Perfect Lie

Marie was perfect. Perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect skin, perfect grades, perfect personality. Everyone loved her. Everyone wished they could be just like her.
Alexis was her opposite. Heartbroken. Practically friendless. Shy. Marie was the last person she would expect to be friends with.
But miracles happen.
And the problem with perfect girls, is that they’re perfect lies.

Alexis Monroe sat on her front steps, gazing up at the slowly darkening sky. Tears streaked her face; pain was etched into her hazel eyes.
Suddenly, Alexis heard footsteps echoing down the empty suburban street. When she looked up, she saw her.
No, no, anyone but her!!! Alexis thought, panicking as the footsteps got louder and the girl got closer. Alexis quickly pulled her black hoodie as far as it would go over her face, but it was too late.
“Alexis?” Marie asked, standing on the sidewalk in front of Alexis’s house, looking, as usual, perfect. “Alexis, are you okay?”
Alexis tried to fake a smile, but her years of practice failed her. Tears steamed down her face even faster, and her silent sobs grew louder until she was wailing.
“Oh, my God, Alexis, what’s wrong?” Marie ran over to her, heels clacking on the walkway. “Please tell me, I can’t stand to see you crying like this!”
“You would never understand.” Alexis sobbed.
“I might not, but please just tell me. I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” Marie sat down on the steps and put her arm around Alexis.
“My friends hate me. All this time they’ve been planning to ruin my life and now they’ve done it. But you would never understand that. Everyone loves you.”
“Oh, I understand that more then anyone can ever know.” Marie’s dark eyes seemed to loose their eternal sparkle.
Alexis stared blankly ahead, trying to process this information. But it wasn’t going through. Marie was perfect. She couldn’t ever have any problems, right? Nobody hated her, right? Nobody could bring her down, right?
Wrong.

Marie sank down on her cushioned window seat and pressed her face against the cool, smooth glass of her bedroom window. If only Alexis knew... she thought, closing her eyes and sighing.
It irritated her how everyone thought she was perfect. They thought nothing could bring her down. They didn't even stop to think that just because she comes off strong, doesn’t mean she didn't fall asleep crying.
But she did. She always did.
If they could only see what she went through...
Marie could feel hot tears filling up her eyes, threatening to pour out like a violent flood. She blinked and a tear dripped out, then another, and another. Marie stood up and walked to her vanity, and started at her reflection in the mirror.
Even when her eyes were puffy and red and mascara tracks were covering her cheeks, she was still gorgeous. Marie sat down in her professional makeup chair and glared at the dazzling brunette beauty staring back at her. If I had been born ugly and dumb, I wouldn’t have all this pressure on me to be perfect, she thought. But of course, fantasies never became real.
Marie was the smartest girl in her grade. She got straight A's, was on High Honor Roll every semester, and took half of her classes with the grade above hers. She was class president, track star, head cheerleader, and lead in the school play.
But acting was her strong point, so the last achievement surprised everyone but her.
She acted her way through school, sports, and pretty much life in general. Always smiling, laughing, being nice and helpful to everyone. She acted like nothing bothered her.
And that was just it. She acted like nothing bothered her, when, in reality, everything and everyone pretty much did.
But Marie's golden rule was, live up to your first impression.
And she did.
But there was one person who made Marie come unraveled, made her drop her act.
Marie dried her tears and fixed her makeup, then picked up her phone and started dialing a number.
"Hello?" A quiet voice answered.
"Hey Alexis, it's Marie. Wanna come over?"

Claire tapped her perfectly manicured fingers on her desk and stared at her phone, which, annoyingly enough, wasn't ringing with the usual 9 PM call from Marie.
"Ugh! She's late..." Claire said out loud, exasperated. She rolled her swivel chair from her vanity to her desk and opened up AIM on her laptop.
The Buddy List popped up and Claire scrolled down to the m's. Marie was online, sure enough, but Claire was puzzled by her status. "Sleepover w/ Cookie! TOTAL HEART ACTION! <-- funniest insider evaa. Hahaa, luv this girliee." It read. Claire IMed her.

clairebear10195 - uhmm hello, Marie, you totally blew off the 9 PM call!
marieemadness82 - ha ha, sorry Clairebeariee. I totes 4got! I’ll make it up to ya.

Claire sighed and rolled her eyes, not satisfied. A best friend doesn't just "forget" to call. Unless she's found a new best friend... Claire thought. No, no, that wasn't possible. Claire tried to push the bad thought out of her mind, but it wouldn't go away.

clairebear10195 - who's "cookie"?
marieemadness82 - secrett. I’ll let cha know l8r. Kk?
clairebear10195 - uhmm, no. tell me now.
marieemadness82 - sorry, we're gonna go watch The Clique. It’s cookie's fav movie too! How ironic is that?! But anyway, I’ll talk to ya l8r, k? Bye ClaireBear love ya lots xox<3
marieemadness82 has signed off. marieemadness82 is offline and will receive your IMs upon singing back in.

Claire was fuming. Who was this Cookie girl and why was she stealing her best friend? It had always been Claire and Marie who watched The Clique at every friday night sleepover, Claire and Marie who had stupid nicknames for eachother, Claire and Marie who had the funniest inside jokes.
Claire slammed her laptop closed and ran onto her queen sized bed, jumping into her carefully arranged collection of stuffed animals facefirst.
She was breathing heavily, and tears were coming fast with the realization -
I'm losing my best friend!

Alexis pretended to be scared as Marie finished her all-too-predictable scary story.
"Ooooh, I think I have goosebumps!" She laughed.
"I know, I know. That was sooo lame."
Alexis giggled. "Yeah, a little bit."
"So, secret time?"
It was two o'clock in the morning, and after just one evening together, Alexis and Marie were best friends. They were sprawled on Marie's super fluffy rug, leaning on fuzzy pillows and munching on chocolate chip cookies.
"Sure! But seriously, Star," Alexis said, using Marie's nickname that she had come up with, "what could you possibly be keeping a secret?"
Marie's eyes stop sparking again, and once again, Alexis was surprised. "Oh, I probably have more secrets than anyone in the entire town." She murmured. She didn't seem happy about it. But then again, why would anyone be happy under the pressure of so many secrets?
"I have really only one that I can think of..." Alexis put in.
"What is it? I swear I won't tell a soul, Cookie."
Alexis hesitated, even though she knew Marie could be trusted. And even if she couldn't... well, what was one more humiliation?
"Okay. You know Mark Gramstien?"
"Oooooohh..."Marie teased.
Alexis playfully hit her with a pillow.
"Well, not many people know this, but we're like really good friends, and that's why it's kind of awkward for me to have a crush on him."
"No. Way. I didn't know you we're friends with Mark! He's, like, the most popular guy in our grade!"
Alexis giggled. "Well, yeah. That's why it's really awkward, because he's so popular and I'm so... not. That's why we really only talk out of school."
Marie smiled. "Cookie, we can bring you up to the top of the charts in just one day. Think about this logically, Alexis - you're best friends with me!"

"Ehmagawd, did you see?" Viktoria ran up to the group of whispering girls, breathless, pushing her raven-black hair out of her face.
"I know! I can't belive it!" Melissa said.
"She looks so different!" Candace exclaimed.
"And people are acctually talking to her now!" Vikki put in, shocked as everyone else at the turn of events.
"Alexis is soo lucky. I bet she had no idea what being best friends with Marie could bring her!" Melissa said.
Claire was the only one not talking. She had a sullen, yet furious look on her face.
"What's wrong with Claire?" Candace whispered loudly.
"I'm FINE, Candi! FINE!" She yelled. She turned on the heel of her red Prada ankle boots and strode off in a huff. Her straight, dirty blonde hair was flying behind her as if she was walking in slow motion - another usefull skill the popular girls had mastered. The other girls watched her go, shocked at her sudden outburst.
Melissa and Candi puzzled over what was making Claire so angry, but Vikki knew exactly what was wrong.
Claire was jealous.
Alexis Monroe, world-class loser, had suddenly become drop-dead gorgeous and was best friends with Marie. It had just happened over the weekend. The rumor was that Alexis had got plastic-surgeoned, but Vikki knew it was just Marie's awesome beauty and fashion skills at work. I mean, everyone knew Alexis's family wasn't fabulously wealthy like the rest of the community. They made only a slightly above-average amount of money. It was way out of their budget to have Alexis plastic sugeoned. Or even professionally made over.
Vikki had no idea what Marie saw in that loser girl. Before today she had been poorly outfitted, clueless, and hopelessly heartbroken. She was what the girls would call a CC - Charity Case.
Hey, maybe Marie was taking Alexis as a friend as a CC! Of course she didnt really like Alexis, just help her out for a little while, then dump her before she got too deep into their inner circle.
It would only be a matter of time before Alexis was heartbroken and friendless again.
Right back where she belonged.

"Told ya it would work..." Marie smiled as she and Alexis walked towards the cafeteria. Mark had just spent all of fourth period staring at Alexis and passing notes with her.
Alexis giggled. "You are a miricle worker, Star."
"Oh, it's nothing." Marie giggled. But she couldn't help wondering how the other populars were reacting to this. She had only talked to Claire so far that morning, and Claire was fuming. Oh come on. Claire's always overreacting. The other girls will understand. Marie thought.
Alexis and Marie walked into the cafeteria, and heads turned. Marie was used to the attention, but Alexis was looking delighted and nervous at the same time.
"What if your friends don't like me?" she worried.
"I'm sure they'll understand." Marie tried to convince Alexis - and herself.
The twosome made their way to the back corner of the cafeteria. The mega-popular group always sat in the very back corner, and the normal populars had the three tables around them. These girls and guys had SOA's - seals of approval from the populars. It was an exclusive privelage to get an SOA. Everyone wanted them. Vikki and Claire had come up with the brilliant - and cruel - idea.
Marie and Alexis took the two seats at the head of the populars table.
"Hey pretties! Meet our newest pretty, Alexis!" Marie grinned. Vikki shot Alexis a sickly sweet smile, but said nothing. Candi and Melissa smiled and said hi, but refrained for saying much. Claire stabbed her salad fericely and kept her head down.
"Okay... well now you know the girls, Alexis! Yay..." Marie hurriedly said as Claire slammed her Snapple down on the table with a scowl. Uh-oh. This is so not going as planned. Marie thought.
The table was practically silent, not filled with the usual gossip, compliments, and chatter.
Finally, Vikki looked at Marie, then Alexis, and said, "CC?"
Marie stared at Vikki, expressionless.
Tell them what they want to hear, she thought.
"Yeah. Total CC." she grinned. "But it's a secret, so shhh!" Marie raised a finger to her lips.
The other girls laughed and immediately started being nice to Alexis. The gossip, chatter, and compliments resumed.
I don't mean it, Alexis. Marie thought silently. But they don't know that.
Just another lie in the life of Marie Jennings.

Samantha watched with envy as the populars fawned over Alexis, complimenting her hair, her outfit, and whispering populars gossip in her ear.
This is so not fair! She thought, I was supposed to dump Alexis and rise to fame! This is so not how it's supposed to happen!
Karolyn sat down next to Samantha, and, reading her mind, said, "I know. It doesn't make sense. Why would they like Alexis! She's so whiney and badly accesorized!" she complained loudly.
Just then, Vikki and Claire were walking by their table.
"You're one to talk..." Claire snorted.
"Yeah, Litte Miss Garden thinks Alexis is poorly accesorized. That's an opinion to value." Vikki said. Claire and Vikki snickered and walked away.
Karolyn started taking out the flower and butterfly clips covering her hair. Samantha let out a sigh of releif. Good thing they hadn't teased me. She thought. Maybe she still had a chance.
"Hey, Ali, do you think I have a chance with the populars?" Samantha asked the redhead in a quiet voice.
Ali looked up from her Geography flashcards and shrugged. "If Alexis does, I'm sure any of us do."
Doubt it. Samantha thought. She glanced around at her friends.
Karolyn was fighting with a rainbow clip stuck in her frizzy light brown hair. Ali was cleaning her glasses and squinting at her flashcards. Tam and Pam, the twins, were writing, "GO GREEN! SAVE THE EARTH!" all over eachothers arms and foreheads.
Samantha sighed. I'm the coolest one here. She thought with a slight smile. But then again, Sam wasn't that cool either.
She had curly black hair and extremely pale skin. She was wearing a black shirt covered with tiny cartoon skulls that were wearing bows, darkwash skinny jeans, and black converse.
Okay, so Sam was goth.
Not very cool.
She liked to joke around that she was a vampire and she knew Edward Cullen. How cool would that be, right? But most people thought she was a freak.
They all were freaks. Tam and Pam, green freaks. Karolyn, childish dork. Ali, school's biggest nerd. Sam, goth girl. And, up until last Friday, Alexis... normal girl.
Alexis was their strong point. If they were going to get anywhere, they needed her back.
And Sam had a plan.

Candace glanced over at Alexis, who was smiling and laughing with Melissa and Marie. Poor girl, Candace thought, if only she knew the truth.
But it was only fair. Candace doubted Mark would still like her after she'd been dumped by the populars. And Candace was set on having Mark all to herself. Why would Mark choose poor little Alexis over a stunning, rich, blonde beauty like herself?
"Hey Candi! Hey Alexis!" Mark walked up to their table and sat down. Perfect timing.
"Hey Markie!" Candi said, hugging him. Alexis's face fell, and Candace smiled, feeling only a small trace of guilt.
"Hi, Mark." Alexis smiled at him. Wow, Alexis has a perfect smile. Candace thought with a frown. It was true. Alexis had perfectly straight, white teeth, and had never needed braces. Candace had never noticed that before...
"Alexis, wanna hang out after school today?" Mark asked. Candace froze. What?!?!
"I wish I could, but I have to babysit my younger brother. Maybe some other time?" Alexis replied.
"Oh. Okay. See you around, girls!" Mark waved at the populars, then headed back to his SOA table nearby.
That did not just happen. Mark did not just come over to our table to ask Alexis out. Not. Possible.
But then again, she said no.
But then again, he asked her out!! Mark Gramstein asked Alexis Monroe out!!
Candace's eyes got wide. The whole world was messed up, and more importantly, the Popularity Scale was off balance! Everything was going wrong!
"What's wrong, Candi?" Alexis asked, sincere niceness in her voice.
"Nothing." Candace snapped. It was bad enough Alexis was stealing Candace's guy, and now she was calling her by her nickname? This was too much.
Claire and Vikki came back from the bathroom, whispering away. Candace called them over, knowing that they hated Alexis, too. It was time to take a stand. Candace lowered her voice to a whisper.
"Claire, Vikks, you will not beleive what just happened."

"Hey, Lex!" Mark said. Alexis grinned. It was her second official day as a popular, and things could not be better.
"Hey, Mark!" Alexis replied, "What's up?"
"Still gotta babysit your bro, or can you hang out today?" He asked when he got closer.
"Hmm, le'me check with the Marie to see if the shopping spree is still on." Alexis pulled out her iPhone and started texting.
"Oh, it's okay, if you've got plans - "
"No, I can totally cancel." Alexis said, looking up from her phone, "I mean, Marie and I can go shopping anytime."
"Great. 'Kay, so le'me know?"
"Yeah. See ya!"
"Catcha later, Lex!" Mark grinned and walked away.
Alexis smiled and hugged her phone to her chest. Today is almost as amazing as yesterday! She thought. Just then Marie walked up the her.
"Just got your text," she said, waving her Sidekick in the air, "He asked you out again?! Awesome, Cookie! So did you say yes?"
"Not officially. I told him we had a shopping spree, but I could totally cancel... that's okay with you, right?" Alexis asked nervously.
"Duh! Cookie! You got asked out by the hottest guy in the grade! You have to go!" Marie exclaimed.
Just then, Candace walked up next to Marie.
"What's this I hear?" she asked, an edge in her voice. Alexis couldn't imagine why she would be mad.
"He asked Alexis out again!" Marie excitedly told Candace.
"Mark. Asked her out... again?!" Candace looked shocked.
"Yeah!" Alexis bounced up and down a little. "Isn't that like, totally amazing?!"
"Just wonderful..." Candace said, all sweetness gone.
Vikki came running up to Candace and whispered somthing in her ear. Candi's mood immediately went from sour to joyous.
"Well, have fun with Mark!" Candi giggled, and ran away laughing hysterically with Vikki.
Alexis bit her lip. They know somthing that I don't... and there's no way it's good news. Alexis thought, staring suspiciously as Vikki and Candace whispered with Claire, and the three of them started cracking up.
They were up to somthing, and Alexis was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Melissa! Frank is here! Be at the court in the next five minutes!" Melissa's maid instructed her through the intercom.
Melissa groaned. She had been playing tennis since she was three! She didn't need lessons anymore!
Melissa got up and walked into her gigantic, well-organized closet. She promptly went over to the "sports" section and picked out her tennis outfit: a white pleated skirt, a white ribbed tank top, and white tennis shoes. She changed out of her DKNY jeans and green peasant top and into the tennis outfit, threw her hair up in a high ponytail, picked up her professional tennis racket, and headed out of the mansion and into the backyard.
Melissa's backyard, like her house, was huge. It held a professional tennis court, a pool house (complete with an olympic-sized pool, hot tub, and mini-waterfall flowing into a medium-sized pond shaped pool) the clubhouse the populars had had built for them back in the fourth grade, and plently of space for sports or parties. Even though Melissa wasn't the Alpha, or even the Beta of the group, her house was the usual hangout spot - and it was easy to see why.
Melissa headed down to the tennis court, where her professional tennis instructor, Frank, was waiting for her. Melissa entered the court with a scowl and they started without a word.
As Melissa hit every tennis ball Frank threw at her with a perfect shot, her mind drifted elsewhere. Of course, there was only one thing to be thinking about at a time like this - Alexis's rise to fame.
After getting to know Alexis a little bit, she found herself acctually liking her. Alexis and Melissa could be twins, except for hair color. Alexis had straight dark brown hair that sometimes looked black, and Melissa had wavy honey locks with caramel highlights. Other then that, they looked exactly the same.
Melissa couldn't help but feel bad for Alexis. But then again, Marie didn't seem like the type of person who would take on a CC. She was just too nice to do that.
Vikki and Claire had done the whole CC act before. You would think that people would start to catch on by now. But of course, they had to go and try to join the populars, and then get thrown to the very bottom of the popularity scale - no matter where they started.
Everyone knew joining the populars was near impossible. You had to be truly spectacular to get in, and you had to be near perfect to stay in.
Alexis wasn't wonderfully spectacular, and she was nowhere close to perfect.
But Melissa secretly hoped, by some miricle, Alexis would be able to stay.

Claire snickered as Alexis fell for their plan.

clairebear10195 - o yea, he's a total player. dn't go out w/ him lex!
lexlexcrazyy - idk. he seems so nice!
cottonCandi95 - trust me. ik him alot bettr then u do.
lexlexcrazyy - i've known him since preschool!

Claire frowned. Uh-oh. This could be a problem. Luckily, Vikki came to the rescue.

vikkiraven23 - just b/c u new him 4 a long time dsn't mean u no him best!
lexlexcrazyy - ya, i guess. u guys rlly think he's a player?
cottonCandi95 - sweetie ik so. tell him u dn't wnt 2 go!
clairebear10195 - its 4 ur own good lex.
lexlexcrazyy - k. i still feel kinda bad tho
vikkiraven23 - dn't feel bad! ur the biggr persn here alexis.
cottonCandi95 - totes.
clairebear10195 - so go turn him down! u go grl!
cottonCandi95 has left the chat room.
vikkiraven23 has left the chat room.

Claire exited out of the chat room and smiled. It had worked perfectly. Alexis would turn him down, Candi would console him and the two of them would fall in love, and Alexis's downfall would begin.
Perfect.
Claire picked up the phone and went on a 3-way with Vikki and Candi.
"Ohmigosh, that worked perfectly!" Claire exclaimed.
"I know. I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow." said Vikki, her voice dripping in satisfaction.
"EHMAGAWD!!!" Candi screamed.
"WHAT?!" Claire and Vikki screamed back in unison.
"Mark just texted me, told me Alexis turned him down! He's all upset, he says what he really needs right now is a good friend. He wants me to meet him at the movies tonight!!"
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Claire screamed.
"I'LL BE OVER IN FIVE TO HELP WITH OUTFITS!" Vikki yelled and hung up. Candi hung up too.
Claire grinned. The plan was already in action.

Mark walked towards the movie theatre silently, still upset. Alexis's words were still ringing in his head: Um, Mark, yeah, we're not happening. I just found out all about you, and I'm not about to fall for your little act.
Mark didn't know what that was all about, but he was hurting to much to wonder about it. He had liked Alexis for so long, and was almost positive she had liked him too. But apparently, he was wrong.
Of course, Candi had understood. Mark knew she would always be there for him.
Just then Candi bounced up next to him, her white-blonde curls swirling around her head. "Ohmigosh, Markie, I feel so bad for you! That terrible Alexis girl!" she hugged Mark, her face full of understanding. At least, that's what Mark thought it was.
"I don't want to talk about her." Mark said, scuffing his shoe on the ground.
"Oh, I totally understand. So, lets go get tickets!" Candi grabbed Mark's hand and pulled him over to the ticket stand.
"Hmm, um, Markie, which movie are we going to see?" she puzzled, looking oh-so-cutely confused.
"I dunno. You can pick..." Mark said, staring at Candi. Man, she's hot... Mark noticed for the first time.
But Alexis is cute too. A voice in the back of his head said.
No, no, I don't care about Alexis anymore. Mark tried to convince himself.
"Markie! Comon, lets go!" Candi grabbed his hand and pulled, snapping Mark out of his trance.
"What movie are we seeing?" he asked as Candi lead him into the theatre.
"A scary movie, duh!" Candi said, pulling Mark past rows of untaken seats up the the very back upper corner of the theatre.
"Don't you think it's gonna be a little hard to see from here?" Mark asked.
"No, I can see you just fine." Candi giggled.
"Um, no, I meant the movie."
"Oh, we'll be fine. Plus, I might get scared. But you're here to protect me!" Candi hugged him and forced him down into the seat next to her.
Mark liked where this was going, but at the same time, he really didnt. But I don't like Candi! She's a friend! Sure, shes hot, and nice, and... no, stop! Alexis turned me down, but she could still change her mind. Mark thought.
The movie theatre got darker, and Candi grabbed Mark's hand.
"This is going to be a reaaaallly scary movie. And it's reaaaaalllly dark in here." she giggled, and leaned closer to Mark's face.
Mark shook his head and pulled his hand from hers. "Sorry Candi. I like you, but I love Alexis."
And he got up and left, leaving Candi shocked, stunned, and fuming mad.

Sam clicked her chipped black painted fingernails on the kitchen table. What was taking them so long?
Finally, the doorbell rang. Sam jumped up and opened the front door.
Claire and Vikki were standing on Sam's front porch, looking surprised at themselves for acctually showing up.
"Hey, guys, I thought you decided not to come!" Sam laughed, relived that they had finally showed up.
"We almost did, but we knew this had to be done." Claire said evilly as she and Vikki stepped inside.
"Come on up to my room!" Sam said. Claire and Vikki followed Sam up the grand staircase, and down the hallway. Sam pulled a string hanging down from the ceiling and the trap door opened. A ladder folded out and Sam started climbing it.
"Your room is in the attic?" Vikki said, taken aback.
"Yup! I promise, it's pretty nice up here. Smaller then the other rooms in the house, but still nice. I like it this way." Sam called down to them.
"I'm wearing heels." Claire objected, " I can't climb a ladder in heels."
"So take them off!" Sam said, annoyed. Such girly girls. She sighed.
A minute later, Claire and Vikki emerged, Vikki carrying Jimmy Choos and Claire carrying DKNY heels.
"So... this is my room!" Sam said, closing the trap door. Vikki and Claire were staring at the room, horrified.
The walls were grey, covered by posters of heavy metal rock bands that Claire and Vikki had never heard of, and a few occasional Twilight posters. Sam's bed was in the corner, and her beadspread was black with white cartoon skulls on it. Her nightstand had a few books stacked up on it, and a lamp shaped like a crystal ball. A silver iPod was plugged into huge speakers. Black, grey, and red bean bags dotted the room, and a fuzzy red area rug covered the floor near Sam's bed.
"I know it's not your style... but this is the only place in the house my little brother can't get to. Can we please just stay here?" Sam begged. Claire and Vikki nodded reluctantly, eyes still wide.
"You can sit down..." Sam motioned to the beanbags. Claire and Vikki slowly walked over to the beanbags closest to Sam's bed and sat down. Sam sat on the rug across from them, legs folded indian style.
"Okay. So we all know why we're here." Vikki said, regaining control.
Claire smiled smugly. Sam nodded.
"Candi couldn't come because she's on a date with Alexis's would-be boyfriend, which ties into our first part of Plan D.O.W.N.F.A.L.L." Claire informed Sam.
"What does D.O.W.N.F.A.L.L stand for?" Sam asked.
"Oh, well, we never thought of that." Vikki realized.
The three girls burst out laughing.
"Okay, but serously, we're on a roll here. Mark is out of the way. All we need to do is make sure Alexis doesn't get too close to Marie - Marie will want to keep her. Melissa, on the other hand, I'm sure we can trust."
"So let her hang with Melissa, but keep her away from Marie?" Sam asked.
"Yeah."
"So, how do I tie into this master plan?" Sam questioned.
Claire and Vikki exchanged evil smiles.
"You're the key to this whole thing. Without you on our side, this would never work."
Sam felt proud. The populars needed her!
"So, what do I do?" she asked.
"Just one, small, tiny little thing. But it's the most important part. Listen closely..."

Alexis walked into school that Wednesday with Marie by her side. The two of them were wearing matching limited edition gold Converse and carrying the same red totes on their shoulders. They both had dark, oversized shades propped up on their heads. They were both wearing distressed jean shorts and white tank tops. They both had their nails painted cherry red.
The twosome blew kisses and headed for their lockers on the opposite end of the hallway. They looked confident, set trends, and were the envy of the school, but of course, Alexis was breaking down on the inside. She really liked Mark. She still was finding it hard to believe the things the girls told her about him.
Melissa stopped by Alexis's locker. "Hey." she said simply.
"Hey."
"So... you really turned him down."
"Yeah."
"All because of what Vikki, Claire, and Candi said."
"Yeah."
"And did it ever cross your mind that they might have been lying?"
Alexis froze.
"Were they?"
"I don't know. I'll try to get the inside scoop for ya, Lex."
"Thanks so much Melissa..." Alexis trailed off. How could she have been so stupid? Of course they had been lying! But why...?
Melissa left and Alexis turned back to her locker. She pulled out her English notebook, math textbook, and her doodle pad, closed her locker, and started walking.
Why would they have lied to her? As far as Alexis knew, none of them liked Mark, so it wouldn't have been to get Mark for themselves. It wasn't that they were jealous. I mean, who could be jealous of me? Alexis thought. It wasn't that they didn't like Alexis, they were being really friendly to her ever since Marie had told them that whole CC thing.
Alexis had puzzled what CC stood for, but she didn't ask. It was obviously some secret pops thing, and Alexis wasn't totally in the group yet. Sure, she was hanging out with them, but she hadn't yet reached the inner circle. Marie still hadn't told her any secrets, and Marie was her best friend.
Alexis really liked all the girls, even if three of the five had lied to her. Well, liked wasn't exactly the word. Alexis admired them.
If she only knew what was happening behind her back...

Claire grinned as she, Vikki, Candi, and Sam pulled up in front of the school in Vikki's stretch limo. A few people looked at the limo for a few seconds, then turned away when the girls didn't get out. Expensive cars and limos were a regular sighting at their private school in Westchester.
The limo stayed stationary on the curb. The girls didn't get out. They waited until the first bell rang, signaling that there were two minutes until class started. Everyone shuffled into the school reluctantly.
Claire looked down at her outfit. A flowy red strapless top, jean mini, and silver wedges. Claire checked her hair and makeup in the mirror in the back of the seat - perfect. Her makeup hadn't smudged, and her straight blonde hair wasn't frizzing up. Claire looked around and noticed the other girls checking their hair, makeup, and outfits, also.
"You ready, Sam?" Claire asked, looking at Sam with satisfaction. The girls had slept over Vikki's house and prepared themselves for the day - not to mention gave Sam a complete makeover. And Claire had to admit, it was working.
All part of the plan.
Perfect.
"Yeah, I'm rea- hey! Karoyln just sent me a text..."
"And..." Claire, Vikki, and Candi said, staring at Sam in suspense.
"She says Melissa's talking to Alexis... and she's telling Alexis that you guys might have lied to her."
Claire, Vikki, and Candi exchanged worried glances.
"Hey, guys, I'm getting another text, Karoyln again, ha ha-"
"Oh just give me the phone!" Claire snapped, grabbing Sam's phone and reading the message.

From: KarKar
Okay, now Melissa is talking to Marie, Marie's getting angry. Is that the signal?

Claire rolled her eyes. Duh, that was a signal!
"Okay, girls, lets go."

Marie gasped at what Melissa had told her. "She didn't tell me she- what-how- why?" Marie stuttered, frustrated. Why hadn't Alexis told her she had turned Mark down?! Marie knew it was all lies. She had given up hope trying to keep her cool - Melissa was the only other girl who knew Marie wasn't as perfect as she seemed.
"Claire, Vikki, and Candi told her Mark was a player." Melissa told Marie calmly. "Oh, and there's somthing else that concerns me..."
"What?!" Marie snapped. Why this, why now? When she already had so much weight on her shoulers, she had to deal with friend drama, too.
"I overheard Sam saying Claire and Vikki went over her house last night to discuss 'the plan'. I asked Vikki about it, and she admitted to it. She didn't tell me what 'the plan' was, though, or who it was for, but I think we can guess..." Melissa whispered, bitterness woven into her calm voice.
Marie closed her eyes and tried to de-stress, but it didn't work.
"We have to stop them." Melissa pointed out, unhelpfully.
"I know..." Marie groaned. Because the truth was, the other girls were more powerful then Marie was. Much more powerful. And much better at fights, too. And they didn't take no for an answer.
"I have to go tell Alexis-" Melissa started, but Marie cut her off.
"No. Don't worry the poor girl. She has enough on her mind. This is our war. A populars war. And even though I wish she could be, Alexis simply isnt one of us. This isn't her fight. It's ours. Mine. And I have to put an end to it before it gets ugly." Marie said, determined.
Melissa stood there, stunned.
"Well, I'm just gonna go now." She said nervously. When Marie was as stressed as she was right now, it was best to leave her alone.
Melissa walked away just as Claire walked up next to Marie.
"Hey, Marie, where's your best friend?" Claire said, standing in front of Marie, arms crossed.
"You know, that mangy little girl who keeps trying to be one of us..." Vikki said, coming up from the other direction.
"You're gonna dump her soon, right?" Candi walked up out of nowhere and asked, but it sounded more like a threat.
"Oh, and please meet our new friend, Sam." Claire said.
Sam walked down the hallway, and jaws dropped. Without the tomboy clothes, she was beautiful. Her curly black hair bounced as she walked. Her red minidress fit her just right. Her black purse and ankle boots complimented her hair. She got to keep her gothic colors, but in a completely different way.
"Sam, welcome to the populars." Vikki smiled.
"The new populars." Candi added.
"The real populars." Claire smiled smugly.
Sam smiled at the girls, and Claire winked. Sam took the hint and walked up to Marie, until she was just a few inches away from her. Her eyes narrowed, and she smiled evilly.
"Welcome to the Beginning of the End."