Taking Chances
Alicia was waiting with her group of besties, blocking the top
of the stairway outside homeroom. I had to pass these weird sisters to get to
my next class. Not that I was overly afraid--Alicia I could handle--but flanked
by Natalie and Phoebe, she looked scary indeed, even without a beard. I would
need to be crafty to survive.
‘Something bothering you, Michelle?’ Alicia’s voice wafted
down the stairs like a bad smell. ‘I was just saying to the girls that
something wicked this way comes. You look like you’re going to puke. Come along.
Puke on my boots if you dare.’
I massaged the banister knob with my left hand, feeling the
silkiness of the aged wood smooth underneath my skin. I liked this place, even
though it was a school. I could glide up the stairs and float right through the
lot of them, bitch slapping them while I passed, but my cred would be shot if I
took that route. I’d finally found a school where I wanted to belong. Or so I’d
thought. That was before I met Alicia. Every school has its ghoul!
‘Come on up, girlfriend. We’re waiting. New girls have to
pass the test.’
‘What test?’ Oh, why didn’t I keep my big mouth shut? She
couldn’t wait to get her long claws into me.
‘The test to see if you belong.’
Did they all suspect I didn’t belong? I shouldn’t have deliberately
stepped on her shiny black Doc Martens when I cut her off at the classroom door. But that was pretty tame considering the way she’d baited me all
the way through the Shakespeare class, jealous little cow. Not my fault I knew
all the answers to Lady Macbeth’s questions. Well, Ms Opine acted like Lady
Macbeth in her sleepwalking stage, floating about the room in her long skirt, stroking
her long red tresses, curling her dark red lips in distain at the students’
stumbling answers to her questions about Macbeth’s motivations. To tell you the
truth, all she was missing was the candle in her hands. She was one of the most
frightening sights I’ve seen in awhile, and I’ve been around a looong time. Bet
she’d faint if she knew that I’d met old William personally. Used to chat after
the show; helped him clean up the mess. I even suggested a few characters in
history he might use for his next play. That’s where he got the idea for
Macbeth and King Duncan. Yep. I know every one of the Bard’s plays by heart, in
ye Olde English, not the modern stuff they read these days.
‘Get off my boot, you weirdo,’ had been Alicia’s reaction to
my little stomp attack. ‘Take that!’ She’d swung her long blond mane (yes, she
was very horsey, not unusual in an English public school) and delivered a
stunning blow to my solar plexus.
‘Ouch!’ I yelled, surprised at the power in her dainty
little fight move. She gave me a strange look. Did she feel my flesh was as
hard and bony as her elbow? Is that what gave me away? Still, I couldn’t resist
another stomp on her boots, grinding my rubber soles as hard as
I could without breaking her foot. If you’ve ever tried to hurt someone by
stomping on their Docs, you’d know it takes a lot of girl power. Those babies
have pretty good toe protection. I put as much power as I dared behind that
stomp/kick/grind move. Alicia’s face turned as white as mine and her jagged
breath concerned me for a minute as I wondered if I’d gone too far. The tears
in her big baby blues were a bonus. But she was a tough chick for a human, or
kind of human. The tears stayed where they hovered on her smoky fake eyelashes.
The fire in her blue eyes was enough to set the door alight. Now, she’d brought
the reinforcements.
Oh, great! They were gathered against me, to destroy me. I
have to think fast or my first day will be my last day here. If I use too much
power, I’m out. Too little, and these weird sisters will make my life a misery
just like the hags did to Macbeth.
Was it worth taking the ‘test’, or should I refuse to listen
to them, get back on my horse and gallop away?
As Alicia and I played at outstaring each other, I thought
of another school, another Alicia. Turned out that chick was a vamp just like
me. She didn’t want any competition, so she demanded I take the test. I’d refused,
but lived to regret it. Well, I don’t have much choice, do I? I’m here forever.
If I’d passed the ‘test’ I would have been Head Girl at Willoughby by now. There
was once a chance I didn’t take…hmm.
*Avaunt! I raced up the stairs, two at a time, nearly
tripping on my ridiculously long serge skirt which weighed a ton. What was it about my face that had the weird sisters
stepping back as if they’d seen a ghost? Bet they’d never bullied a girl like
me before. Bring it on!
I’m taking a chance today.
Soon I’ll be Head Girl of Dunsinane.
Thanks for reading my story. No critique necessary. I just wrote this for some YA enjoyment and for WEP. You can tell me if you enjoyed it though!
And don't forget to check out the blogfests in my sidebar. Deniz Bevan has a few more in her current post.
And don't forget to check out the blogfests in my sidebar. Deniz Bevan has a few more in her current post.
Please click on the names in the sidebar to read more entries |
Denise this was incredible writing...as is always the case :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for that! Glad you enjoyed it. :)
DeleteYup, I did enjoy it. It was fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo. Glad you stopped by.
DeleteThat's right, take the test. Don't want to live with regrets. Well written, Denise.
ReplyDeleteYep. I agree. Thanks L.Diane.
DeleteVery descriptive and quite a battle going on between the two girls.
ReplyDeleteAh, these girls know how to go at it!
DeleteYikes. Conflict, conflict, conflict! Nice.
ReplyDeleteWell, they say a story is nothing without conflict, so this one has it in spades Crystal.
DeleteThat was fun! Avaunt indeed :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jemi. Thanks for sharing. Avaunt!
DeleteYes I did enjoy it, Denise! A 'mean girls' story will always find an audience, as there seem to be a clot of these types in many high schools. Why always in threes? Three must be related to the three old hags/witches/oracles who foretold the destiny over the bubbling cauldron of yore.
ReplyDeleteBet you teach MacBeth very well, Denise. Have you ever read 'King Hereafte'r by Dorothy Dunnett? It's about MacBeth and his coming to power.
You got that right. I don't know how girls survive high school these days. It gets worse all the time. Three must be an interesting number meaning evil in some contexts. I love teaching Shakespeare--this year Othello, Macbeth, Romeo + Juliet, Merchant of Venice, and soon, A Midsummer NIght's Dream...year after year. Tough!!
DeleteNo, but I must read 'King Hereafte'r'. Sounds my style.
Yes, I enjoyed that story a lot. I love the way you use adjectives – they are perfect. In school we did not study the British classics that much, we had so many French ones to study – like Moliere, Corneille and Racine.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vagabonde. Ah, well, Australia was a British colony after all, so our curriculum is flooded with British classics in novels and plays. I read some French authors in translation...Colette is my favourite.
DeleteWhat a fun read! I've never tried fan fiction before but from reading this it looks like a hoot! I think I'll give it a try. :)
ReplyDeleteRaquel Byrnes
Fan fiction is heaps of fun. This is my second Macbeth story. It didn't start out as Macbeth, but it grew into it as I edited it. Try it! And thanks for visiting. :)
DeleteLove the atmosphere and Michelle's spunk. You did a great job with this, Denise.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joy. You can see how much I enjoyed putting this together.
DeleteMean girls always come in three's. Not fair. Which is probably why they do it! Great fan fiction. Thanks for stopping by, reading my entry, and chatting!
ReplyDeleteGreat to chat, Roland. Glad you like my ff. I hope you're feeling better.
DeleteThursday 21st August 2014
ReplyDeleteDear Denise,
Thank you for reading my entry. A lot of malicious fun here.
Best wishes,
Anna
Malicious is the word Anna. Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteGo girl, stomp on those toes!!! This was a fun read and I could picture the scene really well. Great story! I'm betting on Michelle...
ReplyDeleteYeah, me too. I had fun.
DeleteHi Denise
ReplyDeleteSo funny. I thought you turned into Roland for awhile. Well written. What a hoot.
Nancy
Yep, that's why Roland appreciated it, maybe. Thanks Nancy.
DeleteHi Denise .. that was great to read - and I felt really drawn in .. now I'd like to read more! more please ..... !! Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHa ha Hilary. I really wouldn't know where to go from here. :)
DeleteA great read, really felt the pressure the odd girl was under, although it seems that she could hold her own.
ReplyDeleteShe certainly could.
DeleteHmm. Entered my comment but it seemed to vanish. So here it is again. Great mean girls story. Is it "besties" or "beasties"? Love the Macbeth angle and as always well written.
ReplyDeleteCould be either...I actually thought about that...but I settled on 'besties' the modern term as it's a mix of modern and olde...
DeleteLots of fun, Denise! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Val. Was fun.
DeleteReally enjoyed reading this, Denise. Your POV is always spot on. Love the Macbeth angle too.The narrative flows from beginning to the end. YA novels may have a new fan because of you:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Adura. I loved it.
DeleteGlad I got out of high school when I did, before youtube and that crap cropped up a ton, not sure how anyone survives now a days and those girls always do come in threes
ReplyDeleteGets worse by the minute Pat.
DeleteThat was truly a fun read Denise. The mean girls done to a turn, perfect. High school jealousies and pettiness are intense, and technology nowadays makes it all even more complicated. Btw, Macbeth is a fav :)
ReplyDeleteHow are you Nila? Hope your move went well. Macbeth is my fave Shakespearean play.
DeleteFun read! Loved meeting your version of 'Mean Girls!'
ReplyDeleteThanks Nas. Was fun to write too.
DeleteGreat story - this is a bit unlike most of your stuff that I've read. :) I love the idea that this chicka has actually hung out with William S. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Trisha. I do this sort of escapism occasionally. It's fun and it was what came to mind with this prompt. Maybe her face could feature in the next prompt.
DeleteThat was quite a charge Michelle made. I would have liked to have seen her face. It had whatever it needed to back off the bullies. Great job.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Clem. I'll have to ponder this one.
DeleteMacbeth'ed up! That's a brilliant concept. I am a huge fan of all things Macbeth - it's my very favourite play! You might like this post of mine from earlier this year: http://todiscoverice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/macbeth.html
ReplyDeleteBazza, glad ive found another Macbeth fan. I will check your link.
DeleteYou did great with the theme...loved it!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Proof that mean girls exist whether a story is supernatural or normal.
ReplyDeleteMean girls will always be with us, that's for sure.
DeleteTruly fun! Perfection as always! I'm working to get back to the fun, who knows maybe the next challenge.
ReplyDeleteThat would be exciting Y.
DeleteNice, I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story & theme worked so well ~ I have to sharpen my pen and see if I can join the fun ~ Have a lovely week Denise ~
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to have you again Grace.
Delete