JUST THE GIRL: PROLOGUE

"Sooo.. I bought this new Balenciaga dress the other day.."

"Really? Was it the divine purple one we saw on Rodeo?"

"Yeah, that’s the one."

"Oh my God! I love that dress!"

"I know, me too. Anyway, I bought it first, so don’t even think about getting one."

"Oh please dear, there are many other marvelous Balenciaga gowns in the world."

"But none like mine. Anyway, I noticed you’re wearing a new watch. It’s nice, I like the pink diamonds."

"This thing? Just a little something my mom picked up for me. You know how she loves her Cartier."

"Well, my mom and I are Rolex girls. Anyway, did you notice something different about Allison Roberts from 4-C?"

"That anorexic bitch? Well, yeah! Dear, her new lips were all over the place!"

"I know! Someone should tell her to ease up a little on the collagen injections. She looks like a puffer fish now."

"She should totally sue her plastic surgeon."

"I know, wait.. speaking of plastic surgery. Do you think I should get a nose job?"

Tina Kennard rolled her eyes as she eavesdropped on the conversation that her seatmate was having with one of their classmates. They irritated her to no end. Her classmates were rich – ridiculously loaded – and so naturally, they were all spoiled, materialistic and superficial brats. Tina sighed, it was her own fault that she was stuck in this high school. She had succumbed to the wishes of her father, and now, here she was.. suffering through it all.

Tina was currently a senior in the prestigious Redwind Academy for Girls, located somewhere in Southern California. It was a school for the children of the rich and famous – well, there was one exception to this. Christina Kennard from North Carolina was neither rich nor were her parents even remotely famous. She was a simple girl, from a simple family, living in a simple town. But all that changed when her father read an article a few years back about graduates from Redwind Academy and their successful careers. Simply put, if you graduate from Redwind, you are insured of a bright future. All the Ivy League universities will be willing to accept you, and potential employers will only need to look at your academic history before hiring you on the spot. So, with only good intentions in mind, Kenneth Kennard sold his farm, used up all his inheritance and relocated his family to California. He got himself a job in one of the vineyards nearby and worked part-time at a funeral parlor during the weekends. All of this for the future of his only child.