When Perfect Meets Crazy

I liked school. How could I not? I had the best grades in my year. Teachers loved me. I never got in trouble and although I was freakishly smart, I still sat at the top of the social pyramid. I was an all-rounder like I was raised to be. There was little to not like. On days like today, however, I found myself nursing a strong dislike for the establishment that forced me to know the walking headache that was Claire Evans. Royal pain in the ass did not come close to embodying her.

Under normal circumstances, I could tolerate her. I had learned to. Our friendship circles overlapped enough to ensure that and unlike most people, I knew she wasn’t all hearts-and-flowers like she pretended to be. I had experienced it first-hand but confronting her would’ve been dirty and ugly. She would’ve painted herself as the helpless victim while I would come off as the wicked stepsister who didn’t want her at the ball. It was just easier to do the right thing; pretend to put our grievances behind me.

“I’m just saying, we should totally...”

She flashed a wide all-encompassing smile that had me immediately tuning her out. My gaze wandered about the coffee shop and I found myself wondering just how I had gotten stuck in prom committee. Ah... yes, the awards.

I sighed.

Claire Anne High had a tradition of hosting an award ceremony before prom. It was supposed to take the edge off. The stress. The expectations. The finality. Like most schools, we give the normal yearbook awards but unlike most schools, Claire Anne High makes a big deal of it. The fact that there was a semi-formal ceremony dedicated to handing out fancy trophies to the title holders said it all. It was all in good fun though. The only problem was, almost every year, the prom committee would create a new award for someone who had been outstanding in remarkable way that just didn’t fit into any of the pre-established categories.

Last year, we had only one new category; Best Supporting Actress. She was pretty and funny with shiny voluminous hair that everyone envied. Claire claimed it was thanks to her Iranian heritage. Cue my eye roll. She also happened to be best friends with the girl who won Most Admirable. The reason she got Best Supporting Actress was because of that and because she was everybody’s friend. She was the approachable kind of person everyone got along with but also knew to never mess with. Like an eccentric aunt with the scathing tongue of a hardened sailor. Personally, I liked her. It also helped that she couldn’t stand Claire.

This year unfortunately, I qualified for the unknown category. The nicknames the rest of the school had for me but thought I didn’t know of alone made it very clear; Have-it-all Avy, The Fixer, Madam President, Romanoff. Claire already bagged Most Admirable which meant I had no contenders. No one to distract them with. Every other person fit in a category in ways that I didn’t. That was the reason I signed up to be part of the committee. So I could shut down any talk of honoring me, nip it in the proverbial bud seeing as my mom was definitely not going to approve of an award for something entirely non-academically oriented. Being at the top of the social pyramid was fine but getting awarded for it was unacceptable.

“...so really, that’s why we shouldn’t have a band,” she concluded, sitting back like she just delivered an all-important lecture.

Cue one of my infamous eye rolls. Choosing a DJ over a band did not, by any stretch of imagination, warrant this emergency meeting nor her five-minute monologue. Definitely not when every other person had already agreed on band.

“So what do you suggest we have instead, Claire?” the Chair of the committee, Louise, asked.

“I’m just saying.” She shrugged her dainty shoulders, utilizing the full force of her wide innocent looking eyes. “We’ve been doing the same thing for years. We should switch it up. Get innovative.”

I’d die first before admitting defeat to Claire Evans so I pasted a smile on my face and pretended I wasn’t fantasizing about slapping her so hard her teeth would come loose.

already,” I pointed out. “We heard you the first

was only for a fraction of a second but her eyes

think I should make the choice for everyone. You should all get to air your views

that it wasn’t our fault she was out sick the day we voted. It

you that we already made a choice. Band.” My voice was

was in no mood for her ploys.

wasn’t absolutely serious about becoming a surgeon, I’d have recommended she try a career in acting. She was

Claire. Do you have a DJ in mind?” Louise stepped in placatively. Her gaze met mine in silent communication over Claire’s shoulder. She was tired and at her wits end, it said. “One that is

to how much name dropping

on for long enough and I had a party to prepare for. While Claire could run circles around Louise with her double-edged words and innocent smile, she couldn’t

get till midnight to come up with an option. Like Louise said, one that’s within the budget. You’re going to Greg’s party, right? You can tell Emily and Louise by then,” I proffered. Avy to the rescue,

pick her brother up from

on her face. She didn’t look like someone who could hurt even an insect. On the inside however, I knew she was

did. She was going to get her way. She was Claire Evans after all, master manipulator. I was just happy to be done with her for the day. I had a lot on my plate and band versus DJ just wasn’t of any importance to me. My very embarrassing crying bout, on the other hand, was. Masked Idiot conveniently hadn’t shown up since that night. At first,

that made my butt and legs look great. I shifted gears from neutral just as the lights changed to green but before the car began moving, a sleek bike shot across the road, running the light that had to have changed on that

Two could play the stalking game. I needed blackmail material if I was going to get rid of him fast enough and thanks to my most recent blunder, I wasn’t even sure I could face him ever again. He had seen me with swollen, red, puffy eyes.

though. It couldn’t be a coincidence. It had to be him. Where is he going? Apart from Calthorpe hotel -the most expensive hotel in town- which he definitely couldn’t be going to, the only other things on the street he was

aware of any law firms in the area but to be fair,

we pulled onto the street. There weren’t as many cars and I didn’t want him to spot me before I found something useful.

What the...?

pulled up at Calthorpe and handed his keys to a valet. Without the helmet on, I could see his face clearly otherwise I would’ve believed I had followed the wrong person. The suit he was wearing now

a white tuxedo eagerly waved him over. The fact that she had a bodyguard trying and failing to blend in behind her was even more disconcerting. Criminal? I instantly found myself wondering. A friend from the darker side? She didn’t look like a criminal. She barely looked ten years old. What the hell was going on? My assessment of him did indicate he was a rich kid. It was the only thing I was sure of with regards to Masked Idiot

A relative? Were they part of the