Finally I stopped swimming and started to doggy-paddle.
MacKe">
That’s when I looked over my right shoulder and caught a glimpse of a dark shadow slightly behind me. Actually, it looked a lot like a . . . shark’s fin?!
I took another look and . . . YES! It WAS a shark’s fin, just several feet away. I couldn’t believe my eyes!
OMG! I think I actually peed in the pool!
And judging from the size of its fin, that thing was GIGANTIC! Out of sheer terror, I started swimming as fast as I could.
A shark in the pool?! How in the HECK did that get in here? I wondered as I swam for my life. I came up with three possible theories.
It could have been living in the Westchester County sewers like those alligators, pythons, and other scary creatures we hear about in the news.
Or if it was in the drainage system, it probably got too big for the pipes and burst through the drain and into the pool.
Or maybe it escaped from the Westchester Zoo and was swimming down the creek behind our school when it decided to stop off at the pool for a quick LUNCH!
at myself in the mirror.n t rsOne thing was for sure. I had no intention of becoming its next MEAL.
You know, yummy Nikki Nuggets dipped in chlorine.
I must have had a surge of adrenaline or something because I kept swimming faster and faster until I reached the end of the pool.
Then I jumped out and zipped right past my teacher, screaming at the top of my lungs . . . .
MACKENZIE, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW I BEAT HER TO THE FINISH LINE
Hey, there was no way I was going to hang around poolside. Sharks swim ashore, attack their prey, and then drag them back into the deep to be eaten!
At least, that’s what they do in movies and on TV! And personally, I wasn’t taking any chances. So I kept running until I got to the very top of the bleachers. Only then did I check behind me to make sure that shark hadn’t followed me up there. Hey, it could happen!
That’s when I heard my gym teacher make an announcement over
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26
Today after school, Mom and I went shopping to try and finally find a dress for the Sweetheart Dance. First we went to the dress section of Forever Sixteen, but the clothing racks were empty and there wasn’t a single dress in sight.
A pile of broken clothes hangers littered the floor. It looked just like the aftermath of an elephant stampede!
Then we went to five more stores, and all of them were in the same condition.
“No place in this ENTIRE mall has a dress?” Mom asked, clearly frustrated. “I can’t believe that! Let’s try finding a sales clerk.”
We were at a fancy department store, and we finally found a sales clerk hiding behiously walked
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27
I had an unexpected visitor after school today! I was in my room doing my French homework when suddenly I was rudely interrupted . . . .
“There you are, Miss Nikki! I, Miss Bri-Bri, Fashionista and STYLIST to the Stars, have been looking all over for YOU!” Brianna exclaimed. “Come quickly, dah-ling! Miss Bri-Bri must style you before her next appointment!”
“Don’t take another step toward me, or you’ll be sorry!” I screamed. “I have a French book in my hand, and I’m NOT afraid to use it. Last time you TOTALLY ruined my hair! Are you even a licensed professional?”
“But all of that was my assistant’s fault. I fired Hans. Now come! Miss Bri-Bri shall make you booty-ful! Yes?”
“NO WAY! Miss Bri-Bri can go jump in le LAKE! I’m still mad at you!”
“Zen I shall make it up to you. Miss Bri-Bri pinkie promises! Or she’ll eat a thousand boogers!”
WHAT kind of promise was that?! I was pretty sure Miss Bri-Bri ate boogers anyway! On the other hand, whatever dress she had to offer me couldn’t be any uglier than the one I already had.
I didn’t have much to lose! Well, other than another hair chunk. But that was a risk I was willing to take for the dance. And for Brandon!
“Okay, Brianna! I’m going to give you ONE more chance! So don’t screw this up!” I warned.
“Dah-ling! We have much work to do! Please follow my new assistant, Miss Penelope.”
Miss Penelope waved at me and then grabbed my arm and led me down the hall.
She was wearing lots of rings and bracelets, glittery nail polish, hot-pink lip gloss, and drawn-on cat-eye glasses that matched Brianna’s.
“Dah-ling! Here we are! Welcome to BOUTIQUE BRIANNA!” Miss Bri-Bri announced, taking me into the upstairs bathroom. “Miss Bri-Bri has designed a gazillion booty-ful dresses for very famous and important people, like Princess Sugar Plum, Selena Gomez, Beyoncé, and Mrs. Claus! And I have created zee perfect dress for you, dah-ling! Miss Penelope, please show Miss Nikki to zee dressing room,” she ordered.
Suddenly Brianna raised her hand to her ear, whispered something to Miss Penelope, and then frowned.
“What was zat, Miss Penelope?” she asked. “You are on zee phone with Dora zee Explorer and Boots zee Monkey? You say Boots needs new boots? Very well, dah-ling! Pencil him in before my six o’clock appointment with SpongeBob!”
Brianna turned to me and smiled apologetically. “Please excuse zee interruption, dah-ling. Miss Penelope’s up to her knuckles in phone calls and paperwork. Now, where were we? Oh yes! Zee at myself in the mirror. quhI just rolled my eyes at that girl. dress for YOU!”
She walked up to the bathtub and pulled back the shower curtain. SWISH . . . !!
“NOW, MISS NIKKI, PLEASE STEP INTO YOUR DRESSING ROOM!”
I was really shocked to see a clothing bag with my name on it hanging inside the “dressing room.”
But I was afraid it might be a trick.
“Hmm . . . You want me to step inside?” I
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28
Today the entire school was buzzing about the dance. Students excitedly lined up between classes to going to the Sweetheart Dance with BrandoninhI just rolled my eyes at that girl. vote for Sweetheart Princess. The latest gossip was that MacKenzie was going to win by a landslide.
I avoided voting entirely. It was just a reminder of MacKenzie’s nasty prank, which I was trying very hard to forget.
I still didn’t have the slightest idea how she got her hands on that Salon Brianna photo. Maybe it was my imagination, but in every class it seemed like kids were staring at me and whispering !
So I just zoned out and spent the entire day staring at the clock and counting down the hours until the Sweetheart Dance ! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 . . . !
Before I knew it, school was over and the dance was starting in less than an hour. I took one last look at myself in the mirror.
On the inside, I felt SUPERinsecure. But on the outside, I looked like a real princess . . . .
Well, MINUS the scrawny arms and shoulders !
Mom’s new Get Toned in 20 Minutes DVD was a total rip-off. I had used it for forty minutes after school to tone up my arms, but they STILL looked EXACTLY the same. What’s up with THAT? Mom definitely needs to get her money back!
For some reason, I was having a severe case of the last-minute jitters. I felt super self-conscious about EVERYTHING.
I sighed and popped a Tic Tac into my mouth. Then I stuffed my cell phone into my purse, grabbed my coat, and headed downstairs.
Suddenly my phone chimed. I was pretty sure it was a text from Chloe and Zoey letting me know they were on their way to pick me up.
There was just NO WAY I was going to risk public humiliation by riding in my dad’s ROACH MOBILE! It was MY brilliant idea to have Zoey’s mom drive us there and Chloe’s mom drive us home!
But surprisingly, the text wasn’t from Chloe or Zoey.
It was from BRANDON! SQUEEEEEE !!
I guessed that he was probably sending me a message telling me he couldn’t wait to see me or something. You know, like in all of those romance novels. SQUEEEEEE !!
Swooning massively, I held my breath and
read his pre-Sweetheart-Dance text message out loud:
I blinked in disbelief and read it again. This had to be some kind of mistake!
Obviously, some other dude named Brandon had just decided, at the very last minute, to “TEXT DUMP” his poor unsuspecting date!!
And then sent it to ME by accident!
NOT !! going to the Sweetheart Dance with Brandonhe" aid=" c
I felt like I had been hit in the stomach. By a seventy-pound bowling ball.
WHY would Brandon do this to me?!!!
Okay. Maybe because he was SICK! But STILL! What harm is a little flu bug between really good friends?!!
Since the dance was such a big deal, I was hoping he would have gallantly ignored his fever and nausea and just showed up with a barf bag or something.
If I had the flu, I would have done that for HIM!
Hey! If I had gotten hit by a bus, I would have come to the dance in a full-body cast with some SUPERcute matching earrings!
This was the last straw!
I felt like I was on a crazy emotional roller coaster, plummeting into a deep, dark bottomless pit. And I wanted off!
I knew I couldn’t blame Brandon for getting sick! But why did he wait until the very last minute?!
And why did he drop the bomb on me in a very tacky text message instead of apologizing profusely in person? Or at least in a phone call?!
It was like he wasn’t thinking about my feelings at all!
Deep down in my gut, I suspected that Brandon was not sick at all. He had probably taken MacKenzie up on her Fuzzy Friends cash offer.
And after changing his mind about going to the dance with me, he wasn’t brave enough to tell me to my face.
I was stupid and delusional to think we’d ever become good friends. I really hated to admit it, but MacKenzie was right !
I dragged myself back to my room, slammed my door shut, and collapsed on my bed.
Then I sobbed hysterically into my pillow.
OMG! I felt beyond HORRIBLE. My heart was actually hurting.
I had been lying there for what seemed like FOREVER, when suddenly I heard footsteps and two familiar voices outside my door.
I closed my eyes and groaned. Oh, CRUD! I’d forgotten to call Chloe and Zoey . . . !
They burst into my room like a hurricane.
“Nikki! Your favorite BFFs are here!” Zoey squealed happily. “Are you ready?”
“Don’t be TARDY for the PARTY!” Chloe shouted, and gave me jazz hands.
I slowly sat up on the edge of my bed, sniffed, and dabbed at my tears.
My BFFs immediately froze and stared at me in shock with their mouths hanging open.
“OMG! Nikki! What’s wrong?!” they both shrieked.
“I’m n-not going to the d-dance!” I muttered. “Brandon just texted me. He says he’s . . . SICK!”
“WHAT?!” they gasped.
That’s when I totally lost it and burst into
TEARS . . . .
I FEEL AWFUL! I CAN’T BELIEVE BRANDON JUST STOOD ME UP LIKE THIS!! at myself in the mirror.all the " aid=" c
I had a complete and massive meltdown. Chloe and Zoey both hugged me. They were about to cry too.
“I’m really sorry,” I sputtered, “but you’re going to have to go to the dance without me.” Then I blew my nose rather loudly. HONK!
Chloe and Zoey looked at each other and then looked at me.
“Sorry, Nikki. But we’re not going to leave you here like this!” Zoey said, squeezing my hand.
“We care about you! So either we’re ALL going to the dance, or we’re ALL staying here,” Chloe said softly.
“I’ll be fine,” I protested. “You both have dates. Theo and Marcus are nice guys, and they don’t deserve to be stood up. It feels really . . . BAD!”
“Nikki, if you don’t want to go, we understand. We’ll just call the guys right now and tell them the situation,” Zoey said, picking up her phone.
“Please! You’re both just making me feel worse!” I yelled. “I want to be ALONE! Just GO AWAY!”
That’s when Chloe and Zoey stared at me in disbelief. I think I must have really ticked them off or something because they were not smiling.
“Sorry, Nikki! But we’re NOT going to let you have a nervous breakdown over some dude not taking you to a stupid dance!” Chloe fumed.
“So cry yourself a river, build a bridge, and get OVER it!” Zoey said, rolling her eyes.
I could NOT believe my BFFs weren’t being more sympathetic about my situation. Hey, I was heartbroken and in real pain! Hadn’t I earned the right to be a melancholy drama queen?
Note to self: Get a new CRUSH. And some new BFFs!
Even though I was mad at Chloe and Zoey for not joining my pity party, I had to admit they truly cared about me. They were willing to miss the Sweetheart Dance! AND their first dates! I mean, WHO does THAT?!
I sniffed and blew my nose again. HONK!!
“Okay, guys! You win! I’ll go to the dance. Against my will. But I’m NOT going to have fun! And you CAN’T make me!” I grumped.
Chloe and Zoey screamed happily and squished me in a hug sandwich.
“You are NOT going to regret this!” Zoey giggled.
“We’re going to have a BLAST together!” Chloe squealed.
“I. Can’t. BREATHE!” I croaked, gasping for air.
After prying myself out of their hug, I went to the bathroom to wash my face and freshen up for the dance.
OMG! I looked HORRIBLE!
My hair was a mess and my face was streaked with black tears from my mascara.
I looked like a zombie bride or something . . . .
However, thanks to Chloe and Zoey, I was starting to feel like maybe it WASN’T the end of the world. Most important, I was NOT going to let Brandon turn me into a snivelin at myself in the mirror.">SQUEEEt rsg puddle of SNOT and TEARS!! Well, not for more than fifteen minutes, anyway.
When we arrived at the Sweetheart Dance, I was surprised to see pretty much the entire student body there.
I barely recognized our drab cafeteria. It had been turned into a Queen of Hearts fantasyland. Dozens of red hearts hung gracefully from the ceiling while bunches of pink, red, and white helium balloons floated gently around the room like miniature clouds. The walls were strung with hundreds of tiny red and white lights that reflected off a giant mirror ball in the center of the room.
All of the girls wore gorgeous formal dresses that rivaled the dresses at any high school prom. I saw sparkles, glitter, sequins, and pretty much every color of the rainbow.
However, my most favorite dress was my OWN !
Marcus and Theo were there, patiently waiting for Chloe and Zoey. I couldn’t tell who was more nervous, my BFFs or their dates. But as soon as they spotted each other, everyone was all smiles.
OMG! They were SO adorable! It was totally worth coming to the dance just to see them together.
“We saved six seats. Right near the wing-dings table!” Theo said, leading the way.
“OMG! I LOVE wing-dings!” I said excitedly.
Dealing with all of that drama and emotional turmoil had pretty much sapped my energy and left me famished. I was STARVING!
It looked like I had a date for the dance after all. I was going to spend most of the evening with a huge plate of yummy wing-dings. Woo-hoo !
Chloe and Zoey glanced at Theo and then whispered to each other.
“Um, Theo? Actually, we’ll only need five seats. Brandon’s sick. So Nikki will be hanging out with us tonight,” Chloe explained.
Theo and Marcus looked at each other and then at us.
“Brandon’s sick? Are you sure?” Theo asked.
“YES!” Chloe and Zoey answered tersely.
“But I just saw him five minutes ago. Did he leave or something?” Marcus asked.
“WHAT?!!” Zoey shrieked.
“NO WAY!!” Chloe screeched.
“OMG! Brandon is actually HERE?!” I gasped. “Are you SURE?!
”
Theo and Marcus looked at me like I was crazy.
“Yes, we’re sure,” they replied.
“I can’t believe it! WHAT is HE doing here?!” I s
Theo shrugged. “I think talking to MacKen—”
“MacKenzie?! But he’s NOT supposed to be here!” I spat.
“He isn’t?” Marcus asked.
“NO!” Chloe and Zoey shouted.
“I can’t just sit here and pretend like nothing happened!” I fumed.
Basically Brandon had stood me up so MacKenzie could pay HIM to take HER to the dance. going to the Sweetheart Dance with Brandonhe" aid=" c
Right then he was the last person I wanted to see.
“But the table is close to the w-wing-dings! Just like Zoey asked!” Theo stammered.
“I think I want to go home,” I said, panicking.
Theo looked worried. “Please don’t leave, Nikki. I can find us a new table! Maybe near the punch instead of the wing-dings?”
“Actually, Theo, this has absolutely NOTHING to do with wing-dings,” Chloe snapped.
“It doesn’t?” Theo blinked.
“Brandon told Nikki he was SICK!” Zoey huffed.
“Well, um . . . maybe he IS sick. We didn’t really ask him how he was feeling,” Marcus muttered.
Suddenly a wave of anger swept over me. “I can’t believe Brandon actually lied to me. I need to see this with my own eyes!”
“Okay. Then Zoey and I will come with—” But before Chloe could finish her sentence, I turned and marched across the dance floor.
It was crowded, and very dimly lit.
But finally my eyes adjusted to the darkness. Everyone was up dancing to the latest tunes by One Direction and the Wanted. Suddenly I saw the answer to my question just ten feet in front of me. Theo and Marcus were right! Brandon WAS, in fact, there . . . .
. . . WITH MACKENZIE !!
Blinking back my tears, I quickly turned and walked away before Brandon spotted me.