Chapter 2The Queen Bean

It sounded like every phone in the school was pinging as texts flew fast and furious around her. Luna turned sideways to get past a clump of giggling girls who were draped in front of her locker, narrowly avoiding tipping an armload of books onto the scarlet-painted toes of the Queen Bee, Ashleigh Bean. Or the Queen Bean as she was known.

“Sorry,” Luna muttered. “Excuse me.” She may as well be invisible for all the notice they took of her. “Excuse me!”

Ashleigh’s eyes fluttered over her, then rolled toward her friends.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Pocahontas. Are we in your way?” Her friends giggled as Luna’s hand flew to her braids. “Just go ahead.” She pushed away from the lockers. “I’m sure you’ve got a powwow to get to or something.”

Luna’s face burned as she spun the dial on her combination lock, trying to ignore the girls’ laughter and failing miserably.

“So what are you going to wear tonight, Ash?” simpered one of the Queen Bean’s minions.

“I don’t know.” Ashleigh did one of her patented blond hair flips. “I got the cutest dress at Yorkdale. It’s short. It’s tight. Shows off all the right things,” she laughed, shimmying her hips at her friends.

Luna rolled her eyes.

“That black one from Aritzia?” asked one of the blond minions.

“Yeah . . . why?” Ashleigh’s cornflower-blue eyes narrowed at her friend.

Uh-oh. Luna was openly staring now, watching the drama unfold as Issy walked up.

“What’s going on?” Issy asked, checking her hair out in Luna’s locker mirror.

“Shhh!” Luna nodded toward the girls.

“Oh my god! Is it the latest episode of The Days of Our Queen Bean’s Life?”

Luna laughed and nudged Issy with her shoulder, putting her finger to her lips. The Queen Bean was glaring at one of her acolytes. All blond. All wearing variations of the same outfit.

“I bought it in red. I’m wearing it to the party tonight, too. We can be twins!” The girl, Tiffanni, smiled defiantly at Ashleigh.

Issy and Luna gasped.

“She did not!” Issy hissed to Luna.

“Doesn’t she know that no one is allowed to look as good as the Queen Bean?” Luna shot back.

“You are not wearing that dress tonight, Tiffanni. I bought mine specifically for this party. Everyone knows that. I told you that. You’ll just have to wear something else.”

Luna and Issy were openly gawking at them now. Along with everyone within five hundred feet. They had drawn a bit of a crowd.

“I told you I was buying it, Ash. I showed you a picture! You bought yours after I got mine.”

Whoa. One of the minions was standing up to Ashleigh Bean! Well . . . pleading with her, anyway. But standing up to her just the same. Was the world coming to an end? Luna and Issy stared at each other, mouths hanging open with twin expressions of disbelief.

“Tiffanni, I am wearing my new dress tonight.” Ashleigh strode toward the other girl and stood barely an inch from her. “You can wear yours if you want to. I can’t stop you. But no one will speak to you if you do. We will shut you out. Understand?”

“I wish I had some popcorn,” Issy whispered, clutching Luna’s arm. “This is better than a movie.”

Luna nodded.

“So much better. Not so much for poor Tiffanni though. Apparently she doesn’t remember what happened last year when Brie stood up to the Queen Bean.”

Luna tipped her head toward where Brie was standing with a group of her theatre friends. Friends she had made after Ashleigh shut her out of the group completely.

Tiffanni was staring at Ashleigh. It actually looked for a moment like she was going to argue with the Queen Bean. The entire hallway was hushed, holding their breath, and waiting to see the inevitable girl fight. But Tiffanni clearly saw reason and took a step back, away from Ashleigh.

“Okay, Ash. I can wear my gold sweater. No biggie.” She smiled, glancing around and suddenly realizing that they had an audience. “Seriously?” she shrieked. “Mind your own business!”

Issy shook her head at Luna, turning her back on the girls.

“So have you heard about the UCC party?” she asked Luna.

“Are you kidding?” Luna laughed, gesturing toward the argument that had thankfully passed. “What do you think that was all about?”

“We should go!” Issy fidgeted with her hair, twisting it around and around her fingers.

“No, we shouldn’t. I have an English paper due. And that’s not my crowd. Upper Canada College isn’t your crowd either, Is.”

“Well, maybe this is the perfect opportunity to make it our crowd.”

“You really want to be part of that?” Luna pointed to where Ashleigh and Tiffanni had argued. “You want to be like them? A carbon copy of Ashleigh Bean? Hang with the rich, private school boys?”

“No! Of course not! But aren’t you even curious? Don’t you want to see what a UCC party is like just once in your life? Come on. Maybe you’ll meet some random private school guy and talk literature or something.”

“I’m sorry but I don’t see the fascination here. Go if you want, but I’m happy to just go home, watch Game of Thrones, and study.” Luna closed her locker with finality.

“I can’t go by myself, Lun! I need you. Come on. I’ll be your best friend. I’ll love you forever!”

“You’re already my best friend.” Luna was smiling. It was hard not to get caught up in Issy’s enthusiasm. But the party that everyone was talking about wasn’t at all appealing to her. Not even a little.

Issy grabbed her hand.

“Come on, Luna. Please? I’ll do your laundry for a month!”

Luna sighed. “And clean the bedroom?” she asked.

“Yes! I swear!”

“For a month?”

“Yes!” Issy grabbed for her other hand. “You can wear my clothes, too.”

Luna looked down at her usual, unexciting outfit of jeans and a T-shirt and took a deep breath.

“Will you do my makeup, Is?”

Issy dropped Luna’s hands and threw her arms around her with a little shriek. She gave her a loud kiss on the cheek.

“And your hair, too. Thanks, Lun. You won’t regret this. Promise.”

Luna tried to extricate herself.

“Alright, alright. I already regret it. But just don’t leave me alone tonight, okay?”

“I won’t. I swear.” 
Luna threw her backpack over her shoulder and Issy followed suit.

“Come on. We have to get home and clean up a bit before the big party.”

Issy was smiling and bouncing beside her.

“I’ll do it! You work on your paper and I’ll clean.”

Luna grinned at her.

“You’re on.”