BOCD is now BOP (Briarwood-Octavian Preparatory School)

Prologue

"It's never too late to become who you want to be. I hope you live a life that you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

Westchester, NY

The Blocks' Bentley

Monday, August 26th

9:09 A.M.

Sitting in the back seat of her family's brand new Bentley, Massie Block stared out the window with a calm, almost aloof expression. On the outside landmarks came and went as the car glided smoothly down the small hill on Pinecrest Lane. Buzzing by was the tall stone fence in front of the Andersons' estate. It was a spot that used to be popular for Bean, her ah-dorable black pug, to mark her territory. But the familiar streets they rode down couldn't interrupt her thoughts because Memory Lane was currently closed.

Instead, her head was running through the list of things to do once they fi-nuh-ly moved out of their suite at The Plaza. Her closet alone would take at least a day to unpack and another two just to organize. The rest of her stuff could wait. There was absolutely no way Massie could focus on the interior design of her room while her precious wardrobe collected wrinkles in boxes! The fabrics needed to breathe, not suffocate! And then there was the matter that she still needed to pick out the perfect outfit for her first day at Briarwood-Octavian Prep!

The long list of things to do kept piling up. She mentally counted down how many more days until school started and felt an anxious tug at her stomach. It was only a week away, and she hadn't even told her best friends, the Pretty Committee, that she was permanently back in America. Currently, they were under the assumption that Massie had only been in New York for the summer with her mom while her dad flew back and forth between NYC and London on business. They still had no clue that the Blocks weren't returning to London at the beginning of September, that Massie was back. For good.

She had moved to Britain about over a year and a half ago, after Merri Lee Marvil's annual New Year's Yves event. Once her parents told her the news of their move, it had initially been hard to accept. But after a fit of denial, Massie had even started to look forward to starting over fresh. She had become a student at KISS (Knightsbridge Isle Secondary School) and met her ah-dorable Bawtie (British Hawtie) boyfriend, James Willmott. They had even lived in a beautiful castle in Surrey! She truly had gone on an adventure, just as Hermia, the psychic, had predicted. And right when she had thought she had started to adjust to another country's norms and values, her parents announced that they were moving back to the States.

It had felt like a betrayal at first. Massie had given up so much for their move to England. She had said goodbye to the only place in her thirteen years she had ever truly known. Had said goodbye to Landon, the crazy hot dog loving lax player. And most heartbreakingly, she had been separated from the best friends she had ever known.

Now they expected her to do it all over again.

At least this time, she was returning home. She wouldn't have to start all over again.

The amount of time she had been gone had technically been short, but she couldn't help but worry that she had been forgotten by her peers. Would anyone at BOP remember her? Of course, The Pretty Committee hadn't forgotten her, but what about all of the LBRs she used to make fun of? Had they rejoiced when they heard she was moving across the ocean? It was a question she had only pondered over once, just before they had boarded the plane when she had left in the eighth grade. But at the time she had figured it no longer mattered because she had thought she would never see them again.

Massie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She tried reminding herself that if they had forgotten her, they would quickly remember. Massie Block was not one to be forgotten. All of the LBRs would probably bow down to her once they saw her, and she would rightfully take her alpha spot.

It had been an exclusive title that she had passed down to her beta, Alicia when she had left for England. Alicia's beauty, grace, and confidence had made her the obvious choice as her successor. It had been tough to hand over control, for years Massie had poured her soul into the PC and worked tirelessly to make sure they were the most enviable group of all. And in Massie's time as alpha of the PC, Alicia had tried and failed to oust her many times. But, Massie knew that Alicia loved Claire, Kristen, and Dylan just as much as she did, and her years as beta had made her hardworking and ambitious.

Yap-yap

Yap-yap

Bean's barking from her spot in Massie's lap made her snap out of her thoughts. "Bean!" The black pug scratched at the window and whined, looking back at Massie with big pleading brown eyes.

Massie looked out the window and realized why Bean was freaking out. They were in front of their old estate!

"Looks exactly the same." Her dad, William, quietly said from the driver's seat. Her mom, Kendra, silently grabbed his hand with a wistful expression.

Massie's eyes combed the grand estate that she had spent her first thirteen years of life living on. Looking at it, it really did look the same. The same hedges, the same immaculate lawn, the same magnificent stone house, and the smaller guest house. The only thing missing was the marble statue. The familiar feel she felt just by looking made her yearn to walk up the front steps of the main house, fling open the door and run up the grand hardwood staircase to her old room.

She had so many memories in that house. From Friday night sleepovers to the first co-ed party she threw on Halloween and exchanging gossip points with the PC while they sunbathed in the pool. Never again could Massie simply walk over to the guest house to spill her guts to Claire when she was feeling alone and insecure.

Suddenly two boys around seven or eight ran out the front door and jumped into the back seats of a silver Audi in the driveway. A woman, most likely their mom, dressed in a Chanel tweed jacket and matching skirt slowly made her way after them, phone in one hand as she dug through her Birkin bag for something before getting into the car. Did that family ever wonder about the people that had lived there before them?

It had been a question that had haunted Massie during her time in England. The castle that her family had taken residence in had been old, holding many occupants over the hundreds of years that the stone walls stood standing. It used to house important members of the aristocracy, and Massie knew that where there were powerful wealthy families, there were also scandals. What dirty secrets had the Lords and Ladies of that castle kept? What had they done in the very same rooms that she slept, lounged, and worked in?

Did the people that lived in the Blocks' old estate ever wonder about what secrets she had told, the plans she had plotted behind those walls? The mom in the Chanel outfit certainly never seemed to wonder such a thing.

William kept driving down the street, passing the Tudor style mansion of their old neighbors, the Hartmans, and then the Quinfords' Colonial. He made another right and came up to another grand estate that made their old one look like a small summer cottage rather than a multi-million dollar mansion.

It was an enormous brick Georgian estate, and the most beautifully designed home in the neighborhood. Without a doubt, it had been designed by a great architect and a team of landscapers. At the center lied the classic and imposing columns, and to the left and right the brick had Ivy creeping up, adding even more to the charm of the estate.

Her dad pulled up to the gate and pressed a button on the panel.

"Whose house is this?" Massie rolled down the window and peeked her head out, met by the smell of freshly cut grass.

The gate slowly opened and the Bentley inched forward while Massie admired the magnificent oaks lining the driveway.

"It's officially ours!" William exclaimed, his smile visible in the rearview mirror. Before she even knew it, a smile was tugging at the corner of her own lips, quickly spreading to beaming smile.

When the car came to a stop at the front steps of the grand house, Massie jumped out with Bean running in excited circles around her Gianvito Rossi ballet flats. The pebbles beneath her feet had a satisfying crunching sound every time she shifted her weight or moved, and the pink-purple peonies were in full bloom as if they were welcoming her. Everything about it was classic, elegant, and chic just like her.

Deciding it was time to break the news to her friends, Massie pulled out her iPhone and quickly snapped a picture to the PC. Excited bubbles fizzed inside her like champagne as she thought of what their reactions would be. No doubt they would be ecstatic, fawning over their returned alpha.

And soon everyone else would too.

Because Massie Block was back.

The Rivera Estate

Alicia's Bedroom

Monday, August 26th

9:54 A.M.

When Alicia Rivera woke up on a warm beautiful summer morning she expected her family's housekeeper to greet her with her usual tray of Avocado toast and bowl of fruit. But instead, she was awoken by the harsh buzzing of her phone on the nightstand. When she realized it still wasn't ten o'clock yet she rolled back over and tried to get back to her dream. School didn't start for another week and she wanted to enjoy sleeping in before it was no longer an option.

Back in her dream, Alicia giggled flirtatiously and bit her perfectly moisturized bottom lip. The boy, a total HART with his tan high cheekbones, a jawline that could cut diamonds, soft looking pink lips, light brown hair that brought out his most captivating feature: his eyes. They were a striking sea green color, starting as a deep blue around the edges before turning a Caribbean blue-green surrounding the small amount of brownish-green that circled his pupil. In real life, just a casual glance from him would be enough to turn her into a puddle of Angel perfume but in her dream, she wasn't as shy. She grabbed his face and pressed her lips against his. Her fingers ran through his hair while his hands ran up and down her back, his hands so tender and soft that she moaned...

Buzz-Buzz-Buzz

Buzz-Buzz-Buzz

"Ehmagawd!" Alicia huffed, rolling over and propping herself up on her elbows. She grabbed her phone from the charger with a furious swipe. Didn't people realize she needed her beauty sleep?

Scrolling through her messages she realized it was the group chat with the PC. As she suspected the other three girls were sending a flurry of messages and Alicia could hardly read one response when five more popped up at the bottom.

But before Alicia could scroll back and find out what they were freaking out about, her phone started to ring:

Claire Lyons would like to Facetime…

Alicia quickly accepted it and had to cover her ears because the second Claire's face appeared on the screen she let out a scream fit for a horror movie. "Eh-ma-gawd Kuh-laire, can you nawt?" Alicia felt a little bad about using the nick-name Claire had just recently admitted to hating, but only a little. The other girl was aware that Alicia had spent the previous night out late, and was very aware of the fact that Alicia needed at least nine hours of sleep.

"Sorry!" Claire was about to pick her nails but thought better of it. A small surge of pride spread through Alicia's chest as she noticed that her friend's cuticles and manicure were still intact. Thanks to Alicia, Claire had finally learned the basic dos and don'ts of nail care. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Their old alpha, Massie, had never been able to get Claire to break the habit in all the time that the blond had lived in the brunette's guest house. "But you haven't been answering!"

Claire squinted and brought the camera closer to her face. "Did you just wake up?!"

"Obviously!" Alicia snapped and pointed to the dark circles that were surely under her eyes. Looking at the small box in the corner that showed her, and her suspicions proved to be right. She looked like a raccoon. Staying out until dawn on a Sunday night probably hadn't been the brightest idea, but it had been so worth it.

"Have you seen Massie's snap?"

"Really, Kuh-laire?" She rolled her brown eyes in annoyance. "You need to get over your guilt and move awn!"

Massie was currently sitting in first-class thousands of feet above the Atlantic. They had made it through another visit without their secret getting out. With Massie heading back to London the rest of the PC could finally take a deep breath and relax. But no... Kuh-laire had to take them on a guilt trip every time Massie tagged them on Instagram, sent them a DM, or a stupid little Snapchat.

"It's not that!" Claire's icy blue eyes were in full panic mode. "Leesh, Code Black."

She tried whispering assuring thoughts in her head. That there was no way Massie could have found out. There was no way someone could have told her…Right?

Alicia swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "What does she want?" She pretended to inspect her nails, praying that Massie was just sending pictures from the plane before takeoff.

"Look at Snapchat!" Claire ordered and Alicia obeyed.

A few people had snapped her since she went to sleep in the very early hours of the morning, including her ex, Josh Hotz. But sure enough, Massie's name and bitmoji were among the first on the list. She tapped on it and was confused by what popped up on her screen. It was a beautiful brick mansion with big with columns and tall elegant windows. Wasn't Massie halfway to England by now? She finally read the words at the bottom of the picture and stopped breathing.

"Ehmagawd," Alicia whispered, her face draining of all color and becoming numb. She whispered the same thing over and over again as if it were a chant that would take her back to the great dream she had just been having instead of living in her current nightmare.

"She's back!" Claire whisper-yelled almost as if a serial killer had just been about to return to their lair but decided against it, thirsty for more blood.

She was dead, so completely and utterly dead.

"Does she know?" Alicia demanded, finally able to catch her breath and form words even though her mind was running a million miles a minute.

"No, not yet." Claire let out a small sigh of relief but still remained tense. "I'm adding Dylan and Kristen."

The faces of Dylan Marvil and Kristen Gregory popped up, all looking just as panicked as Claire. Alicia's head was still spinning so much that she didn't even notice that Dylan looked to be sitting on a plane.

"Ok, so what exactly is going on?" She asked her group calmly but firmly, snapping back to alpha mode. She needed answers and she needed them now.

"Massie moved back!" Dylan shrieked, her hands running through her red hair. "We're all going to be done, done, and done when she finds out the truth!"

Alicia's initial reaction to Claire's call had just been a small amount of nerves compared to the terror she felt now. The old cliché of seeing her life flash before her eyes actually happened. For a split second she saw a four-year-old version of herself all dressed up in a giant fluffy pink boa and her mom's oversized heels, then she saw herself meeting the PC for the first time at Merri Lee's New Year's Yves party. A flash of her trying to start her own clique in seventh grade with Duh-livia Ryan and of her kissing Josh under the bleachers made her cringe. But then their previous year as freshmen at BOP also quickly flashed on the projection screen in her brain that was playing her lifetime movie. Truly, it had been the best year of her life.

Her fear quickly evaporated and turned to anger. It wasn't fair! After years of yearning and scheming for alpha status, it had finally been peacefully handed to her! Leading the Pretty Committee had filled her with a sense of pride that she had never known. Even when she was up on stage dancing with the spotlight on her, it was nothing compared to the feeling of being the other girls' alpha. Now it was going to be ripped away from her after a measly year and a half.

"What are we going to do?" Kristen's eyes looked to her, pleading to help her carve out a fate that didn't include being thrown into social exile.

Alicia's mind chaotically calculated every possible outcome, none ending well for any of them in the end, especially her. She could hide a relationship, but how could she possibly hide her other secret? "We tell her the truth."

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