Thank you so very much for all of your reviews! I will pay tribute to you all when I am finished. Now that that is settled, back to the story.
Claire turned to face Kristen. Hands on hips, Kristen's eyes were narrowed. She was the only one (other than Dylan, of course) who hadn't welcomed Claire. She seemed to have been forced to go along with what Massie did. "Well?!" she tapped her foot.
"I-I don't know." Claire stammered. She looked down at her feet. Kristen rolled her eyes.
"Whore." With that said, she turned on her heel and went inside to rejoin the other girls, who had since woken up and were getting ready to leave. Claire sighed and went back into the room. She went to the kitchen, setting down her water she heard her name said from the bedroom. She walked quietly over and hid to side of the doorway, listening.
"Gawd." She heard Massie say. "I just wish she would go away. Claire is so D2M." Claire had to hold back a gasp. How can they be saying this? I thought they were my friends! She thought. Dylan giggled.
"Gawd, Mass. For a while I was worried you actually liked her."
"You know what they say. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
"I know right? I mean, what's the deal with Connor? She thinks he's like "in love" with her or something. Everyone knows he only wants one thing. Hello! He's fifteen year old boy, not to mention a celebrity. She's "hot" so he wants her as arm candy. Whatevs." Claire couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed her phone off the desk and went into the hall. She dialed a number. Finally, someone on the other line picked up.
"Mickey? It's Claire. Sorry to wake you!" she said sweetly.
"It's okay, sweetheart. I was already up. I had a meetin' with Lauren. She gettin' out next week. We had to talk damage control." Claire smiled. She actually got along with Lauren, as long as she wasn't drunk. "So," he said, "what's up?"
"I was wondering if it was possible to enroll me at a local high school while I'm here filming. Obviously I wouldn't go every day because of filming but, a lot of my old friends are here and it'd be nice to seem them every once in a while. Plus, I'm always so bored on my days off. It'd give me something to do." She heard him take a deep breath.
"Alright. Let's talk to your mom and see what she thinks. Hell, we could probably just keep you out there. New York is a prime film spot right now." Claire grinned.
"Thanks Mickey, you're such a doll." She flipped her phone shut and went back into the room. The girls had just brought the last of their things out of the bedroom.
"Where'd you go?" Massie asked Claire.
"I went for a walk. I wanted to go out in the snow before it got really busy and everything." Claire considered telling her friends the "good news" but she decided to wait until the perfect moment to make the announcement.
A few days had gone by since Claire sleepover with the girls. She hadn't heard from Connor or Cam and considering that the coming week would be Claire first week back at her old school, she was glad of it. She still wasn't sure about how she felt. On Monday morning Claire got up at seven. Giving her just enough time to decide what to wear, do her makeup, gather any books and leave for school. Mickey had hired a driver and car for Claire. "A celebrity on the bus? Now how would that look?" He had said. No one except Layne knew and Claire had sworn her to secrecy. She took one last look in the mirror before leaving. Her hair was now is soft, loose curls and her bangs pinned up from her forehead. Her outfit was perfect, not something she would wear normally, but for today it was perfect. A Rag and Bone black jacket over a black and white striped dress that stopped at mid thigh. She wore of pair of skinny Sevens and a pair of patent leather, white heels. A perfect ten, she thought. Going out the door, Claire couldn't help but worry about people's reactions.
"Morning Miss." Her driver, Damien, said.
"Morning Damien." Claire said cheerfully. She buckled her seatbelt and they were off.
Claire stepped out of black town car as if she were stepping out at a premiere. She put on a pair of Armani aviators and walked towards the entrance. There were plenty of other cars dropping so Claire didn't feel at all inconspicuous. That is, until she got inside. Almost immediately after Claire set foot inside, she could hear whispers coming from all around her. People were being so rude as to point. She held her head high and continued walking. She followed signs to the office. She went in and walked up to the closest desk. "Hi. I'm Claire Lyons? Today's my first day." The woman looked up at her.
"Alright, hun. We've got you all registered. Now all that's left is your schedule and a guide." Claire spoke up quickly.
"Actually, I was wondering if my guide could be Layne Abeley. She and I are good friends." The lady stopped and looked at her for a moment. As if she were at a loss for words.
"Okay. We'll call her down as soon as the bell for homeroom rings. You can take a seat over there til then." She gestured towards the couch next to the door. Putting her sunglasses back into her bag, Claire sat down, put her iPod on and waited.
Massie watched as Alicia walked towards the car. "Hey Leesh!" Massie smiled.
"Hey! Like it?" She gestured to her outfit.
"It's beyond ah-dorable!" The girls giggled and chatted until they reached their next stop. Dylan stepped out her front door, walked as quickly as her 4 inch stilettos would carry her.
"Hey Mass! Hey Alicia!" The girls replied in unison.
"Hey!" they said together. All the girls giggled and shouted, "Apple-C!" The car lurched forward and they were moving again.
"Okay, so I've got gossip worth 4000 at least!" Alicia exclaimed.
"Okay. But wait til Kris gets here then tell us all." Just then, the car slowed to a stop. The girls watched Kristen come out of a mid-size Tudor style house. Fortunately for Kristen, her father had bought an art collection that was worth several million dollars. He sold it for a huge pay-off. The family had moved into this small neighborhood close to their high school.
"Hey Kristen!" the girls all greeted their friend.
"Ehmygawd! I have gossip worth at least 1000 points!!" Massie smiled. This had been the first normal morning since their sleepover with Claire.
"Okay, okay. Leesh. You're first. Then Kristen, you can go." Kristen sighed and sat back in her seat.
"Okay, this is short but ah-mazing info. So, you know when we went to the mall the other day? Well, apparently Cam and Derrington saw us. Cam started telling Derrington how much he missed Dylan and how he was so bummed that you guys broke up." The girls all squealed, causing Issac to stop the car. He rolled the partition down, a look of concern on his face.
"Ladies. Please. Let's not play this game again." The girls stopped and looked up.
"Sorry Issac." Massie said. As soon as the partition was completely up, Massie turned to Kristen. "Your turn Kristen!"
"Okay so, I was at soccer practice yesterday and this new guy joined the team. He's a total HART! He's going to go to our high school! He starts today!" The girls giggled.
"Okay, so Kristen obviously has dibs on this new guy." Massie laughed. "Dyl's got Cam and the rest of the guys are up for grabs!" They all burst out laughing. The car slowed down and they arrived in the parking lot.
Claire was bored. She had been sitting in the office for 20 minutes now and nothing had happened. Tons of people had come and gone since she'd arrived and not one of other new student. She pulled a script out of her bag and started reading. No time like the present. She thought. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a student come into the office. She ignored him and kept reading. She didn't even notice him sitting down beside her until he tapped her on the shoulder. When Claire looked up, she saw indigo blue eyes, shaggy light brown hair and a perfect smile. "Hi." Was all she could say and even that came out awkwardly.
"Hey." He stuck out his hand. "I'm Paul."Claire smiled.
"Hi Paul. It's nice to meet you. I'm Claire." She put the cap on her highliter and closed the script. "You new here too?" she asked.
"Yep. I moved from Seattle. How about you?" Claire smiled. He didn't seem to know who she was. Which surprised her but, in a good way.
"I actually went to middle school here but I moved out to LA at the beginning of eighth grade. I'm going to be here part-time. I'm an actress." She smiled warmly. Even if he didn't want to date her, they could still be great friends.
"So I take it that isn't for the school play?" He motioned to her script. She giggled and shook her head.
"I've gotten four scripts sent to me in the past month and so far, I want to do all of them. My favorite though, is this one about a girl whose mother and sister disappear without a trace. It's not really horror, it's mystery and action. She's got to follow the clues." He nodded.
"That's my favorite type of movie. Well, you've just secured yourself a date to the premiere, if you're interested, of course." Claire giggled.
"Considering we haven't even started filming. It could take a while. But, I'll remember that." Just then, the bell rang for homeroom.
"We're gonna be here for a while yet. Whose your tour guide?"
"My friend Layne is going to show me around. How about you?" He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.
"Cameron Fisher." He read.
"Oh." Claire said coolly, "he's nice. He and I go way back." Paul winced.
"Ex-boyfriend, huh?" Claire laughed.
"Yep."
"I should probably get ready to go." He said glancing around. "Could I have your cell number though?" Claire nodded. "Here," he handed her the piece of paper with Cam's name on it. She grabbed a pen out of her bag and wrote her number down, 484-680-8782, Claire Lyons.
"Claire?" the secretary said. "Layne's on her way."
"Okay, thanks so much." She turned to Paul. "I guess I'll see you later then!" The hugged and he kissed her on the cheek. Just then, Cam Fisher walked through the office door.
The Pretty Committee was gathered in the bathroom to put finishing touches on their makeup and perfect their outfits. One by one, Massie rated each girl. Dylan had assumed Alicia's role of "announcer". "Up first is Alicia." Dylan roared into her fist. She is sporting a turtleneck sweater dress with black leggings and black leather ankle boots. Topping it off with a long black necklace." Massie rolled her eyes. She sounds like a freaking game show host. She thought.
"9.7, Leesh!" Alicia smiled and returned to the side. "Dyl, you're up!" It was Alicia's turn to do the announcing.
"Dylan is wearing a ultra fab Nanette Lepore sequined shift dress and a pair of dark skinny Citizens of Humanity jeans. A pair of white leather ankle boots add an extra bit of flair." Massie shifted her weight from one foot to the other and looked Dylan up and down.
"9.3." Massie finally said. Smiling, Dylan went and stood next to Alicia.
"Next up is Kristen. Keeping it comfy in a Free people thermal tee and a pair of wide leg, dark wash True Religion jeans." Massie sighed.
"9.3, I totally love the wide leg!" Kristen grinned and took her place next to Dylan. Massie was up now.
"Massie is looking hawt but keeping it simple in a red MARC by Marc Jacobs scarf tee and a pair of J-Brand, black skinny jeans. A pair of peep-toe patent leather black heels add the pizzazz." When Alicia said "pizzazz" all the girls turned to her, eyebrows raised. The all burst out laughing. Just then the bell rang. Each of the girls grabbed their things and made a mad dash for homeroom.
A/N Okay so I liked the plot for this chapter but I think some of the stuff may have been confusing. Let me know! Review please! Let me know what you think of Paul? Should he stay around? By the way, someone asked me how old they are. They're all sophomores in high school and are, therefore, 15. I know the PC is rather immature but there is reasoning behind it. Review please!!!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR! (2 and a half hours in advance)
