She was mean, scratch that, she was meaner than mean. Alice Studs was the coldest, shallowest, two-faced, fourteen- year-old girl I’ve ever met. When Alice walked, she didn’t even have to say anything to have an attitude it was all in the way she swung her hips like they were breaking a wall, the way her arm hung, holding her purse poised at any minute to use it to tell someone off. It was the way she chomped her gum, not caring that every teacher was about to give her detention. Alice wasn’t mean by taking lunch money or something. No, no, she was above that. She’d already moved on to tripping girls in the cafeteria, you know the real cliché stuff. Cliché, I doubt she even knew what that meant. Alice had the IQ of a four year old. So did everyone she hung out with. Even the people who Alice hung out with didn’t like her. They all talked about her in the halls and when she wasn’t around they were generally really nice people. It was as if Alice payed them 20 bucks a day to be her friend and be mean to people.

Although I didn’t like Alice I wouldn’t normally give her a second glance, I wouldn’t normally let her get to me, and I definitely wouldn’t normally be sitting in Mr. Steven’s office right next to her. But today had been anything but normal. I take that back. Everything about this day had been normal except for second period. Today second period when Alice sat next to me, I put my guard up. Then she started talking to me as if we’d been best friends for years and told each other everything. Which definitely was not the case. I nodded nonchalantly and went back to my work. Then Alice poked me on the shoulder with her pink, sparkly pen. I tried to be as nice as possible and shot her an I’m- actually-doing- my- work- look. I’d noticed that Alice looked peppier than normal. Her light brown ponytail was in loose curls, bouncing around her head, her bracelets jingled non- stop, and instead of her usual designer sweat suit with a matching purse and Uggs, Alice decided to wear a purple Bebe shirt with, Juicy jeans, a Channel bag, and chestnut colored Ugg slippers. Yes, something was definitely different. It was like she was trying to be a new person. When Alice wouldn’t stop talking to me, I looked up at her and said, “Alice, I would like to finish my work. Stop talking.” Yes there were other things I could say like, “Who are trying to be? No one believes it,” or I could have gone with, “I’ve spent all my life shut out by you and I don’t need acceptance now.” But I would rather be nice than mean. Being bratty wasn’t me.

Then it happened. It happened so fast I barely knew what happened- that last poke, that last time I looked over, and that last word out of Alice Stud’s mouth. “You know I was talking to you because I felt bad for you, the way you dress, look, and act. I was trying to be nice. I noticed how hard you were trying yesterday so I’d decided I’d come and help you with your stupidness.” Stupidness? First, did Alice Studs attempt to call me stupid? And second I don’t even think stupidness is a word. So that one little word or not word, I wasn’t too sure set me off. Suddenly I was standing up, standing and yelling. Yelling I don’t even know what. This power took over me and I was yelling words that I hadn’t comprehended before shouting them. I’m not exactly sure what I yelled, but I think it was along the lines of “You’re calling me stupid? Who do you think you are! If I were you, I wouldn’t say another word.”
But Alice being who she was she had to have the last word. “Whatever.” The lowest of all comebacks.
The teacher had been trying to calm me, but I couldn’t resist. I knocked all the books off Alice’s desk. I even went as far as to take her purse, walk over to the garbage, and throw it in. My temper was never this bad.
Alice without a word got up, walked over to me, and in a quick motion, lifted her leg and kicked me. The teacher was furious. She yelled so loudly I came back to reality and remembered this wasn’t a T.V.
So she personally escorted us to Mr. Stevens’s office. That’s why I’m here right now and that’s why second period wasn’t one bit normal and that’s also why for the next three weeks I have detention. But it was worth it. I’d done what every girl in my school dreamed of doing.