Ariella and Mae headed out to the cafeteria pavilion in the school's courtyard. They decided to take a break from filming during lunch, but first Ariella had to finish up one last segment.

"Handmade accessories can be the hardest to make, but the end result is always worth it. Like this watch that just went on sale yesterday." She held up her wrist to display her gold cased, cheetah heart faced watch. The gold plated letters FS clung to its quilted sky blue band. "15.95 plus tax."

"With the family and friends discount of So Borrowing That," Mae hinted.

Of course, she would let Mae borrow it. Who could say no to free publicity?

When they stepped outside, the tables were full of trays and food, but no students. That's because they were all gathered toward the back.

"I bet they're protesting the vending machines," Ariella concluded. "That thing makes more money gypping students than I earned dressing the quadruplet sisters."

Mae stood on the tips of her shoes, creasing them at the toes and destroying a perfectly good pair of flats. "That's no protest. It's the return of the stage monster."

They squeezed their way through the crowd until they made it to the front of the courtyard stage. Sure enough, Torin was in the center of it, dancing and twirling spirals with a ribbon. As the booming opera music rose to a dramatic high note, she ran forward, did a front flip off the stage, and landed it with the ribbon slithering to her side like a silky, pink snake.

Unbelievable, Ariella thought. What some people would do to get attention.

Barely breathless after that rigorous routine, Torin sauntered over to Ariella. "Let's see if you can top that."

Ariella shook her head, amazed that she put on this entire show just to one-up her. "Why does everything have to be a competition with you?"

Torin crossed her arms over her pink and silver leotard. "That's just it. There is no competition. I'm the star of this school. You can say buh-bye to your fan base because after that performance, no one will even remember who you are." She whipped her ribbon in the air and back flipped to the exit.

Ariella watched as the crowd cheered her on. "What if she's right? Am I forgettable?"

Mae wove her way to the lunch line. "Of course not. Everyone loves you."

"But you've seen what Torin's capable of. She's a one-woman show with enough ego to fill her own stadium. If I don't figure out a way to stand out, I will be so last season." Ominously, the haunting opera song reawakened in a blast beside her. Mae, the captain of her support team supposedly, was watching a video of Torin's ribbon performance on her camera. "Seriously?" Ariella deadpanned.

Mae sheepishly tucked her camera into her purse. "I wanted to try it at home."

If her own best friend was starting to replace her with Torin, Ariella was in big trouble.

***

Header photo by Aranxa Esteve

Thanks for reading! 

-Love, Charly