Welcome to Bridgeport Academy, an elite boarding school in New York where glamorous rich kids don't let rules get in the way of a good time.
[ Based on the It Girl series by Cecily Von Ziegesar ]
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Friday afternoon, Alex sat in the locker room before the first day of field hockey practice tugging at the silver promise ring Quincy had given her over the summer. The thing was stuck on her finger, but she wanted it off. As soon as she'd sunk into the plush black leather seats of Michael's family limousine (he'd had it take her back to Bridgeport since he was sailing back in his boat) she'd been in Michael withdrawal. They hadn't even kissed, but she felt like she could still smell him on her.
"Hey," a voice beckoned shyly.
Alex turned to see Kae sitting next to her on the long bench, pulling socks over her shin guards. Her long hair was pulled back off her face in a high ponytail, and she wore gray sweat shorts and a cutoff t-shirt. Alex had felt bad for Kae when she received Michael's e-mail, but that was what you got for taking the fall for Robyn.
"Hey," Alex said back.
Kae squirmed, pretzeling her legs as if she had to pee. "So, I think there's something you should know."
Alex stared at Kae. Was she going to fess up about what had happened that night with Chris? Or maybe Robyn had confessed something about Jasmine's expulsion? Whatever it was, Alex definitely wanted to hear it. "What?"
"I...I saw you leave in the middle of the night. And I know where you were."
Alex stared at her, feeling her lips curl up the way they did when she got scared. "What?" Her voice was barely audible.
"It's okay," Kae said quickly. Alex's face grew tense, making her eyes look huge and dark. Kae had contemplated whether or not it made sense to say anything to Alex. The thing was, she wasn't so great at keeping secrets. She wasn't someone who would tell the whole world, but she always had to tell at least one other person. It made carrying the secret's burden a little easier. So why not tell Alex's secret back to Alex herself?
"You don't know anything," Alex muttered, turning away to look at the freshly raked playing field.
"Look, please, please don't worry," Kae pleaded, her voice growing squeaky. "Your secret is safe with me. Honestly. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."
From the middle of the field, Coach Johnson blew the whistle. "Girls! Gather around!"
Alex stared at Kae. Was she serious, or was this some sort of ploy? Could Kae be trusted? Last year Alex, Robyn and Jasmine used to sit around in their room at night and talk about every detail of their days, no matter how mundane or spectacular. They'd been the kind of best friends who are almost like sisters, because they loved one another so much that even when they pissed each other off, they knew they were still going to be each other's bridesmaids someday. But the Jasmine/E fiasco had made Alex a lot more suspicious. If Robyn could betray Jasmine like that (not that Alex knew exactly what had gone down, but still) who knew what Kae would do to her?
"You better not tell anybody," Alex warned, ignoring Kae's annoyingly innocent expression. She couldn't possibly be that innocent, especially if she was from the city.
