Summer Ratner laughed. “I feel so evil!” she crowed.

Stacey Blackwell snickered. “Tonight, Paris, tomorrow, the world!” she said in a menacing voice.

“You guys make it sound like we’re going to overthrow the universe,” Katherine Moore said bluntly. “All we’re doing is going to see who wins the contest.”

“Yeah, but we’re nice girls,” Summer remarked. “Who’s gonna suspect we’ll be sneaking out?” She wound her dark brown hair up at the top of her head, curled it around, and jammed two hairsticks into it.

Katherine sighed. “But I feel bad about this.”

“Kat, why?” Stacey inquired. “If we win, we go on that new tour with BSB, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Jordan Knight, and Christina Aguilera. What girl wouldn’t want that to happen to her? It’ll be worth it.”

Katherine almost said something, but she paused. She was pretty sick of being the nice girl. For once in my life I want to do something daring, she thought. Now is a good enough time.

“Ready ladies?” Stacey asked as she slid on her zebra print cowboy hat. “Alright, Operation Contest Winners is on!”

The girls all grabbed their purses, and headed down the hallway. “Go into the bathroom and act sick,” Summer instructed Katherine. Katherine obeyed, and ducked into the girls’ restroom. Stacey stood outside the stall, acting concerned.

“Ms. Mottsinger!” Summer yelled. “Ms. Mottsinger!”

Ms. Mottsinger, a slim young woman with reddish hair ran to where Summer was yelling. “What is it?” she asked.

“Ma’am, it’s Katherine. I think she’s sick. She’s been in there for like, five minutes puking her guts out. I swear there’s something wrong with her.”

“No!” Katherine moaned. “I’m just having my period. I have horrible cramps. I throw up when it’s that time of the month.”

“Oh,” Ms. Mottsinger said. “Do you want me to get the nurse?”

“No!” Stacey said. “We’ll take care of her! We know what it’s like.”

“I would think the nurse would too,” Ms. Mottsinger told the girls.

Stacey assured her, “We’re her friends, we know her better than any nurse would.”

Ms. Mottsinger sighed. “Alright. You girls can stay with Katherine. If she feels better, you all are free to come to the dance.”

“Thank you ma’am,” Stacey said. “We’ll take care of her.”

Katherine flushed the toilet and held her head down. “I wanna go back to my room,” she said softly.

Summer took her by her shoulder. “Yeah, Kat, we’re gonna take you back, ‘kay?” she said in soothing voice. “Come on, girlie.” She wrapped Katherine’s arm around her and led her into the hallway.

“Take good care of her, girls!” Ms. Mottsinger ordered them. As soon as she was out of earshot, Summer let out an exuberant laugh. “Can you believe that?” she said. “She bought every word of it!”

“You did great, Kat,” Stacey said. “Now we gotta jet.”

The girls took the elevator down to the main floor and breezed past the security guard at the dorm’s main desk. As soon as they were a block away from the school, Stacey let out a loud, victorious whoop. “Here we go!” she shouted.

Anyone driving by would have noticed the three girls walking down the street: one a tall black girl wearing a zebra print cowboy hat and a black pleather jacket, another tall, olive skinned girl wearing a black tube top and tight red hip huggers, and an average height blonde girl who wore a baby blue tank top and a knee length khaki skirt. Since that September, Katherine, Stacey, and Summer had been friends, but if circumstances had turned out differently, they would have never met.

Summer Monique Ratner was a full-blooded Canadian. She had spent all of her 16 years on Earth in Niagara Falls, Ontario. She had a reputation for having an extreme wild streak, almost to the point that teachers threatened to transfer her to military school. But Summer was convinced that her wildness meant well: “After all, AJ McLean is just as wild as I am, and look where he is.”

Stacey Vanessa Blackwell was a native of Hartford, Connecticut. She had spent 8 years of her life at Catholic school, and was always one of the few black girls in her class. Stacey never minded that; she could make friends with anyone. She was smart, funny, and easily popular, and on top of that looked like Stacey Dash from Clueless. She was never afraid to stand out, and often embellished her looks with unique clothing.

Katherine Teresa Moore was born in Richmond, Virginia, but had lived most of her life in London, England. She was impeccably intelligent, and thoroughly shy. However, she was easy to get along with. She had a quick smile, and was extremely passionate about her artwork.

How had the three girls met in Paris? All of their schools found them to be exceptional students, so they had been sent to one of Paris’ most prestigious academies to broaden their horizons. They had been put together to become roommates, and from just one night of sitting up and talking they had learned they shared a common interest: performing. All of them were 16, wanting to see more of the world, and had a mutual admiration for pop music. Sure, as much as they were alike they were different, but somehow their differences brought them closer together.

chapter 2