Chlo,

I'm so sorry that you knew. Of all the people, I care about what you think the most. You're my best friend. That's why it was so hard to tell you, I was so ashamed. Francis was with Lola, but I still didn't stop him. 

I don't want to talk about that now though, it's in the past. What's done is done.

How are you going?  Is Arlington missing me?

Mon

Lola Davenport let out a charming laugh, which trickled through the pores of my skin like some kind of acid.

William slept with her?

Or, the much less stressful alternative. Lola was trying to defend her territory, trying to scare me away from them.

I smiled, mimicking her warm expression, as if she'd just shared a heart-warming complement. I pulled my hands away from hers and shifted them under the table, trying not to break my eye contact with her murky eyes.

"That's good to know," was all I said in return.

Lola's smile cocked to one side as she toyed with the soda bottle in front of her. Her caramel hair hung in loose curls which grazed her cashmere covered shoulders. Her face was round and dimpled, a contrast to Sophie's beside her which was sharp and high cheek-boned.

Something told me Lola was testing my every movement. Was she deciding whether I was worthy of sitting here? Or was she planning an attack already?

I knew the way she treated newcomers. From now on I'd have to watch my back at around every corner.

"This girl's skirt sucks," Li said from nearby. Her ebony locks had fallen in front of her face as she pulled at the waistline of the pleated skirt. "She hasn't even had it tailored."

Li's mother was a Chinese supermodel, passing her structured face on to her daughter, along with her thin frame and height.

"What's her name?" Sophie asked, scrolling through her phone as if she didn't even care for the answer to her question.

"Stephanie Griffith," Maddy said from opposite the girls. "She's a sophomore."

"Let me guess, you girls are going to make her life hell, right?" Francis asked. His short golden hair curled wildly around his face, his long features and structured nose boasting wealthy genes. "You're all so predictable."

Lola laughed. "What would you do, Franky? You're the creative one here."

I looked between Arlington's power couple. It was easy to forget they were even together in the way they acted so casually. And then there was the fact that neither of them seemed to bother whether their affairs were known or not.

"You need to give her something to lose if you want something to take," he said, his body language oozing nonchalance.

"What does that even mean?" Sophie snorted.

"Doesn't she already have plenty to lose?" Maddy said. Her position was on the end of the table, and I recalled the fact that Sophie and Lola were planning her demise. Because she was sleeping with Francis, who was opposite her. It was strange how Lola didn't try and control her boyfriend, or even seem to care that he was cheating. But as soon as it was with one of the girls in her circle? They were dead meat.

"Let's see," Piers interjected on the conversation, propping his hands in front of him to count off each reason. "Middle classed parents, clearly by her clothes. An unfortunate shade of red hair. Awkward socially. Clearly desperate to impress you. I say there's ways to get her down."

And this was all over a bloody school skirt, I thought.

"What do you think, Chloe?" Lola asked, prompting everyone at the table to turn their attention towards me.

I gulped. I hadn't considered how I'd have to step on people to bring myself up the ranks. But I needed to remember that if my hit list worked, it would save girls like Stephanie Griffith in the future. And it would avenge those who they'd already caused to fall.

"She's got everything to gain, not much to lose," I said. "Maybe give her something to lose."

Lola's eyes sparkled, letting me know my answer was safe. Meanwhile, William gave me a conflicted look, his dark eyebrows narrowed in a frown.

"Chloe knows how to do it," Lola said, clasping her hands together. "Li, darling. Have that skirt dry cleaned and tailored for Stephanie Griffith. Maybe we should invite her to the party next weekend."

"Perfect," Sophie said. She looked across at me. "I love it when we have a newbie."

And then the bell rang, causing lazy sighs to erupt around me.

"You coming to training, Will?" Zach asked from William's other side.

"Yeah, man. I'll meet you there. I just need to talk to Chloe first."

"So now that you have a girlfriend you're that kind of guy?" He laughed, slapping Will around the shoulders. "I get it."

"Because you're so experienced," Will said sarcastically with a light-hearted laugh. Everyone knew Zach hadn't ever had a girlfriend, despite being one of the school's most yearned for bachelors.

I felt like a weight had lifted itself from being pinned onto my back when the last of level one disappeared from my view. William and I stepped to the side of one of Arlington's corridors with arched windows framing its walls and high ceilings looming over our heads. Its buildings were all bordering on being a century old, modern changes only making subtle differences to the prestigious campus.

"I didn't realize how well you'd blend in," he mused, leaning his side against the stone wall.

I shrugged, feeling devoid of energy, as if level one had drained the life out of me. "Told you I was good."

"You scare me," he said. Then he sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "And look, I really do hate to ask this, but about my dad..."

I narrowed my eyes, prompting him to continue. I recalled our conversation in the library.

"I'm worried, okay? If there was anything suspicious in our business, hypothetically, then it shouldn't be easily accessible. I need help, and it's probably so stupid of me to ask but... I need you to show me exactly what you found and how to get it. If Dad knows I'm being blackmailed by some high school girl..." He visibly cringed.

I sighed reluctantly. I needed to keep William on my side. After he found out about Monica and me and still agreed to help, I realized that maybe taking the blackmail angle wasn't the most appropriate way of working with him. But then again, at least I had leverage if things went wrong. "I don't know how much I can do, but I guess I could try and help you."

"You guess?"

I shrugged. Sure, I was good, with codes and accessing information, but when it came to dealing with trademarked companies worth millions of dollars without using my father's computer? I didn't know if that was in my league. "I mean, I'm not sure how well I can do digging it up from your position. But, I mean, I could try."

"Well, it's probably more helpful than the circles I've been running around in. I'm not giving you free access, though, with all you're capable of. You're doing it under supervision."

"Fine."

"Great, help me tomorrow afternoon, I have practice after school today," he said.

"Of course you do," I said, hiding an eye roll.

"Meet me at lunch again, okay?" he asked. "Same place, same time."

"Wouldn't miss it." Especially now that level one were now watching me just as closely as I've been watching them.

The thought was exhilarating.

***

I couldn't sit still in math class. The integrals on the board blended together into an intricate pattern that I didn't understand, or even care to understand. My thoughts were consumed by my plans, and the few secrets I knew that were missing the jigsaw piece they needed to be complete.

Sophie's mystery guy.

Maddy's affair with Francis.

Lola's claim that she'd slept with Will.

I mean, the idea didn't seem that far-fetched. William was no Francis when it came to power, but he was good looking, and available. Lola wasn't exactly available, but it probably didn't stop her.

Was she his mysterious old 'girlfriend'? The one Sophie had mentioned at Jermaine's?

I shook my head, my hair bouncing around my face, helping to clear my mind at least a little. For now, I needed to know how to integrate by parts, not how to clear off the names on my hit list.

After class I was surprised to be greeted by a figure in front of me as I stood up to head to my next period.

"Hi, Chloe!" said the chirpy voice of Claire.

I'd known Claire Waters since freshman year through Jack, and we occasionally exchanged small talk and sometimes helped each other with math homework. Apart from a few words on the way to Li's party, it would have been before Monica's rise to level two that we'd last spoken.

"Hey, Claire," I said kindly as I gathered my stationary from the table.

"I, um, I heard about you and William. I just wanted to say you make a great couple together," she said. Claire was a solid level two. She made no attempt to keep her voice quiet when she gushed to her friends her love for Zachary Plympton.

"Oh, thanks," I said, feeling a weird creeping sensation across my skin.

"You guys seem super into each other, I was wondering how it started? Come on, we have physics together now, we can walk."

I was startled when Clair's arm linked with mine, pulling me from my seat, her fair skin flushed with excitement. Taking a breath, I struggled to conjure an answer to her question. "Um, I guess we just started talking and it went from there."

"That is so sweet!" Claire said, letting out a love-struck sigh. "You know I couldn't believe it when I saw you sitting with him at lunch today, you two are so cute! And I know I've already said it - but you look so good this year. I mean, you were never fat before but you've lost so much weight, how did you do it?"

Her babble had me momentarily bombarded. Was Claire trying to be friends with me? Did lunch with level one really propel me far enough up the social ladder for a level two to try and know me?

"I uh, I went on an exercise program?" I posed as a question, hoping it would be a sufficient answer.

"Seriously? You should totally show me some time. I need to tone up my legs for prom, I have this gorgeous dress. Hey, I know it's early, but are you and Will going to prom together?"

I cringed slightly, prom was at the end of the year, and we'd only been back a few weeks. "I honestly don't know."

"You could rival Lola or Sophie for queen you know," she said. "Especially if you're dating William. I mean, I personally know he'll be king. Francis will probably be expelled by the time prom comes around."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, increasing my pace so as to end the conversation as soon as possible.

"You know, he barely goes to his lessons anymore. Hey, have you ever spoken to Zach before? I saw him with you and Will towards the end of lunch and was wondering if he made the football team again. I made the cheer squad so I was just making sure he'll be in again after his knee last year..."

I tried to slowly process her words, all of them screaming meaningless. Was she using me to score a date with Zach? Her smile was so bright and hopeful I felt some guilt run through me for being so judgmental, but for a moment all I could feel was disgust. Why was she so obsessed with these horrible, poisonous people?

I guess I already understood the answer to that question. It was because of the power they carried. The glamorous life they led, which they flaunted at every opportunity to those lesser than them. It made people like Claire crave their positions on the social hierarchy. It didn't matter who they humiliated - it was just their way of asserting their power. Of making people like Claire even more desperate to feed off of their actions.

I felt sorry for her. Because she was either too deluded to acknowledge how horrible they were - just like Monica Pennington - or she was just oblivious to their inner dealings. I wanted to help her.

"I think he's on the team," I said honestly. "But I'm not sure. I'll ask him for you."

Her smile lit up. "Thanks, Chloe!"

"But Claire?" I asked. Her gaze remained fixed on mine. "I'd be careful. I mean, Zach's a part of everything, he's never had time for a girlfriend. It would suck to be with someone who doesn't have time for you."

Her smile drooped a little, but mostly in speculation. We were out the front of the physics labs, standing beside the door as we finished our conversation. "I know, he's just a good guy. Thanks for looking out for me though. Want to sit together?"

I gave her a smile. "Sure."