Jenna hates this. She doesn't know how celebrities do it. She stands close to Lacey and tries to take deep, calming breaths as they get out of Lacey's car. Camera flashes are everyone and loud voice blend together. They seem to be doing pretty well until they get to the front door, where paparazzi crowd block their path. Jenna is going to be sick if she doesn't get inside. Once again, she hates large crowds. This is a huge crowd and she's getting a headache, her breathing is getting heavier, and she really does feel like she's going to throw up. She needs to get inside NOW!It turns out that Jenna had every reason to be worried about school. When Lacey parks in her usual parking space, paparazzi immediately crowd around the car. Lacey growls and mumbles a few Spanish words under her breath, motions for Jenna to stay in the car, then steps out and pushes photogs aside as she walks around to the passengers side. She opens Jenna's door and helps her friend out of the car, kicking the door shut before they begin walking toward the front entrance. Jenna keeps her head down, taking Jo's advice and not answering any questions.
"Yo rasgar tu cabeza si no mueve!" Lacey snaps, grabbing one photographer by the front of his shirt. She pushes him out of the way and soon the others start moving as well. Lacey gives them a threatening stare and grabs Jenna's arm, opening the door and walking inside. Jenna breathes a sigh of relief once she is away from the paparazzi. Of course, that relief almost immediately goes away. Other students and even school faculty stare at her. Some with jealousy, some with sympathy, and some with amusement. A few students whisper as they watch her. Two students in particular, Anna Dalton and her equally snobby follower, Layla Smith, whisper and giggle as they watch James Diamond's girlfriend.
"Lace, people are staring." Jenna whispers.
"Ignore them." Lacey says as they walk to their lockers.
Jenna sighs as she looks at the picture of James that she keeps in her locker. It was taken during a recent Pop Tiger photo shoot. She really likes the boy, but all this attention really makes her feel uncomfortable. She wasn't meant to be the center of attention. She's suppose to be quiet, geeky girl that no one notices. Being famous is not her thing, yet here she is. She barely managed to get inside her school because paparazzi were crowding the entrance, asking her questions and taking pictures of her.
"I can't believe those paparazzi are here for you." Brian says, coming up behind Jenna. "I was walking from my car and they were asking me who you were, but no worries, I didn't say a thing."
"Thanks." Jenna says, closing her locker. "Let's get to class."
They walk upstairs to their History class and when they enter the room, more whispers and stares follow. Jenna sits in her usual seat and puts her History book in front of her. Someone taps her on the shoulder and she turns around, coming face to face with Anna. A smirk is on the "queen bee's" heavily made up face. If she's not picking on Lacey, she's messing with Jenna.
"I watched the news." Anna says quietly. "Are you really dating James Diamond, the hottie of Hollywood's hottest new boy band?"
"I would be pretty jealous if I were you, Anna." Layla laughs. "Any girl would be lucky to date that boy."
"I'm just surprised." Anna insists, pushing a strand of blonde hair away from her face. "I mean, Jenna doesn't really seem like his type. I don't mean to be a downer, but I've heard he's kind of a player. You might want to watch out, Jenna. He might end up breaking your heart. He has done it before and I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again. You don't wanna be his next victim, do you?"
"He wouldn't do that." Jenna insists. "I know the magazines say that he's a player, but he's really sweet. People just need to get to know him before they make any assumptions because he's not a bad guy."
"I heard that she's BFF's with Jo Taylor." Marcus Santiago calls out.
"Jo Taylor? Dude, she is so hot! Jenna, if you ever talk to her, tell her that I'm single and looking for a pretty girl." Aaron Parker calls out.
"She has a boyfriend." Jenna answers. "She's dating Kendall Knight."
"He's one lucky guy." Aaron says, shaking his head. He's obviously disappointed that he has no chance with Jo. As for the attention Jenna is getting, it feels wierd yet really exciting. She has never been popular, yet all the cool kids truly seem interested in her today. Most of the time, they either ignore her or make fun of her, but now they seem to care about her life. They're mostly curious about James and her new celebrity friends, but she has gotten the attention of the most popular kids in school. That's a big deal for her.
"Hey, why don't you hang with us some time? Maybe even have lunch with us today." Anna suggests.
"You've never asked me to sit with you before." Jenna says carefully.
"Well, we're gonna give you a chance." Anna tells her. "You seem pretty cool."
From a distance, Lacey and Brian watch as their friend chats with the cool crowd. They look at each other with uneasiness, not feeling too good about this.
"It's so cool that you and James are dating." Anna says as they walk to the "popular table."
"He's a really sweet guy." Jenna smiles as they sit down. "And he's nothing like the tabloids make him out to be. He's not a jerk, he's not self absorbed, and he's not disrespectful to women. When I first met him, he was so nice."
She can't believe that she's sitting at the popular table. She has never sat at the popular table before. It's off limits to anyone that isn't considered cool. Jenna, Lacey, and Brian usually get their own table with just the three of them, but the popular table is completely filled. The tables at Lincoln High School's cafeteria are circular and have five chairs each.
"What are the other guys like? I am completely obsessed with Carlos." Another popular girl, Amanda, says dreamily. "He's so cute and I love how he always wears that helmet. I love me some hockey players."
"Please, Carlos would never date you." Anna smirks, smiling in satisfaction at the insulted expression on Amanda's face.
"I'm sure he would date her if he was single." Jenna says, coming to Amanda's defense.
"Why do you hang out with Lacey and Brian anyway?" Layla asks her. "They're not exactly at the top of the social food chain. But you're pretty, smart, you're dating a celebrity, and your sense of fashion isn't all that bad. Could use a few adjustments, though. Maybe we'll go to the mall after school and buy you a few nice things. We want you to look super hot for your new man."
"Yeah, no offense, but you can't go out with a celebrity dressed like that." Anna says, examining Jenna's outfit. Jenna frowns at Anna's jab at her fashion sense. She's wearing jeans and a Lincoln High School T shirt, while Anna is much more stylist. The girl is wearing a denim skirt, a pink tank top, and a yellow blazer with some long and layered necklaces. Maybe she's right. If she's going to fit into James's world, she needs to dress correctly.
"We'll fix you up." Amanda says, touching Jenna's shoulder.
James looks at the clock on the wall. He thought that Jenna was going to stop by, but it's almost five and she still isn't here. He hopes that she's okay. Los Angeles is big, there's a lot of traffic, and car accidents aren't uncommon. He's not really a worriesome kind of person, but he does worry about people he cares about. He hopes that Jenna wasn't riding home from school and got into an accident.
"She's probably just a few minutes late." Kendall insists. "Calm down."
James sighs as he collapses onto the bright orange couch. He looks at the clock again, desperately wanting to know where his girlfriend is. Where is she? She told him that she was going to come over and stay for a couple of hours, but they'll be lucky if they even get to spend one hour together. Really, James is starting to get really concerned.
Just as he's about to call her, the door bursts open and she walks into the room, a bright smile on her face. James frowns at her attire. Pink mini skirt, tight fitting white T shirt, and a denim blazer, as well as light brown sandals. She looks hot, but this isn't her. She looks like something straight out of that Mean Girls movie and honestly, James doesn't like it. Hey, in most cases, he would love a girl dressed like this, but he doesn't like when girls dress a certain way if it's not their style. He believes that people should just be themselves.
"Whoa." Carlos and Logan say when they see Jenna.
"Hey, guys!" Jenna says happily.
"Uh, Jenna?" James laughs nervously, dragging her into the bathroom. He locks the door behind them and looks at her with disbelief. "What are you wear? This isn't you at all! You look like one of the Jennifers! You hate the Jennifers!"
"Jay, when I was at school today, things were different." Jenna says, sounding like her normal, sweet self. "For the first time in my life, I was popular. People that have always ignored me want to be my friend. People want to hang out with me. It felt really good, you know? I don't want the attention to go to my head, but it feels really nice to be noticed."
"I know." James says softly, stroking her cheek. "But I think you need a reality check. Jenna, those people that supposedly want to be your friend, they don't like you for you. They like you because of the people you've started hanging out with. Me, Jo, the guys...Jenna, they just like you because you know some famous people. You don't want friends like that. You want real friends. Lacey, Brian, me, the guys, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie are your friends, not those other people."
Jenna sighs as she wraps her arms around her waist. She kind of gets where he's coming from, but being popular is an amazing were following her around all day, talking about how cool it is that she's dating James and befriending stars like Jo. She's still a regular girl, but maybe she could turn all this negativity of losing her normality into a positive.
"I just want people to like me." She says, burying her face in his chest. "You and I are from two different worlds and I just want to fit in."
She seriously thinks that she doesn't fit in with James and his friends? He can't believe that.
"Seriously? Jenna, me, the guys, and everyone else at the Palm Woods are just as normal as you. Kendall, Carlos, Logan, and myself, we're just four hockey players from Minnesota. This is the home of the future famous. We're not huge stars yet. We're getting noticed, people know who we are, and paparazzi like to take our pictures sometime, but that doesn't make us any different than you. You don't have to be something you're not just to fit in with us. All you have to do is be yourself and your friends will love you for that."
"Really?" Jenna asks, pulling James's face closer to hers.
"Really." James says, holding her hands. "You don't have to change for us."
Soon, their lips are connected and being popular suddenly doesn't seem so important to Jenna anymore. Yeah, being popular for a day was cool, but she's going to be herself from now on, just like James told her. Today, she wasn't thinking about the fact that James and his friends were all normal before they came to Hollywood. Now they're becoming famous singers and actors, but they're still the same people they've always been. They just happen to have a glamorous job.
"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING IN THERE?" Katie yells, knocking on the door. "I need to brush my teeth!"
"We'll be out in a minute!" Jenna laughs, grabbing James's hand and unlocking the door. "Okay, we're out."
"Thank you!" Katie says, walking past them.
"Let's go to the pool." James whispers to Jenna, kissing her cheek as they walk out the door.
"I feel ridiculous for thinking that I couldn't fit in with you and your friends." Jenna says, taking her blazer off. She pulls her hair into a low bun and takes her glasses out of her new black leather purse, putting them on. She usually wears her contacts, but sometimes she likes to change around and wear her glasses. She feels kind of embarrassed, though. Because they make her look way more geeky than usual.
"You're just nervous." James says, touching her cheek. "All this stuff is really new for you. You just got a little scared."
"I guess." Jenna says as she is pulled into his arms.
"Other than the Jennifers, people around here really like you." James tells her. "Even Bitters said that you seem like a nice girl. There was a little sarcasm when he said it, but I'm going to pretend that he really meant it."
"Haha, very funny." Jenna giggles as she kisses him.
James smiles softly. He doesn't want Jenna to feel like she has to change for him. He really likes her for who she is and he wouldn't want her any other way. She doesn't have to wear fancy clothes, hang out with "cool" people, or act a certain way to make him happy. If she did that, she would be just like all the other girls in this town, but who she is right now is what makes her special. He remembers a song by the Backstreet Boys, called What Makes You Different, that reminds him so much of Jenna.
"You're special." He whispers in her ear.
"You really mean that?" Jenna says softly as her boyfriend stops singing.
"Yeah." James smiles, kissing her shoulder. "I really do."
When Lacey yelled at the paparazzi in Spanish, I used an online translator, but I don't know if it's exactly right. The words are right, but I don't know if the sentence is said correction.
Translation
Yo rasgar tu cabeza si no mueve: I will rip your head off if you don't move