Bratfest at Tiffany's Read Free Page A

“If anyone can pull off glitter on a Tuesday morning, you can.”
    “Thanks.” Massie beamed, compliments stacking up like gold bangles. “Um, same with your open-toed ankle boots,” she lied in an attempt to start the year off on a positive note. “Are they European?” she asked, knowing how Alicia’s taste in footwear always nose-dived after a visit to her cousin Nina in Spain.
    “
Sí
.” Alicia proudly straightened her legs under her gold knee-length peasant skirt and wiggled her feet. “They have the best shoes over there.” She delighted in her Matador Red toenails as they poked through the otherwise normal sand-colored leather ankle boot.
    “Saysyou,” Dylan fake sneezed, sending a mass of straight red hair flying toward her beige gloss–covered lips. “Ugh.” She plucked the strands off her glistening mouth. Without thinking, she wiped her sticky, tinted fingers on the sea green paisley sarong that was cross-tied around her neck and hung mid-thigh across her white leggings.
    “Sorry. No one told me today’s wardrobe theme was hotel gift shop.” Alicia flipped her silky black hair.
    “This is hardly from the spa.” Dylan smoothed her sarong. “It’s a prezzy from Ilana Slootskyia, my summer BFF.”
    “The tennis star?” Claire gushed.
    “Tennis the Menace?” Kristen clutched the ivory shark tooth that dangled from a worn brown leather cord around her neck.
    “Yup.” Dylan French-twisted her hair and refastened it with her black stick. “She was staying at the Kapalua. We hung out the entire time. I told you that in my e-mails.”
    “I thought you were joking.” Kristen tugged one of her blond side-braids with excitement. “Now tell us everything about her. Don’t leave one thing out. Start with her temper. Is it really as bad as they say it is? Did she really smash her boyfriend in the teeth with a tennis ball because he thanked the stadium soda girl when she handed him a Pepsi?”
    Dylan rocked forward into a squat and grabbed her white quilted Chanel tote from under her butt. She unzipped it, pulled out a thick manila envelope, and handed it to Alicia.
    “What’s this?” Alicia held her chocolate brown knit cap in place as she leaned forward and grabbed the package. She started to open the seal, but Dylan swatted the envelope out of her hands. It landed beside her on the wet grass. “Why’d you do that?” She giggled.
    “Um, I believe it’s addressed to Mr. Rivera, nawt you.”
    “Why are you giving this to my dad?” The whites around Alicia’s deep brown eyes shone, thanks to the smudges of dark green that she was now wearing inside her lower lids. Ah-bviously another Spanish trend she’d imported.
    “Because he’s a lawyer and that’s a confidentiality agreement.”
    “Huh?” everyone asked at once.
    “Ilana made me sign a confidentiality agreement so I wouldn’t gossip about her.”
    “Not even for ten thousand gossip points?” Massie tried.
    “And a ring from ¡I!, the hawt-times-ten Spanish pop star?” Alicia pulled a thick silver band off her left pinky and waved it in front of Dylan’s emerald green cat eyes.
    “And a week’s worth of math homework?” Kristen offered.
    “And, um …” Claire struggled for something to throw into the mix. “How about a Hello Kitty pencil?” She reached into her new white vinyl Mossimo for Target tote and pulled out a clear pencil case. It was stuffed with colorful new pencils that had all been sharpened to a fine point. “The erasers smell like watermelon.”
    “Um, sounds tempting.” Dylan rolled her eyes. “But I can’t. It’s illegal. But I’ll tell you this much.” She paused while they leaned in closer.
    Alicia licked her lips.
    Massie took off her D&G glasses.
    Claire tucked her hair behind her ears.
    And Kristen air-clapped in anticipation.
    “I’m starting a new diet today.”
    “
What?
” they giggle-shouted, and playfully whipped blades of grass at her professionally straightened