So I know I spent forever explaining the time difference to you guys, and then I blew it half the time. So I'm really sorry. I would change them, but that would kind of screw up where everyone is and stuff, so I'm just going to leave it. Sorry!

Heart ya,
Joy

P.S. So now it'll be three hours forward or backward. That way, I can use it to my advantage. :P

LAX
GATE 9
8:31 AM
DECEMBER 5, 2012

As Claire sullenly handed her ticket to the attendant, she wondered if she'd made the right desicion. Yeah, she'd been pissed in the heat of the moment, but was she sure she wanted to leave? But it didn't matter, becuase it was too late, and there was no way she was returning to Beverly Hills. She'd already sat down in the comfy reclining seat, and the plane was slowly rolling down the runway. She pressed her nose to the window, leaving a small smudge, and stared outside at the airport, which was rapidly growing smaller, then becoming hidden by the trees that framed either side.

"Honey." Someone with long, sharp nails was tapping her on the shoulder. "Claire, sweetheart?"

"Oh, sorry, Kendra." Massie's mom was offering cookies: Oreos and chocolate-chip, along with a fruit bowl filled to the brim with brightly-colored melons. On a small plate, there were tiny cucumber sandwiches.

"Do you want anything?" She smiled, but it was strained and stressed.

"Oh, no thanks," she replied, although she was starving. It was easier than taking something and possibly dropping it and then not knowing whether she should pick it up. Or reaching for a food that Kendra wanted, and having to give it back when she said so.

"Alright." She rescinded the plates and passed them back to the stewardess. "I'm sorry I'm so standoffish."

"It's fine," she forgave. "I'm not in such a great mood right now either."

Kendra grimaced, and worry lines graced her smooth forehead. "My daughter didn't want me to go with you." The second she blurted it out, she wanted to kill herself. What mother said that to an eleven-year-old girl?

"I know," she said. "Massie told me herself."

"Oh." Kendra awkwardly patted Claire on the shoulder. "You want to hear a secret?"

Claire looked up at the tall, blonde woman, and Kendra's heart was touched. She pictured the scene from an outsider's point of view: a small, sunny girl looking morbidly depressed and defeated, and her, giving the child only bad news. She forced a smile and reminded herself to have a serious talk with her daughter about how to treat her peers. Normally, she wasn't the type of mother who gave lectures and acted like an arbitrary authority, but maybe that was why Massie was the way she was. "I wanted to go back to Westchester anyway."

"Thanks," she whispered. "I thought I was a liability. I couldn't figure out why you offered to come with me."

"I needed a break." With that, Kendra unfolded the shelf that was built into the seat in front of her and pulled out a handheld Othello set. "You know how to play?"

Claire thought back to fond memories of having family game tournaments. The Lyons' would sit for hours arguing over which game to play and who won and who cheated. And she remembered it as one of the best times of her life.

OCTAVIAN COUNTRY DAY
CAFE
11:34 AM
DECEMBER 5, 2012

SEXYSPORTSBABE: R u coming back?
CLAIREBEAR: As we speak.
SEXYSPORTSBABE: :D!

"So, what do you think?"

"Sorry, Mikayla, what?" She was starting to understand why the girl wasn't involved in any A-List cliques. She was uber-annoying, or maybe it was only to Kristen, who had an extremely low level of tolerance when it came to some things.

"Will you let me in your new group?"

"Maybe." She shrugged, but actually, it was a good time to bring it up. "Guys?"

Layne looked up from her yogurt, which she'd dotted with peanut M&Ms. Kori and Coral, who she'd taken to calling Strawberry because of her faux fire-hydrant-colored hair, glanced at her from across the table, where they'd been prank-calling a mystery friend on a dare. "What?"

"I'm starting a new clique."

"We're still part of the Chic Clique," Strawberry protested, her mouth full, with pretzel crumbs and the chocolate she was dipping them in coating her lips and chin.

Kristen almost gagged, and quickly turned to look at the others. "Well, we can still be in the Chic Clique, but I'm giving it a new name: the Witty Commitee."

"That is such a rip-off on the Pretty Commitee." Kori rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're still not over them."

"I am!" Kristen protested. "That's why I'm calling it the Witty Commitee!"

"It doesn't matter. I'm joining." Mikayla smiled at the dark blonde.

"Me too." Layne shrugged. "It wasn't like Claire ditched us for Massie and Co. or anything."

"I'm not. I'm 100% loyal to Claire," stated Strawberry.

"Same," added Kori. "Sorry, Kris. You're still our friend, but, you know."

"It's fine." After an appropriate pause, she continued, pretending to be apoligetic, "But could we have this table? Like, for our clique?

"Sure!" They gathered up their things and danced off toward the trash cans. "We're helping Ms. McMorris at lunch from now on anyway. She's, like, 85. She can't even see the papers she's grading anymore."

Kristen giggled, then turned toward Layne and Mikayla. "We need initiation ceremonies. And more people to join the Witty Commitee."

"How 'bout we post sign-up sheets around school?" Layne suggested. "You were pretty popular for a little while. I'm sure people would like to be part of Kristen Gregory's new clique!"

"Good idea. And then we can have people try out for different positions. You know, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and possibly an Omega, if we have enough people."

"Are we gonna be co-Alphas?" Mikayla asked. "You know, cuz we helped you start the Witty Commitee?"

"You'll have to audition just like everyone else," she replied cooly. "Let's start the posters." She pulled out a sheet of thick computer paper from her bag and smoothed it out on the table.

MIKKYMOUSE: Rude much?
PLAYTHELAYNEGAME: She's becoming way 2 much like Massie Block.
MIKKYMOUSE: Ugh, no kidding.

The girls begrudingly scooted their chairs closer to Kristen and proceeded to discuss what font they should write the sign-up sheets in, even though they were mad. Because Layne had been right.

The smart, sporty, scholarship kid was officially the most popular girl in the sixth grade. And everyone wanted to join her new clique.

BEVERLY HILLS
STUDIO CHARMANTE
9:04 AM
DECEMBER 5, 2012

"Where's Claire?"

That simple sentence pissed Massie off to the point of no return. Obviously, they were going to ask at some point. But why was it the first thing they said? No good morning, no what's up, just 'Where's Claire?' She mattered that much?

"Kuh-laire left," she informed them icily.

"Claire left?" they repeated incredulously.

Massie reveled. "She didn't tell you?"

"No," Pop replied.

"Well, she did," Dylan shrugged.

"And she's nawt coming back." That was a smug comment from Alicia.

Massie looked at her with new appreciation. 'Are you happy?' she mouthed, a grin spreading across her face.

'Hell, yeah,' she answered.

'You are definitely back in,' she told her. 'And you are definitely my Beta.'

"You never liked her." Lolly looked from one to the other with wonder.

"No kidding," Massie murmured.

"I thought we agreed: no attitude." Pop raised her eyebrows.

"But-" Massie opened her mouth.

"Butts are for kicking." Lolly pointed to the Alpha. "You're out. And one more nasty remark from you," she stared at Alicia, "and you're out too. So don't give us any more crap."

Massie was still sitting there in shock. "Buh-bye," Pop waved.

Massie gave her a look that could freeze boiling coffee. Or possibly the sun. "This isn't over."

And no matter how cheesy it seemed, it wasn't. Because what Massie Block said, Massie Block meant.

BEVERLY HILLS
STUDIO CHARMANTE
9:12 AM
DECEMBER 5, 2012

"We started with four," Lolly marveled. "And then we went to five, and down we've dropped to two."

"Thanks for the instant replay," Dylan muttered. A little louder, she asked, "What are we going to do now?"

"I have no idea, honestly." Pop placed her hands on top of each other and looked at the redhead. "We were supposed to project you as a Quartet of Queens." She placed plenty of sarcasm and air quotes on the tacky title. "Now there's only you."

"Maybe we could help you," Alicia suggested, only sounding a little desperate. "Like, nawt modeling, but directing, kind of. And you can get a new group of girls."

"Maybe we can get a couple of new girls and you could work with them," Lolly countered, shooting Pop a look.

Easily, she interpreted it. "It's settled," she annouced. "We'll hold tryouts in exactly one week.

"What's our job?" Dylan wondered.

"The grunt work, of course," Lolly explained fearlessly. "We have better things to do."

Dylan glared bemusedly at them. Were they serious?

"Just kidding." Pop grinned. "Come on, take a joke." She snatched a folder from her twin's hand and removed a few documents. "We'll be over there with Vanessa doing publicity. Back in a few!" With their signature smile/hair-toss, they flounced away, their almost-matching floral-print Charlotte Russe skirts flowing behind them. Dylan couldn't help smile-admiring their beauty.

Alicia waved the papers around in front of her friend's face, snapping her fingers briskly. "Earth to Dylan!"

"Yeah, okay." She leafed through the packets. "What about these girls?"

Alicia looked over her shoulder. "Nawt bad. They almost look like Mass and Kris."

"Wow, and look at that one." Dylan jabbed a finger at a girl who was half-hidden behind her friends. "She's, like, Kuh-laire's twin."

Inwardly, Alicia rolled her eyes. "You're right," she acknowledged. "Why don't we call them in?"

"But that's three," Dylan pointed out. "And there's the extra. Cuz everyone sent resumes with four girls."

"Hmm." Alicia looked around. "Lolly!" She waved wildly, and the girl came over.

"You called?"

Dylan showed her the photo. "We like these three. But nawt only do they come with a fourth girl, we only need two more."

"G!" Lolly shouted. "Come here for a sec!"

A woman with bleached hair who she vaguely remembered as Gianna approached the table.

Alicia gestured to the picture. "What do we do about this?"

She was about to go on when a voice called, "What's going on?" Pop came over and sat down on the edge of Lolly's chair. Her twin scooched over.

"What do we do about this?" Alicia asked again.

"Oh." Pop understood in a split second. "They all left their contact info. Just give the ones who you like call-backs."

"But we want three of them. We can't leave just one out." Dylan cringed.

"That's show biz," she said uncaringly. "And sure you can have five. Then you can be the Quintet of Queens. Right, G?" She glanced up at her manager for confirmation.

"I guess. Since they both start with Q." With a smile, she stood up. "Excuse me, I have a lot to do."

"Us too." The twins departed.

"You call." Dylan pushed the landline receiver that Pop 'n' Lolly always used toward Alicia.

"Why do we have to use this one? What's wrong with our cells?"

"Cuz everyone recognizes this number. Now call."

"You call."

"You call."

"You call!"

"You call!"

"You call!"

"Fine." Dylan picked up the phone and called the first girl. "Ehmagawd," she hissed frantically as it was ringing. "Shouldn't Pop or Lolly be doing this?"

"Too late!" Alicia responded gleefully. "Just tell them who you are. Remember, the whole world knows their-"

"Shh!" Into the phone, she said politely, "Hello?"

"Hi, who is this?" asked someone. The girls hadn't bothered to examine the girls' bios more closely, so Dylan was a little stunned to hear that the girl who looked 11 or 12 in her picture sounded more like 14.

"This is Dylan Marvil. I'm working with Pop 'n' Lolly for their next photo shoot. I'm calling about the resume you sent in."

"Marvil? As in, Merri-Lee?"

"Yes, but that's nawt what we're discussing."

"Nawt?" the girl giggled. "Are you from Brooklyn? Or Boston?"

"No," she snapped. "And we're not discussing that either. Are you interested in coming to Studio Charmante in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, December 12th, to try out for a part in Pop 'n' Lolly's upcoming season?"

"Time?" She already sounded bored.

"You will receive a formal invitation in a few days with all that information. Should we expect you?" She rolled her eyes at Alicia, pretending she was completely at ease.

"Maybe. I'll try to clear my schedule out. Bye."

"Than-" She'd hung up. "That didn't go well," she admitted.

"No shit, Sherlock. I was watching your face," Alicia laughed.

"Fine, you try."

"I will." Alicia tapped in the next girl's number after checking her name, unlike Dylan, who had been in a rush to get the whole ordeal over with. "Hello, is this... Miriam Chad?"

"Yes. Who am I speaking to?"

"I'm Alicia Rivera. I work with Pop 'n' Lolly. This is a call-back for auditions to be part of their next season."

"Oh! You picked our group?"

"We picked... you, Caitlyn Garvey, and Casey Marvin."

"Oh, okay." Alicia couldn't tell if she sounded disappointed or... relieved? Had she sounded like that when Claire went back to Westchester? Uh, yeah. "Well, anyway, you will receive an invite with more information, but try-outs are on Wednesday, December 12th. Can you attend?"

"Of course! See you then!"

"Bye. Thank you." She put down the phone. "That's how you do it."

"Fine. Last one." When she was done, Dylan moved the receiver back to its spot on an abandoned shelf and began looking through the extra writing under their picture.

Caitlyn Garvey: Amazing leader.
Miriam Chad: Loves soccer and is on a full scholarship to school.
Casey Marvin: Is always eating candy, but never seems to gain weight. Originally from the Everglades in Florida.

This should be an interesting season.

LAGUARDIA AIRPORT
MAIN TERMINAL
12:12 PM
DECEMBER 5, 2012

"That was exhausting," Claire moaned, but was stifled halfway through by someone hugging her from behind.

"Claire!"

"Kris! And Layne! Omigod, I missed you guys so much!"

"You were gone for less than a week," Layne pointed out, biting off the end of a Twizzler.

"It seemed like forever," she insisted stubbornly, with a fake pout. Then she flung her arms around both of them. "Who brought you here?"

"My mom," Layne said, beckoning to a young woman whose hair was even darker than her daughter's.

"So this is the famous Claire." She smiled, not afraid to show her not-so-straight teeth.

"That's me." She grabbed her friends' hands.

Kristen's first reaction was to pull away so she didn't look like a geek. But she didn't. Instead, she held on tighter. At least one girl hadn't deserted her.

"She started a new clique," said Layne. "Right, Kris? Kris?"

"Why'd Massie's mom come back with you?" she interrupted.

"Oh, I'm sure she's got ulterior motives. But what matters is that she did." Claire performed an embarassingly cute happy dance, the one she'd made up with Sarah one rainy day when they'd been beyond bored.

"But what about your family? And Massie?" Kristen asked.

"They're fine. And about Massie, well, whatever." And for once, she was able to say it. And mean it.