The Fashion Five

Chapter One 

My name is Jessica and I'm in 7th grade. I have long blonde hair and I sit at the popular table at lunch. I don't mean to sound snooty but I've always been stylish and I've always known it. Remember like a year ago when everyone starting wearing those stupid faux food accessories: the bacon ear rings, the sausage necklaces? Well I never got sucked in -- deal with it. 

But I don't like writing so I'm going to get to the point. This is a story about 4 girls and a guy who formed an unlikely friendship to kick ass and bring the school to its knees. When I say kick ass I mean style, we made the calls, we set the trends. 

It all started two months ago in history class. We had been given this list of ten important historical events and we were supposed to pick an event from the list and draw it. It was like the stupidest thing we could have been told to do. Seriously, I mean I don't know anything about history and I could have come up with something better.  

We had assigned seats at tables of four and I was sitting next to this total nerd, this total fatty, and this total class clown. Anyway, the teacher was clearly wearing a wig and she was a substitute and the class clown called her out on it. He said something like, "If we can't think of what to draw can we draw your wig?" I don't know, something stupid like that, but of course everyone in the class laughed because they didn't have anything else better to do. I laughed too, but I immediately felt bad about it. I mean maybe she had cancer or some crazy stuff like that, and maybe she needed to wear a wig cause her head was bald from the chemo. I don't know, I think I saw it on a soap opera once.  

By now the substitute was practically crying. The wig did look bad -- way too wiggy -- like some bee hive wig from the 60's or something. But I noticed she was wearing a really nice necklace -- well, a nice necklace. Not something I would wear, not ever, not even to bed, under my covers with all the lights out -- but for her and her age, and her sort of frazzled substitute teacher style it fit. And so I thought I'd try to make her feel a little better and so I raised my hand and said, "That is a nice necklace you are wearing though." 

But everyone in class laughed like I was making a big joke too. That annoyed me. It just went to show like the total lack of style of anyone in my class. By this point the substitute had barged out of the class to straighten her wig, or smoke a butt, or get a breather or something, I don't know. So now I was left alone at my annoying table, which had become more annoying because the class clown was grinning like some conquering hero for having been the start of the whole thing. While the teacher was gone he continued to joke, so I ignored him by checking my phone for any new texts. Unfortunately, there were none but I scrolled through my old ones cause I needed something to do to take my mind off the buffoon to my right. My last text was from Tiana: I call her T. She's my best friend and we've been tight since kindergarten. Her text read: My house 3:30. My mom wants to take us shopping. 

I still hadn't replied to that one because T and her mom are like the worst to go shopping with. It's hard to explain, you sort of have to be there, but trust me it's the worst. So mostly I was just thinking of a way to get out of it -- and was wavering between my dog is sick and I can't because my dad has already grounded me this week for using his plastic to buy online clothes (true story) -- when the total nerd to my left starting talking -- sigh -- to me. I tried to ignore her by burying my nose closer into my text screen. But she just inched closer as if her breath didn't smell like Doritos and ketchup. I looked up with a smile and nodded, and then her words registered and I was like -- yeah right! So she was saying that like she had liked the necklace on the teacher too -- which meant that of everyone in the class, that she, the nerd with the plastic glasses, plastic shoes, and frumpy sweater, had been the only one to understand that I was not joking and shared my style sense. If I hadn't been so offended I would have burst out laughing right in her face. But I was offended and I put down my phone, flipped back my hair, and turned my head left all at the same time -- as if to say, you can't be serious?