OLIVIA, HER FACE A MASK OF HUMILIATION, covered her mouth with her hand and ran up the rest of the stairs, leaving November and Dana behind.
Jericho saw the coming confrontation, made what was obviously an instant decision, and said quickly, “I’m late—I gotta get to class. I’ll check you all out later. I’ll call you tonight, Arielle.” He hurried back down the stairs and disappeared.
November paused on the landing, glad for an excuse to rest, and waited for Arielle to catch up with them. Dana looked as if she wasn’t sure whether to follow Olivia and check on her, or confront Arielle instead. She chose to stay.
“What’s up, Arielle?” Dana said coolly.
“Oh, hey, Dana. Nice hookup,” Arielle commented. “You got it goin’ on with that Ultrasuede.”
“I wish I could say the same for you,” replied Dana. “Could that shirt and skirt be any tighter?”
“You just jealous ’cause I got a killer body, and you look like a telephone pole in your clothes.” She laughed and checked her fingernails. The late bell had rung, and the halls were empty. The three girls stood alone in the stairwell. “I suppose I should say that you look nice too, November,” Arielle added weakly. “You sure got big quick!”
Ignoring her comment, November said, “I didn’t know you and Jericho were back together.”
“We’re just friends—for now,” said Arielle as she adjusted her big gold belt. “Since I’m a cheerleader, and he’s on the football team, it just makes sense, don’t you think?”
“To you, maybe. What do you do—find the flavor of the month to go out with, Arielle?” November asked.
“At least I can get a dude,” Arielle shot back. “You look like a whale.”
November wanted to smack her, but she just clenched her fists and her jaw tightly. “What does he see in you?” she asked, almost to herself.
“Opportunity!” replied Arielle with a toss of her curls.
“I haven’t forgotten what you did to Olivia,” Dana said, her voice low with warning.
“Oh, the fat girl?” She rolled her eyes. “Forget about that duck. People like that aren’t worth worrying about.”
“That girl is a friend of mine, and I’m warning you—you better worry. Payback is coming.”
“Like I care!” Arielle smoothed her tiny, tight skirt and headed on up the steps. “Don’t be tryin’ to get between me and Jericho,” she warned as she left. “I plan to take good care of him.”
November and Dana, both bristling with irritation, shook their heads and headed on up the stairs, quite late, to class.