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are even worse than her dares. And if you take a ‘Promise to Repeat,’ you can postpone it, but then you’d have to do it twice in the future.”
    â€œEither way, you’re just making it worse, really,” Lili pointed out.
    â€œAnd if you forfeit a dare, you have to do whatever we tell you for a whole week. Those are the rules,” Ashley declared. “And we all have tons of homework, don’t we, girls?”
    â€œTons.” A. A. nodded. Ashley wasn’t kidding. Miss Gamble’s was one of the top academic institutions inthe city, and everyone obsessed over ISEE scores, which were mandatory for prep school admission.
    â€œGee, and it would be nice if someone could get us lunch from Gino’s Deli every day too. I’m so tired of brown-bagging,” Lili agreed.
    â€œYou don’t want to have to fetch our lunch every day, do you, Lauren?” asked Ashley sweetly.
    Lauren paled. She put the dog down, snatched the mushrooms from Ashley’s hand, and slowly walked over to the chocolate fountain.
    Ashley watched her go with satisfaction. No one ever dared turn down a dare. After Lauren put the mushrooms in, she would make her eat some chocolate from the fountain. This was even more fun than kindergarten.

7
SO THIS IS HOW RUMORS GET STARTED
    WHILE LAUREN WENT TO SABOTAGE her mother’s precious chocolate fountain, Ashley motioned to her friends to put their heads together. It was decision time, Lili knew. She had been wondering how long Ashley would let that charade last. Poor Lauren, why did she even try? Ashley never made new friends. She was like a barracuda. All teeth.
    â€œShe seems okay,” A. A. ventured, cuddling Princess Dahlia. A. A. said that about everybody.
    â€œA. A., have you lost your mind? She’s a total zero. She’ll always be a total zero,” Ashley said vehemently, stretching forward so her elbows were balanced on her knees.
    â€œShe’s a zero who’s wearing your dress,” Lili reminded her, taking a strawberry tart from the three-tiered dessert tray on the coffee table, then putting it down, untouched, on her plate after noticing that neither of her friends was eating anything. Her stomach grumbled, but she’d have to wait to eat till she got home.
    â€œShut up,” said Ashley, annoyed. She looked to the other side of the room and watched intently as Lauren slipped the mushroom dust into the molten chocolate pool.
    â€œDon’t tell me to shut up!” Lili complained.
    â€œShut up!” Ashley yelled again. She was so impossible sometimes, Lili thought, although she was temporarily mollified when Ashley gave her a playful swat on the arm to show she was kidding. Ashley motioned the other girls to move closer so they wouldn’t be overheard, but before she could lay down her verdict, Sheridan Riley came over to say hello.
    Lili didn’t like Sheridan Riley very much. Even though Sheridan was an SOA, Lili had no patience for Sheridan’s crew. They blatantly worshipped the Ashleys and wanted nothing more than to be like them. Unfortunately, Sheridan had too-short bangs and a tendency to spit when she talked. Plus, her name was Sheridan. And on parents’days her mom and dad wore matching Burberry outfits.
    â€œHey, guys. Did I just see you hanging out with Lauren Page?” Sheridan asked, getting immediately to the point.
    â€œYeah, we have to be nice to her. She’s had such a hard life,” Ashley said, her voice dripping with concern. She pulled out a pot of lip balm from her bag and began to apply a thick smear on her lips. “Medex?” she offered.
    â€œReally?” Sheridan asked, slouching down to sit on the window bench next to Lili while she reached over and stuck her finger right into the center, making a huge dent in the wax. Lili saw Ashley grimace. You were supposed to dab lightly.
    â€œI heard the total opposite. Her dad is, like, the head of YourTV.com