Lost in the Game {Brollins}

| Chapter 2 |

Mercedes walked through the halls like she owned them, coffee in hand and head held high. She strutted over to the trio, lifted her sunglasses off of her eyes then placed them on top of her head, and shoved her coffee in Ashley's hand. "Hold this."

Ashley scoffed and rolled her eyes, shoving her nail file back in her purse while Mercedes began digging through her own. She grabbed a fairly decent sized stack of cash and handed it to Rebecca. Rebecca raised her eyebrow and slowly took the money, flicking her finger by every bill, waiting for an explanation.

Mercedes readjusted her sunglasses and then redirected her attention towards a confused Rebecca, "We've got some business to take care of."

Nothing more needed to be said, Rebecca understood what Mercedes meant. She nodded her head and shoved the cash in her bag. Before she could close her locker door, Mercedes stopped her and grabbed the crushed mirror that was discarded at the bottom of the locker.

Mercedes insisted that all of the girls had one in their locker and she was even nice enough to supply them, but they knew Mercedes had other underlying purposes for them. Other than Ashley, the girls didn't really use them—especially not Rebecca—hence the damaged state. Pamela may take a glance every once in a while, but the three knew Mercedes provided them for her personal convenience.

She picked it up and used it to double check her appearance, before throwing it back in the locker and slamming it shut, causing Pamela to jump.

Mercedes was clearly in "boss" mode, and Ashley and Pamela tended to stay out of the way when they were dealing with this version of Mercedes. They wanted very little to do with her so-called "business", so they avoided being on the inside aspects of it. However, that didn't stop them from being involved in some of the outside aspects. Ashley specialized in being seductive and Pamela was extremely innocent, so their attributes definitely aided Mercedes. All three of them knew this business was bad news, but they helped when they could.

Although, when it came to Rebecca, Mercedes knew she wasn't as keen to be involved on the outside when it came to this, and she respected that. So she gave Rebecca the position of being her right-hand woman, she knew Rebecca could hold her own, so she was the person most fit for the job.

"If you two don't mind, I'm going to need Rebecca." Mercedes guided Rebecca over to her with her finger, before turning around and starting to walk away before anything else could be said. 

Pamela looked over at Ashley and shrugged, Mercedes did most of her business during the breaks, so if she needed Rebecca this early on, something was wrong.

"It's not like we have a choice," Ashley mumbled to Pamela. She wasn't as easy going as Pamela when it came to Mercedes interrupting them to take Rebecca away. Pamela on the other hand knew Rebecca understood what she was getting herself into, and she patted Ashley on the shoulder before anything could escalate.

Rebecca looked over at the two and slightly shrugged, before throwing her bag on her shoulder and taking off after Mercedes.

Ashley watched Rebecca walk after Mercedes and then looked down at her hand, "What am I supposed to do with this?" Ashley held up the coffee cup Mercedes left with her. 

Pamela stared at it for a while and took it with a shrug, taking small sips and drinking whatever was left.

Rebecca caught up with Mercedes and followed her through the countless hallways. "What's the damage?"

Mercedes spared her a glance and continued walking, "Thomas needs to pay up."

Rebecca just nodded, she didn't press any more questions because she didn't need to. She just needed to know who they were dealing with and why.

As they approached a far hallway, Rebecca assumed Mercedes knew he would be there. The smell of smoke filled the air the closer they got to the set of doors leading to the final hallway.

Mercedes stopped right before the doors and turned to Rebecca with a look on her face that Rebecca knew all too well. "You know what to do. Wait for my call."

Rebecca just nodded in response. Mercedes forcefully pushed the doors open and Rebecca immediately followed, staying behind her. Thomas was leaning against the wall smoking a joint, and he flinched at the sudden noise, otherwise seeming unphased.

Mercedes snarled at Thomas, "Time's up. Give me my money." She stood with her arms crossed as Rebecca slowly and quietly slipped her bag off of her shoulder, staying in the shadows.

Thomas was usually not messed with due to his large size and constant aggression, so Rebecca knew this was going to take a lot more than a threat.

Thomas let out a small laugh, "You'll get your money when I decide to give you your money."

Mercedes moved towards Thomas and grabbed his shirt with her hands, "I gave you two weeks, which is way too generous. You've had enough time. I won't ask again, give me my money."

Thomas stared down with a smirk, "You don't scare me. Plus you're not one to get your hands dirty."

"You're right." Mercedes smiled sweetly, letting go of his shirt and straightening out the crumpled areas, "I don't. But she does."