Chapter #15Don't Forget the Jokers by: rugal b.   Wild cards, huh? You wonder what she means by that though you see that Deanna seems to have thought ahead and helpfully provided a small description for you: You can call this the misc. category. These are girls that are easy to overlook but could also go far with the right pushes. If you want to really be in the shadows then you should look at them.
Look at them you do and you're surprised by the first name on the list because it's someone that you know quite well: Jenny Ashton. She's a girl that you eat lunch with most days, someone that you talk to quite a bit... so why would she make this list? That's when you realize that you don't really know as much about her as you'd like. Sure, you'd consider her a friend but you don't really talk to her much outside of the context of school and the times you have hung out with her away from there, it's always been in the company of James and Carson and your other buddies. You've never really talked to her much one-on-one and never about anything really significant.
So you keep reading and see Deanna's reasoning.
You know her real well of course so I probably don't need to repeat any of this but what the hey! So Jenny knows a lot of people. She's Yumi's best friend. She's friends with Cindy and Eva and Jessica. She knows girls on the soccer team, on the volleyball team, in the marching band even. Jenny's kind of everywhere but not really anywhere. If anyone was set up to be the secret ruler of Westside then she's probably in the best position of anyone I can think of.
You knew about Yumi and the other cheerleaders but not really anything else and that reasoning that Deanna provides makes a lot of sense. You probably wouldn't even need her help to get Jenny as well but there's a thought that enters into your mind: could you really do that? Just replace a friend like that?
Next is a girl named Leah Simmons. From looking at her socials, she's not anyone you recognize but with her short hair and manner of dress she looks like an even bigger tomboy than Jenny. She seems to get out quite a bit though and you see her smiling in lots of pictures with lots of people.
Leah's a real life of the party type. She likes to go out and have fun and she seems to have little problems getting along with people. From what I know, she hangs around a lot with the marching band types but I see her at parties and stuff all the time too. She's also pretty close with Jack Li who's a totally great guy and knows a lot. Way better than Charles lol! Oh and I share choir with her so I could probably get her no problem.
You next look at a girl named Sarah Bhatnagar. She's a dusky Indian girl with long hair and a bright smile. And while not really bad looking, neither is she close to being the prettiest girl you've ever seen. At least visually she seems decidedly middle of the road, a six out of ten if you were doing those sorts of number rankings.
Sarah Bhatnagar is part of the orchestra. She's in the violin section which AFAIK is basically the elite part of the orchestra or something like that. But she does't really seem to stand out all that much. There's, like, different factions and junk there but she's not part of any of them and just seems to hang back and do her thing. I've seen her hanging around Kim Walsh though so, you know, high achiever and all that jazz. But here's the interesting part! People whisper about her. Like, apparently she'll disappear into a backroom at a party with a guy and totally blow him or give him handies. I don't think she's gone all the way though. Guess she just likes playing the skin flute because she can't play a real one lmao!
That last part is a bit offputting to be sure but then again, if you were looking to target certain guys then Sarah would certainly provide for an esy way of getting them alone. Plus the orchestra connects to a lot of different places from what you know. Yumi Saito and Eva Garner are in it, but then so are David Kirkham and Gary Chen. A lot of the orchestra kids tend to come from well off families as well and from looking at some of her personal pictures, Sarah seems no different. Plus a connection to Kim is very useful.
But you put aside those thoughts and instead look with surprise at the next name on the list. Like Jenny, you know her well enough but while you can see the point in including Jenny as a wild card, you wonder about the inclusion of...
Cassie Harper, weird choice I know but you'd be surprised at the wide net that she casts though. She hangs around with some girls I know and some girls that are even associated with Victoria Rodriguez. She's friends with girls who get out to parties and the Warehouse and I think she may even know people that go to Eastman? She's got a part time job pretty close to there anyway. Oh and you know her, right? She'd probably be pretty easy to get.
Indeed, you do know her. She's a chatterbox and always talking to you about something or other in the classes you share with her. To be sure Cassie is a cute girl but she also doesn't seem to possess an off switch which makes dealing with her exhausting. If it wasn't for that you might even try asking her out because you think she might agree to it but class is hard enough and you don't think you'd be able to deal with it for an entire date.
The last name in the group is one that's not immediately familiar to you, as truth be told you have no idea who Karen Rogers is. When you look at her pictures you want to say you've seen her around some and you think you might even share a class with her but you're not sure. The girls she hangs around with are definitely... well, they're not the cheerleaders that's for sure. Karen seems to be the best looking of them but she's also more on the margins of pictures, never in the center.
I admit I don't know a lot about Karen but when you think about it, doesn't that mean she's perfect? She and her friends definitely aren't all that popular and from the little bit I know or can find she seems shy and quiet so who would ever expect someone like her of secretly running everything? I think that she's the last person anyone would look at.
She definitely has a point there. On its face, Karen is maybe the least appealing choice but that actually does serve to enhance her appeal and with you controlling Chelsea and all the others, then what do you even have to worry about being at the bottom of the social ladder for? Hell, you could even move her up a bit if you wanted because Karen looks to have the potential to move up a few rungs unlike most of her friends.
All of these girls have their appeal and fit well with your idea of being someone that nobody would suspect of being in charge. Your tomboy friend, a cheery-looking extrovert, a... well connected orchestra girl, a conversational bulldozer, and a shrinking violet. It's an eclectic mix of individuals and you decide that you'll get to know one of them much more intimately. With a little thought you decide on a name and then send it off to Deanna.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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