"Hey Elizabeth!" I called, my voice beaming and full of happiness.

No suspicion allowed.

"Lexi," she said, her voice failing to recognize everything that I stood for. "What are you doing here?"

Shut up. Shut your annoying and disrespectful voice up. I don't need your sass here.

"What, I can't talk to you?"

She seemed to be thinking about it, to say something terrible about it, but with the teacher so near, she didn't seem to dare. "I mean, you always hang out with people that aren't exactly nice to me. So why would you talk to me?"

I smile internally. Of course I'm not nice to you, and I would never talk to you if I didn't absolutely need to. I hang out with them because they love me—they love their queen.

You, however, don't.

Why would Queen Lexi ever want to be with someone who doesn't love her?

But I don't say any of that. She needs to trust me, not hate me.

"I mean, I kinda feel bad for you. You're so nice and all"—killing myself as I gushed out—"why do people keep bothering you?"

She sighs, completely falling for it. "Right? I think the same thing all the time. 'Why am I the one that gets targeted? Why do I get bullied?' It's not fair."

I had to compromise. I couldn't let this girl think I was tricking her. "Hey, what about I get them to stop bothering you?"

Her eyes brighten. "You'd do that for me? Wow, you're really nice. I thought you were just high up there and so self-absorbed"—thanks for the wonderful insight—"But I guess I was wrong. You're nice after all!"

"Heh," I laugh under my breath. "Thanks."

Could I possibly get this girl to love me? Maybe I shouldn't kill her after all.

No. She deserves this punishment.

She deserves this.

She does.

I go up to Barry and Peter, who were bothering her. I breathed in, preparing myself to say something that I would probably regret. "Hey, you guys."

"Yes, Queen Lexi?" they say, my voice charming their immediate attention.

"You guys should really stop bothering Elizabeth. You're annoying her, and I don't want that."

"Of course, Queen!" rang their voices, clear throughout the air.

I turned around, facing Elizabeth and her fluffy blonde hair and winked. "Hear that, Lizzy? It's a done deal!"

"...Lizzy?" she repeated after me. "I've never been called that before."

"Better get used to it!" I called. "It's a lot more convenient than saying your whole name. It's so looong."

Her uneasy smile made my smile along with her, mischief and all. "Okay then," she says. "I guess it's fine."

"It better be fine!" I say, forcing a laugh. With the playful attitude I just showed her, I couldn't just stop playing the part now.

Her smile turns real, unsuspecting. "All right, all right, it's fine!" she laughs.

And so I just laugh harder, air coming in forced spurts before I run out of energy to force anything.

***

Our fake friendship looked real enough. But I knew the truth. I knew that every laugh, every smile, every movement was a calculated move to get her to trust me, to love me enough for me to go in and turn that trust right around and kill that girl that once dared to disrespect me.

Never forget the original objective.

Never, never, never.

Kill the girl and never look back.

Watch the blood spill on your hands, and let it cover you in warmth.

I wonder if I'll get addicted?

***

Over the course of a few weeks, a few weeks filled with pain and suffering, she finally invited me over to her house.

"Lexi, can you come over to my house in two days? On Thursday?"

I gave a silent cheer inside. But I couldn't get too eager on the outside, could I? I had to make her beg for it. "Oh, I don't know..."

"Please, Lexi! There's so much stuff I want to show you at my house! Won't you please come over?"

Yes, come over on your knees and beg me. Beg for it hard. "I'm still not sure..."

"C'mon, please? Won't you please, please, please?"

"Um, I really gotta think about it. Plus I gotta ask my mom and stuff..."

Her face fell, a wave a sadness so sudden I wonder if she's acting everything too.

No. That can't be possible my acting, my reasoning, it's all perfect. She thinks it's all genuine. It's all real, real, real to her.

It must be.

"Um, I'm sure it'll be okay though!" I said, an attempt to make her feel better, a fake to make her think I actually cared.

Her face immediately brightened, golden happiness spreadings its waves over her. "You really think so?"

"Of course!" I say, trying to put enthusiasm in my mouth. "I'll make sure of it."

I was so close.

***

"Yay! You're coming over! I have so much stuff I wanna show you at my house. Just think of all the movies I have, dolls I have, and toys! My parents are really nice to me and they buy me everything I want so I can always have fun, and now I'm going to share it with you! Can you imagine how much fun we'll have?"

Yes. I can just see the scarlet blood streaming between my fingers. Your blood. The warmth filling me, satisfying me. I can see all of it. "No way!" I said, an attempt to be as happy as she was. "My parents only get me half the things I want"—a blatant lie—"so I wanna see all the things you have!"

"Yeah, we'll see in just a few hours! I wanna leave school really fast today, but it feels like it's been dragging on hours already," she frowned.

"Hey, hey," I said, a fake to keep her distracted, "do you have that limited edition Barbie doll? You know, the blonde hair and silk dress?"

"Oh my god, yes! I wanted it so badly I had to beg my parents for it for like a month before they finally caved."

So you lied to me. You said they got you everything you wanted, yet you turn around and say you had to beg for a month.

Liar.

Betrayer.

But I had to hold back my anger. Exploding now would show my true intentions, leave my goal unaccomplished.

Never forget the original objective.

Never, never, never.

I'd never forget the strawberry, no, raspberry pastries in my backpack. The ones I bought, the first thing I'd ever purchased by myself. I couldn't let my mom find out. What if she realized that Lizzy was deathly allergic strawberries after I lied that I was getting strawberry flavored pastries because Lizzy supposedly loved then?

No. I'd never let that happen. I had to get these sweets. And I would make sure that she died.

I would do it all.

***

3 o' clock rolls around and I could hardly wait for the grand scheme to unravel. They're raspberry macaroons, I chanted to myself. Raspberry, raspberry, raspberry.

I could almost imagine the whole scene right in front of me.

"Mrs. Glasden, here's some raspberry macaroons for Lizzy!" I'd say, my voice alight with excitement.

"My, how nice of you!" she'd say right back. "But why not give them right to Elizabeth?"

"Shh," I'd say. "I want them to be a surprise. Give them to her when she's good, all right?"

Her eyes would light up, a smile forming on her face. "Sure thing, Lexi!"

Then Lizzy would gorge herself on those strawberry macaroons, the strawberries forced down her throat as it closed up, shutting away the air from her lungs.

Mission accomplished.

But right now, I had to focus on keeping up the mask. I pretended to be oblivious as Liz runs towards me with a smile lighted on her face. "Lexi~" she sang as she hops towards me, her blonde curls bobbing up and down. "My mom's waiting outside for us! Let's get going!"

I forced a lovely smile, one of excitement and happiness. "Yes, yes, let's go!"

I pulled my backpack onto my shoulders and hopped out the door as the bell rang, Liz's arm intertwined in mine.

Mission: start.