Chapter Text
It was only the first day of eighth grade, but she might as well have been Beyonce, the way people were staring and clamoring for her attention.
The crowd of middle schoolers stepped out of her way, while even more followed behind her, as if her presence alone was enough for them to die happy.
Almost every single kid tried to engage her. She ignored most of them.
“What’s up, MacKenzie?”
She was busy walking to her locker while a gaggle of popularity-crazed kids followed her, that’s what was up.
“You look fabulous, MacKenzie!” a girl squealed at her, who was wearing clashing colors that so did not go together.
“Are you coming to my party this weekend, MacKenzie?” Brad asked.
He was a CCP (cute, cool, and popular), but just barely. He was dating a cheerleader, which probably helped his popularity. MacKenzie might show up. Or not. She didn’t even bother to give him a reply.
“Your shoes are to die for, MacKenzie!”
I know. It’s because they’re on me.
“Will you marry me, MacKenzie?”
What the heck? We’re like fourteen. I don’t even know you.
“You’ll never guess who has a crush on you, MacKenzie!” Jennifer said, flipping her hair, trying to sidle up next to MacKenzie despite the growing crowd.
I could guess half the guys at this school, and I bet I’d get it right. Heck, five seconds ago, someone asked me to marry him! Gross.
“Is that another designer purse, MacKenzie?”
Yes, it is , because I’m rich and can afford multiple, hon.
“Love your hair today, MacKenzie!”
She was almost at her locker. MacKenzie was currently debating on whether to convince her dad to let her bring bodyguards to the school just to get people to leave her alone. But maybe the shock of her mere existence would wear off soon, and she wouldn’t be followed by a mob of fans every time she did something as mundane as strutting to her locker.
“I’ll pluck out my eye with a pencil and eat it with a Spam and mustard sandwich if only you’ll sit with me at lunch today, MacKenzie!”
And with those words, the debate for whether she should have bodyguards was back on. That was freaking gross. Not to mention creepy. That guy even outdid the random one who asked her to marry him. And she was only six minutes into the first day of school.
She finally reached her locker. The crowd (somewhat) dispersed when they realized she was blatantly ignoring them. MacKenzie grabbed her lip gloss from the shelf in her locker and applied it, studying herself in the mirror.
Being popular was wonderful. Everyone paid attention to her. The spotlight was always on her. She was always being stared at. Her name was on everybody’s lips.
MacKenzie, MacKenzie, MacKenzie.
No pressure.
MacKenzie snapped out of her thoughts with the sound of a click. The locker door next to hers opened. And guess who was stuffing her books inside it? Some random girl in pigtails, wearing lame, non-designer clothing, who stood right by MacKenzie’s locker writing in some little diary of hers. She barely even looked up. It was as if she didn’t realize that her locker was right next to the Queen of the CCPs, the one whom all the guys had a crush on and all the girls idolized.
As if she didn’t notice MacKenzie.
The thought aggravated her.
MacKenzie and the girl, whom she’d thought of as a stalker until she learned her name (Nikki Maxwell), ended up in an all-out war.
It was crazy. It was frustrating. It was annoying. It was infuriating. It was exhilarating.
Most of all, it was practically endless.
Catty insults, competitions, threats, blackmail. One of them always gained the upper hand and then lost it.
Nikki was the first girl who didn’t idolize MacKenzie. She didn’t know whether to feel glad that someone finally saw her as a human being, or furious that Nikki just. Didn’t. Care.
Nikki never gave MacKenzie any satisfaction.
MacKenzie hated her.
“Hey, would you like to go out with me?” a hopeful CCP boy asked.
Oh gosh, here it is.
“That’s cute that you think you have a chance with me. I like Brandon anyway.”
Her go-to response. Ever since the school year started and MacKenzie had flirted with Brandon one time (Jessica dared her to), rumors had been going around that MacKenzie had a crush on him. She went along with it, occasionally flirting with him in class. Even asking him to dances, knowing (hoping) that he would say no.
She tried to like him. Liking Brandon would make life a whole lot easier.
It didn’t work.
MacKenzie did have a crush, much as she hated to admit it.
Just not on him.
MacKenzie was walking down the hallway when she noticed it. A locker door hanging ajar.
Nikki’s locker door hanging ajar.
Wouldn’t it be a shame if somebody stole something because she forgot to check if it was closed and locked? Something precious, like… her diary?
MacKenzie, after checking to make sure no one was watching, reached in and grabbed the diary. (For safekeeping, of course. To make sure no one could steal it, obviously.)
MacKenzie opened the first page and began to read.
Okay, so apparently Nikki had enough secrets in that diary to get herself expelled. It was all one giant confession in her own handwriting. She outright admitted to toilet-papering MacKenzie’s house, spending time in the janitor’s closet (where students aren’t allowed! Also, who would want to hang out in a janitor’s closet, of all places?), impersonating Brandon over the library phone to get his Crazy Burger receipt – without his knowledge or permission (which may actually be a crime!), using the library’s phone, again, to make prank calls. And apparently they’d also snuck into the boys’ locker room!
Also, on an unrelated note, Nikki was actually a pretty decent artist. When she was drawing MacKenzie, anyway.
She kind of drew MacKenzie a lot. Her eyelashes, her perfectly curled locks of hair, her designer clothes. Even her stilettos were detailed. Every sequin and jewel on her clothes was carefully drawn. Her expensive handbag, her perfect nails, even the exact size and shape of her earrings.
Nikki even paid enough attention to draw the heart stickers, mirror, books, and occasional tube of lip gloss in MacKenzie’s locker.
Wow.
MacKenzie decided that, instead of turning the diary in to Principal Winston and getting Nikki expelled (which would be bad for both of them – Nikki had also laid out in excruciating detail exactly what MacKenzie had done as well), she could maybe just keep it. Maybe write in it herself.
When she first began writing, it was less like a diary, and more like a bunch of letters to Nikki herself.
Dear Nikki,
Sorry, but I think you’ve just LOST something very IMPORTANT 😊!
(Well, other than your CUTE but ADORKABLE crush, Brandon! And maybe your PRIDE!!)
Nikki had probably filled almost as many pages as she’d spent writing about MacKenzie with Brandon’s picture and thoughts of him and what he did today and Brandon, Brandon, Brandon! It was annoying and frustrating.
MacKenzie had never found him all that cute in the first place, but Nikki clearly did. Nikki wanted Brandon – so MacKenzie did too.
MacKenzie found herself writing about her morning routine as well. How literally every decision she made, she made with the knowledge of how everyone was going to be watching her. Because everyone was always watching her.
Heck, she had a personal stylist (currently on tour with Taylor Swift) just to make sure she wore the best possible outfit at school.
MacKenzie was usually alone in the mornings… and evenings… because her dad was always off on some business trip or another. This time it was Europe. MacKenzie didn’t even know which country in Europe, but it wasn’t like he volunteered the information. Her mom didn’t have a set job, exactly. She just did whatever she wanted. Which meant, today, getting up early to get a facial at a spa. And after her mom got home from doing whatever she felt like doing that day – usually modeling – she’d be talking on her phone, have their personal chef, Carson, prepare a meal for her, and not even bother to say hi to MacKenzie or Amanda.
That part she did not write down. Telling Nikki all of that felt too personal, even if she never planned on giving the diary back, so no one was going to read it. MacKenzie usually just bottled up her emotions until they came lashing out at either Nikki or her little sister Amanda. Both of whom were perfect outlets.
MacKenzie took a limo to school every day (driven by Nelson, who sometimes offered to take her and Amanda places when he knew both parents were out of town and they’d be alone in the house, aside from Julia, who was their maid, and Carson).
MacKenzie looked up from writing and saw Nikki scampering down the hall, with the two other biggest dorks of the school.
After scribbling out a last toodles, and outlining her signature in a heart, she tucked the diary into her new Verna Bradshaw designer handbag, where she could read all of her arch-nemesis’s secrets from the comforts of her bedroom.
After reading the full diary, MacKenzie had come to one conclusion: Nikki was absolutely clueless.
She had no idea why MacKenzie hated her.
The original reason was that she was so fashionably challenged, her clothes practically made MacKenzie’s eyes bleed.
She could stare at Nikki all day anyway.
The other reason was that Nikki kept winning. Even when the odds were stacked against her, she won. MacKenzie would have admired that, if it didn’t mean that every time Nikki won, MacKenzie lost.
There were other reasons too. Eleven of them. MacKenzie wrote ten of them down.
- You CHEATED to WIN the avant-garde art competition!!
Nikki hadn’t entered the right exhibit in, the one that she was planning to. Her painting ended up in the mud, with tire tracks all over it because her dad’s stupid van with a hideous roach on top drove over it. Instead, her friends entered pictures of some little tattoos that Nikki had drawn for people at school. And somehow the judges had picked those pen-outlined tattoos as the winner. Nikki must have bribed them. She shouldn’t have even had a chance, but somehow she won.
But MacKenzie had spent days drawing and making those cardboard cutout versions of her latest Fab-4-Ever clothes. And she even brought the clothes they were modeled after, in case some poor fashion disaster came walking by and decided to pay for a stylish new outfit after seeing the art.
- You totally RUINED my birthday party by SABOTAGING the chocolate fountain!!
That was evil, even for Nikki. She ruined MacKenzie’s birthday. Jessica was even there, and later told MacKenzie that Nikki intentionally dropped fruit in the chocolate fountain. Even after MacKenzie had invited her, a dork!
She never should have invited her.
She felt so stupid. Of course this would happen.
Nikki left early anyway. MacKenzie never even knew which present was from her. Or if she’d even brought one.
- You competed in the TALENT SHOW and landed a RECORD DEAL even though your application was INCOMPLETE (like, WHO names their band, Actually, I’m Not Really Sure Yet?)!!
Again, that was cheating! Having a band name was definitely in the rulebook – MacKenzie made sure to look at the rules this time, after the whole art contest fiasco. The application was incomplete.
Nikki, through a technicality, went onstage anyway.
She didn’t win. MacKenzie won.
But she landed a record deal with Trevor Chase anyway.
MacKenzie should have gotten that record deal. She won. It didn’t make any sense.
Even when MacKenzie won, she lost.
- You WON the “Holiday on Ice” show, and EVERYBODY knows that you CAN’T ice-skate!
What was everybody even thinking with that one?
“Oh look, it’s Nikki! Let’s give her yet another award that she didn’t actually earn!”
People who actually practiced (and knew how to ice skate at the very least) should have won, not a poser. MacKenzie should have won.
All Nikki did was dress up like a clown and fall over. That was all it took for everyone to start cheering for her.
MacKenzie probably had the most complicated routine out of all the other ice skaters – she made sure of it. She worked the hardest out of all of them. She was determined to win.
And yet, Nikki, who didn’t even know how to ice skate in the first place, won. Because she always won.
- You TOILET-PAPERED my house!!!!
This one was just straight-up vandalism. But in the end, Nikki never got caught.
That was mostly MacKenzie’s fault. She didn’t tell Principal Winston. She tried to use the incident as blackmail instead, to get an invitation to Brandon’s birthday party. That would’ve infuriated Nikki to no end.
(It felt so good to finally win for once.)
Of course, it didn’t even work out. Brandon didn’t invite her. MacKenzie showed up anyway, gave him a birthday present, and left (with his phone in her clutches).
- You tricked me into DIGGING through a DUMPSTER filled with GARBAGE in my designer dress at the Sweetheart Dance!
MacKenzie stopped her rant for a moment, reading what she’d just written for #6. Just being at the dance had already been torture, even when she pretended to smile. Then Nikki decided to publicly humiliate her.
MacKenzie stared at the banner. She just couldn’t help herself. She wanted to rip it up. To set it on fire. To cancel Valentine's Day.
WCD Sweetheart Dance
Girls Ask the Guys!
Friday, Feb. 14th
Jessica had been first in line and bought four tickets – two for the both of them, and two more for whoever their dates might be.
Girls Ask the Guys!
MacKenzie felt sick.
“If Brandon won’t go with you, just ask Matt or Pat or Jason or Ryan or literally any other CCP boy to the dance!” Jessica exclaimed.
MacKenzie fumbled for an answer. What could she say? See, I don’t actually want to go to the dance with a boy – for, um, reasons – and I wasn’t really expecting Brandon to say yes anyway?
No way. MacKenzie couldn’t say that. Jessica would look at her like she had lost her mind.
“It’s fine, Jessica,” MacKenzie said. “I can just go by myself. Or, you know, just with friends. Or say that one of the band members is my dates, like we did for the Halloween dance. Actually, pretty much everyone is assuming that Brandon and I are going together. We can just let them keep assuming.”
But MacKenzie underestimated how much she would hate being there. At that stupid Sweetheart dance on Valentine’s Day, while every girl held hands with a guy and slow danced with him.
MacKenzie had been sitting at a table in a crowd of people, and yet she had never felt more alone in her life.
MacKenzie had already devised a plan to keep Nikki away. She stole Brandon’s phone, then texted Nikki that he was sick and couldn’t come. So, Nikki would be too devastated to come either.
Of course Brandon wasn’t actually sick, so he showed up. Which worked out in MacKenzie’s favor, because it gave her the opportunity to flirt with him in front of Jessica and everyone else, while he was polite enough to smile, engage her, and be a nice person. Meanwhile, Nikki thought Brandon was home sick, and MacKenzie was counting on her not to show up. Not to ruin everything.
But obviously she just couldn’t help but ruin everything.
So Nikki had just waltzed in, looking like some kind of fairytale princess.
And now MacKenzie had to watch as Nikki walked in and everyone stared at her in her beautiful pink dress with sequins and frills, and her hair cascading down to her shoulders, and her lips glossed ever-so-slightly, and—
—and MacKenzie really needed to focus on something else before her cheeks turned too red.
Luckily, Brandon was sitting at her table, and she found satisfaction in knowing that he was talking to her and not Nikki. That he hadn’t yet noticed Nikki had entered the room.
I finally won, Nikki.
Except she didn’t. Because Brandon excused himself to go talk to someone, and he didn’t come back. Until MacKenzie turned around and saw Nikki walking next to Brandon, smiling at him. There was no fighting, no tension, which she suspected the phone trickery should have caused. Unless they’d worked everything out on their own. Which meant it was the two of them against MacKenzie again, just like always. And she couldn’t catch a break, not even during a dance, where everyone was supposed to be having fun.
I think it’s impossible for me to have fun at a dance.
Her heart sank.
When Nikki was called up on stage to receive the Sweetheart Princess crown, it broke.
Then she received a text to Brandon (she had his phone) from Nikki, that said she threw away a diamond necklace in the dumpster that was meant for MacKenzie.
MacKenzie was just about ready to take any excuse to leave. So she did. And dug through a dumpster for a necklace that turned out to be nonexistent. And when she stormed back in, with a ruined dress and various bits of garbage clinging to her, to tell them off, she saw Nikki and Brandon. Dancing. Together.
That was the moment when her heart shattered.
- You actually KISSED my FBF (Future Boyfriend) BRANDON!!
Future boyfriend.
MacKenzie sometimes doodled herself with him, maybe at a wedding, maybe on a date. Outlined the name MacKenzie Roberts in hearts. Like any other normal girl. Brandon seemed as good a guy as any. And she didn’t want to change her mind and pick someone else, because Nikki liked Brandon. And MacKenzie mostly just wanted to be with him to get back at her.
Future boyfriend.
But if Brandon actually asked her out, in the present and not far, far in the future, she didn’t know what she’d do. It was always just a daydream. A faraway, unrealistic daydream.
She didn’t want Brandon. Not really.
She should have wanted him. She was supposed to want him. But she just… didn’t.
What MacKenzie wanted was to beat Nikki for once.
And instead, Nikki kissed him. Thinking about it brought back the empty feeling she had felt at the Sweetheart Dance, when she saw Nikki dancing with Brandon.
- You pretended to be seriously HURT during dodgeball so that I would get DETENTION (which, BTW, could totally RUIN my chances of getting into an Ivy League university)!
First off, you’re supposed to throw dodgeballs. They were playing dodgeball, for goodness’ sake!
Second, Nikki ended up being absolutely fine. As soon as she came to, she was blushing at Brandon and talking to him like she hadn’t just passed out. And she came to school the next day no worse for wear!
Except for a bruise, but it wasn’t like it would scar her forever or anything! Nikki was totally being way overdramatic.
At least, that’s what MacKenzie told herself.
Not to mention, the punishment was much more severe than the crime! So she hurt Nikki in dodgeball. Kids got hurt all the time in dodgeball. But of course MacKenzie was singled out, and punished with detention and locker-cleaning.
It wasn’t fair.
- You put a nasty STINK BUG in my hair!!
And the HORRIBLE THING that I just found out TODAY…
- You’ve completely RUINED my reputation and HUMILIATED me, because now the ENTIRE school is passing around that AWFUL video of me having a meltdown about the bug that YOU put in my hair.
That was cruel. That was so freakin’ cruel. MacKenzie had never ruined Nikki’s life. No matter what happened, Nikki always triumphed. Always. She always had her friends, her crush. She could even count on her parents to be there for her every single day.
But of course, Nikki had to try to make MacKenzie even more miserable than she already was. Maybe it was payback for the whole dodgeball incident. But MacKenzie had already gotten detention and cleaned the girls’ locker room. She’d taken her punishment that she didn’t deserve.
Nikki didn’t have to go and put a bug in her hair.
Apparently, Nikki didn’t even need to know MacKenzie’s biggest secret to ruin her reputation.
MacKenzie wished that Nikki could just disappear so she would never have to remember her again.
- I have a crush on you and I’m not supposed to.
MacKenzie stared at the blank page. Her pen was poised above it. But she didn’t write this one down. She couldn’t. She couldn’t stand to imagine Nikki’s brown eyes widening while reading this, even though she planned on hiding this diary away forever when she was done with it. She couldn’t stand to write something down that had never been spoken aloud, not even to her therapist.
MacKenzie had eleven reasons why she hated Nikki.
Eleven reasons.
Things are SO bad at this school that ONE of us has to GO!
It’s either YOU…
Or… ME!!
And if Principal Winston won’t KICK you out of this school for RUINING MY LIFE…
I’M TRANSFERRING TO ANOTHER SCHOOL!!
And I mean it!! I’ve had it up to HERE with you, Nikki Maxwell. You are NOT going to get away with this.
Just admit it!
If YOU were ME, you’d HATE yourself TOO ☹!
TOODLES!!
Her signature in a heart.
MacKenzie put the pencil down. She stared at the diary, filled with pages upon pages of Nikki’s complaints and MacKenzie’s own rants, dancing around the topic that could destroy her reputation and ruin her life.
Her blood was boiling.
She grabbed the diary and flung it across the room, where it slammed against the wall and dropped to the floor.
After the banging echo, there was only silence, because MacKenzie was alone in her house while her mom was with Amanda and her dad was in Europe.
She wiped at her cheeks, which were damp with tears.
She really did hate Nikki, for reasons neither of them had any control over. Nikki would never understand. It was probably pointless to write in that diary, especially since she was now considering burning it to destroy the evidence. Or ripping up the pages until every word was indecipherable and she sat in a pile of ravaged strips of paper. Or, you know, just tossing it in a garbage can.
Or maybe she could keep it.
Writing out her thoughts was starting to become sort of addicting. She could see why Nikki did it so often, even if her brain was only filled with thoughts of boy trouble, a crazy little sister, and an embarrassing family.
MacKenzie, on the other hand, had much more pressing concerns. Like an identity crisis, a heinous secret, and lots of bottled-up self-hatred because of it.
Maybe she could write in that diary instead of listening to her thoughts all night.
Maybe she could write down the actual problem – the reason behind the mask.
MacKenzie had the brilliant idea to post the bug video online. Tell her parents that Nikki was a cyberbully. Cry herself to sleep (audibly this time, so her parents would actually hear her, unlike most other nights), and then get switched to a sweet new school, called North Hampton Hills International Academy.
A school where she could completely forget about every mistake and failure that she had over the past year. A school where nobody knew her, so nobody could judge her.
It didn’t end up working out like that.
The entrance exam was nerve-racking.
She knew everything that she needed to know. She had As in all her classes. But every little stressor that had brought MacKenzie to this point – escaping her school, her archenemy, and the reasons why she needed to get out of there – kept popping up in her thoughts, until her mind went blank.
Later she found out that she bombed the test. Not surprising, really.
Her father gave a short and quick speech about how disappointed he was in her, then donated a bunch of money to the school and went back to forgetting he had any children. NHH accepted her only due to the donation. Not because of her talent or anything.
MacKenzie tried not to feel bad about that. She really was smart – the test had been a fluke. But she felt like everything was handed to her. That nobody actually cared about what she could or couldn’t do. Just so long as MacKenzie had her looks and money, that was all she amounted to.
Like she was nothing more than just a pretty face.
They saw the bug video. They called her a dork. They stared at her and whispered in the hallways.
Tiffany was the CCP Queen here at NHH. She was obsessed with her selfies the way Nikki was obsessed with her diary. MacKenzie instantly disliked her. Tiffany became her biggest tormentor.
MacKenzie had been in a rivalry before, with Nikki. But with Nikki it was different. MacKenzie hated her for different reasons. And there was always that tiny bit of admiration for Nikki that she failed to squash. That stupid little crush that kept her from entirely detesting Nikki. That made her notice Nikki’s clothes every day, the unique pen that she always wrote with, the hoodie that she often wore. The way her hair was always styled in pigtails or a high ponytail. The way she was pretty without even trying. Nikki’s smile, the one that MacKenzie desperately tried to suppress with name-calling and insults, because every time she smiled MacKenzie felt butterflies.
With Tiffany, MacKenzie had nothing but hatred. The conflicting feelings that she held for Nikki were nonexistent with Tiffany.
This must be what it was like to be Nikki.
Well. Not exactly.
Nikki always had her friends. But MacKenzie was entirely friendless. Except for a small few, like Presli, Sol, and Evan, who were only friends with her because they didn’t know who she really was.
Another example of how Nikki always won.
For the first time in her life, MacKenzie pretended to be her.
And the worst part was, it worked.
“Did you hear about the 15 Minutes of Fame show? There was this band from a school not far from here that won!”
MacKenzie glanced at the gossiping girls. An opportunity presented itself.
“I know the producer, Trevor Chase. I worked with him and the band,” she said casually.
Their reactions could not have been more perfect.
“Oh my gosh! You worked with Trevor Chase?” she squealed.
“Yeah, I was the—”
“Lead singer of the band!”
Things spiraled out of control from there.
They wanted to know what kids’ group she had donated to. What she had done on reality television. What other performances she’d done.
MacKenzie probably should have called it quits, but now people were actually talking to her. To her. Not about her.
So instead she hyped up the lies. She switched their lives. Nikki became the girl who always lost to MacKenzie. MacKenzie became the girl who was appreciated by others simply for being who she was (who Nikki was).
Only a week after the transfer, MacKenzie stopped by the Cupcakery. And there was Nikki. And Brandon. On a… date? They were steadily gravitating closer to each other, seemingly about to kiss. MacKenzie wanted to scream.
At this point she had two choices. Leave and pretend she never saw them, and act like Nikki wasn’t actively stomping on her heart every time she so much as looked at Brandon in a way she would never look at MacKenzie, or rudely interrupt their almost-kiss for the sake of her own sanity.
Of course, MacKenzie went with the second option.
Unsurprisingly, Brandon and Nikki were both annoyed. Bits of his cupcake ended up in her hair.
Even more unsurprisingly, Nikki and MacKenzie ended up in their own game of insults, belittling each other until one of them ran out of breath, walked away, or they were interrupted.
But then Nikki said something that sent chills down her spine.
“But what I don’t understand is how you can be so mean and cruel to other people! Is it because you’re so insecure? Sorry, but no one is perfect. Not even you, MacKenzie. So you can stop pretending to be.”
It was as if Nikki had read her mind, picked out her flaws, and laid them on the table for all to see. This went way deeper than the usual surface-level remarks she made. The scathing declaration left a mark underneath MacKenzie’s skin.
Does she know? A thousand scenarios ran through MacKenzie’s mind. Nikki connecting the dots. It sent horror spiking through her body. What if she does? What if she tells everyone? What if, what if, what if…
Hurt and panic flashed in MacKenzie’s eyes, before she spit out another retort, her voice faintly laced with fear. “Unless your name is Google, you need to stop acting like you know everything, Nikki! I’m warning you! If you go blabbing my personal business, you’re going to regret it. I’ve read your diary, and I know all your little secrets. So don’t mess with me, or you and your pathetic friends will be kicked out of WCD so fast it will make your head spin!”
“This is between you and me, MacKenzie! Just keep my friends out of it! Dragging innocent people into this is not fair!”
Yeah, well, neither is potentially outing me. And safe to say, we’ve been enemies for long enough that I wouldn’t dare trust you with my secret. Not without blackmail as a safety cushion, at least.
You have utterly no idea what’s fair, Nikki.
“Not fair? Really?! You know what that sounds like? Not. My. Problem!”
Things went from bad to worse when Presli, Sol, and Evan walked in. Her friends from NHH. Who only knew the fake MacKenzie. Her face paled.
Nikki, irritatingly so, was grinning at her uncomfortableness.
She knows she knows she knows frick frick frick frick frick—
MacKenzie stammered out an excuse, but she wasn’t let off the hook so easily. Presli was already engaging her. MacKenzie could do nothing but smile and internally panic. Her two worlds were about to collide, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
“OMG! What are you guys doing here?!” she said.
Totally in a chill way.
“Hi, MacKenzie!” Presli exclaimed. “We’re just hanging out. So, these must be your BFFs? We’re dying to meet them.”
Her eyes darted over to Nikki and Brandon, who might as well have been eating popcorn, the way they were staring at her.
“Actually, they were just leaving. They both have a ton of homework to do. So maybe next time, okay?”
The trio barreled over to Nikki and Brandon anyway. MacKenzie wanted to facepalm.
Just don’t say anything, and maybe they won’t mention anything that could potentially make this situation worse.
“Okay! So you must be Nikki! I’m Presli. OMG! MacKenzie told us all about her very cool band, Actually, I’m Not Really Sure Yet, and her record deal. It was so nice of you to agree to stand in for her as lead singer while she had her tonsils removed. Anyway, we want Actually, I’m Not Really Sure Yet to perform at our eighth-grade graduation party, and MacKenzie said she’ll think about it and let us know!”
Welp.
“Hi there! I’m Sol, and you’re Brandon, right?! You and MacKenzie are the cutest couple ever! No wonder the two of you were crowned Sweetheart Prince and Princess at your Valentine’s dance. MacKenzie said you’ll probably be transferring to North Hampton Hills next year. You’re going to love it!”
Time to find a hole to crawl into and die.
“Hey, what’s up, Nikki! I’m Evan, and I’m the editor of the school newspaper. MacKenzie told me you helped her with her super popular advice column, Miss Know-It-All. I’m trying to get her to do an advice column for our newspaper too.”
“I know the two of you are really missing MacKenzie,” Presli added. “It was so sweet of you to decorate her old locker! She showed us a photo, and it was adorable!”
“Yeah! How many students would volunteer at Fuzzy Friends, run a book drive for the school library, ice-skate to earn money for charities, and create a line of designer fashions for homeless animals?” Sol gushed. “MacKenzie’s an angel!”
MacKenzie held her breath. Any second now, Nikki and Brandon would spill the truth, the ruse would be up, and the popularity she had salvaged would be gone. She was almost paralyzed, a fake smile fixed on her face, heart in her throat.
But they didn’t try to refute it.
Brandon looked at the door and stood up, saying, “Listen, Nikki, it’s getting late. I think we should get going. It was really nice meeting you all.”
“Yeah, same here. Hopefully, we’ll see you all again soon,” Nikki said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. “If MacKenzie decides to let her band, Actually, I’m Not Really Sure Yet, play at your graduation party!”
Nikki’s eyes trained on MacKenzie’s, her mouth forming a scowl. If she knows, then she’ll tell them everything.
“Um, wait, guys!” she stammered. “Please, don’t leave yet. I need to… um, explain a few things, okay?”
“Actually, MacKenzie, I’ve already heard quite enough! North Hampton Hills sounds like a really great school. I’m really, um… happy for you.”
There was no way she heard that right.
She blinked in surprise. “You are? Really? Thanks!”
Although, it was by far safer to at least bribe Nikki not to say anything. “Well, um… the least I can do is get you guys another cupcake. You never finished eating the last one.”
“Thanks for the offer, MacKenzie. But don’t worry about it,” Nikki said coolly.
“Are you sure? I hear the double chocolate ones are really good. But my favorite is the red velvet with cream cheese frosting. Or I could buy you both!” MacKenzie rambled.
They just shook their heads, staring at her strangely.
Right as they were leaving, MacKenzie said, “Okay, great! It was cool hanging out with you. I miss you, too! Love you guys!”
No, shoot, don’t say that.
She stood up and waved to Nikki and Brandon through the glass, while Chloe and Zoey gaped at her and waved back.
Later, MacKenzie grabbed the cupcake that she had ruined and stuffed it in a box, planning to gift it to Nikki, hoping to at least get pre-revenge before Nikki could blab her secret to the entirety of the world.
She found Nikki and Brandon outside the animal shelter. Talking about… breaking the rules. Keeping dogs that weren’t supposed to be there. There was a box next to them, squirming with puppies, a watchful golden retriever standing by.
“So, I hope you’re good at keeping secrets,” Brandon said, grinning.
MacKenzie felt the blood drain from her face.
“OMG! Did you just say ‘secrets’?!” she exclaimed. Trying to sound excited, masking her fear with enthusiasm.
Nikki and Brandon turned around and stared at MacKenzie with wide eyes.
“Hey, guys! I love secrets,” she said.
So maybe please don’t tell anyone mine?
“So, what’s the big secret? You can trust me. I won’t tell a soul, I promise! You guys aren’t in any kind of trouble, are you?”
“MacKenzie, what are you doing here?” Nikki blurted.
She decided to do damage control first. “Listen, Nikki, it wasn’t my fault those idiots from my school got their facts about us all mixed up! But that little accident was my fault, so I wanted to personally deliver this.”
MacKenzie pulled out the box with the cupcake she’d fished from the garbage.
“So the only reason you’re here is to deliver a cupcake?” Brandon said warily.
“Come on, don’t be ridiculous! You think I came here just to spy on you? Puh-leeze! I have way more important things I could be doing, like dusting my fabulous shoe collection.”
“Okay, let me get this straight,” Nikki replied.
MacKenzie was so nervous she had to bite down on her lip to keep from laughing.
“You bought us another cupcake?” she finished.
MacKenzie snickered, shaking her head, and opened the box so Nikki could see the garbage-ridden cupcake. “Um, I didn’t exactly buy you a new cupcake. But all you have to do is pick out the lint and a few stray hairs, and your old cupcake will be as good as new! Yum, yum.”
Nikki gagged. “OMG! MacKenzie, you shouldn’t have.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” she replied.
“No, I meant it. You really should not have done this! Ick. What is that green gooey stuff?”
“Who knows? The waitress at the CupCakery cleared your table and tossed it. But I fished it out of the garbage and brought it here because I wanted you two little lovebirds to have it!”
There was no hiding the venom in her voice. Of course, she only piled it on. “What’s wrong? You two don’t look very happy.”
“Why would we be? You’ve been practically stalking us!”
“Well, Miss Smarty-Pants, maybe I wanted to take the scenic route home today!”
Nikki glared at her. “MacKenzie, you were spying on us. Just admit it.”
“Shut up, Nikki!” she hissed. “I’ve got a perfectly good explanation. I was just, um…”
I wanted to talk to you. Do you know my secret? Are you going to tell everyone at Westchester? Everyone at NHH?
Her mouth had gone dry. She kept opening and closing it, but none of the words were falling out. Terror had sealed her throat shut.
“Well, we’re waiting!” Nikki said.
“Actually… I was, um. Okay, fine!”
She chickened out.
Placing her hands on her hips, MacKenzie instead snarled, “So what if I was snooping? Stop pretending you’re so perfect! You dirty, law-breaking, animal shelter… um, rule violators! These mangy mutts, er, I mean… poor dogs are in extreme… danger! Thank goodness I got here in time to… save them!”
“What?!” they gasped simultaneously.
“So you did hear us!” Nikki said. The look of panic on her face was so satisfying.
“Every. Shady. Sneaky. Detail. I just hope your little secret doesn’t get leaked to the Channel 6 Investigative news team. Then Fuzzy Friends will lose its license and be shut down! And every last one of these flea-infested mutts will be out on the street. Probably getting run over! Or worse. All because you two refused to follow the rules.” She stared at Brandon this time. Nikki had probably told him. Or she would soon enough. “Brandon, I expected so much better from you. I thought you had integrity!”
“What is wrong with you, MacKenzie!” Nikki snapped. “You transferred to your dream school and have everything you’ve ever wanted. Why do you still have to destroy anything that breathes?”
Everything I’ve ever wanted? Did I want to be bullied? To be blackmailed? To have to hide a part of who I am because nobody will ever accept me?
“Oh, I dunno!” she snarked back, pulling out her phone. “I guess bad habits are hard to break.”
“MacKenzie, can’t you see the lives of these innocent animals are at stake? Not every shelter in this city is safe!” Nikki continued.
The dog sitting next to Nikki snarled at MacKenzie and lunged at her. Automatically, she jerked back. Brandon murmured to it, trying to calm it down.
“That dog just tried to attack me! Keep that thing away from me or I’ll call animal control! That savage beast is dangerous!”
“No, MacKenzie!” Nikki fumed. “You’re the savage beast!”
That stung, but her defenses were already up. She wondered if that remark had any double meanings. She was quite sure Nikki already knew about MacKenzie’s crush, based on her comments earlier.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” she retorted.
She dialed the number for Channel 6 news. “Hello? Is this the Channel 6 news tip hotline? I just found out some dirt on a local animal shelter. I think they’re abusing animals! Yes, I’ll hold.”
Nikki sighed. “Well, Brandon, thanks to MacKenzie, it looks like Fuzzy Friends is going to be closed down soon.”
MacKenzie gave her a smug look.
Nikki’s eyes lit up the way they always did when she got an idea or thought up a witty comeback. “Anyway, after dealing with all this drama, I’ve worked up a really big appetite. So I think I’m going to head back over to the CupCakery to try a few of those awesome cupcakes that MacKenzie recommended.”
“Nikki! How can you be thinking about cupcakes at a time like this?” Brandon demanded.
“Um, because I’m hungry? Anyway, while I’m there, I’m going to hang out with MacKenzie’s new friends from North Hampton Hills. They seemed so friendly. And I’m really looking forward to hearing even more of the fantastic lies that MacKenzie has told them. But somebody needs to keep it real and tell them the truth! Wanna come, Brandon? It should be fun.”
Brandon blinked and then grinned at her. “Sure, Nikki! But let’s take the dogs inside first. Now that I think about it, I’d practically kill for a Sweet Revenge Devil’s Food cupcake!”
MacKenzie lowered the phone. I knew it. They’ll tell everyone. I’ll be an outcast. My popularity will be tanked. My life will be over.
“Don’t you dare talk trash about me to my new friends. Better yet, I’m coming with you!” she announced, trying not to fidget nervously.
“No! You need to stay right here and save the lives of these poor dogs!” Nikki said sarcastically.
“Do you think I care about these mangy mutts?” MacKenzie snapped back. But fear won out. She came up with an excuse. “I’ve been on hold, like, forever. And I refuse to waste any more time on this stupid phone call!”
She hung up and whirled to face Nikki, staring her right in the eyes. “Listen! You two better stay away from my friends or I’ll make sure you never see these little flea-infested furballs again.”
“Oh, really? Is that a threat?” Nikki scoffed.
“No,” MacKenzie said. “It’s a promise.”
She turned around and sashayed off, praying to God that she was in a dream, and Nikki didn’t know anything at all.
She got lucky.
MacKenzie could have blown it. If she had mentioned anything about her secret. But she hadn't. And when she stopped for a moment to think, she realized that Nikki must know that she wasn’t perfect and that her life wasn’t necessarily perfect.
But she couldn’t have known the one secret MacKenzie had worked so hard to keep. The one she hadn’t even risked writing down. Otherwise, she would have said something. Or acted differently. Treated her differently.
At three am, when MacKenzie had reached this conclusion, she buried her face in her pillow and sighed in relief.