Queen Bs

•Invisible•

"Okay, class! Tonight, read through chapter seven and study your notes. There may or may not be a pop quiz tomorrow!"

The bell rings and I'm pushed out the door. "Hey!" I grunt.

And, as always, I'm not noticed. I'm almost thrown into the crowded hallways of West Heights Academy.

Clutching my books to my chest and looking down, I maneuver myself through the crowd, avoiding people at all costs. I've become pretty good at this over the years. I manage to move through the hallway, not looking up, without bumping into people.

I make it to my locker. As I'm putting my books away, I hear someone shouting my name.

"Blair! Blair Brenner!"

I cringe and hide behind my opened locker door. But, Layla McAdams finds me. "Blair, what are you doing?"

I bite my bottom lip. "...Hiding?"

Layla rolls her eyes. "From me? You'd never do that!"

I laugh. "Yeah, I'm kidding." I close my locker door. "What's up?"

Layla tosses a lock of her shiny, strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder. "Nothing much. Just trying to get Jason's attention."

I cock an eyebrow. "Still? It's been a year!"

Layla is a cheerleader. Jason is a football player. Seems like a great match, right?

Wrong.

Layla has had a crush on Jason Kingston for about a year, when he first transferred to WHA. The school is West Heights Academy, or W.H.A., but I say WHA because the classes can sometimes be so confusing that I can only say, "Wha?"

Back to the point.

Layla can't date Jason because the minute he stepped into the school, he was snatched up by Becky Baxter, making him off limits.

Who is Becky Baxter, you may ask?

I'll get to that later.

"Yeah," Layla sighs. "It's like I'm invisible to him. Will he ever notice me?"

"You're a hopeless romantic! Besides, don't say that you're invisible. Have you met me? Nobody in this school knows my name, besides you and the teachers." I take her arm and lead her through the crowd.

"I'll never understand how you can move through these halls without bumping into anybody!" Layla exclaims.

"It's an art," I respond.

We make it to the courtyard, where the school is eating lunch. Some kids sit under the large willow trees, others brought blankets and are sitting on the grass. There are tables in the middle of the courtyard, where you have the popular kids. Layla sighs when we pass the football players' table, where Jason is sitting.

"Come, child." I grab her arm again as we go into the cafeteria. "They're serving mac and cheese."

"But he's so cute! I wanna be his girlfriend!" Layla whines.

I stare at her. "Okay, now you just sound like a spoiled brat."

She rolls her baby blue eyes at me. "No! I'm not a Queen B!"

As she says that, three girls enter the cafeteria. The whole room falls silent.

"Speak of the devils," I mutter.

The three sashay over to us. No, not to us. To the front of the line.

"Ugh! They can't cut us!" Layla whisper-screams.

One of the girls flips her long, black braid over her shoulder. "My personal chef should have something prepared for us?"

The lunch lady smiles sweetly. "Yes, Bianca, darling! I'll bring it to you, just let me—"

"No!" The girl stomps her foot. "Bring it to us now!"

The lunch lady holds her hands up, as if surrendering to the police. "Okay! Okay! I'll go get it now!" Then, she runs into the kitchen.