-2 weeks later-
Another Friday came and went as Valerie headed out of English of the afternoon. Learning about how to write about some dead English guy again was not her favorite class but she needed it to pass. She wanted to take an African American English class, but it was full, much to her dismay.
Val walked back to her dorm apartment, Star already there as she had no classes for the day. Their apartment smelt like lavender and honey, which meant Star had used her fancy spray for today's meeting.
'Can't believe I'm going through this.' Val thought to herself as she made her way into her room, preparing to change. Star was driving them to the country club, with Paulina driving over later.
Danny had reassured his girlfriend on Sam heading over to the country club and not escaping. He mentions something about a threat of informing her parents of her being in the area. Valerie chuckled at Danny trying to blackmail his friend.
Wanting to feel fresh, she got into the shower and did a quick shampoo and condition with her hair (a time cut of her normal routine which would take even longer). She put on a peppermint shampoo, rinsed, applied another layer, and rinsed again. The strong smell of peppermint overtook the bathroom, Valerie sighed in pleasure. She could feel the tingling of the shampoo in her scalp, giving her a relaxing calm.
After all, she would need it while meeting up with Sam Manson. The girl got under her skin too many times through the years but since she and Danny are together now, she wants to mend the bridge. At this age, it seemed childish to even continue to fight, especially from Sam.
Valerie cared for Danny but wanting to fight over a boy in college is just lame. She already told the girl in high school she better makes a move, or she will. Of course, she did in high school but she and Danny were both going through things on a personal level, so dating didn't exactly happen then. But now it has, and Sam had been even more irritable about it.
Tucker had told her he and Danny both talked to her about it, but she could be stubborn to listen. Val never understood why they continued to be friends with the goth.
Lost in deep thought about the goth, Valerie shook her head and rapidly washed out the conditioner in her hair. After washing her hair, she proceeded to wash her body and then turned off the water. She decided to dry off in the bathroom, her clothes in the closet of her room. Before she left, she did a quick brush of her teeth, wanting to have a fresh breath.
Rushing out the bathroom, she saw a quick glance of Star going over some chem notes on the couch, already dress in club attire.
She wore a modest white t-shirt, light yellow shorts that stopped at the knee, and slip-on yellow shoes. As her hair grew longer to her back over the years, she decided to have one big braid and a sunflower clip in her hair.
Valerie appreciated her friend's tasteful fashions, compared to Paulina who had some questionable outfits in the past.
Inside her room, Valerie dried off the remaining parts of her hair and began to put in some hair lotion in her curly locks. If she had enough time, she would have flat ironed it but instead used a blow dryer and her trusty tooth comb for her hair.
Blow drying her hair took a bit of time as she had always grown
her hair out long. Her mother refused to have her daughter's hair trimmed, especially as a child.
Looking in the mirror, her normally curly hair was now blown out into a somewhat straight style. She couldn't decide if she wanted to put it up or live it down.
"Val, we gotta go! Hurry up and pick something!" Star bellowed from the living room.
"Alright, I just need to get a dress and I'll be out! Go start the car please!" Val responded back, struggling to put on a blue and white polo shirt over her head. She could hear her friend shutting the apartment door on her way out.
Val quickly grabbed a pair of dark blue shorts to the knee, slipping on black socks then a fresh pair of white slides (very similar to the ones Star is wearing). She gave herself a quick glance in the mirror, making sure she looks good.
Satisfied with her outfit, she grabbed her purse and ran out of the apartment, locking all doors behind her. She got into the passenger seat in Star's silver convertible, putting her purse in the middle console of the car.
Star, decked out in a pair of white shades, handed Valerie a piece of gum and matching dark blue shades for her friend. Valerie accepted the items as Star began to drive towards the Country Club, which was a 45 min drive.
-At the Country Club-
Sam Manson never felt uncomfortable in her life than now. Agreeing to this meet up was stupid, as Danny and Tucker decided to hang with Kwan since the ladies were going to try to hash out their issues. The fact it took her a while to get into the establishment due to her outfit and having to call her parents to confirm her identity as well.
Now she's roped into going to her mother's banquet next week just because she decided to come to the club.
Paulina already arrived but went somewhere that Sam could care less about. Now she just had to wait for the 'dynamic duo' to appear.
Since she got her first, she decided to pick a semi-secluded area away from other club members, overlooking the views of the gold course and lake. Just in case things became out of her (which it wouldn't as each girl represents their household).
Sam straighten out her black tennis skirt, complimenting her lilac polo shirt, and matching tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, with a few strands to the side for added effect and makeup was minimal. Why did she get dressed up for girls who terrorized her in high school, she didn't know?
But she was doing this mostly for Danny and for Tucker. Danny was rightfully upset at the fight Valerie and she had, resulting in a long awkward talk that she finally confessed her crush on the ghost boy.
Sam's eyes started to sting from the memory, the feeling of rejection replating in her mind again. Quickly she wiped the tears that manage to slip out as the former popular trio came into view.
If this were some teen movie set in high school, they would be the perfect leads. Valerie in the middle between Star and Paulina, almost in matching outfits but with different colors. White, blue, and pink colors came closer into view as Sam rolled her eyes at how dramatic the trio was being.
'This feels like a mixture of Mean Girls and the Heathers, except I'm in hell.' The goth darkly thought to herself as she watched the trio take seats closely next to each other, leaving quite some room on the table away from the goth.
Four pairs of eyes looked at one another, mostly three pairs staring at one pair across the table.
Valerie had a good handle on hiding her emotions throughout the years, glancing at the goth and went back to her menu. Star's face remained neutral, following Valerie's action by looking at the menu. Lastly, Paulina gave her a tight lip smile and went back to texting on her phone.
Sam's left eye twitched, not only they wanted to meet up, but she was getting the silent treatment! But then again, these four never spoke to each other outside of yelling or fighting so what can they say? The goth was beginning to feel confused and just wanted to go home.
After a few minutes of silence, sans Paulina's fingers hitting her screen, a waiter came by to take their orders.
Paulina flashed him a charming smile, asking for a salmon Caesar salad. For Valerie: crab cake sliders, Star ordered a Turkey pesto panini, and Sam a simple salad. All the ladies decided on a pitcher of strawberry mango iced tea as drinks.
Paulina thanked the waiter as he took their orders, once giving him the same flashing smile to him. He returned the friendly smile and went to put in the order.
"So…..." Star spoke, trying to break the tension at the table.
"Um, the reason why we are here today is for you two," the blonde pointed to Val and Sam, "to like work it out or something, without it leading to us getting kicked out." Star put emphasis on the 'kicked out' as it would embarrassing for the group to be thrown out.
Valerie crossed her arms, focusing on a fern plant beside Paulina. Sam mirror her actions but glared directly at the trio. Paulina rolled her eyes at the mannerism of both girls.
'So different but so alike, it'll be a miracle if we get out of here alive.' The Latina woman thought to herself. She was only here for moral support or whatever that meant.
"You two do have to talk, especially before the food arrives. I can't have that vibe around my salad." Paulina chimed in. Valerie was trying hard not to laugh as Star and Sam just rolled their eyes once again at the former diva.
"Alright," Valerie spoke, "I guess I can go first. I wanna get this out the way." The dark hair girl stated. She looked at the goth across from her, who shrugged her shoulders on her going first.
Star laid out some ground rules; no yelling, let one another speak, try not to call each other out their names, and lastly no yelling. Paulina and she will be moderators and will keep their bias out of it.
Sam eyes the two, not believing these were the same girls who used to skip class but now moderating her and Valerie. 'This has gotta be somebody's twisted joke.' The goth darkly thought to herself, frowning.
Star and Paulina sat on the other side of the table, to give the girls space. Star gestured for Valerie to start while Paulina reminded Sam of the rules.
Valerie took a deep breath, ready to confess her feelings towards the vegan goth.
"Okay Sam, we never got along, and I get that. I was mean to you and the guys back in school. But you didn't make it easier by mocking us for everything we did. I like nice things; is it so wrong to spend money on quality items?" Before Sam replied, she continued.
"Ever since Danny and Tucker decided to befriend me, you just went overboard. All the snide comments, excluding me from plans, or spying on my date," Valerie accused the goth. Both Paulina and Star looked towards Sam, faced red with embarrassment.
Valerie gave her a steely glare, continuing. "I know how long you and Danny were friends and I get it. But hating me mostly because we're dating is just played out. Like Danny is amazing but is he the only important person in your life? Do you even care about Tucker?" the former hunter questioned.
Sam jumped up, exclaiming "I do care about Tucker! He's my best friend!". Star gently ask Sam to sit down, which she did. Paulina gave her a pointed look at her outburst.
Valerie folded her arms, scoffing at the goth. "Oh please! You're so wrapped up in Danny you toss aside Tucker! It's always about Danny but rarely about Tucker unless Danny's too busy for you!" she fumed.
"That is so not tru-"Sam interrupted.
"I'm not finished!" Valerie snapped back.
"Ladies please keep the voices down, okay." Paulina reminded them.
"You're strong-minded, creative, and you give back a lot. I see why you didn't want to make it known you had money. People are
"Look, Sam, we don't have to be friends or anything, but I do ask if you can cool it on the hostility. Fighting with you is worse than fighting Phantom! Girl, I am asking for you to just chill with the hate for me, especially when it comes to Danny. I have been trying for years with you, but I understand you don't have to like me, but at least accept me." She finished her speech, fully looking at the goth.
The goth could see the sincerity in her eyes, waiting to move on from the past. Sam bit her lip, recalling the past. Sam had a hard time forgetting what happens, especially as she hunted her friend every day.
"In a weird way, even if you and Danny weren't dating or you weren't spoiled in high school, maybe we could have been friends on a level. Not the best but friendly enough with each other. I can admit," she took a deep sigh, "that maybe I can be a bit forceful when trying to get my way." She sheepishly admitted to her rival.
Valerie gave her a pointed look, one eyebrow raised. Paulina and Star both gave her a deadpanned look as well.
"Funny how you berated us for doing the same thing but yet you have also done it also." Valerie smugly pointed out to the goth. Sam clenched her fist as she snarled at her.
"I did it for good reasons while you did it for selfish ones!" She countered back.
"Uh-huh, sure you did. Canceling our junior trip to go pick fruit isn't selfish."
"A three-day trip to the mountains compared to helping farmers is way better than that! We helped them meet their quota!"
"We did free labor! I think my people have done enough free labor in one lifetime but yet there I was in the hot ass sun, picking fruit when I could have been in the snowy escape, no thanks to you!" Valerie spat at Sam.
"Seriously Goth girl, I was already tan enough as is," Paulina interjected, glaring at Sam. Star kept quiet, as she and Kwan had fun picking fruits and having a small picnic in the fields.
"But I did it to help people in need! Not to be selfish! Any of you could have gone on the ski trip anytime during the year! And it's just stupid snow, helping those farmers was more important than peaking in high school." Sam snapped back the duo. Paulina rolled her eyes and went back to texting.
Star saw Valerie clench her jaw in anger. She put her hand onto Val's shaking clenched fist, trying to calm her down.
"My father and I saved up for the trip." Valerie seethed at Sam, who was anger faded into shock.
"We saved up all that money for me to enjoy my junior trip just to pick some god damn fruit!" Valerie spoke furiously. She leaned across the table, hands slapping down on the table. Both Star and Paulina grabbed each of her arms just in case she decided to jump at the goth. It wouldn't do much as Valerie's ghost work had increased her strength.
Sam sat up, not wanting to show the fear she was feeling. She faced a ghost scarier than her but the murderous look on Valerie's face struck fear in the goth's heart.
"I'm- I-I-I-I I'm sorry Valerie, I just was focused on the farmers-" Sam stuttered out, a look of shame on her features.
Paulina gave Star a subtle nod to give them some privacy as the conversation, both letting go of her arms. Both girls walked off to the courts, not too far from the table.
But neither Sam nor Valerie noticed as they were both staring at each other; intense green eyes to sorrowful purple eyes.
Valerie took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger rushing in her. Calmly, she sat down but still not taking her eyes off her. Sam averted her gaze, rubbing her hand on her arm.
"So many kids had to save to go on that trip, a very expensive trip our parents wanted us to enjoy. After my father lost his job, we had to scale back a lot. It was awful going poverty like that Sam." Valerie murmured, looking at Sam.
"Not only being poor but being black and poor is a different thing. I could barely afford to buy my hair care stuff, which Star, bless her, brought for me. We lived in a shitty part of town, I worked at a shitty job along with my father," she continued, the pain in her voice clear.
"I had to fight ghost every week, deal with you and Paulina, study for the class, and go to work. And yeah, I might be shallow to you, but to me, it was a break. A 3-day break to spend with my friends and enjoy myself. But you," she pointed menacingly at her, "you focused on others but, there were other kids like me at school, struggling and the one enjoy we could have had, you decided to have a fit and ruined our break!" accused Valerie, slamming her hand onto the table.
The action made Sam jump. While Sam knew about Valerie's demise in popularity and poverty, she never thought about the mental impact it had on her.
"I didn't know." Sam quietly said with remorse. Valerie sighed, rubbing her hand on her temple.
"I know you didn't. I know this doesn't make up for the years I treated you guys badly but Sam you had to understand that trip really meant something." She said to her. Valerie never told Danny how she felt when this happens, only her therapist knew her emotions about the subject.
"I guess when I saw almost everyone excited about the trip, I got angry. Angry about some expensive trip when we could help those in need. Hearing Paulina squeal about it took me over the edge. Danny and Tucker didn't speak to me for a week until I brought them tickets to Bad Matches." Sam admitted sheepishly. Valerie gave her a look, raising one eyebrow at this confession.
"Plus, I had to watch you and Danny flirt shamelessly, especially with the outfit you had on," San grumbled of the memory. Valerie had recalled the experience of the mentioned trip.
Since they were working on a farm in heat, the majority of the teens traded their winter clothes for summer clothes as many girls wore super shorts and guys went shirtless. Since Sam doesn't 'sweat but simmer', she wore her regular outfit while Tucker and Danny opted for shorts, expected Tucker wore a regular yellow shirt.
Valerie's outfit was more on the modest side, light blue short shorts, a red tank top, and red slip on shoes. Better than the other girls in their class who wore some, questionable choices.
Valerie blushed of her memory of Danny during the field trip while Sam rolled her eyes.
"Well hey, I already had to suffer and that's not a fair comparison. You choose to follow him around even though he was gonna be around me. But I understand you did it for a good reason, just not the time." Valerie said, reaching as she went to refill her drink.
"But" Sam spoke, "I am really sorry for ruining your downtime. I do mean it. Looking back, it was selfish of me for not seeing how that could affect others." She explained to Valerie.
"Thank you for your apology. Even though it was awful, I still had a fun time in a weird way." Val, she admitted to her, sheepishly.
Both made amends with each other as they shook on it for good measure. Val sent a quick text to Star for them to come back to the table.
When the duo came back to the table, they saw both girls laughing about different ghosts seen and faced. Star gave a small smile to Paulina as she rolled her eyes and muttered 'losers' in a friendly tone. The group of women began talking about their days back in high school.
Then, the waiter arrived with their meals, apologizing for the lateness of the meals. He told them that their meals will be comp as of the result, much to the delight of the group.
Paulina, after having to wait for an hour to eat, devoured her salmon Caesar salad. The three girls at the table laughed at her for eating in a way she never does.
"Wharttt?" Paulina questioned, food in her mouth. This made the women at the table laugh even harder as Paulina continues to eat her meal.