Veronica pulled into the parking lot of good 'ole Neptune High. Her car had been acting a little sluggish this morning so she was pretty happy that the LeBaron had made it because she just knew something was off kilter about the engine. Unfortunately if her financial projections held true, she probably wasn't going to have enough money for automotive rehabilitation until at least the next equinox.
Eric Jones, star running back for the football team was shoving a cupcake into the face of some geeky freshman who was carrying a microphone to the AV room. Ah the football team, she thought. Their sophomoric wit. They never cease to slay the rest of the student body with their infectious humor. The things those silly kids do just for fun. Shaking her head she turned away from the frivolity as the remaining members of the offensive line – an apt name for such an illustrious group – dissolved into fits of laughter. Turning back around, Veronica realized that the hapless nerd had fallen into one of the rose bushes and was pricked by the thorns. Poor kid; it can be hard to see with frosting covering your glasses. By default, jocks being mean to the weaker kids was an inherent right of passage in high school, but it was so much more caustic when the cultural and financial divides were added into the mix. She really hoped that this unfortunate encounter wouldn't cause the freshman to think of suicide but rather would cause him to revisit how he chose to spend his mornings before class started. He would be much safer in a science lab somewhere conjuring up an emulsion or trying to hack into the pentagon.
As she entered school, the cool air from the air conditioner afforded her a brief respite from the climbing temperatures. Walking through the halls she passed the same typical repetitive scenes that she had been trying to ignore since freshman year. Dick Casablancas appeared to be tipsy if not outright drunk. She wondered fleetingly if that was from yesterday's BBQ or if he really started his morning by pouring beer on his corn flakes. Carmen was dreaming aloud about her upcoming trip to Puerto Rico. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Logan wink at some blonde. That harpy Mandy chick was going on and on about her latest quest to save some other furry creature. Veronica continued her journey to her locker with her mask of indifference firmly in place.
She knew that she was just marking time in high school. Wishing it would all be over soon and that she'd be free, off at college leaving all this behind. Her desire to get admitted to Stanford was the little ember of hope in her heart. For now, she just had to ignore the insanity around her and bide her time.