It’s day 105 at Felix Marino Senior High school, man they should have a red carpet for an event as scandalous as today. No, but really, let’s just get this out of the way before I continue my pessimism any further. Basically, for all you junior detectives out there, school sucks. I hate it, it’s the unavoidable truth. Ugh. I have no point in attending such a vile, distasteful community. I’m a slave to this world. I don’t get what’s not to like about this lifestyle. Is it the vivacious eraser scent that looms in the hallway or the lovely, endearing aroma of the boy’s locker room that attracts most? So, you get my point. I go to the lamest school on, like, the entire planet. You can accuse me of being an avid complainer, but only after you’ve spent a day in the life of a sixteen year old teenage girl at FMSH. Please, be my guest!
“HEY!” An obnoxious, supermodel skinny blonde flashed a smile that could blind an entire crowd, in my general direction. You could tell by the way she flaunted her narrow hips and pointed each jeweled Prada encased foot, that she thought she was ‘it’. In a way, she sort of was… but there was absolutely no need to advertise it like the walking Chanel billboard she was.
“Hi Rhiley” My voice was monotone, as usual. I couldn’t disguise my lack of interest in our upcoming conversation, my eyes were like glass- you could see right through me.
“OMG, you HAVE to come with me today. I swear, I saw the cutest sweater yesterday at the mall. Actually cuter than cute; its adorable! Can you say SHOPPING SPREE!” She gushed.
“Rhiles, hun, you said the exact same thing last week, except it was about that dress… remember? Does that ring any bells?” I thought about rolling my eyes, but no way would I dare to risk hurting my best friend’s feelings. Way too delicate. Believe me, I’ve experienced her tearing up firsthand, guy after guy, I wouldn’t exactly call it a pleasant experience… if you catch my drift.
Rhiley frowned, but immediately un-scrunched her forehead, when she realized she was putting her flawless complexion in risk of- dare I say the word- wrinkles. Ugh, just the sound of it gives me shivers up and down my spine. “Hmm, well dear, don’t think twice about trying to tunnel your way out of this one… we need to get you a dress anyways.” She smirked that evil, scheming, smirk of hers; shimmering Juicy lip gloss and all.
I gave her a look, as if to suggest thoughts of her losing sanity. Honestly, I didn’t have the slightest clue of what she was talking about.

She shrugged her shoulders, as if to play along. Ugh, I hated when she acted so difficult like this! What was with all the relying on innuendo? Uh, wake up call, time to be real, people! Her eyes darted past mine and a few feet down the hallowed hallway. I knew her too well to assume that she was ‘innocently glancing’. This was her way of discreetly dropping me a hint.

As much as I despise these little games everyone here plays, I was all too tempted to play along now. My eyes swiftly darted two lockers down from mine, then instantly regretted it. A certain someone’s eyes were staring right back, but it was no innocent glance.

“OH!”

I got it; finally, it hit me like an enormous Chloe tote bag in the face. ”EH, I don’t think so Rhiley! I know what you’re thinking and it’s a definite no-go, like, no question. Nuh uh, nope, not happening. Have a good day, see you in English! Toodles!” I strutted down the hall, not that attention attracting hey-look-at-me-everyone sort of Rhiley strut, but more of a fierce sort of runway strut; graceful, but with an appropriate touch of arrogant swagger.
“Ana, oh please, Ana… seriously? Stop acting like your five.”
“Uh, you should talk.”
“Alright, well my deepest apologies, but really it’s so obvious. He’s into you!” The gigantic megabuck smile she’d been trying to contain finally fought its way to the surface. She was grinning from one diamond studded ear to the other.
I sighed then closed my gold-dusted lids before I continued. I was only going to say this once. “Rhiley, there’s no chance. Don’t even think about it.”
She angled her delicately chiseled chin towards the marble hallway surface. Her jaw was set on a harsh line and her eyes screamed intimidation. She nodded her head, “Alright.”
“Glad that’s settled,” I said, but I knew there was more; she wasn’t going to let me off this easy.
“So, who is it then? Hmm… is it Cliff Hammond?” Her brown eyes eyed me suspiciously.
“Hah, no, we’re just friends.” Honestly, I was being truthful. I felt no significant attraction to Cliff, and I’m sure that went both ways. Nice guy, good looks, but not for me… end of discussion.
“Girl, see that’s your problem. They’re all ‘just friends’ to you. Don’t you see it? Any guy like Cliff would be lucky to date a girl like y-” She was temporarily cut off by a group of lacrosse studs, who obviously thought they were hotter than the sun. Oh boy.
“Looking good Rhiles” The cute dark haired boy in the black Ralph Lauren polo winked, and nodded in our direction.
“Aw, you’re sweet. Love you too Colden” Rhiley blew him an air-kiss, as she waved like the princess she truly was. Cut the act already, enough is enough.
I scrunched up my nose in repugnance, “Uchh, what a tool.”
Rhiley’s eyes widened and her mascara laden lashes blinked in disbelief. “Do you know who that was?! Seriously Ann, you’re hopeless, boo.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the nearest ladies room, for a quick hair and make-up check. There were probably ten other girls fighting over the lack of mirror space, but Rhiley; being Rhiley, just pushed them all out of her way.
The silver glass in front of me reflected a girl. There was no denying she was attractive, but nothing special. Her sea green eyes were skeptical, but they sparkled in the light… if you caught her at just the right angle. She had nice hair too, light golden brown, like the color of a lion‘s mane; just skimming her tanned shoulders in length. But what set her apart from the other girls surrounding her was not her modest appearance, it was the way her eyes were constantly searching. Just looking for an answer to all the questions, trying to find an escape route in this frenzied haven… where it was quite obvious she didn’t really fit in.
She wasn’t the shallow type. Or am I? Well the real question is… who is this girl?
To be completely honest, I don’t have the slightest clue either.

Chapter two.
On the way to English class, Rhiley was practically chewing my ear off about this new boy; Colden. Whom which she seemed to have oh-so-innocently-wrapped around her French-manicured index finger. Although I was barely paying attention to the words coming out of her mouth, I did learn quite a bit about this new boy. He was a sophomore; so he was in our grade, he plays lacrosse and just transferred from Miami. Oh, and most importantly, he was single.
“You should get on that Rhiles” I said, reading her mind. After eight years of being best friends, I knew her too well.
“Um, seriously An. I have Chase.” She looked down at me smiling at the thought of her almost-boyfriend.
“Oh… right. How could I forget” I honestly can’t keep track of her guys anymore, she goes through too many.
“Annie, I think he’s into you” She gushed.
This caught me off guard. “What… huh? Who?”
“…Colden” The corners of her lips curled up in a sneer, as if this was totally obvious.
I laughed so loud, people stopped to stare and pinpoint the location of what could possibly be so funny that they were missing out on.
“What?” Rhiley bit her lip, to contain her laughter.
I kept laughing, then I finally caught my breath enough to speak. “You seriously think a guy like Colden, would date a girl like me?!”

Rhiley stopped walking abruptly. She gave me narrowed eyes, and her expression was so cold, I seriously got a chill down my spine. Rhiley was little miss confidence, and she was always positive. She absolutely hated my pessimism, it was the absolute one attribute she could not bear to overlook. So what, I like being realistic, and if she mistakes that for negativity? Well, cool.

I mean, she practically has a license entitling her to be positive all the time. Her life is the epitome of perfection. She has the perfect family; one older sister who is practically her twin. So not only does she get double the clothes, but she always has someone to count on. For me, it’s just me and my mom. Well, that’s if my mom decides to even come home at night. One time, she didn’t come home for an entire four days. I was this close to calling the cops. But, anyways. Back to Rhiley and her perfect life. Besides being the most beautiful and sought after girl in our school, she’s also the most popular. And she’s athletic too. Co-captain of the varsity soccer squad. You were probably picturing her as one of those airhead good for nothing blondes, right? Too bad she’s ranked number four academically in our entire class.