Down With The Queen

Jennifer Simon

Jennifer was the only daughter and only child of the Simon family, who were one of the most elitist and richest families in Knox for about seven generations. Since they were one of the founding families of Knox, it seemed as though they practically ruled the small town. Of course, there were other families who had as much right as they did to Knox, but the Simon family felt superior to most, and though they tried to hide it, they did not care about anyone except themselves and their reputation, neither did they care about anything that wasn’t connected to their riches or assets.

And so, these family traits were bound to rub off on young Jennifer.

Her mother always told her that she was special, because on the day that she was born the waxing moon shone more brightly than it ever had in Knox, illuminating the night sky like it were the palace of Zeus himself on Mount Olympus. And although Jennifer was old enough to realize that the tale her mother told was just another exciting story to motivate little Jennifer the sole heir, she still held on to that superstition that she was special, not just because she was amazing and talented in her own way, but because the moon had shone so bright on the day she came forth to the earth.

Maybe she always held on to her specialness as a way to have something left of her inattentive parents, because although they made sure that Jennifer did not lack anything materially and financially, her parents were seldom emotionally supportive or around for Jennifer. Her father was always going on business trips and was busy with town matters, while her mother dilly-dallied about to entertain herself in various ways when her husband was absent. Jennifer did all she could to get their attention-maxing out their credit cards shopping or going to the city on an unplanned mini vacation were only some of the things Jennifer did to gain their attention, all to no avail. Once, she sprayed Tommy Jerrigan with her handy pepper spray for coming too close to her when they crossed paths in the hallway while the poor boy was trying to meander the crowds to get to his locker, during which he had accidently brushed by her in a haste. Jennifer got sent to the principal’s office who eventually invited her parents to a meeting over her ‘gross misconduct’, and for the first time in her life, her parents paid her some attention. They expressed their disappointment and had to pay Tommy’s clinic expenses, but Jennifer did not care, just as long as her parents noticed her existence. Being the mean girl eventually became her go to when she needed her parent’s attention, and oh, how well it worked.

The fact that she was always reminded that she was special, coupled with her rich heritage and wealthy inheritance, Jennifer never failed to shove her importance into the faces of other children, forcing on them her ‘eliteness’ and a generous amount of snobbish behavior. At seven, she had won several beauty pageants including the pageantry held by Knox for its ‘bright young stars’ who were under the age of ten, at age eleven she won the Miss Peony beauty contest which was held at state level, and at sixteen she decided that pageants were no longer of interest to her, but went ahead to forge a fashion label of her own which she christened (queen in foreign language), and it was doing quite well. It was ranked amongst leading fashion labels, and graced the physiques of teen idols whose photos were scattered across teen magazines where budding enthusiasts and star struck wannabes gushed with heart eyes at the fits that they possibly couldn’t afford. The truth was that Jennifer did not care about making sales-she just wanted the competition, and she wanted to be the victor. But the best thing about Jennifer was that even though it seemed like she got everything on a platter of gold, she knew her onions and won all her awards through merit, hard work and meanness. Her family’s influence had no hand in it, as Jennifer had driven herself to work so hard that she’d made her own mark amongst the rich and famous-minute, but significant nonetheless. She also detested the fact that she had to live in such a small town like Knox where she felt her influence wasn’t so much appreciated as it would have been if she lived in the big cities, and she already knew that once she clocked eighteen and graduated high school, she would pack up and move to a place like Los Angeles where she could finally unleash her true potential. Until then, she felt stuck in Knox and entertained herself with her ‘subjects’.

You see, Jennifer, like her ancestors before her, was a born leader. So why not take Knox High by the reins? At age twelve, she realized that she wasn’t maximizing her potential enough, and decided to crown herself queen; after all, the losers and wannabes at Knox High needed someone to look up to, and it couldn’t be just anyone, it had to be someone who was flawlessly beautiful, rich, influential and had the airs and graces of a monarch. And who better than Jennifer Simon?

Though she wasn’t usually one to flock with a crowd, she saw the importance of recruiting individuals who would help keep the order while she reigned. She already had her witty and playful best friend Marissa Cole, but having Marissa wasn’t enough. She needed people who could echo her laughter through the halls, girls who would walk in step and beat when they paraded the halls, and girls with fashion choices that dripped of finesse. And so it was that Lola Rowley found a rose scented lilac envelope in her locker which contained an invite to Jennifer Simon’s sleepover on a Friday night. She wasn’t the only one though, as she had come to realize when she got to Jennifer’s mansion that Friday night. But she made the cut out of the other seven girls who were invited, and was extremely glad to be considered worthy of sitting by Jennifer’s side.

Jennifer wasn’t a fool, and she knew all modern high school cliques needed diversity according to Hello! the teen magazine she devoted herself to every month a new issue got delivered at her doorstep. Thus, Pearl Wei found herself included in Jennifer’s clique. Jennifer decided that a clique of four was enough, as she didn’t think she had much energy for girl drama. Slowly, Jennifer rose in ranks, and eventually reached the highest point of Knox High’s social ladder. It wasn’t as though she went unnoticed before, but now each and every high schooler in and out of Knox had their eye on her. Before long, Aaron Felt, who was the cutest jock on the football team, had his eyes on her in a special way and both Jennifer and Aaron hit off their romance swimmingly, as well as thirteen year olds could anyway. Jennifer was living life, and she didn’t want it to end, but it did eventually, because one day she had taken it too far.

Jennifer Simon had everything a girl her age could ever wish for, but she wanted more. And that became her downfall.