Hide and Secret (Wattys2015)

(3) Taylor's POV

I was walking along the streets of Westchester. Normally, I wouldn't be here by choice. Despite the fact that I was now the same waist size as the girls who lived here, that didn't mean that I was immediately popular. Nope. I was the weird outsider still, the one who was slightly pretty, but you just couldn't seem to remember her name.

Bur despite the fact that it was odd and unexpected, somehow, my daily walk took me down to Westchester, about right where Jill Hemmings lived. Jill, along with her old friend Serena, used to relentlessly tease me about my weight. Once Serena mysteriously left town, something about boarding school, Jill teased me solo until I lost the weight. After that, I became rather invisible. Sure, there was the occasional jeer of "Freak" or "Weirdo", but nothing compared to the infamy I had gained from being overweight.

I stood, staring at Jill's house for a moment. It was tall and fancy, probably the fanciest one on the block, which didn't surprise me. Before Serena had left, she had been in control, the alpha, while Jill was the beta, constantly struggling to top Serena, who seemed almost untouchable. When Serena left, Jill quickly grabbed onto that number one spot with a death grip, making sure to never let it slip.

Suddenly. the door of the house opened, and Jill came out, followed by her entourage, Kai and Emory. After the two of them came an old face I was surprised to see. Serena Marsden. Apparently she was back from boarding school. I snuck over to a park bench nearby so it looked like I wasn't listening to their conversation. However, I could still hear them and what they were saying.

"What are you doing?" I heard Serena ask, clearly confused. Apparently, she hadn't been filled in on whatever Jill and her cronies had in store. Knowing them, they were probably going to murder baby birds and use their organs to make love potions or something.

I heard Jill give a short little chuckle. It wasn't the nice kind. That chuckle was one that sent chills down your back. If Jill was laughing or smiling, that alone should scare you. Because Jill only laughed or smiled when she wanted something. Or when she was about to humiliate you. "You don't get it, do you? I want you out of my house. So leave."

Serena let out a laugh of her own. It was one of shock, astoundment. She couldn't believe that Jill was doing this to her. It just didn't fit how Serena's life was supposed to go. She was used to getting what she wanted. And she wasn't winning this time. "Um, what? Jill, I thought we were..."

"Friends?" Jill interrupted, her voice taking on a condescending lilt. She laughed again. "Well, Serena, you're mistaken. This is my school now. I'm the queen bee, and you can't control anything anymore. So now, just to show you your place, I don't want your friendship. I want you to leave. Toodles!"

With a laugh, Jill and her posse, minus Serena, went back inside, leaving Serena all alone. She sighed, staring at the door. And then she noticed me, sitting on a park bench across the street. "Got a staring problem?" she called, clearly trying to mask the sound of hurt in her voice.

I blushed, opening my mouth but unable to make the corresponding sounds that typically went along with mouth movement. Serena just stared at me quizzically, then shrugged (probably figuring that she had nothing to lose by engaging in conversation with a social leper) and walked across the street towards me.

She sat down next to me on the bench. "I'm Serena," she said, heaving a sigh. "And I just got back from..."

"Boarding school," I interrupted. "I know." She shot a look at me, her eyes giving a flash of what her stony expression masked: Fear. Serena was clearly wondering how I got this information. Anyone else would have let her squirm, think I was a stalker or something, but I wasn't that kind of person. "I went to your school, before you left." I reminded her.

She looked at me, still unsure of who I was.

I sighed, helping her out even further. "You used to call me Tubby Taylor, if that rings a bell."

A spark of recognition flashed into her eyes. I was sure that Serena was remembering all the torture I had gone through and the amount of magazine weight loss advertisements that were shoved in my locker on a daily basis. She and Jill had been the ringleaders of those incidents. "Well..." she finally answered, looking flustered. "You've certainly... changed."

I smiled a little. "You can say that I've lost the weight. I won't get offended." There was an awkward silence after that, and I felt like a conversation killer. So I blurted out the only thing on my mind. "Want to get some coffee?"

Serena looked surprised that I asked. "Well..." she replied hesitantly. She glanced back at Jill's house for a moment. The doors had remained shut since Serena had been kicked out. "OK. Let's go."

We headed over to the nearest Starbucks, ordered, then sat at my favorite table near the window. It gave me an opportunity to people watch, which I often did whenever I went to Starbucks alone. "So..." Serena said quietly. "How much of the conversation did you hear?"

I smiled a little. "I heard enough to know that you and Jill are not on good terms. Trust me, you don't want to cross her. She's like a magnified version of..." I stopped when I quickly realized that what I was about to say wasn't very nice.

But Serena figured it out. "Of me," she answered, almost talking to herself. "She's a magnified version of me."

I bit my lip, unsure of how to answer. Had I insulted her? Or was she owning up to her mistakes? I wasn't sure. I wasn't an expert in the art of social interactions.

My phone buzzed with a text. Furrowing my brows in confusion (I usually never get texts), I opened it up and was shocked at what I saw.

Serena may have been bad, but do you know what's worse? Someone who uses ugly tricks to stay beautiful. You're an expert at worshipping the porcelain throne, Taylor. You're also an expert at finding a great plastic surgeon. Wouldn't it be a shame if everyone found out how you got so skinny?

My eyes widened with fear as I looked around, paranoid. Who knew? Who knew? Obviously someone did... but who?

Serena glanced at me in concern. "Are you OK?" she asked.

"I... I have to go!" I blurted, before hightailing it out of there.