Beautiful Disaster (Privilege 2)

"You should be careful, though," Maria said. "You don't want to overdo it when it comes to Tahira."

Ariana's heart panged. She had thought she was doing something right. Something that would endear her to these girls.

"But I thought you didn't like her," Ariana said.

Soomie and Maria exchanged a look. "It's a fine line," Maria said.

Ariana stared straight ahead. She had no idea what that meant. She was supposed to be mean to Tahira, but not too mean? Were they kidding? Clearly there was yet another nuance here she didn't understand. How was she ever going to catch up, especially if they didn't fill her in? She curled her fingers into fists and bit back her frustration.

All in time, Ariana. Just give it time."Hi, girls!" A pretty redhead paused on her way up the bleachers with a couple of friends trailing behind her. "We brought iced coffee." Her friends handed cups to Maria, Brigit, and Soomie, who took the

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frosty drinks as if they'd been expecting them. The redhead, meanwhile, looked around in confusion. "Where's Lexa?"

"Not getting in till tomorrow," Maria said, taking a sip. "You can give hers to Ana," she added, waving a hand in Ariana's direction.

"Ana, this is Quinn," Brigit said. "She's a sophomore."

"I'm on coffee, if you ever need one," Quinn said with a smile. "Hope you like skim latte. It's Lexa's drink of choice." She seemed disappointed to be handing the drink to someone other than Lexa.

"Sure. Thanks," Ariana said, nonplussed.

"We'll be up top if you need anything," Quinn said, the smile returning. "Later!"

'"Bye," the girls said vaguely.

"What does she mean, she's on coffee?" Ariana whispered to Brigit.

"The underclassmen were always asking us if we wanted anything, so last year Lexa decided it would just be less of a bother to assign people certain chores," Maria said with a shrug. "Quinn brings coffee to any interclass event, but we also have girls on snack duty, clothing patrol, library runs--"

"Clothing duty?" Ariana asked.

"Like if you spill coffee on your sweater and you need a new one, they'll get it for you," Brigit explained, sipping at her straw.

Ariana's jaw dropped. "Wait a minute, you have errand girls?"

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Soomie said. "They want to do it."

"Of course. Lexa would never make anyone do something they didn't want to," Maria added.

"I like to think of them as ladies-in-waiting," Brigit said, staring

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up toward the ceiling. "It's much more civilized. You'll have to give Quinn your drink order the next time you see her."

Ariana tried not to look as shocked as she felt. But this was way better than having a few grousing Billings newbies at her beck and call. It was a whole troop of willing lackeys. She sipped Lexa's latte and glanced back at Tahira. Quinn and the other girls had passed her by, so clearly the Dubai princess was not in on this particular perk. Ariana had definitely chosen wisely.

Just then Palmer strode into the room with Landon and Adam in tow, and excited chatter raced through the assembled crowd. Landon and Adam walked over to Ariana's clique. Ariana kept her eye on Landon as he made his way up the bleachers and dropped down next to Soomie, who turned purple at his closeness.

"Chicas," he said by way of greeting.

"Buenas tardes" Soomie replied.

Ariana glanced at Maria, who stared pointedly straight ahead. This triangle was very intriguing. And potentially something Ariana could use to her advantage once she figured out a way to play it.

&nbs