Popularity Project: In Progress
Chapter 2
Chapter Playlist: First Time by Lifehouse
Nora began turning around slowly, like they do in the movies when they realize that the serial killer is right behind you. Her eyes swept over the owner of the deep raspy voice and she thought she would die in embarrassment. Harry Styles was holding up his finger where her 'hello kitty' keyring lay dangling and swaying sideways.
She heard someone whisper, "Oh my gosh! Is she serious? That's a Hello Kitty keyring! What is she, two?"
Someone else chuckled at those words and Nora found herself rushing back towards Harry and snatching the keyring from him. She was a little surprised to see that he was not laughing at her at all but was a little taken aback by her hastiness. She opened her mouth to thank him but before she could, she noticed Cassie moving towards him.
Nora didn't have it in herself to mess with the Queen Bee on the first day, so she spun away and began walking really fast before she could be insulted any further.
"Don't let this get to you, Nor. Things could've been worse if you really think about it. I mean, just let it go as a bad day. Ya know?" Nora heard Lily console her as they sat outside during their free period.
"Plus, I wouldn't exactly call it a bad day. I mean, Harry freaking Styles acknowledged your existence!" Beth squealed and clapped her hands excitedly. "Are you sure I can't have that keyring, Nora? I'll pay you thrice the price!"
"Beth, stop being so insensitive! You know that the keyring was given to Nora by her dead father!" Lily piped up, before Nora could say a word. The two best friends began arguing after that, leaving Nora feeling even more out of place than usual.
This is how their conversations usually took place. Beth and Lily went on and on about something or the other while Nora either observed quietly or began daydreaming about Zayn.
And it was Zayn's name that brought Nora back to reality and actually listen in on what the two best friends were saying.
"But we saw her crying in the bathroom, Lily! I'm sure he said no to her."
"That's crazy! I mean she's gorgeous and he flirts around with her all the time. To be quite honest, I think she just wants to be with Zayn to keep up with Cassie's popularity. It must be tough living in her shadow when they are such good friends." Lily seemed quite concerned about this girl.
"Who're you guys talking about?" Nora asked, unable to keep track of the conversation.
"Eva, of course! Haven't you been listening? You remember how she used to kiss up to Zayn just to get in his pants, right? Well, we think he gave her the boot!"
"BETH! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO ASK YOU NOT TO BE SO INSENSITIVE? YOU KNOW SHE LIKES ZAYN!"
"Oh! Right. Sorry, Nor." Beth apologized, abashedly. However, Nora was too mortified to find out that they knew about her huge crush on the hazel eyed boy.
"What? No! Are you guys kidding? Zayn? No. Don't be ridiculous...." Nora blabbered on, trying to deny her deepest darkest secret and hoping they'll believe her.
"Nor, save your breath, would you? We notice the way you look at him." Lily rolled her eyes and began plucking out a grass blade.
Nora was left opening and closing her mouth like a fish, too stunned to believe her friends had caught her ogling Zayn. She pulled her beanie down again as though that would make them forget about the matter.
"We should go to the cafeteria before the bell rings. I don't want to sit near the trash can this year." Beth stood up and began walking away, leaving Nora and Lily to follow her lead.
Nora played around with her salad, while Beth and Lily happily chatted away. They had found themselves a table close to the table reserved for the B&Ks. It was a good opportunity for both Beth and Nora to stalk their crushes without being caught, Lily had observed.
But Nora wasn't comfortable about this at all. After today's incident, she would've preferred finding a seat where she could camouflage herself to the wall.
"Oh my God! Harry bought fries today." Beth pouted, looking down at her own salad and groaning.
Nora stifled a giggle and pretended to choke on her soda instead but Beth had noticed and her eyes narrowed. "Find it funny, do you? We'll see how you feel when you're dieting on animal food for an entire summer!"
Nora didn't retort back cause she knew that her friend had no idea that she had changed her eating habits completely after one of her mother's 'partners' had called her a fat pig and had tried to molest her. If that wasn't bad enough, salads and TV dinners were the only food Nora had to resort to when she did feel like eating because of her mother's many relationships and a tight budget.
She felt nauseous now and all the memories of that disgusting incident rang in her ears.
"I'm gonna go to the washroom. Okay?"
However, just as Nora was about to stand up, she was halted by a piercing scream coming from the next table. She quickly sat back down and turned to watch what had happened.
"How dare you, you little slut! You think you can get away that easily? How dare you sleep with him while we were together?"
"C- Cas, I swear I w- was drunk and-"
"Of course you were, you intoxicated piece of whore! You're just like your drunk, worthless excuse of a mother."
Everyone gasped, including Melody, who had tear stains all over her face as she watched Cassie fuming in anger. It looked like the Queen Bee had gotten herself in a bad situation with one of her bffs.
"You d- don't mean that, C- Cas. Please don't d- do this right n- now." Melody begged between hiccups, looking around at the faces gaping at her in shock and letting a shudder pass down her body.
"Not do this right now? I should scratch your face off! I knew Rick had slept with a tramp behind my back and I dumped his ass the next day. But if I knew you were that promiscuous little fuck, I would've thrown you out of the group a long time ago!"
Melody had her face hidden in the palms of her hands and was weeping her eyes out as she kept begging Cassie to understand. "It was a m- mistake, Cassie, I swear. I'm s- so sorry."
Cassie was shaking so much in rage, Nora could swear she would blow up any minute now. It was a good thing that Rick did not go to the same school as them or things could've gotten worse. Someone spoke up before Cassie could jump on Melody and actually tear all of her hair off.
"Cas, just let it go. I mean, do you honestly think Mel would do that to you on purpose. You guys have been friends since kindergarten. Besides Rick is equally at fault, so why take it only out on her?" It was Harry who had spoken up and Melody took this opportunity to nod her head in agreement.
In her haste to convince Cassie, Melody grabbed her friend's hand, only to be more humiliated when the Queen Bee pulled her hand away and instead slapped Melody hard across her cheek. The noise echoed around the cafeteria as everyone gasped in surprise.
Melody stood there for a minute with her mouth hanging open before turning around and running out to the hall.
Cassie resumed her seat, still red and fuming from the incident that took place minutes ago. She turned to Harry with a broken look on her face to gain sympathy but was taken aback when he got up from his seat and followed Melody out of the cafeteria.
Nora began turning around slowly, like they do in the movies when they realize that the serial killer is right behind you. Her eyes swept over the owner of the deep raspy voice and she thought she would die in embarrassment. Harry Styles was holding up his finger where her 'hello kitty' keyring lay dangling and swaying sideways.
She heard someone whisper, "Oh my gosh! Is she serious? That's a Hello Kitty keyring! What is she, two?"
Someone else chuckled at those words and Nora found herself rushing back towards Harry and snatching the keyring from him. She was a little surprised to see that he was not laughing at her at all but was a little taken aback by her hastiness. She opened her mouth to thank him but before she could, she noticed Cassie moving towards him.
Nora didn't have it in herself to mess with the Queen Bee on the first day, so she spun away and began walking really fast before she could be insulted any further.
"Don't let this get to you, Nor. Things could've been worse if you really think about it. I mean, just let it go as a bad day. Ya know?" Nora heard Lily console her as they sat outside during their free period.
"Plus, I wouldn't exactly call it a bad day. I mean, Harry freaking Styles acknowledged your existence!" Beth squealed and clapped her hands excitedly. "Are you sure I can't have that keyring, Nora? I'll pay you thrice the price!"
"Beth, stop being so insensitive! You know that the keyring was given to Nora by her dead father!" Lily piped up, before Nora could say a word. The two best friends began arguing after that, leaving Nora feeling even more out of place than usual.
This is how their conversations usually took place. Beth and Lily went on and on about something or the other while Nora either observed quietly or began daydreaming about Zayn.
And it was Zayn's name that brought Nora back to reality and actually listen in on what the two best friends were saying.
"But we saw her crying in the bathroom, Lily! I'm sure he said no to her."
"That's crazy! I mean she's gorgeous and he flirts around with her all the time. To be quite honest, I think she just wants to be with Zayn to keep up with Cassie's popularity. It must be tough living in her shadow when they are such good friends." Lily seemed quite concerned about this girl.
"Who're you guys talking about?" Nora asked, unable to keep track of the conversation.
"Eva, of course! Haven't you been listening? You remember how she used to kiss up to Zayn just to get in his pants, right? Well, we think he gave her the boot!"
"BETH! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO ASK YOU NOT TO BE SO INSENSITIVE? YOU KNOW SHE LIKES ZAYN!"
"Oh! Right. Sorry, Nor." Beth apologized, abashedly. However, Nora was too mortified to find out that they knew about her huge crush on the hazel eyed boy.
"What? No! Are you guys kidding? Zayn? No. Don't be ridiculous...." Nora blabbered on, trying to deny her deepest darkest secret and hoping they'll believe her.
"Nor, save your breath, would you? We notice the way you look at him." Lily rolled her eyes and began plucking out a grass blade.
Nora was left opening and closing her mouth like a fish, too stunned to believe her friends had caught her ogling Zayn. She pulled her beanie down again as though that would make them forget about the matter.
"We should go to the cafeteria before the bell rings. I don't want to sit near the trash can this year." Beth stood up and began walking away, leaving Nora and Lily to follow her lead.
Nora played around with her salad, while Beth and Lily happily chatted away. They had found themselves a table close to the table reserved for the B&Ks. It was a good opportunity for both Beth and Nora to stalk their crushes without being caught, Lily had observed.
But Nora wasn't comfortable about this at all. After today's incident, she would've preferred finding a seat where she could camouflage herself to the wall.
"Oh my God! Harry bought fries today." Beth pouted, looking down at her own salad and groaning.
Nora stifled a giggle and pretended to choke on her soda instead but Beth had noticed and her eyes narrowed. "Find it funny, do you? We'll see how you feel when you're dieting on animal food for an entire summer!"
Nora didn't retort back cause she knew that her friend had no idea that she had changed her eating habits completely after one of her mother's 'partners' had called her a fat pig and had tried to molest her. If that wasn't bad enough, salads and TV dinners were the only food Nora had to resort to when she did feel like eating because of her mother's many relationships and a tight budget.
She felt nauseous now and all the memories of that disgusting incident rang in her ears.
"I'm gonna go to the washroom. Okay?"
However, just as Nora was about to stand up, she was halted by a piercing scream coming from the next table. She quickly sat back down and turned to watch what had happened.
"How dare you, you little slut! You think you can get away that easily? How dare you sleep with him while we were together?"
"C- Cas, I swear I w- was drunk and-"
"Of course you were, you intoxicated piece of whore! You're just like your drunk, worthless excuse of a mother."
Everyone gasped, including Melody, who had tear stains all over her face as she watched Cassie fuming in anger. It looked like the Queen Bee had gotten herself in a bad situation with one of her bffs.
"You d- don't mean that, C- Cas. Please don't d- do this right n- now." Melody begged between hiccups, looking around at the faces gaping at her in shock and letting a shudder pass down her body.
"Not do this right now? I should scratch your face off! I knew Rick had slept with a tramp behind my back and I dumped his ass the next day. But if I knew you were that promiscuous little fuck, I would've thrown you out of the group a long time ago!"
Melody had her face hidden in the palms of her hands and was weeping her eyes out as she kept begging Cassie to understand. "It was a m- mistake, Cassie, I swear. I'm s- so sorry."
Cassie was shaking so much in rage, Nora could swear she would blow up any minute now. It was a good thing that Rick did not go to the same school as them or things could've gotten worse. Someone spoke up before Cassie could jump on Melody and actually tear all of her hair off.
"Cas, just let it go. I mean, do you honestly think Mel would do that to you on purpose. You guys have been friends since kindergarten. Besides Rick is equally at fault, so why take it only out on her?" It was Harry who had spoken up and Melody took this opportunity to nod her head in agreement.
In her haste to convince Cassie, Melody grabbed her friend's hand, only to be more humiliated when the Queen Bee pulled her hand away and instead slapped Melody hard across her cheek. The noise echoed around the cafeteria as everyone gasped in surprise.
Melody stood there for a minute with her mouth hanging open before turning around and running out to the hall.
Cassie resumed her seat, still red and fuming from the incident that took place minutes ago. She turned to Harry with a broken look on her face to gain sympathy but was taken aback when he got up from his seat and followed Melody out of the cafeteria.
This is gold!!! I need more of thisssss!! YUS
4/17/15