history. | SWEET PEA [2]

CHAPTER EIGHT

Note: all commentary in italics is from Alice telling the story to Betty! Also, Melinda's face claim is Lana from her role in Deadly Class!

"WHAT do you mean tell me everything? Betty, what's going on?" Becca questioned again, worry edging into her tone.

"I knew my mom knew about the game...I just never thought..." Betty seemed to still be processing whatever information her mother had told her, "Her and FP played G&G when they were young and Becca..."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. The dark-haired girl waited with bated breath.

"Your parents played with them."

Becca didn't miss a beat, "Tell me Betty. Tell me everything."

---

It was our junior year. Phones had cords, Winona had Johnny, and everything smelled like Teen Spirit. The world was a different place and we were very different people.

Back then, a mystery had just rolled into town by the name of Melinda. Not Melinda Mantle though, Melinda Mao.

She was the new girl on the block, her family moving into an old, abandoned Northside mansion the summer before junior year. They were rich, even more so than the Blossoms, but no one could really tell you what they did. Her family was friendly enough, her mom was even the head of the PTA. But they, along with their absurd amount of wealth, largely remained a mystery.

And Melinda was perfectly fine with that.

"Damn it!" A harsh whisper was heard in the stall of the bathrooms as a loud bang echoed across the room.

Hermione Lodge turned at the sight, concern etched into her features. Beside her at the sinks, Sierra McCoy was currently vandalizing the school mirrors with some lipstick graffiti. Melinda sat next to her, leaning against the radiator and smoking a cigarette. The two had taken a liking to each other after bonding over their hatred for their chemistry teacher, Dr. Beaker. Right now, Sierra was Melinda's closest and only friend.

"Everything okay in there?" Hermione asked cautiously, opening the now-unlocked stall door.

None other than Alice Smith sat there, fully clothed thank god, but looking particularly upset.

"God, mind your own business Hermione! Shouldn't you be in a church?" The blonde-haired girl spat rather sharply.

Hermione ignored the dig at her, instead fixating on something in Alice's hand, "Oh crap girl. Are you...?"

Alice quickly stood up, her shoulder shoving Hermione aside as she stomped towards the sink. Melinda merely raised an eyebrow at the two, fiddling with the strings on her black hoodie. She spotted the pregnancy test in Alice's hand, a foreboding '+' staring back at her.

Oh shit...Alice Smith was pregnant.

The Serpent wiped at her damp eyes, adjusting her black leather jacket in the mirror.

"It's probably a false positive," She blew it off, not quite believing her own words, "It happens all the time."

"Like 3% of the time," Sierra put in, quirking an eyebrow.

"No one's talking to you Sierra!" Hermione shot back.

"What's your damage Hermione? You're not the one who's pregnant here," Melinda defended her friend, crossing her arms.

Sierra shot her a grateful smile as the dark-haired girl took another long drag from her cigarette.

Hermione looked like she was going to retaliate, but Alice let out a shaky breath, tears pooling in her eyes. Melinda saying it out loud only made it more real. She was pregnant, at the age of seventeen, and everyone knew what happened to pregnant high school girls. Nothing good, that was for sure.