Friend Worth Fighting For?

Rebecca Graham walked through the halls of Harnew High School, intent on getting to her next class on time.  She was running late, a direct result of staying up too late studying with her friend, Kesha, for her Physics exam that day.  However, after waking up on her kitchen table, she managed to get ready fast enough that, if she sped up her walking pace a little, she could make it to Physics before the bell rang.  Rebecca quickened her steps and rounded the corner of the hallway that led to Mr. Ramirez’s classroom.  

Mr. Ramirez was the strict but fun Physics teacher, and Rebecca’s favorite.  He played games to teach them lessons and had loads of interesting stories about his 32 years of teaching.  He had taught everywhere from an island in Indonesia to a remote village in a mountainous region of Alaska before moving to the small town of Harnew, in Connecticut, where Harnew High needed a new Physics teacher. 

Rebecca was hardly 15 feet from her class when a hand came out of the bathroom and pulled her in.  Stumbling, Rebecca looked around and saw that she was surrounded by the most popular girls in school.  They were called the Alphas and no one messed with them.  Instantly intimidated, Rebecca turned to leave but found her way out blocked by two more Alphas.  

“What do you want?” asked Rebecca, trembling with fear but trying not to show it.  

“Oh, don’t be scared, Becky,” said a voice from the back of the crowd. “No one is going to hurt you.  We just want to have a little talk, that’s all.” 

“Where are you? Come out from back there,” demanded Rebecca, straining to see through the crowd.  Then, the group parted, and Rebecca sucked in a gasp of air. The girl who had spoken to her was Jennifer, the alpha of the Alphas, the queen of the school. 

“Hello, Becky.  I would chitchat, but I'm running late. So, let’s make this snappy. “

“Excuse me?” Rebecca asked.  She was extremely confused about what was going on and why she was wanted here.

“Well, you know your little friend, Kesha is it?”  said Jennifer as she filed her long, sharp, perfectly manicured fingernails. 

“Yes, I do,” answered Rebecca.  She had no idea where this was going.  Kesha was top of their class, headed for valedictorian.  She was president of the student council, and not because of her fashion choice or expert makeup style.  Kesha was a natural-born leader and a genuinely nice person.  People liked her, and it wasn’t hard to see why.  Jennifer was head of the junior class in the student council and had run against Kesha for president.  Maybe she still held a grudge? Rebecca didn’t know.

“Well, just the other day, I filed with Kesha a proposal to make the hemline length requirement shorter.” Here, Jennifer’s face grew sour. 

“She turned me down. She told me that the student council had more important things to do than change the dress code. Kesha said that in front of the entire council. It didn’t make me very happy.”

“What do you want 

to do about it?” Rebecca wondered aloud.  Here, Jennifer smiled, tilting her head to each side as though she was thinking, her red curls bouncing from side to side.  

“Well, I want revenge.  She made me look like a dummy in front of a lot of people.  I want to do the same thing to her.  I want to embarrass her in front of everyone.”

Hardly daring to look Jennifer in the face anymore, Rebecca whispered, “And how do I fit into that?” 

A cruel, cold smile spread across Jennifer’s perfectly made-up face.  “I want to be the one to embarrass her.  You would make it hurt the most.  And that’s what I want this to be-painful.”

Slowly gaining confidence in herself and her friend, Rebecca spoke clearly and proudly. “Why would I do that for you? You are a miserable person and Kesha is my best friend! Why would I hurt her?”

Jennifer’s face turned 50 different shades of purple.  Gritting her perfectly white teeth and walking slowly towards Rebecca, one stiletto-clad foot at a time, she said “You will do this because, if you don’t, I will embarrass you, worse than you could ever imagine.  I will make you Wish. You. Were. Dead.” 

With every word, Jennifer had stepped closer to Rebecca, until she was standing so close that Rebecca could see every individual false eyelash on Jennifer’s face. Rebecca’s confidence slipped away until she was practically shaking with fear of Jennifer and what she could do to her.

With that, Jennifer spun around and went back to filing her nails. “So, I’ll see you later.  I’m thinking that, right when school is over when everyone is at their lockers together, you say something about how old-fashioned and boring Kesha is, and how much you wish that I, Jennifer Albans, had one the election. Okay? Okay. Bye now.” 

Jennifer waved Rebecca out of the bathroom and back into the hallway.  Finally, Rebecca made it into the Physics class.  Walking towards this classroom seemed like it had hours, days, YEARS earlier.  Rebecca knew it was going to be a long day. 

And it was.  Each class stretched for days, and passing periods took even longer.  Rebecca knew she had bombed that Physics exam, and she didn’t even care. Finally, the final bell rang and school ended.  Standing by her locker, she saw the Alphas walk to a spot less than ten feet away and stop.  Jennifer looked Rebecca in the eyes and nodded. It was time.

Rebecca had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.  This could be really bad.  But, she took a deep breath, braced herself for the worst, and nodded back at Jennifer.

Rebecca started walking through the pod. “Hey guys, aren’t you all so glad that Kesha was elected the student council president? I mean, look at all the great stuff she’s done so far!” 

Rebecca risked a glance at Jennifer, who was standing still with a look of equal parts shock and anger on her face.  Clearly, no one had ever disobeyed her before.  That made Rebecca feel stronger.

“Kesha has already redone the classrooms, fixed the bathrooms, and raised more than $1,000 with different bake sales, carnivals, and dances! I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year will look like, can you?”

Students all over the pod cheered and nodded their agreement.  Rebecca found Kesha’s eyes in the crowd.  She looked so happy.  It made Rebecca’s heart soar to know that what she had said meant so much to her friend.  She might have made an enemy, but at least she had a friend to fight with her.