FIFTY SHADES OF G'DAY

Chapter 1

Walking through the school halls on the first day of the school year after summer holidays was always a thrill for me. I watched as students parted like the Red Sea as I walked through the corridor, some of them pulling their oblivious friends with them as they ogled at me as I passed. I ignored the plethora of pathetic "Hello's" and "Hi Marley, hope you had a good summer's" and continued towards my locker where I knew my friends would be waiting for me.

It was one thing being popular at Shore Cross High School, but it's a whole new ball game being the most popular. But someone has to do it, and that someone is me. I had always been the most popular girl in my grade, but when I entered senior year I took the title of the most popular girl in the entire school. Of course, it's not an official label, that would be absurd, but everyone's behaviour speaks for itself. Not a single person in this school hasn't tried at some point or another to be my friend, but unfortunately for them, I choose my group of friends exclusively.

My group consists of Jodi Ng, a girl whose father owns some sort of successful company; I've never bothered to ask for more details than that. Eleanor Renoli, whose parents both inherited millions from some mysterious death in the family. Gabby Clements, whose mother is a famous author and humanitarian for some conservation charity. Bianca Sposari, whose father is a brain surgeon. And then there's me, Marley Whitman - my parents are both successful lawyers and my older brother is currently following their footsteps by studying at Harvard.

As I rounded the corner and walked towards my locker, I was shocked to find that my friends were nowhere to be seen. It was customary that they all waited by my locker every morning so we could discuss any new found gossip, and the fact that they weren't there the day school was starting was just not acceptable.

I decided to go into the nearest bathroom to admire the outfit I had chosen to wear today - my brand new Gucci sneakers, high waisted skinny jeans, and a crisp white t-shirt with a plunging neckline to show off my ample cleavage. The teachers knew better than to scold me for violating the dress code - all I had to do was get my parents up to the principals office and the teachers were putty in my hands. That being said, I did know where to draw the line.

As I entered the bathroom, the sound of hushed chatter filled my ears.

"Have you heard there's a new girl in our grade?"

"I heard she's from Australia! That is so cool!"

"I heard she's really pretty, too!"

"I think I might've seen her walking into the office! Her style is super cute!"

The idea of a new girl coming to the school was shocking enough, but what shocked me even more was that the gossip was coming from none other than my friends, Jodi, Eleanor, Gabby, and Bianca.

"Excuse me," I said loudly, interrupting their discussion and causing them to jump and turn to face me. "Is there a reason why you are all in here and not in front of my locker?"

All four of them looked as if they had seen a ghost, but they quickly composed themselves.

"Sorry, Marley!" Jodi gushed pathetically. "We came in here to check our makeup before you arrived, but we got distracted. Apparently there's a new — "

"Student. Yeah, I heard," I interrupted. "It's nice to know that the new student is more important than me."

"Oh my gosh, no!" Eleanor exclaimed. "That is so not possible!"