"You're really determined to do this, aren't you?"

My best friend Suzy stared at me incredulously with her arms crossed.

We stood together in my bathroom as I applied black-liner to my eyelids. Before this summer I didn't even know how to properly put on lipstick, let alone eyeliner. After spending several hours on instagram, watching makeup tutorials and practicing daily during the summer I felt pretty confident about my makeup skills.

"Of course, I am." I placed down the eyeliner pen so that I could really look at Suzy and not just her reflection.

"This whole summer I've spent trying to improve myself. I dyed my hair, switched to contacts, changed my clothes, ran everyday and even started putting on all this ridiculous stuff on my face. I think that's the definition of determination."

Suzy and I looked like polar opposites. Suzy wore dirty sneakers, a boys bright orange t-shirt and really loose-fit jeans. It wasn't that Suzy looked terrible, on the contrary she looked like she could care less what people thought. Prior to this summer I used to dress much worse than her.

Suzy pushed her glasses up her nose a bit and sighed. "You realize that in the big scheme of our lives when we look back all this popularity stuff will seem pointless. All the countless selfies in our adulthood will be something we look back on with embarrassment."

I shook my head. "Wrong. This is Pleasant County. In other places, yes—the popular, pretty mean girls grow up and have terrible lives—but here in Pleasant County the mean girls become Governors, Fashion Designers and Football Star wives."

She snorted with a small smile on her lips. "So what? You want to be some desperate house wife or something?"

"No Suzy. This, is purely about revenge and once I prove them wrong I intend to go right back to being the old me. Until that happens, I will lie and pretend just like the rest of them," I said this with conviction before I returned to my reflection.

I was no longer the awkward girl with the big glasses, bad skin and boyish mannerisms. I no longer had the strange haircut, green flannel shirts and Pac-Man graphic tees. My hair was dyed a fiery auburn, and without my glasses my eyes looked clear with hints of green. I'd slimmed down not out of a desire to look more attractive, but fueled by my need to just show everyone they were wrong about me.

I wasn't a lost cause. Underneath it all, I could be just as good the rest of them.

Suzy was terribly amused and concerned for me in equal measure. She lifted up her backpack onto her shoulders. "It's weird to see you in a bathroom for longer than fifteen minutes."

"Trust me, it's still weird for me too." I reminded her.

"As long as you don't turn into a movie cliche and avoid me at lunch, we're still good." Suzy sighed.

I reached for Suzy's hands, holding one of hers as I lifted my other hand up in the air. "I solemnly swear to you, my friend Suzy, that I will not turn into a bitch towards you. Whenever we aren't at school or around any of those kids I am going to dress normal and be myself."

Suzy couldn't help, but smile at this. "I'm only supporting this because I'm dangerously curious and I think it'll make for a good documentary when I go to film school."

I groaned. "Can we not talk about college? I still have no idea what I plan to do after this whole revenge plot."

"Fine, let's talk about high-school then, like how we're going to be late for our first day if you don't leave this bathroom in the next five minutes?" Suzy reminded me.

Panic filled me. I still wasn't done yet! Is this what it meant to actually be "trying"? I'd spent an hour in the bathroom trying to have the perfect makeup, hair and outfit for the first day of school. It was killing me.

I tried to remember all the tips I'd learned from styling videos and my trendy older cousin Gaby.

What was it that she told me again? Oh right, keep your hair up into a bun until you are ready to go so that it has more body. Check your liquid-lipstick so that it doesn't stick to your teeth.

I quickly applied my liquid-lip, checked my teeth and then fluffed my hair.

The first day of school after summer break is something most students dread, but for the popular girls of Pleasant County High, the first day of school is exciting. It's the day to make everyone jealous of you as you walk through the hallways with your summer tan and summer break stories. It was a chance to show off your newest outfits, and an opportunity to redecorate your locker with the cutest new accessories.

My heart felt like it jumped into my throat when I entered into the hallway. I noticed eyes looking at me, but they held no recognition in them.

Seriously, did no one know who I was?

Suzy waved to me and went on to find her locker. She mouthed a quick, "Good luck!"

I quickly darted to find my own locker, but my confidence had started to waver. It was one thing to talk about revenge, but being faced with it I was starting to lose my nerve.

"Did you see Cara's instagram? She went to Cancun over summer break. I'm so jealous," muttered one girl to another. "My summer was so boring, I just spent it at the mall on weekends. Oh my god, she's coming over right now..."

The most popular girl in school was Cara Perez. She had what most people would consider the ideal features, naturally long lashes, long flowing hair and that exotic latin flavor. She would constantly mess with her hair several times a day. Never able to decide if it should be up, down, tied back or over one shoulder. She walked down the hallways like she owned them.

The next two most popular girls in my school were Samantha Stewart and Kristy Manning. Samantha was a strawberry blonde  with freckles just cutely on the tip of her nose. Kristy had wavy dark hair and a smooth butterscotch skin-tone. They'd always been pretty, but freshmen year—when they became close to Cara—all of a sudden they started to look stunning. It was almost as if Cara had some magical ability to make anyone close to her look ten times more amazing than they already did.

Unfortunately, Cara's locker was next to mine.

"Cancun had a lot of cute guys." Cara was mid-conversation with Sam and Kristy when she came in earshot of me. Her hands reached out to put in her locker combination as she continued, "Still none of them were as cute as Marco though."

She was referring to Marco Hunt, my crush of five years. Ever since the time I tripped on the sidewalk outside of the school and he helped me up with a smile, I started crushing on him. He'd always been a cute kid, but when he came to high-school everything changed. He went from being just cute, to being beautiful.

Dark, perfectly shaped eyebrows, a mischievous winning smile, a toned body and hair a girl would want to touch over and over again. He was even captain of the soccer team.

I wasn't happy that Marco turned out to be so hot. I liked him when no one else did. I didn't develop a crush on him for being hot, I developed a crush on him because of the small things. When no one was looking or judging, he'd listen to acoustic guitar music and write chords in his notebook. One time, when Jake Fischer was being picked on Marco stepped in and stopped the other guys from harassing him.

However, at this point, Marco Hunt was no longer my crush. I'd always respected and admired Marco until I heard that he had a crush on Cara Perez.

"Um, excuse me."

A voice shook me from my thoughts. It was Cara. She stared right at me, or right through me rather. She didn't seem to recognize who I was at all.

"Are you new?" Cara asked me with a beautiful smile.

I felt all the blood travel to my face. I was angry and embarrassed at the same time. How could she not recognize me? After our last conversation when she utterly humiliated me.

Eight Months ago...

"I think it's no contest that in a fight between Spiderman and Batman, that Batman would win, hands down." I was having the typical kind of debate Suzy and I always shared as we left school.

Suzy waved a finger at me. "Yeah, but I don't think so. Batman just had gadgets, Spiderman has a lot of senses and abilities. I think him having more personality is also a strength, not a weakness."

It was dark outside, a storm would definitely start at any given moment. I wished that I hadn't told my mother that she didn't need to pick me up. I thought I could walk home. A car pulled up to the curb and a frizzy-haired woman inside waved enthusiastically towards us.

Suzy inhaled deeply. "And, that's my ma. Sooo, we'll finish this debate in text."

I smiled and returned the gesture, "Hi Mrs. Peterson!" I then quickly added. "You mean the debate that I'm winning at? Sure."

Suzy slipped into her mother's Kia and held up her phone to the window to imply for me to start texting her right away. That's just the kind of friendship we had, we never got sick of each other and we constantly kept in contact.

I withdrew my phone from my pocket and scrolled down to Suzy's name. On the screen glowed the last conversation I had with her.

【Do you still like Marco?】 It read.

【Yes. I wish I didn't, but I do. He did a really sweet thing today.】 I had replied.

【What?】 Suzy had asked.

【I forgot my notebook so he gave me some pages from his.】

【It's been five years. Time to like someone else.】

It was embarrassing to see those texts still on the screen. Marco was someone I knew I'd never be with, not in a million years, it was just nice to admire him from afar.

Suddenly it began to rain, it turned into a downpour so fast. I darted back up the steps to hide just under the cover by the schools front doors.

Why didn't I bring an umbrella? I tried to wipe the water from my face when I realized my hands were empty. What happened to my phone?

I frantically started to look around, but I didn't have to look for long. Soon there beside me was Cara Perez and in her hand was my phone, still glowing with the conversation I'd had with Suzy.

"You dropped this," Cara said blankly.

My face felt warm, had she seen the messages? Surely, she couldn't have; it was just for a second. I reached out to take back my phone. "Thanks."

Cara released the phone, but not her gaze. She stared at me, no she was judging me. Her eyes studied my outfit and my wet messy hair. She even stared down at my dirty black and no-longer-white sneakers.

Kristy and Samantha joined Cara outside. Kristy was still laughing over something funny Sam had said before they came outside. "Cara! We've been looking for you!"

Cara folded her arms and smiled slowly. "Just out here with Kitty."

Cara had never even paid attention to me before. I was surprised she knew my name at all.

"Oh. Hey." Kristy halfheartedly greeted me. In that fake-nice kind of way mean girls do. I knew they'd start laughing and complaining about how I looked the moment I was gone.

Cara finally looked away from me to look to her two friends. "And guess what girls? Kitty here has a crush on Marco. Apparently, she's liked him for five years. Isn't that cute?"

I could feel my breath stop. My eyes widened and I stared at Cara in horror. This couldn't be real. this couldn't really be happening. Was she really this type of person? I knew she was superficial and vain, but I never took her for being heartless.

Sam and Kristy tried their best to stile their laughs.

"I guess she didn't get that Marco's completely into you." Sam scoffed.

"Right?" Cara said triumphantly as she looked back to me. "And my Marco isn't into little girls with little dreams. Little girls who look like you, you know girls who don't 'try'. So if you think he's being nice to you because he likes you, you're wrong. Marco is just a nice guy who helps out those he pities, you know, the un-dateables."

I couldn't believe it. Everything in me wanted to either scream or run. Other students who were also avoiding the rain were dangerously close to us and started to rudely crowd in to hear the conversation.

Cara stepped closer to me. "I know you think I'm being mean right now, but I'm just marking my territory. Marco is mine. Everyone else knows it, now you know it. And while we're at this. No one likes you Kitty. Do you know why Suzy is the only friend who've been able to make in this town since fourth grade? It's because you are a gross person. Check yourself out in a mirror sometime and ask yourself 'would Marco be into me?'. I promise you, the answer will be crystal clear. Hot girls like me always get what they want, and girls like you will have to settle for what little they can get."

Cara then reached a hand into her bag and just when I thought she was about to hit me with something from it, she pops open her umbrella. Cara stomped down the steps with Sam and Kristy trailing behind her frantically opening their own umbrellas as well.

I was left stunned and mute.

I had been unable to say a single word. Where had my voice gone? Where had my confidence gone? What had just happened?

I'd been used to being ignored, to being invisible, and I was used to people not bothering to really get to know me. Never had anyone said anything like that so blatantly to my face before. I felt like crying.

I moved from under the cover to let the rain pour down on my head. I didn't want anyone else to see me cry, the rain had become a secret blessing.

I waited for more rain to touch my cheeks, but it didn't. I glanced up and a clear plastic umbrella was over my head. I looked to my side and Blake was standing beside me. Blake was a somewhat goofy guy. One of the few boys in school I got along well with. His black hair was too long, and he had pretty blue eyes. Everything else about him reflected his dorky nature.

It was Blake's last day at school, he was moving to live with his father. That was the problem with divorce, parents always say you don't have to choose sides, but in the end you do and he chose his dad.

"Thank you," I told him numbly.

"You're welcome." Blake smiled.

We walked together for a while in silence, I knew I should have been wishing Blake a better farewell, but I was still too upset from Cara to muster up any words.

"Cara's a bitch. Don't listen to anything she says," Blake offered.

I looked up at him, it was so weird to hear him say anything bad about anyone.

"And trust me, you're not the first person Cara's humiliated. The first was me." Blake told me this while not looking at me.

I didn't know. I couldn't remember anything like that happening to him.

"What? When?" I asked him curiously.

"Well, Cara and I grew up as playmates I guess. My family and her family hung out a lot, before the divorce I mean. I guess I liked her. No, not guess, I did like her a lot, but she got pretty and I got a playstation." Blake smiled at me when he spoke the final few words.

I couldn't help, but smile too. "Sounds like you got the better end of the deal."

"Thank you, I thought so too. I wasn't interested in her anymore, she changed so much, but when she found out how I felt about her and the girls started teasing her about us being 'fated'. You know, childhood playmates fated to be together. She was so embarrassed she insulted me in front of the cafeteria. Said she'd never be into someone like me. Called me, the Hobbit." He looked at his feet while talking.

"Oh." When I realized how my response sounded, I tried to remedy it. "No way are you a hobbit, you're actually really tall."

Blake laughed a little. "I think she was insulting my hair."

I couldn't defend the hair, I never did like his hair, so I just smiled.

He sighed heavily. "You know the sad part? The Cara's of the world will go on and live good lives. They won't be punished by karma. Her family was successful at life, so the statistical odds of her doing well at life are on her side. Her family can make the contacts she'll need, afford the schooling she'll want, and connect with other rich families she can marry into when she's an adult."

I grimaced. "Okay, I thought you were trying to make me feel better, not worse."

"I'm sorry! But it's true. There's really only one way to punish a girl like that and it's not karma. Girls like her have to be dethroned." Blake added.

When he saw my serious expression he laughed and nudged my arm. "I'm just kidding."

He may have been kidding, but I saw some logic to what he was saying. I'd always believed in karma. I foolishly thought that the bad girls would eventually get punished in life and the good girls would end up happy in the end.

Blake was right though, that wasn't reality for Pleasant County. Cara wouldn't end up having a life full of mistakes, she'd have the perfect life. She knew the rules to the game. She said I wasn't "trying" and she was right.

It dawned on me the key to having everything, the boys, the admiration and the future was "trying". Not trying to be good, but trying to be someone everyone else would want to be or be with.

"Blake you are a genius." I breathed.

Blake looked at me a little puzzled, before he started to get cocky. "Now, I know that, but you're just figuring that out now?"

I smiled at him. "Let's make an agreement, okay?"

"Uh oh, I don't like the sound of this." He laughed.

"No, come on, Blake, I'm serious!" I stopped him and held onto the umbrella with him.

"Let's not be those nice guys in life who just settle. Who just settle for the bad job because it pays, the bad relationship, because they can't find better or the bad life because they're comfortable in it. Let's not be that 80%, we can instead do something totally different and surprise everyone. You start in your school as a new you, and after this summer I'll start again as a new me. We can figure out complicated math problems for a test, we should be able to figure out the formula for conquering the assholes in life."

Blake stared at me or a moment before he nodded. "Fine. If this is your complicated way of asking me to get a haircut, fine."

I couldn't help, but laugh. Things were so easy around Blake. "I'll miss you when you're gone."

He poked at my forehead. "I'll be sad that I'm not gonna be around to see this new you."

"Don't worry. I'll send you pictures..."

Present Day...

"Are you new?" Cara asked me with a beautiful smile.

I felt all the blood travel to my face. I was angry and embarrassed at the same time. How could she not recognize me? After our last conversation when she utterly humiliated me.

Suddenly, I felt a surge of confidence enter me. This is what I wanted, this is what I'd planned all summer and most of the year for. This moment.

I straightened my back, and flashed a bright smile. I tried to believe that I could be just as pretty and look just as sure about myself as the other three girls.

I extended my hand out to shake hers, a wicked glint in my eyes.

"No Cara, I'm Kitty."

And I'm here to dethrone you...