Pardon?

"I can't believe how far we've gotten! This is so cool," Constance gushed. She took a sip from her glass and glanced around, exclaiming, "Think about how much money we've received! And, think about how legendary we're going to be – once this fundraiser is over, people will be blown away."

I nodded and also looked around the same hall we had inhabited for three days. Today was the final fundraiser; it wasn't glamorous or over the top, but it was something. Pink hydrangeas were dotted all around the room, and white silk curtains hung with hints of green sprayed across them. Waiters and waitresses in perfect, starched clothing handed off drinks and appetizers.

"Yeah, I agree with you there. I think they should have a plaque by now," I said. I suddenly envisioned the names of all the Billings alumnae posted on the Billings wall, but then I realized there wasn't a wall to envision it in the first place.

"A plaque? Please, Reed, we don't do plaques. Billings is anything but plaques. Future generations of Billings girls will remember our names not from reading an ugly piece of metal, but from hearing about our legendary – stuff," Constance said patriotically.

Laughing, I said, "OK, OK – I get it. I'll blame it on my redneck upbringing." Constance snorted, and we resumed watching and standing.

I should've been walking around and getting acquainted with rich, powerful people, but the Christian Louboutins Kiran forced me to slip on were torturing me. I was wearing a simple pastel green blouse and a white knee length skirt, but damn it, it was anything but simple. The outfit was completely skintight, and sitting down was impossible without ripping the skirt and having unwanted attention to my chest.

"Reed! Oh, how wonderful to see you!" I heard someone say.

I turned around and saw none other than Suzel, looking like a vision in a white jumpsuit. She beaming from ear to ear and outstretched her arms, enveloping me in a warm hug.

"Suzel! How are you?" I asked, wrapping my arms around her. I hadn't seen her for a very long time, and I was glad I could finally see her again.

"I'm great." She paused and looked at Constance, smiling. "And you must be Constance."

Constance was too shocked to say anything else, so she nodded without saying a word, tongue tied after seeing her idol. Suzel laughed and faced me again, saying, "I need you to come with me right now. There's something important I want to do."

"Sure," I replied, and Suzel immediately took me by the hand, dragging me to the center of the room. I gave Constance a bewildered look, but she just smiled and waved. Suzel kept a strong hold on my arm, pushing past people who wanted to talk to her. For some reason, I had the urge to find Noelle; I hadn't seen her all day, since she left very early in the morning. But as we approached the stage, my heart thumped louder and I had a feeling something bad was going to happen.

Suddenly, Suzel stopped walking and let go of my arm. She looked at me in the eye and said, "I'm going to give a small speech. I know you guys did everything, but I feel I should give thanks. Do you mind?"

I shook my head. "Oh no, it's fine! We're glad to have you here," I said sincerely. Suzel gave me a smirk and patted my shoulder.

"I'm so glad you came here and participated in all of this," said Suzel. Upon seeing my frown, she included, "You know, the thing at St. Barth's, and what happened at the end of the last term." Of course – I had forgotten everyone knew about my unfortunate predicaments.

A moment of uncomfortable silence swept by, as I tried to forget the images running through my head. Suzel broke the spell by roughly patting my shoulder and heading up. Once she got on the stage, the room instantly became hushed. All eyes were on Suzel; she got the microphone, trapping it around her thin fingers and turning it on. "Good afternoon everyone!"

The room murmured back their hellos. To the side, I saw Astrid and Constance come over and stand next to me. Suzel continued. "I know it's not my place to stand here, but I wanted to thank everyone who came here. Also," she added, "I want to thank the new generation of Billings – the girls who put so much effort in rebuilding what was lost." The spectators clapped in their polite Upper East Side manner.

"But I also want to thank someone else who has had a tough couple of years. Despite all of the setbacks, she has given everything she has for Billings and for this fundraiser. I think it's appropriate I should call Miss Reed Brennan up for a speech!"

What?

My worried gaze darted back and forth between Astrid and Constance. No – this couldn't be. Why was Suzel calling me up to make a speech? I wasn't president. Noelle was going to kill me for sure. Didn't Suzel know Noelle was the president and that she should be giving a speech? What was I going to say?

"Reed has worked so hard for Billings – spending her time and energy for this fundraiser when she could be doing what average teenage girls do. So," said Suzel, "thank you, Reed. Thank you for everything."

The clapping and the cheering got louder, but my shame dug deeper inside my skin. Astrid and Constance gave me blank looks as old wealthy people pushed me towards the stage. I tried looking for Noelle, but all I could see were people covered in hundred dollar makeup and dressed in the latest couture.

I didn't like how Suzel was acting as if I did everything. It was a combined effort, and I felt horrible for Noelle. Besides, where was she? I didn't deserve it, right?

Slowly, I got up on the stage. Suzel was grinning and she handed me the microphone. "Suzel, I – Noelle . . . ." I was at loss of words. Noelle was going to kill me for this.

"Oh, hush. It's your time to shine," she hissed, walking off the stage and standing in the front row.

I wasn't standing in the middle of the stage, but I was the center of attention. A heat flash washed over me, and my pretty little clothes were getting unbearably hot. Every single eye was on me, and a weird sense of déjà vu got to me. At the last fundraiser, I was told to give a speech and everything went downhill from there. What if it happened again? I couldn't risk another embarrassing moment.

Glancing up, I saw the faces of my friends giving me and each other baffled looks. I knew what they were thinking – they were thinking what the hell was going on. Towards the edge of the room, I saw a beautiful Ivy come inside the room, her piercing stare telling me to move on with my speech. She tipped her champagne glass at me and smirked.

This was getting too much to handle.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Hi . . . everyone." Saliva gathered in my mouth, and I swallowed noisily. "Uh, I guess I should thank Suzel for . . . thanking me!" I finished lamely. I gave an embarrassed laugh and tugged my skirt, trying to buy time.

"Um . . . ." Again, I lost any words to say. My eyes scanned for Noelle, but I couldn't see her anywhere. All I saw were the old, new and annoying people intently watching me. "I guess I should really thank all of the people who participated with this fundraiser," I began. "Really, if it wasn't for you, this would not have been a success." I saw people nod, and people started to clap and whistle. A burst of pride came forward, and for the first time tonight, I felt great.

"I also want to thank the Billings girls who poured sweat and blood for this fundraiser. And finally, a huge thanks to–" I stopped midsentence, as I saw a black skirt and brunette hair whip past the room, walking steadily for the nearest door.

Noelle.

I had to call her up, and quick.

"– a huge thanks to Noelle Lange, Billings president. She was the one who – who organized everything and worked the hardest. So, uh, thank you!" I said, my words lacking the warmth and enthusiasm I wished to project.

"So . . . Again, thank you all who came here and made this fundraiser an achievement." With shaking fingers, I shut the microphone before anyone could hear me breathe a sigh of relief. But as I looked around, I saw everyone bringing their hands together and making noise, a few whistling and others chanting my name.

Coming down the steps, I had never felt this kind of euphoria before. I never felt like I fully accomplished something. Despite the fact I said "so" a lot of times and failed to make a proper speech, I felt important. Worthy enough to rank up in high society.

But Noelle didn't think so.

Once I saw her, I immediately ran and tried to catch up. She was walking extremely fast, whipping past people in a fast pace. I caught glances of some of the Billings girls; they each had confused looks on their faces. I focused my attention back to getting Noelle, but it was a hard task to do.

She abruptly turned a corner. All of a sudden, I ran into her thin, yet formidable figure. I pulled back in enough time, fully seeing her. Noelle looked pissed. It wasn't the devious kind of pissed where she knew she was going to get even with someone. No, this was pure anger. This was rage. This was . . . jealousy?

"How dare you. How dare you steal my fundraiser, and my speech in front of hundreds of people? How dare you," Noelle spat.

I was stunned. I tried everything in my power to include Noelle, and she ran off like a wounded, spoiled kitten. She was completely serious. "Noelle, I–"

"You know what?" she cut out. "If it wasn't for me, no one would be taking you seriously. I made you a Billings girl. I made you into someone. I made you get noticed by the wealthiest people in the country. You would have never been a Billings president, and you sure as hell wouldn't have gone to St. Barth's if it wasn't from me.

"I made you, and you have a funny way of saying thanks."

Stringing letters and sentences was getting extremely hard right now. I shook my head, trying to wrap around Noelle's accusations. Where was all of this coming from? And why?

"By the time we come back to Easton, I don't want to see your face. Got it? You're worth nothing to me – to no one."

"Back off, Noelle," a soft yet firm voice called from behind. Slowly, the person came forward, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder. To my surprise, I saw Ivy by my side, wildly looking at Noelle. "She's earned it."

One by one, more of the Billings girls circled around us, taking in the scene. I swallowed, remembering the last fundraiser which literally ended my life. Somehow, this was worse.

Noelle clicked her tongue. "Slade, I would highly suggest–"

"If I were you, I would suggest nothing. Look at all of you," said Ivy, slowly backing away and facing each of us. "You guys don't like watching this, do you? Because now, you don't have the power to stop it. There's no house to kick someone out of. There's no . . . exile. You guys know it's not right." Ivy smiled at me, her eyes getting darker and darker by the second.

"There's no house to determine who lives in the better rooms. There aren't higher ranking girls than you. You're all equal. And it scares the shit out of you," Ivy continued, staring directly at Noelle. "So, my dear Noelle, I would suggest you back down because frankly – let's face it – you've lost your touch. Reed did as much work as anyone else. Each of you," said Ivy as her eyes darted to each of the Billings girls, "deserve something better than an unspoken rule that says Noelle Lange is better than you."

"Fuck off Ivy. Is this why you came here? Trying to overthrow me again?" Noelle mocked, although her voice was devoid any maliciousness.

Ivy smirked and ignored Noelle. "I think you guys know what I'm talking about. See you later, ladies." And with that, she was gone, leaving us to ponder what she had said.

Ivy was right. We were all equals now. Yes, there were still some unwritten rules, but Billings was the rule. If you were deemed worthy, you were in. You were immediately thrown into the world of the privileged. If no one even considered you, then you were nothing.

But ever since Billings was torn down, we had lost the law – we lost what made Billings Billings. The lines were blurred. Anyone could do anything. Sure, people who weren't part of Billings didn't bother trying, but us girls didn't need order. There wasn't anything to lose. There was no status at Easton, no prestigious dorm to live in. This fundraiser was another way of trying to attain the one rule we lived by.

And Miss Noelle Lange was desperately trying to hold onto her power, which was gradually dwindling away. That made me feel horrible.

With a disgusted oath, I stepped back, intending for Noelle's confrontation to end. "You – you selfish, envious brat. You say you made me? News flash Noelle – you did it out of guilt! You did it out of your own fun! You wanted me to join Billings so you could have the honor of bringing a novelty into the house. You made me stay for another semester during my sophomore year because you felt guilty for murdering Thomas!

"As for St. Barth's? That was out of guilt, too: guilt for treating me like crap, guilt for being wrong. You make me sick," I hissed out. "You make me pity you."

Mustering up as much courage as I could, I turned my heel and walked away, heading straight for the doors. I saw a distraught Taylor eyeing me, while Kiran sipped her martini luxuriously. My friends clumsily moved, making way for my dramatic exit. Sweat gathered on my palms, fully knowing this was a make it or break it moment. Grasping the brass handles firmly, I stepped out into the sun and breathed a sigh of relief.

I didn't know what the repercussions were going to be, but I felt liberated. My insides felt clean, pure, and free of Noelle. Free of rules, free of goddamn stupid rules. I felt free of . . . Billings?

The odd thought brought me to a halt. Did I really want to end something I had fought for the past two years at Easton? Just an hour ago, I was willing to do anything for Billings. But now, I was tired. I was tired of trying to understand something I would never know. And for the first time I came to Easton, I was alright with it.

"Reed! Wait up!"

The clacking of heels brought my attention. My insides swelled as I saw Constance, Astrid, Tiffany, London, Vienna and Portia come stand by me. They were all breathing heavily, trying to regain their oxygen. "What . . .?"

"We're going with you," Constance simply stated.

"No matter what happens, Reed, we'll be here," Tiffany added, grinning.

I couldn't help but smile.


A/N: Thanks again to those who reviewed, and thanks to Glyndewar for editing.

One more chapter guys, and this will be over! Tell me what you think. :]