**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...
You don't need to worry about me. I've already lost all I had to lose, and that was you.
Love Chlo
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"Now that he's not lurking, want to do some shots?" Maddy offered once William was out of earshot.
"Sure," I said. Then I remembered William's advice the night before, and so I planted a sheepish smile on my lips. "You know, I'm really not used to drinking very much."
Maddy looked surprised, but her attention was temporarily occupied with reading the labels of several expensive spirit bottles which had been lining a nearby end table. Her ebony hair was smoothed back out of her face, and her cheekbones were contoured so sharply they could almost be weaponized.
"Well, tonight can be for special occasions," Maddy said perkily. I wondered if there were more to her words that celebratory drinking, but before I could process them a shot was pressed to my palm. "Drink up."
I did as told, and promised myself that from now I'd be more careful about my consumption. I needed to be tipsy to blend in, but letting my guard down around level one could be my downfall.
"Now, come downstairs with me for a moment, will you?" she asked before I'd had the chance to unscrew my nose from its expression of distaste.
I followed suite and we descended back down the ivory stairs. My gaze searched for William one last time before he'd be out of sight, but there were too many people to catch a glance. I wondered who he could be talking to. Would he speak to Lola tonight? Should I be worried about our image?
Maddy weaved through the drunken high schoolers as if it were a talent she'd long been practicing, her hand clenched tightly around mine. I recognized a few others from our school, all level twos mingling with people I'd never seen before – likely students from other private schools in the area.
We sifted through a hallway and into what looked like an oversized study. The room was filled with bookshelves and papers, all hoarded into messy piles and strewn over every surface. A computer on a desk took up a lot of the room, but there was still enough for a large sofa, which was where a handful of unfamiliar people were mingling.
Maddy seemed to recognize one of them. The music which had been amplified in the larger rooms was muted down here, so much so that I could hear each clink of her Jimmy Choos against the wooden floors, the conversations of the occupants now ceased. I had no idea what she was doing.
"Lola sent me," Maddy said, her eyes hooded as she took in the tall boy in front of her. He was dressed in dark clothing and his eyes were a frighteningly pale blue. The shimmer of a jewel hung in his lip.
