Tea With The Queen Bee

Elle Watson didn't need friends. What Elle wanted was attention. She knew it. Everyone knew it. For her, being the queen bee meant everything. Being the queen bee, the most popular girl, meant hiding who she really was. For people to hold that against her... who were they to judge? They had no idea what her life was like. And it was none of their business.

She wandered into the woods blindly. The humidity caused her to sweat. Her blond hair frizzed out from the moisture. She took off her stylish straw hat and fanned her face with it. Honestly, the humidity wasn't the only thing making her perspire. It was the dare. When she completed the dare she would have everyone's attention. No one would ever call her out or cut her down again.

The trees were getting denser. Once she reached the darkest part of the woods she would find a place to sleep, taking pictures to prove she'd stayed the night, and return to those who dared her. Her bravery, her nerve, would silence them all.

There it lay. A fallen tree covered in undergrowth. It was hard to see. This had to be the darkest part of the woods. No light help illuminate the fallen tree. This would be where Elle slept tonight.

As she approached for her picture someone came out from behind the fallen tree. The mass of overgrowth had hidden the stranger from Elle's view. She stopped dead and dropped her camera. The stranger wore black clothing from head to toe. Over the stranger's face snugly fastened was a rubber white rabbit mask. The beady black eyes watched her, waiting for her next move.

Elle started to feel dizzy and she realized she was holding her breath. When had she done that? She let it out, feeling the burning in her lungs subside. Without removing her gaze from the stranger she bent down to get her camera. The stranger held up a black gloved hand. Elle stopped before her fingers could wrap around the camera.

A deep voice came from the mask, the chin moving up and down as if a real face. "Arrogance brought you here, child. You shall leave with modesty."

From behind multiple other trees came more bodies all wearing black and white rabbit masks. Six in all surrounded Elle. A normal person would run by this point, but Elle had never been the bravest girl around. Doing the dare was for attention, so faking the bravery came easily. However, in this type of situation the attention could mean her life.

She stood up slowly so as to not startle the rabbit clan. When people wore masks it usually meant they were hiding their identity which led her to believe they wished to cause her harm.

The wind kicked her hair out of her eyes. She could see the first stranger more clearly. The wind made the ears of the mask twitch as if they were moving on their own. She needed to convince them to let her leave. If she saw the stranger's face maybe they would all give up this sudden attack.

"I came because of a stupid dare," she swore. "I don't want drama. I'll leave."

"Yes," agreed the first stranger. "You will leave. With modesty."

What did that even mean? Hearing more judgmental words from people who didn't know her made her more upset. Her fear dropped slightly. She stood a little taller, finding it easier to talk to them. "You don't know me. I don't have to listen to this."

The stranger squatted so low his butt touched the dirt. With one swift bound the stranger flew through the air and landed directly in front of Elle. It happened so fast she didn't have time to scream. The stranger stared at her straight in the eye. He stood so close Elle could see her reflection in his eyes. It was then that she noticed the mask wasn't made of rubber. It had real fur.

"Miss Watson," the real rabbit spoke, "you shall forever be trapped within these woods. You will never escape. The only way to change your fate... is you must go meet with the Queen Bee."