plopped down on the seat beside Avery and carelessly dropped her tote on the oak coffee table. "Um, it was surprisingly easy for Nick to find your house," she replied, letting out an ecstatic sigh of happiness.

Lindsey slipped on a pair of black Celine flap-top sunglasses, concealing her piercing grey eyes from the sunshine. "So, A, it's time to show M what we picked up from my family's jeweler yesterday," she remarked, changing the topic to something else. "It's a crowning gift from the both of us."

"Yeah, Madeleine, I hope that you like the gift from me and Lindsey," Avery nodded, exchanging a side glance with Lindsey.

"Here you go," Lindsey smiled brightly. She grabbed a medium gift-wrapped box from the left-side oak end table and handed the present over to Madeleine.

"Awwwww," Madeleine smiled coyly, accepting the gift from Lindsey and Avery. She peeled the gold wrapping paper off their gift and opened the small glass case. Madeleine looked inside, discovering a custom-made white headband on a silk cushion. It was embellished with white pearls. She knew that the gift was personalized and elegant. It was chosen with Madeleine in mind. "Wow."

"Are you pleased with your crowning gift?" Lindsey and Avery asked in unison as they munched on a cream puff.

Madeleine closed the case and dropped it deep inside her tote. "Absolutely," she remarked, smiling at the girls. "I'm wearing this headband on the first day of school tomorrow."

Lindsey and Avery crossed their slender legs together, smiling. "You're welcome," they said in unison. "By the way, did you know that your mom was selected as Queen by our moms in nineteen eighty-six?"

"Nooooo!" Madeleine said, pleasantly surprised. "My mom has never told me about her time as the sixth-grade Queen."

Avery chewed thoughtfully on a cream puff. "Yeah, yeah, my mom placed a lot of hope on your mom's reign as Queen," she added with a smile.

Madeleine laced her manicured fingers together as she rested her chin on her laced fingers. "So, girlies, can you please tell me that my mom didn't put my name on the list of legacies?" she inquired, her emerald-green eyes seemed to be shining a little less ecstatically than before.\

Lindsey ran her manicured fingers through her straightened cocoa-brown hair. "Of course not, M," she clarified with a chuckle, sounding very soft and delicate. "We can't allow some scholarship kid to take over the current Prescott Queen system. And, my mom was the one that recognized your last name."

"My mom said the same thing too," Avery nodded in understanding as she tossed her glossy, dirty-blonde waves over her creamy shoulders. "For your information, there's a set of rules that you must follow as the next sixth-grade Queen."

"Oh my god, I completely forgot about the rules!" Madeleine cooed, her eyes landed on Lindsey and Avery.

A beaming grin quickly broke across Avery's face. "Well, Madeleine, the first rule: Do not acknowledge our loser classmates' presence," she commented. "And, if you want to recognize them, you should do it in the comfort of your house."

"Well, M, the second rule: We always have to look perfect in the public's eye," Lindsey shrugged, staring through the opened French doors and noticing that her family's maid, Inga, was busy tidying up the living room now.

Madeleine cocked her head to the side, pleasantly surprised. "All right," she said with a laugh. "I'll have to memorize the rules now, so it'll be easier for me to follow then."

Lindsey twirled a lock of her hair around her left manicured index finger, giggling softly. "The third rule: You have to make sure that your parents don't find out that you're insulting people around town. If they find out about the insults, you should try everything to get them to pay attention to something else, so you don't get grounded by them."=

"Oh, Madeleine, the fourth rule: If you want to deliver judgment on our loser classmates, you have to do it in front of everyone in school," Avery replied, chewing on a salted caramel-flavored macaron. "And, of course, you need to list out the reasons why you're banishing her to the bottom of the social ladder."

Madeleine touched her bracelet and beamed happily. "I think I'm able to float easily under my parents' radar since they think I'm so sweet."

Avery bobbed her head along to the newest Ayanna Fillmore song that was playing from Lindsey's speaker. "The fifth rule: You should wear your favorite color every day," she said nonchalantly.

"Um, M, the sixth rule: We're allowed to grant each other favors for anything," Lindsey said with a chuckle as she stuffed a pistachio-flavored macaron into her mouth.

"That's really cool," Madeleine muttered, pouring some white tea into her empty teacup.

Lindsey drank the rest of her white tea, smirking. "Ahhh, M, the seventh rule: After the first day of school ends, you and your friends must rank everyone from your grade. And, has to post that the loser list on your Instagram accounts."

"Oh, the eighth rule: You have the right to call a Queen council meeting," Avery said regally as she chomped on three cream puffs.

Madeleine flipped her ponytail over her right shoulder before biting on her lower lip. "Aves and Linds, if I have a problem with someone, I can count on you guys giving me some strategies to deal with them."

Avery tilted her teacup and let the last drops of white tea into her mouth. "Yeah," she sighed profusely, an amused expression on her face. "Anyway, the ninth rule: You always have to be cool and collected in public."

"So, Madeleine, the tenth rule: The losers in our school would always be looking for a weakness to use against us," Lindsey chirped, pouring some more white tea into her half-filled teacup.

"A flaw?" Madeleine interrupted, sounding very confused. She wolfed down three lemon-flavored macarons before washing them down with several dainty sips of her white tea.

"Yeah, like terrible grades," Lindsey offered, pausing to sip more of her white tea. "Or bad breath."

Avery circled her right manicured hand in the air so Madeleine would understand that the list was very long. "Or smudged eyeliner, or last year's flats, or like an out-of-place hair," she said before pouring some more white tea into her empty teacup.

Madeleine's eyes glittered with amusement. "Got it," she nodded, lifting her porcelain teacup to her glossy lips and taking a measured sip of her white tea.

Avery and Lindsey plucked three cream puffs from the cake stand and gently shoved them into their mouths. "The eleventh rule: You must give us the heads up if you want to throw some kind of party together," they replied in unison, sounding so sweet.

"Sounds awesome," Madeleine said smoothly, eating two caramel banana-flavored macarons and washing them down with her white tea.

Lindsey cast a wry smile in Madeleine and Avery's direction before realizing that the teapot was empty. "Um, can you guys hold on for a second?" she asked politely. Lindsey held her right manicured index finger in the air so the girls would understand that they needed to stop the conversation for a few seconds. She then lifted the dainty china bell beside her teacup and shook it until Inga walked through the opened French doors. "Inga, refill the teapot with more white tea."

"Of course, Miss Lindsey," Inga said formally as she walked over to the table and grabbed the empty pitcher. Without glancing in the direction of Madeleine and Avery, she headed straight for the back porch's doors, making sure the teapot didn't fall from her hands.

"Let's get back to talking about the Queen rules," Avery quickly said, tugging on her sleeveless baby-blue Ted Baker fit-and-dress's hem.

Madeleine ran her delicate fingers over her bracelet and grinned. "All right," she nodded in understanding.

"The twelfth rule: You should have a very wicked sense of fashion," Lindsey said regally. She took a long sip of her white tea before uncrossing her legs."

Avery raised an arched dirty-blonde eyebrow in Lindsey and Madeleine's direction. "Uh... the thirteenth rule: You must always be surrounded by your court," she declared with a smile. "People have to see you around town with your friends."

"Um, that's alright," Madeleine nodded, knowing that the girls were trying to make her understand that the rules should be followed with the poise and grace of a Queen. "Are there any more rules to follow?"

"Nooooo!" Avery spoke to Madeleine. She drank several gulps of her white tea before looking over and observing that Lindsey was now staring into the distance of her family's well-maintained backyard. "There are only thirteen rules that you need to follow for the next three years."

"Yeah," Lindsey agreed with Avery as she noticed that Inga was still boiling another pot of white tea.

Just as Madeleine was about to say something to Lindsey and Avery, she observed Lindsey's iPhone buzzing throughout the back porch. She knew that being nosy wouldn't score her some brownie points with Lindsey, but she needed to know who was calling her. Breathing easily, Madeleine gathered her thoughts for a bit before speaking to Lindsey.

Madeleine dropped her teacup on her porcelain saucer in front of her before jerking her chin toward Lindsey's cell phone. "Aren't you gonna answer that call?" she eagerly inquired.

Lindsey grabbed her iPhone and stared at her cell phone's bright screen. "I'm definitely answering this call," she answered truthfully. Lindsey accepted the call and immediately turned the speakerphone on so Avery and Madeleine hear the conversation as well. "Hey, Babe!"

"Hey, Lin," a deep voice spoke through the microphones of Lindsey's cell phone.

"Hi, Leif," Avery interrupted sharply, taking a small sip of her white tea. "Is Maddox standing next to you?"

"Um, no, he's at lacrosse practice right now," Leif responded, his tone filled with warmth.

Avery whipped her waves over her right shoulder. "Okay, Leif," she said. "I'll call him later."

"All right," Leif said, switching the subject entirely. "Lin, I was wondering if you remember that we have a date in the city this Saturday afternoon."

"Of course, I still remember that we have a date," Lindsay assured her boyfriend as she observed that Madeleine was busy staring at Inga, who had walked out of the French doors and dropped the filled teacup on the coffee table. "What time are we meeting?"

"I'd like for us to meet at two," Leif said, his voice filled with happiness.

"Okay, babe," Lindsey said smoothly. She dropped her iPhone on her lap before stuffing a cream puff into her mouth. "So, Leif, you haven't said hi to Madeleine either."

"Isn't she the girl that you and Aves have picked as your successor?" Leif asked his girlfriend, sounding very surprised.

Lindsay and Avery leaned back in their seats, lifting their teacups to their glossy lips and drinking the rest of their white tea. "Yesssss!" they proclaimed in unison.

"Hey, Madeleine," Leif greeted, sounding very excited.

"Hello, Leif," Madeleine said, welcoming Lindsey's boyfriend's greetings. "I was wondering if you're one of Lachlan's older brothers."

"Um, yeah," Leif answered truthfully, sounding very calm. "He said that he and his friends had met you and Scarlett yesterday morning."

Madeleine exchanged a side glance with Lindsey and Avery as she drink the rest of her white tea. "Uh, yeah," she said regally. "And, he said that he heard about us from you guys."

"After all, I've been hearing about you from my girlfriend and Avery," Leif said smoothly, sounding very excited. He then changed the subject to something else. "Anyway, Lindsey, I just wanted to remind you that we have a date this Saturday afternoon."

"Okay, babe," Lindsey said, smiling brightly. "I'll text you later." "All right," Leif said before ending the call on his side.

"Boyfriends are always there to remind you that they need your attention too," Madeleine interjected, her eyes alight.\

Lindsey dropped her iPhone on the table. "Yeah," she agreed with Madeleine, observing that Inga had already returned the porcelain teapot to the surface of the table. "But, Madeleine, who do you like?"

Madeleine poured some more white tea into her empty teacup. "Um... I like a lot of people," she suddenly responded, arching a perfectly waxed honey-blonde eyebrow in Lindsey's direction. "I like my parents, my friend—"

"Not just like," Avery interrupted sharply as she poured more white tea into her empty teacup. "We're talking about the type that's more than a friend-like."

"I don't know," Madeleine replied, not wanting to tell Lindsey and Avery about her crush on Lachlan.

"If you had to pick, someone at school," Lindsey smiled coyly, wanting some juicy gossip on the life of Madeleine.

Madeleine popped a coffee-flavored macaron into her mouth and smirked. "Well, I happen to have a tiny crush on Lachlan," she informed Lindsey and Avery. "So, you guys would have to swear now, since I don't want him to hear about this part of the conversation."

Avery dropped her teacup on her porcelain saucer. "Well, well, well," she said, a teasing tone to her words. "That sound like major news to me."

Lindsey straightened her ivory Shoshanna 'Edgemont' dress. "No way," she gasped, smiling coyly. "Ummm, Madeleine, you must go into details on why you got a crush on Lachlan."

"Whatever," Madeleine commented as she glanced at her pumps for a few moments before saying something else to Lindsey and Avery. "Well, I got a crush on Lachlan because he made me blush very hard yesterday morning. Plus, I think that he's very cute."

"It seems Madeleine likes Lachlan a lot," Lindsey told Avery as she exchanged a side glance with her. "So, I was thinking that we play the role of matchmakers, so Madeleine and Lachlan could get together."

"Same," Avery agreed as she peeked from the corner of her eye and observed that Madeleine suddenly found the surface of the table interesting. "We should give Lachlan some hints that Madeleine likes him."

Lindsey poured some more white tea into her empty teacup. "Yeah, but I'm thinking that we should make him understand that Madeleine is waiting for him to confess his crush on her," she commented, noticing that Madeleine was blushing even harder at her suggestion.

Avery stuffed a chocolate-flavored macaron into her mouth and washed it down with several sips of her white tea. "Uh, we should enlist the help of our friends," she nodded in approval.

Before Madeleine could say anything else to Lindsey and Avery, her iPhone blared to life, ringing throughout the back porch. She held her left manicured index finger in the air so Avery and Lindsey would understand that she needed to answer the phone for a quick minute. Madeleine then accepted the call without peeking at her cell phone's bright screen.

"Hi, princess!" Stephan cheerfully greeted his daughter.

Madeleine idly swirled her white tea around the rim of her teacup. "Hi, Daddy!" she greeted her dad back. "Why are you calling me?"

"I need you to come over to the country club now," Stephan said, sounding very breezy.

"For what?" Madeleine asked her dad as she noticed that Lindsey and Avery were trying their best to not eavesdrop on her and her dad's conversation.

"Just come here now," Stephan told his daughter before ending the call on his side. "Nick is on his way to pick you up. So, say goodbye to the people that you're meeting today."

Madeleine dropped her iPhone back into her designer handbag and returned her attention to Lindsey and Avery. "I'm sorry, Lindsey and Avery," she explained to them, standing up. "My dad is insisting that I meet him at the country club now. So, we're gonna have to cut our meeting short."

"Don't worry about it," Avery said brightly. She waved her right manicured hand in the air so Madeleine knew that they understood her.

"So, I'll see you guys at school tomorrow," Madeleine said quickly as she noticed that Lindsey and Avery had nodded at her statement.

Tossing her purse on her left shoulder, Madeleine walked back inside the house without saying anything to Avery and Lindsey. She quickly took the same route towards the front entrance of the house, planting one Miu Miu-clad foot in front of the other. Madeleine was about to the front door when Lindsey's butler opened it for her instead.

Stepping outside, she slipped on a pair of oversized black Gucci sunglasses, concealing her eyes from the sunshine. Madeleine then realized that Nick was pulling into the Greyson's circular driveway and headed straight for the car. When she reached the car, Madeleine opened the right-side black rear door and climbed into the car.

Sliding across the buttery soft leather backseat, Madeleine dumped her purse on the adjacent seat beside her, shut the door behind her, and took a couple of deep breaths. She felt that her driver was pulling out of the driveway while buckling her seatbelt. Sinking further into her seat, Madeleine wanted to be talking to Avery and Lindsey still, but she was now stuck with following her dad's orders. She stared out the car's tinted left-side rear window for the rest of the car ride.

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Westchester, NY

Vanessa Sanchez's Headquarters

2:19 P.M.

Wednesday, September 4th

Brushing the lint off her high-waisted, tide pool-wash Frame skinny jeans, Audrey Webster adjusted her cropped pink Sandro tweed top, crossing her slender legs together. Waiting for Vanessa Sanchez to walk out of her office, she inhaled the crisp air-conditioned air, telling herself that Vanessa was worth waiting for since she was known as the most classy, creative, and costly party planner in Westchester. Even before Audrey was born, her parents have been using the party planner's services for many years.

Another reason why she would wait for Vanessa: her exquisite waiting room. Everything, from the marble floor to the furniture to the silk curtains to the rugs underneath her feet to the textured wallpaper-covered walls, was all white. Even Vanessa's Yorkshire Terrier matched the waiting room.

Exhaling, Audrey stopped looking around the waiting room, twirling a curly lock of platinum-blonde hair between two delicate fingers. She shifted in her seat for a few moments before looking over at her friends, who were staring directly at their iPhones' bright screens. As soon as Audrey turned away from Kayla and Mackenzie, she was greeted by the sound of Vanessa's heels click-clacking across the floor, uncrossing her legs.

Audrey observed that the party planner was very prim and proper before discovering that Vanessa's glossy hair was pulled into an elegant bun at the nape of her slender neck. Setting her face into a black stare, she sat up straighter in her seat and recrossed her slender legs together, knitting her delicate fingers on her knees.

"Hello, ladies," Vanessa said. She air-kissed Audrey first, and then each girl after her. "How may I help you today?"

"I need to finalize all the pressing details for my birthday party this Saturday," Audrey said truthfully. She exchanged a side glance with Kayla and Mackenzie as Audrey grabbed her pink leather Off-White tote from the pristine, white couch behind her. Audrey then turned her attention back to the party planner. "Especially when I don't want to go over the details again in the future."

"Of course, Miss Webster," Vanessa nodded earnestly as she headed towards her meeting room.

Nodding at the party planner's back, Audrey looked over her right shoulder, noticing that her friends had already snatched their designer handbags from the couch while holding their cell phones in their left-manicured hands. Facing forward, she just realized that Vanessa was holding the glass meeting door open for her and her friends. Walking inside, Audrey plopped down on the empty chair near the door and dropped her purse on the adjacent seat beside her.

Looking over, she observed that Kayla and Mackenzie had grabbed seats on opposite sides of the rectangular-shaped glass table. Straightening her posture, Audrey faced forward and realized that Vanessa was walking back into the meeting room with her MacBook in her arms. Crossing her slender legs together again, she couldn't wait to see the details that the party planner had put into her birthday party.

A couple of moments later, Vanessa wirelessly connected her laptop to the TV and clicked on a Microsoft PowerPoint that was labeled 'Audrey's Webster's Circus Palooza-themed birthday party' before pressing the left arrow key to switch to the first slide. "Now, Miss Webster, the lightning has been scheduled already," she explained, sounding very confident in her ability to plan awesome parties. "Do you have any requests for them?"

Audrey touched her right manicured index finger to her chin. "Yeah, I'd like for the lights to become multicolored when people are dancing on the floor," she acknowledged the party planner's question, observing that Vanessa was noting what she was saying on the slide.

"Um, Addie, you need to make a grand entrance into your party," Kayla interrupted sharply, dropping her mulberry-green suede Mulberry 'Iris' tote on the table. "So, the lighting needs to focus on you."

Mackenzie stared at Vanessa from the corner of her eye and realized that the party planner was looking at something on her laptop. "Um, Drey. you should hire someone to carry you on an extravagant litter, anyway," she added after Kayla's statement.

"That sounds good," Audrey replied with a laugh, welcoming her friend's greetings. "Vanessa, can you add what my friends are saying to the party list details?"

"Of course, Miss Webster," Vanessa said with a stoic expression on her face as she typed Kayla and Mackenzie's on the same slide before pressing the left arrow key to move onto the second slide. "Now, the caterer has been hired, and she's already received the snack menu from your mother."

Audrey rested her elbows on the table as she rested her chin on her manicured hands. "Can you list the food for me and my friends?" she asked, sounding very serious.

Vanessa fixed her gaze on Audrey, Kayla, and Mackenzie, rolling her shoulders back. "Funnel cakes, mini corn dog bites, churros, hot dog cookies, caramel popcorn, caramel apples, clown cake pops, and circus animal cookie donuts."

"Uh, Vanessa, I'll like to add chocolate-covered marshmallow dumbbells and circus popcorn cupcakes," Audrey said excitedly, clapping her manicured hands together. She then observed that Kayla and Mackenzie were looking intensely at the slide.

"All right, Miss Webster," Vanessa nodded as she added what Audrey was saying onto the slide before switching to the next slide. "The decorations are on hold, but do you have any questions for the decorating team?"

Audrey snuck a quick peek at her friends, realizing that Kayla and Mackenzie were paying attention to Vanessa. "Um, no," she remarked.

Vanessa switched to the next slide. "Anyway, Miss Webster, the carnival game booths has been booked as well," she said with a neutral expression on her face. "Have any requests for the company?"

"I'll like for the booths to be set up with the games of ring toss, ping pong toss, and balloon shoot," Audrey said, her cerulean-blue eyes focused on Kayla and Mackenzie.

Kayla leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. "Um, Rae, you should add tin can knockdown to the list of carnival games," she laughed before tugging on her mulberry-green Cece long-sleeved shirt dress's hem.

"Honestly, I think you add the game of bean bag toss to the list, Rey," Mackenzie grinned as she shifted into a comfortable position in her seat.

Audrey sat up straighter in her seat and grinned at her friends. "Oh, girlies, that sounds awesome," she agreed before looking over at Vanessa. "Vanessa, aren't you going to add what my friends and I are saying to the slide?"

"Yes, Miss Webster," Vanessa nodded in understanding as she typed down the suggestions on the slide before switching to the next slide. "The waitering company had been hired yesterday afternoon, and they already received your request that their waiters be dressed in white wigs and red unitards while riding unicycles to pass out drinks at your party."

"Cool," Audrey replied happily. She grabbed her iPhone out of her tote and dropped her cell phone on the table.

Vanessa switched to the next slide. "Well, Miss Webster, the photographers have already been booked by your mother," she told her client.

Audrey checked the time on her iPhone's bright screen and noticed that it was almost three thirty-five in the afternoon. "Okay," she croaked. Looking up, Audrey then observed that Vanessa was staring directly at her.

Mackenzie straightened her pale-yellow Maje jacquard skater dress and nodded. "Oh, Addie, we should use one of the photographers to take group pictures of us."

"Yeah, Addy," Kayla smirked as she fixed the bow of her dress and looked directly at Audrey. "But, you should take some solo pictures by yourself first."

"All right," Audrey said as she nodded at her friends before glancing at Vanessa. "Um, Vanessa, can you ask the photographers to come to my house a little bit earlier?"

"Of course, Miss Webster," Vanessa said with a stoic expression on her face as she switched to the next slide. "The DJ has been hired, and he's received the music playlist that you handed to me last week."

Audrey smoothed her top and smirked. "Fine," she said with a smile on her face."Uh, girlies, do you have any music requests for the DJ?"

Kayla cocked her head to the side and smiled broadly. "Yeah, I'll like for him to add more Leo Granger's songs to the playlist," she drawled, tossing her glossy wheat-blonde curls over her right shoulder.

"Um, yesssss!" Mackenzie agreed with Kayla before sipping some Perrier she'd bought with her. "But, the DJ should also add Conner Sobel's songs to the playlist as well."

Vanessa nodded at Kayla and Mackenzie's statements. "Of course, Miss Adams and Miss Frost," she said, a neutral expression on her face. She then switched to the slide. "Anyway, Miss Webster, the selfie station photo booths have already been rented from a party equipment rental service."

"Got it," Audrey said as she looked at the slide and noticed that Vanessa had written down that the party service was delivering the photo booths on the morning of her birthday. "Did someone take notes that I wanted a dance floor built into the middle of the tent?"

"Yup, Miss Webster," Vanessa said with a stoic expression on her face as she stood behind one of the head seats. "It'll be built on site."

Audrey perceived that her friends were looking at the slide. "Okay, Vanessa," she said, an amused expression on her face.

A couple of moments later, Vanessa switched to the next slide and gathered her thoughts a bit before saying something else to Audrey, Kayla, and Mackenzie. "Okay, ladies," she said confidently. "So, the stilt walkers and mimes have been hired as well."

"All right," Audrey said, whipping her straightened platinum-blonde hair over her left shoulder.

"Miss Webster, the people who would attend to the cotton candy, popcorn, and snow cone machines have been hired as well," Vanessa said smoothly as she switched to the next slide. "Do you have any requests for them?"

Audrey looked over her right shoulder and discovered that Vanessa's employees were walking around the office building. "Yeah, I'll like them to be dressed in the same uniform," she clarified. She then looked out of the meeting room's windows, noticing that people were currently walking in and out of Paradox.

Vanessa nodded at Audrey's statement. "Okay, Miss Webster," she said, switching to the last slide that was still empty. "Uh, ladies, I still haven't gotten the guest list yet. Because we're sending every text invitation that would lead to a QR code to check everyone in."

"Ah, Vanessa, I'll send the guest list to you by Friday evening," Audrey informed the party planner as she touched her dainty pearl ring before perceiving that her friends were listening intensely to the party planner. "Since I'm inviting everyone from Prescott and Crestview to my party."

"All right," Vanessa stated as she typed into the slide that the guest list would be sent to her email before closing the PowerPoint and disconnecting her laptop from the TV. "So, Miss Webster, this is the end of our meeting. If you need to add any more party details to your birthday, you should email me."

Audrey discovered that Vanessa had walked out of the meeting room before standing up and throwing her designer handbag over her left shoulder. "Okay," she said before looking over at Kayla and Mackenzie. "C'mon, girlies. I need to head over to my family's tailor since he's altering my birthday dress."

Mackenzie stared at her white Miu Miu rainboots for a few moments. "Yeah, I already have other plans for today," she said melodramatically.

"What plans?" Kayla asked Mackenzie as she quickly got up from her seat and walked toward Audrey.

"Well, I'm meeting Scarlett, Declan, and Scott at Scoops today," Mackenzie told her friends as she stopped in front of Audrey.

"Awesome," Audrey said. She walked out of the meeting room, noticing that her friends had followed behind her. "Um, Kenzie, are you going on a group date with Scar, Declan, and Scott?"

Mackenzie checked her pale yellow nails as she walked side to side with Audrey. "Um, no," she answered truthfully. "It's just a casual hang out between friends. So, I need to head over to Scoops, so I'll FaceTime you guys later!"

Kayla flashed a smile at Mackenzie. "Okay, Manzie!" she spoke to her.

"Bye, Mack," Audrey added after Kayla's statement as she realized that Mackenzie was already heading for the glass doors of Vanessa's headquarters before shifting her attention back to Kayla. "So, Lala, do you have anywhere else to be as well?"

"Hmmm... Delilah Edwards and Emily Hudson have invited me to the Champagne Room for lunch," Kayla said, dangling her mini black leather Givenchy tote casually from her right wrist. "So, I won't be able to head over to the tailor with you."

Audrey wrapped her arms around her friend and squeezed her into a giant hug. "So, Kay, I'll text you later."

Kayla broke away from the hug and grinned brightly. "Yeah, Rae," she said before walking out of the party planner's office building.

Moments later, Audrey walked out of the office building and looked around the bustling sidewalk. Seeing that her friends were gone, she took a couple of deep breaths, observing that her family's driver, Arthur, had followed her instructions to wait for her. When Audrey reached the edge of the curb, she opened the right-side white rear door and gracefully climbed into the car. Sliding across the buttery soft leather backseat, she dumped her purse on the adjacent seat beside her, shut the door behind her, and buckled her seatbelt. Closing her eyes. She felt Arthur pull away from the curb and sank further into her seat, knowing that her driver was dropping her at her family's tailor. Audrey remained in that position for the rest of the car ride.

---

Westchester, NY

Scoops

4:26 P.M.

Wednesday, September 4th

Raindrops fell violently on Scarlett's white Marc Jacobs umbrella as she quickly crossed across the street, observing that some sleek cars were waiting for the traffic light at the corner of the street to turn green right now. Stepping onto the sidewalk in front of her, she looked around for a few moments before discovering that people were walking in and out of the small boutiques. Perceiving that they were carrying large shopping bags in one hand and holding their umbrellas in their other hands, Scarlett sauntered inside and noticed that Mackenzie, Declan, and Scott had claimed a back booth under a large black-and-white poster of two teenagers eating ice cream together. Noticing that customers were crowding around the ice cream shop's registers, she headed over and settled into the seat opposite Declan. Dropping her quilted baby-blue leather Michael Kors shoulder bag on the table, Scarlett leaned back in her seat before realizing that Scott wanted to talk to her.

Scott's winter-grey eyes glittered with interest. "Hey, Scarlett," he said with a sweet grin on her face dropping his white iPhone 12 on the table.

"Hi, Scott!" Scarlett blushed lightly, her eyes suddenly found the table very interesting. She then brushed a curly lock of her icy-blonde hair out of her icy-blue eyes, thinking that Scott looked very cute right now.

"Hello?" Mackenzie interrupted, waving her right manicured hand in Scarlett's face. "Aren't you going to say hi to me and Declan?"

Scarlett snapped out of it before shooting an icy glare at Mackenzie. "Of course," she answered slowly. "Hi, Kenzie and Declan."\

Mackenzie squared her shoulders, giggling. "Hey, Scar," she said in a singsongy voice.

Declan leaned back in his seat and grinned. "What's up, Scarlett?"

"Nothing much," Scarlett replied happily as she drummed her manicured fingernails on the table. "So, can we go and order some ice cream, please?"

"Oh, yeah," Scott answered, sounding very excited at Scarlett's statement. "I need some ice cream to combat the summer heat."

"What are you guys ordering?" Declan asked the girls and Scott as he stood from his seat and headed straight for the ice cream shop's registers.

"I'm getting a mango sundae," Mackenzie replied, staring at the ice cream shop's counter.

Scarlett noticed that some customers were savoring their ice cream. "Peach sundae," she said, smiling brightly.

Scott stood up, grabbed Scarlett's left hand, and started dragging her toward the ice cream registers. "Actually, I want a cookie and cream sundae," he said, peeking from the corner of his eye and noticing that Scarlett was blushing very hard now.

A couple of moments later, Declan stood in line behind some preppy high school kids. "I'm defiantly getting some mint chocolate chip sundae," he told them. "While we eat our ice cream, we should get to know each other."

"How?" Scarlett eagerly questioned as she stood beside Declan's other side.

"I'm thinking that we should play twenty questions with each other," Declan acknowledged Scarlett as he quickly peeked that two of the ice cream shop's employees were still taking orders from the same preppy kids.

Mackenzie cocked her head to the side and smiled coyly. "That sounds like a very good idea to me," she spoke to Declan.

"Um, guys, the register in front of us is open now," Scott interrupted sharply, pointing to the smiling girl, who was waiting for them to say their orders to her. He then discovered that Declan, Mackenzie, and Scarlett were now stepping in front of the register, realizing that the Scoops employee was about to open her mouth now.

"Welcome to Scoops," the Scoops girl said, placing her right hand on top of the register. "What can I get for you guys today?"

"One peach sundae," Scarlett beamed, leaning against the counter. She noticed that the Scoops girl was entering her order into the register.

"One mango sundae as well," Mackenzie ordered as she rested her chin on Scarlett's left shoulder.

Declan rested his toned right arm on Scott's right shoulder. "One mint chocolate chip sundae for me," he said

Scott peeked from the corner of his eye, discovering that the preppy kids were sitting down and eating their ice cream. "One cookie and cream sundae as well," he ordered.

"Okay, guys," the Scoops girl nodded as she entered Mackenzie, Scott, and Scarlett's order into the register. "That would be twenty-five dollars and sixteen cents."

"So, Scott, you need to step up and pay for these orders," Declan told his friend as he turned around and arched a jet-black eyebrow in Scott's direction. "I was the one that paid the last bill at Phoenix."

"Fine," Scott said dramatically, pulling his Dubai First Royale Mastercard from inside his dark brown leather Burberry checkered wallet and tapping his credit card against the reader to pay for everyone's order. He noticed that the transaction went and placed his credit card back inside his wallet.

"Your orders would be ready in ten minutes," the Scoops girl told Mackenzie, Scarlett, Declan, and Scott.

Before Scarlett could resume the conversation with her friend, her crush, and Declan, she noticed that they were walking toward the area where order pickups were before following behind them. Ten minutes later, she had a clear, classic glass cup in her manicured hands as she noticed that one of the Scoops employees had filled the cup to the brim with ice cream, peaches, nuts, and fudge sauce. Grabbing tons of napkins from the napkin dispenser in front of her, Scarlett wrapped them around the cup so it'll be easier for the dripping ice cream to be soaked into the napkins.

Grabbing a wrapped plastic spoon from a giant bowl of packaged disposable spoons, she made sure that her filled glass cup remained in her right manicured hand while the wrapped spoon stayed in her other manicured hand. Looking up, Scarlett discovered that Mackenzie, Declan, and Scott were already walking toward their designated booth before following behind them. Scarlett then looked around the ice cream shop, observing that the kids were the only ones occupying the tables and booths.

Placing the filled glass cup and the wrapped spoon on the surface of the table, she noticed that her friend, her crush, and Declan had already claimed their seats. Scarlett settled into her seat again as she pulled the plastic package off the plastic spoon and jabbed it into her delicious treat. She then looked up from her packed sundae, noticing that Declan, Scott, and Mackenzie wanted to start talking to each other now.

Scarlett spooned some peach sundae into her mouth, knowing that it was time for them to play Twenty Questions now. "I'm going first," she stated. "Do you guys like horror movies?" she asked.

Declan cocked his head to the side and grinned smugly. "Oh, yes!" he said, answering truthfully. "My parents are always are always traveling for some kind of business trip, so I always have the house to myself."

Mackenzie placed her arms on the table as she ripped the plastic package off the spoon and ate a dainty bite of her sundae. "No, no, no," she replied truthfully. "I haven't watched a horror movie in a while. The last time I watched the Held movie, I was having nightmares for the next six months, so my parents banned me from watching horror movies."

Scott ripped the plastic package off his spoon and lowered the spoon into his sundae. "Yup!" he said jovially, understanding that he already knew everything about his friend, Declan. "Horror movies are one of my favorite movie genres to watch."

"Actually, I've never watched horror movies," Scarlett immediately replied, making a mental note that Scott loved horror movies. "Since my parents specially forbid me from watching that genre. But, they also say when I'm a teenager, I'm allowed to watch horror movies then."

"What's your biggest fear?" Declan asked Mackenzie, Scarlett, and Scott. He then ate several spoons of his sundae.

Scarlett raised a perfectly waxed icy-blonde eyebrow in Declan's direction before spoon-swirling her sundae around her glass cup. "Well, my biggest fear is heights," she said. "My legs always feel like jello when my feet aren't connected to the sidewalks."

"I have a major fear of flying," Mackenzie breathed as she sat up straighter and looked deep into Declan's striking blue eyes. "So, my parents have to find a way for me to sleep before they walk into our family's private jet. They always make me sleep against one of them on the jet."

"I guess my greatest fear is that I hate disappointing my parents," Scott said matter-of-factly. He patted Scarlett on the right shoulder, observing that it was still raining violently outside. "They always give me this look that says I've ruined their moods."\

Declan rolled his eyes, knowing that Scott's parents were a little strict. "Whatever," he murmured. "I'm afraid I have a fear of birds, anyway. Since I don't like being pooped on."

Mackenzie nodded at Declan's statement and slapped her sundae with the back of her spoon. "Have you ever been bullied?" she questioned, knowing about Maddie and Scar's story of bullying.

"Seriously?" Scarlett said angrily, making a face at Mackenzie. She knew that her friend already knew about her and Madeleine was bullied last year at their old elementary school. Shooting an icy glare at Mackenzie, she gathered her thoughts for a few moments before sharing her story with the boys. "Well, Maddie and I were bullied relentlessly by these girls last year. So, the bullying stopped when our parents sued the school district and won."

Scott shoved a spoonful of cookie and cream sundae into his mouth, careful not to get any drops on his new Marc Jacobs top. "Um, Scar, I feel terrible for you," he said with an empathetic look on his face. Scott then cast a side-glance at Declan. "It's obvious that Scarlett is still dealing with some emotional scars from the bullying itself. But, actually, I was never bullied in elementary school since everyone knew that my parents had the resources to sue their parents and the school district."

"Scott, middle-class kids always feel inferior to us," Declan told his friend before answering Mackenzie's question. "But, I was never bullied in elementary school, either."

"No," Mackenzie said quickly as she swallowed a mouthful of mango sundae. "Um, guys, my old friends from elementary school would always tell me not to get caught by anyone."

Scott traced his left index finger along the rim of his clear, classic glass cup before licking some vanilla ice cream off the same finger. "What's your earliest childhood memory?" he asked his friend and the girls.

Mackenzie whipped her long, strawberry-blonde curls over her creamy shoulders, making sure that no hair fell into her sundae. "I remember the time when I always went to the park with my nanny," she beamed, sounding very nostalgic. "I always played with everyone while breathing the fresh air."

Scarlett shot a dazzling smile at Declan, Mackenzie, and Scott. "I remember the time when my mom signed me up for dance," she said sweetly. "She specifically told me that I needed to do some kind of activity after school."

Declan rested his elbows on the table and cupped his chin in his hands. "I remember the time when I first started playing lacrosse as a kid," he laughed. "My parents were the ones that got me into playing the sport in the first place. They said that I needed something to calm down my energy.""Same," Scott agreed with Declan as he ate another spoonful of his cookies and cream sundae.

"What's the last lie you told?" Mackenzie asked. She then stared at her rainboots for a few moments before turning her attention back to Declan, Scarlett, and Scott.

Scott spooned some more cookies and cream sundae into his mouth. "I had to lie to my parents two weeks ago since they wanted me to follow them to some kind of business dinner. So, I told them that I had plans with Aiden, James, and Lachlan that day."

"I may have told a little white lie to Maddie," Scarlett admitted as she leaned back in her seat, stretching her slender neck from side to side. "I didn't want to follow her into the city a month ago, so I lied that my parents wanted me to come out to some charity gala. Plus, I just wanted to relax for a long time."

"I'm known as being a very good liar in our group," Declan said, pointing towards himself and Scott since his friends knew that he was able to lie to people without stuttering. "So, I've lied to people that we're coming to their party when we've automatically decided that we're not going to the party. Or the fact that I've also lied to people that apart of my hated list too."

Mackenzie nodded at Declan's statement as she brushed some lint off his right shoulder. "I remember telling this girl that she looked very nice, but instead she really looked like a toad to me," she piped up.

The corners of Scarlett's slowly curled into a grin. "What do you do when no one else is around?" she asked coyly, feeling a heated glare from Mackenzie. Scarlett wanted her friend to confess to something embarrassing in front of Declan.

Declan sank even further into his seat, crossing his arms over her chest. "When no one is around me, I tend to dance to pop music by myself," he confessed, peeking from the corner of his eye and noticing that no one was laughing at him.

"Um... I like watching Star Wars movies when there's no one around me in my house," Scott chimed in as he tilted his head in his friend's direction. "But, the only person that's actually caught me is Declan."

"Yeah, I love watching pimple-popping videos on Youtube," Mackenzie disclosed as she ate several ice cream-covered mango slices before looking over and noticing that Declan didn't look disgusted with her confession. "It's my guilty pleasure when there's no one there."

"Uh, I like to watch car chases on Youtube a lot," Scarlett said, eating more of her sundae. Rolling her shoulders back, she wound a long, curly lock of her hair around her right manicured index finger before peeking at Scott, who was intensely listening to the conversation that was happening between everyone.

Scott sneaked a peek at Scarlett and discovered that she was also sneaking peeks at him. "What's your zodiac sign and birthday?"?" He asked without looking away from his newly-found crush.

"I'm an Aries, and my birthday is March 21st," Declan blurted as he knew that Scott already knew when his birthday was, but he wanted the girls to know about it.

Mackenzie made a mental note about Declan's birthday before answering his question. "Definitely a Sagittarius," she replied truthfully. "After all, my birthday falls under the date of December 21st."

Scarlett dropped her spoon into her half-eaten sundae before moving it away from her sight. "Oh, easy, Libra," she said, grinning. Scarlett then wiped her mouth with some paper napkins. "My birthday is October 19th."

"Leo all the way," Scott smirked. He pushed away his half-eaten sundae from his sight and leaned back in his seat. Grabbing some paper napkins from the napkin dispenser, Scott wiped his mouth with the same napkins, crumpled them up, and threw the napkins on the table near his glass cup. "July 27th."

Declan fiddled with the hem of his blue Theory Henley top before eating more of his mint chocolate chip sundae. "What's one of your biggest pet peeves?" he questioned his friend and the girls.

Scott smoothed back his dark-brown hair as he felt that Scarlett had intentionally bumped into him. "I absolutely hate people who clear their throats for no reason," he answered, knowing that Declan already knew about pet peeves.

"One of my pet peeves is that I can't stand people who make sounds while they're eating," Mackenzie responded, picking at her painted thumbnail. She then peeked from the corner of her eye and noticed that a very wide grin was spread across Declan's face.

"Uh, I hate the sound of someone blowing their nose," Scarlett replied breezily as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her baby-blue floral tie-back minidress by French Connection. "It actually makes me nauseous."

"I hate people who suck blood from cuts," Declan responded wryly, knowing that Scott already knew about his pet peeve. He then dropped his half-eaten sundae in the middle of the table, feeling full. "They don't understand that there are bad bacteria in their saliva and are now infecting the cut even more."

Just as Scarlett was about to ask a question to her friend and the boys, she noticed that there was a girl walking straight to their table with some nervousness in her walk. She met Mackenzie, Declan, and Scott's eyes, giving them a Someone-Is-Interrupting-Our-Conversation eye roll. Scarlett then turned her attention back to the girl, who was standing in front of the table.

"Um, hi," the girl greeted everyone at the table as she wondered if she made the right decision to approach the self-proclaimed royalty of her grade. "I'm Rochelle Cranston, for your information. I just wanted to introduce myself to you guys."

"What for?" Mackenzie and Scarlett asked harshly in unison as they crossed their arms over their chest.

Rochelle glanced over her right shoulder, looking at the table which was near the ice cream shop's front door and noticing that her friends were still encouraging her to continue to talk to Scott, Declan, Mackenzie, and Scarlett. "I wanted to meet you guys since it's known that you guys are the sixth-grade royalty of Prescott and Crestview," she said confidently. "And, I wanted to know if Maddie was still going to rank everyone from our grade."

Mackenzie reached into her purse, pulled out her iPhone, and dropped it on the table. "Of course she does!" she chirped.

Scarlett crossed her slender legs together. "It's tradition for the Prescott queens to rank everyone from our grade," she added after Mackenzie's statement.

"So, I hear that Audrey is throwing a wicked eleventh birthday this Saturday," Rochelle whispered under her breath, making sure that no one else heard what she was saying to Mackenzie and Declan. "So, has she finalized the guest list yet?"

"Um, no," Mackenzie said icily as she placed her arms on the table, glaring at Rochelle. "I literally just came over to Scoops right after attending a meeting at Vanessa's headquarters, so Addie could finalize the details of her party. And, where'd you hear about Drey's birthday party?"

Rochelle swallowed a gulp as she observed that Mackenzie was glaring at her. "Apparently, someone managed to get the printed version of the Microsoft Powerpoint that was labeled Audrey's Circus-Palooza-themed birthday party from Vanessa's office two weeks ago," she informed Mackenzie and Scarlett. "They copied it and sent it to every student at Prescott and Crestview."

"Seriously?" Declan and Scott interrupted in unison. "That's trespassing on someone's birthday planning."

"I'm just going to leave now," Rochelle said as she gulped loudly before walking away since she didn't want Mackenzie, Scarlett, Declan, and Scott to accuse her of stealing the details for Audrey's birthday party.

A couple of moments later, Declan noticed that Rochelle had returned to her table of friends before shifting his attention back to his friend and the girls. "Do you guys think that she's the one that stole the printed PowerPoint from Vanessa's office?" he inquired.

"Yes," Scarlett countered, rolling her eyes at Declan's question. "But, I think she paid someone to steal the PowerPoint from Vanessa's office."

Mackenzie raised a perfectly waxed strawberry-blonde eyebrow at Scarlett's statement. "Why?" She asked her friend.

Scarlett rolled her eyes at Mackenzie's stupid question. "No one else knows about the PowerPoint besides you, Vanessa, Addie, Kay, and Vanessa's employees," she answered tightly.

Scott grabbed his iPhone from the table and checked the time. "Oh, shit," he interrupted sharply. "Declan, we need to leave right now."

"Oh, I forgot that we need to head over to Lachlan's house now," Declan said as he stood up and crossed his toned arms over his chest. "So, ladies, we'll text you later."

"Bye, Scarlett and Mackenzie!" Scott said goodbye to the girls as he quickly headed towards the ice cream shop's front door, seeing that Declan was following behind him.

"Bye, guys!" Scarlett and Mackenzie said in unison as they waved goodbye to Declan and Scott before turning their attention back to themselves.

Mackenzie looked outside of Scoop's glass windows and noticed that the boys were climbing into a navy Lexus RX 350 car. "Well, Scar, do you have a crush on Declan?" she inquired without looking away from the car.

"Yeah, Manzie," Scarlett answered shyly as she tucked a curly look of hair behind her right ear. "What about you?"

"Same," Mackenzie agreed with her friend as she checked her iPhone's bright screen, observing that it was already six o'clock in the evening. "I need to start heading home now. My curfew is at seven p.m."

"Me too," Scarlett added after Mackenzie's statement as she stood up from her seat, leaving the four half-filled glass cups on the table. Scarlett then threw her designer handbag over her left shoulder as she straightened her cream Frame puff-sleeved cardigan. "So, let's walk out together and call our drivers outside."

Mackenzie dropped her cell phone into her purse and threw it over her right shoulder. "Okay," she said lightly, getting up from her seat.

Sashaying across the ice cream shop's floors, Mackenzie and Scarlett walked outside and noticed that the sun was still in the blue sky. Grabbing their iPhones out of their designer handbags, they asked Siri to call their drivers and noticed that the call went through immediately. They heard that Dean and Nick said that they would be there in twenty minutes. As soon as the call ended, Mackenzie and Scarlett held their cell phones in their right hands as they shifted their attention to each other.

Scarlett pushed her purse even higher on her left shoulder. "So, Mack, should we text Addie and tell her about someone stealing the printed version of the Microsoft Powerpoint filled with the details of her birthday party?" she asked her friend.

"Well, yeah," Mackenzie finally said, sending a quick text to Audrey that she needed to text her and Scarlett back.

Suddenly, Scarlett's iPhone buzzed, echoing loudly off throughout the bustling sidewalk. She noticed that Audrey had fired a text to her and Mackenzie as Scarlett saw that Mackenzie had fired a text to Audrey.

Audrey: What do you guys want to talk to me about?

Mackenzie: Addie, someone stole the printed Powerpoint that contains the details about your birthday party from Vanessa's office two weeks ago.

Scarlett swiftly replied to her friends' text messages.

Scarlett: The person paid someone from Vanessa's office to find out about your birthday party.

Scarlett looked up and noticed that Mackenzie was heading towards a dark blue Mercedes E-class car while continuing to text her and Audrey. She observed that her friend's driver had climbed out of the car and held the right-side rear door open for her. Perceiving that Mackenzie had already climbed into the car, Scarlett noticed that her friend's driver was already sitting in the driver's seat and pulled away from the curb. Taking a deep breath, she was happy that her friend was safely getting home tonight before noticing that Audrey and Mackenzie had texted her back immediately.

Audrey: What? How?

Mackenzie: It seems that Rochelle Cranston was able to bribe someone into giving her the entire itinerary of your party. And, she came up to us at Scoops this afternoon while we were still having a casual hangout with Declan and Scott.

Scarlett fired off another text to her friends' messages.

Scarlett: She was being completely nosey about you finishing the guest list for your birthday party.

]Before Scarlett read the messages that her friends had sent her, she glanced around the streets and instantly noticed that Ivan had turned the Bentley onto the street. Observing that her driver had pulled the car up to the curb, she immediately headed towards the car and opened the right-side white rear door. Scarlett climbed into the car and slid across the buttery soft leather backseat as she closed the door behind her.

Dropping her purse on the adjacent seat beside her, she buckled her seat belt and returned to her brilliantly-lit iPhone's screen. Scarlett instantly texted her friends that she would continue the text conversation at home. Tossing her cell phone into her designer purse, she closed her eyes, feeling Ivan move away from the curb. Finally, she leaned against the leather headrest and fell asleep to the motion of the car driving down the street.

---

The Webster Estate

Dining Room

8:17 P.M.

Wednesday, September 4th

The overpowering smell of dinner wafted into Audrey's nostrils as she reached the bottom of the winding staircase. She instantly headed over to the dining room, walking past her mom's favorite Ansgar Doyle painting. Strolling inside, Audrey observed that her dad was barking orders into his cell phone before looking over and discovering that her mom was having a conversation with someone on her iPhone.

She knew that her mom was hosting the annual Prescott auction to raise money for scholarships. Settling into her seat at her family's glazed oak dinner table, Audrey gazed longingly at the spread of food that her family's chef, Alejandro, had cooked for dinner tonight. Steaming platters and bowls of pan-seared steak, buttery mashed potatoes, and freshly baked dinner rolls with garlic and herbs were spread across the table.

All the porcelain dinner plates, polished silverware, and folded dinner napkins were placed directly on placemats in front of the chairs. In the center of the table was an iced crystal pitcher filled to the brim with Key Lime-flavored La Croix sparkling water and an opened bottle of Château Lafite red wine for her parent.

"Hey... Mom," Audrey said, unfolding her dinner napkin on her lap.

Courtney covered the mouthpiece of her iPhone as she shot her daughter a genuine smile. "Hi, darling!" she said curtly before resuming the conversation with the other person on the line.

Audrey violently stabbed a steak with her dinner fork before plopping it on her plate. "And good evening, Daddy!" she said brightly.

"Hey, princess!" Ambrose greeted his daughter as he smiled playfully at Audrey before barking even more orders into his iPhone.

Spooning some mashed potatoes onto her plate, Audrey was already used to her dad being busy with their family's investment firm, and her mom was occupied with being a full-time socialite where she serves on all the committees, volunteer boards, parties, and events thrown by Audrey's school and the Westchester society. Cutting her steak with her steak knife and fork, she smothered the piece of steak with mashed potatoes before munching on it. Looking up from her filled plate, Audrey finally noticed that her parents had dropped their cell phones on the table. Releasing an ecstatic sigh, she grabbed a warm dinner roll from one of the bowls and hastily lowered it onto her plate before noticing that her parents wanted to talk to her.

"Darling, did you have a good day today?" Courtney asked her daughter, unfolding her dinner napkin on her lap. She then piled her plate with steak, mashed potatoes, and two mouthwatering dinner rolls.

"It was okay," Audrey retorted as she wolfed down three steaming forkfuls of mashed potatoes. "My friends came with me to Vanessa's headquarters today. And, the party planner's ideas are out of this world."

Ambrose flattened his dinner napkin on his lap before loading his plate with steak, mashed potatoes, and two appetizing dinner rolls. "Very good," he nodded. "It'll do you some good to socialize with your friends."

Audrey prodded a giant piece of steak and mashed potatoes onto her fork before devouring it in one bite. "Okay, Daddy," she beamed happily.

Courtney took a huge bite of her dinner rolls, changing the subject to something else. "Um, sweetie, are you done getting your school things ready?" she eagerly inquired. "Including your combination lock and pencil case?"

"Yeah, Mom," Audrey nodded in understanding as she poured some sparkling water into her empty water glass.

"You need to make sure that your priorities are together," Ambrose added, scoffing down several steaming forkfuls of mashed potatoes. "You need to be an A-plus student, angel."

Audrey cocked her head to the side as she blew some strands of her hair out of her eyes. "I know that."

"Your friends come second," Courtney added sternly, sipping her wine. "And I mean that."

Ambrose wolfed down one of his dinner rolls before washing it down with several sips of wine. "Now, we had good grades and a social life," he said. "But if you can't handle that, grades always come first."

"Got it," Audrey insisted angrily. She barely concealed an eye roll, leaning forward in her seat.

Courtney ate some giant bites of her mashed potatoes before washing them down with her entire glass of wine. "Audrey," she said sternly. "Behave."

Audrey shoved some forkfuls of steak into her mouth. "Whatever," she mumbled under her breath, hoping that her mom didn't hear her.

"Eat, princess," Ambrose urged his daughter gently as he shot his wife a look before eating several bites of his steak. "We just want to make sure we're all on the same page about some things."

"Of course, Dad," Audrey said warmly. She then wiped her mouth with her dinner napkin before eyeing her parents across the table. "Anyway, may I be excused?"

"What for?" Courtney questioned her daughter as she swallowed a steaming mouthful of mashed potatoes.

Audrey threw her dinner napkin on her half-eaten plate and stood up from her seat. "I need to get ready for school tomorrow," she said truthfully. "And I'm full."\

Ambrose nodded at his daughter as his steak knife and fork scraped noisily across his half-eaten plate. "That's good," he noted. "Arthur would be in the car at seven forty-five in the morning to take you to school. So, set your alarm clock to wake you up at seven o'clock in the morning, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," Audrey said firmly as she stood up from her chair and jumped from one foot to another. "But, I forgot to tell you guys that Maddie's driver would be chauffeuring us everywhere. I'll only need Arthur when I'm alone by myself, so that means that our driver would be available to you guys twenty-four seven."

Courtney nodded at her daughter's statement before pouring another glass of red wine into her empty wine glass. "Good, because your father and I are going to need him for tomorrow morning."

Audrey tossed her curls over her right shoulder. "Fine," she nodded. She then walked around the dining room and kissed her parents on their left cheeks. "Good night, Mom and Daddy!"

Sashaying out of the dining room, Audrey let out a sigh of relief because she didn't like how her parents were grilling her about school. She lied about being full, so Audrey would get out of answering their questions. Feeling a little bit hungry, Audrey headed over to the kitchen and walked inside.

Plucking a chilled can of Diet Coke from the fridge, she strolled through the opened doorway of the kitchen's pantry and grabbed three bags of white cheddar-flavored Skinny Pop popcorn before heading straight for the stairs. As soon as Audrey reached her spacious bedroom, she closed her bedroom door with her body, dropping her cold drink and bag of popcorn on her desk. Looking around her room, she was pleased that her mom had redecorated her room as a summer surprise. Everything looked perfect.

Her entire room was covered in a blush, grey, and white combo— three walls were painted light grey, and the wall behind her upholstered blush button-tufted headboard was covered in textured wallpaper. The microfiber sheets on her bed were white, and her fluffy oversized blush queen-sized duvet lay across her queen-size bed. Several handmade blush wool throw pillows were resting against her silky, white pillows, which were laying against her headboard, and three grey velvet bolster pillows were placed in front of the other pillows.

In between her walk-in closet and her private bathroom was her large mid-century vanity with lighting around the mirror. The white table had her makeup stored neatly inside her boxy white Coach cosmetic cases and bottles of Valentino perfume were on top of the table. Beyond her French closet doors stood her massive two-story grey walk-in closet stuffed with the latest designer clothes, shoes, handbags, and accessories, which had a wide forty-inch round button-tufted velvet ottoman in the middle of her closet. Backed against the wall next to her walk-in wardrobe was her long, white-framed, three-way mirror.

On both of her modern white three-drawer nightstands were white rectangular-shaped table lamps standing on either side with a single intercom speaker, a white round digital alarm clock, her silver iPad Pro, and her Apple wireless charging case that was holding her fully charged AirPods inside. Above her wide, white trophy case filled with horseback and academic trophies was her black 65-inch flat-screen smart TV. In the far corner of her room was her cozy nook for reading and studying, which was piled high with blush cashmere blankets and white furry throw pillows. It was perfect for long phone conversations and video calls with her friends and her family.

Several white bookcases were placed around her room, which was crammed with glossy fashion magazines, reading books, and textbooks for the upcoming school year. Over her white four-poster canopy bed hung a large, calming abstract painting from Ansgar Doyle. In the center of her grey-and-chrome lattice coffee table stood a tall, white textured geometric ceramic flower vase filled with pink baby's breath flowers.

Behind her coffee table were her grey velvet upholstered sofa and two blush sheepskin lounge chairs covered in embroidered white pom-pom throw pillows and a blush cashmere throw, which had matching grey-and-chrome lattice end tables on either side of the sofa. Hanging all over the walls of her room were giant framed fashion covers of Vogue, Marie Claire, and Seventeen magazines. Right next to her desk was a white marble-and-brass wastebasket filled with trash. Automated thermal curtains hung from curtain rods to block out the windows. Casting a soft glow over her room was a small Swarovski crystal-trimmed chandelier.

The grey hardwood floor gleamed beneath a spread of rectangular-shaped ivory-and-grey lattice rugs. Behind some more French doors was her very en-suite bathroom. Skincare products were perfectly lined across the marble countertop of her classic grey single-wide bathroom vanity. On the other side of the bathroom was an oversized walk-in shower with multiple nozzles, so her body would constantly be sprayed with water without her having to keep turning.

Outside of the shower and hanging from several chrome wall robe hooks were a couple of light and fluffy bathrobes. Next to her shower was an extra-large, white freestanding tub, facing another flat-screen TV. Next to her tub was a solid white oak side table with open storage that was filled with fluffy monogrammed hand towels. The heated Turkish marble bathroom floor gleamed with perfection. Next to her bathroom was her medium, white solid wood desk with accented quatrefoil cutouts on its right and left sides.

On the tabletop was a MacBook Pro laptop, a white geometric pen holder filled with pink faux-fur pom-pom pens was right beside her computer, a neatly stacked pile of spiral notebooks sat near the far edge of her desk, and several grey picture frames were filled with pictures of her and parents sat in the other corner of her desk. Finally, hanging behind her desk was the white pinboard that was filled with outdated party invitations and pictures of her and her old friends from elementary school.

Plopping down on her desk chair, Audrey ripped open one of the bags of Skinny Pop popcorn and shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. Just as she popped the top of her Diet Coke, Audrey's computer came to life with a group Facetime call from her friends. Audrey dropped the bag of popcorn in front of her before whipping her curls over her left shoulder. Pressing her wireless mouse to accept the video call, Madeleine, Kayla, Scarlett, and Mackenzie's faces instantly popped up on her computer's screen.

"Hey, Addie," Madeleine said, smiling warmly.

"Hi, Drey," Scarlett chirped as she leaned back in her seat with a wide grin on her face.

"Hello, Rae," Kayla chimed as she wolfed down several forkfuls of Fettuccine Alfredo.

"What's up, Addy?" Mackenzie cooed, shifting into a comfortable position in her chair.=

Audrey reached deep inside the popcorn bag and stuffed her mouth with a handful of popcorn. "Nothing much," she answered softly. "Except, I got this lengthy lecture from parents about keeping my grades up in school."

"Yeah, whatever," Madeleine replied, leaning back in her chair. "Oh, girlies, do you guys want to hear about my meeting with Lindsey and Avery?"

"Yuuuuup!" Kayla said wryly. She then ate some more dainty bites of Fettuccine Alfredo.

"Uh, I wanna know right now," Mackenzie and Audrey said in unison.

"Lay it on me, Maddie," Scarlett declared, sounding very interested in Madeleine's latest news.

Madeleine wrapped her arms around Coco and tenderly pressed her puppy against her chest. "Okay, well, Lindsey and Avery handed me a crowning gift first," she said dramatically. "It was a very beautiful custom headband that I'm wearing on the first day of school tomorrow. Then, they explained to me that my mom was the sixth-grade Queen in nineteen eighty-six. And, of course, the girls also explained the rules that Prescott's Queens need to follow."

Audrey's eyes lit up. "Sounds amazing," she said with a smile.

Mackenzie took a long sip of her Limoncello-flavored La Croix sparkling water. "Awesome!" she said in amazement, sounding very excited.]\

Kayla flipped her curls over her left shoulder. "That sounds..." she said softly. "Wonderful."

Scarlett leaned forward in her seat, resting her elbows on her computer desk. "Did anything else happen during the meeting, Mads?"

"Oh, yeah," Madeleine said gently. She rubbed her manicured hands over Coco's clean fur, sagging against her seat. "I was about to talk to them when Lindsey got a call from some boy that would later introduce himself as Leif Hastings to me. It automatically clicked for me that he's one of Lachlan's older brothers, which means that Lindsey is dating him."

"Uh, I thought we're meeting them next Thursday afternoon," Audrey remarked as she popped the top of her Diet Coke.

"Yeah," Madeleine nodded, scratching behind Coco's ears. "Um, girlies, I was pleasantly surprised that Lindsey actually answered the call in my presence."

"Oh, Maddy, I'm pretty sure that you heard the conversation between Lindsey and her boyfriend," Scarlett added, fiddling with the left strap of her cropped white Morgan Lane floral pajama top. "So, you need to spill the deets about that conversation to us."

Kayla cocked her head to the side and smiled. "So, Mads, it's gossip time!"

"Okay, I wanna hear about this conversation," Mackenzie and Audrey said in unison.

Madeleine dropped Coco on the floor before observing that her puppy was curled up at her bare pedicured feet. "Fine, ladies," she said wryly. "I mean, Lindsey and Leif were going into details about their date in the city this Saturday afternoon."

Scarlett twisted her hair into a messy bun on top of her head. "Oh my god, that sounds very nice!" she exclaimed.

"No way," Mackenzie gasped as she took a long swig of her La Croix drink.

"It's unbelievable that Lindsey is actually comfortable with you listening to her conversation with her boyfriend!" Kayla said softly, moving her half-eaten plate to the side of her desk. She then separated her curls evenly and twisted each side into a French pigtail before tying them into a knot at the nape of her neck.

"I guess Avery must have still been there to hear this conversation," Audrey chimed in. She chewed on the last handful of popcorn before washing it down with a gulp of her Diet Coke.

"Oh, yes," Madeleine answered, nodding at her friends' statements. "Then, Avery and Lindsey asked me if I had a crush on anybody at school. So, I had no other option than to reveal to them that I had a very tiny crush on Lachlan."

"Seriously," Scarlett laughed as she leaned forward in her seat. "Did they say anything about your statement?"

Mackenzie and Kayla rested their elbows on their desks. "We know that they would want to play the role of matchmaker for you and Lachlan," they said in unison, smirking.

Audrey took a long sip of her Diet Coke. "I think that they would try to get him to understand that he has a crush on you as well," she said smoothly.

Madeleine concealed an eye roll at her friend's statement. "Um, yes," she replied happily. "I think that Linds and Aves would try to get their boyfriends to talk to Lachlan. Especially since he's their little brother."

"No way," Scarlett, Mackenzie, Kayla, and Audrey gasped in unison. "That means that every Prescott Queen has some kind of crush for a Hastings.

"Oh, yeaaah!" Madeleine proclaimed loudly as she bounced in her seat. "So, does anyone have any more gossip to share?"

Audrey sipped more of her Diet Coke. "Meeeee!" she volunteered. "Oh, Maddie and Scar, I wanted to share about the meeting with Vanessa. After all, Kay and Mack were attending the meeting with me."

Mackenzie rested her chin on her left palm. "Yeah," she nodded. "The party planner talked about the details that went into Drey's birthday party."

Kayla moved her desk chair from side to side. "Manzie and I also contributed some ideas for the party planner to follow up with," she said, smiling brightly.

Madeleine cocked her head to the side and grinned at her friends. "That sounds kind of okay to me," she shrugged.

Scarlett leaned forward in her seat. "Seriously," she laughed. "Did Vanessa have any problems adding your ideas to Addy's party?"

"No," Kayla and Mackenzie replied in unison. "She happily typed her suggestions into the slides."

"Yeah," Audrey said quickly as she laced her manicured fingers together and rested her chin on her laced fingers.

Mackenzie and Scarlett chewed nervously on their lips. "Well, girlies, there's still some more news to share with you guys," they whispered to their friends.

"Like what?" Madeleine questioned, arching a perfectly waxed honey-blonde eyebrow at Mackenzie and Scarlett's statement.

"Well, we wanted to share with you guys that we hung out with Declan and Scott today," Mackenzie and Scarlett uttered in unison.

Madeleine narrowed her eyes at Mackenzie and Scarlett. "Why didn't you guys call us last night to share the news?" she asked.

Mackenzie and Scarlett nervously played with the waistbands of their pajama shorts. "Well, you guys were busy having dinner with your parents yesterday," they told Madeleine. "Then, Lala and Addie found out this afternoon after the meeting with Vanessa, so you're the last person to find out now."

"I seriously can't believe it," Madeleine said, sounding very left out. "But, I'll forgive you guys if you share what happened between you and the boys."

"We wanted to share with you guys that we have a lot of fun with Declan and Scott," Mackenzie and Scarlett squealed in unison. "We pretty much got to know each other in a very deep way and meet one of our upcoming classmates from school."

Madeleine took a long swig of her half-filled Evian water. "That's awesome," she said slowly, readjusting her ponytail. "Who was the person that you guys meet at the ice cream shop?"

Mackenzie and Scarlett leaned back in their seats. "It was some girl called Rochelle Cranston," they replied in unison. "She falls under a 3.5 on the loser scale."

Kayla leaned forward in her seat, knowing that Mackenzie and Scarlett meant that this girl wasn't okay for them to be acquainted with. "I've stumbled on her Instagram page," she laughed. "Her posts are filled with pictures of her old friends from elementary school and parties thrown by the popular crowd. It seems like she's stuck in the past or something."

Audrey tapped her right manicured index finger against her left bicep. "There's also the fact that Scar and Manzie told me that Rochelle had someone steal a printed Microsoft PowerPoint that was filled with details about my birthday party," she spat angrily.

"No way," Madeleine and Kayla gasped in unison. "Who was the person that she paid to steal the PowerPoint?"

"I have no idea," Audrey shrugged, pressing her manicured fingers against her temples. "And, it's too late to change anything since Vanessa has already booked everything for the party."

"Addie, calm down for a couple of moments," Madeleine, Kayla, Scarlett, and Mackenzie reassured their friend in unison. "Everything's going to be okay."

"Fine, guys!" Audrey breathed easily. "If someone talks about my party at school tomorrow, I'm gonna cancel the party and cause my parents to lose the money that they've already put into it."

"Wait a minute," Scarlett, Madeleine, Kayla, and Mackenzie said in unison as they leaned forward into their seats. "I think that people would try their best to pretend that they don't know about your party."

Audrey's shoulder slumped forward. "Okay,girlies," she nodded in understanding. Audrey knew that she was overreacting a little bit.

Kayla twisted her curls into a messy bun before changing the topic to something else. "So, ladies, I wanted to talk to you guys about my lunch meeting with Delilah Edwards and Emily Hudson."

Madeleine's eyes widened. "Um, Kay, hold on for a minute," she said, sounding very surprised. "You meet Delilah Edwards and Emily Hudson for lunch today."=

"Oh, yeah," Kayla nodded at Madeleine. "Addie already knows about casual lunch hangout plans since I informed her after Manzie left. The only people who don't know about the plans are you, Kenzie, and Scar!"

Scarlett slapped her right manicured hand against her heart. "When... did they connect with you?" she gasped loudly.

Mackenzie stared at Kayla, surprised. "What did you guys talk about?"

Kayla sighed deeply before noticing that Audrey was looking somewhere else. "Well, they officially crowned me the sixth-grade Queen of Connections and told some connections that they use to get any secret or gossip that I could use to get the doors open for something," she told Mackenzie, Scarlett, and Madeleine.

"All right," Madeleine said quickly before changing the subject to something else. "So, let's rate our outfits for the first day of school tomorrow."

"Sure, Maddie," Audrey, Kayla, Mackenzie, and Scarlett said with a smile in unison, knowing that this activity would allow them to make comments about their outfits.

Observing that her friends had gotten up from their seats, Audrey dropped her empty bag of popcorn into the wastebasket, stood up from her seat, and walked over to her custom-made mannequin. Feeling ecstatic about her outfit tomorrow, she wheeled her mannequin over to her computer, making sure that it was standing behind her desk chair. Plopping back down on her seat again, Audrey discovered that the girls had all returned to their seats with their fully dressed mannequins behind them.\

Madeleine broke into a genuine smile. "I'm going first," she declared, gesturing to the outfit on her mannequin. "I've styled my mannequin in a lilac Black Halo two-piece dress with lilac Miu Miu wedges, a large white leather Kate Spade tote, and my custom-made white pearl-embellished headband from Lindsey and Avery. For jewelry, I'm wearing small pearl dangle earrings and my signature pearl necklace. And, my nails are no longer deep navy, but lilac and white now. So, thoughts, ladies?"

"9.8," Scarlett said dramatically, adjusting the waistband of her cropped white Morgan Lane floral pajama shorts. "That dress is to die for."

Kayla drummed her manicured fingers on the table. "9.6," she commented.

Audrey analyzed Madeleine's outfit with laser focus. "9.9," she added.

Mackenzie leaned further into her computer screen. "9.5," she replied before leaning back in her seat. "Who's next?"

Scarlett turned towards her dressed mannequin. "Me next," she volunteered. "I've adorned my mannequin in a short, fitted Alice + Olivia denim romper with red knotted-bow patent-leather thong sandals by Kate Spade, and a large liberty-red Tory Burch Gemini Link canvas tote. For jewelry, I'm wearing diamond studs, a white Alexis Bittar flower ring, and my signature pearl bracelet. Verdict?"

"Gorgeous," Madeleine said with a smile. She reached down, scooped Coco with her manicured hands, and tenderly pressed her puppy against her chest again. "9.4."

"Beautiful," Kayla commented, flashing a genuine smile at Scarlett. "9.2."

"9.5," Mackenzie said proudly, taking another long swig of her La Croix drink.

"9.3," Audrey grinned brightly as she tossed the other two bags of Skinny Pop popcorn into her desk's drawers.

Mackenzie turned around in her desk chair and showcased her ensemble on her mannequin. "My turn now," she proclaimed. "My mannequin is adorned in a belted yellow-and-white-striped Marni cami minidress, white Prada espadrilles, mini bright-yellow Givenchy satchel, and white Arkis embellished cardigan. For jewelry, I'm wearing a pair of diamond chandelier earrings, and the accessories for my outfit are a yellow Lele Sadoughi beaded headband. Decisions?"

Madeleine kissed Coco on top of her little black nose before dropping her puppy back on her lap. "Stunning," she stated. "9.1."

"9.5," Scarlett replied as she bit her lower lip, studying her friend's outfit with laser focus.

Audrey checked her nails, feeling thrilled that her regular manicurist had changed her nail color from icy white to burgundy. "9.2."

Kayla toyed with the ends of her high ponytail and smirked. "9.4."

"I'm going next," Audrey said proudly as she wheeled her mannequin even closer so her friends could see her outfit for tomorrow. "As you could see, my mannequin is wearing a navy color-block blouse by Ted Baker, which was tucked into a high-waisted grey plaid Anna Sui flare miniskirt, grey Christian Louboutin ankle boots, and a medium navy Longchamp suede hobo. For jewelry, I'm wearing pearl stud earrings and a long, gold Chanel moon-and-stars drop necklace that has two designs lined with crystals. Any thoughts?"

"9.8," Madeleine said as she sighed deeply before analyzing Audrey's dressed mannequin with laser focus.

Scarlett tapped her left manicured index finger against her chin. "9..." she pondered. "3."

"9.2," Kayla remarked, grinning brightly. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Mackenzie knitted her delicate fingers together and placed them on her lap. "9.5," she decided.

"I'll go then since I'm the last one left," Kayla said, motioning to her dressed mannequin. "My mannequin is sporting a multi-colored plaid Moschino split-hem bodycon dress with nude La Silla knee-high suede boots and a medium nude Dolce & Gabbana leather-and-suede satchel. For jewelry, I'm wearing a gold Mizuki pearl-and-diamond statement necklace and a pair of pearl stud earrings. Opinions?"

"9.6," Scarlett commented, cocking her head to the side and examining Kayla's dressed mannequin with laser focus. She then melted further into her seat.

"Definitely a 9.4," Mackenzie admitted as she sneakily checked her armpits for deodorant stains without alerting her friends.

Audrey crossed her legs together, her burgundy toes matched her painted nails. "9.3."

Madeleine noticed that Coco was now staring at her for a couple of seconds before her puppy jumped off her lap. "9.5."

"Whatever," Audrey murmured softly as she looked over at her alarm clock and saw that it was almost nine-thirty. "Well, girlies, I need to go now. My bedtime is at ten. So, see you guys tomorrow."

Kayla waved bye to her friends. "Sleep well, everyone," she replied before ending the call on her end.

Scarlett moved away from her computer screen. "See you guys tomorrow!" she remarked, ending the call on her end.

"Good night, pretties!" Mackenzie said with a smile on her face before ending the call on her end.

Madeleine quickly stood up from her seat, holding Coco in her arms. "Later, Addie!" she told her friend before ending the call on her end.

Clicking out of the window, Audrey wheeled her mannequin over to the designated spot by her closet before walking into her all-white bathroom. As soon as she brushed her teeth, Audrey peeled her clothes off, dumping them into the hamper. Feeling drained and tired, Audrey yawned for a bit before snatching last night's pajamas from the top of the closed toilet seat.

Slipping into her lotus pink silk In Bloom by Jonquil scalloped chemise, she stared at her reflection in the bathroom's mirror, making sure that the crisscrossing back straps of her chemise remained flat. Clapping her manicured hands together so the lights in her bathroom turn off, Audrey walked out of her bathroom and slowly closed the door behind her. Monitoring the alarm clock again, she perceived that it was almost nine forty-seven as Audrey climbed into bed.

Snuggling into her bed, Audrey grabbed her fully-charged iPhone from her left-side nightstand and unlocked her cell phone. Instantly, she checked her Instagram account and observed that she had over a thousand likes on a group selfie she posted this afternoon. Audrey beamed triumphantly before checking the time again and discovered that it was almost ten.

Turning her iPhone off, she set her alarm clock to wake her up at seven o'clock in the morning before clapping her manicured hands together so the lights in her room would turn off. Slipping her pink silk sleep mask over her eyes, Audrey closed her eyes and fell asleep a few moments later.

---

A/N:

Self Promotion: In my bio, I have a link to a page, where you can support me in exchange for exclusive benefits. Chapter five, six, seven, and eight are on the same page.

And, here's chapter four for you guys.

Enjoy,

FashionLeMode