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  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 Juicy velour hoodie to reveal a body-hugging lycra top and blue Title Nine cutoff Pilates pants.

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  "What's going on?" A.A. asked.

  "They're filming us!" said Lili.

  "Yeah, I can see that. Why?"

  "I 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.

  "But I thought they weren't going to start filming until the Friendship Ceremony meeting," said A.A., still confused. "And where's Ashley?"

  Lili blithely ignored A.A.'s questions as she stretched her hamstrings. A.A. would have liked to get to the bottom of it, but the sound guy was waiting to put a mike on her, and she didn't want to appear uncooperative.

  "Coach is just parking," Lili called, dropping her cell phone into her bag. "Tiffany, you're going to love him. He gives good TV."

  A.A. nodded as she clipped the microphone to her jogging bra. "Trent's a total Carson." It looked like Lili was running the show, and she wasn't about to get in the way.

  The heavy door clanged open and A.A. looked up, expecting to see Ashley in her usual rehearsal gear--a pale blue one-piece with a gray cashmere shrug. But instead a very tall, very gay guy in his thirties, with a shaved head, dressed in gray sweatpants and a white muscle tee, bounded into the room.

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  "Hello, Lady Miss Ashleys!" he called, clapping his hands. "Miss Lili, where is my entrance music? Gimme the beat!"

  "Just getting it ready!" Lili bent over the CD player, cuing up a disco remix of Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out." "Tiffany, Lauren, everybody, this is Trent, our coach. He's a trainer at Crunch, a former backup dancer for Paula Abdul, and a five-time national dance-team champion."

  "And a former pageant queen, but we won't get into that now," said Trent, accepting his microphone gladly and sticking the receiver into the waist of his sweatpants. "How do I look?" he purred, throwing kisses at the camera.

  Trent stopped mugging long enough to notice Lauren's presence. "And who are you?"

  "She's a new member of the team," Lili said quickly.

  "I'm Lauren, a big fan of your work on 'Cold Hearted.'" Lauren smiled, extending a hand. "Next to you, Paula looks like a dancing dwarf."

  Trent looked charmed immediately. "Oh, go on." He blushed. Then he pursed his lips. "But where is Miss Ashley?"

  Nobody knew.

  "Should we have left her a message?" Lauren was asking, but Lili shushed her as Trent clapped his hands to get their attention.

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  "Now, in a line please, tout de suite. Let's see your moves."

  "We're not going to wait for Ashley?" A.A. asked Lili. It was aggravating to be waiting around all the time for Ashley, but it seemed strange to start rehearsing without her. And how were they going to work Lauren into this new routine?

  "I don't think so," said Lili breezily. "She's so busy getting ready for the presentation tomorrow, she may not even show--I don't really know."

  Lili was lying, A.A. could tell. Maybe she hadn't even told Ashley about this rehearsal: A.A. wouldn't put it past Lili. After the meeting with the producers yesterday, things were strangely tense between Ashley and Lili. The show seemed to have ramped up their usual competitiveness times ten. How Lili hoped to keep all this from Ashley, A.A. didn't know. Wasn't everything going to be on television? But it wasn't her problem. Let Lili take the flak when Ashley found out they were rehearsing behind her back. All A.A. wanted to do was get her dance on.

  She looked up and out of the floor-length windows of the Little Theater. She thought she'd noticed someone lurking by the curtains. Ashley? But why wouldn't she just join the rehearsal?

  "Enough chatting, Miss Thang!" Trent turned his back to them and clicked his fingers. "I'm going to go through the steps and then we'll try it with music. Repeat after me!"

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  By the time Trent decided, a few minutes later, that they were ready for music--a cool old-school techno song, Shannon's "Let the Music Play," because he said it would get those lacrosse players "all worked up"--two things had happened.

  First, A.A. had completely forgotten to be self-conscious in front of the cameras, because she was enjoying herself so much learning all the new moves and grooving to the lyrics of the dance-team warm-up ("He's dancing his way back to me . . . he's dancing his way back to me . . ."). Somehow the image of Tri came to mind, but she tried to shake it off. And second, Lili had pointed out, in a silky and smug voice, that Lauren's inexperience was showing, so it would be better if she herself danced in the middle of the group.

  In other words, in Ashley's usual place.

  This is going to be interesting, thought A. A.

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  CHAPTER 8 LAUREN DISCOVERS THE CAMERA ADDS TEN POUNDS ... OF DRAMA

  WHEN DEX DROPPED LAUREN OFF IN her father's silver Bentley Continental the next morning, he had a few words of caution. "Take it easy," he said, motioning to the satellite truck parked outside the school with the Sugar cable network's pastel logo on the side door. "Don't get too caught up in all that crap now. Remember, you shouldn't care so much what other people think. You're great the way you are."

  "Dex, it's me," Lauren assured him with a grin. "You know I think reality TV is totally bogus. Don't worry."

  This was not the Lauren of just over a month ago, who had been so nervous about coming back to school she'd almost puked during the morning car ride. No, this Lauren was ready for battle.

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  Sure, she'd taken a little more care with her appearance than usual, meticulously flat-ironing her chestnut shoulder-length hair, applying a deeper shade of lip gloss since she'd read that makeup had to be more dramatic when one was in front of the camera, and selecting a gorgeous ruffled silk shirt to wear with the uniform skirt instead of the mandatory button-down. But that was only because yesterday afternoon she hadn't had time to beautify since Lili had sprung the cameras on them at the last minute, so she wanted to look extra good today.

  And for the first time this semester, she wasn't wearing her high-heeled black-and-white spectator pumps. She'd called Ashley last night and told her that while Preteen Queen was filming, she thought she should wear a pair of red-soled Louboutin Mary Janes like them. She'd even bought a matching Pucci scarf as well, to complete the picture. Just on filming days, of course. Ashley had agreed it was a great idea.

  Lauren was gratified. Maybe if she pressed hard enough, the Ashleys would forget they were only pretending to be friends.

  Instead of going straight into class, Lauren made a bee-line for the bench by the playground where the Ashleys held court before school each day. They were there as usual: A.A. on Ashley's right, Lili on Ashley's left, doing their usual before-school fashion-and-hair scrutiny.

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  If she was worried about what Lili or A.A. would say about her copycat shoes and scarf, she needn't have been. Neither of them raised an eyebrow.

  "Oh my God," said Ashley. "Did you see Guinevere Parker? Those earmuffs she's wearing make her bizarro bobblehead even larger. It's not even winter and she's already dressing like a yeti!"

  "I don't know, it is kind of cold," Lauren said softly.

  "Whatever. It's sixty degrees. When is it not sixty degrees in San Francisco?" Ashley harrumphed. She took a sip from her chai latte and nudged Lili. "Look! Cass Fran
klin's doing the Michael Jackson again!" True enough, the poor girl was wearing a white hospital mask over the lower half of her face, just like the weirdo pop star. The three Ashleys dissolved into hysterics, and Lauren attempted a laugh but didn't have the heart for it.

  "They're going to film us here at recess," Lili said, changing the subject.

  "Hey, Lauren, did you get your notes last night?" A.A. leaned forward. They'd all been sent "talking points" to keep them on track. The producers wanted them to discuss what they had planned for the "Friendship Ceremony."

  "Yeah, easy enough. I think I have it all down." Lauren nodded. Truth be told, she didn't have a lot of lines. She could already see where this show was headed, and the producers

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  had already written her off as the boring, nice one. Not that she minded too much--she was only using the show to get in with the Ashleys so she could take them down one day.

  "Remember," said Ashley, smiling at her in a shark-about-to-devour-goldfish way, "I'm the one who's going to make the presentation to the rest of the class this morning. This whole ceremony is my idea, after all."

  Lili nodded serenely. Lauren figured out that Ashley didn't know about the secret dance-team practice that had also been taped for the show. Boy, was Ashley in for a surprise. Lauren would love to see her face when she found out.

  The whole dance-team routine for the lacrosse game was so out of left field. Billy Reddy had mentioned to Dex that Lauren had promised to rustle up some screaming girls for the game, and it had snowballed into some kind of cheerleader extravaganza. She was amused that Lili had taken it so deeply to heart, although she had to admit she was a bit excited to perform in front of so many boys as well.

  Ashley was taking apart Olivia DeBartolo's disastrous new fur hat when the second bell rang and it was time to dash up the stairs and take their seats in etiquette class. When they filed into the classroom in the front of the mansion, Lauren noticed that the same crew who'd filmed them at the dance-team practice had already set up for the new location. There

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  were even more people this time--Jasper and Matt were both there with walkie-talkies, and Tiffany was talking to one of the lighting guys about the how stained-glass windows would affect their shot.

  Miss Charm was completely flustered, and also overdressed, wearing a peach mock-Chanel jacket with matching kilt and a crystal brooch the size of a large apple. She had much more makeup on than usual as well, Lauren noticed, and every time she moved her head, dustlike powder flew off her face.

  Ashley made a big deal about getting miked up, and Lauren had to repress a grin, since she and the other Ashleys were old pros. Filming was a lot more boring and stop-and-start than yesterday, however. Matt and Jasper were a lot more micromanaging than Tiffany had been. Matt asked Miss Charm to make her introductory speech three times before they were happy with the sound and the light. By the time Ashley got up to announce the Friendship Ceremony, class was almost half over.

  Ashley explained the details of the Friendship Ceremony, sounding as if she were addressing the White House press corps. "Everyone will divide into groups, and then each group will work on a little presentation. Each group will make a banner representing their group, and everyone will stand up and say why they like each other."

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  "Plus, each group has to sing a song, a theme song for their group," Lili chimed in from the front row. Ashley's beauty-queen smile sagged for a second with annoyance.

  "I was just getting to that," Ashley said in a frosty voice. "Everyone has to choose a song about friendship and then sing it to the whole class."

  "Can we bring in music?" asked Sheridan Riley.

  "No," Ashley said firmly. Lauren knew why: Ashley had a strong, clear singing voice and had no trouble singing in tune. A lot of the other girls would struggle without a CD playing in the background to help them out.

  Overall, the idea went down pretty well. Some of the girls were muttering that they had only a week to get their presentations together, and some of the less popular girls were looking desperately around the room, wondering whose group might let them in. But nobody was going to rebel against a plan initiated by the Ashleys. And who wanted to look like a friendless whiner when there were TV cameras filming every word?

  At recess, after her honors science class, Lauren returned to the bench to find Matt and his cameras already set up and all the Ashleys preening with hairbrushes and lip gloss before filming began again. Even A.A. was fixing her pigtails and checking her reflection in her iPhone.

  Matt told them to start talking about their banner, and

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  Ashley, of course, the good little soldier she was, rushed to be the first one to speak.

  "So we should use canvas instead of paper, naturally," she insisted. "That way we can sew or staple our items on and make it three-di--"

  "I already thought of that," interrupted Lili, pulling a portfolio out from under the bench. "Here are some designs that I had put together."

  "These are great, Lili," Lauren gushed, even though it wasn't her turn to speak. She knew that if she complimented Lili's designs, it would annoy Ashley.

  "Yeah," Ashley said flatly, giving the portfolio a cursory examination. "But I think we need to go in a different direction--I was thinking of bringing in some professional expertise."

  "What do you mean?" Lili asked, looking affronted.

  "You wouldn't cut your own hair, would you?" Ashley asked. "You'd leave it to Frederic Fekkai. Well. I don't think we should design our own banner."

  Lili looked as if it was the most obnoxious thing she'd ever heard, and Lauren had to agree. Besides, wasn't that cheating? But maybe not, since they wouldn't be graded on the activity.

  "What kind of item do you want to represent you?" A.A. asked, determined to stick to her talking points.

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  It wasn't clear who exactly A.A. was speaking to, and both Lili and Ashley started talking at once. Ashley, who had the louder voice, won.

  "A violin for Lili, I thought--we could have a miniature made up in rosewood. And I'd have a crystal tiara. Because, well, you know." Ashley smiled up at the camera.

  "No, I don't." Lauren feigned ignorance. "Why a tiara?" She wanted to show exactly how vain and pompous Ashley could be.

  But Ashley only smiled.

  "You guys! I don't want a violin," argued Lili, jostling to open her portfolio. "That's so dorky!" She frowned. "I was thinking, for me, a Blackberry. I can get a faux one stitched in black leather. It'll look really cool. Or maybe I could get, like, a pair of scales to represent how I'm on Honor Board."

  Ashley made a twirling motion with her finger to indicate "big whoop."

  "Why do you always diss Honor Board?" Lili asked, sounding incredibly whiny.

  "I'm not," Ashley said, giving Lili an unexpected hug. "You know I'm just teasing, Brainiac."

  "What about you, A.A.?" Lauren asked, a bit disappointed that Ashley had backed off a prima donna scuffle.

  "I don't know," said A.A., scuffing one toe in the grass. "Maybe something sporty."

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  Ashley crinkled her nose.

  "How about, like, a pair of long legs? They're your best feature," Lili suggested.

  "Or a big pair of pink lips," Ashley offered.

  "Why?" A.A. was bemused.

  "You know, because you've kissed all these boys," Ashley said wickedly.

  Ouch, Lauren thought.

  "No, I haven't!" A.A. protested.

  "How many boys have you kissed?" Lili asked, sounding innocent but obviously seeing an opportunity to dump on A.A. as well. Votes were on the line, after all, although Lauren wasn't sure if this was the right way to get them.

  "I don't know . . . ," A.A. said miserably, trying not to look at the camera. "Not that many ..."

  "Let's review, shall we?" Ashley held up her hand and started checking off with her fingers. "At that high school party you went to, didn't you make out with a freshm
an from Saint Aloysius? In fact, it was two boys, wasn't it? You made out with both of them, and one of them stalked you afterward, remember?"

  "Totally!" said Lili, nudging Lauren. A.A.'s cheeks were pink, and Lauren couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Ashley was really acting up for the cameras.

  "And don't forget your online Romeo--laxjock. Did he

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  turn out to be a freak, or did you kiss him, too?" Lili asked.

  "You guys, you know I didn't meet up with anyone. I was right there at the dance when you collapsed," A.A. said quietly.

  "Oh, that's right." Ashley sighed. "When I collapsed and almost died because Lili had promised to supply nut-free cupcakes and then went back on her word."

  "I didn't do it on purpose!" Lili protested. "I didn't even know you had an allergy. Why do you have to keep bringing this up?"

  "I don't know. Maybe because I nearly died or something?"

  The bell rang for third period, and Matt clapped his hands.

  "This is great, girls," he said. Lauren couldn't agree more. "You're all naturals. Next week at the Friendship Ceremony, we want you to perform last."

  By the time Lauren got to her next class, she felt invigorated. If this was all it took to make the Ashleys look ridiculous, then she could just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

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  #1 ASHLEY SPENCER

  STYLE: 10

  Spotted leaving the offices of ChiatDay (a famous design and advertising firm) with a fat pink linen portfolio bound with a suede strap and "The Ashleys" embossed on the front.

  SOCIAL PRESENCE:10

  Spies tell us she bossed around the design team with her usual élan.