And so it begins, hello Claire. 

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"𝙷𝚒𝚐𝚑 𝚂𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕. 𝚂𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢'𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎, 𝚗𝚊𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚛 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎."

*3 months earlier*

"When life gives you chocolates, eat them. I mean, I can't because, well you can imagine what my thighs would look like. But if I did eat some, that's how I would make lemons out of life," Paige, the young and seemingly clues blonde stood in front of her classmates as she smiled big. Proud of the presentation she had just given. 

The class was silent, some even having to pick their mouths up from the floor. Anna shook her head with a secret grin on her face from the middle of the room. They were supposed to have done a presentation on the analogies of life and how it has pertained to their own.

By the looks of Mr. Harper, as he too had to pick his mouth from the floor, Paige wouldn't come anywhere close to passing the assignment. The handsome and intelligent English teacher stood and walked over to the podium that Paige was behind.

He was in his late 20's, perhaps early 30's and had dark blonde windswept hair. He was a favorite in the school, especially with the ladies. He was full of humor and kindness and he had a way of teaching that never bored anyone.   

Anna thought he was cute, but really just enjoyed his personality. Her counterparts however, would love for him to be the next teacher on the news going to prison for molesting a student. 

Mr. Harper managed to work up a friendly smile as he approached Paige, "That was, enlightening and full of potential," he patted her back, sending her back to her seat with true satisfaction on her face. 

"Beat that," Paige whispered to Anna as she passed her seat, sitting directly behind her. 

Anna sunk into her chair, still hiding her smile. Paige never failed at making her laugh, even if it was for all the wrong reasons. 

"Miss. Walker," Mr. Harper announced, peering over at Anna to let her know she would be next.

Before he could call her to the podium, the bell rang overhead causing everyone in the classroom to scatter like ants, "Monday morning," he reminded her from behind his desk.

Ann stood and nodded, slinging her backpack over her shoulder as she strolled out of the room. 

The sea of students bustled behind her as she replaced her History book with three more unnecessarily heavy textbooks.

"Nice ass," a hushed whisper came from behind near Anna's ear as she turned. Claire stood, her glossed red lips lifting into a smirk, "When are you going to give that thing up? Better use it before you lose it," her thick, straight black hair fell past her shoulders and her perfectly chiseled face sat in an unamused pout. 

Claire Daniels was the IT girl of Wicker Woods if there was such a thing.  

It was a laughable concept for such a small town to have mean girls, but it did and Claire was proud of that title. Most knew her as the daughter of the Mayor Christopher Daniels, who seemed to have the same personality type when it came to how he ran things.

He was respected, but feared.

Claire's family was pretentious and most of the towns residents either accepted it or ignored it. There was not much that could be done until the next election, which wasn't for another year and mayor Daniels had been reelected the last 3 terms. 

No one wanted his job. 

A year ago, Anna would have never imagined she'd be friends with someone like Claire. Rather, never imagined Claire would be friends with someone like her. 

Anna was different than the rest of the people Claire hung around with, or at least she was, before moving the Wicker Woods. 

She was reserved in her thinking and she always believed it was best to stay out of the limelight. Which proved to be difficult as she grew older, because her looks began to catch the unwanted attention of her male peers. 

Her silky blonde hair grew down to the mid of her back and her brown eyes twinkled a little brighter as the days wore on, usually accomplished by a straight white smile. The body she once didn't care to show off, was now on full display thanks to Claire and the tighter garments she taught her how to wear. 

The more time that passed, the more Anna noticed a shift in her own  behavior and how she viewed herself. Her once uncaring attitude was replaced with the idea that she actually did care about what people thought of her. 

Sometimes, being the center of attention wasn't so bad, for it came with undeniable perks. 

But somehow, amidst their different personalities when she first moved to town, Claire and Anna were on their way to being named the most likely to be friends forever in the yearbook. 

They were inseparable for the last 10 months.

Anna shook her head and turned back to her locker, "Why are you so worried about when I'm going to lose my virginity?" She asked in an amused tone, knowing she was the only pure one in the group she ran with. 

Claire moved from behind her, shoulder checking Anna's locker buddy as he too was replacing his books. He frowned as she gave him a look that would make anyone run. Crushing under the stare, the stranger moved away from his own locker, allowing Claire to lean against it.

Anna raised her brows in humor at her friend for the rude gesture. It amazed her that no matter who they were, everyone was afraid of Claire.  

She was a force to be reckoned with and it made Anna feel slightly powerful that Claire adored her the way she did.

Claire leaned her head down like the answer to Anna's question was an obvious one, "I'm worried because you moved to this godforsaken place a year ago and you haven't screwed a single person. How do you think that makes me look Anna?" She raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows in question. 

Anna shrugged, shutting her locker, "Like you've slept with more people than you should have?" She met Claire's cold stare, her lips locking together when she realized the rudeness of her comment. 

She could only imagine what would come of the conversation if it were anyone else making the sly comment. 

Claire smirked momentarily, "For the sake of tonight, I'll ignore that petty little comment," her voice was low as she straightened herself out from the insult. When she recovered, she turned, heading down the hallway.

"Tonight?" Anna questioned as she followed Claire.

"There's a party at The Wood," she stated as if it were obvious, "And If I recall correctly, a little birdy told me that your boy toy might make an appearance," Claire raised an eyebrow before stopping and making a U-turn on her heels and walking back down the hallway in which they came.

She always knew how to keep Anna on her toes, especially when it came to Nolan. 

The Wood was nothing more than a dense forest just on the edge of town. It got its name from the local high schoolers who frequent the area looking to get into innocent trouble. Adults rarely ventured into it, making it the perfect party spot.

Anna could remember plenty of times over the summer that she and her friends had memorable moments in them. Though the fun-filled memories didn't make the area any less creepy.

It was overgrown and dark, nature had definitely taken over as tree roots began to twist and turn over the ground.

But Nolan was going to be there, the only boy she had taken interest in when she started school.

And no matter how eerie The Wood was, Anna was going to make sure that she attended the soiree.

Biting her lip in excitement, she neared the cafeteria that boosted most of the school. Foul language and jokes flew through the air. Lunch was time for the up and coming socialites of Wicker Woods to settle down and be kids, no matter how immature or rotten they were being.

The school was hell for anyone who wasn't someone. 

It's gathering place was a nightmare for staff and the weaker students who were exposed to all of the student body for at least 45 minutes. There was no hiding from the rowdy crowd, the jokes, and people who thought they were better in every way. 

Anna strolled to her lunch table under the skylight, not having to worry about being the brunt of someone's joke, she was never to be messed with.

Paige was already seated as she stuffed a few chocolates into her mouth. 

Confused, Anna set her lunch on the table in front of her, "I'm sorry, but weren't you not just in Mr. Harper's class preaching about how evil chocolate is for your thighs?"

Paige slammed the lip of the container on, cutting herself off from the candy, "Jesus Anna!" She spewed, her mouth still full, "Way to make me feel like a complete fatass!" She frowned, truly offended by her friends words. 

Shrugging, Anna reached over and opened the package of chocolate. Only to stuff one into her own mouth while Paige looked on in envy, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"Do you realize how big your thighs are going to be?" Claire asked, with a smirk poking at her lips as she neared the table, "Anyways, pay attention. The boys want to have some fun tonight and I know that I can provide that for at least one of them and I'm sure Paige can help," Claire's eyes peered to Anna as she licked her teeth, "How about it Anna, can you show a little team spirit?"

Anna knew that Claire had an agenda for tonight, it was the only reason she dangled Nolan's name in front of her as she did. But luckily for her, she would happily entertain Nolan while they ran off to get laid. 

She just was not ready for the type of entrainment Claire and Paige were used to providing. 

Before Anna could reply, Paige slammed her fist into the table, "How about we get one of those boards that talk to dead people!"

Anna let out a chuckle, always amused at the randomness and goofy comments that made being Paige's friend so enjoyable.   

Claire's mouth opened, her face dropping with disapproval, "Don't be dense Paige," she cooed as she stroked her hair, "You know what you need to do to make our boys feel like their having the most fun they've ever had."

Paige pulled her v-neck shirt down, exposing more of her cleavage. She shimmed her shoulders in Anna's face showing her and Claire that she now understood the 'fun' that would happen later. 

Claire laughed, patting Paige's head in approval. For a moment, her eyes traveled beyond the table they were seated at. Her pout was teased as the side of her lips as it curled into a devilish grin.

"Actually, I have a better idea."

Anna turned and followed Claire's mischievous gaze until she spotted what she was focused on across the cafeteria.  

And in that moment, she knew that Claire's idea was Molly Mayes.