"Party guests! Gather around, girls!" Claire called.
"Now, I want to thank you all for coming tonight. We all know the reason I asked you here," Claire said. "I need a third. Marisol here is, of course, my new best friend, but we need another friend. To help us with stuff. Tonight I'm going to decide which one of YOU will get that privilege."
"Can I make a suggestion?" Marisol interrupted. "Taylor is a great girl. She's my cousin, and she's a cool person... why not her?"
"Oh, I... um..." Taylor stammered. "I mean, I already have a best friend... you know, Ashley. Plus, I don't even go to them same school. How convenient is that?"
"Mari raises a point," Claire continued, gesturing broadly to Nicki. "Nicole, you're the only one here who's unspoken for bff-wise. I should really just offer the position to you..."
"Actually, I have two best friends," Nicki said matter-of-factly. "They live in Colorado, but they're still my best friends." At this, Claire flounced off the the kitchen to get snacks.
Ashley called the other girls around. "Hey, does anyone else think it's weird that Wendy isn't here?" Ashley asked. "I mean, she's the only one from our group who wasn't invited..."
What Ashley and the others didn't realize was that Marisol had noticed them gathering around conspiratorally.
"You guys just don't know Claire the way I do!" Marisol began. "Maybe if you asked her why Wendy's not here instead of jumping to paranoid conclusions..." Taylor came to Ashley's defense. "Don't snap at her... she was just saying what everyone *but* you was thinking."
"I wasn't thinking that," Quinn added. "You guys are starting to sound as paranoid as Wendy."
Everyone turned to Nicki. "What do YOU think???"
"I... uh...um..."
Saved by the bell! The doorbell, that is.
Claire came out of the kitchen to get the door. After opening it, she smiled to herself. "Jackpot!" she thought.
Trick-or-treaters! Wendy and the younger girls.
Claire invited everyone in. "Oh Wendy," she gushed. "You know, it was really just an oversight that you didn't get invited to my party. Why don't you and all your little friends stay?"
Almost everyone was excited about the new guests. Claire fumed with jealous and anger.
"You know, Wendy," Claire began. "It says A LOT about your sweet, innocent nature that you're trick-or-treating with these little kids. They're good friends for you." Flustered, Wendy responded, "They're only 10... and Noah's a baby. I'm practically babysitting... my mom paid me to take them!"
"Wendy!" Allie hissed. "I asked you not to tell people that!" Before Wendy could apologize, Amira added, "This is SO embarrassing!"
"You see, Claire! You're just... you... you're so mean! You ruin everything!" Wendy yelled. "It's so not worth it!" At that, she grabbed the handle of Noah's wagon and hurried out the door. Claire shouted after her, "Nice dork suit!"
"Hey!" Quinn choked out. "Wendy may be bossy, a little self-centered, sort of childish..."
"Help me out here girls," Quinn whispered. "Where was I going with this?"
"This is the part where you stick up for you best friend, you bubble-head!" Ashley hissed.
"Right!" Quinn remembered. "Wendy may have her flaws, but she's also one of the kindest, most caring, smartest, and coolest people I know... and I won't just stand around and watch you be rude to her!" At that, Quinn ran after Wendy.
"You know, we should go too," Taylor said. "Yeah, this was... interesting..." Ashley added. They both made for the door.
"You know," Nicki began, "My grandma says I'm too thin, so I probably should have gone trick-or-treating myself..." And she left.
"UGH!" Claire exclaimed. "Next time I have a party, I'm only inviting cool people! C'mon, Mari... let's go watch scary movies in my room."
"But I hate scary movies," Marisol protested. Claire grabbed her hand. "This is NOT up for debate!"
Meanwhile... three "guests" still remain at the "party."
"What now?" Allie asked. "Hm... wanna take all her candy and leave?" Amira asked. "Sounds great!" Brittany answered. The end =)
