Julian and Cassandra began leaving for Hearst as soon as they had been informed that Payton was in trouble. They met Autumn at the front of the school parking lot where she was pacing up and down nervously. Julian asked, "Autumn, what's going on?"
"Oh, it's a total mess. Payton had been so busy helping us out that she forgot that she was supposed to be throwing a party for Mia," she replied.
"Oh, no." Julian's face looked ashen.
"Whoa! Back up a little bit. Who's Mia?" Cassandra enquired.
"Max's little sister," Autumn explained.
"Yowza," Cassandra grimaced.
"We'd better rush there... And fast," Julian urged.
They all hopped into Cassandra's car and they drove off to Hearst High. A few minutes later, they arrived and found Kara and another cheerleader confronting Payton. Cassandra made the presumption that the other cheerleader was Mia, given her resemblance to Max; long blonde hair pulled back by a grey headband and blue eyes and cherry red lips. She wore a similar green cheerleadering uniform to Kara.
"You promised to bring snacks and decorations to my party then you dare pull off a total no-show?" Mia raged.
"I am so, so sorry! I was helping out Autumn and her new friend... " Payton tried to explain.
"WHAT?! You were over at that new school?!" Mia exclaimed in anger.
"That's just insulting, Payton. We're not going to forget this. We're going to make your life MISERABLE! No one's going to come to your parties. No one's going to talk to you at lunch. You're going to be a total social outcast!" Kara threatened.
Payton sniffled, "I... I... "
Cassandra couldn't take anymore of this. "Hey! Cut it out already!" she shouted at them. She stepped in between them and Payton and continued, "Can't you see that she feels bad enough about it?"
"Who asked you, dork?" Kara sneered.
Cassandra rolled her eyes and muttered, "How original."
She put her arm around a crying Payton and said, "Let's go back to my school. You don't need to take this crap."
They turned their backs on Mia and Kara and went back to Avalon, with Payton crying on Julian's shoulder and Autumn trying to comfort her.
Once back at the school, Payton finally spoke, "Those two were right. Knowing those two, they are going to make my life a living hell after this."
"True. They actually have enough power to pull it off," Autumn added.
"Then you don't have to take it lying down. Come to Avalon High," Cassandra suggested.
Payton looked at her with tears still streaming down her face. "You'd still want me at your school? But why? I'm not popular anymore?" she wondered.
Cassandra cupped Payton's face and used her thumbs to dry her tears. "This school is for everyone. You don't have and will never need to be popular to be welcome here," Cassandra told her softly.
Payton gave her a lovely smile and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're so sweet! I'll enroll first thing tomorrow."
The next day, Cassandra arrived at the school and found Payton at the admissions office, all happy and excited to be joining Avalon. Payton hugged her and squealed, "Aah! This is the best decision I've made... well, apart from getting these designer Manolo Blahnik shoes at a special discount..." Cassandra just chuckled and said, "Welcome to Avalon High, Payton."
They left the admissions office and without further ado, went for their first classes of the day.
Cassandra had to admit, the school had grown in the few weeks that they had been open. All the hangouts and sports facilities had been completed. They had even set up a new thing called the Dish; a sort of a student polling forum where they got to ask the students their opinions on various matters of interest, be it pop culture or politics. The students were happy with it as they got their voices heard.
After a World History class with Miss Lee, it was lunch break. Cassandra went to the cafeteria and picked her lunch. She saw Julian and Autumn waving her over. She walked over to them and sat at their table. "Hey, guys," she greeted.
"Hey, Cassandra," they responded.
"Have any of you seen Payton?" Cassandra asked after a few minutes of chatting and eating.
"No, we haven't. Actually, we were about to ask you the same thing," Autumn responsed worriedly.
"Excuse me," a voice piped up from behind them. They turned around and saw a girl with pink hair, tanned skin and brown eyes looking at them. She was dressed in a pink sweater with heart decorations, a pink skirt and pink flats.
"Oh hey, Isabelle, " Cassandra greeted.
She smiled at Cassandra in greeting and continued, "Pardon me for the intrusion but I couldn't help but overhear that you were looking for the new girl, Payton? I saw her walking towards the fountains and she looked really sad. Like she had been crying."
"Oh, no. What happened?" Autumn looked down sadly.
"Thanks, Isabelle," Cassandra gratefully said.
"No problem, darling," she nodded and she went off.
The other three left the cafeteria and ran for the fountains. True to Isabelle's information, Payton was seated at the benches and she looked like she had been crying. Cassandra sat down and she asked, "Payton? What happened?"
"It's... it's my boyfriend. I guess I mean by EX-boyfriend," she answered. "He just broke up with me. In a TEXT message. He said I was a traitor to Hearst, and he didn't want to take the hit to his popularity!" she frowned.
Cassandra scowled, "What a jerk!"
Payton snorted, "I know right! But my heart's broken anyway!" She sighed heavily.
Cassandra put her arm around her and Payton put her head on her shoulder. Autumn spoke up, "Anything we can do?"
"Yeah, anything?" Julian asked as he cracked his knuckles and pounded his fist into his palm.
"Julian, no." Cassandra warned.
Payton giggled at Julian's antics. Cassandra then got a light bulb moment. She took her phone out of her pocket and put some music on. She pulled Payton up to her feet. Payton curiously asked, "What are you doing?"
"The only thing we can do; a random dance party!" Cassandra responded.
Payton laughed and they began singing and dancing to the music. Autumn joined them but Julian was reluctant to join up until Autumn's prodding got him up and he danced to the music. They all danced until their feet were tired and they sat down on the benches. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate you doing this for me." Payton said.
After School...
At Payton's insistence, they went to a nearby coffee shop and she bought them all her favourite drink, a peppermint spice latte. "It's kinda a post-party Payton thing and also a post-breakup thing," she explained. "It's kinda dumb, but I like it."
Autumn smiled, "I like it."
They all took one and Cassandra said, "I propose a toast... Here's to Payton... And here's to us. Cheers."
They gulped down the lattes and laughed at the tiny foam mustaches that formed at the top of their lips.
The door to the coffeshop opened and Cassandra turned around and saw the last person she wanted to see; Kara and the whole cheerleading squad.
Payton looked at what Cassandra was looking at and groaned, "Uh oh, looks like someone followed me here..."
"Why does she need the entire cheerleading squad with her?" Cassandra wondered.
"That's Kara for you. She never goes to a showdown without backup," Payton answered.
"Well, we've got your back," Julian said.
Kara sauntered over to their table, followed by Mia and the other cheerleaders.
"Ahem...Payton...Joining the enemy I see... Not a smart move," Kara said as she folded her arms.
"Look, Kara. We don't want any trouble here," Julian said, an eyebrow raised in warning for her to back off.
"Please. I can do whatever the hell I want, " Kara spat.
"I get you don't like Payton, but you can't just come at her like some psycho cheerleader," Cassandra said, standing up slowly, both hands on the table.
"You can't talk to me like that!" Kara exclaimed.
"Oh yes, I can. You can't come here disturbing the peace and expect to pick on Payton without a fight. You don't make the rules here, chickie," Cassandra responded calmly, stepping away from the table and was now face to face with Kara. She looked at Kara with a burning and unwavering gaze.
"And that means that it's time for you to leave this place," Julian added.
Kara looked around and saw that the chatter in the coffee shop had stopped and everyone was looking at them. She responded, "Whatever. Let's go, girls."
"Before we go, we've got a message from Max. We're challenging your school to a football game. Think of it as your school's first Homecoming game... if you think you can pull it off," Mia said.
"So we'll see you on the field... unless you're scared. Mia, girls... let's get out of here. Payton, have fun in Loserville," Kara sneered.
She slapped Payton's hand, which had been clutching her latte and it spilled all over her clothes.
"Hey!" Payton exclaimed.
Kara and the other girls snickered as they left the coffeeshop. Cassandra nearly lunged for Kara, but Julian held her back. "Hold your horses, Cass."
Cassandra growled but she sat down. Autumn winced at the mess Kara had made and apologized, "Sorry about your outfit, Payton."
"No biggie. Thanks for sticking up for me, " Payton smiled. "Meanwhile, we have Max's challenge to think about. I can organize a Homecoming parade."
"And Cassandra and I can organize the football team. But didn't I miss something? Homecoming is great but are we letting Kara get away with dumping coffee all over you?" Julian enquired.
Payton shifted uncomfortably in her seat and replied, "That was kinda the idea."
Cassandra looked at Julian and smirked, "Oh, you're onto something, baby. I like it."
Julian continued, "We should settle this the hard way... It's time for some revenge tonight. It's prank time, baby."
Payton gasped, "Are you crazy?"
"Come on. Man up. Kara needs to know that she can't come and mess with any of us."
"Oh yeah, and you Payton are going to be that person to teach her that!" Cassandra added.
"I'm in!" Payton said enthusiastically.
"Count me out, guys. Revenge isn't exactly my kind of thing," Autumn said sadly. "Besides, I kinda had plans for tonight."
"It's okay, Autumn, " Cassandra said gently.
Autumn left the coffeeshop and the three were left planning on what kind of revenge to take. Julian said, "I couldn't help but notice that Kara drives a fancy, brand new sports car."
"That's right. Her dad bought it for her Sweet Sixteen party," Payton informed them.
"Oh, there will be nothing sweet about that car once we're done with it," Julian smirked.
"Hmm... We could dump a bag of snakes in her car," Cassandra suggested. "Kara seems like the kind of girl who screams at the sight of a snake. Let us see her reaction to a dozen."
"Wow, that is seriously vicious, Cass," Julian said in surprise. "But you're the boss."
Cassandra looked at him and gave him a sultry smile and whispered in his ear, "What can I say? I'm a bad, bad girl."
Julian grinned at this and bit his lip and Cassandra restrained herself from laughing. They went to the pet shop to buy some equipment for catching corn snakes, the least harmful snakes around and the most common. After that, they drove off to a field and began catching snakes and putting them in a sack. Julian gulped and asked, "Hey, Cass. These snakes aren't like...you know...poisonous?"
"Don't worry, Julian. These are corn snakes. They couldn't hurt you even if they wanted to. They are so cute with their hissy snakey faces," Payton answered.
"Julian, are you afraid of snakes?" Cassandra asked incredulously.
"No, but what if there was a special type of snake with mutant powers?" Julian pressed worriedly.
Cassandra at this point was shaking with silent laughter. She replied, "Don't worry, Julian. Professor Snake-xavier trains his mutant snakes to use their powers for good and not evil."
"Quiet, Sage," Julian grumbled and she laughed.
"Caught the last one," Payton said happily.
"Good, the faster we get rid of these legless abominations the better, " Julian muttered.
They placed it in the sack and they walked to the car. "Now it's time to give Kara a taste of her own medicine," Julian declared.
Cassandra asked Payton, "You ready for this?"
Payton replied, uncertainty lacing her voice, "I...uh...suppose... "
Cassandra looked at her and in a concerned voice, enquired, "Are you okay?"
Payton sighed and said, "It's stupid, but... if Kara does catch us... do you think she'll, you know, hit me? Just the other day, I saw her slap a freshman girl for wearing the same shoes as her..."
Julian interrupted, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you really worried she'll hit you? Prep, Kara's 115 pounds tops and as intimidating as a trained poodle. You know why she's got so much power at Hearst? Because good people do nothing. Because no one wants to make a scene. Because it's so much easier to just make her happy. There's only one thing you can do if you want a bully to stop hitting you. And that's to hit them right back."
"...did you get bullied a lot, Julian?" Payton asked with a curious look.
"Nope. Not even once. I WAS the bully." Julian responded flippantly. "Now, come on, let's head back to the Jock Hangout."
A few minutes later, Payton and Cassandra were dressed in tank tops and yoga pants. Cassandra was demonstrating some simple self defense moves and using Julian as a live example. Payton looked unsure and said, "I don't know if this is such a good idea..."
"It's a great idea! There's no better way to get over your fear of being hit than getting hit a bunch of times!" Julian persisted.
"Ain't that the truth!" Cassandra said with a smile.
"Now, come on ladies! Let's do this!"
Cassandra taught Payton some moves and she learned the moves like a pro. Julian however noticed that she was holding back in their execution and he pointed it out to Cassandra who asked, "Now what do we do?"
"Can you do a Kara impression?" He asked.
Cassandra nodded and started shoving Payton and talking trash...
"Hey loser! What are you going here, being all loser-y?" Cassandra mimicked Kara.
Payton looked nervous and replied, "Oh, I, uh... sorry..."
"Sorry's not gonna cut it, loser! No one talks back to me, especially not a lame, dumb, ugly loser like you!" Cassandra continued.
"Now that's... that's not nice..." Payton said, her tone of voice indicating that she was getting upset.
"Oh really? What are you gonna do? Cry about it? Or maybe you'll kick me with those ugly shoes you bought from the dollar store..." Cassandra mocked.
"They're designer Le Chiffres, and I ordered them from France!" Payton shouted and as Cassandra went for another shove, Payton grabbed her arms and flipped her onto the mat with an expert judo throw!
Julian whopped in joy and Payton looked at her arms in surprise. Cassandra complimented her, "Lovely technique."
Julian walked up behind Payton and asked, "You ready, Prep?"
Payton nodded in delight and responded, "I'm so ready!"
Later that night, in the bushes behind Kara's house, Cassandra, Julian, Payton and Brianna were crouched there, having placed the snakes in Kara's car after some lockpicking. Cassandra had Brianna come as backup.
"OMG OMG OMG. I cannot believe this is for real happening!" Payton gasped.
"Come on, Payton. Admit it. This is fun." Julian said.
"Maybe just a little..." Payton admitted.
"Quiet, you two...did you see that? There's someone opening the front door!" Cassandra shushed them.
"Is someone out there?" Kara called out.
"What... what do we do now?! Julian, you didn't cover this in our training!" Payton asked frantically.
"Now, my friends, we RUN!" Julian said.
They didn't need to be told twice. They ran as fast as their legs could take them.
"Who's out there? What... WHAT did you do to my CAR?! I hate snakes!! Aah! Oh God!" They heard Kara shriek in fright.
They ran until they found a fence blocking their path. They screeched to a stop and Payton exclaimed, "Oh, no! What are we going to do?"
"Get it together! We just need to climb over the fence!" Julian firmly said.
Payton nodded, "O...okay."
Julian led them in climbing the fence. He climbed it with ease and beckoned for the others to follow. Brianna followed then Payton, Julian assisting them. Once they were over the fence, they looked at Cassandra who hadn't yet climbed over. Cassandra looked at the fence and then she took a few steps back. She ran towards the fence, used her left foot to anchor herself and with both hands on the top of the fence, she did a flip and landed perfectly on the ground. "Whoa, Cassandra. Good reflexes, " Payton remarked.
"Show off, " Julian snorted.
Cassandra stuck out her tongue at him and they continued their frantic sprinting. They finally stopped after a while and they panted heavily.
"Now that's what we call a clean getaway," Julian said, amid heavy breathing.
Payton squealed and clapped her hands. "I can't believe we just did that! The only thing I figured I was good at was being nice and throwing parties. Now I'm a world-class pranker."
"Hold your horses, Prep. You have a long way to go before calling yourself world-class. But you did good," Julian told her warmly.
"Now, we have Max's challenge to think about, " Cassandra remarked.
"We'll talk about that tomorrow," Julian said. "For now, we'd better get home."
They bid each other a good night and left for their respective homes. Tomorrow, they prepared for the Homecoming game.
Author's note: Well, another chapter is up. FYI, Isabelle is a Heartthrob girl. The songs Cassandra and company were dancing to are Hurricane by Bridget Mendler and Here's to Us by Victoria Justice. I was listening to them as I was writing this chapter down. And is there something between Cassandra and Julian? (Gasp). I guess we'll have to see! Stay tuned for more updates! A special shout-out to StanfordBound2020! Thanks for reviewing! As always, reviews and ideas are welcome but no flames! I also apologize for any grammatical errors or typos. Bye bye! Canary out! : )