There's something intriguing about the new girl. You never know who she is, where she's from, what she's like, if she's ever been with anyone. But when she comes in the middle of the school year, well, that's reason for a new batch of juicy gossip. She may be a freshman, but the new girl is hot. Somehow, she reminds me of J. The new girl: big boobs, blond hair, blue eyes, tall, and incredibly uncomfortable in high heels. On her first day, she wore that ugly new uniform, a pair of low heel booties (she still teetered around on them), her relatively long hair up in a knot, and a little bit of mascara. She is definitely an S, with the natural elegance and flow, but the question remains: Who is she?

P.S: She's British. Intriguing. Very intriguing

It was raining that morning, the precursor to the snow later to come. Serena van der Woodsen was just running in the doors to Constance Billard when she collided into another student who she didn't see.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled as she stumbled away. Then she saw the girl's face. New girl, she thought. Intriguing.

The girl swung around, teetering on her high heels. "Hello!" she replied cheerfully, with a strong British accent. "I'm Iriena Lindran. Nice to meet you!" Iriena stuck out her hand in greeting. Serena took it lightly and shook in the same manner.

Serena had a feeling that she would be better off making some small talk with this Iriena if she was to ever tone down that bubbly joy. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Serena van der Woodsen. Sorry I haven't seen you around. Are you new to the school?" Serena asked coolly.

Iriena's eyes widened and she got a dumbfounded look on her face. "I… I thought…why would…" she spluttered.

"Oh, is there something wrong?"

The bell for morning assembly broke up the awkward conversation. Serena glanced back to see a wave of seniors coming up the stairs. "Well I'll see you around, Iriena," she mumbled as she shuffled away.

"Yes, you too!" Iriena called out after her, totally oblivious to the humiliation that she had just caused Serena.

Serena could hear muffled giggles from behind her. If the rain was any indication, it was going to be a long day.

Jenny Humphrey was surprised to see that her regular spot in the auditorium was taken. Usually her friends would save for her, even if she were late like she was today. Even more curious was the person who sat there. The girl was new, for sure. She had new girl vibes; the sort of uncomfortable, nervous buzzing of an outsider. It made Jenny uncomfortable to talk to these people. Unfortunately, there was no avoiding it. Everyone else had the same wariness of a new girl in mid-term, and there was only one seat left: right beside the new girl.

Jenny got closer to the new girl and was surprised to hear that she was humming. Jenny couldn't make it out at first, but laughed out loud when she heard the tune. The new girl was humming "The New Girl In Town."

When Jenny sat down beside the new girl, she flicked her head around to look at her new companion, and stuck out her hand in greeting. "Hello, the name's Lindran, Iriena Lindran," she said in a faux James Bond manner.

Jenny giggled and returned the greeting complete with little finger guns. "The name's Humphrey, Jenny Humphrey." The tension dissolved between the two girls as they threw their heads back and laughed. Out the window, Jenny saw the sun peek through the gray clouds for a moment, and felt the warmth on her skin. She sighed. Today would be a good day.

Blair Waldorf laughed when she saw Serena that Monday morning. She was having what seemed to be an intense conversation with a little freshman, who was spluttering around like a little nimnod. When Serena saw the rest of the seniors coming up the stairs, she muttered something to the freshman, who waved back and yelled, "Yes, you too!" Serena slunk away in the midst of another volley of giggles from her former friends.

Embarrassing Serena had become one of Blair's favourite pastimes in the past few weeks that she had been back in the Upper East. Blair and Serena had been completely inseparable for years, until Serena had left for boarding school in her junior year. After that, Blair had gotten grasp of the top spot on the elites that she had always coveted, but was always occupied by Serena. And then she didn't miss her so much anymore. Serena and Blair had fallen out in the past year, but Blair didn't mind. Now that Serena was back, vying for the top spot once again, Blair knew that all she could do was humiliate Serena as much as possible and hope that all her friends would do the same.

It was all very superficial, but Blair wouldn't want it any other way. It was the way that she had lived for all her life, and she had no longing to change it, ever.

The sad thing was, the world was changing. In the next year, the elites would go to their various ways to their Ivy League school of choice. Blair knew it was only a matter of time before the A-list high school status became nothing, and she was milking every moment of it.

The new girl didn't look very important. The shoes were definitely not designer, probably picked up at some Bargain Bin, and the girl didn't have the stature of a model. Sure, she was tall, but modeling wasn't just about the height. Looks were a big part of it too. And, from a distance, the new girl looked plain. Blair breathed an internal sigh of relief. There was no way that anyone, not even a freshman, who was halfway cool would ever talk to Serena van der Woodsen. She would make sure of that.