The Key to Oz

Chapter 2- Shonda and Rhonda

In Martha's Vineyard, social status dictated one's worth, and the hierarchy ruled with an iron fist. The middle languished in the shadows. Not worth being nice to, but also not worth the energy of bullying. They were the forgotten, relegated to the sidelines, not a bad place to be.
The lower class also known as the Gutterrats, are merely playthings for the Fatcats to toy with, and they never bored of it.

"Hey, Lozzipop," Jessper greets Oz at her locker,  using the nickname she'd given her all the way back when they were five, when Jessper and her parents moved into the trailer house across the road and this little odd girl with blonde hair and braided pigtails, in love with the sound of her own voice, showed up on the Harris doorstep bearing homemade cookies and a random pinwheel. They couldn't seem to get rid of her after that.

With an eye roll, she slams her locker shut and leans against it.

"Okay, who shat in your hat this morning?" Jessper asks, twirling her gum in her mouth with her tongue.

"The better question is who doesn't?" Oz sighs.

"Good point. You want to sneak into a rich kid's party tonight, swipe their liquor, and have a slumber party at my house? Might cheer you up some."

Oz smiles. "Maybe. I have to rake in 200 dollars in tips tonight or else I might be having a permanent slumber party with you, and we both know that your parents hate me."

Jessper rolls her eyes, "My parents don't hate you, they just think you're a bad influence on me," she adds with a smile.

Oz snorts, "Yeah, well, I'm not too fond of them either, but I suppose I can't blame them. After all, they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right?"

"Shut up, you're nothing like your parents," Jessper barks. "come on, let's get to class before we get another detention slip. There is only so much of Mr. Collins and his hairy chest that I can take," she adds with an exaggerated shiver.

Oz laughs as they navigate the checkered tiles, She looks down at the shadows of silhouettes dancing beneath their feet, drifting into her own thoughts. She once overhead Jessper's parents compare her to the Hemlock plant that grew wild behind their house. Beautiful from a distance but poisonous to the touch, she didn't understand what they meant by it at the time, but now that's also how she would describe her mother, beautiful and toxic.

"How do you plan on making 200 dollars in tips tonight?" Jessper asks as they slowly make their way down the hall.

Oz pulls her shirt down revealing the tops of her breasts. "With the help of Shonda and Rhonda of course," she says.

Jessper laughs "Ah yes, the wonder twins. So which is which?"

"Shonda is the smaller one," Oz grins as they turn the corner and collide with Pyke Hastings, Oz's ex-boyfriend, better known as the son of Lance Hastings, the wealthiest man in Martha's Vineyard.

She presses her hands into Pyke's chest, creating distance.

He looks down at her with a smirk. "Damn, still can't keep your hands off of me, huh?"

She rolls her eyes, avoiding eye contact. "You really are full of yourself, aren't you?"

He puts his arm around her shoulder. "I'd bet you'd like to be full of me too, huh?" he whispers in her ear.

She pushes him from her and grabs Jessper by the hand pulling her away down the hall.

"Stop kidding yourself Oz. You know you want me," Pyke calls after her before turning and laughing with his friends.

It was an aggravating truth she couldn't deny, but Pyke Hastings is an arrogant bully, he was notorious for leaving a trail of heartbroken girls without a second thought. In fact, it brought him satisfaction and even joy to see them heartbroken for him. He had never kept a girlfriend, never showed affection for a girl that wasn't physical, he was cold and frozen hearted. Yet, somehow the second he saw Oz's sterling eyes and tangled mess of hair, he melted for her. He revealed a nice, caring, and gentle side of him – a facet unknown to anyone. Unwillingly, she had tamed the callous beast. Despite hating everything he was and stood for, she found it surprisingly easy to love someone who made it so hard. Then, out of the blue, she ripped it all away. She broke things off with him, leaving him and everyone else to still wonder why.

"Ugh!" Oz groans still pulling Jessper behind her. "How could I have ever dated that, that...worm!" She yells.

"Because that "worm" is hotter than my shits after eating Taco Bell!"

"Gross!" Oz frowns at her.

While she might not express it quite like Jessper did, She had a valid point, with his broody stare and muscular frame, Pyke Hastings was eye candy to every female in school, there wasn't a single one of them that wouldn't jump at the chance to be with him even if it was just for a moment of his attention, but despite almost a year of trying to convince himself he hated her, Pyke couldn't help but fixate on the short, stubborn, freckled girl who had shattered his heart.