"Shopping, of course. Want to come with?" Lexa asked.
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Brigit, Maria, and Soomie visibly stiffened, but Tahira was quick to answer.
"I have ten zillion things to do for the fund-raiser, but thanks," she said, stepping past Lexa. "But you should stop by later. I'd love to hear your thoughts. And I want to hear all about your tour of Italy."
"I'm in!" Lexa replied. "I'll come by when we get back. Oh, and Tahira, did you get those sheets for me?"
Tahira's smile suddenly appeared stiff. "Of course. I had my maid fly to Pakistan especially."
"She had these insanely soft eight-hundred-thread-count sheets last year and I just had to have them," Lexa explained to Ariana. "But it turned out they're made by this tiny company in Pakistan, so Tahira was nice enough to offer to pick them up for me over the summer."
"I'll put them in your room for you," Tahira said.
"Thank you so much, T," Lexa said brightly.
"Anytime," Tahira said. There was a tiny bit of strain behind her polite demeanor, but it was so slight Ariana wasn't sure anyone had picked up on it but her. "Later!"
Zuri followed Tahira up the stairs, but Allison hung back. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't use my stuff," she said to Ariana, without so much as a greeting.
Ariana blinked. "What?"
"My tissues. I saw one in the garbage and I know I didn't use it," Allison said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You make a habit of taking things without asking?"
A tissue? She was going to make a big stink about one tissue? Ariana98
could feel the other girls watching her and felt unsure of what to say. Was she supposed to back down and apologize, or tell the girl she was insane, like she wanted to? After their comment about the fine line with Tahira the day before, and this new development of a friendship between Tahira and Lexa, she felt completely thrown.
"No. Of course not," Ariana said. Then, adopting a slightly sarcastic tone, she added, "I owe you one tissue. I'll make a note of it."
Maria and Soomie laughed and Allison narrowed her eyes. "And who are you getting calls from in the middle of the night, anyway?"
Ariana's heart nosedived into her toes.
"You got a call in the middle of the night?" Brigit asked excitedly. "Was it your secret lover?"
"Ooh! You have a secret lover?" Lexa asked with a grin.
"No," Ariana said quickly.
"Whoever it was pissed her off," Allison said with a derisive chuckle. "I saw the pieces of your phone in the trash this morning next to the tissue."
Ariana saw the lie she had told to Lexa registering on the girl's face and her cheeks burned. "What do you do, go through the garbage as soon as you wake up every day?" she snapped at Allison.
"I thought your phone died," Lexa said, her pretty brow creasing.
"It did," Ariana replied, fighting for control. "It died on me in the middle of the call and while I was trying to figure out what was wrong with it, it slipped out of my hand."
"So who called you? Because the next time they call I'm picking up and telling them off," Allison said.
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"It was my grandmother," Ariana said flatly, leveling Allison with a stare. "She's old and she gets disoriented sometimes. She had no clue what time it was, but if you want to pick up the phone and scare the life out of a frail old woman next time, be my guest."
Lexa slipped a protective arm around Ariana. "I think you should go now, Allison," she said.