HBIC: Head Barbie in Charge

5 - Fit In

"YAY, MY BABY GOT A TOUCHDOWN!" Bunny looked on in admiration as Xavier threw down on the football field. He sent a three-finger signal to her that must have been a secret code. The chemistry between them had Tammy bitten by the love bug. It would be winter before they knew it and everyone was looking to link up. Tammy could only dream of having an athlete for a boyfriend. She had never had any sense of style, and therefore, had always been picked last. Making the move from Mississippi to California, she had come into a social setting with different trends, different boys, and different attitudes. Bad hair days weren't a thing and each item of clothing had to pass through a one-month rotation before being worn again. The gentlemen were not so gentle. In fact, the worse their reputations, the more magnetic they became. As for the good girls, they finished last. Only the bitchiest survived. The Ghetto Barbies had saved her. She was looking so rich, one might have thought the smell of swamps she had spent all her life around would have made her nauseous.

Tammy found herself wanting to light a match to every picture of herself before her makeover. Her bushy hair that used to be as dry as straw had magically transformed into a mane of moisturized curls. Her face was now primped, primed, and powdered with only the finest of minerals. She didn't even want to think about the trailer trash clothes she used to wear. Every single piece of clothing she now wore had a name. BCBG, Miss Sixty, DKNY, and more brand names flooded her closet. Tammy had never imagined she could have a life like this. She was more than grateful the Barbies had taken her under their wing and nurtured and groomed her to perfection. Bunny had even invited her to one of her boyfriend's practices where she could possibly meet one of the jocks herself. Some had their eye on her rather than the football, making the coach very angry. He threw down his clipboard, blew his whistle, and commanded them twenty suicides. She had never been one to hold a guy's attention. Now she was holding the attention of them all.

"So which one of these guys do you think you're gonna want? They are all looking at you. Except Xavier, of course."

Tammy looked out onto the field. She didn't think it worked like that. Bunny was asking her to select from the guys as if they were skittles in a bowl. She did have her eye on number 42. That gorgeous smile captivated her all the way from where he stood, but was still out of her league. She may have finally gotten her look together, but personality wise, she was still that country bumpkin that didn't have the charisma to catch a guy like that. "My...I just don't know," she lied.

"Well, I guess it would be smart of you not to pick right away. You wouldn't want to look thirsty." Tammy made a quick mental note of Bunny's advice. "However, Greg is having a house party at the end of this week and you're gonna want a date. Just let whoever asks you know there's nothing official between the two of you yet...."

Tammy had begun to tune Bunny out, shading her eyes and licking her thin lips suggestively as she took in the guy on the field that was making her head spin. From the concentration in his brows to his polar white smile, she could see he was the type to be serious when it was time to be serious, but laid back in his off time. He exuded confidence.

"Tammy?"

She shook herself out of her thoughts, noticing for the first time that Bunny was staring right at her. "Yes?"

"Are those new?"

Tammy looked down at the luxury denim jeans Bunny was pointing to. "What? Oh, these things?"

Bunny's brows drew closer together. "How much those cost you?"

Tammy slid down in her seat in shame. "Sixty." Bunny threw her head down as if she had done irreversible damage to herself. Eventually, the valuable tools in her starter pack had run their course. Rocking the same pair two days in a row was a risk that could have ruined her reputation. "That's reasonable, right? They're designer and that's what Ally wants. You said to follow her every order."