Adapting and Conquering (The story of Bertha's rise and fall)

Chapter Twenty

As I reach the corner of the school grounds, my phone dings with a message. I'm hoping against hope that it's Katie or Heather, but it's from Jacob, which is even better. It says This is Jake. Whr r u???. I reply with I'm on the corner, but I'll meet u in the main entrance?. He responds ok.

I'm really excited to find out who sent the note, and to spend time with Jacob. Normally, if Heather and Katie were still friends with me, They would have gotten Paul to hack the security cameras again to check.

I sigh. I miss them, even though they insulted me a lot.

Well, can't do anything right now. And anyways, I heard a rumor that the dean found out that someone hacked it and is going to watch the cameras every night to trace the computer if anyone does it again.

Excitement pulsed through my body, and I neared the main entrance. Standing next to Jacob is a tall, blond girl with a great body and a beautiful face. Narrowing my eyes, I walked up the them and asked bluntly "Who is she?" To Jacob.

He raised his eyebrows at me and said "This is Ashley. She's a sophomore who goes to Taft. Our moms are close friends, and she's coming over tonight anyway, so I told her about the note and she offered to help figure out who sent it.

"Hi Bertha!!!" Ashley exclaimed. "Jacob has told me SO much about you!"

I wonder what he told her. Hopefully that I'm pretty, nice, and funny!

"Hey!! Nice to meet you!" I matched her with just as much gusto she had. She better not steal Jacob away from me, I thought coldly.

We walked to the CTA bus station, and waited for the next bus to come.

"So, has Jacob shown you the note?" I asked Ashley.

"Yeah. He sent me a picture earlier."

I sulked a little in my head. So Jacob told her right away. Hmph.

"I really hope we figure this out." Jacob said.

So I can beat the ass up of whoever sent it. I gasped. I've never said anything that bad before!

"Are you okay?" Ashley asked, with a concerned look on her face

"No, yeah I'm fine. Just got a little cold there." Shoot, I just embarrassed myself in front of her. The new Bertha doesn't freak out when she swears, I told myself. Get over it.

As we boarded the bus, I realized that Heather was right behind us. Oh crap! I totally forgot that she takes the bus sometimes. I tried to ignore her, but Jacob spotted her and waved her over. She glared at me, and then pretended that I wasn't there.

"Hey Heather!"

"Hey Jake, what's up?" She responded coolly.

"I'm going with Bertha and Ashley home. I got a love note in my locker, and we're going to try to find out who it is."

She tried to look surprised and raised her eyebrows. "Seriously! Tell me who it's from when you guys find out! But... why would you want Bertha to help you?"

"She was there when I opened it, and she offered to help..." He noticed that we were shooting daggers at each other. "Why...? Did something happen between you two?"

I could tell Heather was about to say something including swear words, but to my surprise, she took a deep breath and said "Nope! Nothing!"

"Yeah," I agreed, secretly sighing with relief that she wasn't going to make me look bad in front of Jacob and Ashley. "Nothing's-"

"Except the one fact that she's a controlling, heartless, sassy bitch!" She smiled. "Sorry. Honesty is a virtue right?"

Ashley tried to stifle a laugh, but was unsuccessful. I glared at her.

Jacob stared in surprise. "Well apparently something did happen between you two! What happened?"

I suppressed the feeling of punching Heather right there. "None of your business. Just something stupid."

"No, Bertha, I'm sure you'll tell him anyways, since he's so important to you! My bus is here. Bye Jacob... and Jacob's friend." She turned on her heel and marched away to the bus, angrily whipping out her bus card.

Jacob looked at me. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Maybe later... when we're alone..." I glanced at Ashley.

"Okay...?" He responded, but looked troubled.

"It's nothing to worry about. She just made a big deal out of something stupid."

"The bus is here." said Ashley promptly, interrupting our conversation.

We boarded the bus, and I made sure to sit between Jacob and Ashley. Wait, why did I hate her again? Oh yeah, because she's prettier than me...

On the way to Jacob's house, Ashley tried to make small talk.

"So Bertha... do you have any pets?"

"Yeah."

"Oh cool!"

"..."

"Any hobbies?"

"No."

We went on like this for a couple minutes until she finally gave up, and all three of us sat in silence.

Suddenly, Jacob's phone made a ding noise to alert a text message.

He unlocked his phone, and I tried to look at it, but he angled his phone away from me. When he put it away, he looked troubled.

I wish I had some more of Meredith's spirit-lifting tea... I have a terrible feeling this is going to be bad.

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Sorry! I haven't been posting in a few days but I'll try my best to finish this up!

More self-promo: I really hope you guys enjoy this! I've been working on it really hard, so I hope it reflects on this writing. Follow/fav this story, and all comments are welcome.

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sorry. just wanted to put that there.