The four friends stared at her, aghast.
"You're what?" they uttered in shock.
"I'm not going," Zelena said stubbornly.
"But it's the sophomore school ball!" cried Regina.
"I know what it is," replied Zelena, "but I'm still not going."
Cecilia rolled her eyes, while Ursula crossed her arms. Glinda frowned at Zelena.
"If we're going, you're going," Regina chided her, "It doesn't matter if you don't have a date! You can still hang out and dance with us."
"What, and play..." Zelena did the math, "...ninth wheel?"
"If you're worried about that, we can find you a date," suggested Glinda, "My boyfriend has heaps of friends who need a date."
Zelena hesitated for a moment - for just a moment - before shaking her head,
"I should really be focusing on my studies if I'm going to get into Gold classes."
"Oh, come on," Glinda smiled, "You've got to relax some of the time."
That's easy for you to say. You're already in Gold, you perfect little bitch.
Zelena silently scolded herself for that. Glinda had been nothing but kind and supportive to her during the travails of this year. Cecilia and Ursula, on the other hand, had only shrugged and muttered whenever the topic of the injustice brought upon Zelena came up. Zelena would feel no sympathy for Cecilia once she had taken her down. She had considered going back to the hacker who called himself 'Hades' and asking for his help in digging up dirt on Cecilia, but that cost money that Zelena didn't have. She had spent a huge portion of her savings on the information about Walsh. I sit with her every day for goodness sake, surely if I listen to her drivel long enough, I'll find some dirt.
"So, Cecilia, who's your date to the school ball?" Zelena spoke up suddenly. It took Cecilia a few seconds to answer.
"Oh, uhh..." her eyes grew large, "...I don't know yet. So many people have asked me, it's taking me a while to decide."
"I see," Zelena smiled broadly. The tension that had come with the question told Zelena that she was on the right track.

As their lunch break came to an end, Zelena caught with up Glinda and Regina as they began walking down the corridor to their class.
"Hey," said Zelena, "Did I say something wrong?"
"How do you mean?" asked Regina.
"When I asked Cecilia about the ball, it felt slightly awkward," Zelena murmured, "It was like you all wanted to be somewhere else."
Regina sighed and exchanged a knowing look with Glinda.
"I'll tell you after school," Regina promised. Zelena nodded, and set off towards her own class.

She had Mathematics class now, but it was Silver class mathematics, which took all the challenge from it. I need to ruin Cecilia, and fast. Zelena had no friends in the Silver classes, and instead sat by herself at the front of the classroom with her schoolbag on the chair beside her so that nobody would sit down next to her. Zelena hadn't even tried to learn any of her classmates' names, but she knew a few of the other Silver students. There was Ruby, who Zelena recognized from the local diner. Ruby worked there part-time as a waitress, thanks to her grandmother owning the establishment. Nepotism, nepotism everywhere. Zelena loathed her father for not being a powerful pillar of this community. Her dad's only skill was finishing entire bottles of whisky in minutes. Then, of course, there was Robin Locksley. Sometimes Zelena could feel him glaring at her from across the classroom, but she liked to think she did a good job at ignoring him. She also knew Arthur, who often made the class laugh. Behind Zelena sat a group of girls who neglected their schoolwork in favor of painting their nails and talking about boys, the most prominent of them being Ava Zimmer.
"...and James is, like, hiring a limo to take us to the ball," Ava bragged to her friends, receiving the chorus of 'wow's and 'oh my god's she was looking for. Zelena rolled her eyes and finished the last question on her test, before leaving her seat to hand in her test to the teacher.
"First one finished as usual, Miss Green," Mrs. Tremaine looked up from her computer, "I just don't understand why they didn't put you in Gold classes. Are you doing well in your other subjects?"
I didn't get in because you and Mrs. Mills let Regina retake her exam, Zelena thought bitterly.
"I guess not well enough," Zelena gave a polite smile and returned to her desk.
"Hey, Zelena!"
She closed her eyes in exasperation, but turned around to face Ava. She couldn't tell if Ava was baring her teeth into a grin or a snarl. Either way, Zelena was unnerved.
"Yes?" she asked simply.
"Have you got a date for the ball?"
"No," Zelena answered, "I'm not going."
"You're not going?" Ava's eyes bulged, "What, haven't you got a date?"
One of the girls muttered something about 'frigid', causing a few other girls to snort. Zelena raised an eyebrow.
"Why would I have a date if I'm not going?"
She had gotten the same reaction from everyone she spoke to. It was inconceivable, incomprehensible, that anyone would choose not to attend the Grade 10 school ball, let alone not bring a date. It was as though everyone at school considered the attending of a school ball to be as inevitable and fixed as the laws of physics.

Relief came as the siren signaled the end of the school day. As Zelena and Regina walked together towards the school gates, Regina made good on her promise.
"About Cecilia..." Regina said, before telling Zelena the truth about Cecilia.
Oh god, Zelena thought, This changes everything.