Queen of The Bees

Oh, Bumblegum

The loud ring of a bell fills the school signaling classes are over.

Finally, school is over for the day. I have been anxious since talking to Grace earlier about going over to her house after school. I have a plan for tonight at the party but it is going to be hard to pull off, especially because I have to rely on other people for it to work. By the end of the night Grace will have wished she never came to Bradner High, hell she is gonna wish she never left California.

I am the first to leave the classroom, but before I got too far out the door I heard somebody say my name. I quickly turn in their direction irritated because they are keeping me from starting my first move in my devious plan to take down the new girl. However my scowl immediately fades when I realize who it is.

"Good grief Rae, you were really booking it out the door. I didn't think you were going to stop."

"Hey Tara sorry I just have a lot of stuff I have to get done before the game tonight. What's up?" I say smiling inwardly thinking about what all I am going to do.

"I was just gonna see if you were down for doing some ACT prep this weekend?"

Tara is very beautiful she has dark caramel skin, doe shaped brown eyes, and short silky black hair that forms a bob. She's always decorated with beautiful bright scarves hanging from her neck and bracelets that jingle when she walks. There is a small section of her hair the width of a pencil braided with a neon blue string framing her face. She is the most honest person I know, blunt and unafraid to express herself in anyway imaginable and is the only person who truly knows how much I care about school. We occasionally study together for big exams and by chance are planning to go to the same college. That is if I get in, sure my parents have the money, but you have to have more than that to get into Columbia. You have to have the grades and be involved in not only school but the community. I have always dreamed of going to college at Columbia in New York ever since I saw a poster picture of the city in the library in 6th grade. The picture had a deep navy blue background that faded into a lighter hue of blue towards the top of the picture. It was covered with glowing silver skyscrapers with beaming yellow lights shinning through the tiny windows. At the top of the poster there was a cliche line that said 'A city where dreams come true'. Cheesy I know, but deep down I know that this is where I want my dreams to in fact come true.

No one really knows about my friendship with Tara. I first met her in the schools debate club freshman year, we used to be practice partners and we were good. The whole point of debating was to create an argument, so our friendship was basically built on fighting with one another. But in a good way, after the debate it was like the people we were when stating our arguments were completely different from who we were after the debate. We were great performers. Don't get me wrong it wasn't a screaming match by any means, but we sure knew how to prove our points and captivate an audience. Somehow, Tara always got more wins than me. I think it is because she knew how to emotionally involve the audience, she was a people person and I wasn't. However, the debate club was easily my favorite extracurricular. 

  I quit the club sophomore year because people started to think I was smart. I couldn't take the chance of getting labeled a geek. I had no choice other than to quit or else my reputation would be damaged. I had just taken the place of the senior girl who used to run the school and I couldn't risk it. No sophomore had ever been number one before. Tara and I still hangout occasionally, but we sort of have an unspoken agreement. 'We are friends but not publicly' So we only speak briefly at school and we don't hang out anywhere publicly in Bradner. Weird but the friendship works. 

"Yes that sounds great, I've been really slacking lately. I guess I have just been way too focused on cheer for the past month. It's just we lost so many seniors from last year and it's been really hard to get everyone caught up on the new routines and then I have been writing admissions essay for Columbia and I don't know if it's any good. I may need you to look at it. Hang on let me grab it it's in my bag... " I say starting to ramble and start to open my backpack.