Lydia's Hardcore... as is Christie
Welcome to Wonderland Chapter 6: Bitches and Altos
"Really?!"
Alice blushed a little and nodded.
Emma laughed. "Somebody's got a boyfriend."
"It was only a few kisses," Alice replied. "And a movie."
"Well, what do you call it?" Emma asked.
"In the midst of defining a relationship," Alice replied matter-of-factly. She looked at her watch. "Gotta go."
"Bye!" Emma smiled.
"Bye, Em," Alice nodded back, getting up from their table in the diner. She walked over to the counter and kissed her mother on the cheek. "Bye."
"Bye," Rory repeated. "Your dad had to leave early, but he's gonna pick you up after chorus to take Frankie home."
Alice nodded. "Okay. Bye, Luke!"
"You got lunch?!" Luke called from the kitchen.
"Uh... I thought I'd buy-"
She didn't get to finish. A brown paper bag flew from the kitchen door and she caught it more out of surprise than anything else. "Thanks, Uncle Luke!"
"Have a good day!" Luke yelled.
She was about to go when her mother took her arm gently.
"Mom?"
Rory smiled. "My baby: Dugreys are notorious for being devious liars and spreading rumors. If Little Tristin Junior smudges your image in the least, I give you permission to make him cry for his mommy."
Alice smirked and hugged her.
"Hey, Madison."
She smiled as the brunette sat down. "How was your weekend?"
Alice nodded. "Strange, but alright. Yours?"
"Oh... quiet... my mom is away till Thursday," Madison replied.
"Party?" Alice asked with a smirk.
"Too lazy," Madison joked. "The house would never be picked up afterward and then where would I be?"
"Up Shit Creek without a paddle," the other girl supplied.
Madison laughed a little. "Hey can I asked you something?"
"Oh... sure," Alice replied, starting to get a little nervous. She really didn't want it to get out that she'd been sucking face with Tristin Dugrey Jr.
"Is it true that you got into choir?"
She breathed out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I'm the new alto. Why, are you in it, too?"
"No!" Madison said abruptly. "I can't sing... It's just that..." she looked around the hallway a little as she loaded her locker. "Some of the girls are a little... they don't like new girls."
Alice snickered. "Sopranos, mostly. They're stuck up. We had tons of them at Stars Hollow High."
"Kayla's one of the section leaders."
"Kayla?" Alice scoffed. "Twiggy Kayla?"
Madison nodded.
"Please. I'm not afraid of her."
"Don't get in her way," Madison warned. "She's really evil."
Alice smirked. "Kelly Presby."
Madison gave her a confused look. "Huh?"
Alice just kept smirking.
"Hey, Kelly!"
Kelly Presby whirled around, her perfectly bleached locks whirling with her. She wore her immaculately pressed cheerleader uniform. She glared when she spotted Emma Forrester (in an equally neat cheerleader outfit), Joey Rygalski, and Janis Callahan.
"What do you rejects want?" Kelly snapped.
"We worked up a cheer for you over the weekend," Emma smiled proudly. "Ready?!"
"Ready!" Her friends chorused.
"Gimme a B!"
"B!"
"Gimme an I!"
"I!"
"Gimme a T!"
"T!"
"Gimme a C!"
"C!"
"Gimme an H!"
"H!"
"What does that spell?!"
"Bitch!"
Alice turned with an eyebrow raised. "Scuse me?" she asked. "Baking powder?"
Kayla glared. "You heard me."
"So... what did I do to deserve the insult?" Alice asked.
"You weaseled your way into the choir."
Alice snorted. "Suck my cl-"
"There a problem, ladies?"
They both looked up. "No, Mr. Medina," they muttered.
He nodded. "Good. Ms. Mariano, you have my class next. Come with me," he said, ushering her down the hall. "Please watch your language."
"It's not a bad word," Alice remarked. "It's a part of the female anatomy."
"It can be used in a derogatory way," Max lectured. "I know you know this because you were about to use it as such."
Alice grinned. "If it makes you feel any better, she deserved it. She called me a bitch."
"Ms. Mariano..."
"She did."
"Classroom... now, please."
She shrugged. "Sure thing, Teach."
Max sighed and followed her into the room.
Alice slumped down into the only empty desk left.
"Hey."
She glanced next to her. "Hi..."
They sat in silence.
"Sorry about last night," she muttered nervously. "My dad's kind of a mental case sometimes... all the time..."
Tristin smirked a little. "He hates me?"
"Hate's a little strong," Alice replied. "I'd say psychotically dislikes."
"And that's different from Hate, how...?"
She smiled. "If he hated you he would have strangled you with the garden hose instead of merely spraying you with it."
Tristin smiled and so did she.
"So... do you want to... go on a real date?" he asked.
She smiled. "Okay."
A voice cleared its throat from the front of the room and Alice looked up at their teacher.
Max raised an eyebrow. "Something to share with the whole class?"
Alice grinned. "Tristin was just telling me about his fear of toenails."
Max blinked. "Please save your phobia discussion for after class."
Tristin nodded. "Yes, sir."
Alice saluted.
Max sighed.
"You're home early!"
Rory blinked as she walked into the kitchen. Her husband was standing by the sink with a glass of water. He looked a little surprised. "Yeah... I am... so are you..."
He shrugged. "I had something to take care of."
"Which would be...?"
"Dentist appointment," Jess replied matter-of-factly.
"You have minty-fresh teeth?!" Rory asked excitedly.
He nodded slowly. "I do, indeed."
Rory smiled widely and pulled him into a kiss. "Oh, you do. That just made my day."
"Yeah?" Jess smirked.
She nodded. "Oh, yeah."
She walked into the choral room with some of the other kids and sat down on the far left riser. She looked across to the far right riser, where a group of prissy-looking girls were huddled, whispering and staring at her. In the middle of the small group was Kayla.
She sighed and glanced to the next group over from the girls, where a bunch of bored-looking boys were seated.
One of them was Tristin.
She smiled at him and he gave her a smirk and walked over.
"You sing?" he asked.
She nodded. "I do."
"I didn't know."
"You don't know much about me," Alice pointed out lightly.
"Good point," Tristin agreed. 'Friday good for a date?"
"Nope."
"No?"
Alice shook her head. "Friday night dinner with my family."
"Huh?"
"We go to my great-grandparents' house every Friday for dinner."
"Oh," Tristin said shortly. "Saturday?"
"Maybe... I'm might go up to New York that day..."
"Sunday?"
Alice sighed. "Sunday's movie night."
"What?"
"It used to be poker night, but Dad kept cheating, so we changed it to movies. Sometimes we play poker, but Dad's not allowed to shuffle anymore."
Tristin shook his head. "Your family's kinda strange."
She smirked. "Thanks."
He sighed. "Tentative plans for Saturday night?"
Alice nodded. "Sounds good."
"Tristin!"
He turned. "Kayla..."
She smiled brilliantly. "Hi!"
"Hi, Kayla," Alice said easily.
The blonde's smile was pure poison. "Mary..."
Tristin sighed. "Did you want something?"
"Just to say hello."
"Done now, Twiggy?" Alice asked.
Kayla glared. "Sure..." She smiled at Tristin and walked off.
"What's her problem?" Alice asked, leaning back on the riser.
Charlie abruptly sat down next to Alice. "They used to date."
Alice smirked up at Tristin, raising an eyebrow. "Did they?"
"Yup," Charlie nodded. "Seven months until he caught her sucking face with Brett Connelly. He dumped her. Rumor has it she never got over him."
Tristin rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Charlie."
The redhead smiled. "Anytime."
"You and Twiggy," Alice snickered.
"Not anymore," Tristin snapped. "And you're not exactly meaty yourself, Mariano."
"Yet I succeed in not looking as if I have an eating disorder," She pointed out. "I win."
Charlie laughed a little. "Tristin dating a smart girl for a change."
Alice blushed. "We're not dating... I mean... we may in the future... out first day isn't until Saturday!"
Both boys stared at her oddly.
"Alright!" a voice boomed. "Dugrey, Ellington, sections! McNeil, spit the gum out! Chandler, shoes on, and... everybody shut up! I'm talking, here!"
The man behind the voice was short, stout and bald, with glasses. His eyes landed on Alice. "New girl. Mariano?"
She nodded and got to her feet.
"Thank god you know where the hell an alto section is located," he said. "Alto one or two?"
"One," she replied.
He nodded. "Middle row."
She obeyed and stepped up onto the second riser, accidentally nudging the girl next to her. "Sorry."
The girls smirked. "No problem. I'm Stephanie."
Alice smirked. "Hi."
"Elise," a girl from one of the risers above her said.
"Hey, you guys. I'm Alice."
"We know," said another girl. "I'm Sami-Joe."
"Hi, I'm Aza," another whispered.
Alice smiled. "Hi."
"I see you're on the soprano hit list," Stephanie remarked.
"Looks like it," Alice muttered. "Kayla's their ring leader?"
Elise nodded. "And the rest are her evil henchmen. Elizabeth, Lydia, Christie and Arianna."
"Don't worry," Aza reassured. "We're all pretty much on their hit list."
"Have you ever been in chorus before?" Sami-Joe asked.
Alice nodded. "Yeah, but it was never this... violent."
"Welcome to Chilton Madrigals," Elise snorted.
Alice sighed and prepared for the warm-ups.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Tristin smiled as they walked out to the front of the school.
She nodded. "You will."
He leaned in and kissed her before walking off to his car.
She sighed and walked down the steps, stopping to take off her shoes. Their teacher hadn't even introduced himself. Everyone had called him Mr. E, and he'd spent two hours warming their voices and giving them sheet music to sight read. Not that she was complaining. She needed to get back into practice.
"Hey, Mary!"
Alice rolled her eyes and spun around. "Twiggy and friends."
Kayla stood tall with her group behind her. They were glaring.
"We don't want you in our choir," Lydia snarled.
"Oh, yeah?" Alice asked with a laugh. "Why's that?"
Elizabeth snorted. "Because you're a loser who can't sing."
Alice was about to retort, when Jess's car pulled up and came to an abrupt stop. The windows were rolled down, and he was blaring Golden Years loudly. He glanced out at her from behind his sunglasses. "You ready?"
She smirked and walked over to the car, throwing her backpack into the back seat, where Frankie was sitting. She glanced back at the group of girls and her smirk widened. She hopped into the passenger's seat, and Jess drove off as fast as he could.
The girls watched them go.
Christie stared in half-shock. "That guy was so hot."
