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about it. Like I hadn’t already imagined the cozy warmth of three new, fun friends. Like I didn’t know what I would say next. “That would be perfect.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    “PAIR NUMBER TWO looks pretty hot, if I do say so myself,” Kellie called out from behind the door in the Neiman Marcus dressing room.
    We were trying on clothes at the Valley Mall, a huge outdoor shopping center with canopies of green plants, burbling fountains, and ponds with koi fish, and, of course, expensive stores up the wazoo. We’d left our cars (well, Cherise’s and Kellie’s) with a valet driver, since nobody here seemed to park their own. Add the blasts of cool air pumping out of each store and the personal concierge bringing us beverages, and it was truly an oasis in the desert.
    “Which ones were those?” I asked.
    “The J Brands. I’m trying the Citizens on next.”
    I sighed with contentment as I surveyed the pile of Kellie-selected clothing in my own dressing room. Life with the Glitterati was turning out to be as sparkly asit sounded. The crowded hallways seemed to open up when we walked by. People I hadn’t met already knew my name. Even the teachers seemed to treat us differently. In our Euro history class, Mr. Barnesworth (aka Eugene) had let Kellie slide with the first two weeks of homework. All she had to do was smile and explain that she was consulting with her tutor about the best approach to writing about the defenestration of Prague. He simply nodded and went back to his lecture.
    It was like I’d stumbled into an alternate universe where everything was easy and fun and pretty. Heaven, but with better outfits. I was so not going back to Castle Pines.
    I pulled on a soft-as-butter Marc Jacobs sleeveless charmeuse top and a pair of dark-rinsed skinnies and stepped into the plush carpeted aisle between our stalls.
    Nikki, who was already standing outside, gasped. “Oh. Em. Gee. That is amazing, Willa.”
    Cherise and Kellie opened their respective doors to see.
    “You’re smokin’,” Cherise said.
    “You think?” I said, looking at myself in the full-length at the end of the room and pulling at the shirt. I’d never felt such a high-quality fabric against my skin. Totally dreamy. The tailoring was so precise that everything fell where it was supposed to.
    I did look pretty good. A little more polished than usual, a little more pulled together.
    “Leave the ruffles off-center,” Kellie advised, reaching over to straighten the seams. “That blue is made for your eyes. Okay, you need to buy that whole ensemble.”
    I technically only had just enough money from the safe to cover it—money that was supposed to last me the whole week. But it was a perfect outfit. And when was the last time I bought something new, something designer, off the rack? How about never.
    Nikki’s phone beeped and she pulled it out of her purse. She glanced at the screen and started laughing almost immediately. “You guys, you have to see what’s on ValleyBuzz today. Serious lawls.”
    She handed Cherise her phone. Cherise waved her hand and passed it directly to me. “You know I don’t read that stuff.”
    An edge of irritation had crept into Cherise’s voice. It was the first time I’d ever heard anything but bubbliness between them.
    “Oh yeah,” Nikki said, rolling her eyes. “I forgot that you’re perfect .”
    I looked from Cherise’s face to Nikki’s, trying to read what was happening. Were they kidding or were they really butting heads? Was I supposed to take sides here? I didn’t even know what they were talking about.
    But the phone was now in my hand so I looked down at it. On the screen was a website, a photo blog, with the words ValleyBuzz in pink letters at the top. It was like a cross between PerezHilton and Go Fug Yourself, butwith photos of Valley Prep students instead of celebrities.
    Below was a picture of a girl I recognized from my trig class, passed out on a couch with whiskers Magic-Markered on her