The Bunny Queen and Her King

Xavier had been acting funny lately. He wasn’t smiling or eating as much as usual. (The only reason I bring up the food is because that he can eat like there’s no tomorrow.) He wouldn’t tell me what was wrong when I asked, which hurt me more than when Candy punched my eye. Both times she did it.

I sat in my Home Ed class, waiting on the water to start boiling so I could cook these noodles. Pitiful, I know. I think our teacher just got dumped. Again. She always gives us something easy so she can go into the bathroom and cry.

I secretly wondered about Candy and Tanner. They hadn’t bothered me all week. And it’s not like I’ve been using my mad-awesome ninja skills to avoid them. They’ve just been…ignoring me. It’s weird.

My mind was soon switched back to Xavier. Maybe he wasn’t interested anymore. That hurt to think about, but it seemed like the most likely scenario. New record, I thought bitterly, Three weeks and already he wants to dump me. I sighed. Was I really that ugly? Stop it, Bunny, I thought sharply, B is for beautiful. Remember that.

I put the noodles into the boiling water, careful not to accidentally splash myself. The last thing my precious self-esteem needed was an ugly burn mark somewhere on my body.

I hummed quietly to myself, grateful that I didn’t have this class with Candy. I could almost hear her screeching at me to be quiet. Her screeches were something like a crow. Annoying and scary at the same time.

“Hey, you.” I looked up in surprise at Juliet. Juliet was Candy’s younger sister. She had the same platinum blonde hair, but instead of dark blue eyes, she had one brown and one blue.

I gulped down my fear. “Y-yeah?” Drat. I stuttered.

“My sister picks on you a lot, right?” I nodded. She hugged me. “Oh my gawd! I’m so sorry, uh, what’s your name?”

“Bunny,” I squeaked out from my surprise.

“I’m so sorry, Bunny, for everything. I don’t know why Candy’s so nasty to you. I mean, you’re gorgeous.”

I blushed. “I-I’m not that pretty.”

“Oh, but you are!”

I probably looked like a cherry right now. “Uh, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She grinned at me. She was a couple inches taller than me, and just as skinny as her sister. I felt envious of their slim figures. Why couldn’t I look like that? Why couldn’t I be as pretty as Juliet and Candy?

“Do you mind if I eat lunch with you? I usually eat lunch with my boyfriend, but he’s sick today.”

“No, I don’t mind.”

“Great.” She grinned. “See you then, Bunny.”



“Hey—What is she doing here?” Cookie asked.

“This is—” I tried to introduce.

“I know who she is!” Cookie exclaimed. “What are you doing, Bunny?”

“Relax, she’s cool.” I sat down between Cookie and Juliet. “She’s lonely, anyway.”

Cookie narrowed her eyes. “I’m watching you, kid.”

“Where’s Kurt?” I asked.

She immediately lightened up. “He’ll be here any minute with Xavier.”

Xavier. I got a little angry that he’s show up when he was so obviously uninterested in me. Maybe I should break up with him? Surely that would make it easier and less embarrassing. My heart ached with the thought of ending things with him. To think that my first boyfriend ever didn’t even think I was pretty enough to try to get in bed hurt more. Was I really that ugly?

B is for beautiful. That’s what I’ve always told myself. But what if B wasn’t for beautiful? What if I’ve been telling myself a lie all these years?

“Bunny?” Cookie asked. “Are you okay?”

I nodded.

“Hello, ladies,” Kurt said, winking at Cookie. At least she was in an existing love life.

I smiled at Xavier before I could stop myself. He didn’t smile back. Yep, I thought, definitely not interested. I felt my self-confidence sink to a new low.

Cookie, noticing this with just a quick flash of the eyes, quickly asked, “So, Xavier, anything happen since…yesterday?” Smooth, I thought, chuckling.

“Eh, nothing,” he said, shrugging as he picked at his food.

I stabbed a fork in my salad angrily. Why couldn’t he just be a man and break my heart?

“Damn, Bunny,” Kurt said. “I think your salad’s dead.”

I gave him a nasty look. I slowly chewed on the bland lettuce. Ugh. Secretly, I wanted that box of chocolate my dad had given me after Cookie had fainted. But if I wanted to be pretty like Candy and Juliet then I needed to eat like Candy and Juliet. I took another mouthful of salad.

“So, Kurt.” Cookie looked up at him from under her eyelashes. “Bunny and I are having a girls’ night tonight. So, we’re gonna have to reschedule our date.”

He nodded around a bite of Xavier’s taco. “Okay, babe. Have fun.”

Cookie giggled at the pet name. I scrunched my nose in distaste. Babe? That was one of the dumbest pet names in the history of ever. But I’d never tell Cookie that. She dreamed of being called babe and baby. She thought it was sexy. (This is where I roll my eyes.)

“Oh, and Bunny, it’s your turn to pick what we’re doing,” Cookie said, smiling at me. “What did you have in mind, anyway? I need to know how smexii I should look.”

“Uh, I’m still contemplating,” I replied rather lamely. Truth was, I thought it was Cookie’s turn. Which meant that we’d probably end up in my room with boxes of pizza and buckets of ice-cream watching whatever movie we felt like. Oh, well. It was better than nothing.

“Well, I’m sure that whatever you pick will be as fabulous as always.” Her smile turned reassuring, obviously knowing that I had nothing planned. That was just like Cookie to be able to read my mind.

I nodded.

“So, what exactly is girls’ night?” Juliet asked curiously.

Cookie gasped dramatically. “Girls’ night is one of the most important nights of a friendship. It’s the only time that Bunny and I can get together.”

“Oh,” she said, seeming suddenly uninterested. “Don’t you do that anyway?”

“Yes…and no,” Cookie said vaguely. “It’s different during girls’ night.”

That was true. Usually we just talked freely without the fear of peer pressure. We told each other everything during girls’ night. Either that or we’d go crazy and do something that we normally wouldn’t do.

“I’ll bring the pizza if you buy the ice-cream,” Cookie said.

I nodded. “Deal.”



“Mom! Dad! I’m home!” I yelled into my house as I shrugged off my backpack.

“Hey, princess,” dad said, smiling at me.

I smiled back. “Hi, daddy. Can you take me to the grocery store?”

“What for?”

“It’s girls’ night.”

“Ah.” He chuckled. “It’s the last weekend of the month. How could I forget?” His expression softened more than usual, hinting that he felt guilty for what he was about to say. “I won’t be able to take you to the store, princess. I have some last-minute stuff to do at work.”

I nodded. “Okay, daddy. I’ll ask mom.”

He smiled and kissed my forehead. “Tell your mother I won’t be home in time for dinner.”

I nodded again as he left. Dad always seemed to be busy lately. I guess it’s just the city. My dad worked in the ER, which had a total of five other doctors. Which meant that he was going to be busy without any help.

I walked into the kitchen to find my mom who was hovering around. “Dad said that he won’t be home for dinner.”

She nodded. “How was school today, sweetheart?”

“Good,” I said, shrugging. “I made a new friend.”

“Oh, really? Who?”

“Juliet Williamson.”

“As in Candy Williamson’s little sister?” She looked at me doubtfully.

“Juliet’s way cool, though. She’s super sweet.”

“If you say so, sweetie,” she said. She chopped at some vegetables.

“I was wondering if—”

“I already bought the ice-cream for girls’ night.”

I smiled. “Thanks, mom.” I hugged her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Bunny.” She smiled at me.

I ran upstairs to my room.