"Are those the Gucci pumps?" The surprise in Dylan's voice was so satisfactory Claire had to keep herself from squealing out loud in glee. Stretching out one delicate ankle, she cocked her head to the side and looked at her shoes in mock confusion. The crystals plastered to the suede material sparkled under the florescent cafeteria lighting, and the metallic Gucci logo was clearly on display. "I had those on hold at Bloomingdales, there is no way you got them before I did."
Claire raised her shoulder in a faux-sympathetic shrug and smirked. "I guess I'm just lucky." She tucked a strand of her freshly blown out, hair behind her ear and admired its new color. When her hairdresser Mariana had suggested a more strawberry shade of blonde, Claire hadn't been too keen on it, but now she had to admit that the deep tones of honey and red were indeed flattering. Very Blake Lively in 2009.
"She's not lucky, Layne got those for her." Massie said sounding bored, and scanning the nutrition information of the back of her Luna bar in concentration. "Don't put things on hold Dylan, that's retarded. Get them shipped straight to your house." Massie's eyes flicked upward to take in Claire's appearance slowly, from the top of her shiny hair, down past her tight Karen Kane dress, to the Coach satchel in her lap. "You look nice today Little Mouse, I see your benefactor has spent a pretty penny cleaning you up." Her thin lips spread themselves into a wry smirk.
"I figured that if I was really going to be part of the Pretty Committee I had to start looking the part."
For the first time since she'd arrived at Ameswood, Claire felt like she belonged at that table with the other girls, sipping her Pellegrino and munching on apple slices languidly. The diamond studs in her ears, the debit card in her wallet, the fresh manicure on her nails: it all felt right, like she was finally getting what she deserved.
After the rave, Layne had spent all Sunday getting Claire pampered and perfected, one of the many benefits of accepting the older girls vague proposal. If Claire had known how fantastic it would feel to be on Laynes team, to accept this spot in the inner circle, she would have done it a long time ago.
"You look like Olivia." Kristen said sharply her blue eyes hot and resentful on Claire's, before she slammed her textbook closed and stood to leave. "I'm skipping the rest of the day with Kemp, I'll see you guys later." She left in a hurry, a flutter of blonde hair and textbooks.
"She's just jealous." Cam said helpfully twirling one of Dylan's scarlet tendrils around his finger lazily. "You get nice things and she's still a broke bitch." He offered Claire a bright smile. "She'll get over it once you're gon- OUCH! Dylan, fuck! I swear to God, you're gonna fuck up my ribs if you don't stop shoving your elbows into them."
"You'd deserve it. You're always being such a little shit Cammie."
"I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking." HeHe HHhh He raised his hands in mock surrender "Don't shoot the messenger."
"What messenger?" That was Chris, sliding into the seat on Massie's right and plopping down his lunch tray.
"Nothing. Camarilla is just being jackass, as usual." Derrick answered through a mouthful of butterscotch pudding. He shrugged apologetically at Massie's disgusted glare. "Sorry babe."
"Oh my god, stop with all the PDA. I can't handle it." Cam moaned in faux disgust and shielded his eyes with his hands.
"Has anyone seen Reina or Kallie? I need one of them to double check my History homework before Mr. Ortega calls my nanny."
"The fact that you still have a nanny Dylan?"
"The fact that you still have a hard on for my nanny Chris?"
"The fact that you two idiots keep having this argument?" Massie massaged her temples sounding exasperated. "Reina and Kallie will no longer be joining us. They decided they were done after the party on Friday"
That was news to Claire. Cam had once told her that a girl would only be done if she chose to leave the Pretty Committee and opted out of the group. The fact that both Reina and Kallie had opted out the same weekend. . . it meant something important.
Alicia sat down beside Derrick, offering him a bag of Famous Amos cookies from her tray in exchange for a folded scrap of paper from his pocket. "Derrick, is this your handwriting? It looks like chicken scratch. Is that a an 'R' or a 'B'?"
"It's an F. As in fuck you Leesh, get your own answers."
"I didn't realize you were so sensitive." She purred, tickling the underside of his jaw playfully and batting her feather eyelashes. She was leaning in close, enough so, that the deep v-neck of her white top plunged and revealed a generous amount of cleavage that the boys all ducked their heads to get a better look at.
"Jesus Rivera, keep it in your pants." She glared at Cam, flashing him the finger and leaning away from Derrick all at once, shoving the note he had given her deep into her bag.
"Why are you so late Leesh?" Dylan asked licking blueberry yogurt from her plastic spoon.
Alicia ran her fingers through her hair and shook out the waves until they spilled over her shoulders, curling on the edges of the cafeteria table. She looked unhappy, full lips turned down at the edges in something deeper than a frown, beautiful and somber. She dug around in her purse for a minute and pulled out a heavy looking cream envelope and slid it across the table toward Claire. "Josh gave me this to give to you."
The envelope said Claire Lyons across the front in fancy, perfect calligraphy and she opened it gingerly, with shaking hands, and scanned the note inside.
"Awww sheeee-it. First assignment is always the worst." Cam announced promptly waggling his eyes at Claire. "What does she want you to do? Rob a bank? Steal a baby? Join the mathletes."
"You can't join mathletes that's social suicide!" Dylan shot back, and the two of them cackled like hyenas.
"If Kemp were here you could be the three Stooges." Massie deadpanned then held out one slender hand toward Claire, open and impatient. She didn't speak as she scanned the letter, and the table grew silent as her arched, amber brows furrowed. The buyout atmosphere had left the table completely and Kemp was peeking over Massies shoulder, trying to get a good look.
"You are so fucked."
"Hey Kallie! Wait up." Kallie Summers was too nice to be in the Pretty Committee anyway, Claire decided. She stood, amidst the chaos that was the tardy bell, waiting patiently beside her locker for Claire to catch up. She was applying another coat of shimmering pink lip-gloss when Claire finally reached her and leaned in happily to give her an overdramatic air kiss. She and Reina were the exact opposite looks wise. While Reina was small, and delicate, Kallie was tall and athletic. She had a deep golden swimmers tan even in November and long sun kissed auburn hair that fell to her elbows in perfect tendrils, even in today's fall drizzle.
"Claire Bear! It's been too long." She chuckled, sliding her purse strap down until it rested in the crook of her elbow. "You've got my attention? What is so pressing that I had to be late for Geometry?"
"What? You know what's pressing. You and Reina left? Everything was fine Friday night."
Kallies bright, foam green eyes darkened and she took a step from Claire, face etched in a displeased frown. "We're not supposed to be talking about this Claire. We're both done. You need to get over it."
"I just want to know why. You know the girls haven't told me anything and I'm so sick of all these secrets!" Claire snapped, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Kallies eyes scoped her scathingly, from the top of her silky head, down to her new expensive shoes, and she scoffed in disgust.
"Honestly Claire do you even hear yourself? There aren't any secrets, everything is right there in front of you." The other girl pulled in close and lowered her voice to a sharp whisper. "Maybe you're okay hauling for a psychopath like Abeley but we're not. Everyone knows the shit she's done and it's not worth it. I don't make deals with the devil Claire, and if you were smart you wouldn't either."