Scarlett White

by Chloe Smith

  "Okay, so you probably already saw the whole crying fiasco when I ran out of lab the other day. That was when I told him about what happened back in eighth grade. He followed me and caught up with me. After he calmed me down, we started thinking because he swore that he didn't do it. I'm not too sure how he did it, but he found out that it was his little brother, who, in my defense, looks just like him, and Alice. Anyway, after I caught Francis biting Jenna's lips off her face, Tristan knew that I was hurting, so he came over to my place, and we talked for hours. Just talking. It felt…nice, but then right before he needed to leave, he planted one right on me. I was in denial at first; I didn't want it because I was healing from Francis's betrayal. But he promised me—he promised me he wouldn't hurt me. And for the first time in my life, I believed him," Scarlett explained, her eyes glazing over in remembrance of last night.

  "Oh, girl, you're such a player. First with Francis and now with Tristan. Who will be next? Taylor Lautner or Zac Efron?"

  Scarlett snorted, "I wish."

  "Hey, where did you get that outfit? It's super cute."

  Scarlett looked down at her white mini shorts and white tank top. She had found a gold silk jacket back from her happy years. She had a pair of gold sandals whose straps wrapped four inches up Scarlett's legs. Her scarlet hair had been clipped with a large white clip into a low side ponytail that cascaded in curls down her chest.

  "Are those Chanel sunglasses?" Kate asked, noticing the sunglasses perched on Scarlett's red curls. "How the hell did you get all this? You look hot...oh, I get it. You're showing off in front of all Tristan's friends, aren't you?"

  "Maybe. And you can't spread this, but I stole my mom's credit card that she uses for drinks and stuff. She won't even notice it's gone until next week," Scarlett whispered.

  "Oh, you badass girl." Kate smirked.

  "Hey, guys!" Ginny said, bounding up to Scarlett and Kate with the largest grin either one of the girls had ever seen. Scarlett was almost scared that her friend's lips would crack from smiling so wide.

  "Guess what the dish is today."

  "What?" Kate wondered.

  "Kirsten Zane is throwing some baby's temper tantrum because of something her boyfriend did. I didn't really understand the whole thing, but you have to come see. Meg's over there laughing her ass off along with the rest of the school."

  Kate looked back and winked at Scarlett before she left to follow Ginny. Scarlett took a deep breath, checking herself out in the side window of her car, and then followed after her two friends.

  When Scarlett arrived at the other side of the parking lot, she saw a huge crowd of students circling some spectacle, which Scarlett knew to be Kirsten acting like a baby. She wondered what Kirsten was whining about now. She did have a pretty notorious reputation for making the littlest things into huge dilemmas. Scarlett remembered sophomore year that this one girl, Andrea, who was on the dance team had gotten the prettiest pearl necklace for Christmas, and Kirsten had been so jealous that she had 'accidentally' popped the string making all of the pearls fly over the floor. Andrea cried for days because it used to be her dead grandmother's. Scarlett was pretty sure this time might even be about something more inane than the last time, which had been about the milk not being cold enough in the cafeteria.

  Scarlett pushed her way through the crowd and came to the middle where she saw Kirsten kneeling on the concrete ground crying. Every time someone would get close to her, she would throw a rock at him. She was getting the knees of her outfit so dirty from the muddy ground. Her eyeliner was dripping down her cheeks, plus her green eyes looked so red and puffy. Scarlett was sure she looked pretty similar last night before Tristan had come over.

  Scarlett couldn't believe this idiotic, childlike behavior Kirsten was performing for everyone. Inwardly Scarlett was busting out laughing, but on the outside shock crossed her face. What? Were they back in middle school or something? Actually, Scarlett was pretty sure that even middle schoolers acted more mature than this juvenile behavior. But, at least, it would get the student body's attention off Scarlett's meltdown during lab the other day.

  "You're shocked, too?" Libby came up behind Scarlett. "I never thought she could go this crazy."

  Scarlett continued to stare completely and utterly shocked at the poor girl kneeling in the middle of the crowd as she asked, "Why?"

  "Because Alice apparently threw her off the cheerleading squad because she wasn't doing any of the moves correct, of course. Hey, I heard about you and Tristan last night. Alice is peeved—I think that's why she's been especially bitchy lately and keeps kicking random girls off the squad for no obvious reason. High five, girlfriend." Two days ago Libby had forgotten her name after ten years of their friendship, now she was offering her a high-five? High school and drama were just so fickle and mind-boggling; it made Scarlett's head spin.

  Scarlett high-fived Libby, still eyeing Kirsten. "Someone has to stop her," Scarlett whispered.

  "Whoever gets close to her gets pegged with a rock. Hey, cute outfit," Libby commented, noticing her designer clothes.

  "Thanks; wish me luck. I'm going in."

  "Wait, you'll get dirt all over your shorts." Libby grabbed her wrist. God, teenagers these days. They're all materialistic, Scarlett thought.

  "I don't care." Scarlett yanked her wrist out of Libby's grasp and headed to the center of the crowd.

  "Kirsten!" Scarlett cried over Kirsten's loud and pretty damn obnoxious sobs.

  "You!" Kirsten pointed her finger at Scarlett. "It's all your fault!" she screamed. "You did this to me! It's because you're such a damn slut and whore that I got kicked off the precious cheerleading squad. Alice wouldn't have fired me if you hadn't hooked up with Tristan last night, you bitch!"

  Pssh, I beg to differ, was exactly what Scarlett wanted to say, but she pushed it back and really said, "Kirsten, get up off the ground and quit acting like a four year old. If you want to settle this, we'll settle it like mature teenagers." What an oxymoron.

  Kirsten did not reply, she merely picked up a small rock lying next to her and threw it in Scarlett's direction. It zoomed past Scarlett and hit some innocent by-stander. Thank God for all those torturous dodge ball games during gym class.

  "Really, Kirsten? Are you really going to act like this?" Scarlett was playing with Kirsten now, and she knew she should stop, but...

  "Get the hell away from me. You stole Tristan from her. If you had just left it alone, everything would go back to just the way it was before you squeezed your big, fat ass into our table."

  There was an audible gasp throughout the crowd, but Scarlett held her composure with her head held high.

  And then some random guy in the background yelled, "I think her ass is sexy!"

  Scarlett really wanted to roll her eyes, but instead smiled at the boy as the rest of the crowd giggled and whistled their agreement.

  "I did no such thing. Now, get up off the ground."

  "Don't tell me what to do; you're not my mother!"

  "Kirsten, please! You're making a fool out of yourself."

  "Why do you care if I humiliate myself? Why do you even give a damn?"

  "Because you're my fellow classmate. I've known you for almost thirteen years now and I am willing to set aside any disputes between us if you are," Scarlett replied.

  "You'll pay for what you did!" Kirsten screamed at her.

  Scarlett remained quiet as Kirsten continued.

  "I swear I'll make you pay for stealing Tristan!" Kirsten obviously wasn't listening to any reason. "But if I can't do it, I'm sure Alice will find a way.

  "Is that a threat?"

  "No," Kirsten growled. "It's a promise."

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Libby interrupted, stepping in the middle of the crowding and joining Scarlett by her side.

  Kirsten went to find another rock to throw at Libby, but there weren't any more around her.

  "Give it up, Kirsten, you're just not cheerleading material. So deal with it like a b
ig girl and get your ass out of your head. C'mon, Scar, let's get out of here," Libby added as she walked with Scarlett away from the humiliating scene.

  "What a bimbo," Libby giggled as they headed towards the entrance of the school building.

  "I kind of feel bad for her," Scarlett replied quietly.

  "Really?" Libby searched Scarlett's expression to make sure she wasn't kidding. "Well, you shouldn't. She's an idiot."

  "Do you think I should be worried?" Scarlett asked, also quietly.

  "'Bout what?" Libby questioned when they reached Libby's locker. She began pulling out the books that she needed for her first class. Scarlett leaned against the locker beside Libby's, her arms folded across her chest.

  "I'm not really sure if it's anything to look too deeply into, but when Kirsten said that if she couldn't get me to pay for whatever the hell she was accusing me of, then Alice would. Now I'm not really scared of Kirsten—she's not the brightest crayon in the coloring box—but Alice is pretty intimidating," Scarlett admitted.

  "True dat, sista. But, honestly, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Alice is all talk, and no walk. She knows how to bitch talk like the back of her hand, but when it comes to actually taking action, she's dumber than a doornail," Libby reassured Scarlett's worries.

  At that moment some kid who owned the locker that Scarlett was leaning against walked up, saw the two more popular girls talking, and decided that he needed to wait until they were done. But Libby glared at the pimply boy. "What do you want?" she barked.

  "Um…I need to get my books." He pointed at the locker Scarlett was leaning against.

  Scarlett started to move away so the poor boy could get to his books, but Libby continued to bark, "She doesn't need to move for you. Do you know who this is? This is Scarlett White. Did you know that she is now currently dating Tristan Cox? The Tristan Cox?"

  "Oh, no. I didn't know that. So sorry to interrupt." The boy scurried off in the opposite direction.

  "You didn't have to do that. I could have moved," Scarlett said.

  "That's the joy of being popular." Libby flicked her hair over her shoulder. "C'mon, let's go get some coffee."

  "Where?"

  "The teacher's lounge."

  "Students aren't allowed in there."

  "The students who are on an errand to bring some fresh coffee to the busy teachers who don't have time to do it themselves are most definitely allowed though," Libby said with a wink.

  "I think I'm beginning to like this whole popular business," Scarlett giggled.

  "Most of us do," Libby replied.

  Kirsten walked into the girls' bathroom to clean herself up. As soon as the crowd had dispersed not long after Scarlett and Libby had left, she had dried her tears and gotten up off the ground. She looked at her tear streaked cheeks and began to wipe the eyeliner off her face. As soon as her face was shiny clean, she began to reapply her makeup, so it looked as good as new. She looked down at her dirty jeans with dismay. She unzipped her book bag and pulled out a brand new clean pair of jeans. She swapped the dirty jeans for the new ones and threw the dirty ones away in the garbage can. She looked at herself in the mirror, fluffed her hair, and smiled after she applied more lip gloss. She looked awesome.

  Just then the door opened, and in walked Alice Barrington. Her heels clacked on the hard floor of the bathroom. Her brunette curls bounced with every step she took. Her sharp eyes glittered with pride and mischief. Her pearly whites gleamed as she smiled broadly.

  "I saw the end of your performance. Very nice. You should start doing drama."

  "I do drama every day," Kirsten replied with a smile. "Did you get the papers printed?"

  "Yep. And they are exactly where she will find them."

  "And the times match?"

  "Yeah. Everything is ready." Alice's eyes glinted in the mirror with the utmost pride of success.

  "Perfect. I do have a question though," Kirsten asked.

  "Ask away." Alice turned to look at herself in the mirror.

  "If my performance was just so you had time to stash the papers, why did you literally take my cheerleading uniform away if it was all just pretend?"

  "Good question," Alice replied.

  "And the answer?"

  "That was true. You really are off the team. Sorry, but your hurkey just isn't what it used to be. And that cellulite on your fat thighs is disgusting. Well, tootles." Alice flipped her hair over her shoulder.

  She clicked her way out of the bathroom, leaving Kirsten standing there completely shocked with her mouth wide open. She stood utterly still and rigid for a full four minutes until Andrea walked in. She remembered Andrea because that was the girl with the pretty pearl necklace from last year. The one she had destroyed.

  "You should probably shut your mouth, Kirsten, you might catch a fly, or worse, choke on a pearl." Apparently she still held a grudge. Fan-fucking-fabulous.

  The bell hadn't rung yet. And the class wouldn't start until the teacher walked in, but who knew when that was going to happen? It was rumored that Mr. Macgregor had been doing some drugs lately. And the class didn't expect him in class any time soon, seeing as he had been at least twenty minutes late for three consecutive days now. Scarlett was sitting at her desk while Tristan sat on top of it. The entire school now knew they were dating—then again it wasn't really a secret, seeing as they had been holding hands for the past ten minutes.

  "Did you hear about Kirsten's meltdown?" Tristan asked.

  "I saw it actually," Scarlett replied as her heart fluttered every time Tristan's thumb would stroke the hand he was holding.

  "I can't believe Alice kicked her off the cheerleading squad."

  "She was the best one, besides Alice," Scarlett replied.

  "What are you doing this weekend?" Tristan asked, his eyes boring into Scarlett's.

  She was just as mesmerized; her eyes locked completely on his, "Studying for Monday's English test," she said automatically.

  Tristan leaned down and whispered in Scarlett's ear, "Are you sure about that?"

  The gentle breath on her ear made Scarlett's eyelids flutter. "I might be able to reschedule."

  "Might?" Tristan switched to her other ear.

  "Probably," Scarlett whispered.

  That wasn't enough. Tristan brushed his lips lightly against Scarlett's.

  "Definitely," Scarlett said.

  "Perfect."

  "Why? What are we doing?"

  "It's a surprise."

  Scarlett pouted, "I hate surprises."

  "Well, you're going to have to learn love them." Tristan smiled.

  Just then the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class, but no teacher showed up—must be high—so the students continued to talk and gossip and giggle and throw paper plane messages to each other while they sat on top of the desks and drew inappropriate pictures on the whiteboard. Tristan's phone vibrated, and he quickly sent a few texts.

  "Tom is so stupid," he whispered to himself and then brought his attention back to his new girlfriend. Scarlett and Tristan talked about random things for as long as possible until a glossy, red-eyed teacher stumbled into the classroom to begin a very interesting class.

  Soon enough it was time for second period and then third period, and Scarlett headed off to her AP Spanish IV class. She was in a gleeful bliss as she sat through her boring teacher's lecture about how important conjugations of verbs in the preterite and imperfect tense were. She wasn't taking her usual notes. She wasn't even looking at the board, or the book, or the teacher. Her eyes were glazed over with the image of Tristan.

  But then she heard a piece of paper fall out of her text book as she flipped the page automatically. She snapped back into reality as she reached down to pick it up. She wasn't sure what it was until she started reading it:

  Wednesday, 8:50 p.m.

  Tristan: Hey, wat r u doing?

  Alice: Nothing. Y?

  Tristan: Im so bored. Wanna oral?

  Alice: R u sure? I
saw you w/ scarlett white.

  Tristan: Shell never find out…

  Alice: Well, if ur sure…

  Tristan: Sure am. Wat r u wearing?

  Alice: A tshirt and cotton shorts. U?

  Tristan: Nothing but my ripped jeans. R u wearing underwear?

  Alice: Yeah…wbu?

  Tristan: Definitely not.

  Thursday, 8:30 a.m.