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Chapter 7: Defying the Queen

I was over Aubrey.

I had been over her for a long time, but it took the whole episode at her house yesterday for me to figure it out. I was proud of Hailee for finally standing up for herself, but I had a feeling that her little act of rebellion wouldn't last very long. She was one of those people who relied on social interactions to get by. She had a moment of strength in a life of weakness.

To say that my mom was surprised when I asked for a ride to school on Monday would be an understatement. It was weird to actually be at school on time and walk through the halls without a Starbucks cup in my hand. I could feel people's stares and hear their whispers as I walked past them, alone.

When I turned the corner to get to my locker, I rolled my eyes at the sight before me. Aubrey and Sacha were strutting down the hallway towards me like they were top shit, and Hailee was trailing along behind them begging for forgiveness.

"Aub, Aub, c'mon, you can't ignore me forever! How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"Hailee, what are you doing?" I whispered, praying that there was still some hope for my poor little popularity-crazed friend.

Hailee jumped when she saw me. "Oh, Ken, I was just-"

"Silence." Aubrey snapped her fingers twice. She slowly turned around to face Hailee and I from the door leading to the stairs. Sacha copied Aubrey's movements, with the same smug expression across her face. "Hailee, don't you dare say another word to this backstabber, you hear me?"

Hailee looked back and forth between me and Aubrey, clearly horrified at being caught in the middle. Ha, not so great when you're the one stuck between a rock and a hard place is it, Hails?

"That's all I ask, Hailee. And then you can sit with us at lunch and drive with us to school. Are you really gonna sacrifice all that for Kennedy? Honestly, when has she ever been worth it? She never takes your side anyways, she always listens to Sacha or I. She told me that her friendship with you means nothing."

"Wh-what?" I sputtered, caught off guard by the lies Aubrey was creating. "I never sai-"

Hailee's eyes flashed, and I could tell she had already made up her mind. Aubrey's offer was too good to refuse. "Whatever, Kennedy. I couldn't care less what you said about me anyways."

I couldn't help but tear up a bit as Hailee, Aubrey and Sacha flounced off down the stairs. My three best friends, the ones who had been by my side for years, had just dropped me like a hot potato. Sure, maybe sometimes they were rude to me or ditched me, but I had loved them for who they were. I thought they loved me too, but clearly I wasn't that special. What had I even done? Stood up for myself, and Hailee? Since when was that a crime?

Blinking back my tears, I grabbed my math book and told myself to be strong. I might not have any friends anymore, but who needs friends anyways? I could be independent. Hey, maybe I'd even be able to pull up my grades! My mom would be super proud.

I muttered inspirational quotes to myself as I walked to math. "Hold on, pain ends. You have to make it through the rain to see the rainbow. When darkness falls the star-Ow!"

My speech to myself got cut off when I ran into something solid and my binder went flying out of my hands. It slid across the floor and came to a stop next to a paperback book that was definitely not mine. I glanced up to see who I had bumped into, and was met with deep blue eyes and a crooked smile.

"Hey, just because you're pretty doesn't mean you can run into people." Mystery boy smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "Says you. You were the one reading and walking." I gestured toward the book face down on the floor.

"Ah," he sighed over-dramatically. "You caught me." He bent down and picked up the book before I could sneak a peek at the cover.

I tapped my foot impatiently. Mystery boy raised his eyebrow, clearly confused about what I was waiting for. "Aren't you going to get my binder for me? C'mon, be a gentleman."

He laughed, and then scooped up my binder. I went to take it from his hands, but he stopped me, choosing instead to get down on one knee and offer it to me. "Here you are, my princess."

I snatched my binder from him, rolling my eyes again. "Thanks. Do you have a name, Mystery Boy?"

"My birth certificate says Patrick, but I prefer Pat."

"No way. " I shook my head. "I hate the name Pat."

"But that's my name," Pat laughed.

"Not to me, it's not." I thought for a second. "I'm going to call you Ricky. I like that a lot better than Patrick or Pat."

"Alright, Princess. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." Ricky began to slowly back away down the hall.

"Just so you know, my name's not Princess, it's Kennedy." I hollered after him.

Ricky nodded twice. "Whatever you say, Your Majesty."

I smiled to myself, then turned away and entered my math class. All the bad feelings of this morning had been wiped away with one simple conversation with one simple boy. Wasn't it funny the way things worked out sometimes?

Most of my math class was spent wondering if I would ever see this Ricky guy again. Eventually, I got so sick of trying to understand trigonometry that I decided to write. With all the emotions that had been running through my mind this morning, I had a lot to write about.

"Kennedy! Earth to Kennedy!" Mrs. Simmons' voice brought me back to reality. Sometimes when I wrote I would get so into the words that I would completely blank out from reality, and this was one of those times.

"Sorry, Mrs. Simmons," I looked up sheepishly from my paper as the entire class stared my way.

Mrs. Simmons gestured toward the problem written on the blackboard. "Can you please provide the answer for the class?"

I sighed as I tried to make out the numbers on the board. How did I always seem to end up in these situations?

When class was finally over, I made my way down to the cafeteria. My mission: find Ivory, and ask her if she knew anyone by the name of Patrick.

Picture is of Sacha :)