Petra and one of her best friends, Harper, walked up to Alex at her locker.

"Are you as excited about the Crazy 10-Minute Sale as we are?" Harper asked Alex, a giant smile on her face. Petra and Harper screamed, hopping around, and Alex joined in half-heartedly.

"I can't go," Alex said.

"But Harper drew up a game plan so we could get into the store before Gigi," Petra told her, a pout on her lips. Alex placed a finger against Petra's lips.

"I thought we agreed that we hate Gigi so much, we'd never say her name."

"But you just said, 'Gigi,'" Harper said.

"Ok, from now on, we'll say her name backwards."

"But Gigi backwards is still Gigi," Petra added.

"That's right. We'll say 'Gigi', but only we know it's backwards," Alex told them. "It'll be hilarious."

"I like it," Harper grinned. "Anyway, do you remember that one-of-a-kind jacket in the window you've been wanting? It's gonna be in the sale!"

"It all sounds good, but I can't go. It's on Thursay. I  have a family commitment."

"Do you also have a commitment to letting Gigi run all over you for the rest of your life?" Petra asked.

"Great. Here she comes with her copycat crew," Alex sighed, looking over her shoulder as Gigi and Co walked down the stairs. "Act like we don't care."

"Bonjour, Alex," Gigi said. "Bonjour, Alex's friends." Petra glared at her when she rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Nice shoes," Harper complimented. Petra elbowed her. "I mean, pfft, I don't care about you or your shoes."

"Yeah, I've had these shoes for about a week. Oh, I mean, I'd give them to you, but I already promised them to another charity."

"No, you should keep them. They go so well with your eyebrow," Alex smirked.

"Well, at least I don't have man hands. I mean, how do you get those meat stubs through your sleeves?"

"Hey, Alex has beautiful hands," Petra defended.

Harper looked at the two friends behind Gigi, both of them had bandages on their noses.

"What happened to you two? Pick your noses so hard, they fell off?"

"They got nose jobs," Gigi told her.

"When they heal they'll be just like Gigi's," One of them grinned.

"When's Gigi's gonna heal?" Alex asked.

"People always take shots at the trendsetter. And by the way, I saw you looking at that jacket at Suburban Outfitters, and good for you for knowing you need a new one." Gigi's goons laughed before wincing in pain. "But it's mine, and it'll look much better on me."

"Not if I get it first."

"Well, good luck finding it, because I already went down there and hid it."

"That's not in the spirit of the Crazy 10-Minute Sale," Petra told her.

"Yeah!" Gigi exclaimed before rolling her eyes. "Whatever. Come on girls, time to change your gauze." She took the drink from one of the goons and spilled it at Alex's feet. "Look! Alex had an accident again! "

"Gigi, this is silly. How long is this gonna go on? We've been fighting each other forever."

"Fighting? Really? Let's see. I've won, like, 300 times, and you've won none, so it's not really much of a fight."

"She has won an awful lot," Harper said when Gigi had walked away.

"That's it!" Alex exclaimed. "We're going to that sale, and I'm gonna show her up."

"But you have a family commitment," Petra reminded her.

"I'll work it out with my parents."

"Sure. They're pretty understanding," Harper said.

"No. I'm just really sneaky," Alex told her.

Petra stood next to Harper, bouncing on her feet impatiently, as she called Alex.

"Alex, are you sneaking away or not?" Harper asked when Alex answered. "The doors are gonna open any minute and Gigi's already in the front."

"How did she get up front?" Alex asked.

"I don't know, but she's telling everybody you shop in pre-teen, which Petra said wasn't a slam, because a lot of their stuff is really, really cute. Like my sunflower top that goes with my rainbow socks."

"I'll be right there," Alex sighed. "Wait. You're not wearing that, are you?"

"No," Harper said, slowly, covering her shirt with her jacket. She hung up the phone and turned to Petra. "She's on her way."

"She better be," Petra said, standing on her tip-toes to look over the crowd in front of her. "There's this really cute top I want! I swear to god, Harper, I will trample anyone who tries to get it before me!"

"Hey, girls!" Mrs. Russo greeted Harper and Petra as she joined the group of people outside the store.

"Hi, Alex's mom," The two greeted in unison before realizing she was actually there.

"Oh, my gosh! Alex's mom!" Harper exclaimed.

"I know it's weird for a grown up to be here, but since Alex couldn't come, I'm gonna get something for her," She told them. "Well, this'll be fun. It's a chance for us to spend some time together, you know, chill." The two just smiled awkwardly at her.

"There you guys are," Alex said, jogging up to Harper and Petra, grabbing the latters arm.

"How did you find us with all these people?" Harper asked.

"I saw your rainbow socks from down the block. Sorry I'm late. It took a while to ditch the family."

"Well, you didn't do a very good job," Petra told her. "Your mom's here."

"What?!" Alex shrieked.

"Relax. Petra sent her down the block to find some tappuccinos," Harper said.

"There's no such thing as a tappuccino."

"Exactly," Petra smirked.

"Wow. I'm impressed. You're becoming more like me everyday," Alex said. She then grabbed Harper and Petras hands and they all pushed their way to the front of the crowd. Alex got so close, she had pushed Gigi's face up against the glass door. "Nice try, Gigi, but it looks like I got in the front of the line too."

"Well, I know where the racket is and you don't," Gigi said, her voice muffled.

"You're looking for a racket?" Petra asked.

"Well, I'm looking for a jacket," Alex told her. "And I'm gonna get it before you. I can't believe you brought your grandma here. She's not gonna help you get in first."

"She's not my grandma. I found her at the park," Gigi said. "She's here to block."

Finally, the doors opened and everyone flooded in. The old woman did exactly her job of blocking the three. Petra groaned and pushed the woman aside, grabbing Alex's hand and dragging her through the crowd.

"Whe-Where is it?" Gigi shrieked, realizing the jacket was no longer where she hid it. "It was right here." She turned and tapped a worker on the shoulder. "Excuse me. There was a huge pile of clothes right there. Where is it?"

"Oh. We completely rearranged the store for the sale, because a lot of people sneak in early and hide stuff," She said. "It's not really in the spirit of the Crazy 10 Minute Sale."

"Ha! It's anybody's jacket now," Alex told her, running off to look for it, leaving Petra and Harper behind.

"Oh, no you don't!" Petra shouted as she saw someone try and take the shirt she had been eyeing since they got in line. She ran after the woman. Petra was usually the sweetest girl, but when it came to competition, she was a monster. Harper watched with wide eyes as her best friend wrestled around with the poor woman.

"Harper! Harper!" Theresa Russo shouted, running into the store. "I found our Tappuccinos!" In fear, Harper shoved her head into the bag in front of her, trying to hide from Alex's mother. "It's steamed milk and tap water." Surprisingly, her method of hiding had worked.

"Alex, hide! Your moms right behind me," Harper said, running up to Alex. Petra was behind her with a large grin, the shirt she wanted gripped tightly in her hand.

"What?!" Alex shouted, diving into the pile of clothes she had been searching through. Petra and Harper were quick to cover her up.

"Harper, Petra, there you are," Theresa smiled. "I found out tappuccinos. They're surprisingly delicious." Harper panicked and slapped the tray of cups out of her hands.

"I'm sorry. Let's go tell a manager," Harper said, trying to lead Theresa away.

"8 minutes left in The Crazy Ten Minute Sale," A worker annouced over the P.A.

"Are you kidding me?" Theresa gasped. "I've only got 8 minutes to find something for Alex." She started to pick up things from the pile. "What do you think she'd like?"

"For you to leave," Harper muttered.

"What?"

"You should try this on!" Petra smiled, handing Theresa a shirt. Harper turned her and pushed her away. Alex gasped for a breath as she popped up from the pile "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Did my mom see me?" Alex asked.

"No. We sent her to the dressing room," Harper told her. "But this is our chance. Let's get out of here."

"Oh, no, no, no, no. I am not leaving without that jacket. I have choked on too many blouses to let Gigi get that jacket."

"Harper, Petra!" Theresa called, walking back towards them.

"Ohh, I'm going back in," Alex groaned, face planting into the clothes

Petra was standing next to Alex when she suddenly started slapping herself.

"Why are you hitting yourself?" Gigi asked.

"I don't know," Alex responded. Petras eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Oh, I know what you're doing. We must be getting close to the jacket," Gigi said, her eyes widening in realization. "You're trying to distract me."

"Are you hitting yourself?" One of Gigi's goons asked. "You've got problems."

"What are you doing?" Petra asked when Alex was walking in circles, her arms folded like wings.

"Uh, what does it look like I'm doing? I'm dancing like a chicken,"Alex told them.

"I don't even know why I try to embarrass you," Gigi scoffed. "I mean, you're so good at it yourself."

"I don't know what's happening," Alex admitted when Harper walked up to them once Gigi had walked away.

"I do," Harper grinned. "You're dancing like an Egyptian."

"Hey, everyone, there's a freak show by the jeans rack," Gigi said over the PA.

"Hey, Alex, I think we caught a break. There's a freak show by the jeans. Lets go look," Harper said.

"Harper, this is the freak show," Petra told her. The two watched in shock as Alex spun around like a tornado, knocking over the tower of shoes.

"Size 7. Perfect. Thanks, Alex," Harper smiled as she caught one of the boxes.

"Theresa, where's Alex?" Jerry Russo asked, walking into the store.

"Jerry, she's with you," Theresa told her husband.

"No, she's not. She cut class," Jerry told her. "I came down here to look for her."

"Well, I haven't seen her."

"I think I just did," Jerry said when Alex spun by them. "Alex stop spinning wildly out of control and get over here!"

"I can't!" Alex screamed. Finally, she stopped and fell into a bin.

"What do you think's going on?" Theresa asked.

"I think Max got his new wand."

"I found it! I found the jacket!" Alex cheered, standing up. "Hey, Gigi, guess what's in my meat hands."

"Give me the jacket," Gigi said, trying to tug it out of her hands. Gigi finally go it out of Alex's hands but knocked straight into an old woman, her drink spilling all over Gigi.

"Well, it looks like the tinklee became the tinkler," Alex laughed.

"Oh, please. Everyone saw her spill that on me."

"Yeah, but it's on your front!" Gigi's goon said.

"It does look like you went."

"But what are you two talking about? I mean, you just saw that," Gigi said, her face flushed in embarrassment. "Where are you going? We have the same noses!"

"They're gone, Gigi," Alex said. "They left you."

"Okay, maybe you're right. This has been going on for too long."

"No, it hasn't. I'm just getting good at it. In fact, I think it's time for a little announcement. Petra?"

Petra nodded at Alex and walked over to the PA.

"I know I'm in trouble, but just, like, one second," Alex told her parents as the marched over to her.

"Attention shoppers, attention shoppers. Gigi's real name is Gertrude," Petra announced as Alex was dragged from the store by her parents.

it's been far too long lmfao i am so sorry but i finally finished the first chapter!