"Autumn! What's going on here?" Julian asks as we enter Hearst High
"It's a total disaster." said Autumn "All this time Payton was helping us out, she totally forgot she was supposed to be throwing a party for Mia!"
"Who's Mia?" I ask
"Max's little sister."
"Yikes. What happened?"
"...come see for yourself."
Autumn lead us though a hallway find Kara and another thin girl with blonde hair and blue eyes(who must be Mia) cornering Payton!
"You promised you'd bring snacks and decorations to my party, and then you pulled a total no-show!" Mia glare at Payton, her hands on her hips
"I'm so so so sorry... I was helping Autumn and her new friend..." Payton trembled
"WHAT?! You were over at that new school?!" Mia gasps
"That's just insulting, Payton." Kara glared "We're not going to forget this. We're going to make your life MISERABLE! No one's going to come to your parties. No one's going to talk to you at lunch. You're going to be a total social outcast!"
"I... I..." Payton stammers
Then I walk up to Kara and Mia
"Hey! Leave her alone." I said "Can't you see she feels bad enough about it?"
"Who asked you, dork?" she sneers
"Come on, Payton." I said "You don't need to take this. Let's go back to my school."
We headed to a local ice cream parlor. Julian and Autumn tagged along with us...
"I really messed up this time. Kara meant what she said. She's going to make my life at Hearst High miserable!" Payton exclaims
"And unfortunately, Kara has enough influence over everyone to actually pull it off." Autumn added
"Hey, why don't you get out of there? Come transfer to our school, Twin Beach!" I suggest
"You still want me at you school?" Payton was surprised "But... I'm not popular anymore."
"Twin Beach is a place where EVERYONE is welcome." I said "You don't need to be popular to fit in here!"
"Really? You mean it?" she responded
"Absolutely! Come join our school!"
"Aww, you're so sweet! I'll start enrolling right now!"
The Next Day, at school I ran into Payton, but she in her usual excitement like I expect
"Hey, Stella.
"What's wrong?" I ask
"It's... it's my boyfriend. I guess I mean by EX-boyfriend. He just broke up with me. In a TEXT message. He said I was a traitor to Hearst, and he didn't want to take the hit to his popularity!"
"What a jerk." I emphasize
"I know. He's selfish, arrogant, and cruel... I should HATE him. But... I still feel so sad! Danny, I'm MISERABLE! My heart is BROKEN!" Payton wailed
"Is there anything I can do?"
"There's only one cure. I need a date." Payton proclaims
"A date?"
"A date! A fling! A rebound! Come on, don't tell me no one dates around here." Payton complains
"Of course people date" I said as I walk Payton to a "make-out" spot many students at the school dubbed 'Isle of Love'.
"OMG! I love it! A swan boat? That's my favourite kind of boat! And a tunnel of love? That's my favourite kind of tunnel!" Payton squeals "And now, I'm ready for a date! I've been single for WAY too long."
"Didn't your ex JUST break up with you?" I ask, arching an eyebrow. this girl is way too much
"Yes. The longest I've ever gone is fourteen minutes. Now, excuse me... I've got a date to go on." Payton grinned as she surf through her smartphone, looking for some cute guys to make out with
"OMG! I forgot how much FUN dating is. Good dates, bad dates, blind dates... all better than no dates."
"You certainly seem to have bounced back from your broken heart." Autumn commented
"Duh, it's called a rebound for a reason! I've practically forgotten about what's-his- name."
"You know, now that Payton is feeling better... it's time to celebrate!"
"Oh?"
"We've got to throw a party for her to welcome her to the school!" Autumn said
"Ohmigosh! You'd do that? For me?" Payton squealed
"Heh. Of course." I said
"You guuuuys! You're so sweet!" Payton beamed
" What a great party!" Payton squealed
"Yeah, it was truly epic!" I agreed
"It was A-MAZING! Everyone had fun and the decorations were great and the music was perfect and everything! It was the Best. Party. EVER!"
"Do you say that about every party?"
"Only the best ones!" Payton smiled "Thank you guys for all making me feel so welcome. Here, I got us some peppermint spice lattes! Kind of a post-party Payton tradition. Usually I just drink them alone in my room at home. It's kind of dumb."
"I love it. Give me one." Autumn said as she took a latte
I took a peppermint latte too "Okay, I propose a toast. To Payton! Cheers!"
I notice Payton's eyes are elsewhere
"Uh oh... looks like someone followed me here today." Payton look pale
"Kara and Mia? Why are they coming over here with a whole cheerleading squad?" I ask
"Kara's the head cheerleader... she never goes into a showdown without backup." Payton informed me
Kara strode up to Payton "Ahem. Payton, I see you're still making dumb choices. Joining the enemy? Not a smart move."
I... um..." Payton stammers
"Are these girls bothering you, Payton?" I ask
"Huh? What do you care?" she asked
"We don't need any trouble here at OUR school." said Danny a nerd boy
"Yeah!" said Julian
"Oh really?" Kara said, trying to come up with a good insult
"Look, Kara, I get that you don't like Payton,"I said "but you can't come over here and yell at her like some psycho cheerleader."
"You can't talk to me like that!" she demanded
"You don't get to make the rules around here." I told her "You're outnumbered. You can't just come to our school and pick on Payton."
"And that means it's time for you to leave, Kara. You're not welcome here." Julian announced
"Whatever." Kara turned to leave
"Before we go, I've got a message from Max." Mia spoke up "We're challenging your school to a football game. Think of it as your school's first Homecoming game... if you think you can pull it off."
"So we'll see you on the field... unless you're scared." At Mia's threat, Kara seemed to find her voice again "Mia, girls... let's get out of here. Payton, have fun here in Loserville."Kara slaps Payton's hand, spilling the latte she's holding all over her clothes!
"Hey!" Payton eclaimed
Kara and the cheerleaders from Hearst High snicker and began to walk off.
"Sorry about your outfit." Marie a student gov girl, frowns
"It's okay." she said "I really appreciate you all sticking up for me."
"What about Max's challenge?" I ask
"I'm on it. I can get a team together." Julian declare
"Homecoming is going to take more than just a football team... we'll need to have a dance. And a halftime show!" Payton added "I know they expect us to fail, and they're just trying to humiliate us, but if we can pull it off, this is going to be fun!"
"Wait a second. Did I miss something?" Julian said "Having a Homecoming is great, but are you really going to let Kara get away with dumping coffee all over you?"
"Um... that was kind of the plan..." she said
"What are you suggesting, Julian?" I ask
"You should settle this the way the guys on the team do." Julian said "What would you say to getting a little revenge tonight? How about a prank?"
"Revenge? Against Kara?! That's insane!" Payton was horrified
"Come on, man up. Er, woman up? Person up? You know what I mean!" he said The point is that we can't let Kara come to our school and mess with Payton and get away with it! What do you say? Are you in, Stella?"
Continued in Episode 2: The Perfect Prank