The Elite by Jennifer Banash

cute-ness.” Madison looked into Casey’s gray eyes and smiled, but since she was still wearing those enormous shades, Casey couldn’t quite tell whether Madison was laughing with her—
    or at her.
    “Maybe I’ll try it on,” Casey mumbled, surreptitiously fingering the price tag, her face turning white as she flipped it over, peering at the numbers scribbled in red pen. $350? On 9 0

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    sale? Casey felt dizzily nauseous—like she might at any moment go completely Exorcist and projectile vomit green slime all over Madison’s perfect coral pedicure. “Umm, I don’t know,” Casey said weakly, hanging the dress on the nearest rack before she fainted. “I’m not sure it’s really me after all.”
    “What are you talking about?” Madison said, grabbing the dress off the rack and pushing it back into Casey’s hands. “Of course it’s you! It couldn’t be more you—and to be honest, it’s a hell of a lot better than what you have on right now.” Casey wished the floor would simply open up and swallow her whole—along with everything in the store she didn’t have the money to pay for.
    “It really is to die for, Casey,” Sophie said, fingering the smooth cotton. “You’ll be completely adorabubble!” she squealed loudly, grabbing Casey’s hand in her own and flinging her bangs from her eye with a practiced toss of her head.
    “Drew won’t be able to keep his eyes off you!”
    “Oy.” Phoebe rubbed her ear with one hand. “No more lattes for you.” she said grumpily. “I think you broke my ear -
    drum.”
    “Come on, Casey.” Madison’s voice was honey- sweet. “Go try it on—we’ll wait here.”
    Casey could feel herself beginning to sweat. She could feel it rolling down her sides and into the denim of her capris.
    Gross. How was she going to get out of this one? Maybe she could buy the dress and return it later—except she didn’t know if the limit on her mom’s credit card even went up that high, and how would she explain to Madison why she wasn’t wearing 9 1

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    the dress tomorrow at school? No, the only thing she could do was to tell the truth—and if they thought she was a loser and dumped her outside on the steaming pavement of Madison Avenue, so be it.
    “Actually, guys,” she said, staring at the floor, “I kind of blew my whole allowance last week getting ready to move here.” Casey could feel her cheeks getting redder and redder—
    her whole face felt like she’d dipped it in gasoline and lit a match. She could feel her palms sweating all over the soft yellow dress in her hands, and she took a deep breath. “So I’ll just have to make do with what I have for a while.”
    OK, so it wasn’t exactly the truth—but she was going to look stupid enough as it was. There was no sense informing The Bram Clan that she’d probably never have the kind of money necessary to shop at Barneys, was there? Hadn’t they figured it out already? She was a clueless loser from ass- crack Illinois, who didn’t know a Manolo from a Mint Milano, and what’s worse, before this totally humiliating moment, she’d half- convinced herself that she was actually fitting in with the most pop u lar girls in school—hell, on the entire Upper East Side, or on the planet , for all she knew. Now, all she wanted to do was go back to Nanna’s apartment and eat a pint of Häagen- Dazs chocolate-chocolate chip straight from the carton until her brain was totally numb.
    Casey looked up, watching as Madison slid her shades off, her green eyes softening as she took in Casey’s flushed, embarrassed face. Casey noticed that Madison’s eye makeup was smudged—almost as if she’d been crying. But what the hell 9 2

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    could Madison Macallister ever have to cry about? Casey couldn’t begin to imagine, but she hoped against hope that some day she might just find out.
    “Don’t worry about it.” Madison took the dress from Casey’s hands