Who's Country Club Is It Anyway?

Vanessa English sat with a smirk on her face. She was at her favorite table at The Carrington Country Club, as usual. The Carrington was her home away from home. Her favorite place to be. There she sits high on her imaginary throne and casts gossipy judgement on all the other members who don’t meet her lofty standards of what a proper club member could be.

At her table was, as always, her younger cousin Violet. The two of them sipping tea and spilling tea as usual. Vanessa very excited to gossip and Violet very excited to annoy Vanessa with her aloof attitude. But today Vanessa was sitting there with that dumb look on her face.

“Okay, I’ll ask since you so clearly want me to,” Violet said. “What are you grinning about?”

“Oh just you wait. You’ll see any minute now,” Vanessa said looking like the Cheshire cat.

Vanessa coyly stirred her tea with her spoon, looking as perfect as ever in a lovely light blue lace dress that went down to the knee, with a matching fascinator and gloves. At 28 years old, Vanessa still favored old fashioned looks, which she deemed ‘proper’. Anyone not seen as proper in her eyes was the recipient of her scorn. Especially if they dared set foot in her hallowed country club.

Just then at the end of the hall Danny appeared. Danny was Vanessa’s longtime boyfriend, and much like Vanessa was a vain bully and a snob. He waved at her excitedly. Once she noticed him, Vanessa perked up. Danny gave her a thumbs up. Vanessa instantly started clapping her hands to herself.

“Look Vi, it’s about to happen,” she said.

Violet looked up from her iPhone and down the hall towards Danny, waiting for something.

“What? Your dumb boyfriend is here? Is that it?”

“Sigh! Just watch!”

Then behind Danny appeared three figures. Two of them were security, in blue blazers and black ties and the third, their escort was a red headed woman.

“This is such bullshit,” the red head yelled.

A big breasted curvy woman in a leopard print miniskirt and a white button down blouse (with three buttons open) she was clearly not happy about what was going on.

“I’ve been set up! This place is bullshit!”

Vanessa watched with glee as the red head was escorted through the dining hall and out of the country club. But before she was gone she spotted Vanessa and pointed at her.

“I know you did this, bitch! You fuckin’ super snob!” she yelled as she went past.

Vanessa feigned innocence, putting her gloved hands to her chest, comically looking aghast at the notion of such a thing.

“Ta ta!” Vanessa said, as the red headed disappeared from the country club forever.

Then smiling big she faced Violet.

“Proud of yourself?” Violet asked.

“You don’t think I had something to do with this do you?”

Violet just stared back her cousin. “I’m sure your idiot boyfriend did something for you to cause this to happen.”

“Well, I don’t like to gossip, but I heard they found some sort of in the bathroom and somehow traced is back to her,” Vanessa said.

“And what exactly did she ever do to you?”

“Oh come on Violet, you know she didn’t belong here,” Vanessa said. “She’s new money. NEW money. No class whatsoever. Always wearing those tight skirts and showing off her cleavage. I tell you, the one thing you can’t buy is class.”

“Is planting evidence classy?” Violet asked.

“Well, of course not, but I did no such thing,” Vanessa said sipping her tea.

“Whatever. I don’t actually care,” Violet said, going back to staring at her phone.

Vanessa didn’t get it. Violet was family. She had the same upbringing, but yet she never bothered when interlopers invaded their space. It just didn’t make sense. Instead Violet was more concerned about her career as an Instagram influencer. Taking selfies of herself looking fabulous and getting back to hawk various products.

“Well you should care, you should definitely care about who gets to enter here. I know I do. I know Danny does. And we’re going to let any random slut just walk in here and shake her breasts in everyone’s faces. I won’t stand for it.” Vanessa was sounding passionate but Violet did not even bother to look up at her.

The two went back to silently drinking their tea.

A few minutes later Violet looked up.

“Van.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t you know her?”

Vanessa turned around and saw a new person in The Carrington. A person she hadn’t seen in years. Angie Turner.

“Oh yes, I know her,” Vanessa said, the thrill of her victory quickly evaporating.

Angie and Vanessa attended the same private school. They weren’t rivals per se, but they had history. Angie was one of the few African American kids at their school, was very popular with her classmates, and was constantly the victim of Vanessa’s snide insults. This came to a head when Vanessa demanded Angie move from her place in the cafeteria. Angie refused and threw a cupcake that landed on Vanessa’s dress. Thrilled that she could use this to get a more popular girl expelled, Vanessa was going to report this directly to the principal, but was stopped when another student, Kitty Van Look, stepped in and punched Vanessa out.

It was huge humiliation for the then 13 year old Vanessa, one she never forgot. And now here, years later was Angie Turner. In her country club. Thinking she was going just walk in like she owns the place and start using all the amenities. All the same amenities that Vanessa uses.

“Looks like I have more work to do,” Vanessa said.