The Queen Maker

By the time I realized the entire school was staring at me, it was already too late to run. I stood in the middle of Kingston High’s crowded hallway, holding a cup of coffee that was no longer in the cup. It was on Drew’s shirt. “Oh my God!” I blurted out. “I’m so sorry.” Drew looked down at the stain on his shirt, then back at me. For a second, neither of us said anything. Then he smiled. “It’s fine.” I blinked. “It’s fine?” “I have another shirt in my locker.” I nodded quickly. “Right. Of course. Your locker. I can help clean it, though.” “You can help me by being more careful next time.” I laughed nervously. “Deal.” He turned toward the lockers, and I stood there watching him walk away. That was Drew. The most popular boy in Kingston High. The boy almost every girl had talked about at least once. And unfortunately for me, the boy I had secretly liked since last year. “Rielle!” I turned around and saw Maeve hurrying toward me. She stopped beside me, looked at Drew, then looked at me. “Did you just spill coffee on Drew?” “Technically, yes.” “Rielle!” “I said I’m sorry!” Maeve covered her mouth to hide her laugh. “You have been crushing on him forever, and the first thing you do when you finally get close to him is attack him with coffee.” “I did not attack him.” “You practically baptized him.” I pushed her shoulder. “Stop.” Before she could answer, a familiar voice came from behind us. “Well, well, well.” My stomach tightened. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. Fey. She walked toward us with Molly and Polly beside her. The three of them looked like they had planned their outfits together, which honestly wouldn’t surprise me. Fey stopped in front of me and looked me up and down. “So this is what we’re doing now?” I frowned. “What are you talking about?” “Trying to get Drew’s attention.” Maeve stepped forward. “She spilled coffee by accident.” Fey laughed. “Of course she did.” I tried to ignore her and walked toward my classroom. “Wait,” Fey called after me. “You forgot something.” I turned. “What?” “Your dignity.” Molly and Polly burst out laughing. A few students nearby did too. My face burned. I hated that she could make me feel small with just a few words. Fey had always been like this. She was the most popular girl in school, captain of the cheerleading team, and somehow always at the center of everything that happened at Kingston High. If she liked you, school could be easy. If she didn’t? Good luck. Maeve caught up with me. “Don’t listen to her.” “I’m trying.” “She’s only doing this because you talked to Drew.” “I didn’t even talk to him properly. I spilled coffee on him.” “Exactly. And somehow that’s enough to make her jealous.” I looked at Maeve. “Fey is not jealous of me.” Maeve raised an eyebrow. “Maybe not yet.” We continued toward the film club room. The club wasn’t exactly the most popular place in school. There were only a few regular members, but it was mine, and I loved it. I had always wanted to make movies. Not the boring school projects where everyone complained about acting. I wanted to create something people would actually remember. I pushed open the door. “Good morning, everyone.” Marty barely looked up from his laptop. “Morning.” Vicky waved. “Hey, Rielle.” I dropped my bag onto the table. “Okay, everyone, I have an idea.” Marty sighed. “That’s usually dangerous.” I ignored him. “What if we organize a school film festival?” Vicky looked interested. “Like an actual festival?” “Exactly. Student films, short movies, photography, maybe interviews. We could even get the principal involved.” Maeve smiled. “That actually sounds amazing.” Marty finally looked up. “How are we supposed to organize something that big with four people?” “Five,” I corrected. He pointed at himself. “I’m counting myself.” “You’re impossible.” Before we could continue, my phone started buzzing. Then Maeve’s did. Then Vicky’s. Everyone looked at their screens. My heart sank. There was a new post from Corey Gossipy. KINGSTON HIGH DRAMA ALERT! Underneath was a picture of me standing in the hallway with Drew. The caption read: Who is this girl and why did she just pour coffee all over Kingston’s favorite bad boy? My mouth fell open. “Oh no.” Maeve leaned closer. “Look at the comments.” I didn’t want to. I did anyway. Some people were laughing. Others were asking who I was. A few were actually defending me. Then I saw one comment from Fey. Some girls will do anything for attention. My fingers tightened around my phone. Marty shook his head. “This is going to get ugly.” “I know.” Maeve touched my arm. “Just ignore it.” I wanted to. I really did. But something inside me was getting tired. Tired of being ignored. Tired of watching Fey treat everyone like they were beneath her. Tired of being afraid to speak because I didn’t want to become her next target. My phone buzzed again. Another post. This time, it was Fey herself. She was standing in front of a mirror, smiling at the camera. “Apparently, some people at Kingston High are desperate for attention,” she said in the video. “But don’t worry. I’ll teach them how things work around here.” The video ended. I stared at the screen. Maeve looked worried. “Rielle…” “I’m fine.” “You don’t look fine.” “I’m just tired.” “Tired of what?” I looked at the screen again. Then I put my phone down. “Tired of being scared of her.” That afternoon, I was walking toward the cafeteria when someone stepped into my path. Fey. Again. She folded her arms. “I heard you’re planning some stupid film festival.” “It’s not stupid.” She smiled. “Everything you do is so desperate.” “Why do you care?” Her smile disappeared. “Because you need to understand something. You don’t suddenly become important because people are talking about you.” “I never said I was important.” “You don’t have to. Your behavior says it for you.” I looked around. Students were already slowing down to watch. Of course they were. Fey loved an audience. I took a breath. “Can you just leave me alone?” She stepped closer. “Or what?” I stared at her. For once, I didn’t look away. “Or I’ll stop letting you talk to me however you want.” The hallway went strangely quiet. Fey’s eyebrows lifted. “Excuse me?” “You heard me.” Maeve, who had just reached us, whispered, “Rielle…” But I couldn’t take it back. Fey stared at me for a few seconds before smiling again. “Interesting.” She turned to Molly and Polly. “Come on.” They followed her, but before she left, she looked back at me. “This is going to be fun.” I watched her disappear around the corner. My heart was pounding. I had no idea what I had just started. “Rielle,” Maeve said quietly, “you just challenged Fey.” “I know.” “She’s going to come after you.” “I know.” “Are you scared?” I looked toward the hallway where Fey had disappeared. “Yes.” Then I smiled. “But I’m more tired of being scared.” That evening, I sat on my bed with Leon my adorable cat curled beside me. My phone was still blowing up. My followers had increased. Not by hundreds. Not even close. But enough for me to notice. I stared at my profile. Maybe Maeve was right. Maybe I should stay quiet. Maybe challenging Fey was a terrible idea. Then another notification appeared. A message from an unknown account. You want to take Fey down? I frowned. Another message appeared. Then stop trying to fight her like everyone else. I sat up. Who are you? The reply came almost immediately. Someone who knows exactly how to beat her. My heart started racing. Then another message appeared. Meet me tomorrow. I have a plan. I stared at the screen. I had no idea who was behind the account. But whatever this was, I had a feeling my life at Kingston High was about to change.