It was her own fault, really. She shouldn't have been talking about it so openly. She'd been bragging a little bit, she could admit that. When Mrs. Bennet, told them that their book report had to have a visual aid, most of the students in Sarah's class automatically began planning their posters, a few powerpoints, the usual-and boring-high school projects, but she had a better idea. Impressed with her own cleverness, she practically skipped to lunch to pitch her idea to Jimmy: a cake decorated to look like the cover of the book she was presenting on. Of course, she would do all the decorating if only he would please, please bake it for her; she didn't want to make her classmates sick with her cooking. They made plans right there in the middle of the cafeteria with no regard to who might be listening in, and that was how Sarah found herself watching in disbelief as Lee Kanker, holding a cake of her own, volunteered to be the first to present.
She sat through the presentation in stunned silence, hardly hearing the words. Every time she made eye contact with Lee, the curly-haired Kanker's grin grew a little wider, leaving no doubt in Sarah's mind that she'd done this on purpose. By the time the presentation was done, Sarah was fuming. How dare she! Even with Sarah declining a slice, the cake was gone in no time. The redhead stared down at her own project with a frown. She thought she'd done a pretty good job decorating it, but now she wasn't so sure.
She put it off as long as she could, but Mrs. Bennet finally called her up to present toward the end of class. She gave her presentation quickly, glancing to the teacher when she finished. Mrs. Bennet rubbed her chin.
"Well, Sarah, I don't know how many people want a second slice, but if anybody does they're welcome to it. Honestly, I can't believe two of you brought cakes in the first place! That's never happened."
"Well, that's what you get when someone steals ideas," Lee called from her seat in the back.
Sarah bristled. "You stole my idea, Kanker!"
"Girls! Settle down or you'll both have detention." Mrs. Bennet glared at them both, eyes flicking back and forth. "Serve your cake and have a seat, please."
Kevin was the first in line, blowing a kiss at her as he left with a slice. She rolled her eyes, serving out a measly three more slices before the line ended. She felt bad. Lee's might have looked nicer, but she knew for a fact that Jimmy's cake tasted better. Hardly anyone would get to try it and it just wasn't fair.
With a sigh, she took the leftovers back to her seat. As she moved to sit down, Lee's foot shot out and shoved her chair. Sarah managed to catch herself, and the cake, before either one could fall, but when she straightened up, she discovered a long smear of icing across her front. Lee let out a snort, and something about that smug sound was the last straw. Lifting the cake high over her head, she brought it down onto Lee's pretty, red curls. There was a moment of silence, broken only by the squishy noise of icing splatting on the tile, and then Kevin was laughing his ass off.
"Did you see her face?!" he cackled. "Oh, my god!"
The football captain's approval seemed to be all the rest of the class needed, and the room exploded with noise. Lee wailed, most of the students laughed, and Mrs. Bennet beat her hand on her desk in an attempt to regain order. Sarah cocked a hip out, arms folded low across her stomach, and smirked.
"I just figured that since it was your idea, you should get all the credit. No hard feelings, right?"
Twenty minutes later, the two redheads sat five seats apart outside of the principal's office. Lee sported a black eye and a bleeding nose, and shot Sarah dirty looks over the wad of tissue she had pressed to her face to catch the blood. Ignoring the looks, Sarah nursed a split lip and a throbbing shoulder. Jimmy was sure to be disappointed in her, and she would put on a repentant face for him, but right now all she could do was grin. The door to the principal's office opened, and Mr. Green ushered them in with a sigh.
"Hello, Sarah. Nice to see you again. It's been, what…a month?"
"Something like that." She brushed past him.
Once both girls were seated, he shut the door and settled in across the desk from them. "Now. Tell me what's going on."
Lee jabbed a finger toward Sarah accusingly. "This crazy bitch attacked me just because I stole her presentation idea!" she shouted, and the three days of suspension was completely worth hearing that confession come out of her mouth.