HBIC: Head Barbie in Charge

23 - Renew

ALLY'S GOT A MAN. Chanté wasn't the only one who could sing about it. What a way to start off the new year—healthy, happy, and in love. It felt so good to see all of her hard work finally come to fruition. To think, all she had to do was mock Bunny in order for him to realize how childish his feelings for her truly were. He had set his sights on a little pampered princess who would have only used him to get what she wanted and had landed a real woman who would do anything she could to elevate him.

No longer faking her desire to pursue a career in baseball, she now had ample time to invest in his. With his talent and work ethic and her love and support, he was set to become the next Alex Rodriguez. This was the big day—the first tryout. He had been filled with nervous energy all day, but her soft touch alone gave him the boost of confidence he needed. Football and basketball had the better, more popular athletes but come mid-February, he would be giving them a run for their money.

It was his turn to bat. She shrieked and clasped her hands together like a proud mother, just knowing that he would hit it out of the park. The outfielders made the appropriate adjustments, inching their feet back in preparation for a fastball. Max tightened his grip on his Louisville slugger, giving the pitcher an intimidating stare underneath the brim of his blue Melrose Aces cap. It was Ally's idea to dress him in the school's athletic gear in order to impress the coach. The pitcher heaved the ball, and as expected, Max hit it far over their heads. Coach Douglas appeared pleased, but no one more than Ally. She leaped from her seat on the bleachers, prepared to cheer him on until her throat grew hoarse. That's what a good woman was supposed to do, rather than build a Barbie empire with no real king to rule it with. "Thank God," she whispered to herself as Max leisurely jogged from base to base. Thank God that Max's dream was coming true and that he had finally allowed her to be a part of it. If he hadn't come when he did, Ally would have still been at the mercy of his love, dressed as a stick of cotton candy, hoping it would appease him. He wanted her for her and that was all she had ever really wanted.

A vibration coming from her phone disrupted her celebration. She responded to the name on the screen with an eye roll. It was only a matter of time. "Hello?" she spat into the receiver.

"What did you do?"

Ally chuckled as Max's potential teammates high-fived him. "I'm doing fine, Imani, and you?"

The next thing she heard was a deep sigh at the end of the line. "Tell me it's not true, Ally. Tell me you didn't give up your Head Barbie status."

A smile crept up on Ally's lips as some of the boys behind the dugout turned their attention to her. They had all heard her cheering Max on and probably wanted to know if he was chopping down the baddest chick on campus. She hadn't given him that yet but when she did, it would make him wonder why he had ever passed her up. She waved to him and they all licked their lips in response. "What do I need with it? I got what I wanted."

"What?" she asked cluelessly.

"Max."

"Maxwell? Wait a minute, Ally, I thought he didn't like you like that."

"Well, now he does," she confirmed. "He doesn't like blonde hair and pink clothes. He wanted a real woman so I ditched the costume. Deal with it."

"Ally, you've done a terrible thing."

Ally rolled her eyes to the sky. She was never going to let this go. "Oh, Imani, get over it. It's over. Bunny won. Let her do her little Head Barbie thing. It's just a little high school clique. It doesn't mean anything."

"It means everything once it's placed in the right hands. They've always looked down on us, Ally. The Ghetto Barbies have never gotten the respect they deserve. When I was in the clique, they looked at us like the poor man's Valley Girls, a group of girls that want to be relevant but weren't. I was hoping you would be the girl that made them into something, but I guess I was wrong."