At Luxford Academy, the elite boarding school for the ultra-rich, Adriana and Nicholas have been bitter rivals since childhood. Forced to live in the same dorm, their once-friendly pranks have escalated into daily clashes-sharp insults, constant bic...
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Christmas shopping with these girls is like diving headfirst into pure chaos, wrapped in tinsel and sprinkled with glitter. The mall was decked out for the season—massive Christmas trees, lights everywhere, and carols blasting from every speaker. You'd think this would be a relaxing holiday outing. Spoiler: it wasn't.
Rora was leading the charge, strutting ahead in her thigh-high boots like we were on a catwalk, not in a crowded mall. Lia, bless her sweet heart, was trying to keep up, her arms already filled with bags of gifts she probably didn't even want to buy but couldn't say no to. Meanwhile, Dio and I were trailing behind, whispering like two kids plotting mischief, except we were also trying to peek into each other's shopping bags.
"Adri, I swear to God, stop looking!" Dio hissed, clutching her bag to her chest like it held state secrets.
"Me? You're the one who tried to see what I got for Nick five minutes ago!" I shot back, laughing as I sidestepped her attempt to grab my bag.
"Ladies," Rora called over her shoulder, her voice dripping with mock authority. "We are here to spread holiday cheer, not act like toddlers. Now hurry up, this boutique is calling my name."
"You just want to see if they have another bedazzled purse," Dio muttered, earning a sharp glare from Rora.
Lia giggled nervously, shifting the weight of her bags. "Can't we just go to the food court? I think they have gingerbread cookies."
"No cookies until we finish shopping!" Rora declared, dragging us into yet another overpriced store.
Inside, the chaos hit a whole new level. Rora was analyzing scarves like her life depended on it, Dio was cracking jokes about some very inappropriate tree ornaments, and Lia was trying to convince a store clerk that, yes, she really did want that cute stuffed reindeer.
"Adri, does Nick even wear scarves?" Rora asked, holding up a cashmere one and inspecting it like a jeweler examining diamonds.
I rolled my eyes. "Rora, Nick doesn't wear anything unless it's black or looks like it came from a high-security prison uniform catalog. So no, he won't wear a scarf."
"Well, maybe he should," she muttered, tossing it aside dramatically.
Meanwhile, Dio was holding up a pair of socks with a strategically placed mistletoe design. "Think Matteo will wear these if I dare him?"
"You don't even have to dare him," I replied. "That man would do it just to see your reaction."
She snickered. "You're not wrong."
Eventually, we all split up to secretly grab gifts for each other. Of course, this didn't stop anyone from attempting to spy. I'd barely made it to the perfume counter before Dio was peeking around the corner.
"Dio, I can see you," I said, glaring at her.
"No, you can't," she said, ducking behind a display of holiday candles.
