Previously on Secret Life of the Influencers...

"Do not invite freshmen to the bonfire—it's social suicide!"

"I've never been one to spend my money on expensive clothes."

"They'll vote the heart if they love it, and the trash can if they don't."

Who the hell is this girl? Massie thought to herself with a squint as she quickly eyed her outfit.

"I'm Chantelle,"

"Put both of your numbers in, I want to invite you to the back-to-school bonfire."

Block's Estate

Massie's Bedroom

Friday September 3rd

7:24 PM

To Massie, popularity wasn't about having the most friends. As far as she was concerned, she had all the friends she needed right here in her bedroom (plus Kristen). It was about having the power to influence as many people as possible.

The remaining New York habitants of the Pretty Committee sat sprawled amongst the Maison oak floor of Massie's bedroom, flipping through magazines, sipping flavored frosted lemonades, and, of course, gossiping.

"Why did she invite us to the bonfire?" Dylan asked in between bites of her oatmeal raisin bread. "I thought you said that freshmen and sophomores weren't invited."

"I did." She pointed to BOP's yearbook for the previous year. She'd gotten most of her information from the pages of the book, filled with pictures of the students in various clubs and activities. Whoever edited the yearbook included photos of a few of Briarwood-Octavian's traditional events—the parking lot cookout to commence spirit week, the pool party held on the first weekend of October to celebrate making it through the first month of school, and, of course, the back-to-school bonfire. Each event was filled with pictures of upperclassmen, with the exception of Charlie and her friends, so Massie knew automatically that invitations weren't extended to the freshmen and sophomore class. Unless you were important.

"She thought we were sophomores." Claire added while laying on her stomach. She was iMessaging Cam, inviting him to the bonfire while they were on the topic.

Massie made it clear to her not to invite Layne, who she couldn't stand, and to Alicia not to invite Olivia. She never said anything about her boyfriend, who, honestly, she wanted there as moral support in case anything went wrong. Claire asked him to meet them there alone, unsure if Massie would have an issue with him being there. But if she did, and he invited Derrick and Josh, something bad was bound to happen.

Alicia grinned. She loved bonfires.

"That means we'll need outfits for tomorrow night!" She dropped her nail file onto the ground and golf clapped.

"Puh-lease," Massie placed her right hand on the floor and pushed down to lift her body up. Her legs were uncomfortable from sitting crisscrossed. "I already figured that out." She smirked at her curious friends before making way to the double doors of her bedroom's closet. Placing both hands on either handle, she peeked over her shoulder. They were just as intrigued as she expected them to be.

Massie flung the doors open to reveal four mannequins, each one congruent to the shape and size of the four PC members in the room.

"Ehmagawd!" Alicia cheered as she rushed to her feet, Dylan and Claire right behind her.

Massie stood back, proud as she watched the girls deduce which mannequin represented whom. Claire and Dylan had similar height, but Dylan had more shape to her body than Claire, so the two easily claimed their mannequins. Alicia hugged her mannequin tightly before flinching as the rock-hard boobs on her look-alike pressed into her skin. She ignored the slight throbbing and turned to Massie.

"This is perfect!"

Massie had taken the liberation of ordering custom mannequins for each girl, as well as picking their outfits for the bonfire. Alicia had mentioned wanting a custom mannequin before, but didn't want to seem like she was copying Massie. Regardless, this was the perfect reveal.

Dylan's mannequin was dressed in a pair of black L'Agence skin-tight bell bottoms with a long-sleeved white Marc Jacobs button up tucked into the waist of the pants. A pair of white Fendi sandals with the logo plastered amongst the strap of the shoe decorated the feet of the mannequin. Dylan had pointed the shoes out at the mall over the summer, but complained when she realized they weren't in her size. Massie took the liberty of ordering them online. A metallic Fendi jacket, which Massie knew Dylan would love, completed the outfit.

Claire's mannequin was accentuated with a white and red striped off shoulder top from Alice + Olivia with a pair of Neiman Marcus medium wash skinny jeans. Massie chose to pair black leather Stuart Weitzman sandals with a leather Michael Kors clutch for Claire's outfit. She was trying to convince Claire to use purses instead of holding everything in her pockets—that was something only boys did.

Alicia's outfit, which she was trying her hardest not to take off of the mannequin and wear right away, of course, was decked in Ralph Lauren. A black RL long sleeve turtleneck paired with a grey polyester skirt and black booties. Alicia owned the exact same pair of booties, but chucked them when they got ruined in the rain. It was perfectly nostalgic.

Lastly, Massie's outfit, which she quickly put together, was a purple V-neck Marc Jacobs body suit. She paired it with black and white Givenchy shorts with the logo printed on every inch of the material. The purple Dolce and Gabbana sandals she'd bought from the mall the previous day stood at the bottom of her mannequin.

As the girls iterated how adorable and stylish the outfits were that Massie put together, she opened the top drawer of her vanity and pulled out a bag from Pandora.

"One more thing," she announced.

Alicia, Dylan, and Claire turned around in confusion. Massie smiled as she handed each girl their designated gift.

"Aww" The girls said in unison before rushing over to hug Massie, who accepted their gratitude happily.

Inside each box was a gold Pandora charm bracelet. Massie had gotten rid of her old charm bracelet and bought herself a new one as well. On each bracelet were charms, the empire state to represent New York, a book to represent them starting their lives in high school, a pump to represent their keen fashion sense, Claire included, and a heart to represent each other.

"We are no longer just the Pretty Committee..." Massie held up her wrist to show her new charm bracelet. "...we are the influencers."

As the girls joined their wrist together in excitement for the new school year, Dylan's phone buzzed from the pocket of her fleece lined jacket (Massie liked to keep her room cold at all times). She slipped her phone out and read the notification:

1 New Message.

CF: Are you going to be at the bonfire?

As if her phone suddenly became too hot for her to hold, she dropped it onto the floor.

Bang!

The cheers of excitement from Massie, Alicia, and Claire stopped abruptly at the noise. Dylan bent down expeditiously to retrieve her phone and stuffed it back into her pocket.

Her heart rate accelerated from normal to panic mode as her friends looked at her in confusion.

"You okay Dyl?" Alicia question with furrowed brows and pursed lip.

Dylan nodded and forced a smile. "My hands are soo clammy it made me drop my phone." She faked a laugh, hoping the topic would change and no one would notice the beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

Before Claire could ask if she was sure, Massie continued.

"Anyways..." she pinched the cover of a file folder sitting atop of her vanity and flipped it open. Inside were printed photos of the outfits each girl was wearing for the first day of school. Massie had asked each girl to send her a picture of their outfits so she could print, critique, and rate them. She handed each photo to its designated owner. "There's ratings and critiques on the back-Leesh, love the outfit, but don't wear your hair straight. Curl it, it will be much more modelesque."

Alicia nodded, "Noted."

"Dyl, no hat. We'll be indoors and with the right kind of mascara your eyes will be the only accessory you need."

Massie turned to Claire, who was picking at a hangnail. She rolled her eyes, "Claire, if you're going to wear suede flats you can not wear leather pants. Either change the shoes or change the pants. Other than that-10's all around." She applauded her friends once more as they bowed jokingly.

"Also," Massie started.

Sheesh. Claire thought to herself.

"Mani's and Pedi's are scheduled for tomorrow at noon. The bonfire starts at 6:30 so we need to be there by-"

"7:30 and not a minute earlier." Alicia finished. She may have made uncomfortable beds that she was forced to lay in while in middle school, but she was determined to be the perfect beta. Whatever Massie was thinking, Alicia was right behind her. "I also have my beautician coming by for eyebrow waxes and facials."

Dylan squirmed in excitement. She'd been obsessing over self-care all summer long. A facial paired with a good mani and pedi was the perfect start to freshman year.

"Perfect. We'll go to Alicia's after to get ready and we'll leave from there."

"Done." Dylan declared.

"Done." Alicia chimed in as well.

Massie looked to Claire for the final proclamation of agreeance and noticed worry etched into her face. She was not looking forward to engaging in social warfare, especially after Chantelle had been so kind to her and Massie. Claire pressed her lips together and aggressively nodded her head. She was not going to pick a fight and be added to the hit-list.

"And done."

The End.

We're almost done with the introduction! The next chapter will include the setup and a little bit of the bonfire. The rest of Charlie's friends will also be introduced and you may (or may not) learn more about the history of alphas at BOP. Stay tuned and leave a review or two!