1. Stalking
By midday, everybody had heard the news: the granddaughter of Fu and Marianne Lenoir was in town, apparently to stay.
Alya Césaire was busy writing down all the gossip and news that her neighbors and friends had been bringing all day, it was a hobby of hers to keep track of the news, as boring as they were in Saint Emilie. But today, gossip was all about the Lenoir granddaughter.
Mister and Madam Lenoir were an elder couple who, decades ago, had sent their only daughter to study in a big city as soon as she was old enough to go on her own. Gossip had it that the girl was pregnant, and that is why they sent her away, but it was a very old rumor. Until now, that a sixteen-years-old granddaughter was coming to town. Do the math, they said.
Everybody had seen the girl arrive and Marianne Lenoir had been talking about her all week, but no one had seen her face yet.
Alya Cessaire was eager to learn more about this Mystery Girl.
"Miss Alya," a maid came to her, "you have the visits of Miss Rose Lavilland, Miss Juleka Couffaine, Miss…"
"Girl, come out here, quickly!"
Alya grinned.
"Thank you, please tell my mother that I am going out."
Alya rushed out of her house to find her friends Rose, Juleka, Alix and Mylene waiting excited, they almost hopped on their places.
"Alya! Juleka saw her!"
Juleka smiled shyly.
"She's very beautiful, my big brother was speechless."
Mylene and Rose giggled, even Alya quirked her eyebrow. Luka Couffaine, the most sought-after bachelor in town, speechless?
Alix, on the other hand, clicked her tongue at their giggles.
"You shouldn't be rating her beauty based on a guy going speechless."
Alya rolled her eyes.
"You are right. Juleka, what do you think? Is she pretty?"
Juleka blushed furiously and tried to hide her pale face behind her long dark fringe.
"I mean, if I was a man, I would say… I mean, yeah, she is kind of pretty."
"Let's go see her! I want to meet her before Chloe and her stupid friends do."
Alya grabbed a basket of fruit jams, fresh bread and wine from her kitchen.
"This should do for being good neighbors, right? Come on."
The five girls walked through the town greeting everyone they encountered. Girls their age were not supposed to run around town so late at noon without a man, after all, Minister Agreste and Governor Bourgeois were particularly tough on young women about decorum. But they were all from accommodated families, all daughters of prosperous traders and merchants, so it was not that important.
"Why do you think that she is moving here?"
"I heard that her mother died."
"I heard that she got caught with a married man in her hometown."
"Oh my god, Mylene! Who told you that?"
Mylene shrugged blushing.
"Sabrina Raincomprix."
Alya rolled her eyes. Of course that the minion of Chloe Bourgeois would be spreading such terrible lies.
"I would not believe a word that stupid idiot says, and you should not either. Good thing that everyone knows how much of liars Chloe and Lila are or the reputation of that poor girl would be terribly stained."
The other girls nodded.
"Here we are."
They stopped in front of a beautiful, green and white manor. Alya knocked on the door.
An old woman opened the door, apparently on her way out. Marianne Lenoir.
"Good evening, Madam Lenoir! Our mothers sent their regards," smiled Rose handing her the basket.
Madam Lenoir looked at the basket and laughed graciously.
"You want to meet my granddaughter, do you not? Do not worry, you will see her at church tomorrow."
She went on her way with her maid and left the girls and Alya there.
"Maybe we can climb in," suggested Alix.
"Or guard her door so Chloe, Lila and Sabrina cannot get to her first."
Alya buffed.
This town is so damn boring that we are literally stalking the new girl.
"Let us behave like good Christians for once. Come on, we will sit with her tomorrow."
"Every guy in town will want to do that too."
"We will beat their guts out of them, then," Alix said.