Read Online Birthday Vicious by Melissa de La Cruz - Free Book Online

Something had to be going on.
    â€œSo what’s the deal with all the party arrangements?” A. A. asked, after Ashley had finally stowed the helmet in its box under her seat and a platter with an extra-long dragon roll (made with thirteen ingredients, as Lauren took pains to point out) had been placed on the table between them.
    â€œOh, you know,” said Ashley, blithely gesturing with her chopsticks. “Mona Mazur is taking care of pretty much everything.”
    â€œWhat have you decided about the unicyclists’ costumes?” Lauren asked. They’d discussed this at length just a few lunchtimes ago, but Lauren had missed the whole conversation: She’d felt faint on the way into the refectoryand had to spend lunchtime lying in a darkened room in the sick bay. Just another lunchtime powwow she’d missed that week. No wonder she was so behind the curve.
    â€œOh, you know. Whatever.” Ashley nibbled at the piece of dragon roll squished between her chopsticks. “I’ve been meaning to tell you all—I met the cutest boy down at the marina yesterday after school. His name is Cooper, and he’s totally adorable. And he was totally into me!”
    â€œDid you invite him to the party?” A. A. wanted to know.
    Ashley nodded. “Uh-huh. And he’s tall, so much taller than Tri.”
    â€œThat wouldn’t be hard.” A. A. snorted.
    â€œHow old is he?” Lauren took a giant bite of dragon roll, half the rice spilling onto the tablecloth.
    â€œHe looks like he’s our age. I forgot to ask him which school he goes to—duh!”
    Lili toyed with the food on her square black plate, expertly lifting a stray slice of ginger with her chopsticks. Ashley was gushing on about this new guy but seemed very reluctant to talk about the party, which was unlike her. That wasn’t the only uncharacteristic trait she was displaying that evening.
    â€œWhat do you think?” Ashley asked, showing them a sample of the party invitations. She didn’t meet Lili’s eyes as she held up the piece of paper.
    â€œThey’re so cute!” said Lili, trying to hide her surprise. She was telling the truth: The invitations were chic—very graphic and fifties, with silhouetted figures dancing around an old record player. She noticed that Ashley had bought them from Kate’s Paperie, and the cards were made from beautiful textured paper with embossed seals for each envelope.
    Ashley had fantastic taste—nobody could ever dispute that. But considering all the over-the-top plans for the party Ashley had been talking about for the last two weeks, Lili thought the invitations would be much more special. She was expecting something amazing and custom-made, not a box of ready-made cards. They didn’t even have a circus theme!
    â€œSo what are the StripHall Queens like?” Lauren asked, taking a sip from her citrusy “gin and tonic” (the gin a dash of ginger ale). “Did you get to meet them yet?”
    â€œAnd is Cirque du Soleil going to perform ‘Zumanity’ or ‘O’?” A. A. wanted to know.
    Ashley looked momentarily flustered, but before she could answer their questions, all the lights in the restaurantwent dark, and the speakers started playing a grand orchestral theme, interspersed with the StripHall Queens’ latest hit, “Lick Me! Eat Me! I’m Your Cake!” A whizzing, sparkling, glittering confection was brought over to their table.
    The cake was made up of a towering ball of pink cotton candy, decorated with thirteen sparklers. It looked like a gorgeous pink bomb. On cue, Lili led the Ashleys in their version of “Happy Birthday.” (“Happy Birthday to you. You belong at Nobu. With Taylor Swift, Lorde, and J-Law, too.”)
    â€œHappy Birthday, pretty,” Lili said, reaching over to give Ashley a huge hug and kiss. Okay, so maybe she sometimes hated Ashley a little bit for