Chapter 2 - I Make A Bet.

It has been about a week since I last spoke to Pat. I'm not sure whether she's avoiding me at school or if I'm just not looking for her. She still hangs out with our old friends, most of whom have taken her side. Who knows what Pat has told them about me to make them think that glaring at me from across the cafeteria is appropriate. I now sit about 300m from them with Darla and her small group of new friends.

After hearing about Pat's true feelings towards Darla, she stopped speaking to the girls and instead started hanging out with her neighbour and his friends. Soon after, I began hanging with them too.
I'm not sure how I feel about being friends with these people though, as they aren't exactly the kindest to people of my calibre. To me, they are Charity, Grace, Beau, Luke, Naomi and Trent. To everyone else, they were popular.
Before this week, I'd never really spoken to them before. I'd been to intimidated by their big dollars and good looks, but I've felt pretty welcome from the minute I sat at their table.

"Did you hear about Kelly?" Charity starts. Kelly was the track captain last year. She's also the figurehead of our little clique.

"No. I haven't heard from her since Tuesday." Naomi's long slender fingers brushed through her short blond hair.

"Her parents moved back to Paris a few days ago. She's living at her sisters condo in the city until she decides where she wants to go." Charity's eyes glint with mischief. She looks at Grace, her twin sister, who has her pinky intertwined with her's. "If she doesn't come back, then she can't run for queen this year."
This is a big deal. Kelly has been everyone's number one vote for the last three school dances and if she isn't in the running, then it could go to any one of us girls. If we played our cards right. Of course, I'm already doomed, with my long line of rejections and acne. But the other girls were all pretty and kind, mostly.

"Well dang girls, you have your work cut out for yas." Luke pitches in. He is so dreamy. His wavy dark brown hair styled into the perfect shape and his lips full and red.

The girls laugh and start collecting their things to leave, lunch would be ending soon.
"Well I need to go to the library." Charity stands, motioning for Grace and Darla to follow. Of course I wasn't invited. I haven't been initiated into the girls'circle yet, I'm still only there via association.
They walk off, their heels clicking and hips swaying. I turn to Beau who is biting his lip as he watches Grace. Typical.

"I give them two weeks before they turn on each other. You just watch." It was Naomi speaking. She's always able to see through the money and fake smiles. She can see the person when no-one else can.

"What do you mean?" I ask. I get what she's saying already, but I find the way she sees things so intriguing

"The three of them are just the same. They change to fit their rolls. All they care about is what other people think of them." She shakes her head, "Once they realise that only one of them can be queen, it'll be every woman for herself. They'll hurt whoever they have to to get there." She bites her lip, then smiles at me.
"You should try it."

My cheeks flush and I can feel the boys looking at me. "What?" I laugh. So do the boys.

"No, I'm serious guys. She is real. All we have to do is find her the right guy to go with and she'd be perfect."

"You really have been smoking too many darts Mimi." Beau laughs.

"Yeah, I don't know if you've met me Naomi, but I'm not exactly a knockout." I say. My stomach is doing somersaults.

"Nah, you just need a bit of a polish. You've got the right ingredients, you just need a good chef."

"That analogy is terrible Mimi." Beau laughs.

"Oh shut up." Luke slaps him.

"I've gotta go. I left my books in my locker." I stand, smoothing out my short red dress.

"Alright," Naomi smiles, "please think about running though."

I shake my head and leave. Why would she say something like that? Until a week ago I was noone. I've done nothing to change that. I bet the boys I sit with don't even know my name.
My key slides into the lock and the door swings open. One of my books falls from the shelf and I into the floor. I band to pick it up, only to find a pair of dribbled legs Infront of my nose.

"What do you want?" I ask, trying to keep my voice calm.

"I want to make a proposal, because I'm a sensible young lady who knows how to deal with her problems responsibly." She smiled smugly.

"Sensible young lady?" I roll my eyes.

"Well, we all know that I'm more of a lady than you will ever be." She tilts her head matter-of-factly.

"Whatever." I angle my locker door to block out her face, but she opens the door further so her head can poke into my peripheral, "Ladies are supposed to be polite and considerate. You are neither of those Patricia."

"Are you sure about that? Because I'm pretty sure that you are the ugly, friendless one out of us two." Said Pat.

"It's actually 'the two of us' and like you have that many friends." I scoff, pulling out my books.

"I have enough to give me the right to call you a loser!"

"Grow up Pat. Calling people losers is for losers. Maybe you should stop treating the small number of people who can actually tolerate you so badly." I gently push her backwards, far enough that I can close the door of my locker.

"Oh, is that so? Well I bet you your fugly car that I will beat you at Prom Queen."

"No, I don't think so."

"OK, your loss though. I wouldn't mind a new car. Maybe I would be able to buy myself a new dress for next year!" She's talking about selling my baby. Like hell she's getting her gritty hands on my car.

"Just leave, would you? I'm so sick of your crap."

"Scared that you'll lose, are you?" She sneers and I can feel the rage building. Not that I would let her know that. She doesn't deserve it.

"I can't lose a competition I never entered." I slam my locker door and turn away from her. She can talk to my back if she wants, but I'm not spending another minute talking to her face.

"Touche." Trent is standing in front of me. When the heck did he get there? I ignore his tall frame and move around him, my arm brushing against his. "What's the rush cupcake?" Ugh. Cupcake?

"Hi Trent." Pat's shrill voice pierced my eardrums. Looks like someone's a little excited about being in the same space as her longtime crush.
He just looks at her

"Hi... You." He looks at her like she's a total stranger and her cheeks flush. Trent is now my favourite. If you told me a month ago that I would had had an increase in admiration towards a guys who belittles Pat, I wouldn't have believed you.

He turns back towards me and cringes a little. "Off to chemistry?" He looks at me in a way that hadn't happened before.

"Yeah." He pulls my books from my arms and puts them in his bag.

"What are you doing with them?" I try slapping them out of his hands.

"Hey now, I'm just trying to help you out man." He chuckled softly and offers my books back. Mid-glare, I realise that this is not a trick and he is genuinely interested in helping me. I give in.

"Let's go then." And we leave Pat standing by herself, flustered. "Thank you Trent."