BLOCK ESTATE
MASSIE'S ROOM
7:58 PM
DECEMBER 5, 2012

"I can't believe your mom let you stay over. On a school night, too." Claire popped another sour candy into her mouth and held out the bag to Kristen, who shook her head.

"Me neither. And I can't believe Kendra let you use Massie's room. She'll flip."

"I know!" Claire squealed. "Anyway, what's this about a new clique?"

"It's called the Witty Commitee," Kristen explained. "We're gonna have tryouts."

"I'm gonna be in, right?"

Kristen made a face. "I told Layne and Mikayla that they had to tryout cuz otherwise it's unfair. And if they have to, then so do you. But I'll let you in."

"K!" Claire glanced toward Massie's closet.

Kristen caught on in a second. "She never cleared it out, did she?"

"Nope!" They raced each other there. When they leapt inside, Kristen flipped a switch and the place was engulfed in light.

"Omigod, I love this!" Claire exclaimed, holding up a short-sleeved v-neck angora sweater.

"Keep it, then. Hold on, I'll get us bags." She disappeared into a nook in the cloest and returned with a Coach tote and a small Gucci pack, which she deposited at Claire's feet.

The blonde stuck the shirt inside and continued leafing through Massie's clothes. "Ooh, look at this." She stared in wonder at a black satin Tommy Hilfiger shift with an embroidered ivory-lace overlay. With it came a thick black clip-fastening belt. "But it won't fit in the bag."

"Hold on; you don't need one." Kristen scoffed at her own stupidity. "You live here until seventh grade!"

"Omigod!" The realization when stated by another person almost made Claire delirious. This was a fairy-tale.

OCTAVIAN COUNTRY DAY
LIFE SCIENCE
9:06 AM
DECEMBER 6, 2012

Claire walked into class six minutes late with three things she'd never had before: confidence, a designer dress, and a detention. She threw her newly-highlighted hair over her shoulder, smirked, and sat down in the seat an LBR had just vacated for her. "Excuse me." She shot her hand up. "Could someone please open the window? It is boiling in here. And we all know how disgusting it is to sweat!" Without waiting for permission from the teacher, two eager-to-please dorks threw the screen open and locked it in place. "Thank you." And Claire rewarded them with Massie's signature smile.

CLAIREBEAR: i actually feel... known... and liked!
SEXYSPORTSBABE: i wonder y. ;)
CLAIREBEAR: Am i really the second-most popular girl in skl?
SEXYSPORTSBABE: In the sixth grade, at least.
CLAIREBEAR: Meet u at Table 7 4 lunch?
SEXYSPORTSBABE: U got it!

"Claire?" the sub asked with a fake smile. "Am I right?"

"Yes, I'm Claire," she replied, earning herself a laugh from the class. She didn't know why until the teacher continued speaking.

"That is not what I meant, and you know that. I was asking whether the class has already read Chapter 4."

"Oh, um, I think so," she replied. "Yeah, we have."

"Thank you. Class, could you please take out your packets?"

Claire removed hers from a green folder portraying small multi-colored gumdrops and flipped to the page she was working on.

"Now, I will let you choose your own partners, but-"

"Claire, you wanna work together?" "Could we-" "What do you think, Claire?" "OMG, we could totally bond!"

With a triumphant grin, Claire scanned the room for someone with PP, but to her untrained eye, everyone looked rich and put-together. She looked around for someone who had been invited to their party, and settled on a petite blonde with a pert nose and freckles. She raised her hand for quiet and announced, "I'll work with Cali."

"Okay!" the girl gushed. With a smirk, she got up to join Claire. Disappointed, the rest of the class went to find partners.

"So, I was thinking-"

She was interrupted by Cali. "I'm, like, throwing a party this weekend for my birthday and it would be, like, totally great if you could come!"

"I'll consider it," she answered generously, slipping the pink invitation into the Hermes purse she'd stolen from Massie. "Anyway, do you think Question 5 is B or-"

"No, really, you have to come."

"I get it." Claire rolled her eyes. "But I'm nawt going unless you chill." She carelessly played with the ivory Cartier ring she'd found at the bottom of Massie's jewelry box.

"Fine." Cali picked up her pencil. "Yeah, 5 is B." She filled in the circle.

As they worked in silence, Claire felt excitement building up inside her. She couldn't believe how easy it was to be popular. She was made for this.

BEVERLY HILLS
STARBUCKS
12:08 PM
DECEMBER 6, 2012

"Aah," Dylan murmured as she dove into a caramel latte. "I needed a break."

"Didn't we all," Pop laughed, daintily sipping her own coffee. "All the call-backs are done, right?"

"Given," she replied. "And we told them they'd get invitations in the mail before next week."

Lolly nodded. "We mailed 'em out this morning."

"No more talking about work," Pop commanded. "You wanna go sight-seeing for a day?"

Lolly gestured for Alicia and Dylan to lean in. "Sight-seeing is just code for the beach," she whispered.

Dylan jumped up, spilling half her drink. She glanced down at her now-ruined Versace crop top. For a second, she was upset, but then she shrugged it off, dropped the cup in the trash, and dragged Alicia out the door behind her. "Let's go change."

Dylan ran upstairs to grab a bathing suit, then let herself into Alicia's mansion. "Leesh?"

"Up here!" came a distant voice.

Dylan followed the sound up to her friend's room and took in Alicia's outfit. "Heart it!" she sang out, her face brightening. "Let's ask Mass to come with us."

"She can't. Pop 'n' Lolly hate her." Alicia knotted her sarong.

"So? It's nawt like they own the beach."

Already, an evil grin was creeping across her face. "I'll text her," Alicia offered.

BEVERLY HILLS
GOLDEN ISLES
12:16 PM
DECEMBER 6, 2012

William had been out at charity events all day, and Massie was officially bored out of her mind. She wandered around the house aimlessly, looking for something to do. Then she noticed that the clothes she'd brought with her hadn't been completely unpacked yet. Painstakingly, she opened box after box, organizing her clothes according to color and designer. Random Fact 282 about Massie Block: When she was bored, she went on a cleaning spree.

HOLAGURRL: We're going 2 the beach. Wanna come?
MASSIEKUR: Won't Pop 'n' Lolly b there?
HOLAGURRL: So?
MASSIEKUR: ;) Meet u in five?
HOLAGURRL: Right on.

Massie dove into the plastic container filled with bathing suits. Lovingly, she lifted out a forest green Marc Jacobs bikini. With a smirk, she slid it on, then pulled white terrycloth shorts over the bottom. After twisting her hair into a messy bun, she applied waterproof mascara and lip gloss, then put on her favorite Louis Vuitton sunglasses. "9.8," she rated herself before running downstairs and locking the front door behind her. She raced over to the shore.

"Ehmagawd!" she exclaimed when she saw Alicia and Dylan's smiling faces. Pop 'n' Lolly stood stunned behind them. "What are you guys doing here?" Feigning surprise, she made her mouth into a perfect O.

"What are you doing here?" asked Pop skeptically.

"Um, sunbathing. Duh." She unrolled a white Missoni towel and stretched out on the warm sand, pushing her sunglasses on top of her head.

"I think we're gonna join her," Alicia said, spreading out her own towel next to her friend's.

"Um, hold on." Lolly stepped in front of her. "This was a day for us to get to know each other better. Massie is not a part of it."

Alicia stood, obviously torn.

"No fraternizing with the enemy!" Pop sing-songed as she scribbled an autograph for a young girl, who was now running back toward her friends and squealing.

"The enemy?" Dylan repeated, shocked. "Massie Block is our best friend."

Massie's heart swelled; she was so happy that Dylan had stuck up for her. She scrambled to her feet, placed her hands on her narrow hips, and announced with even more confidence that normal, "The enemy? I'm sorry; what did I ever do to you?"

"You puh-romised you wouldn't have any attitude whatsoever," Pop answered, knowing she had the upper-hand.

Being at a disadvantage had never been a problem for Massie Block. "Come on, Dylan," she smirked pointedly. "And Alicia, whatevs."

"What?!" Alicia shouted. "I thought I was your Forevah-Beta!"

Pop 'n' Lolly watched happily as the fight unfolded. If they were able to tear the clique apart, the girls who were modeling wouldn't keep trying to help the girls who weren't.

"So did I," Massie replied cooly. "Until you refused to say something in my defense. Come on, Dyl." And with that, the brunette and the ginger pranced toward the water, arm-in-arm, not once looking back.

And Pop 'n' Lolly realized they had to either redo everything they'd been working on, or let Massie and Dylan model. And if they let Massie and Dylan model, they had to kick Alicia out.

OCTAVIAN COUNTRY DAY
SOCCER FIELD
3:31 PM
DECEMBER 6, 2012

There was nothing like a spur-of-the-moment practice to awake Kristen from a school-induced stupor. She'd sat through Computer Applications practically drooling for the last half-hour, and she needed some fresh air in her blood.

"Over here!" she hollered, twice as loud as anyone else.

Charity Adams, the second-best forward on the team, tapped the ball sideways toward Kristen, who shot it across the circle they'd formed toward Belle.

The idea of the game was Monkey-in-the-Middle, soccer-style. Two girls were in the center, and the others had to keep the ball out of their grasp, but you couldn't pass to the person directly next to you.

Belle glanced around, the ball still trapped under her foot. Then she kicked it to Lucy Marsh, who ended up becoming the Monkey.

"Water break!" Kristen called to the rest of the sixth-grade team, already heading toward the benches.

SEXYSPORTSBABE: Sry practice is taking so long. i'll try 2 b over at 4-ish.
CLAIREBEAR: Kendra took me 2 the mall 4 my Winter Concert neway.
SEXYSPORTSBABE: Winter Concert?
CLAIREBEAR: 4 Orchestra. U know, i play viola?
SEXYSPORTSBABE: Oh, yeah. Kool. C u sumtime, then. ;)
CLAIREBEAR: 2morrow at skl, possibly?
SEXYSPORTSBABE: Probs. C u!
CLAIREBEAR: Enjoy soccer!

Kristen grinned. Then she waved everyone over. "I'm starting a new clique." The faces tilted toward her became more interested. "It's called the Witty Commitee, and try-outs will be held on Saturday at 2:00 PM. You can sign up at one of the many posters hanging around school. Auditions are at the Block Estate." She heard a flurry of whispers.

"Block Estate?" "But didn't Massie leave?" "Maybe they bought it from her. Kris is rich too." "No one has that much money, except for Massie and Alicia Rivera."

Pretending she hadn't noticed anything, Kristen clapped her hands. "Hope to see you there!"

BEVERLY HILLS
GOLDEN ISLES
12:54 PM
DECEMBER 6, 2012

Alicia could not believe Massie had blown her off like that. After drowning her sorrows in a Delicious Nutritious Blue Raspberry Smoothie, she fell into bed, pulled the covers over her head, and sobbed. What had she done?

She'd tried so hard to be a good Beta. She'd done exactly what Massie wanted, followed her everywhere, worn approved clothes. And still she'd been dissed like last season's Prada handbags.

But that was the world of popularity. You talk when you're not supopsed to say something, and you're out. You don't talk when you are supposed to say something, and you're also out.

And Alicia was out.