The Clique Read Online Free PDF Page A

like a disco ball. It had screens on each side so everyone had a view. The tiny black speakers in every corner only added to Claire’s feeling that her morning commute would be anything but boring. She was so excited, for a minute she forgot to be nervous but was quickly reminded when she saw Massie marching toward the car.
    The tinted windows allowed Claire to study Massie’s every move without getting caught.
    Massie walked tall and with purpose. Her gaze was fixed, but she didn’t seem to be looking at anything in particular.
    Claire slid her blond bangs to the side of her forehead to keep the sweat from making them look wet. She envied Massie’s perfect hair, dark, shoulder length, and shiny. The kind that always looks good, even first thing in the morning.
    Isaac opened the door and a thick gust of heat rushed in. A strappy, feminine sandal and red toenails were the first things in the car. Then the smell of crisp, sweet perfume filled Claire’s nostrils. A thin arm that looked like it was about to snap under the weight of a cluttered charm bracelet released a denim blazer into the backseat. It landed on Claire’s lap and she quickly placed it neatly beside her. Finally Massie backed herself in and slid across the entire seat. She bumped into Claire’s knee.
    “Oh my God!” Massie said. “You scared me. What are you doing in here?”
    “What do you mean?” Claire asked. “Your mom said I should ride with you to school.” She quickly thought about how Isaac had greeted her. He’d seemed to know she was coming. “Didn’t she tell you?”
    “Sorry,” Massie said. She inched over to the other side. “I must have forgotten.”
    “Oh,” Claire said.
    Isaac started the engine and both girls studied his every move, as if they’d never seen someone drive a car before. They didn’t know where else to look.
    “This sure beats the school bus,” Claire said.
    “I wouldn’t know, but I’ll take your word for it,” Massie replied. She looked at the screen of her cell phone. “Claire, you wouldn’t mind sitting in the very back, would you? We have to pick up Alicia, Kristen, and Dylan and I would hate for it to get too squished up here.” Massie looked directly into Claire’s eyes. “I guarantee it will still ‘beat the school bus.’” Her air quotes were sharp and full of attitude.
    “Oh, I thought it was just going to be us,” Claire said.
    “Why would you think
that?
” Massie asked.
    Claire was too stunned to answer. Instead she did what she was told and crawled over her seat and into the back section of the car, the same one she assumed was for transporting cargo or pets. It only took her a second to notice that her new seat offered an obstructed view of the TV screen and no access to the fridge.
    After a few minutes the Range Rover pulled off the road and stopped. Claire felt confused. All she could see were tall iron gates and overgrown bushes behind them. Claire moved closer to the window and squinted so she could figure out what needed so much protecting, but she could only make out a naked woman carved out of stone and a marble fountain.
    Claire fished around the inside of her knapsack and pulled out her tiny camera. She snapped a picture of the iron gates and then one of a security guard.
    “Claire,” Massie said. She didn’t bother turning around. “This isn’t Epcot.”
    Her name came out more like “Kuh-laire” the way Massie said it.
    “If the guards know you’re taking pictures of the house, they’ll confiscate your camera and question you for a week straight,” Massie said.
    “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I’ve just never seen anything—”
    “Well, don’t advertise it,” Massie said. “Everyone lives like this around here, so you better get used to it.”
    Finally a dark-haired girl emerged from behind the gates. She glided toward the car slowly and casually. She didn’t seem the least bit concerned that everyone had been waiting for her. When Claire got a