Once everyone had finished clapping, Tiffany stood up without being told to.
“I’m Tiffany. I was the most popular girl at my old school and I’m excited to be a part of this group. You girls are pretty popular. So yeah, that’s it.”
Suddenly, Ms. Ruffinio walked into the room. “Hello ladies, sorry I’m late.”
“Evelyn!” Marylin and Beverly jumped up to hug her. “You made it! How are you?”
Meg, Brittany, Tiffany, and I exchanged glances. Evelyn, I mean, Ms. Ruffinio, was a part of the club?
Our principal sat down on the floor with the rest of us and asked, “What did I miss?”
“The new girls just introduced themselves,” Beverly said.
“Oh, well it’s very nice to see you all here.” Ms. Ruffinio said. “I know that you are all going to love it in the Charm Club. You see, the Charm Club is a lifelong club. Students that graduated when the school first opened are still a part of the club. And since you ladies are now a part of the club, I’m going to let you in on a secret. I’m the one who started the club. When I was asked to be the principal of White Grimm High School, I wanted to have a group of girls that the rest of the students could look up to. And because I saw that in Beverly and Marylin, I asked them to run the club for me. I mean, how many students would have wanted to be a part of the Charm Club if they found out it was run by the principal?” She laughed. “You have all been selected for a very special thing. You are going to become the most beautiful, graceful, popular students in all of Nevada. And all you have to do is make the pledge.”
“Pledge?” I asked.
Ms. Ruffinio nodded. “Yes, Lauren-Anne. A pledge.” She pulled a hand mirror out of her purse. On the back, it read, ‘decor enim vitae’.
“What does that mean?” Brittany asked.
“Beauty for life.” Ms. Ruffinio answered. “Because that is what you get from this pledge. Now put both of your hands on the mirror and repeat after me.”
Brittany put her hands on the mirror.
“You ladies too.” Ms. Ruffinio told Meg, Tiffany, and me.
I rolled my eyes. This was getting kind of silly. Nonetheless, I did what I was told.
“I promise,”
“I promise,” We repeated.
“To be the best that I can be. I will do everything I can to be better than the average girl. Upon promising this, I give myself to Et Splendidis. Decor enim vitae.”
After we finished repeating her I asked, “What does ‘et splendidis’ mean?”
“It’s nothing important.” Ms. Ruffinio grinned as she said, “You ladies are now officially part of the Charm Club. Your lives, from here on out, are going to be everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”
Brittany
As I was leaving Marylin’s house, I heard someone calling my name.
“Hey! Brittany, wait up!”
I turned around to see Lauren-Anne coming towards me.
“Oh, hi,” I said.
“That was some weird stuff, huh?”
I nodded.
“What are you doing after the meeting?”
“Going home. I’m going to do homework.”
“That’s boring. Why don’t you come over to Meg’s house with me?”
I thought about it for a moment. It certainly sounded better than going home alone and doing school stuff. “Will Meg be ok with it?” I asked.
“Yeah, of course. We’re all a part of the Charm Club, we have to stick together.”
“Alright, it sounds fun.”
“Great! Let’s go!”
Lauren-Anne lead me to Meg’s house. When she rang the doorbell she said, “You’re going to be really impressed when you see the inside. Meg’s parents have a lot of money and the house has been beautifully decorated.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded.
A guy about our age opened the door. I immediately noticed how cute he was.
“Lauren-Anne!” He cried.
“Hi, Graham, how are you? I haven’t seen you all summer,” She said as she hugged him.
“I’m great. It’s so good to see you!”
“Graham, this is Brittany. She’s friends with Meg and me. Brittany, this is Graham, Meg’s brother.”
I smiled. Someone wanted to call me their friend. I held out my hand. “Hi. How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you. It’s nice to meet you.” We stared at each other for a moment before Graham said, “Meg is upstairs in her room. You two can go up.”
“Great. Thanks.” Lauren-Anne grabbed my hand and pulled me inside with her. As she led me upstairs she asked, “Isn’t this place beautiful?”
“It really is.”
All of the furniture was antique. It looked like it belonged in a palace. There were statues and paintings that I recognized from my art class. Whether they were originals or replicas, I wasn’t sure.
Lauren-Anne didn’t bother knocking on Meg’s door, she just walked right in.
“Lauren-Anne! Brittany! Hi!” If Meg was surprised to see me she didn’t show it.
“I hope you don’t mind that I brought Brittany along,” Lauren-Anne said.
Meg shook her head. “Not at all.”
“Great. Lauren-Anne saved me from going home and doing homework,” I told Meg.
“I was just doing some myself. Do you have Mr. Matthews for history?”
I nodded.
“Do you have to do that project for the civil war?”
“Yeah. I can’t believe we were assigned a project during the first week of school. I’ve never had that happen before.”
“Right? It’s so weird.”
The three of us talked for a while, but I couldn’t get my mind off Graham. Finally, I said, “Tell me about your brother.”
“Why would you want to know about my brother?” Meg asked.
I shrugged, trying to act casual. “He seems nice. I don’t really know anyone around here, I’m just trying to find out what I can.”
“Oh. Well, he’s a junior this year. He’s on the football team. He’s all excited because he just got his first car. He saved up for it after he got a job last year. He’s kind of upset though because our parents make him drive me to and from school every day.” Meg thought for a moment before adding, “Even though I don’t like to admit it, he’s
