Style Squad

Friday

We spent the whole rest of the week working on the Style Squad project. Then, Friday dawned upon us, bright and early. I woke up to my alarm clock screaming. "Yay! Friday." It was 5:30. I go to school at 7:40.

I went to my closet to get my outfit. We start presenting our projects today. We chose to go in the bright colors of our logo. I was going in light pink, Lexi was going in fuchsia, Vera was going in pale blue, and Sandra was going in lavender.

We had gone shopping at the Dolphin Mall yesterday, picking out the cutest and most professional clothes we could find. My Aunt Cassie actually created a super cute line of professional clothes, so we were in luck when we went to her little boutique. My friends and I chose pencil skirts in the colors we were going in, along with white blouses and jackets to match the skirts. We looked so grown-up and professional in those outfits. And we matched, too!

I ate a quick breakfast of tostada and cafe con leche and ran back upstairs to get my outfit on. My mom helped me put my hair in a bun, and I put a little makeup on. Not a lot, just some foundation, mascara, and lip gloss. Afterwards, my mom said that I could have gone out and applied for a job. That's how grown-up I looked!

I grabbed my backpack, purse, and phone, and my mom and I drove to the school.

***

We were supposed to be dropped off at the high school part of my school. Yeah, high school. We'd be presenting our projects in the gym. Giving my hair another bobby pin, Mami kissed me and wished me good luck. I started walking into the high school section, and I looked around for my friends. No sign of other girls dressed in bright, professional clothes.
     
In the gym, I was setting up our board. The tables were set up like a science fair, if you can picture that. There weren't any actual categories for the businesses, though.

After setting up the board, I decided to walk around a bit. The judging didn't start for a while. I've gotta say, some ideas were extremely creative! There were bakeries, sport equipment stores, and even a science laboratory.

When I returned to my board, however, someone else was already reading it. It was a girl, with golden-brown curls cascading down her back. I groaned. "Hannah, what do you want?"

Hannah Crimson is the richest, meanest, most popular girl in our school. She has green eyes, light skin, a beauty mark under her nose, and, of course, her trademark golden-brown curls. Every girl wants to be her, every boy wants to date her, every teacher wants to teach her. The only people in the school that aren't under her spell are me, Lexi, Sandra, and Vera.
      
Hannah whipped her head around, her hair flying back like a model's hair in a shampoo commercial. "Oh, hey, Elisa!" She exclaimed, smiling a fake smile. "I was just reading your board! Such a great idea! So... creative." The way she said "creative" made me cringe. It sounded almost like she was saying a curse word.
      
Hannah stared at me with those green, snakelike eyes. She smirked. "Of course, it's not as great as my business idea," she said, examining her nails. "Do you want to see it?"
      
I took a deep breath, shaking. I hate this girl with every inch of my being. "You know what, Hannah? No. I don't want to go with you," I said.

Hannah honestly looked surprised. "Are you sure you don't want to see my project? You know what happens when you say no to me!"

It was my turn to examine my nails. Knowing that Hannah was fuming at the fact that I didn't adore her, I imitated her attitude. "Yeah, I'm sure. Ta-ta!"

Hannah gave a "Humph!", turned on her heel, and sashayed off, her shiny curls bouncing and her kitten heels clicking against the wooden floor. I laughed and pulled out my phone, texting to the group chat. Hey, where are you guys? It's 7:45! You're gonna need late slips!

Lexi texted back. Morning rush traffic. Sorry! 😓

Then, Vera. Same here.

Then, Sandra. Sorry Elisa!

I groaned. Don't get me wrong, I love Miami... it's just that the traffic gets really bad in the morning.

***

Ten minutes later, at exactly 7:55, the girls finally got to school. The three of them looked just like me, with the bright business clothing and their hair tied into buns. And, they were all holding tiny, white late slips. "There you three are!" I exclaimed, with a grin on my face. Walking up to them, I added, "Good thing the judges haven't started yet, or I would've had to present the project by myself!"

"Well, we're here now!" Lexi responded with a smile.

"Where's Ms. Darwin? We need to hand in our late slips." Sandra said, looking around.

I shrugged. Ms. Darwin is our homeroom teacher. If we're ever late, we need to give her our late slips immediately.

"I heard she was judging today," Vera says. "She's definitely around here somewhere."

Then, Principal Princeton came around the corner. My friends gasped and hid their slips behind their backs. Principal Princeton is nice, but extremely powerful. Nobody dares to mess with her. Not even the Seniors of the high school section of my school. She has bright red hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin, a striking combination. She's probably in her late 40s. Nobody knows how old she is, since we all know it's rude to ask adults how old they are!
     
Principal Princeton smiles at us. "Ah! Hello, girls! Just taking one last look at the projects before we start the judging! If I could just find Ms. Darwin..." Then she walks ahead and disappears from sight.

"I guess nobody can find Ms. Darwin," Lexi giggles. Sandra and Vera laugh, too. But I was completely distracted. "Elisa? Eliiiiiisa?" Vera singsongs.

I was distracted because at that moment, Damian Robertson walked by. He's been my crush since first grade, when I first started going to this school. First grade was also when I met Vera, Sandra, and Lexi, but that's not the point right now. He's extremely nice, funny, smart, and talented. And, he's super cute, with dark brown hair, light tan skin, chocolate brown eyes, and a handful of freckles. There's only one thing stopping me from asking him out.

He's Hannah Crimson's boyfriend.

I literally cried when I found out they were dating. It started about two months ago. Since I'm following him on Instagram, I got a notification when he posted a pic. I opened Instagram and gasped. He had posted a selfie with Hannah. They were obviously on her daddy's yacht (ugh!), positioned so we could see the railing of the boat, the crystal-blue water, and the clear blue sky. Her hair was pulled into a shiny braid that fell over her shoulder. She was wearing red sunglasses, a blue-and-white striped one-piece bathing suit, and a pair of distressed denim shorts with an American flag embroidered on the right leg over the bathing suit. Damian was standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. He was wearing a white T-shirt and red shorts, as well as blue sunglasses. Both were smiling huge, happy smiles. This pic was obviously not taken just for Instagram. There was something... romantic about it.

And I was right. His caption was: