Payton stormed over, a furious look on her face. "Jess, I just heard the craziest rumour that you let this evil cheerleader into our school," Payton said, one hand on her right hip, another indicating towards Mia, giving her a withering glare, uncharacteristic of Payton.
"Ah, I remember you, Payton!" Mia spat in contempt. "The prep girl that ruined my party."
"That was an accident, and way better than trying to ruin someone's social life on purpose! We don't need people like you here."
Mia's lower lip trembled in hurt, showing that Payton's cruel words had stung. "But..."
Jess decided to intervene. "Look, Mia's the one who sent us the texts about what Hearst High was plotting. Can you at least give her a chance?"
Payton adamantly refused. "Hell, no! You don't know her like I do. Trust me." Payton sized Mia up and down in contempt. "NO ONE is going to want her here. We all HATE her," she finished with a frown on her face and she walked off with a sneer on her face.
"But... I'm... popular. And attractive. And rich. Why would people hate me?" Mia asked with a waver in her voice.
Jess gave her a sympathetic look and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "First rule of the game here at Berry, people don't like you just because you're popular. You're popular because people like you." Jess explained.
"That sounds like a Taylor Swift song to me," Mia commented with a mild wrinkle on her nose.
Jess just raised an eyebrow in amusement and beckoned her. "Come on. For example, Nishan is shooting a sci-fi fan film today: Dr. Who, by the sounds of it. He needs someone to play a role in it. It'll do you some good to bolster your image with him."
Mia gave her a look of askance and asked, "Do I look like the type who does sci-fi films?"
"Mia..." Jess stressed.
"Okay, okay. I'll do it," Mia gave in.
Jess beamed at her and they went off to the Nerd Hangout where Nishan was shooting the film. He saw Mia and Jess enter the Hangout and he walked over to them.
"Jess. How can I help you?" He enquired.
"Actually, Mia here wants to help you with your Dr. Who sci-fi fan film." Jess stated.
Nishan's mouth went agape in shock and surprise. "Mia! You really want to help with my fan film? You were always so mean back at Hearst High..."
"Well, Yeah, now I'm not, okay?" Mia said with an edge to her voice. "I'm totally into... whatever this thing is about..." she grumbled.
Nishan ignored her tone of voice and he said excitedly, "Oh, you'll be absolutely perfect! I was hoping we'd find a pretty girl to play the sassy companion..."
Mia seemed pleased by his compliment then her face changed to a confused one. "Whose sassy companion am I, exactly?"
"The Doctor's!" Nishan replied flippantly.
"I am NOT playing doctor!" Mia scowled.
Nishan laughed, "That's so something a companion would say. Roll cameras!"
He signaled two filmmakers to start filming.
A Filmmaker girl, Kate was filming while her partner, Zack was acting as director. "And...action!" He cued them.
Jess smirked at this and she left them to their devices. She got out for a bit, where she found an angry Payton waiting for her.
"Why? Why would you help her, Jess?" Payton demanded. "She's mean, spiteful, rude..."
Jess couldn't take anymore of her bad mouthing and she raised a hand to silence her. "Enough, Payton."
She narrowed her eyes at Payton, who fell silent at her look.
"I think you're being really unfair to her. You haven't even gotten a chance to know her well and you've jumped to conclusions already. Sure, she was a mean girl at Hearst but give her a chance here at Berry. You might be surprised," Jess lectured.
Mia got out of the Nerd Hangout, a small smile gracing her face. Jess looked at her and asked, "How did it go?"
"It was actually kind of fun. Nishan was really grateful that I helped him out. He seems to be warming up to me." Mia replied.
"Excellent. But don't forget that he's not the only one in this school. Now let's go meet up with Autumn. She's always got extra supplies in case anyone wants to join her."
At the Artist Hangout, Autumn, Jess and Mia were in front of blank easels. Mia asked her, "Okay, art girl. What should I paint?"
"Well, you're a soul in search of artistic expression. I was actually curious about what you were to paint." Autumn replied.
"Hmm... How about a pretty landscape?" Jess suggested.
"Are you sure? How do I know what kind to draw?" Mia asked.
"Just think of a happy memory you have and draw that." Jess replied.
Mia nodded and began her art session, her brush working furiously on the easel.
A while later...
Autumn looked at Mia's art in appreciation. "Hmm... a sunrise against a beautiful white beach..."
Mia smiled at Autumn's words. "It's the beach house where I used to go with my Dad and brother. I've got a lot of happy memories there."
"This is really good, Mia." Autumn remarked.
Jess, Autumn and Mia cleaned up and went to the cafeteria for lunch. Trays in hand, they grabbed a table and sat down and began chatting. Nishan joined them a little while later. As they were engrossed in conversation, they heard a voice call out. "Hey! Mia!"
They saw Julian coming to join them and they scooched over for him. He joined them and Mia greeted him, "What's up?"
"I get that you're going around, doing this whole win people over thing and I'm not buying it. You had a sweet setup at Hearst High. And something about this feels like you're not telling us the whole story," He said.
"What do you mean? There's nothing to tell," Mia said with an incredulous look on her face.
"Come on. There's something you're not telling us." Julian scoffed.
The rest of the table fell silent as they waited for Mia's explanation. Mia looked around at their expectant faces and she groaned in exasperation. "Ugh, if you must know."
She sighed and began, "My dad is super strict. He won't let me do what I want to do... and he didn't approve of the person I liked. She went to another school thanks to his influence and my dad didn't want me associating with anyone who wasn't under his thumb at Hearst. And as long as I'm living under his roof AND going to a high school he runs, my dad's never going to let me out of his sight. He'd have total control over my life. At least now I've got some time to myself every day."
Julian looked at her and nodded, "I get what you're saying, Mia. Welcome to our school," and he put an affectionate arm around her shoulders.
After lunch
"This place is amazing! I'd stay here all day! In fact, I wish I COULD. My dad and Max have been FURIOUS ever since I transferred," Mia said wistfully.
"Well, I'm glad you're here, Mia," Jess told her happily.
"I'm amazed. This actually didn't totally suck. I never thought I'd make a sci-fi movie or paint anything. Kara wouldn't have let me do that stuff I'd tried. But now that I did, I have to say it was actually... kind of fun! If this is what it takes to be popular here, well, I'd pick it over Hearst any day."
"Told ya."
"Though, I do miss being on the cheer squad. I wonder if the cheerleaders will let me join up," Mia wondered.
"After school, we can check it out," Jess told her.
Jess and Mia went to the gym where the cheerleaders were warming up. Mia had changed into black shorts, sneakers and a green tank top. Cassandra called Bella over and asked if it was okay if Mia joined the team.
"I'm kind of an expert in cheerleading. At Hearst High, we've won dozens of awards," Mia pointed out in her defense.
"Hold your horses, girlie. Don't expect to come over here and take over the cheer leading squad just like that." Bella frowned.
Mia scowled, "I'm overqualified to be head cheerleader, and you know it!"
"Easy, Mia! First things first; get on the squad," Jess said coolly.
"Right. I do want to be on the team. I know I can help! Let me take a look at your routine, Bella. Maybe I can give you some pointers."
"Ha! Our routine is perfect!" Bella snorted.
However, Bella got the cheerleaders to perform the routine and Mia observed carefully. Once they were done, Mia remarked, "It's awesome! But what do you think of something like this for the ending?"
Mia did a running, tumbling pass with a triple somersault that ended in the splits. The others whooped and clapped. Jess went to the bleachers and watched the rest of the practice go on. After that, Mia ran up to her and Jess said, "Now, it's time for you to face Payton."
"Wait, what?" Mia exclaimed. "No way!"
"Yeah, way!"
"I thought she hated me! She ruined my party and has it out for me!"
"Come on, Mia. She forgot about it. She's a total sweetheart. Just get to know her better."
Mia nodded reluctantly and they went to the Prep Hangout where Payton was seated alone, engrossed in her phone. Jess called, "Payton!"
She looked up and walked over to them. "Yeah?" she responded warily.
"I think you and Mia need to know each other better. How about a trip to the mall?" Jess suggested.
"What?!" Payton exclaimed.
"Trust me, I don't like the idea any more than you do. You might smother me with a handbag or something," Mia grimaced.
"Give it a chance. Besides, you said you were going to grab some new Givenchy shoes at the Scarlatti store." Jess wheedled.
"Wait, you're going to that 30 percent off sale? I wanted to grab a Tom Ford suit!" Mia exclaimed in delight.
"No way!" Payton gasped, her eyes sparkling in excitement.
They went off to the car park, talking rapidly about designer brands that were going to be present at the sale. Jess thought in satisfaction, 'Mission accomplished.'
Autumn called. "Hey! Jess!"
Jess turned around and Autumn caught up to her. "I've got big news! I found out more about Max's plan to shut down our school. The school inspection is going to be conducted by three members of the state I even found out who one of the board members is! Mr Kernsprickle, the President of the local Actors' Guild!"
Jess raised a questioning eyebrow. "So what does that mean for us?"
Autumn elaborated further. "It means we've got an edge! We know that he cares about... performing arts! We've just got to do something to impress him."
"Uh oh... you don't look happy." said Jess
"Oh, I am very, VERY unhappy! My dad just did the worst thing ever!" said Mia
"Abused his authority as Principal to grant unfair privileges to his two kids, turning his school into a toxic nightmare?" Jess asked
"No! He cancelled his credit card! He let my brother do what he want he treats me like a prisoner. It's his way of getting back at me for transferring." Mia sobbed
"That does seem pretty mean." said Jess
"It's not just mean, it's horrible! It's evil! It's a war crime!" Mia burst into tear
Jess comfort Mia. "It's your dad's money he worked hard to stay rich. You and Max need to pull your weight someday to keep the family fortune running. You can get a job and save up money."
"That will take year I suppose I should get a job make my own money I don't have to rely on my dad anymore. Thank Jess your a real friend, any jobs available?" Mia asked
Jess chuckles. Jess sets Mia up working at a thrift store on the weekend.