Previously on Secret Life of the Influencers...
"They call themselves the Pretty Committee."
"Don't stress about something you can't control."
Massie: u + pierre = PC on top !
"They crashed the bonfire on Saturday!" Another student said.
He thanked her before introducing himself, "I'm Donovan, but they call me DJ."
Chantelle waved her hand in the air, "Ancient history."
"I'm not going to give you detention, because I don't want you to miss College and Career Prep after school."
Josh nodded and gestured down the corridor with a grin on his face. "I'll walk with you."
"The second round of tryouts for the varsity squad are on Wednesday and Thursday—you should totally come."
"B-line! B-line!" Dylan whispered as loud as she could to Massie when they noticed their table had been occupied.
"This is Josh—pretty cool dude, met him in guitar."
"And I'm Chantelle Jameson, here with your afternoon announcements."
"Dyl, I need to win student body president."
Briarwood-Octavian Prep
Freshman Hall
Wednesday September 8th
2:55 PM
Chantelle Jameson was known for many things. She led the BOP student exchange program every winter, was a kick-ass cheerleader, although she wouldn't be returning to the craft this school year, and was SGA queen, bound to be student body president once Charlie graduated. Unless Massie got in her way.
"Are you sure this is right?" She asked, pointing a French manicured finger at the name 'Massie Block' under the list of students that wanted to run for student body president. Massie was the only name written down.
Mr. Domes, the sponsor for the SGA, shrugged his shoulders and continued with his paper work.
Chantelle furrowed her brows—it was foolish for anyone to run against Charlie for student body president. The position was hers for two more years, everyone knew that.
She snapped a photo, sent a quick text to Charlie, and instantly regretted it. At the end of the bonfire, while everybody cleaned, Charlie made it clear that it was up to Chantelle to fix the mess she had accidentally created by inviting Massie and Claire to the bonfire. Charlie may have taken a liking to Claire, whether genuinely or strategically, but Massie was still wanted for social disruption. Telling Charlie would only put more pressure on her to fix her mistake and win back the trust of her friend.
Unless she handled it herself.
Once Mr. Domes exited the SGA conference room and instructed her to lock up before she left Chantelle immediately made her way to the list of candidates and used white-out to cover Massie's name. With the ball-point BIC pen lying next to the sheet of paper she quickly scribbled a new name under the list of candidates for freshman class president.
The list now read:
Olivia Ryan
Heather Xavier
Tony Peterson
and the newest addition...
Claire Lyons
Natalia was the only one of Charlie's friends that knew how the alpha beat out her competition for the crown-in fact, she was the one who helped her.
It's going to be my freshman year all over again.
"There." Chantelle announced to herself as she set the pen down. "Problem solved." All that was left to do now was give Charlie the good news.
Briarwood-Octavian Prep
Gymnasium
Thursday September 9th
4:17 PM
Massie watched as Charlie snapped a photo of her glass water bottle filled with slices of lime and ice cubes. Today was the final day of tryouts—Massie had forced Claire to give her the when-and-whereabouts of tryouts. On Wednesday they learned two routines; the first routine was strictly dance with a single eight-count freestyle at the end to 'show your personality,' and the second was a routine that had been performed at the previous school year's spring pep rally, featuring stunts and flips along with some tedious bucking dance moves.
"Okay guys!" Charlie wedged a clipboard in between her arm pit and her side and clapped once. Massie knew that today was important, and she had a great feeling about it. Not only was she officially on the ballot for student body president, which would be announced along with the other nominees for the other positions, but Chantelle was no longer co-captain of BOP's cheerleading squad. The spot was up for grabs.
"We're going to start with the first routine," she paused, pressing the power button to the speaker next to her before continuing, "remember, it's crunch time—after today there will be no second chances. Keep your face engaged with the routine—if you miss or forget a step, which you shouldn't, keep going until you can pick it back up." Charlie clapped twice and instructed the first group to line up. Massie quickly examined Charlie's outfit: Calvin Klein biker shorts with a matching sports bra and adidas sneakers with her hair pulled up into her signature messy bun. It was casual, sporty, and still cute.
Up first was Claire, Aubrey, Dylan, two freshmen that Massie didn't recognize, Heather Pullen, from Massie's biology class, along with four other sophomores, and a few more upperclassmen. Once everyone was lined up properly, Claire shot Massie two big thumbs up.
Massie waited until she looked away to roll her eyes—right now, they weren't friends. They were competitors.
The student body president may have been the top alpha at BOP but being cheer captain certainly solidified the status for Charlie. Performing at every football and basketball game of the season, home and away, was a PR boost. Massie may not be captain, yet, but co-captain, along with winning president, would surely give her the title of BOP's top alpha. She needed to focus, and she was not going to wish luck to anyone but herself.
As the intro to 'Poker Face' by Lady Gaga blasted through the speakers, Massie watched the girls as they walked in place to the beat of the song. Dylan was hard to watch—she looked extremely uncomfortable. Claire on the other hand looked as though she'd been practicing all summer for this very moment, and that made Massie uneasy.
Once the beat dropped the girls broke out into, almost, synchronized dancing.
"I wanna hold 'em like they do in Texas, please—woo!"
As choreographed, the girls performed the first eight count with high energy, though some were sloppy, jumping into a toe touch that only Claire, Heather, and three other girls performed correctly. Massie's brows furrowed—where did she learn to do that? Massie spent every night before bed since Monday stretching as much as she could, knowing her flexibility would assist her in earning her spot on the team. She wondered if Claire did the same, and, if she did, did she want to make the team because it'd be fun or because of something else, like being alpha.
It was hard not to notice that Claire's friendship with Charlie was sprouting quickly. Every day since Monday since Claire had sat at table 23 with Charlie and her friends for almost the entire first half of lunch before she made her way over to table 17 with Massie. Alicia only needed to miss the first half of lunch every odd school day on the calendar as Chantelle did the afternoon announcements on the even days. Massie had told Claire that Alicia could go in her place, as she was much better at digging up dirt, but Claire insisted, saying that she wanted to practice her ASL with Chantelle and DJ—but Massie never saw them speaking to each other with their hands. Not even once.
Massie knew she'd have to come up with a way to put a stake in Claire and Charlie's new friendship—and fast. Her palms grew sweaty at the thought of Charlie dismantling the Pretty Committee.
As the first chorus ended, along with the first routine they had been taught, Charlie bopped her head to the music and made notes on her clipboard as she watched attentively.
The second routine started as the second verse of the song began. Charlie told them they'd need to get used to performing for the length of multiple songs at a time. Putting both tryout routines in one song was a way for her to see who had the stamina to be a cheerleader.
As the second chorus ended, the eight count freestyles began. Massie watched her blonde friend.
Claire performed a toe touch, followed by a pike, a few innocent dance moves and then a full middle split with her hand propped behind her head.
Charlie applauded the first group of girls and encouraged them to sit or drink water if they felt dehydrated or tired. She called the next group up, restarted the song, and attached a fresh sheet of paper to the clipboard.
"Five, six, seven, eight!"
Briarwood-Octavian Prep
Soccer Field
Thursday September 9th
4:51 PM
Cam grunted as his foot missed the ball. Again.
Coach Grey blew his whistle and cursed at him. "Fisher what the hell!" He shouted. After hearing how amazing Cam had played for Briarwood, Coach Grey was more than happy to offer Cam, as well as Derrick, Josh, and Plovert, spots on the varsity soccer team if they were able to impress him during practice. But Cam had been terrible every day that week and there was only one more day left to prove to Grey that he had talent.
"Get off my field!" He shouted with an angry face and balled up fist. "You're wasting my time!"
Cam sucked his teeth, swore loudly, and kicked at the ball angrily before storming off. Ironically, his foot connected this time, but he had already turned around and began trudging towards the locker room before he could see how far the ball had gone.
"Screw this." He muttered aggressively as he mushed the locker room doors open.
Cam had been stressed since the day Claire came home from Florida. His mini pep talk with Charlie at the bonfire settled him for all of ten minutes. She gave him advice on a situation that didn't even exist—he needed to get it off of his chest. For real this time.
After a few minutes of swearing to himself and gripping the roots of his dirty blonde hair he heard the locker room doors squeal as they opened. Shortly after, Derrick Harrington was standing above him, worry etched into the features of his face.
"What was that?" Harrington question, his arms folded, head cocked slightly to the side. Cam had been standoffish all week long and refused to explain why. Derrick didn't mind the bad mood, but it was starting to affect him on the field. When they were sixth graders, they talked endlessly about playing varsity in high school together. It was silly, but Derrick knew that was what Cam wanted. And he wasn't about to let him self-sabotage no matter what was going on.
Cam sighed as Josh and Plovert appeared on either side of Derrick. "I messed up." He muttered as his head dropped again.
The three boys looked at each other with confusion before looking back at Cam.
"What happened?" Plovert asked, leaning back on the locker with the foot perched on the bench Cam currently sat on.
"Yea," Josh chimed, "you can tell us what's going on if you want."
Derrick sighed slowly as Cam said nothing. He rolled his eyes, "Well if you're going to throw possibly your only chance at being a freshman on a varsity soccer team then, by all means, be my gu-"
"I cheated on Claire." He muttered.
Plovert eyes widened in a 'holy shit' way and his mouth fell open.
Josh's lips formed a tight 'O' as he looked to Derrick and Plovert as if he couldn't believe what he had heard.
"You-huh?" Derrick asked, flabbergasted.
Cam rolled his shoulder back and lifted his chin. His eyes were still closed. "I cheated on Claire."
Josh held his hands up in the air, "Don't say anything else! I don't want to know!"
Plovert reached behind Derrick and shoved Josh's arm, "Dude!"
Josh shook his head, "I'm trying to get back on Alicia's good side before somebody else steals her away again—she'll kill me if I knew you cheated on her best friend and didn't tell her."
"Wait," Derrick interrupted Josh and Plovert's dialogue, "who did you cheat on her with?" Derrick asked, though he suspected he knew the answer already as he suddenly remembered witnessing Cam and Dylan's argument at the bonfire last weekend from afar along with the silent dialogue they had with their eyes during lunch.
Cam placed his hand to his forehead, his eyes remaining closed. "Dylan."
"Jesus-" Plovert fell back into the lockers as if he'd had heartburn from eating too fast and panted loudly.
"I said I didn't want to know!" Josh moaned and rushed both of his hands to either ear. He shut his eyes so he wouldn't be able to lip read either.
Derrick rolled his eyes at their friends—they were much too immature to see that their friend needed their help. He planted a hand on Cam's left shoulder and shrugged. "What are you gonna do?"
Cam finally opened his eyes, tears struggling to break free. He shook his head as the door to the locker room opened again. Nolen walked in and made his way towards the shower room.
"Look," Derrick started, unsure what to say, "it's a messed-up situation—but Claire loves you more than anything."
"Not enough to forgive me." Cam interrupted.
Derrick rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. She gave up moving to Hollywood and becoming a movie star because that meant she'd be leaving you here in Westchester."
Cam blinked as he processed Derrick's words. Maybe he was right.
Claire had gone on and on about how great the opportunity was, just to pass it up so she wouldn't have to leave him (and her friends). If she could love him enough for that, she might love him enough to forgive him. It was a drunken mistake that would never happen again. Ever.
"Just talk to her." Plovert offered. He didn't know what to say either but took Derrick's lead anyway.
Derrick glanced over his shoulder to give Plovert a single nod, silently thanking him for helping Cam, "She'll forgive you if you just explain why you did it," Derrick paused, not sure if he wanted to ask Cam why he had slept with Plovert's ex, "and apologize."
Cam looked at Plovert from over Derrick's shoulder. "You're not mad?"
Plovert scoffed and held back a laugh, feeling it was an inappropriate time to mock him. "Not at all."
.
.
Nolen Calloway removed his air pods from his ears and plopped them back into the light-yellow case that was gifted to him by Talia. He'd dropped his last two pairs of air pods and shattered them, so Talia gave him a new pair, with a case that was both of their favorite colors, over the summer.
He secured the white towel around his waist before pushing open the double doors of the shower room and entering the dressing room while whistling the melody of In the End by Linkin Park, his favorite band.
Nolen's whistling ceased when he noticed a black box, much like a phone, sitting on the bench where Cam had just been sitting. He rolled his eyes and made his way over to the bench before swiping the phone. "Freshmen." He muttered, deciding to track him down at school the next day and return his phone. Just then the doors to the boy's locker room burst open, shocking him.
"Calloway-let's GO!" Charlie shouted, glaring at him from the entrance to the locker room.
"Get out!" He shrieked, hiding his exposed torso behind a wall of lockers.
Charlie grunted and stormed in after him, startling him as she appeared from around the corner of the locker Nolen hid behind. "What's taking you so long-" Charlie's expression dropped as she noticed the device in Nolen's hand. "Did you steal somebody's phone?" She rolled her eyes.
Nolen kissed his teeth and shook his head, "No." He said very matter-of-factly, "Cam left it on the bench when he was in here crying with his friends."
Charlie's left eyebrow shot up on her forehead. Cam? Crying with his friends?
"Why was he crying?" She asked, hoping he'd overheard at least a few sentences of the conversation, but Nolen shrugged.
Charlie pressed her lips together and nodded slowly. There was bound to be evidence in Cam's phone. If he had finally told his friends what happened between him and Dylan, then he was sure to tell Claire soon after. She had to get to Claire first if her plan was going to work.
"I was going to find him tomorrow and give it to him, thank you very much." Nolen said with sass before making his way to his actual locker and retrieving his day clothes.
Charlie spun around on her heels and smiled. "I'll get it to him."
Nolen mocked Charlie by raising an eyebrow in her direction. "You have class with him?" Nolen asked. He didn't have a class with him either but he found the phone, so he didn't mind going out of his way to return it.
Charlie shook her head no, "But I'm friends with his girlfriend, so I can just give it to her, and she'll give it to him—saves you the trouble of running up and down freshman hall."
Nolen nodded and waved the phone in the air to let her know he was going to toss it. She cupped her hands and Nolen tossed the black iPhone directly into her palms.
Touchdown. Charlie thought to herself with a smile. "Now hurry up, I'll be in the car."
Block's Estate
Massie's Bedroom
Thursday September 9th
10:27 PM
Massie sighed as tiny beads of sweat glided down her forehead. She slapped her forehead to prevent the perspiration from colonizing her perfectly plucked eyebrows and shut her MacBook. The music stopped playing as Massie took a swig of her kiwi infused water.
Massie knew that the girls chosen for the cheer squad would be texted the following morning and announced at the student assembly just before the name of candidates for SGA were introduced. She spent the last hour practicing the tryout routine, forcing herself to perfect every step before the assembly. The cheerleaders would be opening the assembly with a performance to get the students excited.
Massie peeled off her sweaty clothes and tossed them down the laundry chute next to the door of her bathroom before wrapping her body with a towel. Before she could mush open the lavatory's door, her phone began ringing loudly, still connected to the Bluetooth Beats speaker that stood on her vanity.
She walked swiftly towards the vanity, her feet, still sweaty, slapping the cold floors of the bedroom.
"Hello?" Massie answered to the unknown number on her phone.
"Mass?" There was commotion on the other side of the phone and then a door closed. "It's Dylan."
Massie's face scrunched as she realized where her friend was. "Are you at a pay phone?"
"Yes," the read head replied, "I can't call you off of my phone, someone could be watching me."
Massie rolled her eyes and sauntered into her bathroom, putting the phone on speaker before placing the device on the counter and shutting the door. "Dyl, why would someone be watching you?" She wanted Dylan to get to the point so she could shower and go to bed. It was past 10:30 and Massie already wasn't going to get a full nine hours of sleep before school tomorrow.
"I did something really, really bad." Dylan muttered, her voice low and terrified.
Massie rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for Dylan's dramatics—she had pampering to do before bed.
Just as Massie was about to press the red button on her screen and end the phone call without another word, Dylan finally spoke.
"I slept with Cam."