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CHAPTER EIGHT Everybody Wants to Rule the World
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THE RULES AND structure at Hawkins High had always made sense to Rhiannon. As much as she hated the place, its predictability was why it had become a safety net for her. Nothing was surprising at the apex of popularity. She could breathe a little easier when she was just Rhiannon Liu — the hottest, coolest girl in school — because life was simpler in these halls, where everything revolved around her. The stuff that made her the thing in the dark, the monster lurking in the deep woods, the dead girl with a flower that smelled of sweetness and rot, had been worlds away from the routine of petty gossip and social hierarchies.
Today, the entrance with Steve, the whole act of pretending to be normal did wonders. Her grip on the student body was slowly but surely returning, securing her a place at the top of the pyramid. The Queen had returned with a bang.
No, she'd come back better than before. Forget being Queen. She would be King. Not even that mullet-wearing jerk Billy could take the crown off her head. And sorry to Steve (whose own reputation slightly climbed up the ranks because of her), but it could potentially be King Rhiannon from now on...
She liked the sound of that. King Rhiannon.
May she reign in fucking peace.
Steve sat at the desk in front of her in history. As the teacher droned on, she wrote him a note: Should we actually do dinner and a movie this Friday?
Rhiannon folded it nicely, kicked the back of his chair, and handed it over when he extended his hand behind him, waiting as he scribbled his reply. Carol was giving her a funny look from the other row, but she ignored it. Steve tipped back in his chair and dropped the note on Rhiannon's desk without looking.
Talk more about it later. And then below that, Bored. Play a game with me?
She had to fold a new note because they ran out of space. Pay attention, Harrington.
