Goldmont Girls: Secrets and Lies

Chapter 1: Karissa

Karissa Herzel squinted in the bright, Goldmont sun. Of course she forgot to bring her gold Gucci sunglasses. Her mom had bought them for her a few weeks ago, because she just couldn't stand seeing Karissa wear the "cheap" ones. Karissa's mom couldn't stand lots of things, and Karissa was pretty sure one of them was her. She was always so quick to censure her for inconsequential things. She always had a boastful and prideful attitude about herself, while Karissa was more diffident and timid. The only thing that they had in common was curly black hair and green eyes. But they were still pretty different, since Karissa was warm shade of golden brown, like her Dad, and her mom was as pale as the moon.

The sun shined strongly on Karissa's back as she made her way past the crowded parking lot behind Rory Ann High School Academy, a private high school in the city of Goldmont, California. The back of the school was crowded with rich Goldmont kids, scampering around in a rush to leave school. The flag of the United States flapped in the warm breeze. Karissa could see a group of cool kids hanging around the flagpole, including Kalea Johan, Monica Teasherallen, Chrissy Lamor, and some blond that Karissa didn't recognize.

A sharp voice suddenly called out, sounding vaguely similar to Karissa's mom; Sasha Herzel.

"Karissa!"

Karissa spun around. A sleek silver Mercedes pulled up beside her, with the obvious pink stripes across the each window; an acclaimed signature that the car belonged to Mrs.Herzel. The front windows rolled down, revealing her scowling mom and one of her Mrs.Herzel's best friends, Brittany Lantser.

"Mom?!" Karissa exclaimed, nearly falling over in bewilderment. What was she doing here?

Karissa recalled last Wednesday, when she had last seen her Mom. It was a super stormy night, and Mrs.Herzel was reading a Vogue magazine on her new Hampton sectional sofa she had bought in a recent trip down South. Karissa's dad was staying late at work. As for Karissa, she was lazily watching America's Next Top Model when her mom suddenly sprang up, grabbed her purse, and left without a word. It wasn't unusual occurrence--her Mom was always disappearing at the most random moments. It was peculiar for her to pick Karissa up at school, though. Her mom's driver, Louis Van Horven, usually dropped her off and picked her up from school and other activities every day.

Karissa approached the car. "Where's Louis?"

A flicker of worry had spread across her mom's face, then disgust. "Just get in the backseat, okay?" She demanded.

Karissa reluctantly climbed in the backseat with a sigh. She plopped her school satchel on the seat next to her and blankly stared outside the window. The kids near the flagpole were all climbing into Monica Teasherallen's pink Porsche.

Karissa's mom turned around and looked her over. "Where are your Gucci sunglasses?" She implied, with a slight infuriated look.

"Uh, at home. I didn't know it was going to be so sunny today." Karissa lied. The truth was, she hated the style of those sunglasses and vowed to never wear them again. But she couldn't tell her mom that.

Her mom turned back around towards the steering wheel. "Whatever." She muttered under her breath. After a few minutes of silence, Brittany began to talk about her latest hair experiment. She had dyed her hair a dull reddish color. Brittany was always experimenting with her hair for some reason. Last year, she had offered to give Karissa blue and yellow streaks. No way was she letting that happen.

As they entered one of the main streets in Goldmont, Stoland Street, Karissa's iPhone made a small ping. She quickly checked the message. It was Marty Turner, her best friend since the beginning of last school year.