Private series characters

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Private is a series of novels by American author Kate Brian. The cast of characters is as follows.

Contents 1 Reed Brennan 2 Noelle Lange 3 Ariana Osgood 4 Kiran Hayes 5 Taylor Bell 6 Cheyenne Martin 7 Thomas Pearson 8 Josh Hollis 9 Constance Talbot 10 Sabine Dulac 11 Natasha Crenshaw 12 Dash McCafferty 13 Walt Whittaker 14 Gage Coolidge 15 The "Twin Cities" 16 Missy Thurber 17 Lorna Gross 18 Astrid Chou 19 Kiki Rosen 20 Blake Pearson 21 Ivy Slade 22 Footnotes

[edit] Reed Brennan

“

Some girls see themselves walking red carpets with movie-star boyfriends. Others, I'm sure, go the princess route. All I imagined my entire ninth grade year was this: Easton Academy.

”

The protagonist and narrator of the series, Reed Brennan is a collected outsider from Pennsylvania who, at the beginning of Private, enters Easton Academy via scholarship. An attractive honors student with straight chestnut hair and blue eyes, admirable athletic skill, and the eventual romantic attentions of more than one suitor, she seems destined for success in the high-profile school. However, her primary failing is an overeagerness to escape a troubled family past and mundane everyday life, which soon lends itself to her quest to gain acceptance into the school's premier sorority, Billings House. On her first night at Easton, Reed looks out her dorm room window and notices four beautiful girls in a dorm room in the opposite building — Billings House — drinking wine, dancing, and enjoying themselves. Fascinated by this sight, she learns that these were the four most popular girls at Easton, and begins to cherish a desire to live amongst them and be a part of their circle. Upon being introduced to these girls — Noelle, Ariana, Kiran, and Taylor — a series of initiations to test her credibility follows.

As the series progresses, Reed rises in status, but experiences several personal costs and challenges along the way.

In a survey conducted via the Website polldaddy.com,^[1] readers of the Private series voted Reed Brennan their favorite Billings Girl. In addition, a review from Publishers Weekly called the character "more complex than most of this genre's narrators."^[2] Conversely, a more critical review from School Library Journal claimed that in the first book, several elements of her personality were left underdeveloped, including her apparent lack of ability to "empathize at all with her mother's pain-killer addiction."^[3]

[edit] Noelle Lange

Widely recognized as the "leader" of the Billings Girls, Noelle is a brown-haired, dark-eyed senior and the implied counterpart of Reed. Like Reed, she is skilled in lacrosse and soccer, and suggests that she as well comes from an unhappy household. However, Noelle is known for her blunt, insensitive tendencies, and often looks down on students and even faculty members outside of her inner circle. She is notable for a mysterious "long, red scar along her stomach, just above her hipbone." Like Ariana, Noelle is a senior; as such it is clear that she and Ariana share a stronger — and possibly longer — friendship with each other than they do with Kiran and Taylor, who are both juniors. Noelle's long-time boyfriend is Dash McCafferty, also a senior.

Upon encountering Reed for the first time, Noelle not-so-subtly suggests that she knows Reed had been spying on her and her friends on the first day of school; after introducing herself and the others, she loudly says, in front of everyone, "Now that you know you we are, maybe you can have a little respect and quit licking the glass." Noelle then dubs Reed "Glass-licker", a demeaning nickname that she — and many of the other Billings Girls — often address Reed with from then on.

In the third book, Noelle tries to convince Reed that her boyfriend Josh Hollis murdered her ex-boyfriend, Thomas Pearson. At the end of the book Noelle calls the police and has Josh arrested under suspicion that Josh had murdered Thomas, using a baseball bat that had Josh's-and only Josh's-fingerprints on it. Reed notices that the Billings Girls, and Noelle in particular, seem anxious to find Thomas's murderer and are keen to blame Josh. Reed also witnesses a spat between Noelle and Taylor, who had been constantly in tears since Thomas's death; Noelle becomes irritated with Taylor's continuous sobbing, yells at her, and loudly questions why she was ever let into Billings in the first place. In Confessions, Noelle finally explains to Reed the reason behind Thomas's disappearance, and how she and the other girls were involved.

On the way back to Easton from a party, Reed and the Billings Girls pause to take pictures; when Reed is asked to take a snap of the others, she happens to find a picture of a man's naked torso in Kiran's camera, and immediately recognizes Thomas's body. Frightened and suspicious, Reed demands an explanation and threatens to have the girls arrested. Noelle manages to calm her down and explains that the day after Thomas treated Reed abusively at a party, the Billings Girls tied up and blindfolded Thomas while he was in a drunken state; using Josh Hollis's car, they took him to a field near Easton and tied him to a tree, naked (thus explaining the pictures in Kiran's camera, which she thought she had deleted). There they changed their voices and taunted him, then went back to Easton when he passed out. Reed, horrified, then accuses the girls of killing Thomas by leaving him in the cold, while Noelle insists that they loosened the ropes binding him to the tree before leaving, so that he could free himself when he woke up. Noelle assures Reed that they never killed Thomas, and had only treated him so because of the way he acted towards her at the party ("We did it for you, Reed."). Fearful of being blamed for Thomas's death, the girls beg Reed to believe them and not to call the police on them. Reed agrees at first, but inwardly promises herself to never speak to them again.

Later on Reed, who has had enough, finally decides to call the police and have the girls arrested. She discovers that her cell phone is missing and borrows her roommate's phone, realizing that she'll get reception only on the roof. Ariana manages to corner Reed on the roof of Billings; there she admits to murdering Thomas, whom she had been involved with prior to Reed's arrival at Easton. She then brings out a knife and uses it to try to push Reed off the roof, before Noelle appears from behind and knocks Ariana down with a lacrosse stick. She lividly confronts Ariana and says that she had suspected her of murdering Thomas all along, and she had seen Ariana steal Reed's cell phone knowing that Reed would have to use Natasha's phone on the roof, where she would be most vulnerable. She says that she has covered for Ariana the whole semester, but that she has had enough. Noelle threateningly holds the knife against Ariana's throat to hold her at bay, and orders Ariana to tell her the truth.

The police arrive within minutes, and when they read Ariana her rights and handcuff her, Reed breaks down crying. Noelle, who in the previous novels had expressed little tact or sympathy for others, puts her arms around Reed and comforts her. As the police are about to leave, Noelle insists that they arrest her, too, and states that while she did not kill Thomas, she is not entirely innocent, either.

At the end of the fourth book, Reed decides to go home for winter break and return to her old high school, deciding she has had enough drama. It is Noelle who calls her, from a juvenile rehabilitation center, and confronts her about her decision. She tells Reed that she would be better off at Easton, where she could get a world-class education and get all the things she wants. Noelle encourages Reed not to let her bad experiences with the Billings Girls ruin her shot at becoming the best she can be ("Don't let our mistakes screw up your life, Reed."). At this point it is apparent that Noelle cares more for Reed's well-being than Ariana's, and she manages to convince Reed to go back to Easton and complete the year.

In Inner Circle, Noelle does not return to Easton for the new semester. Reed notes that Noelle and the other girls have changed their email addresses and phone numbers, and that she has not heard from any of them since Ariana's admission and has no way of reaching them. Reed receives emails from Noelle's boyfriend Dash McCafferty, asking her how she is; Reed is surprised that Dash is emailing her and even more surprised that he seems to know all of the things happening at Easton. Not long after Cheyenne Martin's suicide, Reed receives another email from Dash reassuring her and stating, "Everything happens for a reason, Reed." Later on Reed goes out to a restaurant and runs into Noelle, who states that thanks to her father, she is free of all charges; she and Reed embrace and share a happy reunion, and Noelle reassures Reed that everything will be fine. When Reed asks how Noelle could be so sure, Noelle smiles and replies, "Everything happens for a reason."

In the first chapter of Legacy, Reed notes that Noelle had informed her she was no longer seeing Dash. Much to Reed's shock, Noelle turns up at Easton a few weeks into the new semester and states that she has returned to graduate. When Reed is voted President of Billings House by all the other residents, Noelle (who had previously held the position) appears taken back but ultimately admits that Reed is the best person for the job. She then begins to help and advise Reed on making sure that all of Billings House receives invitations to the Legacy party (which, in a surprise twist, is revealed to be closed to all Easton students and forbidden by the new Headmaster of Easton).

Shortly before the Legacy, Noelle informs Reed that Dash will be at the Legacy and that she is certain they will be back together soon. Reed, who has already began to fall for Dash and who has consistently been flirting with him via email, is guilty and shocked to learn that Noelle and Dash apparently have kept an on-off relationship for the past four or five years. At the end of Legacy, after a very drunk Reed has just had a heated make-out session at the Legacy party with Dash, she returns to her friends shortly and finds Noelle to be in a very happy mood. Reed, who had originally intended to tell Noelle the truth about her and Dash no matter how angry Noelle would become, is left stunned when Noelle reveals that she and Dash are back together. Reed is aghast by this news but doesn't say anything.

In Ambition, at the end, Noelle finds out about Reed and Dash at the Legacy and is furious with Reed and tells her its over with Reed at Billings and Easton at that she should go home unless she wants to see what Noelle can do to her.

[edit] Ariana Osgood

A quiet bookworm, Ariana possesses white-blond hair and piercing, cool blue eyes. Upon seeing Ariana for the first time, Reed thinks her to appear "...almost ethereal, like she could float away any moment with the help of a light breeze." She is considered to be Reed's first friend in Billings, as it was Ariana who introduced Reed to the others girls. Reed observes that Ariana is often the most motherly and caring of the group, and most likely to comfort others in distress. Her tactfulness is apparent next to Noelle's blunt nature, as Ariana often reprimands Noelle and Kiran when they are being insensitive. Throughout the novels, Reed notes that Ariana is able to unhinge anyone — Noelle included — by simply staring at them, and Reed often feels chilly and uneasy when under Ariana's penetrating stare. Like Noelle, Ariana is a senior; as such it is clear that she and Noelle share a stronger — and possibly longer — friendship with each other than they do with Kiran and Taylor, who are both juniors.

Ariana is nice to Reed upon her first encounter with the Billings Girls, and apologizes for Noelle's rude comments. The next day, she corners Reed and, while making small talk, mentions that she had seen Reed talking to Thomas Pearson earlier that morning. With a serious, almost accusatory look on her face, she asks Reed if she likes Thomas, and when Reed replies (untruthfully) that she doesn't, Ariana smiles happily and seems to "glow from within." She then invites Reed to breakfast with her and her friends, which marks the start of the hazing rituals Reed is forced to perform for much of the first two novels.

In the first book, an issue of The Quill, the Easton literary magazine, notes that Ariana had a piece of her poetry published in The New Yorker.

The truth surrounding the murder of Thomas Pearson arrives in the fourth book, Confessions. On the way back to Easton from a party, Reed and the Billings Girls pause to take pictures; when Reed is asked to take a snap of the others, she happens to find a picture of a man's naked torso in Kiran's camera, and immediately recognizes Thomas's body. Frightened and suspicious, Reed demands an explanation and threatens to have the girls arrested. Noelle manages to calm her down and explains that the day after Thomas treated Reed abusively at a party, the Billings Girls tied up and blindfolded Thomas while he was in a drunken state; using Josh Hollis's car, they took him to a field near Easton and tied him to a tree, naked. There they changed their voices and taunted him, then went back to Easton when he passed out. Reed, horrified, then accuses the girls of killing Thomas by leaving him in the cold, while Noelle insists that they loosened the ropes binding him to the tree before leaving, so that he could free himself when he woke up. Noelle assures Reed that they never killed Thomas, and had only treated him so because of the way he acted towards her at the party ("We did it for you, Reed."). Fearful of being blamed for Thomas's death, the girls beg Reed to believe them and to not call the police. Reed agrees at first, but inwardly promises herself to never speak to them again.

During and before Noelle's explanation, Ariana appears uncharacteristically angry, and directs her anger toward Reed. Unlike Noelle and Kiran, Ariana is unwilling to tell Reed the truth and she initially urges Noelle not to tell Reed anything.

Later on Reed, who has had enough, finally decides to call the police and have the girls arrested. She discovers that her cell phone is missing and borrows her roommate's phone, realizing that she'll get reception only on the roof. Ariana manages to corner Reed on the roof of Billings; there she admits to murdering Thomas, whom she had been involved with prior to Reed's arrival at Easton, and accuses Reed of stealing him from her. She claims that at the start of the year, Thomas had promised to reveal their long-time, secret relationship to everyone at the school; she implies that in previous years, Thomas had been seeing various other girls while dating Ariana, but he had promised her that this year would be different. Thomas, however, broke up with Ariana upon meeting Reed. This drove Ariana mad with jealousy, though she claims to have loved Thomas and regretted killing him when she should have killed Reed in the first place.

On the rooftop, Ariana uses a cell phone to call the police and frantically claims that her friend Reed has just thrown herself off the roof. She tells Reed that she has forged a suicide note — in Reed's handwriting — in which Reed confesses to killing Thomas after seeing him cheat on her with another girl. She then brings out a knife and uses it to try to push Reed off the roof, before Noelle appears from behind and knocks Ariana down with a lacrosse stick. She lividly confronts Ariana and says that she had suspected her of murdering Thomas all along. Noelle claims to have seen Ariana steal Reed's cell phone earlier, knowing that Reed would have to use Natasha's phone on the roof, where she would be most vulnerable. Noelle then picks up the knife, and, using it to keep Ariana at bay, demands that Ariana tell her the truth. Ariana breaks down crying, and confesses that on the night she and the other girls tied Thomas up in the field, Ariana felt bad about leaving him out in the cold and later went back to free him. When she reached the field, a drunk, enraged Thomas started yelling insults at her and abusively calling her names. Ariana claims that she couldn't take it and did the first thing she could think of to make him stop: she picked up Josh Hollis's baseball bat and bashed Thomas on the head until he was dead. Wailing, Ariana claims that everything was Reed's fault, and that if Reed hadn't come to Easton none of this would have happened.

The police arrive within moments, and a sobbing Ariana is arrested.

Throughout Legacy, Reed gets a strange feeling that she is being watched and constantly sees Ariana- or someone resembling Ariana- everywhere.

[edit] Kiran Hayes

The most beautiful Billings Girl, at sixteen Kiran is a famous model with green eyes and dark hair. She has a notably good sense of fashion, and uses her abilities to update Reed's look. Kiran often receives packages of clothes and accessories from designers, stylists, and the companies she models for, and Reed describes Kiran's wardrobe as "Kiran's Closet of Dreams." Kiran, like Noelle, also tends to be insensitive and blunt, and is notably the most shallow of the Billings Girls.

In Private, Reed notes that Kiran is very susceptible to peer pressure; when Kiran is caught dating a boy from Dreck House (a boys dorm that houses boys lowest in social class) and is forced by Noelle and Ariana to break up with him, even though it is apparent that Kiran truly cares for the boy.

Beneath the surface, Kiran is troubled by alcoholism, which can lead to repercussions for herself and the others. This is apparent in Untouchable, when the news of Thomas Pearson's death arrives; out of guilt for what she had done and fearful of the consequences (Kiran, along with Noelle, Ariana, and Taylor, had blindfolded Thomas then tied him naked to a tree in a field while he was drunk, and left him there as payback for the way Thomas had abusively treated Reed), Kiran deals with the ill news by drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Kiran, like Noelle, has also implied that she comes from a troubled household. In Untouchable she mentions to her friends that her mother had insisted that Kiran get plastic surgery at the age of twelve (to which Noelle, Reed, and the others appear shocked), stating that Kiran would never become a model with her "witch chin." Also, Kiran implies that her mother is neglectful and indifferent toward her daughter.

Also in Confessions, it is apparent that Kiran is not as strong in nature as she pretends to be; while posing for pictures, Kiran hands her camera to Reed, who when fiddling with the buttons comes across a picture of Thomas's naked torso. Kiran admits to have taken the pictures when they had tied Thomas up — much to Noelle and Ariana's chagrin — but claims she thought she had deleted them afterward. Upon realizing the pictures were still there, Kiran collapses, sobbing and in near hysterics, while Ariana and Noelle remain calm.

Kiran is arrested along with Noelle Lange and Ariana Osgood at the end of Confessions, and has not appeared in the series since then.

[edit] Taylor Bell

The brainy, sensitive member of the group who possesses curly dirty-blond hair and brown eyes; Reed's first impression of Taylor is of a "cherub." She is extremely smart, and known for finishing homework at a speedy pace, be it her own or a friend's. Taylor is often visibly guilty when Reed is treated unfairly and forced to participate in initiations, and, like Ariana, she is sensitive to others' feelings. Reed observes that Taylor's nature is sweeter and more innocent than that of her three friends, and she willingly and happily offers help to anyone who is struggling with homework. It is widely known that Taylor aspires to attend Harvard more than anything.

In Untouchable, Taylor seems to be affected more by Thomas Pearson's death than the others are; she repeatedly has meltdowns, and Reed suspects that Taylor might have had a secret crush on Thomas after seeing her constantly in tears. Taylor soon has a spat with Noelle, who becomes frustrated with Taylor's continuous sobbing and yells at her. Reed's suspicions eventually prove to be untrue, when Noelle finally explains the conditions under which Taylor and the others girls were — indirectly — involved in Thomas's murder (Taylor, along with Noelle, Ariana, and Kiran, had blindfolded Thomas then tied him naked to a tree in a field while he was drunk, and left him there as payback for the way Thomas had abusively treated Reed), and it turns out that Taylor's breakdowns were simply out of guilt for what she had done and what it had led to.

Taylor leaves Easton near the middle of the third book,Untouchable, and returns to her old public high school in Chicago. To explain her sudden departure, Noelle, Ariana, and Kiran tell Reed that Taylor was just under stress from the loads of homework and needed a break. At the end of the novel, Taylor instant messages Reed from her hometown, simply states that what Noelle and the others were saying about her wasn't true, then ends the conversation. Taylor has not appeared in the series since.

Natasha Crenshaw, after hearing a few rumors, later explains to Reed that Taylor's parents withdrew her from Easton because they felt she was under bad influence there; they then changed her phone numbers and email addresses, thus explaining why Reed was unable to contact her.

At the end of the fourth book, Confessions, Reed learns that Taylor was arrested shortly after Ariana's admission.

[edit] Cheyenne Martin

A series antagonist, Cheyenne is a power-loving, controlling girl whose ambition is more aggressive than Reed's. She has a known and mutual dislike for Noelle, and seeks to take her spot as "leader" of Billings House. Cheyenne has blond hair and light eyes, and like most of the Billings residents, she is attractive. Reed's first encounter with Cheyenne is in Invitation Only, when Reed is forced to serve as a maid for all the Billings residents and finds herself cleaning Cheyenne's room. Cheyenne demonstrates her controlling personality by ordering Reed around and insisting that Reed attend to every little detail in her cleaning; when Reed makes a sharp retort, Cheyenne purposefully drops her face powder onto the carpet and orders Reed to clean it up. Reed notes that since then there was no love lost between her and Cheyenne.

In Confessions Cheyenne beautifully decorates the Billings lobby for Christmas, much to Reed's appreciation and Noelle's fury. Reed thanks Cheyenne for doing it, and it appears that the two of them have settled their dispute. Cheyenne also arranges a holiday party at her father's large summer home and invites the other Billings Girls, their boyfriends, and students from Barton Academy (another private boarding school, much like Easton) and manages to impress everyone with the fancy decorations and services. At this point in the series Cheyenne seems to like and be liked by everyone- except for Noelle- and she and Reed become friendly. Cheyenne shows concern for Reed when Reed is visibly overwhelmed by Josh Hollis's arrest and Thomas Pearson's death, and agrees when Reed firmly states her belief that Josh is innocent.

However, Cheyenne and Reed are thrown into conflict during the events of Inner Circle, when the new year at Easton begins. Intitiations become forbidden at the school at the start of the year; the headmaster assigns the new Billings residents — Missy Thurber, Constance Talbot, Sabine DuLac, Lorna Gross, Astrid Chou, and Kiki Rosen —instead of allowing the Billings Girls to extend invitations. Therefore, the Billings Girls no longer have any control over who gets to live in Billings, something that Cheyenne cannot accept.

Cheyenne disregards the rules and continues to hold hazing rituals for prospective residents of Billings House. She openly states that the newest residents are not fit to live in Billings, and starts doing everything she can to make six of the girls — Lorna, Constance, Sabine, and Kiki — want to leave. She favors Astrid and Missy (Missy is a legacy- meaning her mother and sister were in Billings- and Astrid was already an acquaintance of Cheyenne's) and helps them with the hazing by giving them easier tasks and pointers.

When Reed protests the hazing and the way Cheyenne unfairly treats the new girls, Cheyenne insists that Billings traditions must be maintained and becomes ruthless. This makes Reed determined to stop Cheyenne from mistreating the newest residents, and a series of small battles between the two of them follow.

Another factor that contributes to the enmity between Reed and Cheyenne is Cheyenne's flirtatious behavior toward Reed's boyfriend, Josh Hollis. Josh reassures Reed that there is nothing between him and Cheyenne, but toward the middle of the novel Reed catches Josh and Cheyenne as they are about to have sex. When Reed bursts into the room, Cheyenne attempts to be snippy about the situation and dismissively orders Reed to calm down. Distraught and outraged, Reed slaps Cheyenne across the face and tearfully breaks up with Josh, who appears to be disoriented.

The next morning, Josh manages to catch up with Reed, who is furious with him; he tells her that he had had a seizure the night before and has just returned from the hospital, and that he could hardly remember what he was doing when he was with Cheyenne. Josh — who suffers from a mood disorder and must take a variety of medications daily — says that he suspects someone had drugged him by slipping something into his case of medications; he recalls seeing an odd blue pill with spots on it among the others, but had taken all the medicines in one gulp before noticing the pill. He suspects that the blue pill was what drugged him and made him unaware, and begs Reed to believe him; she refuses.

A downward spiral eventually follows, as Cheyenne is soon exposed by an unidentified resident of Billings, and is expelled from Easton as a result of her disobeying the rules. Distraught by her expulsion and accusing Reed of exposing her, Cheyenne is later found dead in her room, having committed suicide by drug overdose; she leaves behind a note in which she states that she just couldn't go home. Reed notices that there are pills matching Josh's description on the floor near Cheyenne's body, and concludes that these are the very pills that Cheyenne used to first drug Josh and then kill herself. Hours later, Reed receives an email from Cheyenne that was sent prior to her suicide, in which Cheyenne states: "Ignore the note. You did this to me. You ruined my life."

In Legacy, Reed is haunted by e-mails that are sent through Cheyenne's email address several times a day; each of the emails states the exact same message Reed has received on the night of Cheyenne's suicide. After Reed changes her e-mail address, she stops receiving the emails but finds herself seeing Cheyenne in different places throughout the novel: once at Cheyenne's own funeral, and once at the Legacy.

At the Legacy, a very drunk Reed finds herself in Ivy Slade's room (since the Legacy was being held at Ivy's mansion) and discovers pictures of Cheyenne and Ivy ranging from elementary school age to high school age, looking like the best of friends. Reed is frustrated by this, since the two girls had made it clear that they hated each other. From that moment on, Reed stated that she was sick of lies.

[edit] Thomas Pearson

Reed's first boyfriend at Easton, a good-looking, mysterious senior with anger management and alcoholism issues. Thomas comes off as a player yet also has a sense of recklessness and danger about him, which automatically draws Reed — as well as other girls at Easton — to him. He openly tells Reed that he disapproves of her spending time with the Billings Girls; however, he soon appears to have accepted her friendship with them upon seeing how important it is to Reed that she befriends them. He and Reed have a two to three-week fling — in which Reed loses her virginity — before trouble surfaces.

In Private, Reed quickly discovers that Thomas comes from a wealthy yet dysfunctional family, one that is devoid of affection and love. She also learns that Thomas is a drug dealer, a fact that all the students, save her, seemed to know. Shocked and upset that Thomas had kept this from her, she attempts to end things with him while he begs her not to and insists that he loves her. As penance, he invites her to a secret party in the woods later that night; upon her arrival, Thomas appears drunk and tries to force himself on Reed. Embarrassed and aware of the Billings Girls' presence, Reed rejects Thomas and frees herself from his grasp. He, in turn, abusively yells at her, pushes her to the ground, and mocks her for her wanting to befriend the Billings Girls. Noelle and the others, who have seen everything, come to Reed's aid and angrily reprimand Thomas for his behavior. They escort Reed back to her dorm and warn her to stay away from Thomas from then on, which she agrees to do.

The next morning, Thomas comes to see Reed in her room. Though at first she expresses her anger for how he'd treated her, she soon comforts him upon seeing him break down and cry. He apologizes for his behavior and admits that he has a problem with alcohol. He begs for Reed to stick with him and help him get through it. He invites her to brunch with his parents, who were coming visit him later that day, and says that he had told them all about her and they couldn't wait to meet her. When Reed goes to wait for him outside his dorm later on, she happens upon Thomas's parents; she introduces herself but quickly realizes that they have no idea who she is. After waiting for Thomas for several minutes, Mr. Pearson goes inside his dorm to try to find him, but comes out a few minutes later alone and furious that Thomas is nowhere to be found.

Thomas disappears at the end of the first book, a deception that Reed does not take kindly. Suspicions and shocking evidence related to his disappearance lead up to the events of a three-month scandal at Easton.

In Invitation Only, in her room Reed finds a note from Thomas addressed to her; in it, Thomas says that he loves her but that she deserves better than him. He states that he is going to stay at a rehab center and get better, but doesn't mention the name of the place, saying that he doesn't want to be found. The police arrive on campus and begin questioning Thomas's friends about him. Reed, wanting to protect Thomas, does not mention the note when she is brought in for questioning.

At the end of Invitation Only, Thomas's dead corpse is found in a field near Easton, and in the third book authorities begin to question students about the murder. After handing the note from Thomas over to the police, she learns that Thomas had been killed several weeks before. Although some students speculate that, with Thomas being a drug dealer, a druggie had had something to do with his death, Josh Hollis- Thomas's roommate and best friend- soon becomes a suspect. Noelle, Ariana, and Kiran attempt to convince Reed that Josh has all the right motives, and that all the evidence points to him. Reed, who by the third book has already become Josh's girlfriend, refuses to believe them; Josh, however, is arrested at the end of Untouchable when the murder weapon- his baseball bat- is found with Josh's fingerprints all over it.

At Thomas's funeral, Reed angrily observes that Thomas's parents don't seem to be particularly upset by his death and are treating the funeral as an event. She also notices a dark-haired young man staring at her, and observes that he looks vaguely familiar. The Billings Girls confirm that the young man was Blake Pearson, Thomas's older brother, who so resembled Thomas in looks. They matter-of-factly state that the two of them had hated each other, and that hatred had culminated in a huge fistfight at Easton two years before. Upon meeting Blake in Untouchable, Reed is unhinged when she realizes that Blake's voice sounds exactly like Thomas's.

Reed learns from Josh that Blake had an ongoing affair with the school secretary, Ms. Lewis-Hanneman, that had been widely known among the students for years but was kept secret from the school staff and board; during his sophomore year, Thomas had threatened to expose Blake's relationship with Lewis-Hanneman to their parents, which had lead to their scuffle. When Reed learns that Blake and Lewis-Hanneman had met at Easton on the night Thomas disappeared and had proof that Josh was innocent, she tries to convince them to testify in court and have Josh freed. Lewis-Hanneman soon acquiesces, and Josh is freed.

After the news of Thomas's death arrives, Reed learns things about Thomas that he had never bothered to tell her. While speaking to Josh in Invitation Only, she mentions the note from Thomas; Josh tells her that the last place Thomas would go was rehab, and that he had been totally and completely drunk on the night he disappeared. Reed begins to realize that all Thomas had ever done was lie to her.

In the fourth book, the circumstances behind Thomas's sudden disappearance are revealed. On the way back to Easton from a party, Reed and the Billings Girls pause to take pictures; when Reed is asked to take a snap of the others, she happens to find a picture of a man's naked torso in Kiran's camera, and immediately recognizes Thomas's body. Frightened and suspicious, Reed demands an explanation and threatens to have the girls arrested. Noelle manages to calm her down and explains that the day after Thomas treated Reed abusively at a party, the Billings Girls tied up and blindfolded Thomas while he was drunk; using Josh Hollis's car, they took him to a field near Easton and tied him to a tree, naked (thus explaining the pictures in Kiran's camera, which she thought she had deleted). There they changed their voices and taunted him, then went back to Easton when he passed out. Reed, horrified, then accuses the girls of killing Thomas by leaving him in the cold, while Noelle insists that they loosened the ropes binding him to the tree before leaving, so that he could free himself when he woke up. Noelle assures Reed that they never killed Thomas, and had only treated him so because of the way he acted towards her at the party ("We did it for you, Reed.").

In Confessions it is revealed that it was Ariana Osgood who killed Thomas. Ariana manages to corner Reed on the roof of Billings House, where she admits to murdering Thomas, whom she had been involved with prior to Reed's arrival at Easton. She claims that at the start of the year, Thomas had promised to reveal their long-time, secret relationship to everyone at the school; she implies that in previous years, Thomas had been seeing various other girls while dating Ariana, but that he had promised her this year would be different. Thomas, however, broke up with Ariana upon meeting Reed, even though he had professed his love for Ariana. It is also revealed that the note Reed found in her room- which was supposedly written by Thomas- was actually forged by Ariana.

Ariana confesses that on the night she and the other girls tied Thomas up in the field, Ariana, who insists that she really loved Thomas, felt bad about leaving him out in the cold and later went back to free him. When she reached the field and removed his blindfold, Thomas- who was still drunk- began insulting her, calling her hateful names, and telling her that she would never be good enough for him. He also threatened to turn her and her friends in for what they did to him. Ariana claims that she couldn't take his abuse and picked up Josh Hollis's baseball bat, intending only to threaten Thomas with it. When he continued to insult her, she did the first thing she could think of to make him stop: she bashed Thomas on the head until he was dead.

[edit] Josh Hollis

Josh is the blond-curled, green-eyed roommate and best friend of Thomas Pearson. Though Reed's contact with Josh is minimal in the first book, at the beginning of Invitation Only Josh appears to be grim upon seeing Reed with Walt Whittaker, and by the end of the book his attraction to Reed is confirmed. He becomes Reed's boyfriend in Untouchable, when at the same time, the Billings Girls try to convince Reed that Josh is the guilty party in Thomas's murder.

In nature, Josh proves to be a caring and sensitive boyfriend to Reed; he finds ways to distract her from the pressures of Thomas's murder and the scrutiny of the students, and when in his company Reed finds herself relaxed and content. Josh, like Thomas, cannot understand why Reed spends time with the Billings Girls and why she's so desperate to please them; this drives them apart in Confessions, though they soon reconcile.

At the end of the second book, Thomas's dead corpse is found in a field near Easton, and in Untouchable authorities begin to question students about the murder. Noelle, Ariana, and Kiran attempt to convince Reed that Josh has all the right motives, and that all the evidence points to him. The evidence eventually turns against him at the end of Untouchable, when Noelle and the others call the police and have Josh arrested.

In Confessions Reed learns from Josh that Thomas's brother, Blake, had an ongoing relationship with the school secretary, Ms. Lewis-Hanneman. Josh reveals that he had seen Lewis-Hanneman and Blake together at Easton on the night that Thomas disappeared, and they could therefore testify in court on his behalf in order to prove that Josh couldn't have killed Thomas. Reed enlists Dash McCafferty's help to try to convince both Lewis-Hanneman and Blake to testify and have Josh freed; but the task proves to be difficult when Lewis-Hanneman states that by testifying she would have to reveal her relationship with Blake, and risk losing her job at Easton and ruining her marriage. She soon acquiesces, however, and Josh is freed. He returns to Easton later in Confessions and resumes his relationship with Reed.

In Untouchable Josh reveals that he suffers from a mood disorder, which requires him to take various medications each day. This controls his mood swings, but also causes him to have the wrong reactions to certain situations (for example, Reed notes that when Thomas's corpse was found, Josh seemed oddly calm instead of devastated, as he should have been).

In Inner Circle Reed and Josh confess their love for each other. However, Reed soon becomes jealous when she notices that Josh has been spending time with Cheyenne Martin, Reed's nemesis, and that Cheyenne is openly flirty toward Josh. Josh reassures Reed that there is nothing between him and Cheyenne, but toward the middle of the novel Reed catches Josh and Cheyenne as they are about to sleep together. Distraught, Reed slaps Cheyenne across the face and tearfully breaks up with Josh, who appears to be disoriented.

The next morning, Josh manages to catch up with Reed, who is furious with him; he tells her that he had had a seizure the night before and just returned from the hospital, and that he could hardly remember what he was doing when he was with Cheyenne. He says that he suspects someone had drugged him by slipping something into his case of medications; he recalls seeing an odd blue pill with spots on it among his other pills, but had taken all the medicines in one gulp without thinking anything of it. Josh swears to Reed that he loves her and that he would never cheat on her, and begs her to believe him; he suspects that that unknown pill was what drugged him and made him unaware of what he was doing with Cheyenne. Reed is reluctant to believe him, even though it is obvious that Josh is still in pain from the seizure, and refuses to get back together with him.

At the end of the novel, Cheyenne is found dead in her room after being expelled from Easton. Reed notices that there are pills matching Josh's description on the floor near Cheyenne's body, and concludes that these are the very pills that Cheyenne used to first drug Josh and then kill herself. In the flurry over Cheyenne's suicide, Josh concernedly asks an emotional Reed if she is alright; she in turn apologizes for not believing him, and the two of them patch things up.

In Legacy, there is a series of arguments and a few fights that go on between Josh and Reed, mostly centered around Reed becoming president of Billings House and becoming as conceited as the other Billings Girls. Josh invites Reed to the Hollis family reunion in Maine, and Reed says she will go, even though attending the reunion doesn't appeal to her. Reed forgets about the reunion when she agrees to go on a road trip with Noelle, and Josh admonishes her when she decides to go with Noelle instead. When Josh gets back, however, Reed feels guilty for blowing Josh off and they reconcile.

During the Legacy party, Josh asks Reed to leave with him a little early, and when Reed refuses, Josh gets mad, saying that Reed knew he didn't even want to be at the Legacy (he had stated earlier that he was bored of getting drunk and fooling around every year). He also says that he thought Reed would want to leave a little early considering that they were supposed to be in love. Reed, who has worked hard to get Easton students to the Legacy, gets angry with Josh for not understanding that she wants to stay and have fun with her friends, and for not feeling proud of her for all her efforts to secure invitations to Easton students. Josh appears let down and hurt, and points out that he thought Reed had been different from Noelle and the others and that he now sees that she is becoming just like them. With a tone of finality, he states that Reed must now make a choice: it's either him, or the Billings Girls. Before Reed even has a chance to answer, Josh walks away, giving Reed (who is very drunk) the impression that he has dumped her.

Reed becomes very distressed at this, and her fun ends there. Shortly after, Reed ventures up to the roof and comes face-to-face with Dash McCafferty. Reed, who wants to let go of all the hurt caused by Josh, lets Dash kiss her. They are about to have sex when Josh walks in on the tent they are in and walks away. Reed chases after him and tries to explain that she didn't know what she was doing. Josh says that he came up to the roof to apologize to Reed because he felt bad about what he had said, but that he takes it all back after seeing Reed half-naked under one of his best friends. He officially breaks up with Reed and says that as of right then, he never wanted to see her again. He walks away with Reed calling after him, but he doesn't look back.

In Ambition Reed and Josh have broken up, and Reed is not taking it too well. Josh appears to be growing closer to Ivy Slade. Reed gets jealous and starts to date other people, but realizes that none of them are like Josh. By the end of Ambition, Josh is seen holding hands with Ivy, confirming that they are together.

[edit] Constance Talbot

Reed's talky, informative roommate during her stay in Bradwell Hall, with emerald-green eyes and curly red hair. Though her bubbly personality initially irritates Reed in Private, in the subsequent novels Reed observes Constance's kind, sweet nature and feels guilty for the cold and indifferent way she had treated her previously; the two of them soon become close friends.

Constance confides in Reed about her long-time crush on Walt Whittaker, her parents' friends' son. When Whittaker begins to show interest in Reed, Constance becomes upset and jealous, though Reed insists that there is nothing between her and Whittaker. Upon seeing Whittaker and Reed on a date, Constance accuses Reed of backstabbing her and says that she was sorry she ever tried to be friends with Reed. Reed, who feels guilty about both betraying Constance and leading Whittaker on, openly tells Whittaker that she would just like to remain friends with him and that there is someone who might better suit him.

Despite her anger, Constance shows concern for Reed when the news of Thomas Pearson's death arrives, and the two of them forget about their earlier scuffle. Constance and Whittaker begin dating in Untouchable, and Constance becomes a Billings Girl in the fifth book, at the start of her junior year.

[edit] Sabine Dulac

A newcomer in the fifth book, and a junior. She is a foreigner, though despite her French accent she is fluent in English. Like most of the Billings Girls, Sabine possesses physical beauty; she is Reed's new roommate, and the two of them become friends. Sabine is attracted to Gage Coolidge and tries desperately to get his attention, despite warnings from Reed to stay away from him. Sabine has harsh feelings for Noelle. In Ambition, she is convinced Noelle is trying to take leadership of Billings away from Reed and possess it for herself.

[edit] Natasha Crenshaw

A Billings Girl, and Reed's former roommate at Billings. Natasha is African-American, and is described as having a body straight from a Victoria's Secret catalog. Reed notes that like most of the Billings Girls, Natasha is beautiful. Though they clash at first, she and Reed become good friends in the third and fourth books, when Natasha becomes a source of comfort for Reed and helps her cope with Thomas Pearson's death and Josh Hollis's arrest. Natasha is revealed to be a lesbian in Invitation Only, and to have had a longtime relationship with fellow Billings Girl Leanne Shore. She graduates some time before the events in Inner Circle occur.

[edit] Dash McCafferty

Noelle Lange's tall, blond, handsome boyfriend. Dash appears amused at seeing Noelle and her friends force Reed into initiations. Though his contact with Reed is minimal in the first two books, in Confessions Reed goes to Dash for help when she tries to prove Josh Hollis's innocence, and from then on she and Dash are sort-of friends. Unlike the Billings Girls, Dash believes that Josh is innocent and reacts angrily when Noelle and her friends condemn Josh. He graduates from Easton before the events of Inner Circle and is attending Yale.

In Inner Circle Reed notes that she had seen Dash over the summer, and guiltily recalls a moment in which Dash leaned down to kiss her, before Reed remembered that she "had a conscience" and pulled away. When the new year begins at Easton, Reed receives emails from Dash, asking her how she is; Reed is surprised that Dash is emailing her and even more surprised that he seems to know all of the things happening at Easton. Dash does not mention Noelle in the emails, and Reed, who has not heard from Noelle for nine months, follows suit. The two of them continue to flirt via email for the next several weeks.

In Legacy, Dash arrives at Easton for the Alumni Driscolli Dinner and informs Reed that he and Noelle are no together; he asks her if this means something to her. When Reed replies (untruthfully), that it doesn't, Dash appears hurt and upset, confirming that he has fallen for Reed. Reed (who has also developed feelings for Dash) doesn't want to hurt Dash's feelings and asks if they can still be friends. Dash smiles grimly and leans down over Reed as if he's about to kiss her; when Reed closes her eyes and doesn't pull away, Dash replies sarcastically, "Yeah. We're friends." He later emails Reed and gives her information relating to the Legacy, and remains friendly with her.

At the Legacy, after Josh has seemingly broken up with Reed, Sabine DuLac passes Reed a note that says, "Meet me on the roof." Reed has no idea who wrote the note, but she ventures up to the roof anyway, and comes face-to-face with Dash. Dash gazes at her longingly and states that he had been watching her all night. He pleadingly says that Reed is all he thinks about and that he can't keep up the "friends" charade anymore. Reed, who wants to forget about all the pain of her break-up with Josh, lets Dash kiss her. They almost have sex before Josh walks in on them and Reed runs after them.

After this, Reed intends to go to Noelle and confess everything that happened between her and Dash. When she pulls Noelle aside, Noelle states happily that she and Dash have gotten back together. Reed is aghast by the news and is left wondering what Dash's intentions had been toward her.

[edit] Walt Whittaker

A well-spoken senior who returns to Easton in the second book, fresh from a tour of East Asia with his family. Friendly in nature, Whittaker (a.k.a. Whit) is known for his old-fashioned way of speech and gentlemanly ways. He frequently spends time with Dash McCafferty, Gage Coolidge, and Josh Hollis, who are nice to him but don't consider him a part of their circle — a fact that clearly hurts Whittaker, though he keeps his feelings to himself. He stands at six-foot-four and is slightly overweight; Reed befriends him, to the encouragement of the Billings Girls — in order to get an invitation to the Legacy party. He is initially attracted to Reed, and pursues her by openly giving her gifts and asking her out on dates. However, things don't work out between them, as Reed was just using him to attend the Legacy. They part on good terms, and he later starts to date Constance Talbot, the daughter of his parents' friends, whom he had known for years. He graduates from Easton some time between the events of Confessions and Inner Circle, and is currently attending Harvard. Walt helps Constance during the first task of Cheyenne's cruel initiations in Inner Circle by sending her an old Easton uniform, which only gets Constance in more trouble for accepting help from an outsider.

[edit] Gage Coolidge

Gage is a blond boy with a large ego and a known appetite for food and women. He is shamelessly self-centered and tends to be loud and blunt. He frequently spends time with Josh Hollis, Thomas Pearson, Dash McCafferty, Walt Whittaker, and the Billings Girls. When Josh is arrested for killing Thomas Pearson, Gage, along with Dash McCafferty, refuses to believe Josh is guilty and remains loyal to him (which is, according to Reed, his one redeemable quality). Though Reed — and indeed, everyone else at Easton — isn't particularly fond of Gage, she is apparently used to him being around.

In Inner Circle it is revealed that Gage had kept an ongoing physical relationship with Ivy Slade before the latter left Easton. When Ivy returns to Easton, she and Gage resume their relationship, which appears to be based on little more than physical attraction and sex.

[edit] The "Twin Cities"

London Simmons and Vienna Clark- nicknamed the "Twin Cities" by the Billings residents- are two blonde, ditsy Billings Girls with overabundant cleavage and very little intelligence. Known for their shallow, ignorant natures, the two of them are best friends and are often indistinguishable from each other.

[edit] Missy Thurber

A stuck-up, condescending girl with large nostrils; she becomes a Billings Girl in Inner Circle. She is friends with Lorna Gross and her mother and sister are alumni of Billings, which in the first four novels makes Missy confident that she will be invited to live in the dorm. In the first four books Missy lived in Bradwell Hall — where Reed also lived — until she received an invitation to Billings. Out of the six new Billings residents in Inner Circle, Astrid Chou and Missy are the only two whom Cheyenne Martin deems worthy of living in Billings. Upon meeting Missy, Reed immediately picks up on her stuck-up attitude and both girls have a mutual dislike for each other. Like many other students, Missy has also shown a certain fear of — and respect for — Noelle Lange.

[edit] Lorna Gross

Becomes a member of Billings in Inner Circle. She is best friends with Missy Thurber and copies Missy in every aspect, often out of desperation for Missy's approval.

[edit] Astrid Chou

A new girl who becomes a member of Billings Hall in Inner Circle. She has short black hair and dark eyes. Astrid is British; she transfers from Barton Academy — which is another private boarding school — to Easton. Astrid and Reed meet through Cheyenne Martin at a party in the fourth book, Confessions, and become friends. Reed initially observed, upon meeting Astrid, that Cheyenne and Astrid were best friends. Astrid later tells Reed that she and Cheyenne are merely acquaintances and hardly know each other. However, out of the six new Billings residents in Inner Circle, Astrid and Missy Thurber are the only two whom Cheyenne deems worthy of living in Billings.

[edit] Kiki Rosen

A girl who becomes a member of Billings Hall in Inner Circle; she previously lived in Bradwell Hall, Reed's previous residence, along with Missy Thurber, Lorna Gross, and Constance Talbot, and she and Reed are friendly. She is known for almost always having her earbuds in her ears and playing her music at a deafening volume.

[edit] Blake Pearson

Blake is Thomas Pearson's older brother by two years. At Thomas's funeral, Reed notices a dark-haired young man staring at her, and observes that he looks vaguely familiar. The Billings Girls confirm that the young man is Blake Pearson, Thomas's older brother, who so resembled Thomas in looks. They matter-of-factly state that the two of them had hated each other, and that hatred had culminated in a huge fistfight at Easton two years before. Upon meeting Blake in Untouchable, Reed is unhinged when she realizes that Blake's voice sounds exactly like Thomas's.

In Confessions, Reed learns from Josh that Blake had an ongoing affair with the school secretary, Ms. Lewis-Hanneman, that had been widely known among the students for years but was kept secret from the school staff and board. During his sophomore year, Thomas had threatened to expose Blake's relationship with Lewis-Hanneman, which lead to their public fight. Reed also learns that Ms. Lewis-Hanneman and Blake had met at Easton on the night Thomas disappeared; they had run into Josh as well, and could therefore testify in court and have Josh freed from jail.

Reed finds Blake's email address at Columbia University and emails him, stating her condolensces for Thomas's death and asking him to help free Josh. When Blake doesn't reply, Reed enlists Dash McCafferty's help and together they come up with a way to get Blake to come to Easton so that they can talk to him face-to-face. They break into Lewis-Hanneman's computer and, pretending to be Lewis-Hanneman, send an urgent email to Blake asking him to come meet her. When Blake arrives, Reed and Dash confront him. Blake's hatred for his brother is obvious in his attitude, as he states that Thomas was a good-for-nothing drunk who constantly embarrassed Blake and their parents. He tells Reed and Dash that Ms. Lewis-Hanneman was the love of his life, and that she refused to speak to him after the night of Thomas's disappearance and wouldn't take his phone calls or messages. He states that even though Thomas was dead, he still managed to mess up the one good thing in his life (Lewis-Hanneman). When Reed angrily asks him whether he cares enough to want to help identify his brother's killer, Blake says that he couldn't care less and that Thomas was better off dead. With that, he storms off.

[edit] Ivy Slade

Ivy is a Billings Girls who returns to Easton in Inner Circle, having left sometime before. She is described as having long black hair and blue eyes, and, as is common with most of the Billings Girls, physical beauty. Upon encountering Reed for the first time, she surveys Reed coolly and tauntingly states that she knows all about her. Reed is unhinged when she sees that Ivy's cool blue eyes greatly resemble Ariana Osgood's.

The Billings Girls, who all heartily dislike Ivy, inform Reed that Ivy had kept an ongoing physical relationship with Gage Coolidge before she left Easton. When Ivy returns to Easton, she and Gage resume their relationship, which appears to be based on little more than physical attraction and sex. Reed also learns that Cheyenne Martin and Ivy have a mutual hatred for each other but does not discover why.

In Legacy, when all Easton students are denied invitations to the Legacy party, Reed discovers that Ivy is behind it and that the Legacy is being held at Ivy's mansion, with Ivy as host. Upon seeing that Reed and the Billings Girls have arrived at the party, Ivy appears livid. When Reed finds herself in Ivy's room hours later, she discovers pictures of Cheyenne and Ivy ranging from elementary school age to high school age, looking like the best of friends. Reed is frustrated by this, since the two girls had made it clear that they hated each other. From that moment on, Reed stated that she was sick of lies.

In Ambition Reed and Josh Hollis have broken up, and Reed is not taking it too well. Josh appears to be growing closer to Ivy, and by the end of Ambition, Reed sees Josh holding hands with Ivy, who appears triumphant and gloating, and realizes that they are together. It is also confirmed that Ivy had killed Cheyenne and was now planning to kill Noelle due to an incident with Ivy's hazing.

[edit] Footnotes