SUPER RICH KIDS

CHAPTER FOUR

THE FIRST DAY OF CLASSES IS NOT GOING the way Noelle Grimaldi planned. Meaning, it's fucking horrible. And she hasn't even left her dorm yet.

First of all, her HomePod- which she had set to play Gwen Stefani's 'Rich Girl' to wake her up- hadn't gone off and she woke up half an hour later- when her irritating roommate had tentatively told her that she was going down to breakfast. She shot out of bed and checked the time- 7:00 A.M. She had only one hour to get completely ready and eat breakfast- but she'd have to grab a yogurt or something equally light. And she had made breakfast plans with Sebastian for 7:20. She'd have to rush.

She barely even glances at her roommate, Natalia, who is perched daintily on her silk duvet, long onyx waves cascading down her back and a yellow silk headband set atop it all. She was dressed crisply in a gray pinstripe Versace pencil skirt, a fitted Oxford, a skinny yellow JCrew belt that matched her headband, and a pair of yellow Louboutin pumps.

She looks both sophisticated and beautiful, something that makes Noelle want to yank her hair out. She's supposed to be the one sitting coolly on her bed watching her frazzled roommate run around in ratty pajamas (well, silk La Perla nightie, but same difference).

Slamming the bathroom door behind her, Noelle quickly strips, hops into the shower and jumps back out in record time, steam filling the room and clouding the mirrors. She straightens her still-damp hair, quickly swipes on some lengthening mascara, wine-colored Chanel lipstick, and slipped on a Crest Whitening strip. Then she shimmies into an off-white silk Catherine Malandrino cap-sleeve minidress, black, opaque tights, and a pair of silver Louboutin heels.

She wraps a delicate turquoise and silver Hermes paisley scarf around her neck and gazes critically at herself in the mirror. She looks like a European model that had wandered off the runway and spent her free time sitting at Starbucks, sipping Caramel Macchiatos, and reading Shakespeare sonnets. Perfect.

Opening the bathroom door, she expects to see an empty room but instead finds Natalia and Aurelia sitting on the metallic beanbags scattered across the room, laughing over something. At the sight of Aurelia, all self-confidence flees from her body and she feels herself staring enviously.

"Hey Elle," Aurelia nods with a small smirk. She stands and stretches languidly, her silky chestnut waves falling perfectly to mid-back. She runs a hand down the side of her gunmetal silk Dior off-the-shoulder dress that barely hits mid-thigh, which, paired with apple-red tights and black Emilio Pucci block heel knee-high boots, looks both edgy and classic. A cable-knit beret, the exact shade of her tights, sits atop her hair and a stack of vintage diamond cuff bangles engulf her slim wrists.

It's days like these when Noelle hates her half-sister even more. Aurelia could just walk around in an oversized t-shirt and tube socks and still be asked to pose on the cover of the latest Vogue (something that actually happened during Spring Break). But on the days when she actually cares about her appearance, she looks so breathtakingly flawless, it's a wonder that she's not surrounded by a golden mist or something equally celestial. And you know, make everyone around her look disturbingly ugly in comparison.

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A VALENTINO DRESS CLAD JULIETTE takes a deep breath and steps into her AP Psych class- one of her favorites. She had compared schedules with the rest of the Usual Suspects during breakfast and found that not only are Devin, Justin, and Corinne in that class but so are Aaron and Christian.

The moment she steps into the classroom, she spots Devin, clad in a simple white Saint Laurent fitted crewneck sweater and a black high-waisted belted studded skirt of the same brand. His feet are adorned with some black Le Silla knee-high boots and Justin, donning a white Saint Laurent sweater and dark jeans, with black and white Louboutin sneakers on his feet, in the back corner of the room- Devin is sitting on Justin's lap while they whisper things into each other's ears (Juliette doesn't even want to know) while sneaking in kisses- Could they lay off the tongue while they're in class at least? She thinks in exasperation. But then again, she's like that with her own girlfriend.