The ride was quick, and silent, and with a friendly wave Jon's mom bid her goodbye. "Love you sweetheart. See you after school!"
With a sigh, Jon turned and looked at the redbrick building. This would be her first time crossing that threshold as a girl, and even though she'd prepared by studying her schedule and looking over her classwork it was still very intimidating. She walked in during 1st period, but on her way the bell rang releasing the hoards of students into the hall. With a sigh she began returning to her locker only to come face to face with Sarah and one of her bitch squad cheerleaders. Jon clenched her jaw while Sarah sneered, but before anything else happened the other girl spoke up.
"Marie! I missed you yesterday, where were you?" Sarah and Jon both seemed surprised and shot the girl perplexed looks.
"Uhh... Ma...no Montanna! Hey how are you? Umm, I did too." Jon spoke softly and returned her curt hug. He could see Sarah crossing her arms while she tried to figure out what was going on.
"Ahhh! You finally got your braces. Those colors are too perfect, and your nails too! You really went all out. You better keep them for homecoming!" She holds Jon's hands while she inspects she shorter girls nails. "It's a shame no one will be able to see them under the costume, you did so good with these!"
Jon could only smile timidly. "Oh! yeah... thanks. It's just that I'd rather not be wearing the braces at all. They're so uncomfortable." She shot daggers at Sarah as she spoke.
"Oh I know, I remember when I had braces. It's a shame your mom couldn't afford them until now, but it'll all be worth it before too long! It was for me." A pregnant pause held in the air before Montanna broke the silence again. "Hey, you're spending the night with us after the game right?"
Sarah gawked, and Jon's mouth dropped open. "Oh, well. No. Probably not this weekend, but thanks. I... uh... I really wish I could?"
Montanna was beginning to pick up on the hesitation and glanced between Sarah and Jon. "Well, I'll tell you what, We can swing by the mall Saturday, and catch up then!" Before Jon could respond, she began to walk off. "I'll see you later! Uh! and your braces, I'm so glad for you!"
The girl smiled so genuinely, that Jon couldn't help but smile back, her full toothy, shiny smile. She quickly snapped her mouth shut as Sarah and the girl walked away. "I guess I am still the mascot, and I'm in with the cheerleaders now?" She grumbled her frustration and began to make her way to her second period class. Her thoughts were filled with how to worm her way out of being the mascot this Friday, but not much was coming to her. The best thing she could think off was to ask Bryan, the previous mascot if he might want the job he never had back...
While she troubled over her own problems, Sarah and Montanna walked through the halls together. Montanna was silent at first, but before the pair walked into their next class she stopped Sarah at the door and confronted her friend. "Ok, what was that about?"
"What?" Sarah retorted, legitimately surprised at her gall. Sure Montanna was a close friend, but she was rarely confrontational.
"Don't give me that!" She lectures. "I know you think Marie's just a dork, but you've never treated her like that before. Did something happen that I should know about? I don't like it when my friends fight." She crosses her arms stubbornly.
"She's just... She has something... I..." Sarah was simultaneously annoyed and appalled. She couldn't think of what to say, and she was annoyed at how rude Montanna was being. In spite of her indignation, none of her usual quips were coming to her. She hadn't expected this behavior from Montanna. She was always the quieter one.
"Look Sarah, We've been friends since forever, but so have Marie and I. If you have a problem with that, then I want you to tell me."
Finally Sarah relents and gives her a lip service answer. "Montanna, she's being giving me a hard time recently, and I'm not going to deal with her attitude."
Montanna's sighs, and offers a little laugh. "Oh don't lie, you've probably been a bitch to her too haven't you?" Sarah bristles at the statement, but doesn't respond. If it were any other girl, she'd probably have put her in her place, but Sarah held her tongue. Montanna had always been her confidant, her shoulder to cry on. The two had met during elementary gymnastics, and had been close friends ever since. At first Sarah had thought Montanna was following her around just like the other less popular girls. She thought she just wanted to ride the wake of her superior charisma, but when she broke her arm in jr. high, it was Montanna who rode with her to the ER. When she was cheated on by her freshman year boyfriend, it was Montanna that stayed with her all weekend and cheered her up. Time and again, their friendship had just always meant a bit more. Even so, Montanna usually just fell in line, and now she was lecturing her out in the open hallway.
She gives Sarah a playful push. "Listen, Whatever this is about, you two are both my friends, and if that means anything, you'll work it out. You don't even have to like each other, but please, please, please don't be mean to each other?" She looks Sarah directly in the eye. "Please?"
"Oh fine... " Sarah relents. While she was calm on the outside, inside was a flurry of ambivalent emotions. Should she be mad that "Aggie" has stolen such a dear friend, or happy that Montanna seems so much more outgoing. Should she actually do as Montanna asked, or keep the pressure on until those twerps break. She clinches her fist in class. "Damnit!" She thinks to herself. "If it were any other girl... I'd just brush them off. Why you? Why'd it have to be you Montanna?"
Sarah was just as distraught later that evening in PE when Montanna vouched for Karen's integrity and convinced Mrs. Arden to let her back into the girls locker room. That's not how this was supposed to work! Karen could come back into the girls locker room once she handed over the stone. She watched with frustration, but didn't dare try to contradict her friend in front of the teacher, at least not without good evidence first. Maybe another wish was in order?
Montanna jogged over to Sarah after waiving goodbye to Karen. "God, can you believe it? Some bitch trying to say that Karen was perving on the other girls."
"Yeah?"
"Who would say something like that? She's so sweet."
"Yeah..." Sarah could only grind her teeth. "How do you even know Karen?"
Montanna looked at Sarah curiously, and perhaps with a bit of suspicion. "Well, besides the fact that we share, like, four classes, she's a good friend of Aggie's. We've hung out a few times. I thought you knew this?"
Sarah just shook her head. "It must have slipped my mind... Montanna?"
"Yes?"
"Where did you meet Aggie?"
Her friend looked at her with concern and spoke hesitantly. "Uhh... 6th grade gymnastics. She wanted to be a cheerleader but when she couldn't do the moves she became the mascot instead... You know this Sarah, what's up with you today?"
Sarah just shook her head. "I guess... It's just been a long week. "
"Well you better be ready for this Friday. Our captain can't be having off days so close to homecoming!"
