Perfect Mistake (Privilege 3)

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herself

. She just had to have a touch of patience. Everything was going to work out in the end, just as it always did. Starting with making today great.

Accordingly, Ariana's plan was to pretend Kaitlynn did not exist. If the girl did not exist, then she couldn't ruin her good mood.

"Ariana? Hello? I asked you a question," Kaitlynn said, turning around.

Ariana gritted her teeth over the use of her real name. She wanted to correct the girl, but that would mean acknowledging her existence. Instead, she finished knotting her tie and selected a pair of socks from her dresser. She sat down on the edge of her bed and shimmied a sock over her foot.

"The silent treatment? That's mature," Kaitlynn said with a laugh, shoving the lip gloss wand back into its tube. She grabbed her leather messenger bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Then I guess you're not going to tell me where you disappeared to in the middle of the night."

Ariana's eyes automatically flicked up. How had Kaitlynn known she was gone? Had Palmer woken her up when he'd opened the door? Had Kaitlynn seen him? How much did she know? Oh God. Would she tell Lexa?

Every muscle in Ariana's body tensed. So much for not letting Kaitlynn get to her.

"I'm always watching, Ariana," Kaitlynn said, as if reading Ariana's mind. She glanced in the mirror one last time, fluffed her short hair, then opened the door and flounced out. "Wish me luck!"

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The door slammed and Ariana threw one of her loafers at it, letting out a growl of frustration. The sound was still hanging in the air when the door opened again and Ariana heard Lexa, Maria, Soomie, and Brigit shouting hellos and good--mornings to Kaitlynn. The door pushed the shoe aside and Ariana jumped up to grab it as her friends filed in. While her back was to them, Ariana cursed the school's policy of lockless doors in the dorm rooms--a policy she'd appreciated the first week of school when she was going around stealing people's things so she could pay off Kaitlynn. But right then, she could have used a moment to compose herself before her friends walked in. She took a deep breath to calm her rattled nerves. Kaitlynn did not exist. She did not exist.

God, how she wished the girl did not exist.

"Good morning," Ariana said, walking back to her bed in one sock. She shoved her foot into the shoe as she dropped down onto her mattress again. "Everyone ready for the first day of class?"

"Ugh. You're a morning person," Maria said, dropping flat on her back atop Kaitlynn's bed. Her uniform was, as always, wrinkled, untucked, and messy--a button undone here, a hem falling there.

"Ignore her. She's only had one espresso so far this morning," Lexa joked, perching on Ariana's desk chair. Lexas light blue shirt was formfitting, her pleated skirt slightly longer than everyone else's. She wore argyle socks pulled up to her knees and black lace--up shoes with a slight heel. With her expertly applied makeup and shiny dark hair loose down her back, she could have been the cover girl for the APH catalogue. Ariana was pleased to find her so well put together. On the

36

morning after a breakup, most girls rocked the I'm too depressed to groom look. Did this mean that Lexa was getting over Palmer already?

"I love that we have a cafe in the building, but their espresso is subpar," Maria said, closing her eyes and crooking her arm over her forehead.

"Dining hall, then?" Ariana asked, quickly slipping on her second shoe.

"Yes. But first, we have to talk to you about the NoBash," Brigit said, walking over to the window and leaning back against the slight ledge. Her dozens of colorful plastic bracelets tumbled down her arm and came to rest just above her hand.

"The what now?" Ariana asked. She opened her satchel to make sure she had everything she needed. Laptop, check. Notebook, check. Pens, check.

"The NoBash," Soomie said, checking her BlackBerry before slipping it back into the outer pocket of her suede bag. "It's this hugely important event held at the Norwegian Embassy every year."

"Dignitaries from around the world, crazy paparazzi, high--security metal detectors ever since that dude from Brazil managed to sneak in that scary collapsible sword thingy," Maria said, waving her hand around. "Blah, blah, blah."

"Don't scare her!" Lexa scolded. "It's an incredibly fabulous party," she assured Ariana.

"And you need to know about it because A) Brigit's family throws it, B) everyone here is dying to go, and C) not everyone gets to," Soomie added.

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Ariana's shoulders tensed. Not everyone gets to go? Were they here to warn her that she wasn't going to be invited to this exclusive party?

"My parents only give me a handful of invites," Brigit said. Her parents were king and queen of Norway, which made Brigit a genuine princess. Not that she looked, dressed, or acted like one.

"And she distributes them in a very discerning fashion," Lexa added, checking her nails.