In the blink of an eye, Monday arrived. With the school's summer league set to kick off next week, talk about football had clearly ramped up around campus.
The football players themselves became instant celebrities.
Even Little George—normally the kind of student who daydreamed or slept through class—started getting special treatment from teachers, all because he wore a football jersey.
Meanwhile, Cady officially began her revenge arc.
At lunch, she pulled out a bottle of drink and handed it to Regina. "Regina, this is a weight-loss drink my dad brought back from Africa. I wanted to thank you for taking care of me lately, so please take it."
"Do you think I need to lose weight?" Regina shot back immediately.
That single sentence froze Cady's smile in place.
Before Cady could figure out how to respond, Regina casually picked up the bottle and poured herself a cup.
"Hmm, it tastes pretty good," Regina said after sipping the yellow-orange juice. She studied the bottle. "What language is this?"
The label was written in a foreign script Regina couldn't read.
"It's Vietnamese," Cady lied calmly. "People there are so skinny because they drink this stuff all the time."
In reality, the "sports weight-gain drink" had been specially picked out for Regina by Janis at the department store where she worked.
And honestly, if Regina had thought about it for more than two seconds, she might've wondered how Cady's dad—who'd been working in Africa—ended up bringing back Vietnamese products.
But what girl could resist the promise of a slimmer figure?
Regina pretended she understood the label and nodded. "I really like the ingredients. Very healthy…"
Truth be told, Regina already had a naturally lean, youthful figure. She didn't need to lose weight at all.
But hearing that still made Cady secretly thrilled.
"Really? If you like it, I'll bring you one every day," Cady promised enthusiastically.
"Are you trying to suck up to me?" Regina asked, narrowing her eyes.
She stared at Cady until Cady started feeling uncomfortable—then suddenly laughed.
"Fine. You've earned my friendship again."
Relief flooding through her, Cady discreetly flashed an OK sign toward Janis, who was sitting in the corner of the cafeteria.
Step one: ruin Regina's body.
Plan successful.
---
That afternoon, before outdoor practice began, three figures snuck into the cheerleaders' locker room.
Damien, who wasn't exactly passionate about tormenting Regina, said, "You guys go ahead. I'll keep watch out here."
Cady and punk-girl Janis slipped inside. After finding Regina's cheer uniform, Cady pulled out a permanent marker, ready to scribble all over it.
Janis shook her head—clearly not satisfied. She pulled out a small pair of scissors and gestured a bit.
Then, to Cady's shock, Janis cut two huge holes right into the most prominent parts of the uniform.
Mission complete, Janis excitedly dragged the others to hide around the corner, waiting to watch Regina embarrass herself.
Not long after, Regina entered the locker room.
She picked up the damaged uniform and, without a second thought, put it on.
Wrapped in confidence, Regina somehow managed to look just as stunning—even in a torn outfit.
Down the hallway, Janis cursed under her breath, "Bitch…"
At that moment, Mike walked toward them from the other end of the corridor. Regina smoothly stopped him and asked, "Mike, what do you think of my outfit?"
With Regina's figure, anything she wore looked amazing. Add in her unique presence, and the effect was undeniable.
"It looks great," Mike said honestly—though he was clearly complimenting her more than the clothes.
"Thanks~" Regina winked at him and strutted off, satisfied.
Their exchange didn't go unnoticed. Plenty of students saw the two biggest names on campus talking in the hallway.
With Mike's stamp of approval, Regina's bold, edgy outfit suddenly became trendy.
Before long, other girls started cutting two holes into their own outfits, copying Regina's look.
Step two: destroy Regina's charm.
Plan failed.
---
Hiding in the corner, Cady avoided Mike and said dejectedly, "Maybe… we should stop going after Regina."
She'd meant to ruin Regina's image, but instead had accidentally helped her steal the spotlight in front of Mike—again.
"No way," Janis said through clenched teeth. "There's no way that bitch Regina gets to win forever."
She pulled out a box of makeup and handed it to Cady. "Give this to Regina. I'm going to ruin her pretty face."
"What is this?" Cady opened the box and sniffed it. It smelled faintly pleasant—but she hesitated. "This isn't something illegal, right? You're not trying to disfigure her, are you?!"
Cady disliked Regina, but she wasn't cruel enough to permanently ruin someone's face.
"What are you thinking?" Janis said quickly. "It's hemorrhoid cream…"
Hearing that, Cady immediately slammed the lid shut in disgust.
Still, as long as it wasn't actually dangerous, she decided she could live with it.
Before long, Cady found Regina on the field and enthusiastically handed over the "makeup."
Regina glanced at the unmarked container, smelled it, and accepted it without question.
She even encouraged Cady. "Good job. You're finally learning how to survive in the Plastics. Keep it up—maybe soon you'll be second-in-command."
That day, thanks to two "gifts," Cady successfully grew even closer to Regina.
---
On the football field, Sam was warming up in full pads.
It was clear he'd recovered well since the fight. Having learned his lesson, his personality seemed calmer too.
Not long after, Aaron—thinking about team harmony—brought Sam over to Mike.
With Aaron watching, Sam swallowed his pride and apologized to Mike again.
Seeing Sam's shifty eyes, Mike felt bored more than anything. He had no interest in stirring up trouble anymore.
After Aaron and Sam left, Little George leaned over. "Sam's definitely up to something. I know his type."
"Let it go. It's in the past," Mike said, shaking his head.
When it came to evaluating running backs and safeties, the quarterback's opinion mattered most.
After weeks of practicing with Mike, Aaron had already gotten used to Mike's blocking.
But once full-contact drills started, Aaron was shocked to realize something—
Sam wasn't even as good as Mike.
So after finishing a round of practice, Aaron—thinking about the team's performance—once again went to talk with Coach George.