PILOT

$ $ $

My dark eyes were glued to the ground as I watched my black Converse sneakers trudge along the nicely paved bricks that neatly lined the driveway. My beat up Chucks, along with their tears and stains from adventures from my past life, didn't match the new and expensive neighborhood that I had just moved into. I was already starting to miss my old home, especially my old friends. All this designer decor was starting to give me a migraine and blind my eyes with its sparkles and shine. I was way too used to shitty, suburban neighborhoods. I liked the feel of them more.

As I entered the large gates of my new neighbors' house, I was immediately met with the unmoving stares of many wealthy people. Everyone was dressed in high end fashion and high heels, along with glittering jewelry. I was starting to feel a bit underdressed, but I didn't really care too much. The sudden attention was actually pretty nice.

A loud clink of a glass rang through the speakers that were placed around the large backyard, causing me to stop in my tracks. I turned my head towards the source of the sound and saw a blonde boy around my age, holding a glass of some sparkling liquid and a microphone. The boy smirked as he spoke jokingly, "Relax, Mom, it's only cider." He turned back to the crowd of people in front of him, who were barely paying attention. "Hello, everyone. I'm Chip Pemberton." I feigned a laugh at his ridiculous, rich-sounding name. I swear, every wealthy couple always names their children something extra. "I live right up there," Chip boasted as he raised his glass towards the towering mansion. It was a very nice house, definitely bigger than my own, new mansion. God, I hate mansions. "In the spirit of labor day, let's give it up to the real laborers.. the caterers."

This time I couldn't help but laugh. I chuckled softly as I clapped, catching the eye of the blonde boy himself. His dark eyes widened suddenly as he dropped the glass of cider on the stage. The cup shattered into tiny pieces and sharp shards. My smile dropped slightly as my eyebrows pulled into a look of confusion. I walked away and followed after my parents as they moved up the cement staircase, leaving the petrified boy frozen in his place on the stage.

"It's so nice to finally meet you," a woman wearing a colorful dress exclaimed. Her smile stretched onto her cheeks as she greeted my parents, who held themselves high with a new confidence. They were very proud of their newfound social status, especially when attending parties and events like this.

"It's nice to meet you too, Pamela," my mother replied with equal amount of enthusiasm. Her smile was painted on just like the shade of her red lipstick.

Pamela shook her head. "Please," she said with another smile. "Call me Poodle."

"Oh, of course!" My mom replied. Her and Poodle laughed softly to themselves. I hated how rich people gave themselves stupid nicknames that made no sense. It was almost as bad as when they gave their children stupid names, but not worse because at least their nickname isn't on their birth certificate.

My dad outstretched his hand to shake Poodle's hand. "Thank again for your invitation," he said gratefully.

Poodle nodded her head while replying, "Not a problem. It would have been highly rude of me not to invite the newest members of Greenwich. I really do hope you find our neighborhood as comfortable as your last."

I rolled my eyes at her ridiculous, fancy way of speaking. Rich people always spoke like they were better than everyone else. They also claim to be better than everyone else. "We probably won't, considering our last neighborhood was basically the ghetto," I remarked.

Poodle's eyebrows raised as her jaw dropped. My parents feigned their angry expressions as they turned to me and laughed in a fake manner. "Oh, don't mind her," my father said. "It was a lovely suburban neighborhood."

"Oh," Poodle chuckled uncomfortably. She didn't seem to believe him too much. Suburban neighborhoods were basically child's play for rich people.

My mother placed her hands on my shoulders as she pulled me forward to stand beside her. "Pamela—I mean, Poodle—this is our daughter, Alice," she introduced me. I stared at the woman before me with a stoic expression, which greatly irritated my mother. She breathed heavy as she nudged me subtly.

I rolled my eyes once again as I muttered an unimpressed, "Hello." My mom elbowed me, making me huff out in aggravation as I put on a fake smile.

"Sorry about our daughter," my mom said in disappointment. "She's new to being respectful." I could feel her eyes shooting daggers into the back of my head. Her nagging was starting to give me a headache. She was never like this before we moved. It's crazy how money can change a person.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Poodle said, shaking her head as she smiled. "I'm sure you can just buy her some manners now that you're rich!" Her soft yet loud laughter reminded me of a hyena.

My own parents joined in on her joke. I hated when rich people made rich people jokes.. I think I just really hate rich people. It was such a pity that I am a rich person now. Almost everything I say applies to me now.

"Hey there," another blonde woman interrupted suddenly. She walked over to stand beside me. I cringed at her natural scent of alcohol and cigarettes. She reeked of death and trash, but I kind of liked it because she reminded me of the people from my previous hometown.

"Oh, my God," Poodle spoke in surprise. She wore a shocked expression as she greeted the mess of a woman. "Mackenzie, what're you doing here?"

"Well, you invited me," Mackenzie clarified as if her answer was obvious.

Poodle nodded and then narrowed her eyes as she gave a rebuttal, "But we invite you every year and you never come."

"Huh," Mackenzie stated.

"This seems like a bad time," my mother spoke up. She grabbed onto my father's arm and began walking away with him. "We'll see you later, Poodle."

I took their own dismissal as my cue to leave the conversation as well. I took off past Poodle and Mackenzie and began walking down the staircase. I was about to take a step off onto the grass until the blonde boy—Chip—from before stepped before me. He gasped sharply once his arms trailed up my body and finally met my own. "Hey," I said with a tight-lipped smile. The boy continued to stare into my eyes so I kept talking. "Your Chip, right?"

The blonde finally seemed to snap out of his sudden daze and shook his head suddenly. "Y-yeah thats me!" He stood up a bit straighter and cleared his throat. "Chip Pemberton, wealthiest kid in Greenwich."

I sort of half smiled. "Did you just call yourself a kid?"

"No, of course not!" Chip began to ramble. He crossed his arms over his chest as he shrugged. "Obviously, I'm a man. A very wealthy man. In fact, I'm the wealthiest man in-"

"Greenwich," I cut him off. "And I was just messing with you."

He rolled his eyes. "Pff, yeah, I knew that," he remarked. "I was messing with you too actually." Chip sounded almost as if he was trying to convince himself of his own answer.

"Is that true?" I pressed on. This party was a bore but the blonde was keeping me entertained enough to stick around for a little while longer. Maybe not every rich person was too bad after all.

Chip just gulped and nodded.

I smirked as I shifted my weight onto my right leg. "I like you new kid."

"You do?" Chip questioned me. "I mean, of course you do! What's not to like?" He outstretched his arms as he boasted about himself. "Wait, aren't you the new kid?"

I shrugged but nodded anyway as I replied, "I'm Alice Windsor, your new neighbor." Chip outstretched his hand for me to shake but I shook my head. "Handshakes remind me of rich people."

"Aren't you a rich person?" Chip asked in confusion.

"Just cause I woke up with millions of dollars in my bank account one day, doesn't mean I'm rich," I said.

Chip tilted his head to the side. "I think that's exactly what it means."

I shrugged nonchalantly as I replied, "I wouldn't expect you to understand it, considering that you've been wealthy your whole life."

"That's prejudice," Chip declared suddenly.

"And you're pride," I stated with a sly smile. He seemed frustrated with me. I took a step down and leveled my eyes with his. "I'll see you around, Mr. Pemberton."

His face went red as he watched me walk off across his yard. I made my way towards the backdoor, where I turned the handle and entered the mansion of a house. The marble floors were sparkling in the bright sunlight that shined in from the open windows high above the ground. I walked along black and white tiles and explained each room, looking for something that piqued my interest.

I heard a door suddenly open and close from the room I was about to walk into. Then, a conversation began and I immediately recognized the voice of the woman talking. "So, your parents are safe," Mackenzie clarified. She took a moment to think before speaking again. "They just wanted to see if I could spend a little time with you guys while this thing gets sorted." Her pale eyes suddenly glanced my way. "Wait, I thought there were only three of you."

Chip, along with the two other kids, who I assumed were his siblings, turned around and stared at me. "Alice, what're you doing here?" Chip questioned me.

"Your party was boring," I replied, not really answering his question.

"Excuse me?" The brunette girl said defensively.

"You're excused," I said with a curt smile. The girl seemed taken aback by my remark.

"So you broke into my house?" Chip exclaimed dramatically. He stomped his foot on the ground and made a face full of anger. "Damnit where's the security around here! Alba!"

"Calm down," I said, rolling my eyes. "The backdoor was unlocked. I didn't break into anything."

"I don't trust anyone who wears whatever those are," the brunette girl spat, glaring at my shoes.

"They're just Chuck Taylors," I said.

"Who wears sneakers to formal events!" The brunette exclaimed.

"Tons of people!"

"Tons of poor people!"

"Alright, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Sabrina," Mackenzie reasoned with her. "FBI agents literally just took your parents away in cuffs." My eyes widened. I had only been gone for a couple of minutes and somehow I had managed to miss that.

"It'll get sorted," Chip said in rising determination. "And when it does, those FBI pigs will be the ones rotting in jail."

"Mommy and daddy are in jail?" A little boy asked with a deep frown on his small face.

Chip kneeled down next to the boy, who I assumed was his younger brother. He placed a hand on his shoulder as he comforted him, "Don't worry, Ben, the scales of justice tip in favor of the wealthy. If we throw enough money at this thing, I'm sure it'll go away. And then, we'll sue their asses for deformation, okay?

Ben smiled. "Okay."

"Wow," Mackenzie remarked in disbelief. "I have an idea.. Why don't we all just honker down and play poker all night long until this whole thing blows over."

"Sounds like a plan," I exclaimed. "Not to brag, but I've never had a bad hand."

"Now, that's what I'm talking about!" Mackenzie said. "I'm still not sure who you are but yeah, sounds like a plan."

"This doesn't even concern you," Sabrina stated as she stared me down with her dark, menacing eyes. I wasn't sure where all this sudden hatred and dislike was coming from but the feeling was becoming mutual.

"Shut up, Sabrina, Alice can stay," Chip interjected. He crossed his arms over his chest.

Sabrina rolled her eyes as she turned back to Mackenzie. "This isn't gonna work for me," she spoke. "I'm gonna go to this fundraiser for planned parenthood, probably crash at my friend's place, go to the city tomorrow, so just don't expect to see me too much." Sabrina took a step forward. "You know, we probably won't see each other at all, but hey, let's catch up again in ten years when you need another loan."

"Listen, Sabrina," Mackenzie started. She also took a step forward. "I've got a lot riding on this gig so can you do me a favor and not be a big, giant pain in the ass, please?"

"I second that," I interrupted.

"Butt out hobo," Sabrina remarked.

"Screw off, Sabrina!" Chip demanded.

Sabrina held her hand up to block off Chip and me as she turned back to argue with Mackenzie. "Maybe you don't know this but planned parenthood provides healthcare to over three million women in this country."

"Well, sweetie, I know all about planned parenthood," Mackenzie retorted. "Actually, I have one of those punchcards that get you a free sub every ten visits."

"Gross," Sabrina said.

Mackenzie shook her head almost immediately. "No I just meant.. I never got like- I just had a bunch those bacterial infections."

Sabrina made a disgusted face. "Ew."

Mackenzie changed the subject, "You know what, you wanna make a difference? Go out on the frontline, chain yourself to a redwood, light yourself on fire. Just not tonight, understood?"

The brunette faked a frown. "I'm sorry, were you saying something?" She asked. "I was distracted by how uneven your eyebrows are."

Mackenzie gasped softly as she turned around and watched Sabrina walk away. When she was out of the room, I walked up to stand beside Chip. "Your sister's a bitch." He just chuckled and nodded. "Alright.. poker time?"