Drama

CHAPTER THREE

"Take a look around you, sweetie." Liz swept her arm dramatically over the pulsing skyline of New York City. "This is the center of the universe."

Oh God, here we go again. Carly had heard this speech so many times, she could nearly recite it herself. The eager looking freshman at Liz's side, on the other hand, seemed completely enthralled.

"The center of the artistic universe. And it's all ours. There are thousands of people out there starving and slaving, hoping for just one break that will take them from their rat-infested studio apartments to a penthouse on Park Ave. But we will never be them. And do you know why?"

A head start. Carly snickered to herself.

"No, why?" The wide-eyed Freshy cooed.

"Because we have a head start. That's what Madison is all about. The school should have direct subway lines to Julliard and NYU because that's where it takes us. Our school has the highest success rate of any arts magnet school in the country."

The three of them were on Liz's rooftop terrace, atop her five story townhouse. It was one of the famed original cast iron buildings of SoHo and the terrace was dramatic, with a 360 degree view of the city around them and the hum of the traffic on the streets below. It was the perfect setting for Liz to continue her explanation of the facts of life to the anxious newcomer.

"Mmm hmm..." the freshman said.

"Here, have a drink," Liz said, pouring a tall glass of raspberry iced tea. The girl glanced nervously at the glass.

"Is there um... alcohol in this?" She asked, her eyes growing wider by the second.

Liz cocked her head in a gesture of "oh, look at the silly little girl" and reassured the fledgling. "Of course not. It's a school night. We aren't alcoholics, dear. And while not drinking on a school night isn't necessarily a cardinal rule, we rarely partake of any mind-altering substances during the week. Unless we're given a very good reason. But you'll learn more about those rules later."

"Rules?"

"Of course. There are rules to being a part of MWS just as there are rules to being a part of, well... us." Liz gestured toward Carly who was sprawled out on a deck chair, looking carefree and chic. "I'm sure you had similar rules at your last school. Where did you say you went before?"

"Redding Prep."

Liz nearly dropped her tall glass of tea but managed to barely hang onto it, along with her composure. "Redding? Upper-East-Side Redding?" Liz's eyes narrowed and her voice became mildly shrill. "Are you an Upper-Easter, sweetie?"

The more Liz called the freshman "dear" and "sweetie" the more convinced Carly became that Liz had absolutely no idea what the poor girl's name actually was. Wasn't it Darlene? Or Daria?

"Ummm..." Darlene or Daria seemed unsure how to answer Liz's pointed question about her NYC geographical credentials. "Not really. I live here in SoHo, I just used to go to Redding. My parents thought it would be good for me, I guess."

Liz looked relieved. "Oh, yeah," she smirked. "Upper East side prep schools are just great. A bunch of burgeoning pill poppers who have no ambition beyond carrying the latest handbag and eventually marrying someone rich enough to support their closet cocaine addictions. I hope you didn't pick up any of their nasty habits while you were among them, did you, Darla?"

Ah-ha! Darla. So Liz did know her name after all. Carly hid a smile behind the rim of her tea glass.

"No. I don't think so. I never really fit in there."