2The warning bell rang throughout the marbled hallways of Briarwood Octavian Country Day School, signaling to the prep school students that they had another two minutes before classes begin for the day. With a loud sigh escaping from her lips, Massie Block tucked her rose gold juul inside of her newest white leather Givenchy antigona mini, making sure it was placed in the smallest pocket possible so the glass chamber did not shatter.
Alicia Rivera, pouting as she watched the juul disappear inside of her alpha's purse, decided to touch up her Marc Jacobs lip lacquer for the third time since taking her seat at their designated picnic table twenty minutes ago to catch each other up on the latest gossip storm. Alicia was known for two things - having the upper hand on all the gossip at BOCD, and always smelling like Angel (which she then sprayed herself with profusely).
Dylan Marvil sat at the opposite side of Massie, her beige Yves Saint Laurent loulou dark beige leather purse sitting haphazardly on the table as she rushed to get all the contents back and organized inside of the crossbody purse. Lollipop wrappers, DSLR charger cords, red pens and a few hand-rolled joints cascaded on the marble table top, which she tucked back inside the purse. She might usually be a bit of a disorganized chaos, but she was known to be the famous third of the Pretty Committee, and a very stylish redhead.
Kristen Gregory, their uber smart fourth in the chain of commands, was hanging around with some banned lacrosse boys, which meant that they'd all need to have a sit down 'chat' later. For now, though, the three girls decided they wanted to watch it play out. Almost on command, they watched as a frantic-looking Kristen popped her head out from behind the brick-covered pillars in the garden, making sure there were no eyes watching her (and not seeing her friends), she dragged Braxton Hilton behind her and scurred inside the school.
Alicia coughed on her nonfat, soy milk vanilla foam latte.
Massie pulled at a loose cuticle on her OPI Lisbon Wants Moor manicure.
Dylan blinked her thick better-than-sex covered lashes once, twice, three times in disbelief.
"Can someone explain how the poor girl got a fucking Hilton?!"
Skye Hamilton, usually chipper and bouncing on her toes with her perfectly curled ponytail, sounded more distraught than anything else. Was that a sense of resentment in her tone?
"Don't doubt any one of my girls, Skye. They were all picked for a reason. Well, besides Kuh-laire, she was more of an invite, I suppose."
"He's supposed to be mine, Block. I don't give a shit about your girls, I want him."
"Uhm, Skye? Not to pull a Mean Girls because good gawd, we all know we hate cliches. But, you don't even go here anymore. And, isn't hooking up with students, like, not in the BOCD code of conduct?"
"So is the amount of cleavage you're displaying, Rivera, but we pick our battles, don't we?"
"Watch it, Skye."
"I have a plan, but Gregory is realllllly getting in my way now."
"And what do you think we're going to do about that?"
"Well, for starters, we all know the Pretty Committee can't be hanging around any boys of any sport besides soccer, because, you know, claims and all."
"And?"
"And we all know what happens when a group violates a claim here."
Massie gulped.
"So, in order to have that little issue disappear into thin air, I think something else needs to disappear first."
"Taking down our own was so middle school, Hamilton." Alicia remarked, standing up from her seat on the stone bench of their picnic table, suddenly feeling a little too warm.
"So is ruining an entire group's reputation and claim stakes for a boy, but I guess you've done it before, so. Just remember, Alicia - you got away with it easy when I was here, but don't think you can do it twice."
With that threat hanging lowly in the air, Skye did her signature air kisses and sauntered into the main school building as the attendance bell chimed.
"Fuck, I need that juul."
Third period left Massie Block's mind racing and spiraling, as Derrick Harrington ran his hand up and down her shoulders to attempt calming her down. The two sat at their on-campus cafe, with Alicia Rivera, Cam Fisher, Dylan Marvil, and Josh Hotz. This was their SOS group, their 'we're sinking' meeting spot in the corner with the window blinds closed.
Massie felt itchy everywhere. She felt her skin prickling with heat, with embarrassment, with anger. She couldn't begin to understand why Kristen would take such a risk when they all knew the circumstances, they all knew that there was a pretty big stake in this was now on the table.
Bringing her steaming hot half-caff no foam no whip vanilla almond latte to her pursed lips, Massie relished in the burning sensation she felt on her tongue. It reminded her that she was all but human, that things pass, that feelings pass and that she really needed some more caffeine and stress-reduction outlets in her life.
"So, no one has tried to talk to her about it?" Derrick asked, reaching for his own iced coffee and taking a long sip to avoid any more questions falling from his lips.
Dylan shooed her hands up in the air, blowing his comment away with her french manicured tips in a 'is he serious?' kind of way.
"How do you talk to someone like that? She's lying to us! She's sneaking around us!" Alicia squealed, throwing her hands up in the air.
"Isn't that what you all have done at some point, though? Whether it was you or Massie or Dylan, you've all done it. Claire, no, but we were also too obnoxious to hide." Cam said with a shrug, drawing circles on the wooden table they were sitting around. "I mean, why did you guys not confront her right away? Waiting will just make it harder."
"Yes, we all snuck around. But, at the same time, we all came out and honest about it. Maybe not right away, but none of us had to pry it out of each other. Why does she feel like she can't tell us these things?"
"It's just...hurtful? I always told her things, even before you guys knew! Sorry, but it's true. We all have our closest knit here in the group, and I wasn't told any of this…" Dylan pouted, before Kemp patted her on the shoulder in a form of comforting.
"Because, she knows the rules. It's our senior year, imagine how shitty it must feel knowing you'll basically be dethroning your friend group by having a hot hookup? Plus, I think she knows the risks, and doesn't want to think about it. I mean, we all know how quickly the Bee's will latch onto the soccer boys below us, then it spirals from there." Josh did always have that level of common sense everyone else seemed to lack.
"I guess I just don't see the issue as much?" Kemp blurted out, immediately regretting it by the glares the girls threw his way. Harrington smirked into his caramel macchiato, shaking his head and taking a long sip. Derrick knew better than to get too involved or opinionated in Massie's issues, especially after five years of (on and off) dating. Now, he tries his hardest to keep his cool when it comes to things Massie is passionately (wrong) involved about. Still, sometimes he'll even admit it's hard.
"It's going to be social suicide! Like, like, like when the Alexander The Mediocre overthrew the Persian Empire and became Alexander The Great!"
"Wow, Rivera. Someone's been paying attention in European History, I applaud you."
"Shut the fuck up, Fisher. We all know you never show up, anyway."
"She isn't wrong, though. This means that all the groups below us will see it as a time to strike. They're going to try and overthrow us, and we'll be left with no other choices but to get our hands dirty, yet again, even though we're almost graduated. Can the social hierarchy take a chill pill?"
"Run me through this one more time? How is this social suicide?" A very confused Kemp Hurley asked the three girls.
Alicia sighed heavily, before agreeing to be the one to dive into it for him. "For Kemp's sake, we are going over this one last time, I mean it. So, as you know, The Pretty Committee has a claim, unspoken of course, over the soccer boys, aka, you guys. The DSL Daters, Skye's suite of sluts, had theirs over the football boys, until they graduated. The Bees have their nails sunken into the hockey boys, but there's like, what, four below average ones to go around, so you know they're looking for another group to add to their male collection. The Dissers were stuck with the baseball boys, because, well, no other girls wanted them."
"Okay, I get that…"
"So, when a group starts going for boys outside of their claimed ones, it goes one of two ways: they relinquish their claim on one group for the other, or the two groups will merge. And, you know damn well that the lacrosse boys will not share anything with the soccer boys, because you all would refuse."
"That's true…"
"SO, Kristen branching out means we're seen as...well, relinquishing you guys in favor of them."
"Fuck no!"
"That's the issue."
"Okay, I get it now."
"I need my fucking juul, my head is spinning."
"Mass, cool off with that thing."
"But it's calming!"
"It's also full of nicotine!"
"Shut the fuck up, Kemp. You act like your dab pen is any better."
"At least I don't crave it!"
"Bullshit!" Raven haired Rivera practically yelled across the table, Josh putting a hand on her knee to tell her to simmer.
The second Claire was dropped off by her mom after her doctor's appointment, she was bombarded. Between Alicia's flailing hands, Massie's snark and nasty glares, Dylan's anxious hair twirling, and Kristen's...well, lack of Kristen...she was already far past overwhelmed.
"Maybe some new boys is what we need?"
"Claire, just because Cam and you didn't work out does not mean you get to ruin this for the rest of us, for our legacy." Alicia was first to lay into her.
"Kuh-laire, the soccer boys are the male alphas of this school. We're, of course, the female alpha group. How un-alphalike would it be to downgrade?" Massie rolled her eyes.
"Very."
"So, screw your little fued with Fish. You didn't work, fine, but there's a whole roster of midfielders you can work your way through." Dylan tossed her thick, red curls over her left shoulder, already done with this conversation.
"And why haven't we spoken to her yet?" The blonde asked, taking a pencil out of her backpack and making a note of some sort into the baby blue planner laying in front of her. The Pretty Committee found a vacant room their freshman year of high school that was deemed unusable by the staff. So, after a few phone calls, interior designers, and a locksmith, the room was now theirs.
It was an old classroom, which they turned into a small room of sanctuary. The floors were covered in marble tiles, the walls were covered in plush soundproof-lined purple fuzzy wallpaper, and they had brought in small couches, tables, and chaises. A mini fridge was in the corner, stashed with Evian and Essentia, as well as fruits and some Nutz over Caramel luna bars.
There was a white, pod shaped essential oil diffuser on the center table of the room where the girls usually sat to go over serious business. Right now, the blend of peppermint and lemon zest did not help quell the nausea sitting inside Massie's stomach, just continued to amp her anxiety up further.
The lighting was made to imitate the most natural white light, so the girls could touch up their makeup in case of a latte emergency. They each also had a mini closet in the room, with three emergency outfits and one pair of shoes to fit those outfits. There was one wall with top to bottom mirrors.
The school staff had written the room off for being covered in black mold (a lie Massie had her father's inspector tell them), so the room was to never be used or touched. It was in the dimly lit east corner of BOCD, so no one ever really noticed the girls going in or out.
"She should be coming to us, we shouldn't have to confront her. We agreed we wouldn't have anymore secrets or lies about boys of any kind, so why does she get the hall pass?"
"I mean, I wouldn't call it a hall pass if you know you are going to make her life a living hell for it."
"But, you're saying she should get special treatment. Remember what happened when you tried to hide you and Cam?"
Claire's chills were enough of an answer. The blonde, having moved all the way from Florida, had finally felt at home with the girls during middle school. They were finally inviting her to sleepovers and their private events because they wanted to, not because their parents made them. The Pretty Committee wanted Claire, and she was finally at peace.
Then, Cam made his move on her and shook the entire thing up. Did Massie really like Cam? To this day, Claire wasn't sure if it was a power move or an actual affair of the heart. Either way, those chilling months were not something she wanted to ever experience again, or want another one of her friends to experience.
Lying to Massie Block proved time and time again to be her worst decision. She was never on top, because Massie was always one (or five) steps ahead of her. Massie had little spies that were always being sent out to watch her group, in case of slip ups like that. Back then, Claire thought she was being an overdramatic seventh grader. Now, though? She fully understands how it's necessary in order to keep the proper social hierarchy alive and thriving.
"So, what's our first move?" Dylan asked, knowing Claire and Alicia both didn't want to be the ones to initiate the conversation. But, it didn't appear like they had much choice anymore.
Each of the girls did something stupid (at least once). From attempting to start their own rival committee, to trying to steal each other's crushes, to trying to ruin each other's lives - they have all been there. Backstabbing, lying, deceit. But, they had all agreed that they were past those times. So, what was the hold up for Kristen?
Kristen let out a soft giggle, leaning over and brushing Braxton's hand during their lunch break. They were currently holed up in the library, the one room that the general public of BOCD never steps foot in. They knew this would give them the privacy they needed, the privacy they craved.
She made sure the two of them spaced out their entering and exiting times, she was careful to keep her location off of her social media and her find my friends. Kristen didn't put up any questionable tweets or facebook statuses, and they didn't even follow each other on instagram.
So...how would they not get away with it?
For once, Kristen felt like money didn't matter. How fucking ironic, considering she's now dating a billionaire's son, right?
Braxton, being so used to being around money, didn't see it as white or black like most of the Westchester community did. He saw it as some families work their asses off and end up having little to show for it after what else they have to do in society, and that was fine. Money doesn't make a person, character and work ethic does.
He never thought of himself as spoiled, and once his parents plopped him down in Westchester, he was less than thrilled knowing the town's reputation. Braxton knew the exact kind of people he'd be getting involved with his senior year of high school, so finding Kristen was like a breath of fresh air.
The dirty blonde could finally breathe again, he wasn't suffocating inside all the range rovers, balenciagas, and tacky mansions. He could relax on the corduroy blue couch in her parents apartment, eat dinner off of paper plates and not their finest china, and just...be Braxton.
Looking into Kristen's aquamarine eyes, so big and blue and just honest, he never felt so normal. He never felt so giddy, so peaceful. Braxton would pay all the money in his bank account to be able to stare into those eyes every night, and to treat her the way she deserved.
But, Braxton was new and didn't understand things like the hierarchy of BOCD, the politics, or the consequences Kristen is beginning to face because of him. He has no idea, he has no clue what he's setting her up for or what he himself is in for.
Suddenly, a chemistry textbook was slammed onto their table located in the back back corner of the library, hidden by shelves of books.
"Kris, so nice to see you again! How was your weekend?" Skye Hamilton giggled out, reaching up to twirl a stray blonde curl around her slim finger. She was dressed in head to toe skin-tight clothing, her lulu lemon leggings looking anything but comfortable and her crop top hugging her chest.
"U-good, it was good. It was a good weekend. How was yours, Skye?" Kristen jumped up, her shoulders straightening and her gaze narrowing on the blonde ex alpha, wondering what she was really up to.
"Ugh, super good! I won the regional dance competition, no surprise there, so now I have a few new routines to show the girls during dance class...whose your new friend, Kris? Have I met him yet?"
"I'm Braxton, it's nice to meet you."
"Ugh, I just love that name! Where are you from, Brax? Can I call you that?"
"San Antonio, and not really."
"Aww, Brax, how cute are you? Such a far way away from home, did your family move here?"
"No, no. It's more of an experiment, they brought me here to live with my aunt and uncle while they travel abroad."
"Ohhh, super fun. What do your parents do?"
"We really should be going." Kristen said firmly, standing and collecting her notebooks. "If you have any other questions, Skye, send it in an email."
And with that, the two left a gaping-mouthed Skye with fire in her eyes. She reached into her givenchy nightingale, pulling out her iPhone X and sending Massie a very quick iMessage.
To M Block: she is going down, w/ or w/o u.
To Skye: who is?
To M Block: dnt act dumb.
U know who.
U created her.
To Skye: What did she do?
To M Block: grew the biggest balls iv evr seen, and shes dne.
Massie sighed into her phone screen, bringing her head back up and looking at her girls as they stared across the table at her. Suddenly, her sanctuary began to feel more like a prison. The smoke from the diffuser was choking her, the lights were giving her a migraine, and her reflection in the wall-to-wall mirror was making her very anxious.
"We have to destroy her, before Skye does."
