A/N: I dont own the clique or any of its characters. Ten reviews to update guys!
The foreboding grand iron gates at the entrance of the Ameswood Prepatory Academy seemed more intimidating in person than they had in the shiny expensive pamphlet that had been mailed to her house weeks before. They stood at least ten feet tall, the twisted black iron gleaming in the early morning sunlight, open-mouthed gargoyles gaping in the misty September air. Claire Lyons tucked another strand of mousy dark blonde hair behind her ear and smoothed the slightly wrinkled fabric of her loose fitting pink t-shirt. The thick black strap of her backpack dug awkwardly into her shoulder blade as she gripped her freshly printed schedule in sweaty hands. Just beyond the dark fence, students milled about the grand, ivory covered building: perched on the edges of stone benches, leaning languidly on the rim of the splendid fountains. Claire let her teeth tug at the thin flesh of her bottom lip as she contemplated her next move.
Last night she'd received an email that her student guide would meet her in the quad ten minutes before the first bell to help her get situated, but so far no one had even approached her. She shifted nervously again, transferring her weight from her right ked covered foot to her left one. She had never felt so uncomfortable in her entire life. Claire was just about to give up waiting and walk straight into the building to find her new locker, when a beautiful girl materialized in front of her without a sound.
Her thick wavy ink black hair was long, and tumbled past her waist to hang at her shapely hips, long featherlike lashes rested on the apples of her high perfect cheekbones, her glowing olive skin was blemish free and glowing. Plump glossy pink lips widened to reveal straight Crest approved white teeth, and she gave Claire blinding smile. She was probably the most gorgeous girl Claire had ever seen in life, her face was so perfect, it was almost hard to look at.
"Hola! Claire, yes?" Her voice was raspy and lilting with a soft underlying Spanish accent. At Claire's nod, her wide cinnamon colored eyes glittered in excitement. "Oh yay, so sorry I'm late. I had a Starbucks emergency."
Wondering what sort of emergency could include Starbucks; Claire didn't hesitate to follow as the other girl began to saunter across the crowded quad at an incredibly leisurely pace. The other girl strode confidently ahead of her, tall slim black wedges clacking on the smooth gray pavement. She was dressed exquisitely in a sheer black and red kimono, draped over a snug white tank top and tucked into fitted black high-waisted black shorts all of which screamed expensive. The girl didn't carry any books or a binders, just a venti caramel frapachino that dangled from one French manicured hand.
She led Claire past the concrete steps; through the massive Oakwood French doubles doors and down the glossy, freshly waxed hallway. Ameswood was gorgeous, with an almost old world gothic style. The classroom windows all gleamed, rows of maroon lockers practically sparkled under the fluorescent lighting, the entire building smelled faintly lemon cleaner and glittering trophies lined the walls dating back to 1878, the schools founding year. Claire tried not to openly gawk at how nice it all was.
Her guide stopped in front of a locker on the first floor, toward the end of the hall, and swiveled around to face her charge.
"Okay. I'm Alicia Rivera, your student guide. Usually the Officer of Student Affairs handles this sort of gig, but since he's out with mono, I had to step in. The perks of being social chair." Alicia shrugged her dainty shoulder and sighed. "Anyway, this is your new locker." She rapped her knuckles gently against the metal door. "Passing period is ten minutes long and if your caught without a hall pass, lunch detention. The main office is just right there." She pointed one manicured nail to the frosted windows on her left. "And the cafeteria is down that hall." She gestured down the hall on her right and took a long sip of her frozen coffee drink.
Claire smiled shyly at Alicia directions and meekly handed over her wrinkled schedule, hoping the ink hadn't smeared from her sweaty palms. "Do you think you can show me where my homeroom is?" Her voice was wobbly and timid with anxiety and she wiped her palms on her jeans. "I just, was hoping to avoid being 'that new girl' who walks into the wrong room."
Alicia chuckled and examined the slightly damp piece of paper "Honey, you'll be that girl no matter what. This is Ameswood; we've all gone to school together since we were in diapers. Our mothers go to same charities, our fathers play golf on Sundays" she shot Claire a sympathetic smile. "Trying to blend in isn't really going to work. Especially not in those Gap-reject clothes. You'll be lucky if Massie doesn't make you cry by second period." She said it matter of factly, As if her future had already been written. New girl transfers in from Florida, with her ill-fitting baggy clothes she is immediately labeled a loser, she spends the next three years desperately trying to fly under the radar.
In that moment, it was like the floor had opened up and pulled Claire under. Back home in Orlando she had never been the prettiest or the most popular girl in her class, but her life had been good. She had real friends, good grades, and a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Then her dad had gotten hired a new company that was run out of Manhattan. It was his dream job, and the family had packed their bags immediately and headed the suburbs. Westchester, New York was an hour and a half outside the city and one of the most luxurious, upscale cities Claire had ever seen. The whole town just screamed 'old money' in ways Claire couldn't even fathom. In fact, the day they moved in their new neighbors, the Hamilton's had sent their maid over with a bottle of Crystal and a homemade apple pie. They lived in these massive estates and rolled around in sleek non-descript town cars, they didn't flaunt their money that was for the noveau-rich.
Alicia must have noticed the distressed expression on her face because the other girl immediately looped her thin toned arm through one of Claire's and patted her head. "There, there. It wont be too bad. Here, I'll even let you site with my friends and I at lunch today. I'll make them promise to be on their best behavior. Even Massie. No one will bother you when you're with us."
"Why?"
"Claire." Alicia's smile was slow and understanding "I think you know. Trust me."
Lunch was an entirely different affair. The round cafeteria tables shone under the soft yellow lights, in the center of each table sat a crystal vase of fresh lilies. The food line was practically empty, even thought the options were all exquisite. A fresh looking salad bar with all the options, turkey and veggie burgers grilled behind the counter; there was even a make your own smoothie section. The boy's trays were loaded with mounds of pasta, and thick creamy protein shakes, while the girls all munched primly on their California rolls and sipped Peregrino from delicate glass bottles. The murmur was quiet, as if everyone was attempting to not be heard. The only table that was even the least bit noisy was the crowded one in the very center of the room, where Alicia Rivera sat waving at her enthusiastically. It did not go unnoticed. The other students craned their necks and swiveled in their seats to find the student Alicia Rivera had somehow deemed worthy enough to sit at the center table. When they saw that it was Claire, they were visibly unimpressed.
Claire weaved her way through the room, ducking the nasty looks and unconvinced sneers shot her way. She obviously hadn't made much of an impression so far, and she faintly wondered what would happen when Alicia lost whatever pity she'd had for Claire. When she approached the table, Alicia gestured emphatically to the seat across from her and Claire plopped down, setting down her tray of a meager house salad and a fancy turkey and Swiss sandwich.
She hadn't gotten a good look at the other students when she was walking up, but now that she was seated she could see them all clearly. To Alicia's left was a very pretty girl with curly, scarlet red hair and emerald green eyes. Her skin was alabaster pale and small pink freckles littered the bridge of her straight ski-slope nose. She looked at Claire with slight interest as she chewed a mouthful of Sunchips and took a swig of her Vitamin water. Beside the red head was a boy with a mess of shaggy, blue-black hair. He had one blue eye and one green eye and he was talking animatedly to the boy across from him about something. He gestured with his hands a lot, and when the other boy responded he tilted back his head revealing perfect teeth and let out a booming chuckle. The curly brown haired boy across from him laughed too and they bumped fists enthusiastically. The boy next to Alicia was murmuring something into her ear quietly and she blushed and swatted him.
"No, Josh. Shut up." She turned her warm brown eyes back on Claire and smiled happily "Everybody this is Claire. She's the new girl I was telling you about."
Claire's heart immediately sped up. It was only fourth period. How had Alicia already found time to tell her friends all about the Florida transplant she'd spent the better half of the morning showing around. The others didn't even acknowledge her.
The red head shot Alicia a dubious look "Leesh, really? We weren't going to do recruits until the end of the week, besides I thought you had your eye on Contessa Aldridge as your new inductee. Massie is not going to like this." She shoved another chip into her tiny glossy mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "On second thought, if your disqualified I automatically win, so never mind."
"What about Kris?" The black haired boy spoke up, and nudged the redhead with his shoulder "Is she not in it this year?"
The redhead rolled her eyes "She's waiting until the last minute again. Apparently she's got so much to do this week. I mean, hello! It's the first week of school. What could you possibly have to do."
"Maybe if you actually were involved in anything other than twitter stalking Danny Robbins you know that there are like a million and one things student government is planning this week." A blonde haired girl said dryly as she slid into the seat on Claire's left. She pulled her straight ash-blonde locks up into a neat chignon and secured with two sparkly pencils the exact same cerulean blue as her eyes. Her tiny, snub nose wrinkled in disgust as the other girl stuck out one chip covered tongue playfully at her.
The blonde looked at Claire for a second before leaning across the stack of books she'd plopped down and stage whispering, "Are we doing another before and after that I didn't know about?"
"No, Alicia is just doing her good deed of the month, and losing at the exact same time." The redhead grinned mischievously and shot her raven-haired friend a pointed look.
"Okay whatever." The blonde shrugged and cracked open a large A.P. European History text book. "Massie isn't going to like it, but maybe I'll actually win this year."
"Fat chance." The curly hair boy snorted before swallowing another mouthful of lasagna "I know who you're picking and there is no way Kris. Massie would die first." He waggled his thick brown eyebrows at her.
"Shut up Kemp. You don't know shit. Where is Massie anyway?" The blonde slid on a pair of trendy looking Ray Ban glasses and uncapped a pink highlighter. "I haven't seen her since second."
"She and D are making the rounds still, and I'm pretty sure Plovert has detention."
"Already?" The black haired boy laughed "What a fucking idiot. He knows Carri-Anne isn't going to give us passes until at least Wednesday. I told him that this morning."
"Yeah well, apparently he absolutely had to skip third. He left his cell in the truck. Burns caught him."
"Harsh." The redhead quipped. She scanned the other tables, apparently looking for someone. Claire noticed that the rest of the cafeteria was practically mute, desperately trying to listen to this conversation. "Oh look, M and D. Right on time."
And that's when things got interesting.