HBIC: Head Barbie in Charge

31 - Infiltrate

WHAT GOOD WAS a ring if she couldn't show it off? Tammy had never in her wildest dreams imagined that Greg would propose to her right there in the middle of his living room in front of all those people. But ever since she had returned home, she found herself having to keep her greatest joy a secret. Having a baby at fifteen was one thing. There was no way that her parents would stand for her getting married and becoming a housewife at sixteen. She had to find some kind of way to convince Greg to not only keep their engagement a secret, but keep it a secret for the next two years. It felt so awkward sitting right next to her mother as they cruised down the freeway, knowing she had this secret that she couldn't even tell the woman who had given her life.

Tammy sighed as she looked down at her busted smartphone, which was really a phone of average intelligence. "I don't think Pa paid the phone bill. I haven't gotten any messages all morning. The girls or Greg might be trying to text me."

Ma sighed as she pulled up in front of the school. "Girl, I told you about all that complaining. You're lucky this family finally has some decent dental benefits. You had four cavities, young lady."

Tammy frowned as she pressed a hand to her cheek to see if the numbness had gone down at all. "What about Timmy? He had six!"

"Hey!" Timmy shouted from the backseat.

"Now you two know I don't have time for this. I've still got to drop Timmy off at his school and then I need to get Shiloh home and feed her so she can take a nap. I'll call your father and ask about the bill. Now, come on. Let's get a move on it."

Tammy grabbed her bag and said goodbye to everyone as she headed into the office, handing them her doctor's note. "What period is it?" she asked, feeling too lazy to check her schedule.

"It's lunch," the clerk replied.

Great, she thought to herself. The dentist had just gotten through telling her not to eat until the numbing wore off. She took her slip and headed into campus. She became incredibly puzzled, however, when she got to the table and noticed that none of the Barbies were there—only a stack of newspapers strewn all over the table. She noticed stares coming from everywhere. She sat down slowly, feeling awkward and alone. Absentmindedly, she picked up one of them and flipped through it. Kim had never boasted about her work on the paper, but writing was something she was passionate about. She turned page after page until she landed on the page with Kim's name on it. The title? "Doll Dysfunction". Tammy frowned as she read the article, her lower dropping further and further to the ground for every sentence she read.

Her face became flushed with heat as she looked up and once again met with all the staring faces. Moments later, her phone chimed one after another. The first message was from her mother. "I spoke to your father. Your phone should be working again." Below her message were several urgent messages from Bunny and Ally urging her to meet them in the library. Tammy held the newspaper in front of her face and dodged to the library where Bunny, Ally, Maxwell, Xavier, and Greg were huddled around a table. Bunny had tears streaming down her face as Xavier let loose his wrath.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed miserably while he stared Maxwell down like he had stolen a valuable possession of his.

Xavier shook his head defiantly. "You dumped me to get with Max all because he could help you be Head Barbie when what you really wanted was Greg." He turned his head toward Max. "I hope you're not falling for anything she tells you."

Tammy could tell by his uncomfortable frown that, although Bunny had betrayed him, he was still looking for a way to be on her side. None of them had even realized that she had arrived until Bunny's red, glassy eyes locked with hers. "Oh, Tammy!" She jumped out of her seat and ran to her. "Tell me you knew nothing about this."