Bad Girls

Chapter One

MY HEELS CLICKED against the smooth marble floor as I entered the school with my sunglasses still on. Summer break was just over, and it felt absolutely great to be back in school.

Not.

Coming back to school meant one thing: facing Blake and Charlotte again. After the tragedy of how Blake and I came to be, I couldn't stay the helpless little girl anymore. This teenage freak show needed an antagonist, and I gladly gave it to them.

On the last day of junior year, I went to the principal and dropped all of my extracurricular activities. Needless to say, his expression was of pure shock, but luckily, he didn't question any further. I was done with all of this. I was done with being the bad girl, being called Charlotte's bully. She was the one who started the war. If everyone wanted to see me as a bully, then a bully I would be.

I just had to learn how to fight fire with fire.

I could almost feel their stares on my skin as I walked down the halls of Crescent Grove High. I switched my skimpy cheerleader costume for a black leather jacket, ripped skinny jeans, and my signature black heels. With this new identity, everything had to go, except the heels. If I had let Charlotte take even that away from me, I would have really lost myself. The biggest change I had was probably not my choice of clothing, though. Over the summer holidays, I traded my long, strawberry blonde hair for wild, pastel purple locks. Might as well go full-out.

Upon reaching my locker, I noticed my best friend, Summer, leaning against hers, which was conveniently located just beside mine. The school lockers were all painted a hideous shade of green that resembled olives that had been left out in the sun for a little too long. Thankfully, I had redecorated my locker during the summer holidays, painting it in a sleek, matte, black. It definitely stood out in the crowd, just like how I wanted to.

"You didn't mention the hair, Ave." Summer smirked, examining my outfit. Giving her half a grin, I shoved my sunglasses into the locker and slammed the door shut.

"It's a last-minute thing. I don't want to have anything to do with the old me. You know, other than these babies." I clicked the heel of my left shoe lightly against the floor, allowing the sound to echo slightly through the growing crowd. I flicked my hair over my shoulder, and we made our way toward our first class. Just my luck, though. Apparently, Charlotte Brooke was also taking the same class.

"You gonna be okay?" Summer nudged me, and I turned to face her.

"Why wouldn't I be, Summer?" I plastered a smile on my face and walked into the classroom.

Seated at the front of the class, Charlotte was busily scribbling something into her little notebook while Blake gazed at her lovingly.

A single phrase ran through my mind: how sickening.

I snatched the notebook out of Charlotte's grip and flipped through it. Her startled shriek told me that I had gotten her off guard, but unfortunately, it also caused Blake to look at me.

"Well, well, Char. What is this? A little love note?" I laughed and flipped through the pages once more.

"Give it back, Avery." Blake got up from his seat and towered over me, his eyes staring intensely at the little notebook I held in my hands. The bunch of papers felt like a dozen bricks, and yet I held my faux confidence without a single slip-up.

"Now, why would I? She didn't give me back something of mine." I gave him a fake smile and turned my attention to Charlotte. "So give me a reason why I should give this back to her."

I turned swiftly, cat-walked all the way to the back of the classroom, sat on a chair, and propped my feet up on my table. Blake started to walk toward me, but fortunately, the teacher walked in glaring at him, basically forcing him to get back to his seat.