Game Changer

THREE

"What the hell is this?" Courtney sneers at the whimpering girl before her. Her eyes that are wide with fear stare up at Courtney pleadingly.

"What's... what's wrong?" She stutters and Courtney holds up a piece of paper in front of the girl's face, her hands gripping it tightly.

"My assignment topic was on gene therapy, not medicinal plants." Courtney hisses lowly. The rest of us stand by the lockers, waiting for Courtney to finish attacking her victim so we can actually head to first period. After the freshman handed Courtney her assignment which was completed for her, she dragged the girl to the quieter part of the school to... well, do exactly what she's doing right now. There's no point in all of us being here but Courtney did it to intimidate and scare the girl.

It's working quite well.

The freshman's face pales as she stares at the paper in Courtney's hand.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Courtney snaps before crumpling the paper up and throwing it on the floor. She then turns back to the girl.

"Next time I ask you to do something, do it right the first time."

"I'm so... so sorry. It won't... won't happen again," she apologizes and Courtney cocks her head with a pout.

"You bet it won't." Courtney shrugs. She stares at the girl for a second too long, making her squirm, before she turns and sashays over to us.

"C'mon, lets go." She says and we all make our way to the main hallway. I'm walking with a frown, knowing that that girl is not going to be let off the hook so easily. Courtney has something up her sleeve.

"What? Are you just going to let her get away with that?" Ashleigh asks incredulously and Courtney stops dead in her tracks, looking at Ashleigh in annoyance.

"Have I ever being one to let people humiliate me like that without bearing consequences?" Courtney asks rhetorically and Ashleigh purses her lips. Courtney smiles sweetly.
"Exactly Ash." She begins walking again and I suddenly have dread pulling at my stomach knowing that the freshman is going to regret ever agreeing to do Courtney Smith's homework.

You don't play with a snake if you don't know how to treat a bite.

****

Alex doesn't glance my way when I see him in English. I didn't tell anyone that we'll be working at the same place to avoid drama that is unnecessary. I'm not going to let high school drama interfere with my future. It would have been good gossip for the Elite to start though: Alex misses school to work at a children's home... but I didn't tell them.

Now that we sit in English, I can't help but cast a look over at him. He chews on the end of his pen, lying back in his chair in a typical I-don't-care-or-want-to-be-here fashion. Martin mumbles something under his breath and Alex's mouth twists into a smile. I immediately look away from that, knowing that if one of the Elite see me staring at him, they can quite possibly figure out what I'm keeping quiet about.

Miss Rosely turns around, writing something about euphemisms on the blackboard when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and look at as discreetly as possible under the desk.

Courtney: Forward this to all your contacts. xoxo

The message from Courtney has a PDF document attached to it. I look up at my English teacher briefly to see her still writing on the board.  I whisper to Kelcy, "Did Courtney text you?" I ask and she frowns, pulling out her phone and checking her notifications. She nods and I give her a confused look.

"What do you think it is?" I ask and Kelcy shrugs, already making a broadcast list. I sigh, doing the same while looking up when Miss Rosely is looking at all of us. If she catches me, my phone will definitely be confiscated.