Chapter Text
Linda Cox is rich. Linda Cox is a bitch. For most of her life, these were her main two personality traits. Even in elementary school, most of the other children adored her. Those who didn’t, however, were subject to bullying. This would continue until high school, where things only got worse for those who opposed her.
In high school, Linda took the role of the popular mean girl, of course. Her new form was a more extreme version of who she was growing up. At this point in her life, she was much better at hitting people where it hurt. Nothing was off-limits; your dog died? It was a shitty little mutt, anyway. You can’t afford lunch? You’re poor for a reason, honey, don’t fight it. Her favorite target was a little redhead cheerleader a year younger than her, who was far too emotional for her own good. It was a pity; if she wasn’t so nice, she would be a great second-in-command.
Know all those PSAs about bullying that had “they’re just jealous of you” as a message? Yeah, that was complete bullshit in this case. What did Becky have that Linda didn’t? Nothing. Sure, she may be in a stereotypical cheerleader/football captain relationship, but why would Linda want to date some braindead, sweaty jock? Why would Linda want Becky’s disgustingly long, flowing hair? Why would she want her awful pale skin that always looked so soft, even under the cheap lights of their public high school?
There was nothing about Becky Linda liked, that’s for sure.
The worst thing about Becky is that even Linda had to admit she was smart. If she wasn’t, then why would that nasty junior be sitting a few rows ahead of her in honors chemistry? It was obnoxious, really; couldn’t she just keep her intelligence to herself? And did she have to sit directly into Linda’s line of sight like an asshole? It was like she wanted Linda to get distracted every third period! This harassment should be illegal, really (even though her family lawyer said it wasn’t).
It wasn’t like Becky wasn’t aware of how much Linda hated her. She had to have heard the sneers and feel the glares she gave her in the hallways in between periods, not to mention the many nasty rumors she’d spread about her throughout the years. Yes, she had to have only acted so clueless in order to get a reaction out of her, that’s it. Well, too bad for that awful redhead, because she wasn’t gonna get a rise out of Linda just like that. In fact, the older girl was determined to ignore her for her last year of high school, or at least as much as she could. It wouldn’t be that hard; despite being in class with her, it wasn’t like anyone would force her to interact with her or anything.
Or at least that’s what she thought.
“Good morning, class.” Mrs. Jones said. Well, it was actually Dr. Jones, but seeing as she worked in a shitty public high school Linda decided she didn’t deserve the title of Doctor. “You may wonder why we haven’t done any partner work within the past few weeks. That’s because today I will assign you all partners for the rest of the school year. I didn’t want you guys to get sick of each other too early in the school year,” she ended with a smirk.
Linda rolled her eyes. Typical dramatic high school teacher stuff. Who was it gonna be this time? Ted, the sleazeball who tries to hit her up every few weeks? Or would it be Sam, the other sleazeball who tries to hit her up (even though he has a girlfriend, that poor, pathetic thing)? If anyone, she’d hoped it’d be Gerald Monroe, a doormat of a man. She wasn’t interested in him or anything, but she could get him to do all the projects himself. A nice, easy A would be worth dealing with that chubby weirdo.
She was so wrapped up in who it may be it shocked her when she heard the name “Becky Barnes” called alongside hers. This had to be a joke, right? Her whole “ignoring her” plan was going so well until this point. The younger girl turned to look at the blonde behind her; the look on her face proved she wasn’t too thrilled about the situation either. Linda glared at her for the two seconds it took for Becky to turn back around. Whatever, this was nothing a simple talk with the teacher couldn’t fix. Thankfully, partner labs would not start until the next day, so Linda had some wiggle room to deal with this problem.
Linda approached her teacher as soon as the bell rang. “Mrs. Jones-”
“Dr. Jones,” she corrected.
It took all the willpower in Linda’s body to not roll her eyes. “Dr. Jones, I was wondering if it was possible to change partners. Becky and I don’t get along too well, so I don’t think making us work together would be the best idea.”
Mrs./Dr. Jones sighed. Unbeknownst to Linda, other teachers had already informed her of the two’s relationship. “Miss Cox, your relationships outside of this classroom should not affect those in it. I put you two together because I thought Becky would be a wonderful influence. You recall having Mr. Noodles for biology last year, correct?”
Oh, that idiot. “Of course I do, I don’t see how that’s relevant-”
“He informed me you were quite the slacker last year, that you relied on your classmates to get by.” Linda opened her mouth in protest but closed it when she realized the statement was far too true to contest. “You’re lucky he was nice enough to pass you, but I assure you that I’m not that nice. I know Becky won’t let you mooch off her, so I thought putting you together would be a nice fit, and maybe even a learning experience for you.”
Linda struggled to find an argument. She tried to keep her cool, but she was genuinely furious. After a few seconds of fuming, she settled on a response. “Fine. You win this round, Mrs. Jones, but don’t think my family won’t be hearing about this!” With that, she stormed out of the classroom.
Dr. Jones rolled her eyes and sighed. It was going to be an interesting year, that’s for sure.