Popularity

Chapter 12: References Galore

"Welcome to my humble abode!" I smile as Kennedy enters the room. She glances around quickly before turning back to me.

"Your house looks awesome! Why don't I come over more often?" She exclaims. Kennedy didn't bring any school work, and I assume she left her purse in the car, because the only things she had in her arms were a couple of containers of ice cream, several bags of chips of various flavours, some microwavable popcorn, and an assortment of movies cradled to her chest.

"Thanks, I guess. And if you ever want to come over, just stop by I guess. I can't really convince you to go home if you're standing on my doorstep. Plus, I'm not mean enough to kick you out simply because I'm not in the mood for company." I laugh.

"Quite true, mon amie, quite true. You are extremely shy, after all. We need to work on expanding your social skills. You'll never get anywhere in life without connections." Kennedy teases. I smirk, and she pulls off her shoes before walking into the living room and placing the movies and food she brought on the coffee table. "So what do you want to watch first?"

"I don't know. You're the guest, you pick." I shrug.

"No, you can't do that! You're the host, therefore you're obligated to make the decisions."

"Absolutely not. Either you decide, or we're not going to get anywhere with this conversation. You are aware of how completely and utterly indecisive I am, correct?"

"I've heard rumours. I never believed them though. You know, because of the whole 'rumours are always a bunch of made up stories that people invent in order to entertain themselves' thing. Remember, I did used to be friends with numerous people whose life goals were to destroy other people's lives."

"I suppose you're right. Well anyhow, now you've heard from the source that the rumours are true. So you have all the proof you need to understand why you need to pick the movie."

"Ugh, okay. Let's watch Mean Girls then. Do you agree with that decision?"

I nod, and she runs a hand through her hair before putting the movie into the DVD player and taking her seat on the couch, grabbing the remote off the table and tossing it to me on her way.

"I'll get some bowls to put all of this stuff in." I say, but she stops me before I can leave the room.

"There's no point. Sit down, we can just eat the food out of the bags. It would be a waste to dirty dishes if it's avoidable."

I take my seat on the couch beside her, hitting the play button on the T.V remote. The movie blinks on, and after I grab a bag of wavy chips, I sink into the pillows and blanket that was originally folded and draped over the arm of the sofa, fully engrossed in what was happening on the screen.

*****

"Don't you have to go home?" I ask after we finish the third movie in a row. My eyelids were drooping, and I had to cover up a yawn more than once during the movies.

"Nah. My folks won't expect me back. I mean, unless you want me to leave. In which case just say so and I'll be out of your hair before you can blink. I'm good at leaving places without a trace so no one notices."

My eyes widen at the last remark she made, and I instantly try to clarify. "No, no, you don't have to leave! I was just wondering. I mean, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble on my behalf, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. So what do you want to do?"

I try to cover up another yawn, but Kennedy sees.

"Or we could go to sleep, if you're tired! Are you tired?" She asks frantically, running a hand through her hair for what must have been the fortieth time that night.

"Are you okay Kennedy? You seem a little... on edge." I say slowly.

"Me? I'm fine. I mean, it's not like my ex- best friend kissed the guy I like just to bother me. I mean, why would she do that? It's completely unrealistic."

"Kennedy, what happened?"

"Nothing! I must have imagined the whole thing, yeah, that's it! There's no way she would do that just to bug me."

"If you truly believed that, you wouldn't be panicking right now. Just take a breather. Come on, let's go to the backyard so you can calm down."

We walk to the back door, and I pull it open quickly. The minute it's opened wide enough for her to fit, she squeezes through like a rabbit.

"She... kissed him. She really kissed him. I didn't think even she would stoop that low. I mean, she's rude, and she does what she wants, but she's always respected the people I like and avoided them, or tried to help me get them to like me."

"Kennedy, I hate to say this, but I think this is her way of telling- er, showing you that she doesn't need you to stay at the top of the food chain. But it's a trap. She wants you to fall into it so she can drag you back up to the surface until you become a mindless soul again, slaving over her until she gets what she wants."

"That sounds a little bit extreme. Boys are the one thing that we've never crossed the line of, ever. It's almost forbidden." She bites her lip and looks at the ground.

"Which is why she did it. She knew it would upset you more than anything else she's able to control. And that's exactly why you can't fall into the trap. Because if you fall into her trap, she'll know how to get to you time and time again."

"Ivory... I didn't know she could be so mean. Has she always been like this?"

"Unfortunately so. How do you think she got so popular? She scared people into respecting her, into worshipping her."

"Well that explains why you've always hated us. We've always been so rude to you. I'm really really super duper sorry about everything I've ever done to you."

"It's fine, Kennedy. People make mistakes. Sometimes our judgments get cloudy because someone makes an offer that seems better than reality. Most times, that's because it is too good to be reality. Nothing comes without a price."

"You don't have a price for friendship. So obviously not everything is like that."

"Actually, that's incorrect. In order to realize our friendship you had to get rid of all your prior friends, cut off all ties you had of your popularity. You let yourself sink to the bottom of the lake with me, where no one could reach us. But we do have a weapon down here at the bottom of the lake."

"We do? What protection could we possibly have at our level?"

"Well, we have a hypothetical sword of Gryffindor."

She laughs. "Of course you'd put a Harry Potter reference in there somewhere."

"Just remember, words cut deeper than swords."

"And a Game of Thrones reference! Ivory, you're on fire with your literary references today."

"I know." I smile.

And then we sit on the grass and stare at the stars until we can no longer keep our eyes open.