2The barn was a sanctuary for the pretty committee. It was their usual meeting place, their sleepover spot, where they could gossip freely and not worry about anyone's parents or siblings barging in (no thanks, Todd).
Massie was the one to decorate it and re-design the construction, after all. The outside was all exposed wood, which gave it a warm appearance. Inside, there were white-washed wooden floors with fluffy white carpet accents. The wooden panels on the walls were painted white. The furniture inside the barn was all white-washed wood with dark stained oak accents, as the outside was made of the same dark-stained oak.
It was an open floor plan for the most part. As soon as you enter, you face the living (sleeping) area with a large flat screen TV mounted on the wall above the white wooden fireplace. There were plush recliners and large overstuffed couches creating a half circle around the television area, which divided the room. There were high beam ceilings in every area, and there were large windows on either side of the television which exposed the Block's extensive acreage of greenery.
To the right of the living and sleeping area was the spa, with a closed door guarding it off. Massie wanted that one area to be the one secluded space (besides the bathrooms, located diagonally from the spa door) where her and her friends could unwind without really being distracted from the outside world. Inside was sparkling white marble flooring, the counters matching the floor tiles, and each surface was bright white. The only touch of color in the entire spa area besides the manicurist's selection was a white vase with bright red roses Massie always replaced every two weeks.
To the left was the kitchen area, which featured a half-wall to separate it from the rest of the barn. The kitchen was sleek with black-stained oak wooden floors and cabinets that took over an entire wall, floor to ceiling. Those were also black, as was the kitchen sink and all the hardware. The fridge was a touchscreen LG double door, where Massie could essentially video-chat and see the contents when she was out at the grocery store checking to see what else she needed to pick up.
There was a classically large dining table with eight chairs around it, set with a champagne gold runner and a place setting for five. All of the silverware and flatware were black, and there were clear wine glasses with long stems and a bottle of sauvignon blanc chilling in the fridge.
The four girls were perched around the solid cherry wood dining table in the kitchen area of the barn, their thai cuisine dinner in the oven staying warm while they had their very important discussions first. Massie always wanted to get the hard shit out of the way, so that they may relax for the remainder of the night instead of dreading that same conversation all night.
It was the meeting place for very important pretty committee conversations as well as any venting sessions before they entered the tranquil spa room to relax. Her parent's donated the barn to Massie as a gesture of good faith when they made her sell Brownie, her pet horse whom she rode almost every spare minute of the fall.
"So, how exactly do we plan to destroy one of our best friends?" Claire asked innocently as she twirled the straw in her strawberry lemonade around. Massie was honestly grossed out by the fact that Claire was still drinking it, when they picked it up from Starbucks over an hour and a half ago.
Claire felt hopeful, like the other girls would realize just how wrong it was to be plotting the downfall of one of their own. No one spoke. She knew how it felt to be at the wrath of Massie Block, probably more times than anyone else. She knew how helpless one felt, and how insecure.
Quite frankly, none of the girls knew how to answer Claire.
Alicia rolled up the sleeves of her vintage ralph lauren dark grey denim long sleeve dress feeling a little too warm now, and that the denim material of her dress was making her itchy. Her armpits felt damp all of a sudden.
Dylan pulled out one of her glass pink and white essie nail files, and began violent back and forth motions on her left middle finger as if she was sharpening it for something. War, maybe? The quicker she moved the nail file, the more Claire scooted her chair away from the redhead.
Massie was sitting with her lips pursed, applying her chanel body milk to her newly pale arms as she wracked her brain for ideas. Usually she would be keeping up with her spray tan appointments in early October, but when her social status was at risk, she wasn't concerned about her skin tone.
What was she even supposed to do? This was her girl, her creation, and her detriment to her own perfectly sculpted society if she didn't stop her. Massie was stuck into a position a leader should never be in. Does she destroy her own best friend, one of four that she sculpted to perfectly accent all of their personalities? One that all the girls laughed and cried with, planned and schemed with.
And now, she's jeopardizing their entire future with one stupid...boy.
"Didn't we agree a long, long time ago to not let a boy come between us again?"
"Yes, we did." The girls echoed.
"And we promised that if we did, the offending member will be removed, right?"
"Yeah, but this is different." Dylan retorted.
"But why is it different? Because it's Kristen and not Alicia?"
"HEY!"
"I'm just asking."
"No, it's different because we're like….almost adults, now. We aren't in middle school, we aren't fighting over first kisses or crushes anymore. We've all grown since then."
"And, Dylan, you think we should just make an acception because we're older now?"
"Well, that, and the fact that Kris has never tried to go against you like we all have. She's been the only loyal one."
Massie bit down on her lower lip, currently painted with dior ultra care liquid lipstick in shade fleur bleue, and hoped that things were that easy. But, this is the real world of Westchester and there's still a wicked witch to worry about.
Alicia could tell she was contemplating this, and she wanted an end to that. All of the girls had their own individual reasoning to what they wanted to happen. Alicia wanted Kristen to pay for what she's doing to the group, because Massie always made Alicia pay.
Dylan wanted to pretend this never happened, so she could continue on with her life of flirtationships with the first string of defensive players, and not feel like Skye Hamilton was hanging over her shoulder the entire time.
Claire wanted Massie to let it go, so that Skye would handle it, and Kristen's choice would sever their ties with the soccer boys. Claire needed to branch out to another sport, considering her history with the tomahawks wasn't so hawt after all.
"So, what about Skye? She's still going to expect you to get rid of Kris." Alicia reminded Massie and the group.
"I never said I didn't want to. I just...I need some time to figure this out. We can't just kick her out, but for now, we need a plan to deal with Skye. She'll be coming for my head, and all of your boyfriend's...well, you know."
"Enough talk about Kristen for now; can we go get our manicures? They've been in the other room for an hour." Dylan whisper-yelled.
Alicia sighed, falling backwards into the mountain of pillows on her tan duvet-covered bed. Her plump rose-colored lips were shaped into a pout, and her thin tanned arms were crossed over her vintage ralph lauren navy blue t-shirt. Her black vince camuto black pointed toe booties were kicked off, on the wooden floor beside her bed. She was so over the level of harshness she was always being held to when it came to pretty committee business. It was Saturday night, a day after the pretty committee's meeting/sleepover in the barn, and she was still ah-nnoyed.
She knew that being a beta meant she had a lot more responsibilities. But, she didn't know that meant she would be under a higher level of scrutiny as the other members because - how was that fair? Yes, she tried to start her own clique and yes she tried to steal first kisses and YES she is a jealous person - but she did all those things when she was younger, like the others did as well.
Yes, Kristen is a goody two shoes and never did something wrong before. Just because she was safe in the past with Massie doesn't mean she always had the pretty committee's best interest at heart, though. At least when Alicia did the things she did, she was trying to make the group better, stronger, smarter, more fair.
"Babe, are you gonna speak up?"
"I don't even know what to say anymore, Josh."
"I know this is a shitty situation for you, and I know how you feel with Kris. I just...I think if you don't start talking it all out, it's going to keep building up in your head and drive you crazy."
"I just don't even know how to explain my point, my perspective doesn't line up with anyone elses. Dylan will always defend Kris until the end of time, even though Kris hasn't always been honest with her."
"I think that this is way beyond Kristen fucking some lacrosse bro."
"It is! It's the fact that she'll forgive Kristen for it, but if I did it, I would immediately be thrown out of the group that I do SO MUCH for."
"It's frustrating, leesh." Josh Hotz said softly, running his nimble fingers through Alicia's long, dark brown hair. She had originally put it up in a messy bun, which Josh began to play with.
"It's disappointing!" She whined.
The two were laying on her bed, after sharing a dinner of sushi at NOBU an hour and a half ago. They came back to her home, said hello to both her parents, and disappeared upstairs for private time. Unfortunately for Josh, sex was the furthest thing from his girlfriend's mind.
"I just think you need to bring this up to Massie on her own, not around the other girls. You know she listens differently when she doesn't have all these voices in her head."
"I also am annoyed because I know she doesn't have the time, patience, or the mental strength to deal with any of this right now. She's going through her own shit, and we always forget that and push her private life aside, but I know this isn't easy on her, either. I just wish Skye Hamilton was out of Westchester for good - then, half the pressure would be off of each of us."
"And, it's not like you can report her to the faculty board - she knows more of your dirty secrets than you guys know."
"She just has too much dirt on all of us, and would force us into a social suicide quicker than you can order my green juice at Pressed."
"But you guys definitely have dirt on Skye too, don't you?"
"Nothing gossip worthy, honestly. Yeah, she hooks up with students, bu-"
"Do not act like that isn't something you can use against her. She'd get kicked out so quickly, L."
"You know what? You're right."
"Why should you guys protect her when she's willing to go against your own and force you to do it too?"
"Ugh, you're a genius!" Alicia yelled, kissing his cheek quickly then hopping out of her bed. She ran into her bathroom speed dialing Massie.
"Oh, you know. Only in a day's work. Don't worry, I'll keep myself busy!" He yelled back sarcastically as she closed the bathroom door. Sighing, he grabbed her Roku remote and started scanning through the new netflix offerings.
Massie couldn't be-leeve her luck lately. It's saturday night, and she's sitting at home...seriously? Derrick and a few of the other soccer team players were having a strategy meeting, then getting blasted at a local dive bar that doesn't ID. Her clique members are all out having their own plans. Alicia and Josh went out for sushi, Dylan is with her sisters and mother going through scripts for their upcoming reality television show, Claire and Todd are at the movies seeing the new Joker movie, Kristen is out...being rude, probably, and here Massie is sitting on her cold white leather couch adjacent to her bed in her bedroom, Bean warming her feet, a bowl of kettle corn in her lap and reruns of Sex and The City on her television screen.
Of course, her friends could have social lives without her, that wasn't the issue. And, Derrick did invite her, and she did decline. The issue was that everyone else was having fun, while she sat at home stressing out about her social life during her last year of school. How was that fair? She supposed being an alpha meant dealing with more issues, and the other girls were probably so used to Massie picking up the pieces that they weren't going to worry. Still, what's that saying about misery loving company?
Was Massie really going to let Skye fucking Hamilton continue to threaten her, even when she wasn't part of the student body anymore? It was so un-fucking-fair that the natural blonde that kills everyone with good looks and a positive attitude thought she could still have a hold over Massie. Alas, she was still top of the Westchester food chain, so Massie had to figure out something.
The brunette let out a disgruntled sigh, grabbing a handful of homemade kettle corn and popping it into her mouth. She was just about to postmates some sushi when her phone lit up with Alicia Rivera's face. Massie paused for a moment, before muting her sex and the city reruns and answering the phone.
"Please tell me this is something good."
"Please tell me you were actually busy doing something."
"Point. What's up?"
"I think I figured out an end game. We're going to need to stall, though, we need time for this to play out perfectly."
"Tell me more?"
"I don't want to over the phone. Tomorrow morning, let's meet for a bagel and coffee, and go over things."
"That works for me. Where should we go?"
"Let's go out of town, we shouldn't let anyone else hear it."
