Red Leather (Book 2)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When it comes to school, I've always made sure that I was on top.

And by that, I mean with everything.

Grades, debate team, sport events, school council, cheerleading squad, and, most importantly, the high school popularity chain. Anything and everything, I would try. Anything and everything, I would come out at the top of my class.

I was always that girl. The girl you couldn't help but want to be.

But what most girls didn't realise was that popularity was extremely easy to come by. Even the prettiest girls with the hottest bodies had major insecurities. Sometimes even insecurities greater than the average person.

Michaela Castell was a dear friend of mine. Someone so dear, in fact, that I had held all of her secrets and precious memories. There was nothing we couldn't tell each other, and with my help, she gained enough credibility to be considered popular. Within months, she was dating the hottest guy in school and had her own little clique.

But by then, I knew she had to be eliminated. She had become a threat.

I knew that she was verbally tormented by her brother at a young age, and was hit in places where the bruises wouldn't show. Her stepfather was an ex-convict, who occasionally committed big robberies that ended up on the news but were never solved. She also had a steadily growing eating disorder, and often I'd walk into the girl's room to find her bent over the sink, throwing up her Tuesday Burritos. Her allergies prevented her from consuming sodas and candy bars anyway, since many of them contained maltodextrin.

So I bid my time patiently, waiting for just the right moment to strike.

But I've never really been the patient kind.

During a sweaty, backbreaking thirty minute volleyball match, I swiftly and easily led my team to victory. The opposing school had absolutely no chance, and were behind by almost ten points.

Mikki – that's what she liked to be called – was panting harshly beside me, bracing both hands on her knees. Something was wrong with her – I knew it. I gave her a concerned look.

"You okay, babe?" I asked.

She gave me a shaky smile. "Tough save, is all."

But we both knew that it wasn't just because she made a tough save. Under my persuasion, she had skipped both breakfast and lunch earlier.

I stared at the honey-covered toast on her plate. Daddy dropped me off at her house on some mornings, so we could both get dressed together and gossip and arrive at school side-by-side, gathering stares that we both loved. "Are you seriously gonna eat that?"

She looked at me, and then down at her plate. "I don't know. Should I?"

"To be honest, I don't think so. You've been working so hard to fit into a size zero! Junk food will only hold you back."

She seemed to really want to eat the toast, but she didn't want to be judged. Funny enough, that was the same angle I attacked every time I manipulated my friends - their constant fear of being ridiculed. Finally, she pushed it away, pinching her face to look disgusted. "You're right. Honey's disgusting."

"How about a Gatorade?" I asked, pulling a bottle out of my sports bag. "You'll need that energy if you're going to kick ass today."

She smiled, taking the bottle gratefully. "Thanks. Gatorade is healthier than carbs anyway." She paused thoughtfully. "I should go on a Gatorade diet."

That sounded like a terrible idea. "Oh my God, that would be awesome."

She perked up as soon as I did. "Yeah! Then I could totally fit into that dress from Topshop."