Queen B

Know Your Enemy: Part 2

The two of you sprint down the long dorm hall, and then the girl slams her keycard against a sensor outside a fancy door.

"Wish the circumstances were different," she says, "but welcome to the Winfrey dorm complex, AKA your new home!"

You stumble inside... and your jaw drops. Are you in a dorm, or a set right out of Better Homes and Gardens?

I get to live here? you wonder.

The girl drags you out of your fantasies of splendor, right back into the cold hard clutches of reality. "So, you got out of that one alive. Barely. How are you feeling?"

"Honestly..." you say, "I feel so alive. That was uh-may-zing! Who the hell was that department store mannequin anyway? And who the hell are you?"

"I'm Zoey Wade, your roomie," she replies. "This right here is our dorm. Your room's on the left, mine's on the right."

"Okay, I'll need answers. How the hell do you and all these other total strangers know who I am?" you ask. "And what's this 'tea' thing I've been hearing people talk about?"

"The T's the school gossip blog, but it's so much more than that. What it says about you can make you or break you. It can boost your rep, or it can destroy it... and you... and your entire future, basically." Zoey grimaces, then digs out her phone and hands it to you.

"A warning, this isn't pretty," she continues. "Just, like, steel yourself."

You stare down at a picture of yourself on a blog's home page. With a sinking feeling in your stomach, you start to scroll...

Up and at 'em, Thoroughbreds!
It's time to welcome a new addition to the Belvoire family, and oh is she special.

Bea Hughes (see the darling photo above) comes to us from the rolling plains of Farmsville!

Some perspective for you. If you had the porc aux champignons for dinner last night, that little piggy likely came from the pastures Bea calls home.

Bea's family just inherited a fortune from a deceased aunt! From trailer park to Central Park, I guess the once-hallowed doors of Belvoire are now open to any old rags to riches story.

Now, I'm sure Belvoire will be quite the culture shock for our darling Bea, but I'm more fascinated by the 'culture' she'll be bringing us! What does English even sound like in Farmsville?

For fun, record a video of Bea answering the question and submit it to The T for a shoutout on Twitter! But most importantly, Thoroughbreds, play nice.

Kisses,
The T

"Whoa..." you say. "Did someone go full detective mode on me?"

"That's what happens when you show up at Belvoire outta nowhere," Zoey says. "Don't think we'll ever find out who wrote this, though. The T runs on student submissions, and because most people are total spineless cowards, they submit anonymously. It might be the school's trashy gossip blog, but the fools around here treat it like CNN. And girl, you just made primetime news."

"Belvoire was supposed to be a fresh start for me. The beginning of a whole new life. I never imagined the people would be so..."

"Snooty? Shallow? Obsessively self-centered and addicted to the power trip they get from debasing others for their own cruel amusement?"

"All of the above."

"Welcome to Belvoire," Zoey says. "Hell on Earth, with a shiny veneer. I'll explain more, but not here. We need to get you off campus until the hype dies down. I know the perfect place, but first... you need a new look. I mean, I think you're adorable, but you can't walk around Belvoire looking like a strip mall poster child."

"But all I brought were jeans and comfy shirts," you say. "You know, simple stuff!"

"Lucky for you, I exist," Zoey says. "And, being perfect, I'm also the best roommate you'll ever have, to be proven in approximately ten seconds."

She disappears into her room and comes back a minute later with a zipped garment bag. You let her wrangle you into the outfit inside.

"This was gonna to be my 'fresh off the catwalk and ready for class' outfit, but damn, you look sexy as hell in it."

It's a red top with lace sleeves and a choker that dips into a low v-neck and a tight black leather skirt.

"I've never looked this good in my entire life!" you exclaim.

"Bea, please," Zoey says. "You're a babe all on your own. I'm just helping you accentuate it. Why don't you accessorize what you're wearing? This purse takes your outfit to the next level!" She hands a white and gold crossbody bag to you, and you slip it on.

"I'm literally transforming into a fashion icon before my own eyes!" you say.

"I'm officially obsessed with you right now," Zoey says. "So, ready to blow this joint and head somewhere The T's bloodthirsty readers will never find you?"

"That sounds like heaven. Are you talking about heaven? Because let's go!"