The Popular Plan

Chapter 1

song of the chapter: thank you for being a friend// andrew gold

If there was anything I learned NOT to do in life, it was bully. When my mom dropped me off on my first day of Pre-School, she looked me directly in the eye and said, "No bullying. None of it."

I of course listen. Who would want to feel such an awful way about themselves? So, when my mom and I walked into that house-y, school-ish, sort of thing, I screamed as loud as I could, "EVERYONE NICE HERE BE NICE!"

The teacher laughed at my enthusiasm. I smiled and shook her hand. "Menna," I said. I hadn't really learned how to say McKenna yet, so that was what I thought my name was. My teacher laughed.

In those two years of Pre-K, she always laughed at me. It would usually because I was being, well, my four year old self. I always thought that the key to being nice was laughing, so I did just that.

The kids were very nice to me there. At playtime, some of the kids and I would either build cities, and these cities were amazing, out of blocks. Or, we would read. Maybe even play a board game. Some of the girls would braid my hair. We did a lot.

Then, when Kindergarten started, I never saw any of my friends. Turns out, they all went to the neighboring school, and I went to a different one. I was super disappointed. Those two years were out the door.

On that same day before I got on the bus, my mom told me: "Be kind, McKenna. You have a lot of kindness. Spread it."

So, of course, I walk onto the school bus all giddy and happy that I finally get to go to a real school. I plopped down in my seat next to a red-headed girl, with a big smile on her face. Once she saw me, her smile faded and looked at my belly.

"You're fat," she told me, straight out of the blue.

I gasped and looked at her hair.

"Well, you look like the devil!" I screamed loud, but quiet enough for only her to hear. As soon as I realized what I did, I started crying. I didn't want to be mean, so instead I told her, "At my pee school," which is what I called Pre-School, "we thought that devil meant nice." That was of course a lie.

"Huh-uh," she snickered. "And what is a pee school?"

I gasped again. To Kindergarten me, that was like not knowing who 5 Seconds of Summer was. I mean, who doesn't like 5 Seconds of Summer? Or Fall Out Boy? Or One Direction? Or Green Day?

Okay. I'll stop.

But anyways, I told her that she was ridiculous and that if she didn't go to pee school, she wouldn't be allowed to Kindergarten when we walked in the building. I hit myself in the head to snap out of the bully trap I was falling in, and told her that she could just lie.

"Was it really good to go to pee school? Do you learn how to pee there?" She asked me.

"No, you learn your name and letters and read and nap," I said proudly.

"Oh, PRE-School you mean?" She asked me. I nodded my head yes, deciding to go with whatever she was. I didn't want to look like an outcast at the school. "My name is Bella, I am 6 years old and I like cheese," she told me again.

"My name is Menna, I am 5 years old, my birdday," what I called my birthday, "is tomorrow, and I like ponies." I pointed to the horse on my shirt and laughed. She laughed too. I guess you can say from then on out, McKenna Jones and Bella Brown were inseparable.

Until fourth grade.

A new girl moved to our school. She was the fourth grade definition of "perfect", played every sport known to man, and even helped out in the animal shelter. For some reason she chose my best friend to be her best friend, and told her we couldn't be friends anymore.

Bella stopped talking to me, and I stopped talking to her. I made friends with a quiet girl named Riley in music class one day. She was considered ugly to everyone in our school. My nickname was Fatty McFatterson and her nickname was Ugly McUglerson.

We talked about our hobbies and interests during lunch and invited her to my house on that Friday. My mom didn't care who came over, since our house was always spotless clean. My brother's room was a mess. He was 16.

She said yes and we became inseparable. McKenna Jones and Riley Stewart, best friends forever. We stayed that way until sixth grade when she started wearing make-up. Make-up is my worst enemy. That is how I lost a friend.

Ever since Riley started wearing make-up, she found a boyfriend. Well, a sixth grade boyfriend. She never talked to me after that and well, I lost her as a friend. She came on the McKenna Is Fat Train and started calling me the bad names too.

I was a loner, again.

I decided to talk to Bella again. She gratefully opened me back into her circle of friends since her and Ms. Perfect were no longer friends. We talked forever after school. It felt nice to be friends again with someone who I was so close to before.

We were inseparable, again.

Now, here we are in the summer after ninth grade, going into tenth. She was going on vacation for whole month, and since school started a little after my new school's, she would be missing my moving day.

"Here," she said to me, pulling out a gift from her car. It was wrapped in blue wrapping paper. "It's a little something to remember me by. We may not have been friends for a couple of years, but we are again now. Don't let anyone call you fat at your new school."

"I won't," I promised, grinning from ear to ear.

"And also, remind everyone that I was your best friend first and don't take away anyone's friends." She winked, making me remember our fourth grade incident. The day I lost her. The day she lost me, for a while.

"I will," I promise.

"And, now, open up the present."

I took off the wrapping paper to see a frame that we made in Kindergarten, holding a picture of the two of us. I promised her she could keep it. I thought she had thrown it out, but she kept it. Maybe we really were friends forever.

"Bells, I love you," I whispered giving her one last hug.

"I love you to, Menna," she whispered back.

The car beeped, signaling to her it was time to go.

"Text me every day! Don't talk to strangers! Remember our inside jokes! Remember Cupcake! Remember all our memories! Remember Kindergarten! Remember sixth grade! Remember meeee!" She screamed out the car window.

I held the frame to my chest.

I never wanted to let go.

But now, I had to.

I had to go visit my  new house.

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first chapter! updates will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Make sure to check out my other works. I have Ashton Irwin and Dance Moms fanfictions. I am currently also writing Stranger, an Ashton Irwin fic. If you check that out too, that would be great. Thanks everyone for reading the first chapter! Please vote if you liked it, and comment, telling me what you thought!