daintily wiped her lips with a Kleenex. âPuppy cooties, eww.â
âPrincess Dahlia is cleaner than you!â Ashley retorted, picking up the dog and kissing her on the lips as well. âPick your victim.â
Lili pointed a breadstick in A. A.âs direction, but put it down before eating it. âA. A. Whatâll it be?â
âTruth,â A. A. said cheerfully.
âDo you stuff your bra?â Lili asked quickly, so it was obvious it was a question sheâd been meaning to ask A. A. for some time now.
Ashley snorted. âLil, thatâs so lame. We all know A. A. is rolling Cs,â she said, noticing A. A. hug herself tightly so no one could look at her chest. âDo-over,â she ordered.
âFine,â Lili huffed. âTruth again?â
A. A. mulled it over. âIâll take a dare this time,â she mumbled.
Ashley whispered in Liliâs ear, and when she pulled away Lili had a slightly mocking smile on her face. âI dare you to text your boyfriend you love him,â she said. All the while, Ashley noticed that Lauren was hunched over her teacup, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
âDo I have to?â groaned A. A.
âYou know the rules,â Ashley reminded her gleefully.
A. A. sighed, took out her phone, and began to type. âOkaaaay. God, I hope he doesnât think Iâm some kind of stalker!â she said, putting away her iPhone.
She turned to Ashley. âYour turn!â
âDare,â Ashley said, knowing that A. A. thought up the least exciting dares. Sure enough, A. A. came through. âI dare you to yell âMiss Gambleâs sucks!â right now,â A. A. ordered.
âEasy,â Ashley mocked. âWatch this.â She threw her head back and yelled, âMISS GAMBLEâS SUCKS!â to the surprise of the room. Spoons clattered to the floor. Her mother shot her a look, but she shrugged it off.
âDone,â she said. âNow itâs my turn to choose.âAshley looked intently at the three girls. She loved this partâthe anticipation on her friendsâ faces, the barely disguised anxiety on Laurenâs. Ashley prided herself on thinking up the most revealing questions and the most impossible dares. Last time theyâd played, Lili had to walk around at the mall with her skirt tucked into her underwear and toilet paper hanging out, and A. A. had to moon a bus filled with Gregory Hall boys. A picture of A. A.âs butt was still floating around in cyberspace.
âLauren,â she finally decided, zeroing in on the intruder in their midst. âTruth or dare?â
âDare?â Lauren asked tentatively, with a nervous smile frozen on her face.
âGood choice.â Ashley got up and walked through the room, pausing to smile at a few mothers on her way out of the party.
âUh, bye,â said A. A. as she looked at Lili. âTotally random.â
Ashley smiled to herself. If Lauren thought her dare would be as easy as kissing a dog, she had another thing coming. And then she was back, holding out her hand to Lauren. On her palm were a few dark clumps. âI dare you to drop these into the chocolate fountain,â she said.
âWhat? Why?â asked Lauren, giggling nervously.
âBecause I dared you, duh,â Ashley snapped.
âWhat are they?â Lauren asked.
âPoisonous mushrooms grounded up. Iâve been saving them for a special occasion. Oh, donât look at me like that, A. A. Theyâre not going to kill anyone. These are pretty benign. All theyâll do is make a few people throw up.â
âCâmon itâll be funny,â Lili cooed.
âNo, it wonât,â muttered Lauren, picking up the puppy and holding her so close that they couldnât see her face.
âYou could call a double dare,â put in A. A. helpfully. âBut I wouldnât, since Ashleyâs double dares