A/N: Before we get started, I wanted to mention that the time period for this is probably around the 2000s because I will include flip phones, but the style is still 1989. Enjoy!
September 19
Dear Diary,
Today marks the end of my third week as a Lady of the Court. I thought being friends with Mal, Audrey, and Evie might make my life easier. While it did clear the problem of kids picking on me, it's also brought about a whole new set of challenges.
Uma pressed her pen against the page and closed her journal on top of it. She pushed the book into her locker and reached for the small door, but she stopped short when she caught the eye of a stranger in the small mirror which sat inside of her locker. She didn't wear her glasses anymore, and she now applied makeup every school-day morning to keep up with the standards expected of her. Her wardrobe was revamped as well. Her teal blazer was rather restrictive, and she felt the need to pull down her grey skirt every two seconds because it was so short. It never budged because the belt was pulled too tightly around her waist. Her braids were trapped in a scrunchie-held pony tail. The only comfortable parts of her outfit were the black converse and knee-high socks. At least they fit properly and covered up some of her legs.
Uma tried for a friendly smile at the vaguely familiar reflection. She may look different, but she knew that she was the same person underneath the razzle-dazzle. Right?
"Hey, Uma." Uma slammed her locker shut and turned to her side to find Gil. He seemed more reserved than usual with his hands shoved into his jean pockets and shoulders tensed up.
"Hey Gil," Uma greeted her friend with a smile as she leaned against the lockers. "What's up?"
"Oh, not much," Gil replied, staring at the floor. If Uma didn't know any better, she'd think he was nervously trying to ask her out. She found this was the case with more people than just Gil. Everyone treated her differently just because she was friends with Mal, Evie, and Audrey. Gil ran a hand through his free-flowing hair and said, "I was just thinking it's been a while since we've hung out."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Uma sighed. "It's been hard for me to find time recently, but we should definitely rent a DVD or something real soon."
"Great," Gil grinned, relieved and relaxed since Uma was still talking to him like a friend. "You free tonight?"
Uma's expression fell. "I can't tonight," she admitted solemnly. "I'm going to Audrey's after school."
"Oh, um," Gil stuttered, his nerves coming back. "Tomorrow night?"
Uma exhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes, annoyed at how difficult this was becoming. "I can't. Mal is dragging me to Chad's homecoming party."
"Wow, er…" Gil trailed off, mustering up the best smile he could. His eyes darted all over but never landed on Uma's, and it scared her how much their friendship had changed over three weeks. "Maybe some other time."
"Totally," Uma agreed enthusiastically, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Gil. I wish we could hang out this weekend, I really do."
"Nah, it's fine," Gil shook his head, and Uma let herself believe that he actually was okay. "You're with the Ladies of the Court now. That's pretty darn exciting."
"It's whatever," Uma said, dismissively waving her hand like it was no big deal. She was about to say something else, but she was interrupted by an increasingly familiar voice behind her.
"Uma, Mal needs you in the Caf, pronto," sang the ever charming voice of Evie. Gil took that as his cue to leave, giving Uma a quick wave before walking down the hall to the library. Uma rolled her eyes and turned to Evie with a fake smile.
"How very," said Uma.
The two began a slow walk to the cafeteria, making small talk along the way. Of Uma's new friends, she found Evie to be the least ruthless. She had that picture-perfect school girl personality down to a T. Her cheerleader pep was in no way faked, and she was more committed to her studies than the other two in her squad. Uma could barely stand Audrey and Mal without Evie to balance it out, which is why Uma dreaded days like today. She'd be alone with Mal and Audrey at the ladder's house while Evie completed community service at the middle school.
"Why can't you just skip today?" Uma whined, already in a sour mood just thinking about helping Audrey pick the best shade of pink while Mal pestered her about how superior purple was.
"I've told you before, I'm a role model to some of these kids," Evie gushed proudly, clapping her hands together. "They're like the next generation of the Ladies of the Court."
"Great," Uma replied sarcastically before adding to herself, "Just great."
Evie may have been the least ruthless, but she was still ruthless in her own way.
When they finally entered the cafeteria, Uma was hit by the usual wave of blurred voices. Back when she was a nobody, she'd keep herself entertained during lunch by just listening. She never cared about the conversations, but she focused on the minute details of each voice. Thanks to her uncanny ability to impersonate anyone–taught to her by her mother–Uma could probably take on the voice of anyone in the lunchroom after years of just listening.
Nowadays, she hated picking out voices and listening to what they had to say. The nice thing about being a nobody was that people didn't usually think to talk about you behind your back. No one cared. Now that Uma was practically high school royalty, her name was frequently in people's mouths. Things that people used to only say about Mal, Evie, and Audrey now applied to her. For example:
"I'd love to be her boyfriend." Some boys now said that about Uma.
"I wish I could sit with her at lunch." Uma was often made uncomfortable by the envy.
"What a stone-cold bitch." Uma has yet to do anything horribly wrong since she climbed to the top of the social ladder, but she's still a bitch by association.
"I'd like to kidnap one of them and photograph her naked in an abandoned warehouse and leave her tied up for the rats." Uma avoided going anywhere near people who said that.
"What do you want, Mal?" Uma inquired boredly as she and Evie sat at their lunch table opposite of Mal and Audrey.
Mal pulled out four clipboards with a proud smirk and said, "Guess what day it is."
"Lunchtime poll?" Uma guessed, pulling a fry off Audrey's lunch tray and popping it into her mouth. Audrey didn't mind; she wasn't actually planning on digesting it anyway.
"Of course!" Mal replied, pushing the clipboards forward so everyone could take one and read it over. Audrey and Evie were making murmurs of agreement and praise, but Uma quirked her eyebrow.
"This is the stupidest question I've ever read," Uma deadpanned.
"I didn't ask for your input, Shrimpy," Mal snapped back, and Uma shrugged in response. Mal still insisted on using that insulting nickname. It irked Uma to no end, but it gave her more practice in hiding her anger. Mal rolled her eyes and continued, "The yearbook committee gave me a difficult topic this week–" she gave Audrey a pointed glare "–and I did the best I could. Just ask people the question and record their answer."
"Aye aye, captain," Uma drawled, picking up her clipboard and standing up to begin her rounds. However, she didn't get two steps in before she stopped dead in her tracks. She was frozen to the spot by a pair of icy blue eyes on the edge of the cafeteria. They were watching her from across the room, through the crowds and the clutter. She racked her brain for the voice that matched the eyes, but nothing came to her. She thought that was impossible.
"Must be a new kid," Uma thought to herself.
"Shrimpy, come back for a sec," Mal called her back, and Uma blinked herself out of her temporary paralysis. She turned around, forgetting about the blue eyes, and gave Mal her attention. "I need you to give me your best impersonation of Chad Charming."
Uma didn't bother asking why. She pursed her lips together, took one look at the jock in question sitting at his table with the rest of his football team, and took a deep, phlegmy breath through her nose. Then, in his voice, she said, "Hey man, you wanna go beat up some geeks after school?"
"Very nice," Mal said, a devilish gleam in her green eyes. "But I need something a little more flirty." Uma gave her a confused look, but Mal was already beside her before she could object. She put a hand on Uma's shoulder, clenching just a little too tightly, and led her over to a support beam near the football table. They didn't look at the jocks, and they went unnoticed by the boys as well, but Uma knew what Mal wanted her to do: listen.
"Okay, you're in a babe sandwich," Chad proposed to the table, his mouth full of food. "Pick your top and your bottom."
Uma tried to push past Mal. "I do not want to hear this," she stated.
Mal pulled her back by her elbow and chastised her in a whisper, "Just do it. Audrey will come around any minute to do the poll, and Chad will practically fall at her feet. Keep listening."
"What do you need a flirty Chad voice for anyway?" Uma asked, leaning against the beam.
"I'll explain later," was all Mal said before Uma went back to eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Mal Chandler on top, and Uma Sawyer on the bottom," said Jay smugly, and Uma visibly cringed. There was a perfect example of her name coming up in a conversation that she'd much rather be left out of.
"My God, that's gross," Uma mumbled.
"At least he has taste," noted Mal with a shrug. She clearly wasn't as bothered as Uma was by being apart of Jay's threesome fantasy.
Chad took his turn to answer his own question. "I'd have to go with Audrey below and Evie above," he said before taking another bite of his hoagie. As an afterthought, he asked Jay, "You seriously think Uma would bottom?"
Jay shrugged, "Only one way to find out."
"Punch it in!" Chad exclaimed, fist bumping Jay while the rest of the table laughed.
Uma tried to walk away again, but Mal pulled her back once more. Mal gave her a stern glare, and Uma sucked in a deep breath, holding in the urge to yank her arm away and keep walking. Crossing Mal meant social suicide. Still, Uma felt nauseous just listening to those numbskulls talk about her.
"Hey Chad," said the flirty voice of Audrey, and Uma became alert. Just as Mal hoped, Chad's voice changed to a low, admiring tone. She listened closely to his inflection, his punctuation, and his word choice. He tried to impress Audrey by boasting about his most recent football game, and then when Audrey asked him the lunchtime poll, he fumbled over his words. By the time Audrey left, Uma had stored tons of information on Chad's voice.
"Get enough?" Mal asked Uma, making her voice observance sound like a battery charging.
"Plenty," Uma replied, feeling overwhelmed with the blabber of barbarians. Mal grabbed her arm again and dragged her back to the lunch table. Uma was getting sick of being pushed around by Mal, but it was more rewarding than being pushed around by literally everybody else. No one smacked her lunch tray anymore.
Evie and Audrey rejoined Mal and Uma at the table after spending a few more minutes asking the lunchtime poll. Mal placed her hands on the table and gave each one of them a wicked smile. "It's go time," she said, referring to a plan that Uma still did not know about. Mal faced Audrey and asked, "Did you get it?"
"Of course," Audrey replied, pulling a black flip phone out of her pink-jacket pocket and placing it in Mal's hand. "Swiping it from Chad was easier than–"
"Shut up, Audrey," Mal commanded.
"Sorry Mal," Audrey said.
"Anyway," Mal turned to Uma and held the phone out to her. "Now it's time to put that siren voice of yours to use."
"What am I doing?" Uma asked warily, taking the phone from Mal.
"I just found out that Chad used to hang out with…" Mal paused for dramatic effect, "…Gil Legume."
"Oh my God," Evie gasped, covering her hand with her hand.
"Freak-Ass Gil?" Audrey checked in surprise.
Uma bit her tongue and pressed her lips together to keep herself from snapping. For starters, until three weeks ago, she herself used to hang out with Gil. Second of all, Uma could tolerate Mal calling her Shrimpy, but she was even more annoyed by Gil's label. "How very clever! The acronym is fag! Grow up, people!"
"We all did," Uma insisted, keeping her voice steady despite how much she wanted to yell at them. "In kindergarten, we all did."
The reminder didn't seem to ring a bell. Part of being popular was forgetting any time before you became popular or any connection you had with those who weren't popular. Audrey quickly squashed the objection with her own. "Yeah, but not all of us kissed on the kickball field."
"Oh right, Chad kissed Gil," Evie said with a giggle. Then, she added in a distressed tone, "Mother made me go to church three times that week after witnessing it."
"Anyway, back to the plan," Mal said, calling the attention back to her. "You're going to call Gil with Chad's phone and invite him to Chad's party in Chad's voice."
"What? Why?" Uma asked incredulously. This couldn't be Mal suddenly wanting to include Gil in popular kid endeavors. She had to have some other plot.
"Just trust me," Mal said, a mischievous gleam in her eye. "I'm having a little fun."
"But why Gil?" Uma asked, setting the phone down on the table. Mal looked at it and furrowed her brow, confused by the opposition–something she wasn't used to. "He hasn't done anything to you. Besides, he's had a thing for Chad since kindergarten. Something like this would crush him and–"
"Are we gonna have a problem?" Mal cut her off with a tantalizing smile. "Are you really sure you wanna complain?" She slowly walked around the table to Uma's side, Audrey and Evie on either side of her. Uma suddenly felt like the prey again, being stalked by a pod of predators. Once she stood in front of Uma, her smile fell. "You've come so far, why now are you pulling on my dick?"
Uma opened her mouth to speak, but Mal beat her to the punch. "On any other day, I'd slap you and send you off in front of the whole student body, but you've caught me in a good mood," Mal said with a reassuring pat on Uma's shoulder. Uma stiffened at the contact. "I'm gonna give you some advice, so read my lips, be-otch!"
With that, she shoved Uma down onto her seat and leaned in real close, giving Uma nothing else to look at. "You're part of the most popular clique in this school, and you're only with us because I decided to bring you in. You're still learning the ropes, so here's a lesson for you." Mal took her hand off Uma's shoulder, and Uma pulled her jacket to smooth it out. "What are we?" Mal asked Uma.
"Ladies of the Court," Uma drawled. "Princesses of Auradon Prep."
"To everyone else, yes," Mal replied, putting her hands on her hips. "Everyone else thinks this is a kingdom where we're in charge, and we want them to think that. However, we cannot think the same way."
She stepped aside and gestured to the cafeteria full of students. She looked back to Uma and told her, "To us, this is a candy store, and we run the counter. We decide who can afford to get a treat and who gets thrown out." Mal dropped her hip and sighed, "Now, if you lack the balls, you can go back to being a total nerd with your weird little friend. Spend all of senior year getting pushed around by everyone."
Uma scowled at Mal. She had to admit that, even though being popular had its negatives, she hated getting picked on for the entirety of middle and high school just because she fell–or was pushed–into a storage unit of krill and shrimp during a seventh grade field trip to the aquarium. She had Mal to thank for that since she was the one who crowned her with a petty nickname that stuck like glue. Mal also proved to be the only one who could erase her name from the high school blacklist.
"Or you can forget him," Evie offered, her expression just as grave as Mal's. "And prove you have what it takes to be one of us.
"It's more than just looking hot and screwing guys," Audrey added, her brown ponytail flowing to and fro behind her. "It's about showing these students who has the power. I'm even willing to bet that if your freakish friend had the chance–"
"SHUT UP AUDREY!" Mal shouted at Audrey before shoving her to the ground. A few bystanders glanced at Audrey on the ground, but no one made a comment or caused a commotion. This happened more often than one would think. Mal had a tendency to become rather fed up with how much her friend likes to hear herself talk, and she had no problem getting physical. Mal took a deep breath to compose herself before pulling an evil smirk back onto her face.
"We're worshipped in this school," Mal stated, once again leaning in close so she was right in front of Uma. "Do you want to be worshipped or do you want to be tossed out?"
"You wanna stay a loser?" Audrey raised, pushing herself back to her feet and straightening out her outfit. She pretended like she wasn't just pushed onto the floor. It annoyed Uma how she could recover from getting shoved to the ground by Mal, but Uma couldn't recover from anything she said or did.
"Come on, Uma. Don't be a lame-ass," advised Evie. Uma glared at the blue-haired girl. How could she possibly be a role model for little kids if she considered petty pranks a suitable pass time?
"Yeah," Mal drawled out, raising her eyebrows. "Time for you to prove you're not Shrimpy anymore."
Uma's eyes went from Mal to Audrey to Evie, and back to Mal. She didn't see the Ladies of the Court. Instead, scenes of the past flashed before her eyes. Days when Gil stayed home sick and she sat alone at lunch. Times when a jock was bored and didn't have anything better to do than steal her journal and tear out a few pages. All those moments where she was called Shrimpy or picked on because she was weak and defenseless, a total Girl Scout. Those moments when she prayed to every known deity for someone to come fight for her.
It seemed as though Mal was enough to fend off the living nightmare of high school, but if Uma wanted to cross the bridge, she'd have to pay the toll. She chewed on her lip, took a deep breath through her nose, and closed her eyes.
"Give me the damn phone," she said through gritted teeth.
Evie picked up the phone and handed it to Mal, who held it out to Uma. Uma snatched it from her hand and flipped it open, her hands shaking in anger as she typed in Gil's number. She had it committed to memory. He was her best friend after all.
"Mal's your friend now," Uma told herself, trying to convince her conscience that what she was doing was okay. "Mal and Evie and Audrey. They're your friends now."
Uma hit the call button and held the phone to her ear. She swallowed hard, preparing her throat to mock the jock. The phone rang three times before she heard Gil answer, "Hello?"
"Hey Gil," Uma said in Chad's voice. "It's Chad."
"Chad?" Gil asked, his voice cracking nervously. "Hey, how's it going?"
"Doing great, man," Uma said, thinking back to the way Chad talked when he flirted with Audrey. She dropped her tone and tried to sound more suave yet vulnerable. "Anyway, I was thinking about us back in the old days, and I was hoping that you could stop by my party tomorrow night. Maybe you and I could hang."
"Oh, seriously?" Gil replied, his voice brimming with disbelief.
"Yeah, seriously," Uma answered back. She closed her eyes and cringed at her own deed.
"I'm so going to Hell for this," she thought to herself.
"Okay, sure," Gil said, "I'll be there." Then he hung up. Uma pulled the phone away from her face, closed it, and handed it back to Mal.
"Well done," she said, turning on her heel and walking off to continue with the lunchtime poll.
Once Mal and her carbon-copies left, Uma pushed herself onto her feet, picked up her own clipboard, and made a beeline for the exit. Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides, and the clipboard creaked under the pressure. She wanted to punch something. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to scream. All of this anger and frustration was directed at, not just Mal, but at herself as well. Audrey was right, it was more than just clothes and status. It was a power struggle. Uma was weak against the social pressures of being a Lady of the Court, and now it was changing who she was. As she neared the exit, she prayed for the thousandth time in her life for that knight in shining armor to come down and fight the battle she was losing.
"Looks like someone's finally sick of bowing down to the prissy pink princesses and Diet Coke heads," said a rugged brogue, one that sent chills down Uma's spine. She stopped dead in her tracks when her suspicion from earlier was confirmed. She didn't think it was possible, but she didn't know the voice. "You may have a soul, but we're all born marked for evil."
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you thought of 'mystery man's' entrance at the end there. ;) Good Night! -JoJo, who just got back from a concussion :)