...But Your Enemies Closer

Branson High: Freshman Year - Rebecca Knox

There was a longstanding tradition with the name Knox and the pursuit of greatness – and I was no exception to that rule.

Before my first day of high school, I was bound to be a force one could only dare to reckon with. My unwavering popularity from junior high spearheaded me to the head of the social ladder for my freshman year, and my reputation was only fueled on further when I was declared the cheerleading captain of the J. V. squad over the summer camp tryouts. Which meant by sophomore year, the Varsity squad would be under my command – securing me as the most popular and sought after girl in all of Branson High.

It was just a matter of time.

Life was good. In fact, there was little that could make it any better than it already was. Perhaps I didn't have the most loyal friends or the best grades, but that was of little consequence in exchange for the most valuable currency of one's teenage years. The sweet aura of popularity and all it could bring.

The purple and white pleats that adorned my polyester cheerleading skirt – the home colors of the Branson Bulldogs – swished merrily in time with every confident step I took down the halls on my first day of freshman year. A permanent smile adorned my face, which was both an invitation and a warning depending on the sex of the person who met me with either envious or lustful stares. There wasn't a thing about me that screamed anything less than perfection. I was a Knox after all and as such, I was better than any of the normal peasants that I brushed past. I was superhuman.

As I made my way down the hallway of Branson High to take on the mantle of its future queen, everything went sideways abruptly. A nerd with her head in a book and a big gulp in her hand collided into me as she rounded a corner without looking. Some awful looking brown liquid flew out of her cup and splashed all over my brand new cheerleading uniform causing me to gasp in surprise and make all the students around us halt in their step.

This was not how my first day of high school was supposed to go. I could not live with an embarrassment such as this. It would ruin the reputation I had spent so long cultivating to perfection – and more than anything it would make me the weak cow of the herd. That was not an option.

The girl with bushy blonde hair and thick rimmed glasses dropped her cup and began to apologize profusely, even going so far as to pull a handkerchief from her bag to try to dot at the quickly staining spots covering my uniform. None of that mattered however; I had to take action to show this peon that no one – no one – messed with Becca Knox. It was imperative that the girl in front of me not only understood that, but also the gawkers that were beginning to surround us as well.

With a slap to the blonde girl's hand, I sneered down at her in my best attempt to seem cold and detached to her attempt at kindly covering up her mistake. "Watch where you're fucking walking nerd!"

The girl looked at me in shock, clearly hurt by my cruel words. "I'm really, really sorry. I wasn't paying attention," she stammered out.

"As evidenced by the disgusting shit you just spilled all over me. I'm sure my coach will just love to hear that some idiot freshman stained the uniform she just gave her new captain."

I flicked my hair off my shoulder and glared down at the girl that was cowering more and more by the second. My intimidation act was working like a charm and the flow of traffic had begun to resume around us. No one wanted to get caught in the crossfire of my wrath. That was good – very good.

"I'm sorry," the blonde girl muttered once more, averting her eyes completely now.

"You will be when you get my dry cleaning bill," I scoffed. "Next time you get in my way I'll make sure you regret it. Are we understood?"

The cowering girl pressed herself up against a nearby locker in order to duck away from me and nodded her head profusely. Her lower lip was quivering between her teeth – most likely to stop her from crying at my sudden outburst from such a simple mistake. For some reason, that made me feel good about myself. It was so easy to convey my power and make people respect me through sheer terror.

High school was going to be a breeze.

I narrowed my eyes and stared her down with intensity. "Good."

With that last remark I turned on my heel and strode off the way that I had originally came. I had to get back to the gymnasium before first period and change into a new uniform or at least back into my other clothes before anyone else saw me like this. There was a good chance that Coach Aldrich was bound to be pissed, but as soon as I told her the whole situation things would be sure to smooth over.

It wouldn't just be my popularity at risk but the whole squad's if anyone knew the new cheerleading captain was a push over. That just wasn't in the style of Aldrich. She was hard as nails and required her girls to convey that same strength. Weakness wasn't tolerated in the least.

Despite the little hiccup that plagued the beginning of this day, I actually felt better once it was all said and done. Sure, it was embarrassing to begin with but by the end of my quick confrontation I had made a name for myself as taking no shit from anybody – mistake or not. People would be whispering about the encounter later on today and there would be warnings to stay clear of the new Junior Varsity cheerleading captain. It would be a whole new facet to my reputation that would help propel me to the level of untouchable in the eyes of my peers.

I grinned to myself as the students still lingering in the hall ran to their respective classes before the first bell rang. I felt no need to hurry though; I would make sure that Coach Aldrich would excuse any time away from class. After all it wasn't my fault that I had to make sure I was presentable for the rest of the day, that all belonged to the stupid nerd that couldn't pay attention to her own two feet.

It was important that I found out who that particular nerd was too. It wasn't enough to embarrass her slightly in front of some kids in the hallway. I would have to make sure the point was driven home that she had just made a very volatile enemy. If I had to make sure that lesson was taught to the girl every single day for the rest of our high school lives I would.

No one crossed Becca Knox – no one.

***

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