From a corner of the room came faint, carefully muffled sounds…
Ten minutes later, Karen smoothed her messy bangs and hurried out of the library.
Mike hadn't been completely "devoured" by her, but still—credit where credit was due. This girl was bold. And she knew exactly what she was doing.
Karen knew that with Regina looming over everything, there was no way she could have Mike all to herself. So instead, she decided to sneak a little taste first.
Despite her angelic face, this girl was far from innocent on the inside.
And from her, Mike picked up a few hints about Regina's plans.
That said, Mike had zero interest in the backstabbing and mind games between girls.
That part disappointed Karen a bit.
She'd originally hoped to kill two birds with one stone—sample something new and pull Mike over to her side.
Just as she slipped out through the side door, she turned her head and saw Gretchen standing by the entrance, arms crossed.
Judging by the look of it, she'd been waiting there for a while.
Gretchen still carried herself with the same effortless elegance. She glanced at her slightly guilty best friend and said softly, "Regina asked me to come find you."
Earlier, Karen had left without checking in with Regina.
She'd already tried to keep her time with Mike as short as possible, but apparently Regina wouldn't even allow that much personal space.
At that moment, Karen's annoyance with Regina's need for control flared up again. She tempted her quietly, "Gretchen, are you really okay with being Regina's little sidekick forever?"
"There's nothing wrong with that," Gretchen replied calmly, giving nothing away.
"Fine," Karen sighed. Her attempt at recruiting her friend had failed, and she felt a little deflated. Then she blinked her big eyes pitifully, half-flirting, half-testing the waters. "You didn't see anything just now… right?"
Knowing how ruthless Regina could be, Karen really didn't want her finding out about her little "snack" with Mike.
Seeing Karen act cute like that, Gretchen shook her head slightly. "Relax. That's between you two. I won't say a word."
With Gretchen's promise, Karen immediately went back to her carefree, innocent act.
Still, the crescent-moon squint of her eyes betrayed her true thoughts—she wasn't nearly as calm as she looked.
The two of them headed toward the senior hallway, one after the other.
Suddenly, Gretchen stopped and turned back to look at Karen again.
"What is it?" Karen asked, instantly nervous, like a startled bunny.
Seeing her reaction, Gretchen smiled faintly, pointed at her lips, and said, "Your lipstick's smudged. You might want to touch it up."
After that, she walked off like nothing had happened.
As Karen fixed her makeup in silence, she felt like she was seeing her quiet best friend in a whole new light.
Based on that little moment alone, Gretchen definitely had a sly, sharp side to her.
---
Meanwhile, punk-girl Janis and the flamboyant Damian tracked down Cady, who had stormed out of the cafeteria, in the girls' bathroom.
"Are you okay?" Damian asked with concern. "Did the Plastics mess with you? I'll go get revenge for you~"
Damian had a short fuse. As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, ready to throw hands.
"I'm fine," Cady said, grabbing her friend's arm and shaking her head.
There was a bitter look on her face.
If she was being honest, the Plastics hadn't really bullied her.
She'd had the upper hand—and she'd blown it herself by trying to be too clever.
"As long as you're okay," Damian said. He had zero shame about being in the girls' bathroom.
After comforting Cady, he added, "You guys talk. I need to use the restroom…"
Ignoring the dirty looks from the other girls inside, he casually walked into a stall.
Janis flipped an internationally recognized hand gesture at his retreating back, then turned to Cady and asked seriously, "What were you thinking? Why did you even go near Regina and her crew?"
Cady wasn't sure how she should feel herself. After thinking for a bit, she decided to tell her best friend everything that had happened in the cafeteria.
When Janis heard how Regina had tried to manipulate things to break Cady and Mike apart, she exploded. "That bitch Regina—she's still just as disgusting as ever!"
After venting, Janis calmed down and asked, "So what are you going to do now? Are you really planning to stay with the Plastics?"
Having someone to talk to helped Cady cool off.
This time, she thought long and hard, her gaze slowly hardening. "I've made up my mind. If Regina wants to scheme against me, then I'll beat her at the thing she's most proud of."
By now, Cady had more or less figured out how the girls at this school operated.
She planned to turn the other two members of the Plastics against Regina, replace her, and take the queen bee crown for herself.
Next, Cady laid out her entire plan for Janis, asking for her thoughts.
After hearing it, punk-girl Janis looked genuinely intrigued.
"This is genius…" she said excitedly.
After that, Janis seriously broke down the weaknesses of the three Plastics:
Karen—no brains…
Gretchen—no backbone…
Regina—that nasty bitch…
Just then, Damian came out of the stall and happened to overhear their conversation.
He pulled Cady aside and whispered, "Cady, are you sure about this? You need to be clear on what you actually want. If this is all for Mike, you don't have to get tangled up with the Plastics at all."
When Cady froze, Damian lowered his voice even more. "And don't take everything Janis says at face value. Regina hurt her pretty badly back then…"
Cady knew a bit about Janis's orientation already.
Hearing that her friend had a past with Regina, Cady's curiosity kicked in. "Can you be more specific?"
When Janis first started high school, she'd actually been pretty normal—just like any other girl.
She carefully kept her attraction to girls buried deep inside.
Until Regina, pretending to be a close friend, coaxed that secret out of her.
After that, rumors spread through the entire school.
Having her private life exposed to everyone hit Janis hard.
That was why she eventually turned into the heavy-makeup, punk version of herself.
But before Damian could finish spilling the tea—
Janis shot him a death glare and gritted her teeth. "Are you really sure you want to say that?"
Seeing her on the verge of snapping, Damian shrank back and raised his hands in surrender. "Nope. I don't know anything… haha~"
He let out a couple of painfully awkward laughs.
From their reactions, Cady could tell that this was a painful memory for Janis, so she dropped the subject.
The bathroom meeting came to an end, and the three of them walked out together.
Suddenly, Cady asked, "Do either of you have anything pink?"
Janis glanced down at her all-black outfit and shrugged, clearly useless.
Over there, Damian grinned smugly. "I've got several pieces. Want one?"
Looking at his over-the-top style, Cady got instant goosebumps and waved him off. "Never mind. I'll think of something else…"
After all, tomorrow was Tuesday—and Plastics members had to wear pink.
read more inpat***
belamy20