The Problem with Popularity

I bit my nails nervously, glancing down the hallway with my books clasped tight to my chest. I was sure I had heard them coming around the corner, but they still weren't in sight. Just as I started to breathe more slowly, I felt someone grab my shoulder. I whipped around swiftly, facing Cassie, whogave me her signature sneer.

“C'mon, Alexa... You said that you'd go through with it." She crossed her arms, her eyebrows raised, waiting for a response. "Oh, uhh.... Yeah... I'll be there.", I muttered.

She gave me a smug smile, turned on her heel and pranced away with her nose high in the air. I slowly trudged towards my locker and opened the metal door, gazing into the mirror that I had put there at the beginning of the year.

"What am I doing?" I thought despairingly. My mind flashed back to earlier that day, when I was at my locker, as usual.

"Hey Alexa!" I heard a bright voice next to my right shoulder and glanced over. Robin looked back up at me, her nose wrinkled in the cute way that it always did.

"Um, hey Robin..." I said softly, wondering why in the world she was here.

"So, Sarah asked me to ask you..."

"Asked or told?" I interrupted quickly. She wrinkled her nose again, giggling.

"Which do you think, silly? Anyway, Sarah wants to talk to you." I stared at her, my face a picture of confusion.

“Wait, why?”

Robin narrowed her eyes, still with the childish grin plastered on her face.

“Why so many questions? Just do it, and ya better do it quick.” She flounced off, waving at all the girls cutely. I watched her go, my mind racing furiously. What did Sarah want to do with me, when I'm pretty much the most unpopular girl in the whole school? But, I knew I'd be in even bigger trouble if I didn't comply with her wishes, so I started to walk down the hall towards the cafeteria, which was the usual place for the “Bees,” a popular girls group in my school, to reside. I bit my lip as I approached, hoping not to be noticed, but knowing deep inside that I would be.

And I knew I was right when Robin caught sight of me. She giggled, and nudged Sarah.

“She's here.” Sarah turned her crystal blue eyes to me, a smile lighting up her almost perfect features.

“I was hoping you'd show, otherwise I'd have to send Kristi to go fetch you. And you know how well she does that.”

All of the girls broke out into giggles, except for Kristi, who seemed to pay no attention, but only stared at the floor. Sarah continued on with her speech.

“Anyway, we decided to let you in on a little, oh shall we say, special mission?” She beamed a deceptively fake smile at me, waiting for an answer.

“Which is?” I asked softly, immediately feeling that something was up. Sarah confirmed my fears airily.

“We want you to sneak into the school after hours and get the answer key to the upcoming math exam on Friday.”

I stared at Sarah again, absolutely stunned.

“Wh...what?” I asked dumbly. Sarah giggled.

“Just what I said! You're the one with all the info about the files, so obviously you're the one to do this.” I quickly closed my mouth, which had been hanging open in surprise. Sarah blabbered on and on about the details, but none of that really mattered to me. All that mattered was that I was being asked to do something that I'd probably be caught for and maybe even thrown out of school! I suddenly realized that they were all looking at me and I quickly returned to reality to hear Sarah repeat her question.

“Are you going to do it?”

My heart raced, and my mind milled about in utter confusion. What do I do? If I do this, I could be caught, but if I don't, I'll probably never have a reputation again in the school. Sarah will make sure of that. Before I could stop myself, the fateful word crossed my lips.

“Yes.” Sarah's face brightened again.

“Good... Then you get in there at 11 tonight and get the answer key. Take a picture of each page and bring them straight to me. Then you can go home. Simple!” They all started down the hallway, laughing and talking to each other. Surprisingly, one girl stayed behind, which was Kristi. She looked at me for a moment, then shook her head. I could barely hear the “Sorry” that she muttered, but she hurried down the hall before I could say anything.

I snapped out of my revery to Cassie, who was standing in front of me.

“We've been waiting for you. Get yourself down there, or Sarah will have your hide!” I quickly closed my locker, fingering the old gold necklace that my grandmother used to own, which I always kept by me. Something told me this wasn't something she'd want me to do. But this is it. As I walked down to the entrance, my stomach started to churn nervously.

“I'm not ready for this!” I thought despairingly. But what could I do? I was already knee-deep in this situation and there wasn't any backing out without extreme embarrassment. I saw the group of girls in front of me, formed in the same way as they had been this morning. Sarah spotted me from the crowd that surged out of the building and quickly waved me over.

“You know what to do, right?” She asked in a sing-song voice.

I nodded quickly, then started away from the group.

“I don't have to remind you”, Sarah called after me, “that there will be consequences if you don't follow through with this.” I stopped, biting my lip as I struggled to keep myself together, then dashed towards the bus, fighting back the tears that threatened to course down my face.

That night, I sat quietly on my bed, staring out at the full moon. It seemed so magical and wonderful, holding so much peace and tranquility, the same peace and tranquility I was about to shatter. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, wiping a tear from my eye. The spell was shattered quite suddenly by a hiss from outside.

“Pst, Alexa!” I glanced down and saw Cassie waiting for me. With an effort, I opened the window quietly and jumped down onto the grass, my sneakers making no noise on the soft turf.

“Thank goodness you're on the first floor.” Cassie remarked, a comment that seemed out of character for her.

No more needs to be said really, except I followed Cassie to the car, where Sarah's older brother was waiting. After a treacherously long ride, we arrived at the school, which seemed now eerily dark and quiet. I remembered Cassie pressing a key into my hand and pushing me out of the door and me walking up to the office entrance. I fumbled to turn the key in the lock, but it finally opened to the dark hallways of the school.

“At least the alarm isn't on yet,” I thought with a relieved sigh. My hands bumped against a desk and I froze for a moment, then continued on, treading as quietly as possible. I made my way to the math classroom, where I knew Mrs. Phillips kept all the files for the upcoming tests, quizzes and exams. I probed around in the dark, hitting my shin multiple times on various objects, but I finally found the filing cabinet. Using the key, I opened it softly and slowly, searching diligently until I found the answer key. I pulled out a camera and quickly took a picture of each of the pages, my hands shaking uncontrollably. I carefully replaced the files and closed the drawer, then crept out of the classroom, making a bolt for the door. Thankfully, I didn't forget to close and lock the heavy metal door, although a whirlwind of emotions battered my mind.

It seemed like a weight off my chest when I handed the camera to Sarah, who gave me a dignified hug. But now a whole new burden took over my mind. I had just cheated, plain and simple. Sarah promised to email me the answers, which made it even worse. I was dropped off at my house and I quickly got back into my room, shutting the window with considerable force. I pulled the shades tightly closed, trying to block out the moon that had once brightened my heart, but now seemed like a dead weight in my chest.

The next morning at school, I couldn't stand it any longer. I told Mrs. Phillips what I had done, down to the last detail. She tightened her jaw and asked that I go immediately to the principal's office. Once there, I repeated the same story to him, despite the tears threatening to slide down my cheek. My mom was called and I heard the same thing repeated to her, only adding to my already immense misery.

As I sat in the principal's office, trying to hold back the menacing tears, I realized that everything I did this for, popularity among the girls and especially Sarah, now paled in comparison to the weight of shame I felt. But none of that mattered now. I heard the door creak open and my mom walked slowly in, her eyes red, but a smile on her face.

“Can you go out in the hallway, honey?” She asked quietly. I nodded and walked out of the door, slumping to the floor with my head against the wall. I ignored the glares and stares from different students walking by, knowing that this was going to be the perfect gossip topic for weeks on end.

A few minutes later, my mom emerged, taking my arm firmly, but not harshly. As we walked out of the school, she explained what they had been discussing. It seemed I was going to get suspended from school, along with detention.

“But your honesty is really amazing, sweetie.” My mom said, hugging me fondly. “I guess I did the right thing then, huh?” I asked softly, looking over my shoulder to see Sarah's mom engaged in a heated argument with the principal.

As soon as we got home, I noticed that Sarah had emailed me the exam answers, with a note that read, “Thanks to our little thief!”. I hesitated for a moment, then deleted the email, staring at the screen blankly. I still was nervous about going back to school, but I guess it didn't really matter now.

“It's all over, Alexa.” I thought to myself, staring out the window as I repeated the calming phrase.

“It's all over...”