The Clique: Confessions of an Upperclassman

Octavian Country Day School Thursday, September 22nd 8:00 AM

“Three… Two… One… You may begin.”

Massie flipped open the cover of her exam booklet and began reading the first question. The day before, her friends had stayed at her house until late in the night for a crash study session. They had all done well on their most recent few practice tests and shouldn’t have been nervous, but the quickly approaching exam still gave them all jitters. Earlier that morning, while Massie prepared herself for the day ahead, her mom had even come into her room to try and calm her. Surprisingly, her mother’s soothing words and assurances actually helped, and Massie had yet another reason to do well on the SAT- to earn the love of her parents.

Her parents, her friends, her teachers, her classmates, her voters. She knew she had to prove herself to everyone, and that she was well prepared to do just that. Taking a deep breath, she filled in the circle for the answer to the first question and moved on to the next.

“Three… Two… One… Pencils down, girls.” Her homeroom teacher clicked her stopwatch, and Massie felt her whole body relax. “Please pass your exam booklets forward and then you are dismissed for lunch. Thank you!”

Massie did as instructed and headed out of the classroom. Exhausted from the hours of focus in the cramped desk, she joined the crowd of students filling the hallway and shuffling toward the cafeteria. She was almost to her usual table when she noticed it was empty and remembered to turn around and make for the staff bathroom instead.

“There you are!” Alicia blurted out as Massie quickly entered and shut the door behind her. “What did you think?”

“We’re so lucky with the writing prompt they went with for the essay!” Kristen added before Massie could respond.

“It’s like Ms. Kim knew what would be on the test…” Dylan agreed. “Creepy!”

Massie took a seat on the chaise they had put in and sighed, “I thought it went well, yeah the writing prompt was perfect, and yeah Dyl, Ms. Kim is on the board that designs the questions that’s why I hired her.” She rolled her eyes, as if the girls should have known this before. “Now, more importantly, I need to refresh and refocus for the debate.”

“We can go grab our lunches and eat in here, its quieter,” Kristen said nodding toward Dylan. The pair got up and left to secure a healthy meal for the clique.

“Here,” Alicia said, and handed Massie a tall can. “It’s got like three hundred milligrams of caffeine and no calories.”

Massie scanned through the ingredients and couldn’t pronounce a single one, but Alicia was right about the nutrition facts. She cracked open the can, careful not to break her red manicured nail, and took a sip. The artificial sweetness practically burned her tongue, and the drink fizzed down her throat as she swallowed.

“Ah,” Massie said, instantly feeling more awake. “Nectar of the gods.”

Alicia laughed and stood up. “I’m gonna go scope out the auditorium. I’ll take pics so you know what to expect.”

“Thank Leesh,” Massie said sincerely, “I couldn’t do this without you.”

The two best friends shared a smile and a moment of genuine appreciation for each other, and then Alicia walked out, leaving Massie to herself. The door slowly closed behind her and once the alpha heard the click of it sealing shut, she also stood.  She walked over to the sink and stared at her reflection in the mirror above it.

Her eyes, although slightly bloodshot, were sharp and focused. She reached into her Kate Spade tote bag and pulled out a bottle of whitening drops. With the lack of sleep she had been getting recently, she was no stranger to the trick, and effortless squeezed a droplet into each eye without any tears. Her eye makeup was clean, with a neat small, winged liner, but her lips, which had previously been coated in Glossip Girl’s Peaches and Cream gloss, were bare. She rummaged around her bag again and pulled out a saturated, red MAC lipstick, which she applied with a brush to be extra careful. She took a step back and, reaching up, unclipped her hair from the updo she had it in for testing. Her brown and blonde locks fell down around her shoulders, and she finger combed and styled it before adding a spritz of hair spray to keep it all in place. Finally, she turned slowly, examining the outfit she had on. She had picked it out weeks in advance. A white fitted blazer with matching white slacks that slightly flared at the bottom, ultra-high red pumps, and a black lacy top underneath with a plunging neckline for some spice. Despite sitting at her desk all morning, the expensive fabric hadn’t wrinkled at all, and she felt good not having to make any adjustments.

Massie looked side to side despite being alone in the bathroom and was silent for a moment, listening for approaching footsteps. She heard nothing except for the distant clamor of the cafeteria, but still moved into the accessible stall and locked the door. After reaching into her back once more, she held up the orange prescription bottle filled with matching orange pills. Her charm bracelet jingled as she twisted open the childproof cap and shook out one of the pills into the palm of her hand.

“Don’t fail me now.” She whispered out loud to herself, and placed the Adderall on her tongue, chasing it down with a gulp of the energy drink.

As she left the stall and moved back to the couch, the bathroom door opened and Dylan and Kristen walked in holding two containers each, along with drinks and utensils.

“We got Buddha bowls!” Dylan announced and set some of the items down on the small side table next to the chaise.

Alicia followed in behind them, “Ooh! Yum!”

For the rest of the period, the Pretty Committee sat together in their private room, eating, prepping Massie for the debate, and showering her with words of encouragement. By the end of the lunch hour, Massie’s heart was pounding. Not with fear or anxiety, but with excitement. She had accomplished everything she ever wanted with the help of her friends and this debate would be no different.

The bell rang and an announcement sounded over the speakers, instructing all students to head to the auditorium for assembly to watch the debate. The clique stood, linked arms, and strutted down the hall.