The night after the debate, Massie decided she and the Pretty Committee needed a much-needed vacation, and their three-day weekend seemed perfect for a little getaway. By the next morning the four girls were up at one of the Block’s many vacation homes. This one was a cabin-style mansion on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The surrounding forest was painted in hues of reds and oranges- the perfect backdrop for their fall photoshoots. The girls spent most of the first day there nearly comatose. Each of them was exhausted from their various obligations for their future plans and now that they had a moment to spare, they couldn’t get themselves to do anything but lay down and binge watch gossip girl.
Kristen returned from the front door to the main entertainment room in the cabin. Her voice echoed against the hickory wood floors and high, vaulted ceilings, “Dinner time!” She sang, holding up the bags of food from the luxury steakhouse they ordered from.
Massie’s stomach growled. She never ate red meat. In fact, she considered herself to be entirely plant based 99% of the time. But all of her efforts had left her starving in a way that a green juice couldn’t quite satisfy. “Miriam!” She shouted for the live-in housekeeper, who appeared promptly, “Could you plate this in the dining room for us, please?” She asked kindly. The woman nodded, lifted the bags of takeout off of Kristen’s arms, and scurried off to prepare it.
“I thought we could keep watching while we eat?” Dylan groaned.
“Just because we’re on vacation, doesn’t mean we lose ALL etiquette.” Massie said, switching off the giant flat screen. “C’mon.”
The girls walked into the dining room and took their seats, with Massie at the head of the table. The walls of the room were almost entirely windows, giving them view of the plunge down to the ocean. “This is so much better than the suburbia of Westchester. I should move here.” Kristen sighed.
“I could never live this far north- too cold!” Alicia shivered.
“You need a big strong lumberjack to keep you warm up here!” Dylan joked and then widened her eyes, “That reminds me!” She darted off back towards the entertainment room and returned holding her phone. “Check out my Romeo!”
Massie grabbed the phone first and scrutinized the Instagram picture in front of her.
“His name is Alexander,” Dylan gushed.
The teen guy looked tall and lean with dark shaggy hair that almost reached his eyes, which were pale grey and staring away from the camera. He wore a sweater vest over a disheveled and untucked white button down paired with dark skinny jeans.
“He’s definitely giving off tortured artist vibes,” Massie said finally. She carelessly tossed the phone to Alicia and turned her gaze towards Dylan, accusingly.
“I know, I know! Boy Ban!” Dylan defended, “Our relationship is strictly professional, I just wanted you all to know that he is AWF limits and on reserve for Moi!” The redhead blinked rapidly and smiled sweetly at Massie, who rolled her eyes and shrugged.
“As long as you don’t cross that line until after you’re accepted to Julliard, he’s yours.” She decided. Dylan squealed with delight.
“Definitely a HART, they casted him well!” Alicia confirmed and passed the phone on to Kristen.
“EH MAH GAWD.” Kristen stared wide eyed at the screen.
“I know, right?” Dylan giggled.
“No, not that-“ Kristen shook her head as if to reset her mind and then looked closer at the screen. “You have a notification from the College Board!”
“WHAT!” Dylan practically dove across the table and pulled her phone from Kristen’s hands. “TEST RESULTS!!!”
The room burst with energy and all four girls sprinted back to the entertainment room to get the other phones. “IT’S TRUE I HAVE THE NOTIFICATION TOO!” Alicia screeched.
“OKAY, CALM DOWN, WE’LL ALL OPEN THEM ON THREE!” Massie dictated.
“One…” Kristen started with a shaky breath.
“Two…” The rest of the clique joined in.
“Three!”
There was a brief moment of silence as they all loaded their results and scanned the page for the numbers they needed. Kristen was the first to laugh and then collapse on the couch behind her with a sigh of relief.
“1520!” She said aloud. “1520 out of 1600, I did it!”
Massie’s face lit up and she turned her phone toward Kristen. “1560! We’re both at nearly perfect scores!” Kristen held her arms open and Massie fell into a hug with her on the couch, both friends genuinely happy for each other.
“I got 1420?” Dylan said quietly. “Is that good?”
“So good!” Kristen smiled brightly and grabbed her friends hand, “Exactly what you’d need to get into Julliard!” A slow smile spread across Dylan’s face and soon she was laughing in relief as well.
“I literally don’t believe it,” Dylan said, sitting herself on the floor and furiously typing a message to her mom.
“All those prep sessions worked!” Massie sang in a high pitched voice. Her face quicky dropped and she sat up. “Leesh? Did yours load?”
Alicia was standing still in the same spot she was during the countdown. Her face was motionless. Massie got up and rushed to her friend’s side. Looking over her shoulder she read the number on the screen and wrapped her arm around her friend.
“1200.” Alicia practically whispered before two huge tears rolled down her cheeks and fell to the floor. Dylan and Kristen immediately got up to comfort her.
“That’s not bad at all! And you’re guaranteed to score higher on the retake!” Kristen blurted.
“Yeah, and you have plenty of time to prepare and study whatever sections need studying!” Dylan added. As they got closer and moved to pull Alicia into a group hug, she quickly took a step back.
“No.” She said in a shaky voice. “I did the best I could and it just wasn’t enough. I can’t get a better score, I can’t spend another month of my life in the library with that horrible, scary woman just to have a better future, I don’t even know if I have a future at all now!”
“Leesh,” Massie said softly, “Don’t say that. We’ll work with you and even a 1300 could mean the difference between NYU and an Ivy school! Only 100 points!”
Alicia scoffed and turned away from her friends toward the door. “Only 100 points.” She repeated. “You just don’t get it, you all have your happy ending scores. You’re done. You can enjoy your getaway. I’m going home.”
With that she marched away and out of the house, followed by the Housekeeper, Miriam, carrying Alicia’s bag and coat. The Pretty Committee stood watching while the door slammed shut. For the first time in a while, Massie didn’t know what to say. Alicia was right, she and Kristen and Dylan had gotten their happy endings for the moment and could move on but things didn’t go as planned for Alicia the way they always had for Massie.
“Do you think she’ll come back?” Dylan interrupted Massie’s thoughts.
“No,” Massie answered. “I think she needs to cool off in her own way. I’ll talk to her more tomorrow.”
“I’m sure she’ll feel better by the time Monday comes around,” Kristen added encouragingly.
Massie wasn’t as sure.
YOU ARE READING
The Clique: Confessions of an Upperclassman
Teen FictionThe clique... the only thing harder than getting in, is getting into college.
