**Officially published as Clique Bait with HarperTeen!**
Payment is usually a part of a basic transaction. You give and then you take. But, at Arlington Preparatory, people take at their leisure. They take their entertainment in the form of humiliat...
They were so glad to see me leave, don't flatter me.
Ah, I remember that scarf. I guess you can keep it, my mother thought it was terrible.
What it's like for me? Hmm. Uneventful. But how could anything be as interesting as Arlington? A new scandal every day. I do admit I'm envious of your position, you can watch all of the drama. Keep me updated!
Love, Monica
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On my first day of Arlington Preparatory, Francis Greene took Lola Davenport's hand in his and asked her to be his girlfriend in front of the whole of freshman year. It was cheesy, awkward and most importantly it drew the whole school's attention.
She said no.
And so the next week he stepped up his game. He got each of his friends to deliver her a single flower, a different type each. One peony. One rose. One tulip.
And then on the last day of the week, Francis arrived with the biggest bouquet I'd ever seen.
She said yes after that.
I guess that day forged the start of something. Lola's friends – Sophie and Li, met Francis' – Max, William and Piers. Soon their circle absorbed exclusive others, the 'lucky' ones, like Maddy and Zach, as well as a few other members who'd since fallen from grace. It was no surprise they inherited prime positions in level one when the years in front of us graduated.
I knew Francis and Lola cheated. Their relationship was more about ownership than romance, anyone could see that. But I didn't know just how close they were with the people they cheated with.
"You're going to have to give me a better reason than that," I said, shaking the image of Lola and William from my mind. Every time I formed a clear picture, I shivered in repulsion. Something about William sleeping with her. Him, of all people.
He exhaled quickly, his frustration evident as he leant past me to try another password. "Do you think there's a way to crack this?"
I sighed and turned to my laptop. Conveniently, I did have a rough code outlined for cracking document passwords. "I need to know, William. We can't both have hidden agendas here."
"It's Will," he reminded me. "And I don't know if it's something I want to talk about."
"Did you love her?"
Silence.
I scrolled through the code, trying to mentally list the things I'd need to change for it to work on Will's file. I bit my bottom lip in thought. Too far, Chloe, you idiot. I wouldn't hesitate to blurt out a question so personal to Monica, but Will and I weren't friends like her and I. We weren't even supposed to be friends at all.
