“Does my nose look inflated?” Ava asked, her voice thick as she, Ella and Michael exited the first aid area.

“Inflamed,” Ella corrected offhandedly. “Swollen.”

Michael gave her a cursory glance. “Nope. Normal size.”

“You’ve never seen my nose normal sized,” Ava reminded him, turning to Ella. “El? Give it to me straight.”

“Your nose is of normal size,” Ella repeated the mantra for the sixth time in the last fifteen minutes. “Shut up now.”

“Okay,” Ava replied angrily, “But I keep having visions of Marcia Brady when she got hit by the football.”

“Your nose looks nothing like hers, I assure you.” Ella paused as Michael opened a door for the girls, and soon they were by the pool. (Well, several feet away, but still in the same area.) “You only sound snuffly because you keep touching your nose.”

“That and because you kept sneezing after you hit it,” Michael said, letting the door drift closed behind them.

Ava narrowed her eyes at them. “First second I get, I’m checking a mirror.”

Ella sighed heavily. “You carry one in your purse.”

“I thought you’d have confiscated that by now.”

“Why? Your nose looks FINE.” Ella turned to Michael. “She’s not usually like this. Vain, insufferable and annoying.”

Michael nodded. “I’m sure. I mean, she has been through a lot.”

“A tragedy,” Ella agreed seriously.

Ava shoved her, stuck her tongue out at Michael and walked briskly on to climb up the stairs to their seats (which had probably long since been taken).

*

“What happened to your nose?” Juliet asked, gasping slightly as she and Aaron joined Ella and Ava at a restaurant later that day for dinner.

Ava glanced evilly at Ella. “I was TOLD by SOMEONE that there was nothing wrong with it.”

Aaron pulled a chair out for Juliet, who blushed when Ella gave her an impressed look, and then sat down in the empty seat beside her. “It looks fine to me.”

“It’s just got a reddish sort of tint,” Juliet explained, picking up a menu.

There was the sound of shuffling and things being thrown around, and then Ava was examining herself in her hand mirror.

Ella mouthed “STOP IT” to Juliet, who shrugged and then cleared her throat. “Av? Don’t these salads look good?”

Ava muttered something incoherent.

Juliet leaned over to Aaron and whispered, “She’s had this infatuation…obsession…with her looks ever since she was a teenager. Had a complex because her drama teacher, a bastard, kept telling her she was too ugly to be an actress.”

Aaron made a face. “That’s ridiculous.”

Juliet and Ella nodded, and finally Ava snapped her mirror shut. “Well, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll have to just stay at home for the next week.”

“You ARE supposed to be resting.”

“Not helping,” Juliet hissed, kicking Ella under the table. “So, how was your day?” She asked pleasantly, trying to change the subject. “Omitting the nose incident.”

“It was good,” Ava replied, looking down at her menu with a frown. “You never asked how I ended up with a swollen nose, but I’ll tell you anyway. I ran into Michael Phelps. Literally.”

“Oh, God, he wasn’t wearing his iron vest again, was he?” Aaron asked, rolling his eyes. “I’ve told him it’s hazardous to girls who happen to run into him.”

Ava leaned forward in interest. “It happens a lot?”

Sighing, Ella put her menu down on her plate and addressed Juliet across the table. “She hurt her nose whilst being loaded onto a stretcher. She ran into Michael, bounced backwards and landed on the floor. There’s a possibility of a concussion, but it‘s unlikely as she isn‘t experiencing any headaches.”

“Aside from when you talk,” Ava said sweetly, batting her eyelashes. She leaned back in her seat, looking content. “Besides, now I’ve met my own celebrity. Technically, Ella, here, actually met him first. But no matter. I met him second.”

Aaron raised an eyebrow, looking confused but also curious…and then decided against asking what in the world she was talking about. Instead, he mentioned something about the pasta looking really good. Then he excused himself to go to the bathroom, which prompted both girls to begin catapulting her with questions in quick succession.

“What’s going on with you two?”

“He’s sooo sweet! Has he kissed you?”

“Are you dating?”

“Oh my God, Jules, have you SLEPT with him?”

“Whoa, whoa,” Juliet laughed, waving her arms around frantically. “We haven’t kissed, we’re not dating, and I most definitely have not slept with him.” Here, she cast Ava a disgruntled look.

“What’s going on, then?” Ella repeated, leaning forward in interest.

Juliet shrugged. “Nothing. Are you going to be having appetizers?”

“No starters,” Ella stated, shaking her head. “I already feel bloated.”

Ava was ignoring their conversation completely. “Jules, you’ve spent the day with him.”

“Only a few hours.”

Aaron came back then, which meant both girls had to stop asking questions, though there were still plenty on their minds.

“When are you swimming?” Juliet asked, glancing at her watch.

“In a half hour,” Aaron replied, picking up his menu.

Juliet stared at him. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

“I guess.”

She glanced across the table at the other two, then looked back at him. “Aaron?”

“Hmmmm?”

“You have a half hour until you have to swim. In a semi-final.”

Aaron looked up at her, smirking. “Are you trying to get rid of me?” He stood up, kissed her cheek, waved, and jogged off, calling behind him, “I’ll see you later!”

Juliet sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair and putting a hand to her head.

“He’s smitten,” Ella remarked, grinning.

“Very,” Ava agreed. “I’m going to get something really fatty because this is depressing.”

“What’s depressing?”

“You,” Ava replied easily. “And Aaron. I came here with one goal: get laid. Has that happened? No, it has not. And we have been here two months. TWO MONTHS!”

Ella leaned over to her, whispering. “People can hear you, Ava.”

“I should have made a move on Michael Phelps,” Ava replied sourly, pouting.

“You were a bit preoccupied with the size of your nose, Pinocchio.”

Ava didn’t seem to appreciate this new nickname, for she looked daggers at Ella, who seemed unconcerned.

Juliet, the peacemaker at times, broke in. “Let’s order some cake and then go back and watch the semi-final.”

For once, they all agreed.