The Clique

by Lisi Harrison

  “Today. My mom and my sisters are doing it too. We all want to lose fifteen pounds by Halloween,” Dylan said.

  “The smell alone will keep you from eating,” Massie said.

  “Seriously,” Alicia agreed.

  The last stop before school was the Montdor to pick up Kristen. She sat hunched over in the dimly lit lobby of the luxury building, working on a crossword puzzle. Her long dirty blond hair covered her face. Isaac had to honk twice before she finally jumped up and pushed her whole body against the heavy revolving door in order to get outside.

  Kristen Gregory was one of those people who bounced when she walked. Her tiny frame was made up entirely of muscle, just like Claire’s. Finally, someone she could relate to. Claire decided she liked Kristen the best so far. Like the others, she was dressed head to toe in designer wear. But her choices were pure comfort food. Orange Puma sneakers and chocolate brown velour sweats and a matching hoodie with the sleeves pushed up.

  “Heyyy,” she said as she jumped into the car and hugged each girl. “We missed you yesterday, Mass.”

  When the Range Rover was in motion, Kristen slid off her sweats to reveal a short jean mini and a belly shirt.

  “My gawd,” Massie said as she watched Kristen struggle. “When is your mom going to let you wear what you want?”

  “Puh-lease, I stopped asking that question years ago. At this point it’s much easier for me to live a double life,” Kristen said. She stuffed her sweats under the seat.

  “Let’s give Massie her prezzy,” Alicia said. She searched the inside of her bottomless Prada bag.

  “Wait, before we do, I have two questions,” Kristen said. “One, why does the car smell like American Airlines, and two, who is that in the backseat?”

  Dylan looked over her shoulder and screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw Claire.

  “Ohmygod, who is that?” She paused to catch her breath before she continued. “Massie, has she been here the whole time?” Dylan asked.

  Massie rolled her eyes and nodded.

  “Her name is Claire. Her family is living with Massie until her dad can make enough money to get his own house. She’s in our grade at OCD,” Alicia said with a proud smile.

  Claire could tell by the way Alicia sat up and raised her voice when she explained Claire’s “situation” that she loved being the first person Massie picked up in the morning. It meant she got updated before anyone else, and that seemed to be really important to her.

  Kristen extended her hand toward the backseat and shook the air.

  “Sorry for the virtual handshake, but I can’t reach you all the way back there. I’m Kristen.”

  Claire stuck her hand out and shook the air too, but Kristen had already turned her attention back to the other girls.

  “I can’t believe she’s been sitting back there this whole time,” Dylan mumbled. She started to brush her hair again.

  Claire watched as strands of red hair landed on the back of her lime green Izod.

  KRISTEN: DO WE LIKE HER?

  MASSIE:

  Massie let out a sigh and stretched her arm across the backseat, like a boy trying to “get some” off his date during a movie. Obviously Massie wanted her to see her tiny cell phone display. When Claire saw the thumbs-down icon, her blood boiled and her body froze.

  Claire reached for her bag of gummies and poked a hole in the side because she didn’t want anyone to notice her struggling with the knot. She pulled two worms out and held them behind her back. When she was sure no one was looking, she coughed and popped them in her mouth. They tasted like home.

  “’Kay, time to show Massie what we bought her yesterday,” Kristen said. “It’s a get-well gift from all of us.”

  Alicia pulled a rectangular slab of white tissue from her bag and handed it to Massie. Dylan clapped excitedly. Massie tore the paper off and threw it over her shoulder toward the backseat. The crumpled white ball landed two inches away from Claire’s feet.

  “No way! The Alberta Ferretti halter I saw in Lucky!” Massie said. “And it’s purple, my new favorite color.”

  “Leesh,” Dylan said as she dove toward the halter. “You left the price on.” She yanked the dangling tag before Massie could see it and tossed it away like a Frisbee. It landed next to the tissue. Claire looked down to see how much the flimsy top cost. When she saw the numbers, she gasped. She’d never really believed that people “gasped” until that moment.

  How can a top thinner than toilet paper be that expensive? she thought. The girls were too busy accepting Massie’s thank-you hugs to notice Claire, who grabbed the tag off the floor and held it up to her face. It said seven hundred and eighty dollars. $780.00!!! She took out her camera and snapped two shots—one wide and one zoom. No one back home would ever believe this.

  Dylan reached for the remote control and flipped through the TV channels. She stopped on The Daily Grind.

  “My mom is interviewing cute coma guy from the Young and the Restless today,” Dylan said with pride. “Shhh, here it is.” She leaned forward in her seat.

  “Well, Drew, it’s been great talking to you this morning. Thank you so much for stopping by. We’re all praying you recover from that nasty coma soon so you and your mistress, Melanie, can figure out what to do with your wife’s body,” Merri-Lee Marvil said. And then she kissed the chiseled blond actor goodbye.

  When he was out of the shot, she looked straight into the camera and asked, “Do you ever wonder what your dog really thinks of your friends? Canine specialist Dr. Gabby will tell you as soon as we get back from the break.”

  Dylan angrily shut off the TV.

  “I can’t believe we missed cute coma guy,” Dylan said. “What’s his last name again?”

  “I think it starts with a D,” Kristen said. “Six letters.”

  “Is everything a crossword puzzle with you?” Massie asked.

  “Divine,” Claire said. “His last name is Divine.”

  For one brief moment Kristen must have forgotten that she wasn’t supposed to like Claire because she turned around and spoke directly to her.

  “That’s right,” Kristen said. “Thank God, that would have bothered me all day.”

  “Kristen, don’t you think Dylan should swipe cute coma guy’s phone number from her mom’s PalmPilot?” Massie asked.

  Kristen had to turn away from Claire to answer.

  “Uh, sure,” Kristen said. “Dylan, do you think you can?”

  “Given!” Dylan said, as if she was insulted that her friend even had to ask. “We’ll be prank calling him by this time tomorrow morning.”

  “Wait, your mom knows Drew Divine?” Claire asked. She leaned as far forward as she could without falling into the next row of seats. “How?”

  “She just spoke to him,” Alicia said. “Weren’t you watching?”

  “Your mom is Merri-Lee Marvil?” Claire asked. “The host of The Daily Grind?” The Daily Grind was Claire’s mother’s favorite morning show.

  “Uh-huh,” Dylan said. She picked an imaginary piece of lint off her top and flicked it into the air.

  “Do you get to meet famous people all the time?” Claire asked. “Does she look the same in real life as she does on TV? Is she really dating Geraldo Rivera?”

  “That will be all for now, Barbara Walters,” Massie said.

  Claire fell back into her seat as if she had just been punched in the stomach. She decided not to say anything anymore. What was the point? She just looked out the window and ignored the four girls, who were draped all over each other in a heap of expensive bags, shoes, and clothes.

  THE RANGE ROVER FIRST-CLASS SECTION

  8:19 A.M. September 2nd

  Massie tuned in to the crunching sound coming from the backseat. She tried to block it out of her head, but it kept getting louder. The faint smell of salt and greasy potatoes filled the air and Massie realized that Claire was eating chips, with no regard for the early hour or the high fat content. Massie pulled out her cell phone li
ke she was drawing a sword.

  MASSIE: SHE’S G2G

  ALICIA: SO DO HER BANGS

  DYLAN: H8 THE WHOLE HAIRCUT

  MASSIE: _ OUT THE SHOES

  Dylan, Alicia, and Kristen turned toward the backseat and at the same time lifted themselves up so they could get a good look at Claire’s feet. Massie was dying to see Claire’s reaction, but she didn’t have the heart to look.

  KRISTEN: BETTER DEAD THAN KED

  MASSIE: NOT A G.L.U.

  DYLAN: ??????

  MASSIE: GIRL LIKE US. NEW TERM

  DYLAN: LOVE IT!

  Massie slipped her phone back in its Prada nylon case, signaling the other girls that it was time to switch back to speaking.

  THE RANGE ROVER OCTAVIAN COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL

  8:27 A.M. September 2nd

  Claire’s eyes widened when she saw the school she was expected to go to for the next ten months. The parking lot was filled with Mercedes, Jaguars, Lexus SUVs, BMW convertibles, and even a few limos. Her old school just had yellow school buses and a few beat-up Toyotas and Hondas that belonged to the teachers.

  Her mouth started to taste like pennies, which usually meant she was about to puke. She tried to calm down by quietly singing the words to “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things,” from The Sound of Music—it worked for the von Trapp family and it had always worked for her.

  Raindrops on roses

  And whiskers on kittens …

  The massive brick buildings looked much more welcoming on the cover of the brochure. Tangles of green vines swirled up the walls all the way to the roof and tall pine trees surrounded them at the base. Claire figured the excessive greenery was nature’s way of keeping out the riffraff.

  The instant the car’s engine shut off, the girls were on the move. They walked beside each other in a straight line toward the great lawn that spilled out in front of the school’s entrance. Tight clusters of friends wearing slight variations of the same outfit were getting reacquainted after the summer break. Mostly everyone wore dark jeans or minis with a tank. The color and cut of the tops seemed left up to the individual, but everything else looked predetermined by the pages of Teen Vogue, Elle Girl, and Lucky. No one had Jansport knapsacks. Instead they carried handbags with designers’ initials stamped all over them.

  Claire thought it was funny how OCD was an anti-uniform private school, yet all the students dressed exactly the same. Thanks to her mother’s idea of “fashionable,” she was the only one who stood out.

  Bright copper kettles

  And warm woolen mittens …

  She took it all in while she waited patiently for someone to open the back door and let her out of the Range Rover. The clock on the dashboard said 8:30 A.M., which meant she only had ten minutes to find her first class. Isaac cranked up the volume on the stereo, sending loud classical music to every corner of the car, and before Claire knew it, they were moving.

  “Isaac,” she shouted from the back.

  He kept driving.

  “ISAAC!” Claire tried again.

  She lifted her leg over the seat and crawled into first class. She tapped Isaac on the shoulder.

  “Isaac,” Claire said, “unfortunately I have to get out.”

  He jumped and slammed on the brakes. “What are you doing here?”

  “That seems to be the question of the day,” Claire said.

  Isaac reversed the car back into the school’s circular driveway.

  “Thanks for the ride,” Claire said. Isaac closed the door after she stepped out.

  But Isaac didn’t answer. He was too busy searching the lawn for Massie.

  He spotted her hugging an eighth-grade girl with a scooter helmet in one hand and a yoga mat in the other.

  “Massie,” Isaac shouted. He obviously didn’t mind attracting attention because he screamed her name three more times.

  Everyone looked his way except Massie.

  He abandoned the Range Rover in the middle of the driveway despite the angry drivers who honked and demanded he move it.

  “I have to talk to you,” he said.

  Massie was still speaking to the eighth-grade girl. Dylan, Alicia, and Kristen waited patiently for her to finish so they could move on.

  “Massie!” Isaac said.

  “What?” she said.

  She looked at her friends and rolled her eyes.

  “You left Claire in the car.” He sounded annoyed.

  Massie and the girls let out a snicker.

  “I thought you were going to let her out,” Massie said. She smiled when she spoke.

  More giggles.

  Claire felt everyone’s eyes on her. She wanted desperately to tell them that she had been fine with being left in the car, that it was an honest misunderstanding, and that she’d in no way put Isaac up to this, but she didn’t. She sang to herself instead.

  Brown paper packages tied up with strings.

  These are a few of my favorite things.…

  “I expect you to treat Claire with kindness and respect.” Isaac looked straight into Massie’s amber eyes.

  “Uh, I better go,” the eighth-grade girl said. “Good luck with your babysitting job.” Claire watched her run toward her friends like she couldn’t wait to tell them what happened. Massie crossed her arms and stared back at Isaac.

  “Thanks a lot,” Massie said. “She’ll probably get at least fifty gossip points for this story.” She watched the eighth-grade girl laughing with her friends in the distance and pointing her out. Then she turned her attention back to the driver. “Isaac, did I ask you to take my temperature?”

  “What?” Isaac asked. “No.”

  “Then why are you all up in my butt?” Massie asked.

  “Oooh, no, you didn’t,” Alicia said.

  Dylan, Kristen, and Alicia whooped and hollered in celebration of Massie’s never-ending cleverness. They exchanged high fives in her honor.

  Even Claire couldn’t help but be a little bit impressed. Everything Massie said was so smart and funny and cool.

  Claire looked up at Isaac. She had no idea how he was going to react. She sort of expected him to pull Massie aside and yell or threaten to tell Massie’s parents, but he didn’t. He just stood tall and stared down at her. Massie stared straight back. It seemed like they were communicating telepathically using their own private language. Everyone watched in silence.

  “Fine.” Massie took off toward school and Claire followed. Isaac watched from a distance.

  “This is OCD,” Massie explained in a monotone voice. She sounded like a tour guide who had given the same spiel at least fifty times earlier that day.

  “When you get inside, you’ll see rows of kiosks that look like ATM machines,” Massie continued. “Put your student ID card in and your schedule will pop out. The café is to the left along with the gym, the dance studios, the pool, and the spa. On your right are the seventh-grade classrooms and the teachers’ lounge. Meet us here at exactly 3:25 if you want a ride home. If you’re not here, we’ll assume you decided to walk.”

  OCTAVIAN COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL THE STARBUCKS KIOSK

  11:25 A.M. September 2nd

  Second period had just ended and the girls met at the newly renovated on-campus café for chai lattes before their next class. The café was beautifully done up, complete with cherrywood paneling and brass accents. Kristen carefully grabbed the hot tea from the guy in the Starbucks booth and walked toward Massie, Dylan, and Alicia. They were leaning against a wall mural of people drinking hot beverages throughout history, their hands filled with notebooks, pocketbooks, and venti-size cups.

  A gaggle of studious girls dressed in different-colored Juicy sweat suits sped up and looked at the floor as they walked past Massie.

  “Look, it’s the Mathletes,” Massie said. “Cheer up, girls, school has finally started again.”

  They knew better than to respond.

  Alicia leaned toward her friends and whispered, “I think Jena Drezner is wearing her dog’s shirt b
y mistake. Look.” She pointed. “It barely covers her rib cage.”

  “Hi, you guys,” Jena said. “How was your summer? You all look so amazing, as usual. Hey, Massie, I heard you’re taking that new girl under your wing.”

  “What?” Massie said.

  “Yeah, everyone’s saying you have a new BFF,” Jena said. “I was hoping I could meet her. It’s been a while since we’ve had a real ‘fashion don’t’ around here. I’ve almost forgotten what one looks like. But if anyone can whip her into shape, you can.”

  “Check your source, Jena. Obviously if I had a new BFF, she’d be here right now.” Massie rolled her eyes and took a sip of her latte.

  When the girl left, Massie leaned in close to her friends and whispered, “I heard she peed in her bed at sleepover camp this summer.”

  “I heard the same thing,” Alicia said.

  “Too bad, I said it first, so I get two gossip points,” Massie said.

  But Massie had gotten a lot more than a few points from her encounter with Jena. She’d gotten tipped off to the fact that people were talking about her and Claire.

  “My social life is in a state of emergency,” Massie said under her breath.

  “You’re not really going to be friends with Claire,” Alicia said. “Are you?”

  “Yeah,” Massie said. “I’m dumping you and bringing her on full time.”

  “Are you serious?” Alicia asked. Her smile faded. A look of sheer horror took its place. “Is it because I didn’t want to cancel our shopping trip to take care of you yesterday? ’Cause I was only kidding.”

  “I know, so was I,” Massie said.

  She watched Alicia cross her arms in front of her chest like she had just caught a chill, but Massie knew she was hiding her big boobs. She always did when she got nervous.

  “Burberry cap,” Massie said. She pointed at a seventh grader wearing a hat made of the signature plaid. “No punch backs.” Massie hit Kristen on the arm as hard as she could.

  “Owwwww!” Kristen yelped. Her books fell to the floor and the scalding chai latte covered her chest and left arm.

  The first person to spot someone wearing anything made by Burberry got to punch whoever they wanted as hard as they wanted. That was the rule. They had been playing this for the last two years and had all suffered a painful blow at one time or another.