Know Your Enemy

I turned my head to the side as I looked in the mirror, trying to make sure the perfect ringlets in my hair hadn’t come undone as my hair dried from the shower I’d taken after cheerleading practice that afternoon. A couple of the girls had wanted me to stay late to work on the dance with them again, as I had the night before, but thanks to my plans with Liam and some of my other friends, I had to decline.

Headlights traveled across my dimly lit room, soon followed by a car horn honking twice, signaling Liam’s arrival. After checking my reflection one more time, I hurried down the stairs, feeling my hair bounce against the back of my neck with every little hop.

“Is that Liam?” Mom questioned, craning her neck to try to see out the window. “Why doesn’t he come in and say hello?”

“It is. And he’s running a little late, so we’re in a bit of a hurry.” I leaned down and pecked her on the cheek quickly, the scent of her light floral perfume filling my nostrils. “I won’t be home too late, okay?”

“Alright. Have fun, sweetheart.”

I gave her a small wave and headed out the door, adjusting the bag that I had hanging over my shoulder. Hailey was already standing outside the car, her blonde hair ironed straight to the middle of her back, wearing a cute red dress with white polka dots and a white collar. “You look adorable,” I told her with a smile, adjusting the white sweater hanging off my shoulders.

“Thanks. You do, too.” Then, she leaned closer and said, “The perfect outfit for finally getting jacketed by Liam?”

“Hey, cool it,” I laughed. “Liam and I are friends, and that’s it. Now get in the backseat. I need a milkshake.”

Hailey rolled her eyes good-naturedly before following my directions. Once she put the front seat back into place, I climbed in and shut the door behind me.

“Hi,” Liam greeted. “How’s it going?”

“Well, thanks,” I replied. “But a little bit of food would be mighty fine just about now.”

“I dig that.” He shot me a big smile before putting the car in reverse and pulling out of my driveway.

The drive to Cal’s was short and relatively quiet, other than Hailey catching us up on the latest gossip around school, like how Lana and Zayn were seen leaving the school after third period, and she heard through a long list of people that someone caught them making out in the back of his car. Not that it surprised me in the least.

“I swear,” I muttered in a condescending voice, crossing my arms in front of my chest, “that girl is going to get into a lot of trouble if she doesn’t get her act together.”

“What does it matter to you?” Liam questioned, his statement lacking the accusatory tone I would have expected with that statement. “I mean, you guys run with different crowds, right?”

“We do, but still. She’s kind of…” I didn’t know how to express it, but Hailey did me the favor of jumping right in.

“She’s kind of the Clara of the slum kids,” she filled in. “She has just as much influence Clara has, except with a different crowd.”

“Right,” I agreed. “She reflects badly on the school, and I can’t have that. What if, during our cheerleading competitions, people hear the name of the school and immediately think of that whore? It’s just unprofessional.”

Liam opened his mouth, appearing to prepare to say something, but ended up shutting it again as he pulled into a parking space.

The three of us climbed out, with Hailey and me adjusting our clothes to make sure we looked perfect and pristine like we were expected to, while Liam stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently.

Once we were satisfied, we hooked arms and walked into the establishment. An Elvis song played from the old jukebox in the corner, and a girl I recognized from school stood in front of it, flipping through the various selections.

“Liam! Clara!” Richard Brown called from across the restaurant. “Over here!”

Hailey and I giggled to each other as we walked over. Hailey had her eye on Richard for a while, but he was playing hard to get, probably because he wanted to keep his options open and charm as many girls as he could.

We all settled down, with me sitting between Hailey and Liam, and soon enough, a waitress came over to take orders from all seven people.

“Hey,” Hailey whispered as Liam ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a vanilla milkshake, “do you see that girl over there? Sitting near Louis Tomlinson?”

I sat up straight to try to see over Ariel’s shoulder, who was a fellow cheerleader, finally spotting a girl mid-laugh. Her cheeks were flushed a pale pink color, her wavy light brown hair cascading over one of her shoulders. She was much prettier than Hailey had made it seem, and she and Louis Tomlinson appeared to be pretty friendly already.

“I see her,” I replied. “What side did you say she lives on?”

“I didn’t. But she’s kind of in the middle, which explains how she must have met Louis.” Hailey brushed her hair out of her face before leaning forward onto the table, clearly trying to find a nonchalant way to show off her good side to Richard.

“I’m going to go talk to her,” I announced. I took my napkin off my shirt and threw it onto the table, scraping the chair back against the tile floor as I stood.

“What?” Hailey laughed. “Why? She’s poor.”

“She’s not poor. She’s in the middle,” I argued. “And it’s better that we get her on our side than waiting around until Lana tries to sink her teeth into the situation. Plus, she looks sweet.”

“If you say so.” My best friend looked almost disgusted, scrunching up her nose the slightest bit. “But I’m not letting you go without backup. I’ve heard that Louis sometimes hangs around with the kids from the other side of town, and I don’t want you getting mixed up in that.”

I let out a soft laugh. “Come with me if you want. Protect me from Louis’ evil clutches.”

“I will!” she replied in an exaggerated version of her regular southern drawl. “Let’s go.”

And with that, she grabbed onto the arm of my sweater and started leading me toward the table. Laughing a little too loudly to be ladylike, I tried to pull the garment back into place without stretching it out, my flat sneakers pattering against the floor as I hurried along to catch up with her.