Friends Today, Enemies Tomorrow

By: Kimberly Go

Spy World

They cornered me again, and this was their lair! They were coming closer and closer. I took one step back, but that was all I could take. Behind me was a tank, except inside was hot, bubbling lava rising higher and higher! It was time for me to get into action. I glanced up looking for something-anything that could get me out of this mess. Suddenly, something caught my eye. It was a thin rope, but it was out of my reach. I had to climb some kind of thing, and then I would be able to grab hold of it. Wait, they were coming again! I took my belt and quickly used it as defense. I twirled it fast in the air, showing my moves. But somehow, they were countering all my attacks! I mean, of course they were. There were three of them and only one of me. And that's when I saw it. A couple of boxes were lying on top of one each other and that would be my guide to the rope! I did some flips and knocked one of them out like a pinball, while the other two were trying to catch me! I suddenly hopped on the boxes, grabbed the rope, and luckily there was a nearby window! I couldn't believe my luck! I jumped out of the window and landed on fresh, green, grass. I heard one of the enemies arguing with the others because they didn't capture me. Hehehe. I chuckled to myself; it was fun hearing your enemies arguing. I dashed towards the Big Ben and blended in with the crowd so no one could spot me. And yes, welcome to London!...

I woke up from my dream and I wished that I were a spy for real. It would be so cool... But right now it was 2:30 in the morning so I went back to sleep… Tomorrow- I mean later today would be the first day of school!

Meet My So-Called Friend

Sigh, I plopped down on my beanbag chair and turned on my laptop. Oh yeah, we're in New York! My home sweet home. So anyway, let me give you the 411 on me and my life. As you already know, I live in New York. But what you don't know is that my parents are divorced, so it's extra hard for my mom. But my mom is a fashion magazine editor and sometimes I get cool freebies before they even come out in stores! My dad is a rich billionaire and he spoils me a lot too! Also, I have two younger sisters who are twins, and they're both 6. Yup, they're so adorable but they are total evil geniuses. My oh-so-fabulous school is just down the road so I can walk there with my best friends, Kelly and Jasmine. But more on them later. And I haven't told you my name yet, have I? Well, it's Natalie. Natalie Summock.

That morning, I got up and took my usual routine. Eating breakfast, taking a shower, blah blah blah. You know the rest. When I finished, I went outside and started to walk to the usual place my friends and I meet. As I neared the place, I saw only one person waiting for me, wearing a strapless orange tube top, a long, pink skirt with frills and sandals. I guessed that it was Jasmine because I remembered that last year, Kelly had said that she wanted to be a popular. I guess she did, I guess she got her wish and chose them over Jasmine and I. But as I walked towards my friend, I realize that it was Kelly who was there! So if Kelly was waiting for me, and Jasmine wasn't there, then I guess Jasmine became a popular. But then, I saw Jasmine at the end of the street, coming to meet me! Maybe our friendship hadn't spilt up during the summer! We would be friends till' the end in Middle School. But that's when I was wrong, that's when I saw that Kelly wasn't there to meet us.

Popular Much?

I saw the populars also heading in Kelly's direction. That's when it hit me. Kelly HAD became a popular. Kelly HAD chose them over Jasmine and I. I walked towards the popular crowd and decided to talk to them. But Jasmine neared me and whispered something in my ear. "That's not the brightest thing to do… She's gone." I felt her warm breath tingle my ear and I knew what she meant. Kelly had become one of them. The populars had made her one of them, snobby people who were obsessed with themselves…

That day at school, I couldn't concentrate at all with my study, and I got caught twice already and it wasn't even lunchtime! Three warnings and guess what? You get a free detention with Mr. Spit. His name is actually Mr. Crenshaw but he spits every time he talks. Don't even get me started ………

As the lunch bell started to ring, I got a plan. Operation talk-to-the-populars. Dumb, I know. But what was there to lose? As I neared the Popular table I heard one of them saying,

"Hey, look at that freak in black Uggs. Doesn't she know that they are totally out of season? Wait; is she coming this way to our table? Shh, she might hear us!" Jasmine was right. I should have listened to her warn me for half an hour talking about all the NEGATIVE possibilities that could happen. But I couldn't turn back now, never! So as I inched closer to their table, Kelly saw me, smiled, and tried to get my attention! Boy, was I happy that she knew I existed! Then, I heard another one exclaim, "OMG, Kelly, what in the world are you doing? That girl is a total C-list, unlike us, the A-list people!" But I didn't care. As long as my friends still remembered me, I was happy. "Nina, over here! Look, I saved you a seat!" That was Kelly's voice, but who was Nina? I looked behind me, no one. I walked closer to their table and I asked Kelly directly, "Who's Nina?" "You!" she answered. Me? My name was NOT Nina. Was it true? Had Kelly really forgotten my name? It was true, unfortunately.

Paris Shopping

I shrugged and sat at their table. I couldn't believe it. I was actually sitting at the Popular table! The cool crowd! Kelly introduced them to me. She said that I was 'The girl who was so mega rich'. The others were like, 'Ohhhhhh!' How did they know? I wondered. I thought I saw Kelly wink at them but I was too excited to be sure. They asked me to plan a trip to Paris bringing them, all begging with their puppy eyes. Pathetic, I thought. They were just pathetic. But of course, I couldn't say no. Saying no to a popular is like, saying no to the president of the U.S.! It was VERY important. And so, I planned the trip for them……….

We arrived in Paris that weekend, and on the first day, we went shopping, of course! What else would we do in Paris? Thankfully, we arrived in the mall safely, but the populars running around the mall like crazy was not so safe. The running was causing, like, a stampede (almost)! They were fighting over the expensive designer clothes, stealing all the fitting rooms; I've never seen the populars go wild like that! I thought being popular meant you always cad to be calm, cool and collected. But by the way the popular crowd ran all over the mall that day, I was wrong. All I can say is, they were crazy. And by the end of the day, I couldn't walk anymore! The Populars were still running around like mad lunatics. But by the end of the day, they had like, about a million shopping bags in hand! All I bought was a designer Prada bag and some accessories. But it was all worth it. I was finally BFF's with the popular crowd! Yay for me!

Back in the U.S. we hung out 24/7. We had sleepovers almost everyday and being with them was just so cool! We talked about boys, fashion magazines, make-up and stuff that girls talk about. I was beginning to love them like they were my very own sisters! And I couldn't wait to tell Jasmine about all of it!

Forgive Me- NOT!

The next morning I met Jasmine at her locker and when she turned and saw me, she had a frown on her face. "Oh look, it's you. How come you didn't go to the movies with us, Natalie?" Oh, great. Now I was in for it. I was supposed to meet her and some other bunch of guys during the weekend. They were probably wondering why I didn't show up. They must've been worried about me, while I was really in Paris, shopping away… "Sorry Jasmine!" I slapped my forehead slightly. I started to make an excuse. " My gramma Helen came from New Jersey during the weekend and I had to spend time with her. Sorry I didn't call or anything. It was kind of a last minute thing and she was going back to New Jersey on Sunday. I really am sorry." "Whatever." She replied. "Hey, are you coming for lunch? I'll tell you all about the movie..." Uh-oh. I was supposed to meet the populars for lunch! Suddenly, something – or someone caught my eye. She was waving at me. No, it couldn't, not now... But it was! There, standing before me was a popular. She was the most popular of them all. It was Christine. Her hand was waving frantically in the air. I think she was trying to catch someone's attention, but who was it? I turned and looked behind me, but there wasn't anyone. I think it was... Me. " Hey Natalie? I'll save you a seat in English class! What you did for us populars, taking us to Paris during the weekend, we really appreciate it! And what in the world are you doing with a geek? Us populars never talk to geeks. If you want to be one of us, you can never hang out with her again... Toodles!" And with that she turned to the other direction, and started walking like a model with perfect posture. "What?!" Jasmine exploded with anger. "You ditched me for the populars without telling me and you lied to me about your grandmother?" "I- uh, I can expla-" Jasmine cut me off and started to shout some more. "You are despicable, Natalie Summock! From now on we are enemies, you hear me? We are ENEMIES!" Jasmine screamed extra loud on that last word and slammed her locker and stormed off.

Truth or Friendship

I stood there, by myself in shock. Everyone surrounding me just stared... And stared… And stared. Suddenly, I got so annoyed that I screamed at the top of my lungs, " What are you looking at?!" I heard someone say, "She's insane." I didn't care and as the students dispersed, I just slowly shrunk down leaning on my locker until I was all alone in the hallways, sitting on the floor. My tears started to pour in, and a tear slid of my face and landed on the clear floor. Soon, I started crying. I couldn't believe that I just had the biggest fight ever with Jasmine. I mean, we never did fight! Okay, so sometimes we did. But not as bad as this one! I lazily picked myself up and headed to English class. Everything passed like such a big blur.

Soon, the lunch bell rang and I headed to the cafeteria. But the problem was, I didn't know which table to sit at. I made eye contact with Jasmine, my eyes begging for help. But she just turned away and didn't care. 'What happened to our friendship?' I thought. 'What happened to the days of bonding and to our good memories?' I saw Christine waving at me again, and I walked towards the popular crowd table and sat with them. I was one of them now… Or so I thought. I still had to pass some kind of test first. It was like 'Truth Or Dare' but with harder questions to answer. I chose truth, of course. The question was, 'What is Jasmine's biggest secret?' I was like, 'What the-? What did this have to do with Jasmine?' I didn't want Jasmine to be part of this, and I had already hurt her. So I chose dare instead. My task was to walk to Jasmine's table and to pour yogurt all over her head. That was actually worse but if I told them Jasmine's secret, the populars could use it against her later! So I chose dare. I mean, what was there to lose with Jasmine? And I was already this close to becoming a popular. I took a yogurt and opened it. I slowly neared Jasmine's table and I felt as if something was controlling me. My mind flashed back to all the happy times with Jasmine. But there was no turning back now. I slowly poured the pink goo all over her head………..

Total Shockers

The minute I did it, I knew I regretted it. It was truly wrong. She stared at me with her dark, blue eyes. As I heard the crowd laughing and cheering wildly, a tear slid from Jasmine's face, and she burst out crying. She ran out of the cafeteria and I knew how she felt. Like a knife stabbing through her heart. But the popular crowd erupted in many great cheers and loud applause for me! I was one of them now, finally. I could feel the glory rising inside me. I rushed to the popular table and they gave me praise. We would be the best of friends and I knew it. Suddenly, one of them blurted out, "Are you, like, mega-rich? Like a total billionaire?" I was in total shock. My family didn't want anyone to know about it. And I knew that I was the richest in the school. I hadn't told anyone about the secret except for Jasmine and Kelly. It was a secret in our family. That's when it hit me. Kelly. She had been the one to tell them. I knew that for a fact because before I moved into this new town, I was also in the popular crowd in my old school. One of our rules were if there was someone who wanted to be a popular, they had to tell a secret of some sort. Me being rich had been Kelly's secret. And I guess the Truth or dare game was supposed to make me spill Jasmine's secret. But still, they were my friends and I decided to tell them everything. After I finished, everyone looked so astonished. All of their mouths were shaped like a perfect O. Except for Christine. "Hahaha. Nice one, Natalie! She's just kidding, you guys!" I knew for a fact that Christine liked being the center of attention. And now that I had stolen the spotlight from her, she would do anything to get it back. I quickly thought of something to defend myself. "But that's how I get to travel to places. Because I'm rich, I mean." Now, Christine's mouth was also wide open. No one had ever talked back to Christine the way I did. I wouldn't exactly say it was 'talking back' but anything that made Christine speechless was the most important rule of the Popularity rulebook. Christine flipped her hair in perfect motion and exited the cafeteria. She looked confident but I knew that inside she was truly tense…

Pranks… Destroying You

My friendship with the popular crowd had become stronger and stronger each day. I was actually becoming best friends with them, and people in the hallways started to notice me more. But one day in science class, something unexpected happened. One of my popular friends, Chelsea May was taking out her binder from her bag but her binder was soaking wet. "What happened?" Chelsea questioned no one in particular. She poured out everything inside her backpack and everything was drenched! " I demand to know who did this to me NOW!" Chelsea's voice boomed as loud as anyone could ever imagine! Everyone remained silent. Well, that was one mystery we weren't going to solve. I heard a giggle. She sounded like…. Jasmine! And soon pretty much everyone started to laugh hysterically, too! But I wasn't, I stayed side by side with Chelsea. I told them to stop but they just kept on laughing and laughing some more! Suddenly, I saw a little smirk creeping up to Jasmine's face. Did she have something to do with it?

Later on that week things didn't get any better. Someone had filled up Christine's shoes with peanut butter during P.E. Everyone knew because it had caused Christine to shriek so loudly I thought my head was going to pop! Seriously! And soon someone had sent Kelly threatening messages about creating a website telling everyone that Kelly had a crush on the school nerd, Billy Bern. But that was Untrue, of course. All these so-called 'mishaps' had become the number one gossip in the school. Rumors started to spread. But there was one rumor that I hated the most. Someone had blamed me for creating all these happenings. Unfortunately, most of the students had believed it. Who would blame it on me? I mean, I'm a kind, giving person! I had to get to the bottom of this before things got even worse.

Fake Truth

I was in the library doing my homework when I caught a glimpse of an opened computer. It was on a website about the pranks… And me. Of course, they were all mean and bad.