I read Alicia last night... and I FREAKING GUESSED HOW IT WOULD END. I have a uncanny knack for predicting surprise endings. It's relatively creepy. Anyway it was pretty good; you guys should all read it. Nina was absolutely hilarious.

This chapter is for Dernier Cri, 'cause it takes one to know one. :)


"Ehmagawd!" Massie screeched as they pulled into the school parking lot. She was looking out the side window from the passenger seat of the Range Rover, and she didn't at all like what she was seeing. Orlando Middle School was nothing like OCD. The school itself was an ugly two story brick building that, in her opinion, resembled a jail. Instead of the Beemers and Bentleys Massie was accustomed to, the parking lot was filled with cheap Fords and pick-up trucks. As she watched kids get out of their parents' cars, Massie crinkled her nose at their poor style choices. Gap jeans? Sneakers? Baggy t-shirts? Who in their right mind chose to wear that sort of stuff?

With a wave good-bye to Isaac, Massie stepped out of the car and into the Florida sunlight. "Dorothy, you're not in Westchester anymore," Massie muttered under her breath as she slid on her silver Gucci aviators. But even after she clicked the heels of her ballet flats together three times, she was still stuck standing in the middle of the OMS parking lot surrounded by LBRs and wannabes. Could her life get any worse?

-xo-

Claire Lyons sat at Table #17 with her best friends Sarah, Sari, and Mandy. As her friends gossiped and traded stories about their summer vacations, she grinned. She sure had missed her friends and all their quirks over the summer.

"And just last week I went out to dinner with my family and I saw Becky Manning and Bobby Dennett eating together," Mandy was saying.

"Isn't she dating Andy Jeffries?" Sari asked.

"She is," Mandy confirmed. "But by the time the waiter brought us our food they were in full on lip lock!"

"No way!" Sarah exclaimed. "Claire, this is your chance!"

"Huh?" the blonde looked up from her nails, which she had been examining. They were short and ragged from being chewed on, and Claire had been trying to decide whether nail polish would improve them at all.

"Oh come on, Claire, we all know you were crushing on Andy Jeffries last year," Sarah replied matter-of-factly.

"But that was last year," Claire corrected her. "I'm over him now."

"So you wouldn't mind if, say, I went after him?" Mandy said slyly.

"He's all yours," Claire shrugged.

"Don't look now," Sari piped up, "But I think Andy's got his eye on that new girl."

Claire, Sarah, and Mandy all swiveled in their chairs to see who Sari was referring to. A slender brunette was sauntering into the packed cafeteria, wearing a crisp white button down and skirt amid a sea of jeans and t-shirts. Her glossy curls bounced as she walked, and aviator sun glasses hid her eyes from view. Heads turned as she walked past all the crowded tables, choosing to sit instead at a table in the center of the room that was completely empty. She frowned and wrinkled her dainty nose, fishing a napkin out of her oversize silver hobo and wiping down the seat before perching on it. The girl reached into the bag once more, pulling out a copy of Seventeen magazine. She sat by herself at the table, perusing the contents of the magazine as if it were much more interesting than talking to any of the students gathered in the cafeteria.

"What a snob," Sarah spat before turning back towards her friends.

"Totally," Mandy said, and Sari nodded her agreement.

The three of them all looked at Claire pointedly. "Totally," she echoed. But in actuality, Claire was curious about the new girl. She had an air of mystery about her and she oozed confidence. It didn't hurt that she was completely gorgeous and had incredibly cool clothes. It was no wonder half the boys in the cafeteria were staring at her.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" Mrs. Weezer, the principal of OMS, stood behind the microphone on the stage. Like most schools with limited funding, they didn't have a separate auditorium. Instead, their cafeteria had a small stage on one end that enabled it to that function as both.

All the students quieted down and turned to face their principal. Claire noted that the new girl didn't even look up from her magazine.

"New students, welcome. Returning students, welcome back. Before we start our first day of school, I'd like to remind you all about our school rules." Mrs. Weezer began rambling on and on about the standard rules and procedures of Orlando Middle School. Claire tuned the principal out and found herself again examining the new girl. Instead of reading her magazine, she now had her Palm Pilot out and was tapping away at the screen. Claire wondered if she was taking notes from the principal's lecture or jotting down beauty tips from her magazine. Probably the latter, Claire decided. This new girl didn't look like the kind of person who cared about following the rules.

Thirty agonizingly boring minutes later, Mrs. Weezer finally finished talking and dismissed everyone to their homerooms.

As Sarah, Sari, and Mandy, got up and left the cafeteria, Claire hung back. "I'll catch up with you guys later!" she called after them. She waited until the new girl got up from her table and followed the throng of kids out of the cafeteria. Claire fell into step beside her.

"Hi! I'm Claire," she introduced herself. The girl glanced at her, giving her a once-over. Claire immediately felt self conscious of her chosen attire of Keds, Old Navy jean shorts, and Miami Beach t-shirt. She had gotten the air-brushed shirt over summer break when she went to the beach with her family. Now she wondered why she had wanted one so badly.

"Massie Block," the girl said finally. No hi. No hello. No hey-let's-be-friends!

"Um, I noticed you were new here and I was wondering if you needed help finding your homeroom," Claire offered.

"No thanks," Massie replied coolly. "I can find the way myself."

And with that, she breezed by, leaving Claire standing alone in the now empty hallway. Massie was the new girl, not her. So why'd she feel so completely clueless?