Fourty

CHAPTER 40

Golden High School sports stadium building.

"PRIITTTTTTTT!!!!!"

The whistle blown by Mr. Louis immediately echoed throughout the stadium. Making the basketball game being played by the girls' team stop instantly. The official who devoted himself to teaching this sports class immediately informed that the sports class was over and the students could return to the main building to rest.

Some of them immediately left the stadium, especially the boys who had been competing since earlier. While the group of girls decided to first pull over from the basketball court before returning to the main building.

"ATTENTION, ATTENTION!" someone exclaimed.

The voice that called out loudly in the middle of the stadium suddenly made the girls stop their activities and turn towards the source of the sound. And the voice came from Selena. The shoulder-length haired girl suddenly stood on one of the stadium seats and called all the students there to come closer to her.

"As a member of the popular girl group at Golden High, I have something to say." Selena opened her voice when the girls had gathered. "Elena's death made me and Amanda..." her eyes glanced at Amanda who was standing among the other girls sadly. "very sad and devastated. But we felt that we had to maintain our prestige and decided not to drag on this sadness."

Overlapping voices began to be heard in the room. They wondered what Selena's true intentions were when she said that. And as if understanding her friends' confusion, Selena then raised her hand in the air. Giving a bodily gesture for the girls to stop whispering and speculating on their own. "We're going to recruit new members to join," she said to the point.

The expressions of the girls standing around Selena immediately turned enthusiastic. They were very excited about the moment that had just been declared by one of the popular girls at Golden High.

In the Golden High dormitory, popularity was one of the things needed to survive. The dormitory known for its best predicate enforced social strata within it. Grouping occurs and that is what triggers the beginning of bullying. In fact, none of the girls wanted to be bullied or ostracized. So, being part of the popular girls would be very beneficial for them. There was no choice for them.

Selena then muttered softly. "We've selected the best candidates based on their reputation in the dormitory," she said straightforwardly.

Questions of what, how and counter reactions began to emerge from the girls. The two girls who had already earned the popular label suddenly decided on their own candidate and didn't give the others a chance. It seemed a little unfair, especially to those who had high hopes for the new recruits.

"What's going on, Britt?" whispered Alicia, who was standing in the back row.

Brittany simply crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged lazily. "I guess they don't want to lose prestige. They'll recruit people to be part of them," she explained. "But I don't think anyone can replace Elena here."

"Is being popular very profitable here?" Alicia asked curiously.

"Oh, yes, of course. You'll be one of the most influential girls. They'll listen to everything you say and give you their full trust."

Full trust.

"Then, for the candidates whose names I called, you can come forward and show your faces to these girls," Selena added. She grinned faintly, as if doing all this under someone's compulsion.

"The first candidate, the sole heir to the diamond company in Gotham City... Jennie," Selena called out loudly. And the girl named Jenie then came forward and faced the other girl proudly. Jennie and Selena shared a smile before Selena added, "The second candidate, the new kid who caught everyone's attention on her first day and really stood out..." Selena cleared her throat and called out, "Alicia."

Alicia and Brittany exchanged surprised glances. Brittany even looked a little panicked. She raised both eyebrows and looked at Alicia in disbelief. "You?"

"Me?" replied Alicia in disbelief.

The other girls began to make a fuss about Alicia being chosen as one of the candidates. None of them knew anything about Alicia's family background and economic status. They wondered if there weren't many other girls in the dormitory who were more deserving than Alicia.

"Why me?" Alicia asked Selena. The question that flew out of her mouth brought the eyes of the whole room to her.

Selena chuckled amusedly and gave a quick shrug of her shoulders. "Because you've been popular since your first day. Come forward! Show your face in front of all of us," she ordered.

Alicia turned to Brittany and said, "What should I do now?"

And Brittany looked straight at the gray bead. She scanned around all pairs of eyes waiting for Alicia to see before finally turning back to Alicia. "Just follow their game," she suggested.

Alicia considered for a moment before finally stepping forward from her position to the front. The dark-haired girl finally stood next to Jennie and wore a flat expression. Alicia could also hear Jennie whispering, "I'll get you." next to her but pretended not to hear her.

After all, Alicia had no interest in being one of the popular girl groups or whatever they were called. Alicia just wanted to be an ordinary girl, a normal girl, even on the first day of her move.

"You can all pay attention to these two from now on. Choose the best of the two candidates and Amanda and I will announce it this weekend," Selena explained to the girls.

The shoulder-length-haired girl immediately dispersed the crowd of schoolgirls and got off the chair. Now she stood in line with the others. And in the stadium, only Alicia, Brittany, Selena and Amanda remained. They stood in a circle after her.

"What's your plan?" Alicia asked Amanda probingly.

Amanda snorted in amusement. "I'm sure you already know my plan."

Brittany took a step forward so that her body was between Alicia and Amanda. She interrupted, "You just challenged her to get Ace, and now..." Brittany looked at Alicia and then at Amanda in turn. "Are you trying to make her an ally or what? This is such a joke!"

The brunette girl chuckled and grinned slightly. She raised one eyebrow as she said,

.

.

.

"Isn't the best way to bring down your enemy is to make them your friend?"