Wicked Games

Chapter One: Look At You

Hillwood High was just your regular, run of the mill high school. They had a corny team mascot, football jocks were gods, nerds got beat up, girls got used, and the world kept on spinning. It was a dog eat dog world out there and these teenagers were certainly getting a firsthand taste of it. But our story here is far from ordinary, bordering on the clinically insane.

High from her spot in the cafeteria, Rhonda watched the insignificant ants below her, scurrying to make sense of their shorts lives so far. She sighed delicately, her chin resting ever so gently in the palm of her hand. She leaned from her seat onto the ledge, just peering over the small metal fence that kept their balcony safe, her thoughts drifting.

"Miss Lloyd. Did you hear me?"

Rhonda turned her head to look back to the table. Ah, yes. Another of her many minions, a spluttering freshman standing at the other end of her table hugging her books to her chest nervously. What was her name again?

"What Celeste?" The weariness broke through the politeness of her tone.

"You wanted to know about the Curly situation?" Celeste bit her lip.

Oh Curly.

Rhonda noticed Ludwig making his way towards the table.

"Not now." She sighed, waving her off. Celeste scurried away and Rhonda's eyes connected with Helga's beside her. She gestured with her head towards him. Helga glanced up lazily.

"Ludwig. Nice to see you." Helga smirked.

"Helga." He grinned slyly. "Babe, could we maybe talk in private?"

Helga glanced at her for permission. Rhonda laughed lightly, leaning back in her chair but she shook her head slightly. Anger tightened his jaw.

"You can speak freely in front of my friends." Helga smiled. He scowled momentarily but recovered, smoothing back his chocolate brown hair.

"Right. Well I just wanted to ask you to the winter formal since we had such a great time last week." He said smoothly. He then presented a single bright red rose.

"Oh, how sweet!" Lila crowed from across the table. Helga took it, holding it to her nose with a smile.

"I'll think about it." She said, her eyes darting over the petals with a sort of cheekiness about it. Ludwig nodded and sauntered off.

"How sweet is that?" Lila cooed.

"Oh shut up." Helga laughed, waving her off with the rose.

"He's a catch Helga." Rhonda looked at her from under her lashes.

"Yeah, maybe." She said, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. Although Ludwig wasn't the brightest bulb in the room, he had failed his freshman year, but he'd stepped up his game. He was a quarterback for the football team, tall and muscular, and a bit of a romantic, although a cheesy one at that. Helga going to the winter formal with him was like the cliché of all 80s high school movies.

But then Wolfgang was bearing down on them as well, his eyes glued to the hallway that Ludwig had just disappeared down.

"Helga! Can I speak to you for a moment?" He immediately pulled up his sweet boy act. Lila laughed but stifled it to listen in.

"In private?" Rhonda sneered. Helga shot her a look but gave Wolfgang her attention.

"Just spit it out." She said.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the winter formal with me. I feel like we really clicked the other week when we went out. I had a sweet time and I'd like to have more of them. What do you think?" And with that, he offered her a small sunflower.

"Oh!" She sighed, taking it and holding it to her nose.

"She'll think about it. Move along." Rhonda shooed him away. He smiled and lumbered on.

"Wow Helga, two dates in ten minutes? You're on a roll." Lila giggled.

Wolfgang wasn't a bad catch either. He'd failed his freshman year two with Ludwig, they were truly a bad influence on each other, but now he was the lead singer of a grundge band that kind of pulled Helga's old heartstrings. He was just as tall and muscular but still with the wild spiked hair of the P.S. 118 days but the new presence of hooped lip rings on each side of his mouth. The old Helga would have buckled for a boy like that, but she had to remember her own image and so Rhonda's image.

"You have got those two exactly where you want them." Rhonda smirked, taking a sip from her sparkling water.

"Oh yes. They would fight to the death at this point for my presence." She smiled.

"I wish I could get two hunky studs fighting over me." Lila sighed wistfully, plopping her chin down on her intertwined fingers.

"Well it's not like it's hard work playing two testosterone driven boys against each other." Rhonda chuckled.

"So you say." Lila pointed out. "I can't even get Arnold to think twice about going. I've dropped like a million hints about it."

Helga coughed violently on the salad she was eating.

"Excuse me?" Rhonda's voice dropped dangerously low.

"What?" Lila said innocently. "We've been hanging out for like, ever. I don't have a date, he doesn't have a date. I figured we could go together. As friends."

"As friends." Rhonda said, her voice a dead monotone.

"Yeah." Lila stared at the napkin in her hands, tearing it apart with her salmon colored fingertips.

"Lila." Rhonda said.

She continued to stare down.

"LILA." Rhonda barked. Her auburn head snapped up.

"I won't tell you this again. Stay away from Arnold." Rhonda's eyes darkened.

"Why should I? Helga doesn't want him. She's got Ludwig AND Wolfgang. How fair is that!" Lila snapped, coming over the side of her table to point threateningly at her.

"Lila!" Rhonda snarled. Lila fell back into her seat.

"This is not "up for discussion"." Rhonda said pointedly. "Stay away from him."

Helga's face was completely blank, neutral as she stared straight ahead not hearing them.

"Fine." Lila huffed, falling back against her seat, arms crossed.

"Great. Glad we could talk that out." Rhonda said hollowly.

Of course, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch.

"Let's get moving then." Rhonda said standing and swinging her purse over her shoulder. Helga stood too, her mouth set in a firm line. She was unusually silent then, following closely behind Rhonda. Lila took her time standing, allowing the other two girls to move a little away before slamming her chair under the table and picking up her purse.

"No one tells me what to do." She growled and followed after them.