Social Order by Melissa de La Cruz Read Free Book Online Page B

when you’re as popular as we are.”
    â€œWell,” said Jasper, shaking his head and grinning at Lauren, “I can see why you girls are the right ones for our show.”
    Lauren said nothing and gave an embarrassed half smile. Maybe she was upset that the Ashleys were running her show. She should just deal. Last semester, the only person Lauren hung out with carried an oxygen tank instead of a Proenza handbag.
    â€œThat’s why the Friendship Ceremony is brilliant! We’ll be promoting unity among the class,” Ashley said, not even bothering to look at Lili. What was up with her? Ashley had come up with a save-the-day brainwave and Lili was trying to sabotage it!
    â€œIt sounds perfect,” said Tiffany. “And the four of you are best friends, right?”
    Ashley nodded. One by one, the other girls followed suit, Lauren nodding too. Ashley figured that was all right for now. After all, they had agreed to play Lauren’s BFFs for TV.
    â€œWe just need to get permission from the school to film that, of course,” Jasper said.
    â€œOh, you’ll get permission,” Ashley reassured him. She’d make sure of it. Even if her father had to finance a new library wing for Miss Gamble’s, she was going to get those cameras into that classroom on Thursday. As far as she was concerned, Preteen Queen was now The Ashley Show .

7
YES, THEY THINK THEY CAN DANCE
    A. A. ARRIVED AT DANCE-TEAM rehearsal on time—four o’clock on Wednesday, just as Lili had asked, although it was a pretty last-minute request, especially for Lili. Ashley and Lili were both driving her crazy with their secret plans. First Ashley sprang her “Friendship Ceremony” idea on everyone at the Preteen Queen meeting yesterday, and now Lili had decided they needed to come up with a special routine for the big lacrosse semis next week.
    Why those games were so special all of a sudden, A. A. did not know. To be honest, she was kind of tired of boys. Between Ashley cooing over Tri and Lili gushing over some Reed Prep stud in her French class, A. A. was feeling like a total spinster.
    She had nothing romantic to look forward to right now—nothing. By the time she’d figured out that her secret online love, laxjock, was probably Tri, he was already smitten with Ashley, asking her to dance, feeding her (okay, unwittingly) nut-infested cupcakes, and then waltzing off into the sunset with her.
    Not that she cared. It was only Tri. They were just friends, and she didn’t think of him in any other way. She just couldn’t believe he actually liked Ashley. A. A. liked Ashley too—she was a lot of fun and surprisingly sweet underneath all the snobbery—but she never imagined Tri falling for someone so . . . superficial.
    Rehearsal today was in the Little Theater, a multi-use space that was part auditorium and part gym. A. A. busied herself with yoga stretches. If all else failed, working out always helped clear her head.
    A few minutes later Lili bustled in with an entire entourage—Tiffany, one of the producers from the day before; several cameramen; a boom operator; a sound guy; two production assistants wielding clipboards; and someone else whose job seemed to be holding all the power cords. Lili looked exuberant, and behind her was Lauren, walking just as briskly.
    Both had changed out of their school uniforms.Lili was wearing Y3 Adidas head to toe, while Lauren unzipped her Wild Fox hoodie to reveal a body-hugging lycra top and blue Title Nine cutoff Pilates pants.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” A. A. asked.
    â€œThey’re filming us!” said Lili.
    â€œYeah, I can see that. Why?”
    â€œI told them that after-school activities are a normal part of a preteen’s life, and they wanted to capture it,” Lili explained, as if it made perfect sense.
    â€œBut I thought they weren’t going to start filming until the Friendship Ceremony