The Ashley Project (10 page)

“I'm going to pretend to be a young man at the party,” the teacher said. “Ashley, why don't you stand up, please. You will play the part of a young lady. I hope it's not too strenuous a role.”

Ashley laughed because the rest of the class was laughing, even though she didn't find the joke funny, and obediently stood up in front of her desk while Miss Charm walked toward her from the opposite side of the room.

“I am a young man from Gregory Hall who has just entered the dance. Now I stop and see a girl I'd like to ask to dance. I walk over to where she is seated. And I bow in front of her,” said Miss Charm, bowing like a man, bending at the waist with her right hand folded
above her stomach. “Now, as the young lady who has been approached, what do you do?”

This was why Ashley loved Manners & Morals. If she had her way, all social interaction would entail people bowing to her. “I curtsy,” she replied, making a small dip with her knees and holding her uniform skirt up.

“Good. A little less neck on the curtsy. Your whole body must go down, not just a tilt of the head. Try it again, dear.”

Ashley tried it again with more knee and less neck.

“Very good. Excellent.” Miss Charm beamed. Ashley beamed back. Who wanted to learn new math when old-fashioned etiquette was so much more fun?

Miss Charm regarded the class. “So now the boy turns to the girl and asks, ‘May I have this dance?' And if you would like to dance with the young man, how do you respond?”

“Certainly, thank you,” Ashley replied as they'd been taught. She smiled, picturing Billy Reddy crossing the room like Robert Pattinson to Kristen Stewart in the first
Twilight
movie, before she cheated on him.

Miss Charm began to lead her in the box steps of the waltz, but Ashley had a question she wanted answered first. “But what if I don't want to dance with the boy?”
she asked, her imagination conjuring up Jonathan Tessin, he of the sweat problem, who'd been obsessed with her since prekindergarten.

The class tittered, and Ashley glowed. She absolutely adored being the center of attention.

“You must respond, ‘Not right now, but thank you for asking,' ” Miss Charm directed. “Etiquette is all about kindness, girls. That's why it's called polite society. One must never hurt anyone's feelings.”

“But aren't you just leading him on, then?” asked A. A., without raising her hand.

“Yeah, can't you just say, ‘Get lost, loser'?” Lili called with a grin.

“Heavens, no!” Miss Charm laughed. “You'll scare the poor boys away. I do hope that you girls agree to dance with every boy who is courageous enough to cross the room and ask for your hand.”

Yeah, that was likely, Ashley thought as the twenty girls in class groaned, and there was grumbling and merriment all around.

“Now we shall practice,” Miss Charm said, releasing her hold on Ashley and turning on the iPod player by the whiteboard. The soft sounds of Chopin's Waltz in C Sharp Minor filled the room.

Ashley ended up being partnered with A. A., while Lili had the unfortunate luck to dance with Sheridan Riley, who was sure to talk her ear off and ask a million questions about something inane like her socks and where she could get the same exact ones and exactly how far up the calf they should be pulled up, or in last year's case, scrunched down. Being the subject of Sheridan's obsession was flattering, but ultimately exhausting in its quest for detail. Especially on the days when your socks were just . . . socks.

As they glided around the room, Ashley noticed Lauren dancing with Katie Tanaka, another of the class's bigmouth girls. Katie was sure to know the latest news. “Let's go over there,” she said, pulling A. A. to that side of the room so she could overhear their conversation without appearing too obvious about it.

A. A. was doing her space-cadet bit, looking over Ashley's shoulder and going through the motions of the waltz's box steps, and didn't object to being directed. Ashley edged a little closer to where Katie and Lauren were pirouetting. Miss Charm was seated by the window bench, going over the syllabus for her next class, and didn't pay attention as most of the girls stopped waltzing and started talking instead. Ashley chided herself on
having to stoop so low—gossip usually originated from her and the other Ashleys, not the other way around—but this was the matter of Billy Reddy. The love of her life. She inched forward a little more. They were so close to Lauren and Katie that she could have reached over and pulled Lauren's hair if she wanted to.

Jackpot. Katie was just saying his name. . . .

“So I heard Billy Reddy dropped you off at school this morning,” Katie was saying. “What's the deal? Is he your boyfriend or something?”

Ashley almost tripped over A. A.'s high-heeled saddle shoes in an effort to hear Lauren's reply. Billy had a new girlfriend—it couldn't be
Lauren
, could it? God wouldn't be that mean! Maybe God was pissed that she hadn't come through on her promise to be nicer to her parents. But then, God hadn't been able to get her mom to raise her allowance, so maybe they were even.

“Nah, we're just really good friends,” she heard Lauren say. “He's an awesome guy. But I'm not his girlfriend. Is that what people are saying? How funny!”

Ashley breathed a sigh of relief. She jerked A. A. back toward the other end of the room with a smile.

“What the eff?” A. A. complained, coming out of her daze. “And why do you look so happy all of a sudden?”

“I just realized I have a gift card I still haven't spent at Saks,” Ashley lied. “Now dip me.” There was absolutely no chance in hell any of them would ever make use of anything they learned in class today at the dance. Unless you could waltz to gangsta rap. But it was still fun to practice.

Maybe Lili was right after all. Lili often was. Maybe Lauren wasn't
such
a zero as she had originally thought. Especially not if she was friends with Billy Reddy. Maybe she should give her a chance. After all, like Miss Charm said, etiquette was all about kindness. Ashley saw herself as a kind soul. She would
let
Lauren be her friend. Really, it was the least she could do for the poor girl.

THE SAN RAFAEL AIRPORT WAS
so small it didn't even seem like it could technically be called an airport, consisting as it did of just two airstrip lanes and a minuscule terminal that housed the passenger waiting area. Flying private was certainly a different experience, Lili thought. There was no need to fight crowds, or to make sure all your liquids fit into three-ounce containers, or have to walk barefoot on a public floor through a metal detector. The atmosphere in the captain's lounge was clubby and relaxed, in stark contrast to the usual harried chaos at SFO. Private was definitely the
only
way to travel.

That morning a shiny black stretch limousine had
picked her up first thing, and at the wheel was the slick, gorgeous guy she'd seen driving Lauren on the first day of school, who introduced himself as “Bond, Dex Bond.”

When she climbed inside the car, Ashley and A. A. were already ensconced in the comfy backseat, drinking mocktails out of champagne flutes. They were dressed as she was, in oversize Christian Dior sunglasses with big, gold-plated
D
s on each side and black Couture Couture fur-lined trench coats—suitably warm for another freezing San Francisco day. The three of them agreed that the limo ride that took them across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County was a generous and extravagant gesture on Lauren's part, although Ashley had pronounced her virgin appletini “too sweet.”

Last week Ashley had invited Lauren to join their table at lunch out of the blue, which had effectively turned the Ashleys into a foursome. Later Lili discovered that word had it Lauren was a “very close friend” of Billy Reddy's, which explained why Ashley had suddenly stopped playa-hating.

Lili had no idea how Lauren managed
that
—as far as Lili knew, Billy Reddy didn't waste his time on seventh graders. But whether or not it was true, it was
a brilliant move on Lauren's part. It looked as if the girl was finally taking Lili's advice. Lauren promised to take them all to Billy Reddy's next lacrosse game, and the Ashleys couldn't wait. To seal the deal, Lauren told them she thought Billy was cute, for sure, but she didn't
like him
like him. Fair enough, since Billy was meant to be Lili's one true love, anyone could see that.

So Lauren was one of them . . . for the time being. And Lili had been right about more than one thing: Having Lauren around had made life a little more interesting. She could certainly think of worse things in the world than taking a limo to a private jet bound for Los Angeles for a day of shopping and then back to San Francisco for a sleepover afterward.

Now she and her friends were at the airport, crowded around a circular bar in front of a picture window with a view of the grassy wetlands, their attention focused on Dex, who really was too cute for words, as he stood behind the counter, pouring rounds of energy drinks, telling jokes, and showing them card tricks.

“Ace of spades,” he said, as he turned over A. A.'s card and showed her the black ace.

“How did you know?” A. A. marveled, turning to her friends and giggling.

“That's for me to know and you to find out,” Dex teased, reshuffling cards like a pro.

It was obvious that A. A. thought Dex was adorable. She couldn't stop blushing whenever he looked at her. That girl was so boy-crazy she went gaga over every attractive guy within a five-mile radius. Not surprisingly, Dex seemed really into her, too. Sometimes Lili felt a little jealous of her laid-back friend's easy rapport with guys. It must come from hanging out with her brother's friends and Tri Fitzpatrick all the time, she mused. Speaking of whom, the poor guy had turned a sickening shade of green when he found out about A. A.'s Internet amigo the other day. She wondered if Tri knew that A. A. was finally going to get to meet the famous “laxjock” next week. Ashley joked that he was probably some fat, home-schooled loser, but somehow Lili didn't think so.

“C'mon, pick another card,” Dex was urging, his bright blue eyes fixed on A. A., who fluttered her eyelashes at him in response.

A. A. put a slim hand on the deck and pulled out another one, just as they heard a loud cough right behind them. They turned around to see Lauren standing outside of their little circle. She was wearing a cool vintage-looking jumpsuit and a pair of ass-kicking knee-high
boots that Lili immediately added to her own wish list. The Ashleys immediately crowded around her.

“Hi, pretty!” Ashley said, calling Lauren over. “Sit
here
. Scootch over, Li,” she went on bossily, patting the barstool next to her. And even though Lili knew Ashley's friendship was as fake as her “Stella McCartney” jacket, she still felt a bit jealous of all the attention Ashley was heaping on Lauren. It was one thing to befriend the girl to get a guy. It was another thing to make her your new BFF completely.

“Thanks for sending the car,” Lili said politely, as she took one single cashew nut from a wooden bowl on the counter and ate it. “Omigod. I'm so full,” she announced.

“What time's wheels up?” Ashley asked with a yawn. She always had to make sure everyone knew she'd been on a private jet before and that this was just an ordinary event.

“Mom's just checking with the pilot now,” said Lauren, just as Trudy Page entered the room.

“Welcome, girls!” Trudy gushed, planting effusive kisses on each Ashley's cheek. “So wonderful to have you all here!” she trilled, waving her hand so that they couldn't help but notice the massive rock on her finger and the row of diamond bracelets that glittered in the sunlight and threatened to blind them all.

Lili wrinkled her nose at the showy display of jewelry. Lauren's mom was a trip. She looked like a Christmas tree: overdecorated and way too shiny.

Ashley seemed to think similarly. “Is that real fur?” she asked, motioning to the pouffy white collar on Trudy's pink velvet coat. “It's gorgeous,” she added, her voice dripping with insincerity.

“Why, yes it is,” Trudy beamed, totally clueless.

“Figured,” Ashley smirked, shooting Lili and A. A. a look.

“Can we go now?” Lauren asked her mother, sounding just a bit whiny. Lili wondered if she'd noticed the exchange among the Ashleys.

“Of course. I just spoke to Captain Jim and they're all ready for us,” Trudy said. “Hello, Dexter. Could you make sure we're all set here before we leave?” she asked grandly.

“Sure thing, Mrs. P.,” Dex said easily, wiping the counter and filling the dishwasher.

They left the lounge, passing two businessmen waiting for their helicopters, and walked out to the small tarmac. The airfield was filled with small six- to nine-seater planes, as well as a few sleek G5's.

Lili automatically looked toward the smaller planes.
Her dad had a little prop plane that he used to fly the family to Napa on weekends, and surely this wouldn't be too different from that. They were just flying to L.A., after all.

But to her surprise Lauren led them all the way back, to the largest plane on the lot, a behemoth 747 with the YourTV logo emblazoned on the wing. A rolling staircase led to the open entry door, where a uniformed flight attendant waved from the top of the plank. Lili could feel her mouth hanging open and closed it quickly. Were these people for real? It was like an episode of
Your Fantabulous Life
, that cable show where ordinary people lived like celebrities for one day, complete with narration by a guy with a fake British accent.

They followed Lauren up the stairs. Dex walked in front of them, and Lili elbowed A. A., who'd been staring at his butt for too long to be polite.