Meanwhile, Karyn headed to find other cheerleaders. She knew Sarah couldn't have been at the mall alone.
She headed into one of the nearby clothing stores...Sarah had been coming out of one, so they might be in the other. She spotted Melissa Smith, Sarah's best friend, looking at some outfits. Sarah must have come to the mall with her.
"I think that one would look better on me," Karyn said, walking up to her.
Melissa turned. For a moment, she didn't recognize Karyn. Melissa had always thought Karyn looked like she was dressed by a hobo. Being obsessed with fashion, she tended to look at the clothes first. But, even after accepting the clothes matched her standards, it was the face...or rather the expression on it. Karyn's expression and body language were that of a Queen Bee...a leader, not a follower. "Karyn Black?!" She exclaimed.
"I know...you were expecting someone else. But she's out...I'm in. I believe there is an opening for head cheerleader, all of the sudden."
"You can't just declare yourself the Head Cheerleader over all of the rest of us. Besides, Sarah isn't just going to withdraw..."
Karyn laughed. "Why don't you peek out the window?"
Melissa frowned. Isn't Jon her friend? there was something disturbing about Karyn...it was like Sarah got when she thought Tiffany was sleeping with Biff. She peeked out the window. "That's your friend Jon with some girl. I mean, I think it's a girl...she's dressed like a clown." The girl turned. "God...that's Sarah. What happened to her?"
Karyn looked at her. "You have a choice Melissa. You can care about what happened to that loser, or you can care about what happens to me. I don't really care that much. There are dozens of girls in school who would like to hang around with the new most popular girl in school."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Melissa said.
"Well, nothing now...but I have a lot of lost time to catch up on," Karyn said. "It would be easier if you agreed with me, though."
Melissa looked at her. Sarah could be mean sometimes...but whatever happened to Karyn...made her much worse... "I want to go talk to Sarah."
Karyn shrugged. "Wrong choice." She reached into her purse and pulled out a strange device, aimed it at Melissa. It didn't look like a gun, but she heard some kind of strange noise come out of the end. Karyn turned back to the outfit on the rack. "I think I'll buy this one."
"What?" Melissa said.
"Check yourself out in that mirror over there," Karyn said, holding the outfit up to her chest. "I think that helps drive it home."
