Chapter Two
Usually nothing cheered up Hanna like flipping through a Vogue, but today it didn't seem to work. The library seemed more noisy than usual, and she kept getting distracted. If she could just focus on the magazine, she knew she wouldn't have to think about cheer tryouts earlier that day. She sighed quietly and crammed a Butterfinger in her mouth. As she took another bite, she saw a picture so familiar she nearly spit out the candy bar. A shiver ran up her spine as she stared at the picture of the girl she had grown up with, envied, loved, hated, and most of all, missed. She took a deep breath and looked back at the page. It was only a typical blonde-haired model, with a heart shaped face and a smile that was similar but definitely not Alison DiLaurentis's.
Alison. Something else she tried not to think about, yet her mind always traced back to her. She tried to think about something that wouldn't make her sad, so she took another bite of her candy bar.
Before she could stop herself, she remembered her school play last year. The one where everyone dressed up as a food item, and Hanna had chosen candy.
"Hanna definitely likes her candy," Alison had said drily. "And it shows."
She stared at the candy bar for a few more seconds, craving the chocolate yet hating herself more with every bite. She stood up and threw the bar in the trash can, then bolted out of the library and into the bathroom, ignoring weird looks from the librarian. She bolted straight into her favorite bathroom stall, the big one that was technically for handicapped students. Slowly she sank onto her knees and then regurgitated her candy bar. Almost immediately, she felt better. A little uneasy, but less fat.
Hanna waited a few moments before leaving the stall. She always spritzed perfume after puking, just in case anyone got suspicious. She was washing her hands when she heard someone cough. Her eyes widened - she was a deer caught in the headlights. She waited to be taunted by Riley Wolfe or Naomi Zeigler, but she relaxed when she saw who was there. It was just Mona Vanderwaal.
Hanna made small talk for a while, so not to get on Mona's bad side, just in case. After all, Mona had just seen Hanna puke her lunch up. Hanna was about to say goodbye to Mona when she brought up the cheer tryouts.
"I can't believe we were the only ones who didn't make it," Mona stated simply. Hanna blushed. She looked around in case anyone had heard, but they were still the only ones there.
"It was pretty embarrassing," Hanna had admitted.
Mona's entrancing blue eyes seemed distant, almost angry. "Did you see the cheerleaders laughing? We're worth more than that. I don't want to be a loser anymore."
Hanna stared at Mona for a second before nodding in agreement. Mona and her were barely friends, yet they were discussing a topic that Hanna was too embarrassed to talk to anyone else about. "Why did we even try out for cheerleading anyway?"
Mona began to giggle. "I know, cheerleading is so lame."
"So lame," Hanna repeated, a small smile forming on her coral lips. "Alison would have never tried out for cheerleading."
At the mention of Alison's name, Mona's expression became unreadable. "We should make a pact."
"A pact?"
"Yeah. To reinvent ourselves… To become the new popular girls."
If this was a strange idea to Hanna, it was a completely foreign concept to Mona. Mona was the farthest thing from popular. Yet when she suggested this plan, it didn't sound crazy. It sounded fun. It sounded perfect.