𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎: 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
Alaina's aggressive counter to the girls' dodgeball trick had scared students off from pulling any more pranks for the time being. She knew it would only last a day or two, but she enjoyed the peace following the dodgeball incident. Jotting notes in her notebook, she looked over to Ellie who was busy looking at something on her phone rather than the lesson on the board.
Poking her with the eraser of her pencil, Alaina peered over at her. "I thought you wanted to get better at statistics," she whispered.
Ellie glanced up, putting her phone to the side, "Oh sorry." She hesitated for a second, nervously fidgeting with her pencil. "There's this big party tonight. I was hoping you could come with me." She looked at Alaina pleadingly.
Alaina pursed her lips. "Rich people parties? I think I'll pass." She sat back against her seat. She couldn't deal with the rich kids during school hours, having to see them after school would be another headache.
"But you have to come. It's a welcome back party for Victoria," Ellie urged.
Alaina's interest was immediately piqued. There was that name again, the one Cordelia and Brendan had mentioned to her, the one that Chris was happy about. She was admittedly curious about her, someone who made Chris happy was hard to come by, his smiles were rare to witness. Victoria was someone special, it couldn't hurt to attend just to meet who this Victoria was, she could leave right after.
"I'll . . . think about it," she answered, Ellie smiled happily.
With the class ending, Ellie quickly gathered her things. There were few things on her desk, so she didn't have much to pack. She stood outside the door waiting while Alaina was busy putting away her things. Seeing shadows cast over her desk, Alaina looked up, noticing the three nuisances. She pushed herself out of her seat, standing up so she could be eye-to-eye with the three of them. They flinched, backing away a few steps.
"Do you have something to say to me?" Alaina's lips tugged into a scowl, getting straight to the point.
"You're not thinking of going to the party tonight, are you?" Paige asked curiously.
"And what if I am?" Alaina challenged, raising her eyebrows.
"Ha, like she has anything good to wear. You do know the dress code is semi-formal, right? I doubt you'll have anything special for it," Lauren ridiculed.
"My outfit is from Zimmerman, it's brand new, just came out a few days ago," Amy chimed in.
"It doesn't have to be designer to be nice." Ellie had heard just enough of the conversation to muster the courage to speak up for someone other than herself for once. It was surprising, even to herself. Alaina gave her a praising smile, it was nice to see Ellie become a little bold. "You're rubbing off on me," Ellie spoke with a giggle.
She glanced at her proudly. "What she said." Alaina tilted her head and linked arms with her friend, leaving the room. The three girls sighed, shaking their heads.