He sits at the head of the table, golden hair pushed off his face, icy eyes glimmering with mischief and mirth in whatever sick joke he just thought of, yet would not dare to share. One hand pressed against the back of his girlfriend, Kaira's, seat, the other under the table, resting on the leg of Penelope Rose. All eyes watching, his position in the room perfect for receiving as much attention as possible.
But that was why he was top of the list. And that's why I desperately needed to put an end to that.
Since the first day of freshman year in 1987 at Rutherford Academy, a list would be posted on every noticeboard in the school. A list of the names of every pupil, ranked in order of popularity. Even when Montgomery was a freshman, he'd been number one. No matter what scandal or rumour was circulating, he was always first on the list.
I had moved quite a bit over the past three years, going from number 587 to number 78. Since the middle of sophomore year, I hadn't moved from number 78, unlike my best friend, Harriet.
She'd gone from 900 to 734 over freshman year. Then, 34th in the first month of junior year, 15th after New Year's Eve, then 2nd. Then her name was never written on the list again.
So, with my final year of high school approaching, it was all too clear what I had to do. The plan was well thought through, with little room for error and I was eager to execute it.
For it was time to begin the dethroning of Montgomery Kaiser, king of Rutherford Academy.
Hail the king.
RADISH EXCLUSIVE