Black Rose

Chapter 1

Valerie Rose and Kate Black are the popular girls at Westhill High School. Crowds part for them as they walk past, girls compliment them on their outfits or hair, and boys want to date them. But they have one secret: they are spies-in-training for the biggest spy organization in the world. And nobody knows.

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"Hey Valerie! Can I get you something to drink? How about an iced coffee from Starbucks?" a petite blond girl asked excitedly, falling into step beside Valerie as she walked down the immaculate white tiled hallway.

"No thanks. I don't drink Starbucks. I prefer Chic Coffee," Valerie replied, dismissing the girl with a wave of her hand. The girl hurried off with a look of defeat on her delicate features.

Chic Coffee was the trendy coffee shop downtown where one was sure to spot at least one celebrity. Valerie clearly remembered when she had first run into Taylor Swift on her daily coffee run, only for Taylor to come over for dinner that same night. Ah, manipulation at its finest.

The coffee was overpriced, but that was not to say that Valerie could not afford it. Her family was the richest family in the city of New York, due to her parents' ownership of the largest, most successful department store in the whole state.

"Isn't Starbucks for poor people?" Kate Black asked, throwing her head back and laughing. Her wavy red hair bounced as she walked, making any girl within a one-foot radius smile. Valerie couldn't help but laugh as well, walking alongside her best friend.

Kate Black was also quite wealthy. Her mom owned Live For Shoes, a high-end shoe store situated at the heart of Manhattan. They had previously lived in a small town in Wyoming before moving to the big city. After her mom got a high-paying job at Valerie's parent's department store, she was able to open up her shoe store.

That is, coincidentally, how Valerie and Kate became best friends.

"Have fun in Ms. Martinez's class," Valerie teased, stopping in front of Kate's science class. The girls had recently begun walking each other to their classes, a habit that they had no intention of breaking any time soon.

Kate groaned, wishing that she could be anywhere but there. After all, Ms. Martinez, an elderly woman who was at least 70 years old, believed giving the students homework was entertaining.

Valerie gave Kate a small wave as she walked away into her classroom.

Kate settled into her seat at the back of the room. She looked around the classroom for Wendy, the perky, annoying girl who sat in the front row of the classroom. Thankfully, she wasn't there.

Wendy was simply known as the school's copycat. If Kate came to school wearing a plaid skirt, Wendy came to school wearing the same exact plaid skirt. Even though it annoyed Kate, she found it to be a bit comforting. At least someone admired her style so much that they would wear it too.

The bell rang, signaling that the class had begun. Science was not Kate's strongest subject but she still managed to receive an A in the class. Kate pretended to be bored, although she was secretly ecstatic about this subject. Out of class, she worked diligently on her homework and even completed homework assignments that were due the next week.

Unfortunately for her, Kate knew that one rule of being popular was that you could not appear as intelligent as you were. If you were, society would label you as a nerd. Therefore, Kate pushed down the urge to shoot her hand into the air with what she knew was the correct answer. In short, she had a strong hatred for the rules that society placed on her but she followed them nonetheless.

Valerie, on the other hand, was certainly not classified as the brightest student. Her usual grades consisted of B's and C's which suited her just fine. She didn't spend her weekends studying or reading ahead in English class like Kate did.

"Alright, class! Today we will be learning about genetics," Ms. Martinez said from the front of the classroom. Kate broke out of her wandering thoughts and fixed her attention to the front, where the word genetics was written across the board.

As the class progressed, Kate made it a point to copy every note projected onto the board by the cheap projector found in every classroom. Considering her mom's yearly income, Kate wondered how she had ended up in this public high school. Maybe it was because her mom believed in a 'real' high school experience in which students were not pampered and spoiled like private school students. Whatever the reason, she continued to sit at her desk and tried not to cry out when the projector unexpectedly turned off in the middle of the lesson.

The class dragged on slowly until, before she knew it, the last bell of the day rang throughout the school. Kate packed up her notebook and pencil, waiting for the classroom to empty out before she met Valerie at her locker. It was a bit difficult to navigate the crowded hallways with her small frame and tall heels.

She approached Valerie at her respective locker. "How was science?" Valerie asked jokingly. Kate rolled her green eyes, a small smile threatening to take up her features.

"It was obviously really lame," she said, sarcasm evident in her tone. Valerie was the only one who knew how smart she really was and had never revealed this secret to anyone.

"Want to go to Chic Coffee?" Valerie proposed. Kate nodded without missing a beat. The girls went to Chic Coffee almost every day, so much that it was redundant to ask again.

They strode past a group of girls calling out to them, not paying any attention. Kate felt a pang of guilt as she followed Valerie to the vast school parking lot and past the girls. She remembered how it felt to be in their place, gazing at the popular girls in admiration. That is, until the tables had turned into what she considered a twist of fate.

By now, they had reached Valerie's pink Bugatti. Kate climbed into the passenger seat, trying not to look back at the girls who were most likely still staring. After checking to see if there were any cars behind her, Valerie pulled out of the school's parking lot and began driving downtown. Although not before Kate glanced back at the group of girls, who by now had disappeared.