Like Wildfire

Prologue

Prologue

                                   "You always end with a jade's trick: I know you of old."

                                                                                                  -Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

April

Trissa

"He's from Messina."

"He's a hottie."

Trissa paused mid-zip, suddenly interested in the possible gossip she might hear through the bathroom stall door. Were they talking about anyone she knew? She leaned forward to peek through the crack between the door and the frame. Two girls were standing in front of the row of sinks, leaning toward the dim mirrors while fixing their makeup, but she didn't recognize them. They must be from another school.

"His name's Ben Byron and he's on the football team. I think he plays baseball, too, but I'm not positive." The short blonde girl fluffed her stick-straight hair.

"That explains all the muscles. Yum!" The other girl was taller, with a dark complexion and a killer figure.

Trissa frowned and leaned in farther. They were talking about Ben. Her Ben. As in her boyfriend. For 3 years. Taken. And his last name was Bryant, not Byron. Idiots.

"Is he single?" The girl with the over-sized rack was relentless.

"He's got a girlfriend. They've been together for, like, forever. She's some skanky cheerleader. You could totally steal him."

What. The. Hell? These two bitches needed to back off and leave her man alone. Trissa figured she'd wait a couple more seconds and then make a dramatic entrance.

"That might be fun." The dark girl leaned into the mirror and applied more lip gloss, slathering it thickly on her pouty lips. "What's the girlfriend's name?"

"You mean the former girlfriend?" They both cackled stupidly, sounding a lot like hyenas. "I don't know. Trisha or something like that. Who cares?"

"All right." The dark one pursed her lips at the mirror. "Let's go so I can make my move on the sexy Ben and steal him away from What's Her Name."

They were gone before Trissa could gather her thoughts enough to make the dramatic entrance she'd been planning. It was too bad, because she had thought of the perfect comeback, with her signature biting wit. Oh well, it's not like they would have been smart enough to recognize an artfully wielded insult anyway. It would have been a waste of energy. Still, though, the girl's last words had struck like an arrow. 'What's Her Name?' Is that what I've become? Is that it? My name doesn't even matter anymore? Trissa sat on the toilet seat and sunk her head into her hands. I'm a person. I'm more than just Ben's girlfriend. Aren't I? She'd been worried about it for quite a while, but hearing it from total strangers was shocking.

She and Ben had started dating the first week of freshman year and had been together ever since. She knew people thought of them as the "it" couple at their high school and she'd always been proud of that. They never fought and he treated her really well. And the rest of what they'd said was true, as well. He was gorgeous and sexy, but was never stuck-up about it. And, God, his kisses! She could write epic songs about his lips if she was so inclined and had any talent for song writing. Which she didn't, nor the desire to try. She couldn't even read music.