South beach (2 page)

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she hadn't been around that much this year -- blowing off Maeve's Valentine's Day Jacuzzi party, ignoring Sabina's chirpy e-mails, skipping lunchtime manicures with Portia. Things always went that way whenever Alexa had a boyfriend: Her girlfriends' activities took a backseat to her romantic dramas. Alexa wondered, for a moment, if that made her a bad friend. After all, Maeve had a serious boyfriend, too, but she always made time for the girls.
Whatever,
Alexa thought, brushing the worry away. All the more reason for her friends to be psyched about her revised spring break plans.

"Exactly," Alexa replied brightly. "I canceled Aspen, so I am
all
about Cozumel, babe. What time do we leave tomorrow?" She could see it already she and the girls crowding excitedly onto the airplane, beach towels and platform flip-flops tucked into their Vera Bradley quilted shoulder bags.

"Lex," Portia said gently. "I don't think there's any space left--"

"So I can fly out Saturday morning." Alexa shrugged. Leave it to cynical Portia to get hung up on some stupid obstacle. Alexa stood and headed for her desk, where she opened her PowerBook. "I'll look on Orbitz."

"I don't mean the flight," Portia clarified. "At the resort. When we made the reservations, they told us we were getting their last available room."

"So? Aren't there two queen beds?" Alexa asked

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as her computer booted up. That was how her little foursome always arranged it when they traveled together she and Portia in one bed, Sabina and Maeve in the other, everyone sniping about stolen covers and hogged pillows.

"Well," Portia said. There was a pause, and Alexa knew Portia was yanking on a chestnut curl of hair, her classic nervous gesture. Suddenly, Alexa felt kind of nervous, too. "Actually, our room is full," Portia went on. "We invited Delphine."

"Delphine?"
Alexa repeated, gripping the phone tighter. Was Portia serious?

Delphine was the ringleader of what Alexa thought of as the second-tier crowd. They were the girls who wore last year's Uggs
this
winter, who still listened to Britney, and who hung around the fringes of Alexa's crew. As far as Alexa knew, Delphine would never have been beckoned to fill
her
place on a trip.

"Yeah," Portia said. "All her friends are going to Cancun --"

"So
yesterday's spring break destination," Alexa filled in, rolling her eyes. She double-clicked on her Explorer icon, and it opened to the Orbitz site, her home page.

"Right. Delphine was not amused. She called me, basically begging to come with us instead." Alexa heard the click of a lighter, and Portia exhaling a long

14

stream of smoke. "You had plans with Tyler, so ..." She trailed off. "I'm sorry, Lex. I wish you could come. But it's just too late."

Alexa cupped her chin in her hand, staring blankly at the colorful Orbitz page. Portia did sound sincerely sorry. Still, Alexa couldn't help but wonder if this last-minute Delphine addition was also a dig at
her
-- a form of revenge for how Alexa had behaved while she was with Tyler. Either way, the situation sucked. Alexa was
not
accustomed to being left behind.

She briefly considered asking Portia if there were other resorts with vacancies close by, or even if they could squeeze a cot into the room, but then she stopped herself. Alexa St. Laurent did not grovel. If her friends preferred to spend their break with someone as dull as Delphine, that was fine by her. She simply had to make even better plans -- on her own.

"Hope you'll still have fun without me," Alexa said, shrugging off her sinking spirits. "Listen, I need to run --

"Wait, sweetie," Portia said. "I want to hear all the dirty details about Tyler."

"Another time," Alexa replied. "Ciao."

She shut her phone and flung it onto her desk. She was definitely pissed at Portia, but Alexa had more pressing matters on her mind right now.

On a mission, Alexa logged onto her IM account,

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then scrolled down her buddy list, wondering who -- if anyone -- hadn't yet made plans at this late date. She knew Tabitha and Tracey had flown to London last night, having secured special permission from their teachers to bust out early. J.D. and Gavin were friends of Tyler's -- contacting them now would be way weird. That left the second-tier crowd. And how pathetic would
that
be? Alexa imagined asking Delphine's cronies to include her in their Cancun plans
. Not a chance,
she thought.

Numb, Alexa logged out of IM. The cold reality was sinking in: She was going to be stranded in Oakridge for a week, while her best friends and
Delphine
were hooking up with hot college boys on the beach.

Alexa shook her head, banishing her self-pity. She knew exactly what she needed right now: a hot, bubbly bath and a glass of Merlot. Soaking in the tub always cleared Alexa's head; if she relaxed and focused, she'd come up with a fabulous alternate plan.

Slowly, Alexa took off her watch and her oversize gold hoops, eager to slip out of her clothes and into some scalding, foamy water. She unclasped her feather-light gold chain, opened her desk drawer, and took out her wooden jewelry box. She was about to drop the necklace in when a piece of jewelry caught her eye. A flash of hot pink amid all the glossy silver and gold. Alexa smiled to herself. God. Her "Best Friends

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Forever" bracelet. That tacky thing had been a gift from her old friend Holly Jacobson, back in the sixth grade. Alexa hadn't worn it in at least four years. She dug the bracelet out and slid it onto her slim wrist, studying the words on its side.

Best Friends Forever. That was how she and Holly would always sign their notes to each other.
That's what we were,
Alexa reflected.
Ages ago.

When Alexa had arrived from Paris in the second grade, Holly had been the only kid in Oakridge Elementary who'd welcomed her warmly. Holly had offered Alexa a pumpkin brownie at lunchtime -- Mrs. Jacobson always packed extra food -- and their friendship was sealed. With her wide, sparkling gray-green eyes, sprinkling of freckles on her nose and cheeks, and straight, honey-brown hair, Holly was as innocent as she looked. Though timid and soft-spoken, Holly was also warm, genuine, and, once she opened up, a lot of fun.

Soon, Holly and Alexa were spending their weekends and afternoons together -- making s'mores, painting each other's toenails, and trading secrets. In the fourth grade, on a pebbly path in the park, Holly patiently taught Alexa how to ride a bike. And, in the fifth grade, after Alexa had gone on a sort-of-date with David Metcalfe, she told Holly what it felt like to kiss a boy At the time, Holly hadn't known anything about

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kissing. Now, as Alexa sat in her bedroom, she wondered if her old friend had
ever
been kissed.

Holly had always been a late bloomer, Alexa remembered as she spun the bracelet on her wrist. That was the main reason they'd grown apart. At the end of seventh grade, Alexa got her first real boyfriend, and suddenly, reading
Betty and Veronica
comics with Holly seemed kind of lame compared to French-kissing Eliot Johnson. By high school, Alexa had dumped Eliot, moved on to new conquests, and befriended Portia, while Holly started spending more time with her friends from the girls' track team. There had never been an official split -- no screaming matches, no proclamations of a destroyed friendship. Their phone calls and e-mails simply got fewer and farther between, and soon Holly was just a face Alexa passed in the Oakridge High hallways.

Alexa thought back to the last time she'd seen Holly, at Monday's junior class assembly. Holly, wearing Puma racing pants, her hair in a ponytail, had shyly waved to Alexa from across the aisle and Alexa had nodded in return. It was weird how close the two of them had once been. Alexa remembered even going on a couple of weekend trips with Holly and her family in the summers driving to a cabin the Jacobsons rented in upstate New York. Alexa and Holly would be squished in the backseat along with Holly's little

18

brother, Josh, and her hyperactive puppy, Mia. Holly's parents would nag the kids about tightening their seat belts and the puppy would dig its claws into Alexa's knees. But she and Holly would laugh and gossip the whole ride away. They made good travel buddies.

Alexa sprung to her feet, flushed by a sudden inspiration. Travel buddies. Of course! Holly was the answer. She was far enough outside Alexa's social realm to be completely removed from the whole Delphine drama:
Holly
certainly wouldn't be smug about Alexa not having proper spring break plans. And if Portia, Maeve, or Sabina cocked an eyebrow at Alexa's traveling with Holly, Alexa could always write it off as a random flash of nostalgia.

Maybe it was the breakup with Tyler, or the sight of the bracelet on her wrist, but Alexa
was
feeling a little nostalgic. She remembered how affectionate Holly had always been, at least compared to cool-as-ice Portia. Alexa wondered what it would be like to take off on an impromptu trip with her old friend, for old times' sake. Impulsively, she grabbed the cell phone off her desk and scrolled down the names in her phone book. She was sure Holly was still in there, somewhere. Even though Alexa bought a new cell almost every year, she always transferred her old phone book over, not bothering to delete any names -- except for ex-boyfriends, of course.

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Alexa paused when she reached Holly's name. Holly might already have spring break plans ... but most likely not. Alexa remembered how overprotective Holly's parents had been when it came to Holly doing anything even remotely adventurous. Chances were she was trapped in Oakridge, too.
Maybe we could help each other out,
Alexa thought. A small thrill shot through her.
Why
not
call?
she reasoned, clicking on Holly's name and pressing talk . There was no harm in taking a chance.

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CHAPTER TWO

Escape Plan

Holly Jacobson sprinted down the stairs two at a time and nearly collided with her twelve-year-old brother, Josh, who was deep into his Game Boy Advance.

"Hey, watch it, Nintendo-head," Holly teased, skirting around him.

Josh looked up from the game and stuck his tongue out at Holly. Then he pointed to the small square of shiny turquoise material that was tucked under her arm, and his green eyes widened.

"Is that a
bra?
" Josh asked, curiosity and disgust mingling in his voice.

Holly rolled her eyes. "No, you dweeb. It's a tankini." Could her brother get any grosser?

"Whatev," Josh replied, tromping up the stairs.

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Growing up, Holly and Josh had been pretty tight they could spend
hours
griping about how annoying their parents were -- but ever since her brother hit puberty, Holly had felt totally distanced from him. Holly didn't have many good guy friends, and sometimes she worried that maybe she just didn't
get
boys. They all seemed to speak a different language from her. Which probably explained why her experience with boys was so utterly lacking.

Except for that one incredible summer, three years ago.

Holly headed down the hall into the kitchen. Her best friend, Meghan, sat at the table, munching on apple slices and idly flipping through her math textbook. Holly's open binder and textbook were on the table, as well; the two girls were
supposed
to be doing their precalculus assignment together that afternoon. But all they'd done so far, much to Holly's chagrin, was talk about Meghan's spring break plans.

"Here you go, Meggie," Holly said, tossing her friend the blue J. Crew two-piece. "It's all yours." She plunked down in the chair across from Meghan. "Well, for next week, anyway," she added with a grin, helping herself to an apple slice from the plate in the center of the table.

"Thanks for bringing this down," Meghan said,

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holding up the tank and matching boy shorts. "It's so much more ...
Cali
than my old black bathing suit." She shot a grateful smile at Holly. "You're the best."

Holly blew up her bangs. "It's not like
I'll
be needing any swimwear next week," she pointed out. She couldn't help the note of bitterness that had crept into her voice. She crunched hard into a shiny green crescent of apple.

On Saturday morning, Meghan, along with their other close friend, Jess, was leaving for Disneyland. Meghan and Jess had planned the trip back in February and assumed Holly would come, too. But when a hopeful Holly had broached the topic with her parents, they'd freaked at the mere suggestion. Three girls, traveling all the way to California? And spending a week alone, with no adults around? The idea!

So Holly wouldn't be joining them. Meghan and Jess had been upset, but not surprised. The same thing happened at the end of last summer, when Jess had invited the entire girls' track team to her beach house on the Jersey shore for a no-parents weekend. Holly had wound up stuck at home, helping her mom weed the garden while her friends went skinny-dipping and stayed up all night to watch the sunrise. Holly sighed at the memory. She was forever getting left behind.