All It Takes

Chapter 3 // Queen Bee

Chapter 3 // Queen Bee

I wake up and stomp over to my closet and throw a simple outfit on, and actually put some effort in. Hopefully, it's up to Stella's standards, but by the time I reach her car, her pursed lips give me my answer.

I'm only wearing black leggings, and a simple grey top. It's an upgrade for me. She smacks her bright red lipstick together, and the sunlight gently hits her face, her highlight reflecting in little shimmers.

We drive in comfortable silence, but once Ed Sheeran's voice pops up on the radio, she aggressively turns the volume up, singing off-key to A Team. I stare at my best friend, who manages to still look flawless, despite her singing. Her hair is tied up in a messy bun, that I wouldn't be able to wear, and a tight shirt clings to her torso, while ripped shorts rest on her soccer toned legs.

"Oh, how was the babysitting job?" She questions, her hand reaching to turn the volume nob down.

"It was okay. The little girl, Camilla, is the sweetest little girl ever." I comment, and hope that she forgets that there was a 17 year old in the equation.

"What about the boy?" She takes her eye off the road, and glances at me.

"W-what boy?" I try to ask coolly, but my nerves betray me. As we pull up to a stop sign, she takes a second to raise an eyebrow.

"Don't fool me, Haze. You told me-" She takes on hand off the wheel and points accusing me of not telling her the whole truth.

"Lars Millegan." I blurt, and I expect her to shriek, but instead, she just nods.

"That's why the house looked so familiar..." She mumbles. "he had a party last year, and it was like the talk of the year. And I distinctly remember kissing Xavier." Her cheeks begin to grow a little color.

"Oh." I state. My social butterfly hasn't grown it's wings and I'm still that caterpillar in the chrysalis, too cozy to fly out.

She waves it off. "Yeah, it sucked though." She says, as if to ease my worries.

We pull into the parking lot, and we both dash in opposite directions. Trying not to make the same mistake, I make it to the locker, and shove my belongings in. I grab my English binder, and head off.

Just my luck.

I turn the corner and bump into something warm and bony.

A scream comes from the person, and I make eye contact with Nina Carson.

"You did that on purpose!" She shrieks and she pushes my body against the wall. I stand there, frozen in fear. Satisfied, she saunters off, and gently scoops up her Prada purse, and walks away in all of her Queen Bee glory.

~ ~ ~

I make it to Physics, trying to avoid the evil glare of Nina Carson. I sit in my seat, and Lars walks in. Her voice is laced with honey as she follows him to his seat, and yammers on about cheerleading practice. He ignores her and continues to stare at the textbook. She slaps him on the arm to gain his attention and her high-pitched voice complains about the freshmen and JV cheer team.

Mrs. Elken hands us a test, and an hour to complete it.

I finish, and set my paper on the small stack of completed exams. As I'm walking back, a high-heeled foot sticks out and I trip on it, and I close my eyes expecting the hard linoleum floor to make impact, but large arms catch me instead. I'm helped up and I meet the crystal blue eyes of Lars.