Masked Girls

17. RUTHLESS

Well, shiitake mushrooms. What do they say, fake it till you make it?

"Fishy?" I frowned. "You mean, like someone set them up? But Gillian's post definitely emitted her vibes. No one would've - "

"No, not that kind of set-up," Angeline shook her head as her blue eyes flickered to the entrance of the lecture theatre, "Hey, look."

I looked - and I understood what she was talking about.

As Gillian, Lisa and the Castle twins entered, the rest of the cliques remained glued to their mobile devices or focused on their conversations. Normally, one or two wannabes or cliques would be all for acknowledging their presence, yet today, there was nothing. No Cass, no Julie, no one trying to please them with extra small talk besides the mandatory 'good morning' greeting. With their general reputations and disciplinary trouble, their clique had dropped in (unlabelled) ranking - all the way down to the status of any regular clique. They had been stripped of their titles and dumped into a world of commoners now that everyone no longer found a need to respect those who couldn't even stay out of trouble.

That was the tricky thing about being a 'cool kid'- while you were golden, upon the untouchable pedestals, getting away with everything, everyone loved you, worshipped you and egged you on to whatever daring escapade you had planned. But one slip up - just one, and the commoners would be just ready to stone you to death for their own gain.

Now that their natures had been unveiled and the Tyrannical Trio had been dethroned one by one, there was no cause for respectful fear any further.

The Populars acted normal, still looking pretty and glamorous - after all, acting perfect was their best talent - but anyone with half a brain could figure out that they were so not impressed by the situation that they'd landed themselves into as they went on their way through the school. Perhaps the single beneficiary of my handiwork was Addison, who seemed to have taken over as the boss, being the dominating, currently-not-in-trouble member of the clique. It wasn't much for a clique of their pariah status, but it was perhaps a promotion from being a follower to the others.

One, two, three. Natalie, Gillian, Lisa. The Tyrannical Trio was no more, just a fragmented, scowling, seething hot mess, revealed to be the snakes that they were, caught as they shed their skins.

I'd done what I'd once thought was impossible, beating them in three consecutive rounds. With this, I'd opened up a new world of possibilities and opportunities for myself and the other cliques.

I kept my face as neutral as could be, preventing a smirk from appearing on my face while Angeline was around. "Then what do you think happened?" I asked, feigning ignorance. After all, this was my chance to find out what the general public thought about this issue via Angeline, who was definitely more socially acceptable then I was. 

"I think someone somehow sabotaged Natalie, reported Gillian... but Lisa... I don't understand," Angeline shook her head as she spoke. "Yeah, they're definitely not perfect people or anything but whoever the snitch is, they're really making an effort to humiliate them."

Damn, that obvious?

"Well, I guess we should never underestimate the power of spite? Or jealousy? I don't know, dude."

"Well, whoever did this is definitely obsessed with this popularity stuff," Her volume dipped at the words.

Damn, she was actually mad about it? 

Regardless, this conversation had clarified the unfortunate truth - Angeline Whittaker was not my friend, now or ever. Her worldview was so vastly different from my own, and she held a certain maturity or moral high ground that I did not possess or comprehend. She despised the Populars and social drama, and yet she still hated my snitching, viewing it as something low and despicable. Well, good for her that she believed she could simply ignore the world around her in its state and focus on herself - but I was not her, and a life of indifference and neutrality did not satisfy me.