tbh

4. Social Hierarchy

Natalie tried not to look overly pathetic as she sat at the back row, glancing anxiously as her classmates paired off with their own groups and chatted about their awesome summer.

"I had to attend my uncle's wedding," Natalie heard her seatmate grumble to her friends. "What a pain. But you know, he's the Hollywood's plastic surgeon to the stars, so my mother forced me to. The only good thing was that I managed to hook up with some hot guy, but all in all, it sucked."

"Tell me about it," another one of them said. "All I did this summer was to hole up in my family's summer house in Aspen. One word: bo-ring."

This isn't what I had in mind at all, thought Natalie, turning to her cellphone and trying to look busy. Tears were forming in her eyes, and she quickly blinked to force them back. I need to quickly change the situation around, but how?

She couldn't talk about her own summer story; it was about as interesting as wearing an executive suit. All she did that summer was to read book after book about how to be popular. Not only would it come off as desperate, she'd probably ruin all her chances at being part of the in crowd.

"Well, we all know who practically had a perfect summer, and it wasn't any of us." Natalie peeked at their group and saw the blonde girl who spoke. She looked a lot like Jennifer Lawrence, and judging by the way she looked into her compact mirror, she knew it too. "Have you seen A's blog yet? By the looks of the pictures she posted, she and Maeve must have attended every party in LA."

"Oh yeah, I saw that. I think she officially proclaimed that blue was the color for this month."

Natalie perked up. She was certain that the A they were talking about was the same A the brunette who bumped into her earlier had been chasing, and that whoever this 'A' was, she was the queen of BHHS' social hierarchy.

"I heard she got, like, pregnant with a dropout from Yale," Natalie's seatmate said. "That must be why she's getting fat."

Natalie rolled her eyes. She was no expert with pregnancy, but from the looks of A earlier that morning, she was about as fat as a Victoria Secret model.

"Yeah. Maybe that's why she's glowing. Pregnant women do that, you know." Jennifer Lawrence look-alike snapped her compact mirror shut and smirked at her friends. "Let's just hope she didn't get STD."

Natalie took a deep breath. It was her chance, and she didn't want to blow it. "What's the name of the blog?"

Only she was so nervous that it came out as "W-what's the name of the blog?"

All of them turned around to stare at her, eyes disbelieving that someone would actually dare to join them. There was an awkward pause, one that Natalie didn't know how to fill.

"It's www.tbh.com," her seatmate finally replied. "What's it to you?"

Natalie swallowed and tried to rein back her confidence. "Nothing. Just want to ask." Then she added, "Is that wrong?"

Natalie hated conflict, but if she didn't show a bit of her claws now, she'd be forever labeled as a weakling.

"Well, whatever," Jennifer Lawrence look-alike said, eyeing her. "Just mind your own business from now on."

"Duly noted," Natalie replied, leaning back in her seat. She was so nervous her fingers trembled, but she managed to create a relaxed air of indifference. She wanted so badly to get out of there and rush to the bathroom, but if she got out now, she'd look like a coward.

Instead, she stayed in her seat and typed www.tbh.com in her phone.

Are you in or are you out?

Natalie's eyes widened before narrowing. You tell me, she thought.

Already, she could tell this blog was going to be her ticket to the in-crowd.

She scrolled through pictures of A and her friends, past A's list of What's HOT and What's NOT. There were also comments from A about some of her friends, some of which were more than insulting.

WTF alert: Just how desperate is a certain someone in being part of the in crowd?

Natalie stiffened, glancing up from her phone and surveying her classmates. Did they find her out? Had A actually managed to find out that Natalie was nothing more than a poseur?

Heart thumping, she continued to read.

Kiss kiss, A.

Beneath that was a picture of a pretty Asian girl, smiling beside a hot guy who was nibbling her neck. Only A had edited it and pasted the word 'slut' on the girl's short denim mini-dress.

It was evil of her, but Natalie sighed in relief when she saw that. It wasn't her. Thank God.

She knew it already, but the blog just furthermore confirmed it.

Fitting in with the in-crowd isn't going to be easy.