"what's going on in that head of yours"
"Well I was thinking why stop at just your ex friends", I said with a smirk Riley winced out the word 'friend'
"Please stop reminding me"
"Sorry. But what am trying to say is lets do some gossip girls stuff you know, truthfully am actually really bored", I said relaxing in my seat.
"Plus form what I've seen NorthCrest high thrive on drama", I added with a smirk.
"What your saying is you want us to dig dirt on students", she asked looking at me skeptically. "That's basically stalking"
"Not just any student specific students the ones who bully others and think there all mighty and all"
"Hmmmm, all the popular kids and their squad are literal bullies except from Ace and his friends though. He mainly just keep to himself and annoy the heck out of teachers sometimes."
"Oh I know", I said remembering the first day I met him.
"Soooo how does my proposal sound", I asked.
"Kind of childish but interesting though...it feels like the gossip girl movie", she said reassuring me.
"I know it does", I sighed then immediately heard something. "Your from the media group right", I asked
"Yeah"
"And you guys basically gossip while writing the school news",
"We don't gossip", she said her tone defensive but then relaxed a bit "but yes",
"Ok rate from 1-100 how bad these secrets could be"
"Well from my sources I would say about 85%"
"Wow that much", I said not entirely surprised.
"Have you guys ever published an article about them", I asked.
"Gushing over them yes", she said rolling her eyes. "But exposing their secrets nah they pay us to keep quiet"
"Are you still part of the media crew", I asked cocking my head to the side
"I dunno", she said with sadness in her voice putting her head down on the table.
"No time for sulking now", I said getting up to raise her head from across the table. "How about we use it as a diversion tactic from your stuff before we can fully expose them Charlotte", I suggested.
"Now it just feels like when a celebrity is in dip shit they bring another celebrity down to divert attention"
Rolling my eyes at that "Firstly there not celebrities, secondly there's a big difference fifty percent of the time the internet spread rumors about them and these kids are bullies who step on people....huge difference"
"What if they've stopped since it's senior year", she said making me give her 'the look that screams 'Are you kidding me right now'
"Why are you so nice", I groaned.
"I mean apart from me they haven't bullied anyone since", she said trying to reason with me.
"Where just in the first week", I pointed out.
"There's no possible way they will carry that childish act to to the last year of highschool"
"You'll be surprised that people do it", I said making her keep quiet.
"Ok how about this, if am wrong we will only focus on Charlotte, Mia and Luke...but if they've haven't changed, then we will...cause am itching for drama", I really don't know where they old Ashley has gone cause that just me breaking one of my most important rules to survive high school "it's not like they are innocent in your case", I muttered but she heard me.
"Are you feeling ok", Riley asked looking at me quizzically, even I don't know if am ok Riley.
"I just had a self reflection last night that I've been leaving a pretty boring life"
"So your throwing away the rules"
"Of course not, just because I want to create drama doesn't mean I won't still have my rules"
"And how many are these said rules"
"I dunno I think a hundred. I just know them but not accordingly since it was from my cousin....it like in a journal kind of book"
"Wait!, so your not the inventor of these rules"
"Obviously, but I made some...it was originally 30 along the line it kept on increasing based on our experiences"
"Wow...why do I feel like there's a story behind this"
"Hmmmmmmm...the truth is" I paused and looked down at my hands. "I've actually been bullied before in my freshman year"
"No way but you act so brave", she said and I chuckled.
"I learnt from my cousin. One day I came home with bruises on my knees because this group of girls made me kneel on a ground filled with stones they spread out on the ground and were pouring buckets and buckets of water on my head, why because I wore the same too she did", I said rolling my eyes at the memory. I can't believe that I couldn't stand up for myself at that time in my life.
"That's just pure cruelty", Riley said.
"Again you will be shocked finding out the reason people bully one another"
"You should have reported to the authorities"
"Why haven't you", I asked
"Um...", she stammered. "Cause they won't do anything and only make it worse", she said in a small voice.
"That's why we sometimes take law into our own hands"
"Anyways, I was just fourthteen at that time and I almost caught pneumonia", I said shrieking from the thought.
"Me and mum were living with one of her sisters too at that time since they were going to relocate her after four months. My cousin Isabelle, she's older than me by two years noticed my difficulty in walking when I came from school which was pretty late since I had to wait for my clothes to dry up, so I used the most common lie that I lost track of time reading in the library.", I said laughing at my excuse. "She also noticed how I tried to cover it up and pretend am alright in front of mum"
"One day she just burst into my room and sat on my bed staring at me intently as if she was trying to figure me out",I said and smiled remembering the scene all over again how she just sat and stared straight into my soul am just kidding but that's how it really felt in that moment.
"She said she knew my secret and I played dumb like 'what secret', when she revealed it I started to beg her not to tell mum, that it's just two more months to go and I can handle it"
"She said I can't, that it would break me I should never let someone take me like am beneath them that your human and you have rights to be who you are and if I could I wouldn't just sit and let them do that"
"She told me about the life hack guide she uses to survive highschool and that's how she's been doing even if is considered being antisocial but she had no choice to since her highschool is a very toxic environment"
"I asked her to share it with me and then we spent the whole four hrs to dinner time talking about rules to survive highschool even making up new ones along the way and also designing the book cover", I said with a smile making Riley giggle.
"Did they ever bully you again"
"Nah My cousin wrote a letter to their parents"
"Wait what!...not even the school management or the principal"
"Nope", I said popping the 'p'. "The thing is, it's a private school, so of course the principal is going to be a suck up to them and since we know that the girls parents are strict it was a good strategy", I said shrugging.
"Your cousin sounds cool"
"Oh she was but now that she's in her second year of college she's as boring as hell.....but I can always make an exception since she still buys me my favorite chocolate", I said making the both of us chuckle.
"But....even if you want to be invincible doesn't mean you have to deny yourself from having fun or friends"
"The reason behind that is.....my mum moves all the time and I felt making a friend when am probably going to move in months was just not worth it"
"So are you moving anytime soon"
"Am not entirely sure, it feels as though we would stay here for a while", I said and she clapped excitedly like a giddy child making me burster out in laughter
"Your so cute", I said giggling with her.
"You know there's something I figured out with people who like to bully others, there's usually an emotional struggle at home, so they try to make themselves feel better by doing that to others"
"That's really not an excuse to bully someone else's child. Even if there not respected at home you can always gain respect without even doing such"
"They are just pathetic", I added.
"But there are also some that just do it for the thrill of it just to seek attention", Riley said.
"Those ones my dear Riley are just animals", I said making us both to laugh. Gawd I hate bullies.
"Sooo back to our topic what do you suggest we do", Riley said bringing us back.
"Does the school have an app where they posts stuffs concerning the school"
"I won't say the platform is for academic works, when 95% of the time they use it to bully and downgrade others like exposing people's secrets or sometimes even videoing the person doing illegal or immoral stuffs when they are intoxicated"
"Most of the time the victims of bullying move on, while some who couldn't drop out from school. There has been two cases that the victim committed suicide", Riley said with a grim expression.
"That's messed up and the management didn't do anything "
Riley scoffed at my question "What can they do, is really just like you said, some of the victims family reported the cases to the police but it was brushed off, even some filed a law suit but am sure you know who won"
"And the bully, do they still attend the school"
"Of course they still parade around with their heads held high as if nothing ever happened"
"You guys should have protested", I said boiling with anger now.
"Do you think they care about us Ashley, the system is fucked up, if you have the money your basically invisible"
"Do you know any of them"
"There is one like that does most of this bullying stuff according to what I've heard, but since is an anonymous account and the number can't be tracked we can't find the owner of it"
"But my sources says they think it belongs to Savannah Moss"
"I thought you said she was nice"
"Did I, I don't remember. Even I did maybe is on the view of the general student body. She usually keeps a calm and neutral demeanor you know trying to have that perfect image since he father is mayor"
"Mayor"
"Yep....she's filthy rich"
"You know I really don't understand how people like Ace and Savannah attend public schools not that it's bad thing but it feels kinda strange"
"I think their parents wanted them to relate with people which... they are totally not doing "
"But how did your source devise that theory"
"He interviewed one of the victims I mean they were bestfriend at the time before she moved. The girl told him she knows is Savannah since she was the only one who knew about her past"
"So with all this you still don't want to go through with the plan"
"I didn't say I won't, I was still contemplating at that time"
"What about now.. you know they won't stop making people feel bad without experiencing it for themselves. People like them really own the 'you need to feel the taste of your own medicine'"
"Ok fine I will", she reluctantly agreed "The only thing is, I still don't get is why you will need to host a party for that"
"But if so then I trust you. I know you already know the first problem I already talked about, the second one is, usually the popular kids book the weekends throughout the semester...so I really doubt if there will be an empty spot"
"Hmmmmm", I hummed and I started to think "don't worry, like I said I have my ways"
"Your ways are beginning to scare me"
"But one question, why a party"
"Because that's were you could make so many connections...plus when people are highly intoxicated they spill whatever whenever and then when you appear cool to them they suck up to you"
"It still doesn't make any sense"
"The party is basically for socialization", I said not really sure how to explain it.
"Also I would need you to write an essay more like an account on what you remembered that night. The things you did, ate and drink.The people you interacted with, the places you went those stuffs hell even if you went to the bathroom add it", I said.
Riley looked at me dumbfounded with her jaw dropped.
"I need every details I can get", I added.
"What..why.. I hate essays on a norms and now you are giving me a whole ass assignment"
"It will be for a week", Her jaw dropped the more further if that's even possible.
"Wait, wait...here me out", I said raising my hands in a stoping manner.
"I have a feeling that there is a witness....you know someone who maybe saw what happened, that kind of stuff"
"True true", she said nodding. "But if there is, why haven't they said anything", she asked.
"Maybe there scared", I suggested with a shrug.
"Or.....maybe they found out and threatened it paid him to keep quiet", Riley said. " I wouldn't pass them at this point honestly"
"That could be it too", I said thinking for a moment. "Great so that settles it then", I said and finished the rest of my smoothie in one gulp.
"Yeah....also we've been here for almost two hours now and I really want to go back for your mum cookies", she whined.
I chuckled at her cuteness "yeah we indeed lost track of time with all this talk and it's almost four now"
"So where do you want to go to next", Riley asked and finished her drink up too.
"Maybe let's go to the arcade and play some video games for an hour and then do some shopping next... Either way we could live by seven"
"Sounds good my curfew is by 9 anyways", Riley said with a shrug.
"Let's not waste anytime here then", I said.
Standing up, we trashed our wraps in the nearby bin and left for the gaming section.
Also always remember kids before I forget
Rule 12: Never attend a highschool party that involves underage drinking
And
Rule 13: Never host an underage drinking high school party
But it seems as though am am about to break this two rules to go on with my plan.