The Ones to Be Envied

An introduction to all the girls.

C

hristina Bankston couldn’t have been more excited. She was going shopping in the best designer clothes district in New Haverbrook. They had Gucci, Christian Grand (the most editorial fashion designer since Coco Chanel), Zac Posen, Stella McCartney, Tory Burch, and all the rest.

Christina had everything: perfect friends, popularity, and money; she even had good parents.  

She had closets stuffed with designer clothing, from Emilio Pucci’s wild print gowns, to True Religion jeans, to Jimmy Choo heels.

 She knew her parents were never very strict on rules. Christina could easily spend $1,400 on a pair of Manolos today, and her mom would congratulate her on being frugal. Her dad would most likely nod and go back to reading the stock reports in The New York Times.

Christina was not the kind of beautiful you would see in Sport’s Illustrated. She had a subtle, elegant beauty. She had pale, ceramic skin which she usually paired with bright red lipstick. She had full wavy raven black hair that accentuated her pale complexion.

Today she felt invincible in her black, geometric Delphine Murat tunic and black leather Kova & T leggings, which she smartly paired with chunky red heels and her favorite Dior sunglasses. It looked so simple that nobody would know how long it took her to pick it out.

From her overall description, most people would think Christina would have tons of friends; yet she only hand-selected a special few.

There was Kari Landsen, whose dad co-owned the record company D-ble Platinum Records. She had big b***s, straight, long blonde hair and had a reputation with guy experience. She was the first one of her friends to wear makeup back in fifth grade. She was known to be a risk-taker and act on her impulses, which sometimes got her into messy love octagons.

Then there was Naomi Stalhov. Her mom was a famous New Age artist, and Naomi had become friends with Kari when her mother signed a deal with D-ble Platinum Records.

Since Christina’s father was a huge investor at D-ble Platinum, they had get-togethers all the time. Although at first Kari and Naomi had been mortal enemies, Christina had managed to bring them together, and soon they became inseparable and learned to be great wingwomen for each other.

With Naomi’s dramatic Eastern European complexion and dark, glossy bob (a style she chose on an impulse), she was the exact opposite of Kari. That was probably the thing that helped them attract guys with all preferences. Naomi was genetically perfect in every way and was also known for being a huge flirt, even while practicing volleyball and track.

Her one crime was dating people that were unacceptable. Everyone knew that you dated in your own social class except Naomi. She seemed to find no problem with it.

She was the one who introduced them to Reilly Grand.

Reilly had spiky black hair, and seemed disinterested in being social, though she did have a surprisingly strong affinity for animals. She was also ghostly pale, leading people to believe she was an emo.

Christina and the girls loved her all the same. She also had one thing Christina envied: her piercing cobalt eyes.

          Naomi’s and Reilly’s parents forced them on each other when Naomi’s mom became aware of the Grand’s “values”.

          Their mom’s always fawned over each other, always saying things like “Did you just get liposuction, or have you been working out?” and “Oh my gosh your Botox looks so good!” It was sickening to both the girls, who knew that most of the compliments should be directed at the doctors, who had shaped their “natural beauty”.

Their mothers didn’t see to see the resentment that Naomi felt towards Reilly at first, and apparently Reilly didn’t either. She kept chattering away while Naomi made sure her hair wasn’t flat or checked out the guy in the corner. After a while Naomi started actually listening to Reilly and they became fast friends.

Reilly had officially been called in when Christina had started reading into the magazines. Unconventional beauty was “the thing” right now, and Reilly had it.

That had been hard at first though because she had had an aversion to any kind of designers, calling them “merchants of death” and “promoters of animal cruelty.” Christina, seeing that this had the potential to blow up and ruin her reputation, had quickly remedied the problem by showing her designers like BCBG, Christian Grand, and Herve Leger.

Also, although Reilly was pretty well off, she came from what she jokingly dubbed “a broken home”.

Reilly had never known her dad, and her mom wasn’t going to talk about it. For some reason Reilly had always imagined her dad as a successful businessman with neatly cut hair, polished shoes, and a sensible suit.

When Reilly was little she would draw pictures of how she imagined him and ask her mom if that was what he looked like. The answer was always a straightforward, “No.”

The girls were often called the LYLAS (Love You Like A Sisters) because that was how they were for each other. They often had to replace real family members, and they did it without thinking; it was ingrained in them to protect one another.

 

§ § §

                             

          Lately, the girls had been keeping tabs on people, seeing if anyone qualified to join their exclusive circle of friends.

The girls had made a chart of who had no chance, who had “potential”, and who was a threat to their popularity.

          There was a rival clique that was encroaching on their style. Christina and her friends called them the Shadows because they mimicked their moves down to the letter. Their names were Gabby, Sandra, Adeela, and Jalynn.

That was what today’s shopping trip was about. This was about showing people that they were the ones to be envied.

Author's Note

Again, bear with me as this seems to start out like the Clique and Gossip Girl, because it turns into something different a little way in.

Reviews

[Kira]

Hmm, I have a feeling this has more than meets the eye at the very beginning (but, haha, I've never read the Clique or seen Gossip Girl so I wouldn't know). Keep going, this seems interesting.

One flaw--it cuts off at the left-hand margin, so I have to guess what the words are. It's usually pretty easy, but I think it's annoying and unnecessary. Could you fix it in the next chapter?