Be Mine (2 page)

Now she wasn't.

Violet was.

And Claudia didn't like it.

So she decided to teach Violet a lesson.

For weeks, Claudia had been talking about her upcoming ninth birthday party and how her parents were going to recreate a carnival in their backyard. Not only was there going to be a booth with cotton candy and caramel apples, but there were also going to be bumper cars, a merry-go-round, pony rides, and a magician. Claudia had made a point of handing her invitations out at lunch. Everyone in their class was invited. Except Jennifer and Violet. Jennifer didn't care, but she could see that Violet's feelings were hurt. When Violet asked Claudia why she wasn't being invited, Claudia told her she was having a nerd-free party.

After Claudia left, Violet's lower lip started to tremble and she ran off to the girls' bathroom. Jennifer hurried after her and could hear sobbing inside. She waited a few seconds and then walked inside, handing Violet a tissue to wipe her eyes.

“Thanks,” Violet sniffed.

“Who needs Claudia's party?” Jennifer told her. “We can have a party of our own!”

And so they had. Jennifer's mother had made them cupcakes and they spent the day listening to CDs, playing video games, watching DVDs, and talking trash about Claudia. They talked about other things, too, like their favorite TV shows, movie stars, and musicians, and discovered how much they had in common. After that, they were joined at the hip.

“Are you ready for Mr. Seliski's test today?” Violet asked, cutting into Jennifer's thoughts.

“I don't know why we have to take Anatomy and Physiology. It's not like I'm planning to become a doctor.”

“You didn't want to take Physics, remember?”

“Well, duh! I almost failed Chemistry. There was no way I was taking another hard science class. I thought Seliski's class would be a breeze. Instead, we're constantly cutting things up. Blech!”

“It'll look good on your transcript,” Violet said.

“If I hear the word
transcript
one more time, I'm going to scream!” Jennifer exclaimed. “My guidance counselor keeps telling me I need to do more extracurricular activities, but how can I when I have a part-time job? College isn't going to pay for itself. I need to start saving.”

“I'm sure you're going to win a scholarship. With the exception of Chemistry last year, your grades are pretty good.”

Jennifer crossed her fingers. “Let's hope!”

When Jennifer and Violet got to Mr. Seliski's door, they found it was locked.

“I guess he's running late this morning,” Violet said.

Jennifer didn't answer. She was too busy listening to Claudia Monroe, who was a few feet away and leaning against a locker. As always, she had Eden Atkins and Natalie Bauer, her two best friends, by her side. Jennifer actually liked Eden and Natalie although she couldn't understand why they were friends with Claudia. Neither one of them could be branded a Mean Girl the way Claudia was. Yet all three of them had been friends since freshman year.

“I should tell Principal Hicks to not even bother reading all those other essays,” Claudia said. “Chase and I are going to win. Can you think of any other couple at North Ridge High that's more romantic than us?”

Jennifer wanted to roll her eyes. If Claudia was a Mean Girl, then Chase was her Dumb Jock accessory. He was barely passing his classes but managed to skate by because he was on North Ridge High's football, basketball, and baseball teams. True, they had been dating since freshman year, but that didn't mean they were romantic. Mean girls always dated jocks. It was a high school rule. Of course, it didn't hurt that Chase was hunkalicious. He was over six feet tall and buff, with buzzed brown hair and dark blue eyes.

“I wonder if there are going to be crowns. Like at prom. Do you think we'll get crowned?” Claudia asked. She didn't wait for Eden and Natalie to answer. “There have to be crowns! Otherwise how else are we going to stand out? I'm going to have to make sure I have the perfect dress and it
has to
be pink. Pink for Valentine's Day!”

Jennifer couldn't believe how smug Claudia was being. What made her think she was going to win? There were lots of other couples at North Ridge High. Maybe one of them would be voted Most Romantic. There was no guarantee that Claudia and Chase were going to win. Of course, this
was
high school and the popular crowd
always
ruled. Claudia and Chase had
tons
of friends. If they made the final cut, they were going to be stiff competition. But that didn't mean they were the most romantic. And it didn't mean they deserved to win!

Listening to Claudia go on and on, Jennifer wanted nothing more than to knock her down a few pegs. She couldn't stand listening to her anymore! Claudia was
so
sure that she and Chase were going to win.

Before Jennifer could stop herself, the words came tumbling out of her mouth.

“I wouldn't be too sure about winning,” she said.

Claudia looked away from Eden and Natalie, staring at Jennifer with a bored expression. “And why's that?”

“Because you're going to have some competition.”

“From who?”

“Me and my boyfriend.”

Claudia's green eyes widened and she stared at Jennifer in disbelief. “Boyfriend?
You
have a boyfriend?”

“Why do you find that so hard to believe?” Jennifer demanded, trying hard not to sound hostile. She didn't want Claudia to know that her comment bugged her.

Claudia shrugged and tossed her short cap of blonde hair. “You've always been more of a serial dater. You know. One guy one week. Another guy another week.”

“I just hadn't found the right guy.”

Claudia folded her arms over the front of her cashmere sweater. Jennifer knew it was cashmere because the department store where she worked part-time sold them. They were
super
expensive. Even with the after-Christmas markdown and her store discount, she still wasn't able to afford to buy one. But Claudia had the exact same sweater in three different colors. “But now you have?”

“That's right. I have. I've been seeing someone since New Year's Eve. We met at a party. It was
so
romantic. The clock struck midnight and we were both standing next to each other and he asked if he could give me my first kiss of the new year. How could I say no?”

“Why haven't I seen the two of you together?” Claudia asked.

“We've been keeping things low-key,” Jennifer said, wondering if Claudia was buying any of what she was saying. She tried to keep track of everything she'd said so far. Without a doubt, Claudia would remember every single word of this conversation and then try to trip Jennifer up at another time.

The bell for first class rang and Claudia stepped away from the locker she was leaning against. “I'm glad you've found someone. It's about time! I'm giving a party on Saturday night. Why don't you come?”

It was the first time Jennifer had ever been invited to one of Claudia's parties. She couldn't believe it.

“Thanks for the invite,” she said, not wanting to appear rude.

“So you'll come?”

Jennifer shrugged and answered without thinking. “Sure. Why not?”

Claudia smiled and as her smile grew, Jennifer realized she'd just made a mistake. A big one. Claudia had set a trap and she'd unknowingly stepped right into it. Instantly, her stomach dropped and butterflies began dancing around. The look of glee on Claudia's face was similar to that of a cat who had cornered a mouse and was getting ready to pounce.

“Don't forget to bring your boyfriend,” Claudia added.

“B-b-bring my boyfriend?” Jennifer said.

“That's right. You're a couple, aren't you?”

“Yes.”

“You're not going to leave him home alone on a Saturday night.
Everyone
can meet him!”

“Everyone?” Jennifer gasped.

“You know how big my parties can be! Most of North Ridge High will be there.” Claudia's green eyes narrowed and Jennifer felt like she was being examined under a microscope. “Your boyfriend will be able to come, won't he?”

“Of course!”

Claudia smiled smugly. “Good! I can't wait to meet him.”

As soon as Claudia disappeared around the corner for her first class, with Eden and Natalie right behind her, Violet grabbed Jennifer by the arm, shaking her.

“Are you crazy?” Violet asked, keeping her voice low so no one could overhear her. “Have you lost your mind? What are you doing? You don't have a boyfriend!”

Jennifer's racing heart slowed down. The panic was subsiding and she was starting to think rationally again.

“Not yet, I don't,” Jennifer said with determination. “But I will.”

“By Saturday night?” Violet asked in disbelief.

“By Saturday night,” Jennifer vowed.

“Can you believe the way she was lying to me?!” Claudia exclaimed as she slammed down her lunch tray.

Natalie slid into the seat next to Claudia, while Eden took the seat across from them. Natalie knew Claudia didn't expect an answer. Ever since seeing Jennifer that morning, Claudia had been ranting and raving between classes. And now she had the whole lunch period to do the same.

Usually when Claudia ranted, Natalie just listened. But she was tired of this conversation and dared to ask a question. “How do you know she was lying?”

Claudia looked up from the salad she was drizzling with honey mustard dressing. “Come on! Don't tell me you bought her story? It was so obvious that she was making it up on the spot.”

“Why would she do that?” Eden asked as she opened a container of milk and popped a straw into it.

“She's jealous,” Claudia said smugly. “She's always been jealous of me. It goes all the way back to grade school.”

Natalie didn't know what to say to that. She had always seen Jennifer as being
nice
. She didn't seem like the kind of girl who would be jealous of someone else. But maybe Claudia was right. After all, she'd only been friends with Claudia since freshman year and Claudia had known Jennifer a lot longer than she had. And it really wasn't like she
knew
Jennifer. Over the years they'd had some classes together and they sometimes crossed paths when they were outside school, but it wasn't like they were
friends
the way she was with Claudia and Eden. They hung out with their group, and Jennifer hung out with hers.

Sometimes there were days when Natalie still couldn't believe she was friends with Claudia and Eden. Natalie was considered one of the most popular girls at North Ridge High and it was all because Claudia and Eden had asked her to have lunch with them the first day of school freshman year.

Talk about luck!

Often Natalie wondered if Claudia and Eden would still have asked her to have lunch with them if she were the
old
Natalie and not the Natalie they had met three years ago.

Natalie hated thinking about her life before moving to North Ridge and starting classes at North Ridge High.

Inside, she had always been the same person.

But on the outside . . .

On the outside she had been fat.

And that was how her old classmates always saw her.

As the fat girl.

It hadn't been so bad in grade school — junior high was where it had been the worst. Even after all these years, she could still remember the horrible things they used to say to her — not only behind her back but to her face. She could still remember the jokes they used to play on her.

All because she looked different.

Some days she would run home and lock herself in her bedroom, crying her eyes out.

As a little girl, she'd always been chubby. Her grandmother said she just had baby fat and said that she'd eventually outgrow it. But when she started junior high, the baby fat was still there. It seemed like all her other female classmates were tall and thin, like models, and she still looked like a blob. The girls started dressing differently, too, wearing tiny skirts, high heels, and cute tops, but Natalie wasn't able to transform herself the way that they had. As a result, she looked even more different and everyone noticed, especially the guys, who started calling the other girls for dates.

No one called her.

But they did start calling her names.

She couldn't remember when it started, but suddenly, they were calling her Fatalie. Miss Big Bones. Flabtastica.

One time they called the local pizzeria and had four pizzas delivered to her house. Minutes later, someone called and asked if she had enjoyed the “snack” they had sent over. Another time they sent her a year-long membership to the Pie of the Month Club. They mailed her gift certificates for all-you-can-eat buffets, as well as coupons for Slim-Fast and Lean Cuisine.

She had never done anything to any of them, but for some reason, they decided that she deserved to be laughed at and made fun of. The one thing she
never
did was let them know how much their mean words and jokes hurt. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. And it wasn't like she didn't have any friends. She did, but the girls she hung out with were also considered outcasts. So if Natalie wasn't being teased because of her weight, she was being teased along with her friends. There was never any escape.