I thought I'd sneak in an update before I left this morning. :)
This chapter is for everyone who didn't think Sarah's revenge was as bad as it should have been. You didn't really think all she was going to do was dump a plate of food on Massie's head, did you?
"Wait. You're not mad at me?" Claire asked. Massie stood over the sink, dumping a bottle of Perrier over her head in an attempt to rinse out her hair. Claire tentatively picked a piece of food out of Massie's hair and threw it on the floor.
"For what? Being friends with that LBR?" Massie asked, running her hands through her now sopping wet coffee brown locks and frowning in disgust when she game across a noodle.
"LBR?"
"Loser beyond repair," Massie supplied, walking over to one of the automatic hand dryers and using it as an impromptu blow dryer.
"Ordinarily," Massie admitted as she held her head underneath the blast of hot hair, "you would be an LBR by association. However, if I'm going to get back at her for this, I'm going to need your help."
"You need my help?" Claire asked, dumb-founded.
"Of course," Massie said, smoothing her now dry hair. Looking at it, Claire couldn't even tell that food had been dumped on her head moments before. "You know Sarah better than anyone. You know exactly the best way to humiliate her."
Massie stripped herself of the stained clothing and pulled a pair of royal purple Juicy Sweats out of her bag. At Claire's questioning look, Massie explained that she always had a pair of Juicy Sweats on her, just in case.
No wonder she carried such a big purse.
By the time the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, Massie was ready to return to class. On her way out the bathroom door, though, she stopped and turned to face Claire.
"But Claire? You have to know which side you're on. No more leading a double life."
Claire understood this to mean no more hanging out with Sarah, Sari, and Mandy. Well, it wasn't like Sarah was about to forgive her anytime soon. And Claire knew Mandy and Sari would take Sarah's side. If she wanted to have any friends at all, her best bet would be to stick by Massie.
Besides, Claire had a feeling Massie would come out on top. She always did.
-xo-
The weekend went by in a blur of shopping, plotting, and spa treatments. Massie insisted on Claire spending the night at her house (back in Westchester, Massie apparently had weekly Friday night sleepovers) and they treated themselves to a night of manicures, pedicures, and face masks. They spent most of the night trying to figure out how to get back at Sarah—Claire only half-heartedly—but as of yet hadn't come up with anything. Then Saturday morning, they went to the mall again. Claire window-shopped while Massie replaced the jean skirt Sarah had ruined.
Monday morning Claire and Massie walked into the building side-by-side. Massie was working her blank model stare, but Claire found herself distracted by the pictures pasted to the walls.
"Um, Massie?"
"What?"
"You might want to take a look at this."
All across the lockers were pictures of Massie covered in food. It was clear that Sarah had gotten Sari and Mandy to photograph the tray-dumping incident, and sometime over the weekend the three of them had blown up all the pictures and stuck them all over the walls, with captions underneath saying things like "Not So Perfect, After All" and "Haven't You Heard? Food Is The Latest Style In Paris!"
It was completely humiliating, but like a true alpha, Massie acted as if she were in complete control of the situation.
"Start tearing them down," Massie ordered. Claire wordlessly obeyed, and together the two of them started down the hallway, Massie on one side and Claire on the other, ripping down all the pictures of the tray dumping incident. A roar of laughter went up every time they passed a group of kids, but Massie was doing her best to ignore them and Claire followed her example.
Once all the posters were crumpled at the bottom of the trash cans in the lunchroom, Massie turned to Claire.
"You know what this means, right?"
Claire shook her head.
"This means war."