Rules of Popularity ....be careful who you fall in love with.
Chapter 2: What Goes Around Comes Around and Around...
A/N: This is a bit slow moving, as the other chapter was. Please, bear with me as I set up the plots!! Guys, I am soo sorry. I didn't even realize at first that Sakura-Tomoyo situation was an exact replica from Mean Girls!! I am SO sorry about this!! I mean, when I thought of the her camera and her obbession over Sakura, the word that poped into my head was 'lesbian'. Is there anything else from Mean Girls I should be aware of? Tell me in a review I will try and alter it somehow, but Tomoyo is still going to be accused as a lesbian because that's how I started this. Again I am soo sorry how it turned out!!! THANKS FOR TELLING ME GUYS!!
I Give credit to Mean Girls from Chapters 1 about the Tomoyo situation.
Lana Carter sighed; another student transferring. She ran a hand through her shoulder blond hair; as tired as she was, she needed to find out why Jane was leaving so suddenly. Never in her twenty years of being a principal for Tomoeda High had so many students transferred in the past three years. She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead to ease her weariness.
Jane had such good marks, especially in the computers area. Did she leave because Tokyo High had a better computers course? No. It was highly unlikely. It didn't explain the others who left just at the beginning of this year. Why were they losing so many students? The School Board wanted answers now. Was it a teacher? No, parents would complain to the Board. A course that wasn't meeting it's standards? No, parents would notify her. A student? Out of 900 students, could one of them really have ultimate control?
Lana shook her head. No. This is a big school. The big school I run. The big school I run without bullying.
She pulled out a mirror and fixed her hair. Time to put on a strong front and smiled. Board meeting was about to start. But one thing bothered her still.
What had Jane meant when she said, "I was a threat to the unwritten rules of popularity..."
"Alright, everyone. Okay, hi! I'd just like to say, this two-week class is required by all juniors. It helps with learning about the play Romeo and Juliet you will be taking in English this term..."
I sat beside Sara, tapping my foot over and over again against the hardwood floor of the auditorium. I hated this! Why should we have to use one one period a cycle to act out the play we're doing in English?! Notice I didn't say Drama. Drama's for losers who want acne from all that stage make-up.
"...so, why don't we start off with some icebreakers so I can get to know you all? Now, I know you know each other, but there are some non-Drama kids here, so I think we could all use a little icing. Get it? Icing? Icing as in icebreakers?"
It was going to be a long class.
"Sara?" Sara looked at Sakura with a blank stare. Not doubt she wasn't following. Again. "Look, Sara, wanna ditch this class?"
Sara looked around before answering. "But we're going to get icing," she whispered.
Sakura shook her head. "Never mind..." God, why wasn't Alex here? Maybe if I sneak out, I can get Alex to come-
"...Kinomoto Sakura?"
"What?," Sakura answered a bit too loudly, as she turned her gaze towards the person who called her name.
"Oh, hi! I'm Ms. Daniels!," the teacher gave a little wave. Sakura half-smiled back. "And you, Ms. Kin-o-mo-to, since your the last person, you can be in a group of three with Daidoji Tomoyo and Li Meiling. Now, I'm going be back in ten minutes, so with your partner I want you introduce yourself, and find out the following things..."
"What?," Sakura said again, but Ms. Daniels wasn't listening. Sakura turned her head towards Meiling who was smirking right back at her 'superior'. This could not be happening."Someone pinch me... OW!"
Sakura turned her head down towards her arm to glare at a confused Sara with an out reached hand.
"Sakura, Meiling, Tomoyo; Tomoyo, Meiling, Sakura," Sakura said clapping her hands in delight. "Okay, we're done."
Meiling rolled her eyes. "Can't you even play along with it, Kinomoto? Can't you lower your pride and act civil?"
Sakura glared. "I am civil. Just not to you."
Tomoyo interrupted. "My favorite thing to do is sing and make videos."
Meiling swallowed back her up coming out-bursts. "Martial Arts." They both looked at Sakura.
Who the hell did Martial Arts as a hobby? Yuck...major athlete's body! "Does anyone have an interesting and normal hobby to contribute?"
Meiling's eyes narrowed. "Why you-," but was cut off my Tomoyo's look. She slowly released her breath. "My favorite subject is Gym."
Tomoyo nodded. "Music."
Sakura looked at them strangely. "No comment," her voice the I'm-better-than-you kind. Meiling glared. If Tomoyo weren't here...
Tomoyo looked at the list. "Alright, our goals for this year. Mine's to hit that C sharp in the song I'm working on."
"To teach a bitch a lesson," Meiling grumbled standing up.
Sakura narrowed her eyes as she pushed out her chair and begun to stand up. "To send Meiling to Tokyo High. No—wait—back to Hong Kong." Sakura stood level with Meiling now.
Tomoyo grabbed her water bottle and took a sip. She stood up to stop the on coming war—but tripped over Sakura's out pushed chair that was now in the middle of the circle as she tried to take a step forward. Unlucky for her, the water hit Sakura right on the middle of her blouse.
Sakura looked down at her water logged blouse as some of the boys hooted.. "You...you...lesbian," she cried. "Look at my blouse—it's ruined! What's the matter Daidoji, can't control yourself? Do you have to be so close to me?"
Tomoyo's eyes watered. "I'm sorry, Sakura. It was an accident-"
"Accident?" For all I know you planned this!" Mummers were heard around the auditorium. Sakura glanced once again at the ruined blouse, then back up at Tomoyo. "What—do you like seeing my shirt all see through? Well aren't you in luck today—it's even white!" Tomoyo now had tears in her eyes as the whispers turned into conclusions.
'So the rummor was true! I can't believe it—I was her partner for a project! And, you know, she was always sitting close to me!'
'Do you think she was looking down my shirt when I was her partner for strength training in gym class?'
'It is weird how she's always filming people here! Poor Sakura...'
Meiling felt anger as she watched her friends eyes spill tears. "SHE'S NOT A LESBIAN! What's wrong with you, Sakura?"
"I'm straight and don't like to be looked at that way...or filmed by her," Sakura retorted. Meiling didn't even recognize the person who answered her.
Tomoyo ran out of the auditorium. Meiling's eyes became cold, as she walked right up to Sakura. "No, Sakura. You don't liked to be looked at as weak and unpopular. You're only concerned about making yourself look good at the expense of others. You don't really think she's a lesbian, you and I both know that."
Sakura looked at Meiling, but addressed the other students around her."Does any other girl want to be looked at this way?," She demanded. Every by-stander nodded or mumbled their approval.
Meiling leaned in closer, eyes icy."You're playing with the wrong person Sakura. I'm warming you."
Sakura leaned in, also."And I'm warning you Meiling—the last person who played with me played with fire—and burnt themselves all the way to Tokyo High."
Meiling's knuckles grew white as she gritted her teeth. "Let you force me to Tokyo High? Over my dead body."
Sakura leaned in closer, so their fore heads were only centimeters apart. "We'll see, Meiling."
Meiling gave Sakura one final glare. She wanted to stay and lash out at Sakura, but Tomoyo needed a friend right now. She left the school building, looking for her.
But, what she found cut deep.
Tomoyo sat by the water fountain outside the school grounds, tears running down her cheeks, as she watched her camera lay in the water, the start of all the hurtful words Sakura spread.
No more did the thought of waiting for the opportune moment to attack Sakura stay in her head. Kinomoto has pushed her too far this time. Kinomoto. That's right. She didn't even deserve to be called by her first name, she wasn't a friend to anyone but the other brainwashed Barbies.
Meiling leaned against the wall of the school, out of sight from Daidoji. She let herself fall to the ground as she buried her face in her hands. She needed a better plan. And fast. A plan to take those Barbie Dolls down. But how?
"Hey, Sakura!," Lyndze greeted in her almost always cherry voice, the next day at school. "You're here early. You usually don't arrive this early unless you're here on....business." Three years of being a 'Barbie' as she still couldn't bring herself to say anything direct about targeting.
"Hey, Lyndz. Oh, I know. I am about 20 minutes early today. Actually I'm waiting for Matt—he was supposed to meet me here, but had to do a football thing. God, I told him this was important and he leaves me for football!" She paused and tilted her head to the side, composure regained. "You're here early too—is something going on? You had to meet a teacher or something?"
Lyndze bit her lip. "No...actually I just come here early most days, anyway." She couldn't tell Sakura—no matter how good of friends they were—that she comes in to work with a math teacher so she can get a scholarship in mathematics to an American university the next year.
Sakura nodded, as she rummaged thorough her purse. Some more of the early students began to arrive. "Damn...I forgot in Alex's car!"
"Forgot what?"
"Oh, my cell phone. I just got a new one, so I need Alex to do all her fancy background and phone tone stuff to it."
Lyndze simply nodded. Her parents couldn't afford to buy her a cell phone—hell, she couldn't afford one either. Her part-time job as a tutor just covered the cost of her brand name clothes, hair/nail appointments and make up products.
Sakura noted the un-comfortablenesses between them. "Hey, if you see Matt, tell him I waited here but had to go and he can meet me in homeroom whenever he's done. Oh, and can you see if my answers are right on this paper? If they aren't just change them, alright? Make sure to show all the work, so I get full marks and to make your 8's and 9's clear, but not too clear you know? It's how I write them." Sakura handed her a piece of paper and walked off without a thank you.
"Sure thing..." Lyndze said, scanning Sakura's wrong answers, as she made her way towards her locker. Was it her, or did Sakura use her sometimes?
Lyndze watched as Sakura left the building, heading towards Alex's car—the silver sports car Alex was talked into letting her use. She opened her locker door, but something caught her eye. A blood red slip of paper, that was just smaller than a regular piece of paper, had obviously obviously been inserted thought the vents and the top of the door. It was folded in half with nothing on the visible areas. Lyndze open it up and scanned the words that were typed across the paper, eyes growing bigger with every word.. When she hit the picture at the end, all that was heard were the sound of her books hitting the floor.
Sakura, upon going back to Alex's car, realized that she forgot the cell phone at home. Good thing it was only 5 minutes away. "It's all this earliness that's making me so forgetful. Maybe I'll take Alex's credit card for a little trip to the spa on Saturday..."
She got back into the silver sports car and drove back to her house, oblivious to what chaos was stirring inside the school as more and more students arrived.
Tomoyo Daidoji took a deep breath before entering the school building that day; who knows what kind of humiliation she would have to live through today? But there was nothing worse than going back to school, so if she lived though today, she could live until graduation.
She slowly opened the door to the noisy hallway, but within seconds all was quiet. People were whispering to one another. Quiet whispers, but Tomoyo could still make out the words.
"Did Daidoji do it?"
"No way! Tomoyo pull something like this?"
"But, you have to admit—she is the person who used to be Kinomoto's best friend."
"Do you think she's going to get away with it?"
"Maybe—but, won't Sakura know? Tomoyo was the only person who would have know this..."
Tomoyo smiled nervously at people who looked her way. What were they talking about? She spotted Rita first, her face all excited. "Rita, what's-"
"You'll never guess what Meiling did. Here. Read," Rita held the red piece of paper in front of Tomoyo.
Small giggles came from various people as Sakura entered the school grounds. She looked around at what people were staring at, before around before noticing everyone held a blood red slip of paper in their hands. Picking one up off the ground, she brushed off the dirt. Again, Sakura scanned the crowd, before slowly looking down at the paper in her hand, losing color with every word.
Why don't we get together to watch all the movie you willingly stared for back in middle school? Did you like wearing all of the flashy costumes that were size 9? So sorry I didn't listen when you trued to tell me that you wanted them a size bigger because you couldn't breathe. Just too bad you had to diet so far down to a size 2! I mean, all that throwing up mustn't have been good for your stomach.
{Picture of Sakura in grade 6 in a flashy costume made by Tomoyo beside a recent photo—the difference in waist is noticeable.}
Bring it on Kinomoto. You've been marked. I'm bringing you down once and for all.
Sakura looked up. She looked around at the other students looking at her. Everyone believed this shit? That she actually threw up? That she wanted to wear that even-hell-would-deem-ugly costume? That she complained about it being to tight? That she was actually a size 9? Sure she had to lose weight...by DIETING NOT THROWING UP to fit into a size 2...but a size 9? Surely people would know that she hadn't lost that much weight.
But, they didn't. Most of the kids never knew her in middle school. And what made it worse, they believe this piece of paper. The look in their eyes told her they believed it.
Just like they easily believed the rumor about Tomoyo.
What goes around comes around.
Sakura's eyes burned with fire as her hand crunched around the piece of paper in her hand. Meiling. This has to be Meiling.
"Come to think of it, she did lose weight."
"What if she's a lesbian too? She did willingly star in Tomoyo's movies..."
She made her way back to the silver sports car, getting in. She drove at warp speed to her house, which was only about a 5 minute drrive. Running up the stairs, she went into a dresser drawer and opened a box with everyone in the school's photo. She quickly found the photo she was looking for. Sixth graders Tomoyo and Meiling smiled at Sakura who took the photo. She found a glue stick and a swiss army knife that were buried under other photos. She used the scissors in the knife to cut the picture in half, gluing the half she kept and grabbed a blank target card, and stamped a target on the head of the dark haired girl. She grabbed a pink gel marker and ran back to her car, speeding all the way back to school.
So, Meiling thought she could ruin her rep so easily? Well, she had another thing coming after her.
Tomoyo shook her head. "No, no! This isn't true, Rita! This is just going as low-"
Rita covered Tomoyo's mouth. "Not so loud! Oh, here comes Meiling!"
Meiling walked up to the group, smile wide upon her face. "So, how's this going? Has Kinomoto gotten here yet? Has she seen the papers?"
Chelsae and Nikki came up to the group to report a negative on Kinomoto's arrival, but the slamming of a door stopped them. There stood Sakura, eyes on fire, holding a marker, a card and purse. Everyone on the hallway parted to the side as Sakura narrowed her eyes as everyone. Meiling, off to the side, simply smiled as whispered, "I guess she has..."
"WHERE IS SHE?," Sakura demanded, voice echoing throughout the hallway. She scanned the crowd, eyes resting on Meiling who walked out in plain view as Sakura stormed up to her.
"Ah, yes, I see you've read my little notice. I just thought everyone might want to remember you as a healthy person before you go on over to Tokyo High," her voice dripping with false innocence.
Sakura leaned closer. "Watch your mouth, Li. What goes around, comes around. All the way around."
Meiling smiled. "As I suppose you've found out this morning. So how does it feel Kinomoto? To be the victim for once? But, the real question is, what are you gonna do about it? Throw a card in my face? A big scary pink card?"
Sakura shrugged. "Actually, yes." Sakura lifted it up and wrote a few words on it. "But, I'm not giving it to you." She turned to face the people behind Meiling, as she extended the hand with the card in it towards Tomoyo.
Meiling felt her heart beat faster as tears stung her eyes. "Keep her out of this, Kinomoto. She didn't make those slips of paper. I did."
Sakura smiled. "Then you should have kept out of it, Li. Tomoyo can thank you now. Doesn't trying to hurt me seem useless if all that comes from is your pain and my victory?" The first bell rang. Sakura smiled once more and walked off.
She was unstoppable. And if Meiling tried once more to stop her, it would just end in another target card. Maybe she'd pick on that bookworm, Nikki...
Meiling ran out of the school. She held in her hand, a pink card, words of the pink gel marker smudged with Daidoji's tears. She finally stopped out of breath behind a tree in the school yard, lowering her head so she could read the card.
You should have told her to stay out of it. Don't blame yourself, Tomoyo. It's not your fault—it's Meiling's. I didn't want to do this, but I'm sure you understand. This is completely Meiling's fault. You can thank her.
{Picture of Tomoyo with a target stamped around her head.}
You've been targeted. Or, should I say marked?
After all, she marked you too.
Meiling let the tears fall. By attacking Kinomoto, she hurt Daidoji twice as bad. This was low—even for Sakura. She was playing a twisted game, she saw that now. Why hadn't she had been smarter? She knew that Kinomoto would get her back like that...
But no. It's too late to turn back. She had to get her before she hurt Daidoji. Or any of the others. But, how?
Just like she had decided on before. The same way Sakura attacked. This game had no rules—it was anarchy, full of backstabbing, which left plently of ways to hit the target. No longer was she going to plan around her friends—she was going to plan around herself. As long as she didn't get hurt, nothing would stop her. Daidoji would see that in the end, when Sakura was gone.
Practice round was over Kinomoto.
Meiling got up and ran to the nearest payphone. She pressed 0 over and over until the operator answered.
"I'd like to make a collect call to Hong Kong..."