I stared down at my Putridessence t-shirt. “They’re a punk band,” I said, yanking my book from her grasp. Last period, Sabrina Winter and her friends sat behind me and stage-whispered awful things about me to each other. The last thing I wanted was a fashion rebuke from Ashley Greer.
“Iknow,you twat. I’m friends with the drummer. Want to see their show in London this weekend?”
“Um… yes. Yes, I do.”
That Saturday night, Ashley introduced me to a new facet of the punk music I loved so much – the live show, the mosh pit, the raw anger of shouted words and screaming guitars. She snogged the drummer backstage and the band fed us free drinks all night. We’d been inseparable ever since.
When I decided to apply for the New York Fashion School, Ashley created a portfolio in a single evening and sent it in, too. She never did know what she wanted to do, but she had a knack for fashion. I was stoked when they accepted both of us, and then again when we both ended up winning Marcus Ribald’s internship. When I got my worst-news-ever, she collected me from the doctor’s office with a bottle of bourbon and got me absolutely trashed, as only a true friend could.
At least, I thought she was my best friend. Now… she was the reason I was back in ___field, choking on furballs in a deserted bookshop instead of working on Marcus Ribald’s latest line.
Whatisshe doing here?It was weird for Ashley to come back to ___field. She hated this village just as much as I did. And why was she backnow?I knew things would be absolutely crazy in the office during the run-up to Paris Fashion Week. Her appearance here was a complete mystery.
She seemed to be studying the sociology titles, which was also odd, because I couldn’t imagine Ashley ever reading a book about sociology. She probably didn’t even know how to spell it—
The floor creaked, and my heart flew into my mouth. But it was only Grimalkin, leaping down from a shelf somewhere in the depths of the shop and padding up to Ashley. “Oh, what a cute kitty.” Ashley knelt down to stroke her. Grimalkin circled her legs, the tip of her tail curled over like a periscope.
Grimalkin’s eyes lit up as she spied me. She darted out from Ashley’s legs and bounded toward me.
I whipped my neck back into the shadows as Ashley turned around.Good kitty, just pretend I’m not here. Go back to smooching Ashley or cleaning your own arsehole. There’s a good girl—
Grimalkin bounced on top of my head. “Mew, mew, mew!” she chatted happily as she batted my bangs with her paw.
Thanks, cat. Thanks a lot.
“Omigod, Mina, honey! What are you doing behind that sofa?”
I froze at her voice.Don’t look at me. I’m not here.But it was too late. Ashley’s eyes bore into mine. Grimalkin, betrayer of friends, trotted up to me and thrust out her head, demanding to be patted.
“Um, hi, Ashley.” I scrambled to my feet, brushing dust off my outfit. I dared a peek down at my skirt, only to recoil in horror at the grimy streaks across my chest. “I was just… reshelving some books. I work here now.”
“In this fusty old place? But why?”
Why? After you blabbed my deepest, darkest secret so you could steal my dream job out from under me, I couldn’t get another job in the fashion industry, which means I couldn’t afford my shitty Manhattan apartment so I had to come back here with my tail between my legs and I’m now sleeping my childhood bedroom surrounded by towers of wobbleators.
But I didn’t say any of that, because I was me and she was Ashley and I still remembered when we used to sleep over at each other’s houses as teenagers and stay up all night cutting out pictures from fashion magazines and practicing our runway walks. Instead I said, “I needed a job. I have a lot of spare time these days, so I thought I’d come visit my mum. You?”
“Marcus got a paper cut last week, so he’s convalescing in Martha’s Vineyard. He’s decided he hates the entire January collection or something, so the office is a dead zone while we wait on his designs, and New York is soexpensive.” She rolled her eyes. “You know what he’s like. He’ll be gone for a week or more and then we’ll have to work twice as hard to catch up in time for Paris. I thought I’d take the opportunity to visit my family and sublet my apartment to save some money. That’s why I’m here, I wanted something to read because I forgot how dull it is in ___field.”
Blood boiled in my veins.How dare she?That should have been my job she was complaining about, and Ashley knew it. Yet she had the nerve to come in here and talk to me as if nothing had changed. I wiped a smudge of dust from my elbow and glared at her. “Must be weird for you, having that apartment all to yourself.”
“Mina… can’t we talk about it? Oh, no.Bad kitty.” Ashley’s eyes shifted down to Grimalkin, who tugged on the side of her Birkin bag. She unhooked the cat’s claws and shoved her away, and something inside me broke.
“Sure, we can talk about it. I’msoglad you’re back to rub it in my face that you blabbed to Marcus and anyone who would listen about my eyes and cost me not just my dream job but any other job in fashion.”
“I was drunk. You know what I’m like. You can’t shut me up! I know you think I did it on purpose, but it’s really not true.” Ashley glanced at the stack of books on the ground, up to the dim pendant light that served as the room’s only illumination, then back to me. “Are you sure it’s a good idea, you working here?”
I stared down at her boots. They had tiny bat-shaped eyelets and were the coolest thing ever.I hate you so much. “It’s just temporary, until I can save enough funds to go after another internship down in London. Unless you plan to slander my name around there, too—”
“But, Mina,” Ashley leaned forward and stage whispered, her spicy perfume slamming me in the face. “Isn’t it too dark in here for you? And being surrounded by all these books, wouldn’t it just drive you mad?”
I locked my jaw. “I’m fine, actually.”
“I only ask because I care. I really do.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I only said what I did to Marcus because I wasconcerned—I said, get down, kitty!”
Ashley lashed out at Grimalkin, who’d catapulted off the back of the chaise and clung to the Birkin bag, her tiny claws digging into the leather. I grabbed the black cat around the belly and whisked her away before Ashley hurt her.
“Look what she’s done!” Ashley stared in horror at the puncture marks in her bag. “This was a gift from one of my sponsors and I haven’t even photographed it yet. They’re going to be so pissed.”
