Chapter One: Cassidy Clark

My name is Cassidy Virginia Clark. I don’t know how I escaped from the green Mini that my mom had me encased in for our 12-minute ride, but I doubt that it matters now. What matters now is presentation.

I straighten out my Ralph Lauren Collection Garnet skirt as I do a quick mirror check of clothes. Miu Miu beige kitten heels (free ankle)? Check. Skirt? Check. (Obvi!) Paris-purchased knit cowl-neck sweater in Noire (Black) with Marina (Navy) scarf at neck-base? Check. Skin-tight beige Silk Generation long sleeve underneath in case I get hot? I hope so! Oh yes... and my gem. My lucky gold glitter diamond. I never take it off. Today I need it. I finger for it...and soon it is encased in my palm.

I begin my walk across the pavement that glitters with cleanliness, handing out golden invitations to the chosen ones. They are bound by a simple purple ribbon and have glitter letters hand-drawn on them: ‘Open with Pride. Bragging Rights are Contained in this Envelope.’
One by one, they open their golden, glittering surprises. I turn around at just the right time to hear a symphony of oohs, aahs, and, “You’re so lucky!!”s. I smile at the recipients, and they begin deciding how they will make time to come to my party...and what the heck they will have to buy to please my clothing taste (for them to wear, not to buy for me. I despise presents.)
I choose the Darryl Foster Crowd to deliver to last. I hand him and two of his basketball teammates invites. (They are in forest green, tied with a black ribbon. I know how to invite a boy!)

“Cassidy, what is this?” Darryl asks playfully, smiling at me. The one thing that tipped me off a week ago about him being my kind of guy was that he always brushes his teeth.

“Find out yourself!” I yell, poking his shoulder. I kick off my shoes and grab his invite from him. He takes off as soon as I do. After playfully chasing me for a bit, Darryl grabs the envelope from me and tears it open.

“Later!” I call, and he tosses my shoes over. I catch them with one hand, yank them on, saunter up the steps, into the semi-crowded hallway, and to my locker.

As it swings open, I take out three more invitations. Even though they’re for Golda and her gang, I feel comfortable delivering them today. Today my word-of-the-day is DECISION.

“Hey, Cass,” Golda smirks at me, her dark hair shining under the sunlight in the greenhouse, where Science is being held today. I quickly lay down three Golden Tickets down on the mahogany workspace in front of her before she can say something witty.

“Just thought you’d like to cause some drama, Golda,” I wink. She winks back, which I take as an ‘opportunity waits for no woman’.

“You can’t expect me to arrive on time, though, “ She snarls at me in her slightly obnoxious poker face (I can’t tell if she’s playing or being serious) as her Beta arrives, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

“Hi, Cassidy.” she says, narrowing her eyes. “What are you doing over here?”

I want to kick myself. We both thought that our two cliques would finally make up after years of fighting, but now I see how wrong we were. Angels and demons aren’t meant to mix.

You see, Golda and I are the Alpha females of two rival cliques. I, the leader of the Halos, generally stay put in my comfort zone; being a good girl. Golda, however, isn’t scared to cause trouble.

Over winter break, Golda visited my four-story home in the suburbs for Christmas through New Year’s. Let’s just say that we bonded over mani-pedis and shopping. Now I know that it’s a bad idea to try to weld our valuable metals together.

Let’s just say that dark silver and gold don’t combine evenly. Not now, not soon.

I apologise while rolling my eyes, strutting away from their table as I take a seat at mine. I can sense them still staring at me but I ignore it.

Beep! My diamond-encased phone buzzes. I take it out of my pocket. The Blackberry 4Gs Dancer. Aah, the luxury of sonic-speed internet.

The Devil Queen is at it again, smoothly turning down Cassidy’s birthday invite with style. Only thing is, they exchanged more than invites over vacation. In fact, insiders have insight that the two rivals are now...friends?!? Check for more gossip by subscribing to our website!!

~Anonymously Personified, Marigold and Blackrose

The blogging queens are back, and this is the year that they get banished from the blogosphere... Or at least the one that matters.

I run up the the library’s front desk between periods and ask to see the school email database, in search for the bloggers’ names. When I find this out, they’re more dead that an Ermine Haute Elle scarf-wrap.