Thank god she had a day off. Grace was exhausted. It was a rare weekend when she didn't have to work either job. Seeing her old pal Egbert again. Grace smiles. He still looked the same. Acted the same too.

Flopping down on her flowery couch, she had no clue why she kept her two jobs. She could retire as a lifeguard and work full time at the aquarium. But she loved the water too much. Plus it was only a summer job. If only she could she stay as a lifeguard till she retired.

She flipped through the channels absently looking for something to watch when her phone rang. She tiredly got up and answered her house phone. She had a cell, but preferred her house phone. Her old habits as a Unicorn Club member was deeply ingrained. Late nights gossiping with her friends, talking to Winston, calling Elizabeth and Maria for help with her homework, and calling the radio station for her Johnny Buck requests.

"Hello?"

"Hey Grace!"

"Hey Mary! How's things?" She and Mary were still close. Even though she went straight to SVH after the seventh grade skipping eighth, due to her grades, Elizabeth was offered the same deal in sixth grade with the school offering her a chance to go to seventh grade, but she declined, preferring to stay in the sixth grade. Grace wished she did. That way she had someone to hang out with in the ninth grade. Neither Janet or Tamara were interested. All three of them went their separate ways. But she still hung out with some former members. Grace, Mary, Jessica, Lila and Ellen and occasionally Mandy were still close. But it was Grace, Mary and Ellen that were the three musketeers.

"Good. Good."

"How's Mike, little Jake?" Grace wasn't too crazy about Mike. She heard about the disaster of Jessica's quickie wedding. Plus the shooting. But The Wakefield's plus Mary said Mike is totally different now.

Mike and Mary met when Mary's car broke down and she called for a tow truck. It was Mike McAllery that showed up. For Mary, it was love at first sight. She flirted with Mike, with Mike flirting back. She knew about Mike's reputation from Jessica, but both twins assured her that Mike was totally different. More humble, more mature. He always said that stupid accident with the gun was the best thing that happened to him. He met Jessica, became life long friends with Steven, which brought them to the present, owning his own garage. Which Fate made Mary's car break down. He asked her out when he towed her car to his garage. After three years of dating, they got married. Grace was the maid of honor, with Jessica, Ellen, and Lila as the bridesmaids. Mandy couldn't make it, even though she was a bridesmaid but sent a wedding gift.

They were married for two years before Jacob was born. Now a toddler, he was a handful. Grace loved that kid. She hoped someday she'll have children of her own. Too bad there was no suitable candidates. Devin was a jerk. All her other boyfriends fizzled out

"Just wanting to know if you want to meet at Casey's."

Casey's was "their" hangout as children. The Unicorns plus most of SVMS hung out there. When they got older it was the Dairy Burger. But for old times sakes, they met up for sundaes at the ice cream shop for old times sake.

"Sure! What about Jake?''

"Jake's at his grandparents. Mike is busy at the garage. I could use some girl talk. Meet me at one?"

"Sure. Is Ellen coming?"

"Yep, plus Rachel."

"How is Rachel. I hadn't seen her since she moved to San Francisco."

"She's doing great! Her ad agency just scored a new client, someone big."

"Must be Lila's influence. Wonder if she found a buyer." Grace said thinking about her app. Hmm. Maybe Grace should buy it. Already she knew about her coworkers obsession with it. Lila's cousin Janet was a fan. She was already on her third marriage. Being married to a politician must be nice. Already Janet was thinking of running for Mayor in her husband's home town. That app scored her "dream man." Former rock star Johnny Buck, now going by his birth name, Jonathan Bucklateski. He quit showbusiness when he turned nineteen and went to Irvine. After he graduated, he got involved in politics. He was currently running for state senator, hoping to win. Already he was leading the polls.

Janet is doing fine now, she like Jessica, jumped into a quickie marriage. Unlike Jessica, her and her drunken quickie marriage lasted thirty six hours. Her second marriage was longer, but they split up when he caught Janet cheating with her workout instructor. She met Johnny on Lila's app. It was a social climber app, but it also doubled as a matchmaking app for affluent women. He and Johnny met for drinks and eventually fell in love. They were married in Australia. Now both were involved with politics and were hoping to raise a family.

"Get ready. I'll be ready in thirty. I'll meet you there."

"See you soon."

Grace couldn't wait. She hadn't seen Rachel in a long time, not since Rachel moved to Denver after the ninth grade due to her father's job. The remaining Unicorns still communicated to her over the years, since her aunt and uncle bought her father's mansion after Mr Grant moved away. The last time Grace heard from Rachel, after she graduated college, she was working in her father's ad agency's San Francisco division. She saw WeGrant, the name of their ad agency, with Rachel as the head and President of her families ad agency west coast division. Her picture was there on the front page, greeting anyone that visited her website. The Fowlers, Patmans, and many companies around the world hired The Grants for their products and services. Rachel herself was constantly busy, due to her career. Her and Jessica and occasionally Lila were all still close.

Even though it was just the girls, Grace put in her makeup and nice casual clothes. Never know who she'll run into.

Ellen Riteman was eating a strawberry sundae. Her friends teased her for being 'basic' for always getting the classic flavors and ordering anything popular that happened to be seasonal. Ellen retorted back that she just happens to like the classics. Fuck the 'basic bitch' stereotype. She was reading the latest issue of 'Imogene,' apparently their old classmate, mean girl Veronica Brooks, the twins most disliked classmate at SVMS, was just signed on to Ford Models. There was a whole spread of her modeling next seasons clothes. Ellen hated to admit it, she looked gorgeous. As much as Ellen disliked her, she was happy for her. Mainly because she was so far away. After the twins transferred to SVJH, Veronica set her sights on Ellen. She tormented Ellen till she was 'discovered' by a modeling agent at Sweet Valley Mall. She left Sweet Valley to pursue a modeling career. Thankfully she never came back to the Unicorn's relief.

Ellen was waiting for Grace and Mary. She was jealous of both. Grace had a good thing going, she had a cool job at the aquarium, plus that summer lifeguard job. Mary was married with a baby. She felt inadequate of both. Of everyone. She felt lost. She had a "job" but not a career. She wasn't even popular on social media. She wouldn't want to work it fulltime anyway. She always wondered if she was meant to have a career. Or be married. As much as she loved her friends, she felt small. Her brother Mark figured things out, he was a successful banker at Sweet Valley Savings and Loans. Ellen knew she needed to figure things out soon, she didn't want to end up like her mom, divorced twice with a dead end job. She sighed. Maybe she should travel the world. Unfortunately her funds were dried up. Stupid loans.

She had her degree in Liberal Arts, but it was considered a "useless" degree. Her brother warned that it will be hard to get a good job with it, since the job market was tough. Ellen brushed him off. But for a teenager, he was wise beyond his years. He went to major in business, and immediately started working as a bank teller. Than after a few years, worked his way up, becoming a banking officer, than after hard work, became a successful financial analyst working for the powerful and wealthy in Sweet Valley. Ellen smiles at the irony. It was when her and Jessica found that stupid box with the money and letters years ago. They cheated Mark out of his share, since it was him that buried his pet. Ellen figured it was karma. Mark used that treasure to "invest" in a lemonade stand that summer, then over the years, got interested in making money. Now, he lived in the swanky Sweet Valley Heights district rubbing elbows with is wealthy clients.

Ellen refused Mark's financial help. She was happy for him, but was envious of his life. Not of being a banker, but him figuring things out early. Ellen was still floating along with her life. She worked as a manager at Lisette's, making a decent wage selling clothes, and even with a employee discount, couldn't afford buying anything. Her student loans were too much. She didn't regret her degree, but should have applied for a minor in Poli Sci. She was always good with people, which helped her get her job as a manager.

She looked around Casey's. After all these years, it barely changed much. She was sitting at "their" table, The Unicorns always picked this seat, since it was front and center of the whole restaurant. Seeing Rachel walking in, she enthusiastically waved.

Rachel smiled at Ellen. Wow, Rachel was even more gorgeous than ever. Ellen was jealous. Her hair was even more curly than middle and high school. Her dark skin was smooth and clear, and her teeth were perfect. She, like Ellen was single. She always said she was married to her job. But was open for a relationship. She was carrying a Birkin bag, easily rivaling Lila's. Ellen knew her whole outfit cost more than her entire rent for the next three years. Hell that bag, was worth more than her car. Ellen saw it on Instagram.

"Rachel! Oh my god! How's life up north?"

"Fine. How's things down south?" Rachel joked. She and Ellen often called San Francisco/Sweet Valley North and South.

"Things are great? How's your job? Living up there?" Ellen been to San Francisco. Her and her dad went up there to visit her grandma one summer. She loved the city, but wasn't interested in moving.

"Awesome. I just scored a account with Johnson and Johnson. We are guaranteed to have a contract for their new beauty line. This will make our ad agency number one in the west coast!"

"I'm so happy for you!" Both Ellen and Rachel were talking excitedly when Grace walked in. Grace went and joined them, and hearing Rachel's news, squealed in excitement. All three celebrated Rachel's news with milkshakes. Seeing Mary, they told her the news. Mary was happy. She knew how hard Rachel worked. They had half the club. All they needed was Lila, Mandy, Brooke and Jessica. Maybe Elizabeth, Evie Kim, Kimberly, Belinda, and Maria Slater. Not the original Unicorn Club, but the second version. They all agreed to have a little reunion. Even invite Janet, Tamara and Betsy Gordon. Have a purple unicorn theme at Casey's.

Afterwards, all four walked around the mall, shopping and chatting like old friends. Mary was happy, she missed girl talk. She agreed to help with the Unicorn Club reunion. She missed everyone, especially Mandy. Mandy was always busy, her job and family always kept her busy. She came by occasionally, whenever she was free. She was no longer living in Sweet Valley, having moved away to Atlanta, but wrote back occasionally. She said that her husband's job kept him busy and their children were a handful.

Mary was daydreaming about the party, and seeing a dollar store, she convinced everyone to go in. The party plans were on. Good thing the store sold purple decorations.