Chapter 1

The Mason Estate(7:23 am)

Clarissa opened the pale blue door that was labeled CLARISSA in flowing script. The round room held four white wooden armoires, one matching dresser, a glass shoe cabinet and a vanity to complete the set. The walls were painted with alternating stripes of pale blue, pale yellow, and silver. A plasma TV was mounted on the wall beside a frosted glass cabinet that held shelves of necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and hairclips. Rows of hooks lined the unused wall space, holding two to three handbags per hook. Clarissa picked up a sleek sliver remote and turned on the music system. "Goodbye" by Audio Adrenaline blasted from her almost invisible speakers that were mounted high on the wall, and painted to match the background. She crossed the room and opened all the doors of her armoires and studied the racks of clothing that hung inside.

She ended up choosing one tangerine and one aqua wife beater shirt to layer beneath her new DKNY black blazer. The ¾ sleeves of her blazer were perfect to debut her new diamond bracelets. One was delicate and girly, with white gold swirls between each tiny diamond. The other bracelet was a simple chain with a silver heart charm embedded with a diamond. Clarissa also chose a white watch from Chanel to wear on her other wrist. It was white leather with a stitched floral design. She wore her light wash Frankie B's with her new white ballet flats from Salvador Feragamo. After studying herself in the floor length mirror, she left her dressing room/closet.

Lorreline Academy (8:03 am)

"Clarissa!" she heard her best friend Sage yell. "Love the blazer!"

Clarissa quickly turned around and saw her gorgeous best friend striding towards her in new leather knee-high boots. With pin-straight, waist-length blonde hair and bright green eyes, she was easily the second most beautiful girl at Lorreline Academy…apart from Clarissa of course.

"Sage! Love the boots!" she yelled back.

"Hey there, gorgeous," Sage said, close enough to speak rather than yell, "Where are Kelly and Felicia?"

"I have no idea, but I have some super good news!" Clarissa said.

"What! Wait! Better than the fact that I just heard yesterday that there's a new English hottie from California who's planning on moving NEXT DOOR TO YOU!"

Clarissa screamed excitedly, completely forgetting her anger that Sage's news had made hers seem completely lame in comparison.

"No way! They sold that estate next door?"

"Yeah," Sage said, "and I heard from Sinella Parks that the family that's moving in has a majorly hot son."

Clarissa visibly relaxed. If Sinella Parks said it, then it was true. She was the biggest gossip on campus, but she was always reliable.

"Hey girlies!" Sage and Clarissa both turned to see Kelly sauntering towards them in her signature Rock and Republic denim mini. Paired with a lacy BCBG tank top and some white wedges, she looked ready for a California summer day. However, it was an October day in Westchester, New York.

"You'll never guess what happened!" Sage squealed once Kelly was within earshot. "This British family is moving in next-door to Clarissa--"

"And their son is hot!" Clarissa interrupted. After all, he was her neighbor!

"No way! That's beyond crazy! I used to know this hot British guy when I lived in PV! What if it's the same guy? We dated, you know!" Kelly said excitedly.

Clarissa rolled her eyes, "No, Kelly we don't know. And there's no way it's the same guy." She was secretly annoyed. If it was the same guy, he would be completely off-limits to Clarissa. You aren't allowed to date one of your friends ex's! However, when was she ever known to follow rules?

"Oh yeah," Sage suddenly exclaimed, "What was your good news, Clarissa?"

"For our sleepover this Friday night, my mom invited my stylist to come and do all our hair and nails!"

"Awesome!" Kelly said as the three of them entered their first period class, Ceramics, "That's soo nice!"

"Hey guys!" Felicia Tanner called, waving her friends over. "I saved us seats in the back!"

Clarissa, Sage, Kelly, and Felicia put down their designer bags beside their desks. They sat down just as the bell rang and their teacher began explaining their days project. They all pulled out their cell phones and awaited the text message from Clarissa that would begin their daily chat.

CLARISSA: can this get any more brng?

KELLY: ms. p is ancient

FELICIA: lol

SAGE: starbucks aftr schl?

CLARISSA: yes

FELICIA: yes

KELLY: yes

They all snapped their cell phones shut and settled back into their chairs for 55 more minutes of torture.