another. I reached for the binder.
Sarah Jane stilled my wrist. “Gab?”
“Hang on,” she said, still bustling around the room, lighting candles, pulling supplies from shelves, and grabbingbowls for snacks. “We have to wait for everyone else.”
“No worries.” Sarah Jane leaned toward me. “This is Gaby’s first time as Alpha Chair. She’s gonna be great.”
“Alpha Chair?” I asked.
“Sit tight, J.” She looked up at Gaby, who was pouring trail mix into jewel-toned glass bowls. “Did Audrey tell you about the number spike?”
Gaby glanced up, losing her concentration and pouring trail mix on the table. “She has news already?”
“Fourteen,” Kyra said.
Gaby set the bag down with a thump. “That’s double.”
Sarah Jane, Kyra, and Gaby looked at each other, each mulling over the magic number fourteen, while Mel and I exchanged looks of cluelessness.
I cleared my throat. “What does fourteen mean?”
Gaby shook her head to clear it, bending to scoop up the trail-mix mess. “I guess I’ll have to include that.” She steadied her hands on the table. “As Gwen would say, Game on.”
“Game on,” Sarah Jane agreed.
* * *
The other girls from the initiation ceremony began to arrive, and Sarah Jane and Kyra retreated to a row of chairs against the wall behind us. When everyone was seated, Gaby moved to the head of the table and opened a large leather book with a lock on the side like a diary.
“As you all know, my name is Gaby Winston. I’ll be your Alpha Chair for the next year. My job is to lead your Alpha-level meetings and get you ready to take the next step in the Sisterhood.
“Since this is your first time back to the Club, here’s the lowdown. This is our meeting place for Cindys only. No one else knows it exists. There are security locks on the outermanagement entrance and on the door to the Club. You’ll each be given your own code, and the security system will log every time you enter the facility. You’re free to come back here whenever you want during business hours to study and work on your projects.”
She stretched out her arms to encompass the room. “This is what we call Study Hall. Through that door”—she pointed to her left—“is the Alpha office. That’s where I’ll be when I’m on duty this summer. If I’m not on duty, you can leave me a note in my mailbox.”
Gaby gestured to the other doors farther down on her left. “The next door is the leader’s office, Paige Ellis. She’s a camp counselor this summer, so she’ll be MIA for the next week or so during counselor training. The last door is the Gamma office. It has its own keyed access and is off-limits unless you’ve got Gamma security clearance.”
She pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “Behind me is the Cindy lounge. We’ve got a great setup in there: a kitchenette with a couple of tables, two laptops, a TV, and a bathroom. Audrey keeps us well stocked, so have at it if you get the munchies. If you want a sandwich or something from the front while Audrey’s here, instructions for ordering are next to the laptops. Audrey will bring it back.”
Security clearance and a supermodel waiting on us? Who were we?
“From now on, you only hang in the front if you’re here to socialize. If you’re here for the Society, you enter through the outside door near the bathrooms and come straight back through the employee entrance. You leave the same way you came in. No one should see you enter or exit if you can help it. If anyone questions you, just tell them you’re doing some work for Audrey.”
“Audrey hires students for a lot of things around the store,” Kyra explained. “That helps us with the cover.”
They weren’t kidding about secrecy. I wondered if fingerprinting was far behind.
“The binders in front of you,” Gaby continued, “are your Sisterhood training manuals. The CMM on the cover stands for Cinderella Makeover Manual . The CMM is one of the most top secret
Sarah Jane stilled my wrist. “Gab?”
“Hang on,” she said, still bustling around the room, lighting candles, pulling supplies from shelves, and grabbingbowls for snacks. “We have to wait for everyone else.”
“No worries.” Sarah Jane leaned toward me. “This is Gaby’s first time as Alpha Chair. She’s gonna be great.”
“Alpha Chair?” I asked.
“Sit tight, J.” She looked up at Gaby, who was pouring trail mix into jewel-toned glass bowls. “Did Audrey tell you about the number spike?”
Gaby glanced up, losing her concentration and pouring trail mix on the table. “She has news already?”
“Fourteen,” Kyra said.
Gaby set the bag down with a thump. “That’s double.”
Sarah Jane, Kyra, and Gaby looked at each other, each mulling over the magic number fourteen, while Mel and I exchanged looks of cluelessness.
I cleared my throat. “What does fourteen mean?”
Gaby shook her head to clear it, bending to scoop up the trail-mix mess. “I guess I’ll have to include that.” She steadied her hands on the table. “As Gwen would say, Game on.”
“Game on,” Sarah Jane agreed.
* * *
The other girls from the initiation ceremony began to arrive, and Sarah Jane and Kyra retreated to a row of chairs against the wall behind us. When everyone was seated, Gaby moved to the head of the table and opened a large leather book with a lock on the side like a diary.
“As you all know, my name is Gaby Winston. I’ll be your Alpha Chair for the next year. My job is to lead your Alpha-level meetings and get you ready to take the next step in the Sisterhood.
“Since this is your first time back to the Club, here’s the lowdown. This is our meeting place for Cindys only. No one else knows it exists. There are security locks on the outermanagement entrance and on the door to the Club. You’ll each be given your own code, and the security system will log every time you enter the facility. You’re free to come back here whenever you want during business hours to study and work on your projects.”
She stretched out her arms to encompass the room. “This is what we call Study Hall. Through that door”—she pointed to her left—“is the Alpha office. That’s where I’ll be when I’m on duty this summer. If I’m not on duty, you can leave me a note in my mailbox.”
Gaby gestured to the other doors farther down on her left. “The next door is the leader’s office, Paige Ellis. She’s a camp counselor this summer, so she’ll be MIA for the next week or so during counselor training. The last door is the Gamma office. It has its own keyed access and is off-limits unless you’ve got Gamma security clearance.”
She pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “Behind me is the Cindy lounge. We’ve got a great setup in there: a kitchenette with a couple of tables, two laptops, a TV, and a bathroom. Audrey keeps us well stocked, so have at it if you get the munchies. If you want a sandwich or something from the front while Audrey’s here, instructions for ordering are next to the laptops. Audrey will bring it back.”
Security clearance and a supermodel waiting on us? Who were we?
“From now on, you only hang in the front if you’re here to socialize. If you’re here for the Society, you enter through the outside door near the bathrooms and come straight back through the employee entrance. You leave the same way you came in. No one should see you enter or exit if you can help it. If anyone questions you, just tell them you’re doing some work for Audrey.”
“Audrey hires students for a lot of things around the store,” Kyra explained. “That helps us with the cover.”
They weren’t kidding about secrecy. I wondered if fingerprinting was far behind.
“The binders in front of you,” Gaby continued, “are your Sisterhood training manuals. The CMM on the cover stands for Cinderella Makeover Manual . The CMM is one of the most top secret
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