The Golden One

“Ms. Tate.”

God, this was irrevocably humiliating. I felt like I was in middle school again getting called into the principal’s office because I cut a chunk out of Jimmy Henderson’s long blonde hair and I had to explain to the unqualified horseface woman that It wasn’t because I had an awkward middle school crush on him. No, it was because that preteen son of biscuit stuck gum in my hair and that was my idea of getting revenge. But this…

This was worse.

My blonde hair strands were curled into the other meticulously resulting in a rat’s nest. You couldn’t even identify that my eyes were an off shade of hazel with how dilated my pupil’s were and my skin...my skin was so filthy it looked like I rolled around in mud for a few hours. My borrowed designer clothes incredibly torn and my new heels - God, my heels were broken. And let’s not forget, I was in handcuffs and I had a pounding headache.

“Ms. Tate,” A uniformed man grabbed me under my arm and hauled me out of the chair I was sitting in,  “Come with me.”

As if I had a choice, I thought letting my weight rest on this cop’s arm as he dragged me into a sealed room. Three grey walls and one with a one way window in it. I’ve seen enough cops shows like NCIS and Criminal Minds to know that somebody was always listening from the other side of the wall. The cop forced across the room to sit in front of a man who, judging by his suit, was a detective.

“Thank you, Officer,” He nodded his head to him before turning attention to me. He waited until the officer was outside before speaking, “Trespassing, underage drinking, destruction of private property, grand theft auto, driving without a license, and the list goes on.”

You make it sound like I’m proud of this, I shook my head shamefully.

“What do you have to say for yourself Hilary?”

Now let’s stop here before I get too ahead of myself. To answer all your questions: Yes, I’m Hilary Tate. The same Hilary Tate that just this past September was headlined in Crest Falls Newspaper as Crest Falls High’s Golden Girl.

Now you’re all asking how did Crest Falls High’s Golden Girl end up here?

Well that answer is a long story.

It all started in September after I was wrongfully titled the Golden Girl.

*.*.*

Knock. Knock. Kock.

The knocking was endless at six o’clock in the morning. Unfortunately, I fell asleep watching movies the night before and fell asleep on the couch right next to the door. Ugh, I contemplated staying on the couch, It’s Saturday!

Knock. Knock.

I groaned outwardly and fought my way off the couch. I stood up and grabbed my glasses off the coffee table in front of me and put them on before opening the door. I unlocked the door preparing myself to scream at the idiot knocking on my door at six in the morning. But when I opened it, I didn’t even get a chance to open my mouth. Katie and Heather walked into my house without an invitation.

“What the-”

“Hilary,” Katie shrieked, “Oh my God, you’ll never guess why were here!”

“You mean I’ll never guess why you’re here at six in the morning on a Saturday when everybody else in the neighborhood is asleep,” I whispered ferociously not wanting to disturb the rest of the house, “And why are you two up? You two are the last I’d expect to be here before noon.”

Instead of Katie answering, Heather confessed,  “My mom woke me up with this newspaper and as soon as I saw it, I couldn’t go back to sleep. I went to Katie’s and dragged her over here.”