Gossip Girl

"Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality."

Friday found Jenny sitting with Sarah in a quaint coffee shop in Brooklyn. While she didn't really have any free periods that morning, Sarah had said it was important. Given that her father could care less if she skipped class and that Dan was too preoccupied spending time with Nate, Jenny figuring skipping the morning couldn't be the worst thing. She was surprised to see Vanessa come out from the back.

"Oh, God," she muttered.

Sarah looked up.

"What is it?"

"It's this girl I know named Vanessa. She's friends with my brother, or at least she used to be. Don't look up, she might come over here."

Much to Jenny's dismay, she came right over and sat down. She folded her arms across her chest and stared at Sarah. Jenny was surprised that this did not seem to faze Sarah.

"Um, Vanessa, what are you-?"

"It's fine, Jenny," Sarah assured her, "I invited Vanessa."

"Invited her? How do you even know her?"

"Yes, Georgina, how is it that we know each other?"

"... Georgina? What are you talking about?"

Vanessa looked from Jenny to Sarah.

"Oh, so you haven't told her who you are yet?"

Sarah smiled to herself.

"I was waiting."

Jenny frowned. Had everyone gone crazy?

"What's going on?" she asked cautiously.

Sarah/Georgina looked at her and smiled.

"Jenny, I have to thank you. You've really been instrumental in everything."

"Everything? What's going on, Sarah?"

"Vanessa was right," she commented, "It is Georgina."

"I don't understand."

"I was once a student at Constance. Did I tell you that?"

"No..."

"I was, and when I was there, there was a group of really mean kids who made my life a living hell. Can you guess what their names are?"

Jenny felt the colour fade form her cheek. What was this? Georgina smiled, staring off into space.

"That's right, their names were Chuck Bass, Blair Waldorf, Serena van der Woodsen, and Nate Archibald. They were an awful bunch of spoiled brats who thought they owned the world."

"Vanessa, what's-"

"Anyway, to say the least, the last two years have been miserable thanks to them. I've been to boarding school, reform school, you name it. Finally, an opportunity presented itself and I was able to come back to the city without anyone knowing."

Jenny stood up.

"What's going on?" she demanded, panicking.

Georgina smiled.

"Sweetie, sit down. I'll explain everything in a moment."

Jenny looked at Vanessa. She sighed as she nodded. While Jenny didn't know Vanessa very well, she was inclined to take her advice. Vanessa may have been a freak, but she wasn't stupid.

"Upon my return, I swore to myself that I would make Chuck, Blair, Nate, and Serena pay for everything they had done to me. Then I met you and Vanessa."

Vanessa looked away.

"Vanessa with her tech savvy and reporting skills was able to help me design the medium I needed in order to branch out into a new world."

"What do you mean?"

"You supplied the information," she continued, as though Jenny had said nothing, "While you didn't know the details, you knew enough to set my research in the right direction. Then, as luck would have it, Chuck Bass called. He wanted my help. He almost ruined things, too, but I managed to smooth them over."

"Smooth them over?"

"Let's just say I sent Chuck in a new direction. I told him exactly what he wanted to know: the truth about Serena's absence. Once he knew the whole story, he backed off. That gave me time to look into him. I knew why Serena had left, but I was curious as to why she came back. After all, anyone being blackmailed by Chuck Bass ought to know better than that."

Jenny had to agree. She was still uneasy about everything.

"Eventually, I found out what Serena knew and everything came together. Tie that in with the bits of gossip I had on Blair, and I was ready."

"You said something about Nate," Jenny reminded her.

She felt a pit in her stomach. Nate was Dan's friend. What if something happened to Dan?

"Don't worry. Vanessa pleaded the case. In order to spare your brother, Nate won't be touched. Consider it a thank you for the work both of you have done."

"What exactly have we done?" Jenny demanded.

"You helped me. I now have everything I need in order to start a new world, free of the oppressive reign of Blair and Chuck."

"How? What are you going to do, Georgina?"

Vanessa pulled out her laptop. Georgina smiled.

"I'm about to broadcast the truth about Blair, Chuck, and Serena to everyone in the school with a cellular phone."

"How?"

"I've created a website of sorts. The purpose of this site is to spread gossip about students, namely, Blair, Chuck, and Serena."

Jenny shifted.

"But they'll know it was us-"

"It won't matter. By the time this message has been sent out and read, no one will want anything to do with them. They'll be social lepers."

"We don't have proof, though-"

"I do," Georgina assured her, "Besides, the students at Constance don't want truth, they want to see Blair fall. They want to see Chuck cast out. And they want to see Serena burn. Those three have been on top for way too long."

"But they'll know it was us-"

"Say they did," Georgina shot angrily, "What are they going to do to us that they haven't already? You told me about that video they made of you. How can you let them get away with this? You owe it to yourself to get back at them!"

"Video? Jenny, what-?"

"Nothing," Jenny snapped.

She glared at Georgina furiously. How dare she bring that up!

"You can be mad at me all you want, Jenny, but we deserve to be the ones who bring them down. They've hurt us the most. And when Nate sees his former friends fall, he'll abandon Dan. Just like we talked about Vanessa. Trust me, I know Nate."

Vanessa looked away.

"You wanted to do this?"

"I had no choice... I was out of my element..."

Jenny scoffed.

"Don't worry, Jenny. We're not the only ones who'll benefit from this. You will, too."

"How? By having a vengeful Blair stalk me for the rest of the year?"

"Blair won't be able to come anywhere near you... Not after I'm done with you."

Jenny's eyes went wide.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You didn't think I was going to leave you out, did you?"

"Georgina, I didn't-"

Georgina smiled.

"Calm down. I mean, I want to help you. After everything that has happened, you deserve to prosper. I'm going to help."

"How?"

"I'm leaving you the keys to the kingdom."

"The keys to the kingdom?"

"The monarchy is about to be shaken. Someone will need to emerge as the new Queen once the dust settles. I have some friends who can help you accomplish that."

"Me? Queen? A freshman from Brooklyn?"

"Not just any freshman. You're Jenny Humphrey. Don't forget that."

Jenny tried to understand what was happening. She was about to screw over the people who had hurt her the most and in return, she was going to get everything she could want. It almost seemed too good to be true.

"What do you want in return?" she asked darkly.

"Nothing It's all for you."

"Is that so?"

"Just do me a favour. If anyone asks, we never met. You don't know me, I don't know you. How does that sound?"

"So... this was all me?"

"No one will find out, Jenny, I promise. Just make sure no one ever knows there is a connection, and we're even."

Much to her better judgment, Jenny saw this to be a very simple plan. It was eerie how serene Georgina suddenly seemed. Still, Jenny could never hope for such a bright future without her help, without going along with the plan.

"Fine," she finally agreed, "I'm on board. Now what?"

Vanessa looked from Jenny to Georgina and sighed.

"The site is ready. All I have to do is send the link to the website and we're in business."

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

Several seconds later, Jenny's phone rang. The link that showed up in the text message changed Jenny's world forever...