Tales From a Not-So-Friendly Frenemy Read online

  Then I turned around, stopped dead in my tracks, and found myself face-to-face with . . .

  MACKENZIE HOLLISTER, STARING AT ME IN SHOCK AND HORROR!

  MacKenzie looked like she had just seen a ghost! Then she was all up in my face like, um . . . my homemade FACIAL CREAM!

  I was so mad at her that I could have SLAPPED her into tomorrow!

  But I would NEVER do anything like that because I am a very peaceful and nonviolent person.

  I’m also very ALLERGIC to BEATDOWNS!

  When I last saw MacKenzie at the CupCakery on April 30, she was there with her new friends from NHH. But it was quite OBVIOUS she was pretending to be ME. It was like she had stolen and assumed MY life but had kept her OWN name.

  MACKENZIE’S LIST OF LIES (HOW SHE STOLE MY LIFE!)

  MacKenzie said SHE:

  1. Had a band called Actually, I’m Not Really Sure Yet

  2. Had a record deal with Trevor Chase

  3. Was crowned Sweetheart Princess at her Valentine’s dance with Brandon as her date

  4. Had an advice column in our school newspaper called “Miss Know-It-All”

  5. Was a regular volunteer at Fuzzy Friends Animal Rescue Shelter

  6. Ran a book drive for the school library

  7. Won a cash prize for charity in an ice-skating event

  And as if all of THIS wasn’t deranged enough, MacKenzie had ALSO started a dozen rumors saying that I had done all of the CRUEL stuff to HER that SHE had actually done to ME!

  Anyway, I pointed MY finger right back in HER face and shouted . . .

  ME, STARING AT MACKENZIE IN SHOCK AND HORROR!

  Things suddenly got really, really tense.

  “I wouldn’t WANT your PATHETIC life, Nikki! Now, WHAT are you doing at MY school?!”

  “I’m in the student exchange program. But I DREADED coming to North Hampton Hills because of YOU! I’m only here because I want the FREE trip to PARIS sponsored by this school! My teacher at WCD said I had a good chance. But I’m probably wasting my time, because I’ve heard that the trip advisor, Madame Danielle, is really mean unless you BRIBE her with chocolate!” I yelled.

  “Well, just mind your business while you’re here! I’m not going to let you ruin my life. You have no idea what I had to go through to get into this school!”

  “MacKenzie, you have it SO easy! Everything is handed to you on a silver platter!”

  “You’re WRONG! I shouldn’t even be at this school. I freaked out on the entrance exam and scored so low that my parents had to donate a ton of money to get me admitted. So, Nikki, you have no clue!”

  I glared at MacKenzie.

  And MacKenzie glared at me.

  That’s when we suddenly heard someone snicker, “OMG! What a DRAMAFEST! I wish I had a bucket of popcorn!”

  MacKenzie and I both turned around and gasped!

  TIFFANY was standing right behind us, FILMING us with her CELL PHONE!

  She stopped filming and flipped her hair.

  Then she stepped right in front of us and struck a GLAM pose.

  MacKenzie and I both stared at her in disbelief as she made a duck face and took a quick selfie. . . .

  TIFFANY TAKES A SELFIE WITH MACKENZIE AND ME!

  “Sorry, girls! But both of you came from that TRASHY school Westchester Country Day! You’ll NEVER be good enough for North Hampton Hills! And my video is all the proof I need. So don’t think for one minute you’re going to come here and take over MY spot as QUEEN BEE! It’s so NOT happening!”

  MacKenzie and I stared at each other. There was no question that we’d pretty much HATED each other from the first day we met.

  Then we BOTH stared at Tiffany, a selfie-addicted diva intent on DESTROYING both of our lives. She was probably the ONLY person we both HATED more than EACH OTHER!!

  Tiffany looked at the photo and giggled. “I think our selfie came out SUPERcute! I can’t wait for you to see it. I’ll text copies to you both, okay? You’re going to LOVE it! See you later! Oh, BTW, I ADORE your shoes!”

  I was completely FLABBERGASTED!

  In just a few hours Tiffany had gone from being my new BFF to my NOT-SO-FRIENDLY FRENEMY!

  Like, WHO does THAT?!

  It suddenly became very clear to me.

  There was just NO WAY that I was going to SURVIVE this program.

  !!

  WEDNESDAY, MAY 14—7:45 A.M.

  AT MY NHH LOCKER

  Having to deal with MacKenzie is really BAD!

  And having to deal with Tiffany is HORRIBLE!

  But having to deal with BOTH MacKenzie and Tiffany at the same time is enough to make me . . .

  SCREEEEEEEEAM !!

  I seriously considered telling my mom I needed to stay home from school the rest of the week because I was really SICK and TIRED!

  SICK and TIRED of MacKenzie trying to STEAL my life.

  SICK and TIRED of Tiffany trying to RUIN my life.

  I’m not sure how much MORE of their DRAMA I can take!

  And if I had a choice, I’d much rather have a COMPLETE MELTDOWN in the privacy of my bedroom than at North Hampton Hills in front of hundreds of students.

  There were two girls at the locker next to mine, and I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation.

  “Anyway, Tiffany said we need to sign up for the selfie club right away so it’ll replace the science club. Although, to be honest, I’d much rather be in the science club than fanning the hair of CCPs for their photos,” grumbled a girl with a ponytail.

  “I totally agree! I didn’t even know we HAD a science club,” said her friend.

  I decided to introduce myself. “Hi, I’m Nikki Maxwell. I’m from Westchester Country Day, and I’m visiting here as an exchange student.”

  “Hi, I’m Sofia, and this is my BFF, Chase,” said the girl with the ponytail. “Wait a minute! Aren’t YOU the Nikki who tried to close down Fuzzy Friends Animal Rescue Shelter?”

  “And WHY do you HATE puppies?!” demanded Chase. “They’re SO ADORABLE!”

  I was like, JUST GREAT !!

  “Um, that wasn’t ME! It was some other girl named Nikki,” I lied. “She sounds like an AWFUL person. Personally, I LOVE puppies!”

  Sofia and Chase nodded in agreement.

  I continued. “I was just wondering if you guys were interested in joining the science club. They’re having a membership meeting on Friday and will be planning exciting activities for next year. We need your ideas. It’ll be fun!”

  “And girls in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math are SUPERCOOL!” said Sofia.

  “Right! S.T.E.A.M. rocks!” added Chase.

  “GREAT! JUST WRITE DOWN YOUR IDEAS AND BRING THEM TO THE MEETING!”

  “I’ll be hanging out with a few science club members at lunch if you’d like to join us,” I said.

  “Okay!” Sofia and Chase smiled.

  There was still a lot to be done, but maybe our plan to save the science club just might work.

  Tiffany will have a HISSY FIT once she finds out that her selfie club is in jeopardy.

  But I am SO over Miss Queen Bee and her shady girl squad of Wanna Bees.

  I have three important goals: (1) avoid Tiffany and MacKenzie like highly contagious diseases, (2) help Patrick save the science club, and (3) convince Madame Danielle to give me that trip to Paris!

  Then I am OUTTA HERE!

  !

  WEDNESDAY—10:52 A.M.

  AT MY NHH LOCKER

  When I got to biology, Mr. Winter had “lost” his lesson plan book again, which meant we’d be watching Jurassic Park.

  Finally, it occurred to me why he showed that movie over and over again during class.

  It was to DISTRACT his students! He needed them to shut up and leave him alone so he could search the Internet for a NEW TEACHING JOB at another SCHOOL!

  The poor guy looked SUPERstressed.

  I suddenly felt really sorry for him.

  Tiffany was at her desk talking to h
er friends, and when she saw me she did the strangest thing.

  She walked up to my desk and gave me a HUG that seemed to last FOREVER.

  “Nikki, I want to apologize for what happened yesterday,” she said sweetly. “Things just got out of control. I didn’t mean any of what I said, and you were right all along. So are we cool?”

  I was shocked!

  A CCP had NEVER apologized to me before!

  MacKenzie would rather be buried alive in a polyester party dress from Walmart with knockoff designer shoes than EVER apologize to anyone.

  This was almost too good to be true.

  Maybe Tiffany wasn’t as evil as I’d made her out to be.

  I decided to give her ONE more chance. But I still didn’t completely TRUST her.

  “Hey, it’s no big deal. We’re cool.” I smiled.

  “YAY!” she exclaimed. “I’ve got my bestie back!”

  Then she returned to her desk and started giggling and whispering to her friends.

  The teacher was about to turn off the lights and start the movie when Tiffany raised her hand.

  “Mr. Winter, I just wanted to let you know that I saw someone SWIPE your lesson plan book.”

  I was really surprised to hear THAT news!

  Especially since Tiffany had already confessed to me that SHE had been stealing his lesson plan book all year.

  Mr. Winter scowled and raised an eyebrow. “Well, thank you, Miss Davenport! And who might this THIEF be?”

  I was shocked and appalled by the totally SCANDALOUS thing Tiffany did next.

  She stood up, pointed right at me, and said . . .

  TIFFANY, ACCUSING ME OF STEALING THE TEACHER’S BOOK

  I just stared at her in disbelief! I already knew Tiffany was a mean and snobby selfie addict. But I DIDN’T know that she was ALSO a pathological liar!

  “Mr. Winter, th-that’s NOT true!” I stammered. “I didn’t take your lesson plan book! And it’s NOT in my book bag! I’ll show you. . . .”

  The entire class gawked at me as I frantically dumped the contents of my bag on my desk.

  “See, Mr. Winter? It’s NOT here in my—”

  I stopped midsentence and blinked in confusion.

  A large brown leather book that I had never seen before in my life was lying on top of my textbooks.

  I shot a dirty look at Tiffany. She must have slipped the teacher’s lesson plan book into my book bag during her apology hug.

  That selfie-addicted SNAKE just shrugged and smiled at me all innocentlike.

  Mr. Winter quickly strode across the room and snatched his book off my desk. . . .

  ME, TOTALLY FREAKING OUT ABOUT MY TEACHER’S BOOK!

  “Miss Maxwell, we have a zero-tolerance policy for THEFT,” he said firmly. “Just so you know, I WILL be speaking to Principal Winston about your despicable behavior!”

  “But, Mr. Winter, you don’t understand! I would NEVER—!”

  “Save your EXCUSES for when you get back to Westchester Country Day!” he said coldly.

  I just sat there, numb, with my heart pounding in my chest like a bass drum.

  I could hear Tiffany and her friends snickering behind me.

  I was beyond HUMILIATED!

  I wanted to dig a really deep hole right there in the classroom, CRAWL into it, and DIE!!

  !!

  WEDNESDAY—2:10 P.M.

  IN STUDY HALL

  Although I was still a bit traumatized by Tiffany and all the drama in biology, I was looking forward to hanging out with the kids from the science club during lunch.

  Sofia and Chase sat at our table and shared their list of creative ideas for the club.

  They both fit right in and got along really well with the guys.

  I suggested that the Friday meeting in the science lab be a membership drive and PARTY, complete with Queasy Cheesy pizza.

  Everyone LOVED my idea!

  We all agreed to place science club sign-up sheets all around the school and not just in the boys’ locker room.

  Lee and Mario volunteered to handle the pizza and soft drinks. Patrick and Sofia agreed to do decorations. Drake offered to be our deejay and suggested a science-themed playlist that included his favorite old-school song, “She Blinded Me with Science.”

  That’s when Chase excitedly suggested that the party theme be “Blinded by Science!” and volunteered to make matching posters.

  She also had a brilliant idea for cool party favors that we could get SUPERcheap from the dollar store.

  I reminded everyone how important it was to invite friends and other students to our science club party! Well . . . um, science club meeting.

  Our goal was to show that science could be fun and exciting as well as interesting.

  Anyway, everyone was so fired up that we completely lost track of time.

  By the time we finished planning our event, lunch was over and we had less than a minute to scramble to our next class.

  I wasn’t all that worried about being late until I realized it was PE.

  Yesterday we’d spent the entire class discussing the basics of horseback riding and how to do it safely.

  And today we were actually going to be RIDING.

  That’s when I suddenly remembered Tiffany’s WARNING about the importance of getting to the horse stable ten minutes EARLY to select a horse.

  JUST GREAT ! I took off running and prayed that I’d get there before it was too late.

  I quickly got dressed in my riding outfit and rushed out to the stable to sign up for a horse.

  But, unfortunately, only ONE was left. . . .

  “BUDDY THE PONY?!”

  I just stared at him in shock. He was the EVIL horse . . . I mean, pony . . . that everyone was afraid to ride.

  “Look at that nasty, ugly BEAST!” Tiffany sneered from behind me. “I think poor little Buddy is absolutely TERRIFIED of you!”

  I was so mad, STEAM was practically coming out of my ears. But there was also steam coming from another place . . . Buddy’s backside! EWW ! OMG! The stench of his gas was AWFUL. That pony smelled like he’d eaten nineteen cans of baked beans and seven really dirty, stinky gym socks.

  The entire class rode out of the stable to the trails, except for Buddy and me.

  “Come on, Buddy! Let’s go!” I groaned and tapped him with my feet.

  Buddy gave me a dirty look and neighed loudly.

  “Quit complaining!” I fumed.

  He angrily stomped his foot and passed more gas. Then he dashed out of the stable and down the trail and turned into a wild bucking bronco. . . .

  BUDDY TRIES TO KILL ME WHILE I HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE!

  Tiffany and Ava rudely pointed and laughed.

  “Yee-haw! Ride ’em, cowgirl!” Ava yelled.

  “Wow! This is the funniest rodeo CLOWN SHOW ever!” Tiffany giggled. “Nikki, you’re a goofball!”

  I could not believe those girls were making JOKES when I could have been seriously injured or even KILLED by that CRAZY horse. However, after ten minutes, Buddy must have exhausted all his negative energy, because he suddenly calmed down and trotted along the trail and back to the stable like a show horse.

  Everyone, including my teacher, was impressed that I had tamed Buddy with my superior horsemanship skills. But Tiffany and Ava just glared at me and rolled their eyes.

  When we got back to Buddy’s stall, I fed him a carrot for his good behavior. Then he passed gas, smiled at me, grunted, and fell fast asleep.

  My little pony was my best BUDDY ever! !!

  WEDNESDAY—5:15 P.M.

  IN MY BEDROOM

  Chloe and Zoey stopped by after school today to see how things were going for me at NHH.

  At first I tried to lie and tell them how wonderful everything was. But I finally broke down and told them the truth. It was a disaster!

  MacKenzie was spreading nasty rumors about me and had pretty much stolen my life! Tiffany had secretly recorded me ranting about the French teacher, which meant I was NEVE
R going to be awarded that trip to Paris! And Mr. Winter thought I had stolen his lesson plan book and was going to report me to Principal Winston!

  “Listen, Nikki, do NOT go back to that school!” Zoey pleaded with me. “Why are you punishing yourself like this?!”

  “OMG! That place sounds HORRIBLE!” Chloe gasped. “How can you stand it?!”

  That’s when I burst into tears. . . .

  “Listen, guys, you’re right! But I’ve made new friends there, and I really want to say good-bye to them instead of just disappearing off the face of the earth,” I said, sniffling.

  So we all agreed that Thursday was going to be my last day at NHH, even if it meant having to attend summer school. Although I felt relieved this dramafest would be over soon, I couldn’t help but feel a little worried about my friends in the science club. !!

  THURSDAY, MAY 15—2:15 P.M.

  IN STUDY HALL

  I was so stressed out about everything that I barely got any sleep last night.

  My goal was to survive my last day at NHH. Things couldn’t possibly get any worse, right?!

  WRONG! During breakfast I got a text from MacKenzie!

  She asked me to meet her at the fountain right before study hall to discuss OUR Tiffany problem. I texted “???,” but she didn’t respond.

  During lunch the science club members sat at my table and chatted excitedly about the event tomorrow.

  They thanked me for everything I’d done and told me the club had a special award they planned to give to me at the party. Then everyone started cheering.

  I didn’t have a choice but to break the bad news. “Actually, TODAY is going to be my last day at NHH. And even though I won’t be able to attend the science club party, I’m sure it’s going to be a huge success!”

  I totally didn’t expect what happened next.

  “Nikki, if YOU’RE not going to be there, then why should we even bother?!” Patrick muttered in disappointment.