I slowly opened my eyes, stretched and gave a big yawn. I was here! I was in California, the plane started its decent and suddenly I heard the tyres touching down and we had landed. I colleted my bags and walked through security there should be a car waiting for me, he was going to be my new driver if I ever needed him, which probable wouldn't be that often, and there he was. Rather stocky but with a friendly face and he had a little sign saying Rory Gilmore on it. I walked over to him and he immediately helped me with my massive trolley. Luckily he was in a range rover otherwise they never would have fitted in.

"hello im peter your parents have instructed me to take you to Chatsworth, and when ever else you need me. How was your flight? I wasn't sure if you would be a bit late as I heard that there were some bad winds, glad to see you're here on time though." he was smiling at me through mirror, he was a lot like martin very friendly I knew we were going to get a long.

"yes it's very nice to meet you I am Rory as you probable know considering you were holding a sign for me.hehehe. The flight was good I fell asleep for most of it which was good as If I don't sleep on the flights I tend to get a bit grouchy when I get off, trust me it is not a pretty sight, I don't know if there was any turbulence it seems that I was in a very deep sleep the attendant had to practically shake me out of my seat before I would wake up."

"yes well we are nearly there probable about another 10 minutes" the car lapsed into silence and I started to tremble slightly in anticipation. What if I don't fit in just like I didn't at Chilton. Maybe it wasn't the fact that I got overshadowed that made me have no friends maybe I am boring and dull, what if everyone hates me it will be 10 times worse than Chilton because I can't leave. Maybe Kevin was right I am boring I mean I never go to any of the parties because they don't notice i'm there perhaps if I made more of an effort. What will I do if I'm stuck their all by myself I couldn't go back home, Kevin would be worse as I would have proved him right, I would have to stick it out no matter what. Oh god I was here. I stepped out of the car and looked up at the building it was massive it looked like a university campus not a school. It was a light brown stone building with other buildings in the distance I could see.

Just start walking I mentally told myself. One foot after another don't think about anything else just about walking up to the building. I could vaguely see peter behind me carrying my bags. Everything was a blur I could vaguely tell that the headmaster was talking to me about etiquette and how everyone carries themselves properly. "we only except the best but of course I would expect no less of you your grades are astounding" I nodded along not really listening to anything he said, it only hit me tat he was talking when he started talking about my assigned room

"you will be staying in the Christabel building it is of course and all girls dorm house boys are not permitted in there after 9 o clock and unfortunately for you one of there buildings is situated right next to yours, an inconvenience I know but it can't be helped. Any way moving on yes oh yes you will be in room 36, its one of the larger rooms at your parents requests and you will only be sharing it with 3 other girls. Well that's all I hope you settle in very well Rory and I will see you no doubt walking around the campus. Good day." I traipsed out of his room, the weight of my bag lying heavily on my arm, through the back entrance, along the walkway and into the Christabel building, it was very big wit a huge entrance hall it looked like a hotel, I could see the communal living room, with a huge tv, stereo and large plush sofas. I went up the stairs, along the corridor until I was faced with a plaque saying 36 on it I took a deep breath and twisted the handle.

A huge 'whoosh' of noise entered my ears, it looked like I'd walked into a full blown brawl

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU TOLD JOSH I USED TO LIKE HIM, HE HAS BEEN TAUNTING ME ALL DAY. NON STOP." a petite blonde girl screamed while trying to get around the bed to the other blonde girl who was literally whimpering

"I'm sorry Paris it just sort of popped out, and anyhow why is it such a big deal its not like I told him you stole his t-shirt to wear to bed. Whoops." whoops was right the other girl had gone a violent red and was probable about to pounce on her when another girl with brown hair in the room noticed me.

"who the hell are you?" she didn't wait for a reply "can you not read the sign on our door. It says DO NOT ENTER, jeez you can't just come bursting in, we are having a private conversation here." she finished and her voice rose at the end, it sounded like more of a shouting match not a conversation but I was too nervous to say that

"I er I'm er really er sorry, I er didn't mean to interrupt your er conversation I'll just er go.." no sooner had the words left my mouth than expressions of recognition dawned on there faces.

"Oh my god! You're the new girl aren't you I'm soo sorry" I blushed crimson that was my title I guess the 'new girl' "so sorry about that commotion, we must have given you a bit of a fright, anyway I'm Stephanie Vanderbuilt, that's Paris Geller and Louise Redkinns" the other two girls smiled at me, well louise smiles and Paris attemted a smile, which was a nice gesture.

" Yeah I'm the new girl my names Lorelei Hayden Gilmore, but please call me Rory I don't know why my mum had to name me after her, I used to go to Chilton but decided I needed a change you know, I didn't really get on with my family, so I decided to go to boarding school" I smiled I felt better now I'd met them, they were all very nice and the anxiety had nearly completely gone I thought maybe I do have a chance at being happy and fitting in here.

"Hayden Gilmore I recognize that" Stephanie put in thoughtfully but didn't carry on

"So how are your grades Rory, are you on any school activities?" Paris bombarded me with questions but I didn't mind.

"God Paris give her a minute to settle in, Paris is a bit of a school freak she's all A's and is always doing extra credit god knows why she's got the perfect grades and is top of all her classes and…"

"Oh! Hayden Gilmore, aren't your parents the ones that got married when they were like 16 because your mum go pregnant?" normally I would be very defensive if someone asked me that question, but from her tone you could tell she was just interested.

"Yup. that's them mum got pregnant and had me and my twin brother Kevin." the more time I spent with them I think I have there characters sorted out, Steph is very chiper and fun I could tell, Louise is also fun but there is something more there as well, Paris is more serious I'd say more driven to work but also fun I bet.

"I bet there parents weren't happy? Like my parents would kill me. So you've got a twin? Kevin good looking? Well you wouldn't know, I haven't got any siblings I wish I had though I hate being an only child. Steph has an older brother called Josh he goes here as well year older, that's the one you heard Paris yelling about, you see she has a little crush don't you Paris"

"SHUTUP. You know I don't fancy him anymore, but thanks for that Steph you are officially on my black list, and you know what that means I'm going to find something embarrassing about you and I'll tell everyone!" at this Steph did look mildly scared but then laughed it off.

"So Rore an older brother hey, weren't you close with him? I mean I'm quite close with josh when I can get Paris away from him" Paris glared but went back to her laptop typing away

"nah not really I mean we used to be close, but when we went to senior school we grew apart, he became really arrogant and up himself, we drifted apart and now I dunno he barely even acknowledges me anymore unless its to criticize me I dunno we don't get on at all anymore, I can honestly say I won't miss him!" my face must have changed from happy to a bit sad because Steph tried to change the conversation

"What about your parents, I bet your going to miss them, was it sad saying goodbye?" It wasn't her fault but when she asked this my chest tightened slightly at the mention of them saying goodbye.

"er no, I didn't actually get to say goodbye to them, they were in Paris and couldn't get home in time." the three of them nodded as if understanding how I felt, and I guess they did because like them I had recognized their last names as well, they were part of the elite society as well, they must know what it's like when they are always away.

"so guys, what about you tell me about your families, Steph I know you have a brother, Paris and Louise your only children aren't you?" they nodded

"well, my brother josh is in the year above here, my dads in the oil business so he's not home that much not that I'm home either, I've been at this school since I was 11 when it opened, I live mostly in Connecticut when I go home but I rarely go home"

"god this is like something of Oprah, like your life stories. Well my names Paris Geller" she had put on a southern accent and was trying to keep it up without laughing to much which wasn't working very well. "I'm an only child, mum and dad lawyers also hardly ever home and my main parental supervisor is my Portuguese nanny called Nadia, I also live in Connecticut blah blah blah" everyone was laughing by now

"god Paris ha you ha should ha do ha that ha for money. It's hilarious" Louise was trying to say in between laughs, Steph was rolling about on the floor and for the first time in a very long time, I felt at ease and at home.

"yeah well its your turn next Lou tell us about you."

"well…. I'm Louise Redkinns as you all know I am also an only child, my parents are bankers I think and my mum has a full time job of being a society wife, I think you all know what that's like" we all nodded our heads " I've been in boarding schools since I was 7 and here since I was 11 and my parents live in Hertford, that's about all guys." I nodded along thankful that they were telling me about there earlier lives, I might actually be happy here I thought

"sooooo Rory I just have to ask why are you here? I mean it's such a weird time to come, not at the beginning or the end of high school like right in the middle, not many people do that. I think you're the only new person this year." Steph asked me curiosity filling her voice.

"well if you really want to know" they all nodded and we moved over to the sofa and all sat down with Paris and Louise on the floor in front of us " basically my brother Kevin has always kind of been the apple of my parents eye if you know what I mean" they nodded encouragingly "well I just got soo sick of them not noticing that I was even there, if Kevin wasn't there it was all like whereas Kevin? Is he alright?, whereas they wouldn't even notice if I was missing or if I was there, at school it wasn't much better I was know to everyone as Kevin's sister, I mean no-one was mean to me but I didn't really have any proper friends just you know acquaintances. I just got so sick of it that I decided anywhere was better than there and plus Kevin had started to become really nasty towards me, making fun of me in front of his fiends all summer I have no idea why but oh well. My mum and dad loved Kevin so much because he was like the prankster but his pranks were pathetic like T peeing the headmasters car and was on the football team. I just decided I needed to get away." I concluded lamely it felt so much better to get it all of my chest, I didn't want to look up into their eyes though, what if they were mocking me just like everyone else does But they didn't

"yeah I know how you feel, we've "she pointed to the other two "had this type of conversation before my parents are never home when I go back even though I go back about once a year, they can't even be bothered to turn up to see me and if they do they don't spend any time with me all they do is expect me to go to their parties acting like we're a perfect family which we're not. So don't worry I certainly know how you feel" the other three nodded and looked up at me

"quite a few of us are from the 'elite' society so don't worry we know how you feel you'll meet the others when school officially starts because for the next few days we're going to be settling you in with us. First of we'll have to unpack your clothes, then we'll have to adjust your attitude so that you can become the new you, do you have any suitable clothes? Wee are going to transform you, into the brilliant girl you are and no-one will be able to ignore you trust me.

We spent the rest of the day unpacking my clothes, they absolutely loved them and Steph has made me promise to let me lend her some. Paris and I talked about the school newspaper for the while, she seemed impressed by my grades that were at the same standard as hers and had told me that I may also have a shot at being on the school paper. At the end of the day we settled down into our pajamas and watched re runs of friends and scrubs before going to bed at about 11. As I lay down trying to sleep I reflected back at how well it had gone. I have friends for the first time in my life. Friends that understand me and are like me, I'm going to be the person I've always wanted to be, I can feel it I'm going to have the confidence to wear all my new clothes and the short mini skirts.

Through the next week Steph, Louise, Paris and I unpacked all our things and made the room more home like, it now had posters on all the walls of our favorite actors, mine was Johnny Depp and Paris' was of Adam brody with Louise and Steph with ones of Leonardo Dicaprio and Brad Pitt. The room had a red sofa in it and a huge TV on the wall, courtesy of Steph's parents, it was great having our own tv as it meant we didn't have to go to the communal living room and argue about what channel we wanted to watch. We also had several large wardrobes that were full to bursting with clothes as we had been shopping several times during the week, to stock up on our winter outfits, which were light layers considering that we live in California. They had built up my confidence and I now felt more comfortable with my size as they kept on telling me that a size 8 was tiny and I don't need to lose any weight. I started to wear my short skirts and when we all go into town we got quite a few wolf whistles which although crude did make me feel good about myself.

School was starting up tomorrow so we all decided to spend the last night in our room with Chinese takeout gossiping.

"so Rory you have to watch out for Bethany she's a real bitch and will automatically dislike you because your prettier than she is so she will feel threatened. She will probable be really nice to your face but then bitch behind your back. Also her sidekick Ashley is just like her and will be all fake to you. I think that's about it most of the people are nice but there all a bit territorial if you get what I mean" I nodded

"so don't trust Ashley and Bethany is the basic memo what about the actual school work are they really strict about you being late to lessons and stuff?" Louise had already informed me that they didn't mind if you handed your homework in late but I wanted to know if I could maybe have lie ins

"well they aren't really but if your caught skipping you get detention but that's about it!" Stephanie had told me she always skips to see friends and just because she can't be bothered to go. The headmaster sent a letter home once but her parents were away so she just got her maid to throw it away.

"Steph you shouldn't be encouraging her Rory don't skip lessons especially if you want to be on the newspaper otherwise trust me you'll get behind don't listen to Steph she has no aims in life."

"hey I resent that I do have aims I just don't need to follow them as im as rich as I need to be, so's Louise that's why we both skip so much isn't it lou?"

"yup that about sums it up and anyway my parents couldn't give a toss if I failed as long as I marry rich that's all they care about, but lets not talk about that its along way off, so the party on Friday what are you going to wear Rory?" she was very bitter towards her parents and it showed. They didn't sound like the nicest people

"ummm I dunno, Steph?" I ask Steph because her style is more like mine, whereas Paris is more conservative and I want to go all out for this party

"well I was thinking what about that mini black skirt with the blood red tank top the one with the straps."

"oh yeah that would be nice, so are the parties good?" this time Paris answered

"yeah they are if you call getting completely wasted and getting off with at least 5 different people in broom closets good" she said indignantly. I don't know wether I did call this fun as I had never been to one but I guess id soon find out.

"well err I dunno it might be I guess, wait how do you get the alcohol?" Kevin cant even get any do how do they

"are you kidding everyone drinks like all the time before classes, after classes, sometimes even during them, all their older brothers get them and there are loads of shops that will sell them to underage people as long as you can pay. You've had some before haven't you?" they were all obviously used to it but I hadn't actually tried proper alcohol before

"er well not really."

"please tell me you've gotten off with someone before I mean even Paris has a long list of conquests" "hey" she said indignantly

"yeah I have don't worry I got off with this guy called Joe but only him it was ok quite nice but I haven't been any further what about you?" I looked around at them louise was the first to talk

"everything but"

"same"

"I've only pulled as well don't worry these two are like vultures when it comes to guys" Paris put in reassuringly wow, they had done everything but that was wow. We spent the last of the night watching Louise's favorite show the oc.