Project Popularity

Chapter Five (Trailer II)

Chapter Five

Jamie Vandeviere

First period went by like a blur.

Bryce, Luke and I were one of the last ones to enter Mr. Lawrence’s classroom, and when Luke jokingly saluted to the teacher with a smirk, Mr. Lawrence turned to the whiteboard in a huff. The other students gaped at us like we each had two heads and I could feel every pair of eyes following me as I took my usual seat in the back. It was such a relief that Summer wasn’t in my first period. It made things a whole lot easier.

I gave Samantha Mathews a wave when I spotted her speculating my every move from the seat beside me. She seemed bewildered that I was acknowledging her even with everyone’s attention; her skin turned pink as she turned away, flustered.

“Sorry, we’re late, Mr. Lawrence,” Candace Walker waltzed in after sending two knocks to the door, smiling the sarcastic smile that always seemed to be plastered on her face. Beside Candace was Amanda Reese, who quickly fell into step beside her after throwing an apologetic smile at the teacher.

Candace and Amanda were Summer’s best friends. Even though they were often referred to as Summer’s sidekicks, they weren’t the typical, airheaded bimbos that you see in the movies, blindly following the Queen Bee. In fact, Candace, and Amanda were doing pretty well at school, both taking AP classes and stuff.

Like Summer, Candace was a blonde while Amanda was a brunette. The three of them talked similarly, dressed similarly, and were practically inseparable. Before Summer moved to Roseville, Candace was actually the most popular girl at our school. She was popular, but not mega-popular like the way Summer was now- you know, head cheerleader and the girlfriend of the star QB. Oops. Make that ex-girlfriend. Anyway, it was quite a wonder how they became best friends so quickly. I mean, there was no fight, no drama… It was like Candace was okay with being overshadowed by Summer.

Candace, Amanda, and Summer all had one thing in common though: they all thought people who were not a part of the In-Crowd were completely below them.

I started dozing off when Mr. Lawrence picked up from where he left off yesterday on The Cold War, the sleepiness finally catching up with me. I dreamt of being in a closet that was even bigger than Sienna’s, yet somehow it had all of her clothes. I started running when the clothes began floating to here I was, like they were trying to swallow me alive. “Pick! Pick! Pick!” Sienna’s voice chanted at me from every corner of the room yet she was nowhere to be found. I remembered frantically calling her name with uncertainty, and when that didn’t work, I screamed Luke’s name.

A ball of notebook paper hit me on the head and interrupted my nightmare. Startled and out of breath, I opened my eyes and found Luke pointing at the crumbled paper lying by my feet. Cautiously, I bent down, picked the paper up, and found Bryce giggling like a little girl, sneaking peaks at me from the corner of his eyes as he watched me unfold the note. 

The sound of Mr. Lawrence’s throat-clearing made me jump in my seat. Tentatively, I raised my head and saw him slowly advancing to my table, a smug look on his face.

“Anything you wish to share, Miss. Vandeviere?”

I swallowed. “No, sir.”

“Why don’t you read the note out to the entire class?”

I hated how Mr. Lawrence made it sound like I had an option when it was really a demand. Luke was going to get a piece of my mind for getting me into trouble like this. I mean, I thought he wanted to make me popular. When did “embarrass Jamie in front of the entire class” become a part of the plan?

Slowly, I spread out the paper. I blushed when I read what was written on it.

“Miss. Vandeviere?”

“Sir, I really don’t think I should-”

“Read it! That’s an order,” he cut me off with a glare.

I wanted to die. I was so screwed. There was no way I was going to pass this class.

“What does it say?” he asked.

I looked down to the paper and grimaced. “It says… The teacher’s fly is down.”