12 Days of Christmas

Part 3 - Crafting a Future

She's the most beautiful girl Kara has ever seen. Kara doesn't know her name yet, but that does nothing to stop the surge of affection that swells inside. With alabaster skin, black wavy hair, and green eyes that sparkle with obvious intellect, the new girl doesn't even give Kara a second look as she strides by. It's probably just as well because Kara gawks, unable to find words that adequately describe this beauty and probably unable to find words at all.

An all too familiar and unwelcome elbow hits her side before a serpentine smile slides into view. "You're getting your gay all over the hallway, Danvers. It's going to be a slip hazard."

Veronica Sinclair's voice is grating, full of entitlement and undeserved ego. Her only achievements are being born into money and having a skilled hand at applying mascara, the latter because her reflection is her favorite sight. From the day Kara showed up in the school four years ago, Ronnie has made it part of her agenda to rip the blonde down. At first, it stung, but now her words are like water off a duck's back. Maybe she's losing her originality. She's definitely lost her sting.

"Do you know who that is?" Kara asks, ignoring Ronnie's jabs, physical and verbal, as her gaze is affixed to the retreating, swaying hips under a plaid skirt.

"Forget it, Danvers. You're punching above your weight class." Ronnie doesn't even look up as Kara turns to her sharply, gaze steady on her nails, perhaps looking for some imperfection in the nail polish, a cardinal sin in her world. "That's Lena Luthor as in Luthor Corp, as in the Luthor Gold Mines, as in the new owners of the local newspaper. She probably has more in her piggy bank than your entire family's net worth."

"Money isn't everything."

It seems impossible, but Ronnie's laugh grates worse than her voice. "That's something that people without money say. Trust me, you can't afford to pay attention to Lena Luthor. Take this," she waves a hand up and down, encompassing all of Kara in one dismissive action, "'80s skater girl look, or whatever you're going for, and go bark up a different tree. You'll never be in her zip code or on her radar."

When Ronnie flicks the brim of her backwards baseball cap, Kara manages not to sigh as she pushes it back into place. She's long ago learned that acknowledging her personal bully only encourages the other girl. Instead, she shifts her skateboard to her other hand and hooks a thumb into the plaid shirt that hangs around her waist. "She looks nice, pleasant. I bet she's nice."

Ronnie's, "Not to the likes of you," response almost gets a rise out of Kara... almost. "Keep dreaming, Danvers. Your endless optimism and not caring how you look, those are great traits. I'm sure some girl out there will be into your... look."

It startles Kara when Ronnie gasps and then disappears from view, but she's not at all surprised when her sister's voice reaches her ears. Alex has Ronnie by the upper arm, the bully's back flat against the lockers. Fear paints Ronnie's face, the kind of fear Alex has earned with tireless defense of Kara.

"I dare you to say something else to my sister," Alex threatens and shakes Ronnie's arm hard enough to make the entire girl move. "Say something else, and you'll be eating your future meals through a straw."

"Psycho." Ronnie tugs her arm back, but she slinks away without another word, just a glance that promises she's far from done with Kara.

"I hate that bitch. What did she want this time?"

"Who? Oh, Ronnie?" Kara hikes her backpack up slightly and heads toward class with Alex in tow. "Nothing. She just wants to make me as unhappy as she is. It's sad."

"You should knock her on her ass." They've gone rounds on this many times, so before Kara can say anything, Alex adds, "You could bench press her skinny little ass. She'd probably thank you for it."