The sun was shining. The grass was wonderfully green. The birds were chirping. Carter was on the verge of a bright moment. She was an optimistic person, usually, and she took the excellent weather condition as a good sign. The day seemed to be orchestrated in a way to fit her mood, and to set the tone for the whole experiment.

At Leigh's request, she was going to keep a notebook and fill it with her progress. Observations. A list of steps she had taken. Something like a guide. The do's and don'ts of achieving high school popularity. Sure, it was rather cliché, but Carter thought it would fit perfectly with her purpose.

As she made her way to English, she spotted Aiden and a group of underachievers huddled by the entrance of the boy's locker room. It didn't take long for him to look at her. After all, her hair was shiny, and so were her glossed lips. She maintained eye contact for exactly three seconds before blinking and moving on - the tiniest of smiles tugging just one corner of her lips.

"Hey, hey wait," someone called. Carter didn't respond immediately, because the person could have been calling to anyone. If the person was calling to her, she thought it best to remain unaffected. Bored even. Too bored to turn around. Though when the person called again, this time seeming to be right behind her, she gave in and faced the person.

As she eyed Aiden up and down, she understood why many of the girls would lust after him; the boyish charm, the goofy grin, the lazy style. He also had the dark hair, light eyes combination going on for him, a mixture that would make any girl weak in the knees. Personally, he wasn't her type. He wasn't smart. He didn't read books. He hadn't ever finished a proper, intellectual sentence in any of the classes she had with him. So it was a little jarring that his smile made her feel just a tad light-headed.

"You're Carter, right? I'm Aiden." There was that goofy yet charming grin.

Carter began examining her nails. She glanced back up at him for a quick moment, "Yes, and?"

"And... so where are you going?"

"Class."

"Oh, right... Because we're in school."

Carter tried to decide whether or not this conversation was actually happening. She could have sworn she heard her IQ drop ten points, if one could possibly hear one's IQ drop. At least he was able to recognize that they were indeed in school. That had to count for something. "Yes, that's exactly where we are."

"Right. So, doing anything this weekend?"

A couple of people had begun paying attention to the scene in the hallway; the strange scene, with the seemingly unknown girl talking to the school's most popular boy.

Carter began walking, hoping Aiden would follow. When he did, she gave herself a mental pat on the back.

"Yeah, there's a concert I'm thinking of checking out."

"Oh yeah? Which concert?"

"Uhm... it's a new underground band. You wouldn't have heard of them," Carter replied

"Awesome. Maybe we could-"

"Aid, where are you going?" came a shrill, annoying voice from somewhere behind. Carter knew exactly who that voice belonged to. While Aiden stopped and turned, Carter kept on going.

"What do you want? I was talking to Carter," she heard Aiden say to the girl that may as well have been the spawn of Satan; Ashton Rhodes.

"Who? You were supposed to meet me ten minutes ago."

What exactly they were supposed to meet for, Carter didn't know. She was no longer within earshot. If movies and television shows depicting high school life had taught her one thing, it was that girls like Ashton Rhodes would eventually self-destruct. 

***

Leigh wasn't sure how she would handle popularity. She assumed it would be like being famous - she would walk the halls, owning the place, capturing the attention of every single person who passed.

Maybe paparazzi would pop up from behind trash cans, and later she would find her own face smiling up at her from every page of the year book. That would be lovely, or scary. Would she crumble and disappear, resurfacing once in a while just to embarrass herself? Or would she succeed; push through all the pressure and temptation of the limelight? Probably the former. 

She frowned as she examined her reflection in her locker mirror. Her fiery red hair contrasted wonderfully with the bright green, lacy headband she had chosen to wear that morning. Newton High School wasn't savvy enough to handle her anyway. 

Then again, maybe Carter wouldn't succeed. Maybe she wouldn't even make a blip in the popular radar.

Leigh had known Carter for many years, and for many years she had witnessed Carter get everything she had always wanted - not in an evil, manipulative way, but in a confident, honest way. Still, popularity wasn't like arguing for a higher grade, or getting a car for your seventeenth birthday. It was varied, complicated and unpredictable. 

When Leigh finished her usual, between-class mirror check, she spotted Carter talking to Aiden Ryerson. A good sign. Maybe Carter's status would indeed skyrocket, and she would take Leigh along for the ride. 

After Carter distanced herself from Aiden, Leigh caught up with her, "Well, that didn't take long."

"It's the shiny hair. Some clown could show up wearing a metallic space suit, and Aiden'll be attracted."

Leigh laughed. She had always admired Carter's humour. It was so deadpan and hilarious. "But it won't be so easy getting rid of Ashton."

"Yeah. I'm still trying to figure that part out."

"You could always get a makeover," Leigh suggested. While Carter believed that what one wore wasn't important, Leigh believed that clothes made the woman. It spoke of the personality, the creativity, and the entire inner core of a person. 

"Okay, but only if you're there to see me in every outfit, while some cheesy song is playing in the background. I'll go really fast to make it look like it's in fast-forward, like all those makeover scenes."

"Awesome, we'll go after school," said Leigh, then paused for a moment. "Wait, were you joking?"

"Obviously. Come on Leigh, why would I need a makeover?"

"Look, it might be easy to get the guy's attention in jeans and a t-shirt, but if you want to be popular with the girls too, you gotta dress the part."

"Man, why do girls have to be so superficial?"

Leigh scrunched her nose, then frowned. "We're not superficial. We care about what's on the outside... as well as what's on the inside. It's about the whole package. You've got to make them admire you."

"Fine. Fine. But maybe tomorrow. Kiran's coming over to help me study tonight. You'll be there, right?" asked Carter, her tone hinting at something suggestive. 

A welcoming warmth spread across Leigh's heart. It was a sensation she felt whenever Kiran was close, or when someone mentioned him. Leigh was thankful that Carter hadn't put her on a pedestal when it came to Kiran. It was the sign of a wonderful best friend; someone supportive, someone completely invested, with no amount of embarrassment in the equation. 

"Leigh. You're drooling," said Carter.

Leigh realized she had been in some sort of daze. She recovered quickly. "I'm not drooling. And yes, I'll be there. What are we studying?"

"I don't know. Calculus, or Physics or something."

Or something. They would study Kiran's reactions to Leigh and later analyze everything. It was what they always did.