Crescendo

Chapter 11

FANGIRLS

Ahhh. The mall. One of Amber's favorite places. The fashion. The bargains. The bit of exercise you get from walking around with your heavy shopping bags. She even loves the food court, despite how unappetizing the food actually is.

Instead of doing schoolwork or having a job like her friends, Amber spends her after-school hours shopping. She's doing fine in her classes, and her parents give her a good allowance (to make up for never being around). An allowance Amber is currently blowing by racking up—at least—three hundred dollars, in one of her favorite boutiques.

She's studying a particularly cute top when the shop's front door opens, the bell jingling merrily. Amber looks up, sorely vexed over spotting Kimberly Donovan, a senior at Amber's school, who is also the most popular, bitchiest girl there, walking in. One of her twittering henchwomen, Holly Andrews, is loyally, dim-wittedly, hovering at her side.

Her rivalry with Kimberly started last year when Amber first transferred to Shonia High School during her sophomore year. She'd been dying to stake her claim in high school, to be popular: like every silly teenage girl dreams. She'd done so by flirting with several of the upperclassmen guys. Not the classiest method, but it was something. She's been told she's pretty, and hey, you have to play to your strong suits. Little did Amber know, one of the older guys she'd been cozying up to was, Tony Garrison—Kimberly's, at the time, ex-boyfriend.

Exactly. EX-boyfriend. How was Amber to know Kimberly and Tony were—and still are—in a constant on and off again relationship? She didn't! So, it was not her fucking problem. But it became hers when Kimberly found out about Tony and Amber's—quite minor—flirtation.

Kimberly has hated her ever since.

She, unfortunately, locks eyes with Kimberly from across the room. Despite Kimberly's dislike of her, Amber's method has been to sicken her with kindness. As such, she waves at them.

"Hi, Kimberly. Holly," Amber says.

"Amber." Kimberly stiffly acknowledges her, giving a curt nod. Holly merely sniffs and looks away. Amber turns back around, rolls her eyes, and redirects her attention to the cute top. Refusing to let her "enemies" get her down, she decides to head to the dressing room and try on the shirt, and a few other items she's picked up. Head high, Amber walks to the fitting room, ignoring the feeling of their cold eyes on her.

Not even twenty seconds later, literally right after Amber's locked her stall behind her, she hears two sets of footsteps enter the room. Two other people take residence two stalls down. She realizes it's Kimberly and Holly as they start talking.

Talking about her. She can hear them as their voices travel over the stalls.

"Amber Reese is the biggest whore ever. Can you believe her? I swear the way she struts around," Kimberly says.

"She's a walking, talking AIDS virus." Holly snickers.

"Or a sperm bank. Given how much she gives it up."

Malicious laughter echoes through the air.

Amber squeezes her eyes shut, wanting to block them out. Her heart starts to beat faster, her stomach twists, anger boiling up inside her.

They know I'm in here. They saw me come in.

"I heard she's fucking half the football team." Holly's tone is urgent, dying to share the crude gossip. Kimberly snorts rudely.

"Wouldn't surprise me. I don't get why guys keep hooking up with her. I mean, we all know where her mouth has been."

On your boyfriend, that's where, Amber wants to shoot back, burning to defend herself. But she grits her teeth instead because it's no good.