Free Bratfest at Tiffany's by Lisi Harrison

lead her wherever it truly wanted to go.
    In three … two … one … and …
    The doors burst open and Irika with an
I
suddenly bolted out. Her overbronzed cheeks were now red and blotchy and salted with tears. “Thanks ah-lawt!” she sniffled, pushing past Alicia and racing to the bathroom.
    Alicia rolled her eyes and resumed her countdown.
    In three … two … one … and…
With a single pump of the silver handle, she was in.
    The earthy fragrance of ripe tomatoes … the dreamy gray light that seeped through the greenhouse-style roof … the heads that turned to see who dared enter late … the jam-packed tables … the sound of Principal Burns droning on about BO’s dedication to solving the population problem … and Massie, frantically waving her glitter bangle–covered arms from table two—everything bombarded her at once.
    All Alicia could do to stay on track was lower her head and snake her way to the back of the New Café, past the mini vegetable gardens, around the eco-friendly bamboo chairs, and beyond the silver BMW reverse vending machines.
    Finally, she reached table eighteen.
    Without looking up, Alicia plopped down in the empty chair. Kori and Strawberry were on her left, laughing at baby Kate, who was deposited in the middle of the table like one of the marzipan dove centerpieces at Cindy Starr’s bat mitzvah party. Across the table, Olivia drew a skull tattoo on Cam’s arm with yellow highlighter.
    To her right were Derrington, Kemp, Cam, Plovert, and Josh.
    Josh …!!
    He winked, and Alicia lowered her dark brown eyes, desperate for a place to hide, at least until her head stopped spinning. But that wasn’t how they’d planned it. She was supposed to look surprised. Shocked, even. Something other than
ashamed
, or she’d never convince Massie that the whole thing was an accident.
    But it was too late for theatrics. Her iPhone was buzzing.
    Massie: What r u doing over there?
    Alicia’s mouth went dry as she tapped away at her screen.
Was she really doing this?
    Alicia: Last time i checked, this was our table. What r u doing over
there????
    Massie: Didn’t u c me waving?
    Alicia craned her head until she spotted Massie at the very front of the room by the steely kitchen doors.
    “No!” she mouthed.
    Even from that distance, Alicia could feel angry hate rays shooting out from Massie’s amber eyes.
    “… which is why I am pleased to announce that we have created a charming little overflow facility for some very lucky students,” ech-hemed Principal Burns.
    Alicia lifted her eyes and met Josh’s. His relaxed grin seemed to say, “Don’t worry, this is going to be great.” Wanting to believe him, she blinked in agreement.
    “So will everyone seated at tables one through ten please gather your stuff and follow Ms. Dunkel and Mr. Hermann to your new home. Delicious snack boxes will be available to you for lunch, courtesy of Subway, so enjoy!”
    The boys at table eighteen punched the sky and high-fived each other as if the Tomahawks had just scored the winning goal of the season. Olivia, Kori, and Strawberry snickered annoyingly into their palms. But Alicia remained seated and serious, unsure how to feel.
    She could hear Massie and the rest of the NPC shouting, “Unfair!” “Illegal!” “Tricked!” “Duped!” and “Lawsuit!” over the building crescendo of voices in the New Green Café. But she didn’t dare look their way. Alicia’s head remained down, focused on the pleats in her skirt, until the entire front section of the cafeteria had been cleared out. And her best friends were gone.

BOCD
OVERFLOW TRAILERS
    Wednesday, September 9th
12:34 P.M.
    “Here we are,” announced Ms. Dunkel when they reached the back lot. “Isn’t it quaint?”
    She blinked nervously, stuffed her chapped hands in the pockets of her ill-fitting brown poly-blend blazer, and forced her thin pale lips to smile. Ms. Dunkel’s short, wiry curls covered her cone-shaped head like a helmet made of