The Clique: Confessions of an Upperclassman

The Block Estate Thursday, September 28th 6:25 AM

Thursday morning, Massie woke up with a terrible migraine. She had hardly slept that night, or any night since starting her Adderall prescription. She knew headaches and lack of sleep could be side effects, but today it felt as if it was all catching up with her.

“Hey Siri,” she mumbled from behind her sleeping mask. “Text the PC: it’s a sick day…”

With her phone’s confirmation, she rolled over and let herself lay there for a few more unrestful hours until her head felt good enough to get up. As usual, she first used her phone to turn on the lights and open the windows. The sky was cloudy, but her weather app showed that it was an unusually warm fall day. Just as she was deciding what to do, her mom, Kendra, barged into her room.

“Oh!” The shock on her mother’s face proved she had no idea about Massie’s sick day. “Honey, what are you doing here? You’re late for school!” She walked past her daughter towards the large bay window on the other end of the room and fumbled with it while Massie responded.

“I don’t feel well. I decided I need a sick day.” She watched from her bed as her mom opened and closed the window a few times and then stood back with her hands on her hips, not responding. “What are you doing in here anyways?” Massie said, annoyed with the silence.

“Hmm? Oh- sorry dear, it’s just I was thinking of having the windows replaced before it gets much colder and I-,” She shook her head, seeming to switch from her usual rich housewife role to a slightly more unfamiliar motherly mode. “I’m sorry- you’re sick. Do you want me to have the chef bring some soup? Or tea?”

Massie sighed. “Tea would be nice… and an Excedrin.” She added, wincing as her head throbbed.

Her mother nodded and tapped a message into her phone, and then put it down and inspected her daughter’s face closely. “Excedrin…” she mumbled to herself. “Mass, you look a bit puffy, honey. Have you been crying?”

Massie immediately stood and made her way toward the bathroom. “No.” she said bluntly. “Just trouble sleeping.”

“Feeling sick, trouble sleeping…” Her mom trailed after her but stopped as Massie closed the bathroom door in her face. “It’s just not like you! We Block’s have a very good immune system, you know. Is something else going on?”

Massie turned the water on and splashed her face, using the moment to gather herself. She took her time patting her skin dry before opening the door to see her mother still standing there patiently.

“I just have a lot going on right now.” She admitted. Her mom opened her mouth to speak, but Inez walked in holding a tray with a mug of tea and two small pills.

“Thank you, Inez!” Massie and her mother said in sync. Her mom chuckled while Massie chased the pills down with the tea.

“Elderberry. Perfect!” Massie smiled, feeling the hot liquid warm her from the inside. The housekeeper simply smiled back and with a quick nod, headed back downstairs.

Kendra took a seat on the chaise and patted the spot next to her, giving Massie a look that was more commanding than empathetic. Massie took the seat next to her.

“Is it the election? I thought you had that in the bag? And we know your SAT score was perfect.”

Massie rolled her eyes. “Near perfect.” She corrected. “It’s not just that. I mean we still have midterms and then college visits and applications. And I have Kristen’s soccer schedule in my head, you know I go to all of her games, and I hear all about Dylan’s rehearsals and how she’ll have performances soon. I don’t even know what my schedule will look like once I get President.”

“And Alicia?”

Massie hesitated for just long enough that her mom narrowed her eyes, knowing she was on to something. “What’s going on with Alicia?”

Massie could feel the beginning of a burning sensation behind her eyes and swallowed. “Alicia and I aren’t talking right now.” She let out quietly.

Kendra took the mug of tea from Massie’s hands and placed it on the side table next to them. Once their hands were free, she pulled Massie toward her into an uncomfortable side hug. At first Massie couldn’t bear the awkwardness, but she soon relaxed. She hadn’t felt this comfortable or talked this freely in a long time and she was ready to let loose.

“She was hanging out with Josh a lot. He basically cheated on her with some freshman last year. He’s awful to her and she has so much more potential. Then she found out she didn’t do as well as us on the SAT. We shouldn’t have even opened them together, but we all studied together for so long I didn’t think we’d score that differently. Then she went AWOL. She left the cabin early and didn’t talk to any of us and on Monday she got dropped off by Josh and was being so aggressive and accused me of bullying her!” Massie could feel the words spilling out of her mouth but couldn’t stop. “I just want my best friend back. “

Massie’s mom stroked her hair and let out a long sigh. “I understand. And I promise you, I’ve been there.”

Massie scrunched her eyebrows together, doubting that her mom had ever been in a situation quite like this.

“Massie, in life there are going to be many people who are jealous of you. Friends and enemies. And jealousy can bring out the worst in people.”

“Alicia’s jealous of me?” Massie questioned.

“Of you, of Dylan, of Alicia,” Kendra went on. “But when this happens you have two options. You can let them be jealous and move on, move forward, or you can reach out your hand and pull them up with you.”

Massie paused. “What if she doesn’t take my hand?” She asked quietly.

“Oh honey,” her mom squeezed her tighter, “That’s up to her. But it’s up to you to keep reaching. And I have a feeling it will work out.”

Massie nodded. She spent the rest of her sick day getting assignments from Kristen and catching up on what she missed, and then took the evening off to catch up on her favorite shows. She and her mom went for a ride along the trail near their stables and used the time to talk more about her future and options for university. As she lay in her bed at the end of the day, all she could think of was how to reach out to Alicia.