All characters are 18 and high school seniors.
❥ Elizabeth Alardo craves power. She craves power over her school, and power over people. And soon, power over the nerd. With her Queendom being threatened, he couldn't come at a better time. Almost li...
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Being the Queen of High school isn't easy. Getting here wasn't easy and maintaining my power is even harder.
Now it's my senior year, I just turned 18, and it's all coming to an end.
It feels bitter sweet.
I am in the hight of my power, being a senior and all, but what if this is my peak?
Bradly, the hot quarterback, is now my boyfriend. I have perfect grades. I have popular friends. I'm captain of the cheer team. I'm the student body president. More importantly, I'm the prettiest and most popular girl in school. Everyone wants me or wants to be me.
But what if this is as good as it gets?
"Does your hair like grow from your ends?" Bethany asks as she plays with her hair.
"No," Alejandra answers is a bored tone, "it grows from your roots."
Sighing, I sit back on the nasty plastic lunch chair. I feel so mind numbingly bored, I like my friends for the most part but why do they have to be so.. dumb?
Bethany is your typical airhead, pretty but dumb. She's gonna live a life of luxury as an old man's last wife. Alejandra will probably become a fashion designer, she has amazing taste. She's not exactly dumb to be honest, she has street smarts. But I don't think we will be discussing Nietzsche or politics.
"Is that why my roots turn my natural color?"
"Yea cause it like.." Aanya starts explaining, but I zone out the rest of their conversation.
Aanya is another one of the people in my clique. I know she wants to be Queen, but she wouldn't dare conspire against me. She's so infuriating, I would never even bother talking to her at all under normal circumstances.
There's one more person, she's actually my best friend. Yusra isn't here today though. She's a total badass, always at some protest fighting for liberation. We're both going to law school together.
"Ugh, can you guys like stop like talking like." I mock them out of annoyance before standing up and stomping away.
"What the hell is her problem?" I hear Aanya mumble.
This time next year, I'll be in an Ivy League school, yet I am sitting here with these dimwits.
As if on cue, Bradly, walks into the cafeteria. He makes his way straight to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder.
"Babe, where you going?" He asked loudly, as if putting on a show.
"I'm going out for fresh air." I simply state, wiggling out of his grasp and leaving the same way he came in.
I stop at my locker, looking at the little mirror I stuck on there and fixing my blonde hair into a claw clip. I brush off any lint from my pink cheer uniform.
The uniform reminds me of the power I have. No matter how many imbeciles I'm surrounded with, it's fine as long as I'm their leader.
Imbeciles' leader. How poetic.
I apply some lipgloss as I admire myself before slamming my locker. I decide to go through the back exit to the courtyard.
At first I had just used it as an excuse to get away from them but now, I think I really will go out for fresh air. Only smokers ever go out here, I thought some would be out but it's empty.
The whole area is just dead grass with a metal wire gate separating school grounds from a lake and naked trees. My eye falls on the only tree on this side of the gate where I finally spotted Dumbo— I mean, well I don't know his name.
Not sure why we still call him that, or at least Bradly still does. He grew into his ears and he's not as scrawny anymore.
I get closer to him but he doesn't look up.
"The secret history?" I ask, leaning down and tilting my head.
He looks up, surprised, as if he had been so engrossed in that book, he hadn't noticed I'm here till I spoke.
"Yea." He immediately drops his gaze to the floor, I chuckle in response. "Y-you read it?"
Standing up tall, I respond, "it's one of my favorite books."
"I didn't know you could read." He mumbles.
"Excuse me?" I ask, shocked.
"I-I-I mean-I meant i didn't know you read," he stutters quickly trying to correct himself, "books!"
I scoff in disbelief, "whatever, dumbo."
As I turn around to leave when his voice suddenly stops me, "wait."
Has his voice always been so nice?
"Have you read the goldfinch?" He asks, sounding nervous.
"Yes, I guess you did too."
"No, it's in my TBR." His gaze was still on the floor, his dark brown hair hiding half his face. "I-is it good?"
"Yes, but I honestly prefer the secret history."
"What other books do you like?" He sounds genuinely interested, which made me kind of happy. I suppose that's what drove me to want to take a seat next to him.
Taking me by surprise, he removes his jacket and sets it next to him for me to sit on.
"Wow, what a gentleman." I tease. I can see his face much better now, it was red and he still refused to make eye contact.
He has gotten way more attractive. He was taller now, but he always wore a hoodie and kept his head down. People keep calling him the weird kid, and the football team's treatment of him does him no justice. But I can tell he's not as he seems, he's smart and innocent.
I'm glad Bradly and the rest of those idiots don't beat him like they did that one time in freshman year.
"If we were villains is one." I start listing, "metamorphosis, pretty much anything by Agatha Christie and.. the atlas six."
"Really? I like Kafka too." He says excitedly, looking up at me for a split second, blushing then looking back down again.
I smirk at his reaction, feeling an ego boost. He was kind of adorable.
I shake away the thought. I have a boyfriend.
"I also like crime and punishment, the catcher in the Rye and manhunt.." he goes on.
"Manhunt? By Gretchen Felker-Martin? Really?" I'm surprised. He nods in response. That's interesting.
"You have good taste." He finally speaks after a moment of silence.
"I know." I chuckle.
The bell rang, cutting our conversation short.
"W-We have calculus together, right?" He hesitantly ponders.
"Yea," I get up, wiping away any dirt from my skirt. "I have to go. See you in class."
I know he wants to walk with me, but I have a position to protect. I can't be seen walking with him, no matter how less nerdy looking he has gotten. Even if I want to keep talking to him, it's not everyday you have an enriching conversation with the people I have surrounded myself with.
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Did you catch the hp reference? Tell me what you think, constructive criticism welcomed. This is my first book so, I'm sorry if it's not great.
