Chapter Text
Regina stood in the girl’s bathrooms of North Shore High, studying herself in the dirty mirror on the wall. Perfect, as usual- she caught some freshman goggling at her and consequentially immediately dashing away. It was nice to know she still had it.
“God, the little ones are so twitchy this year. And I swear I was never that small,” she quipped, watching the teen disappear from her sight.
“Oh yeah, totally. They’re like… bees or something,” Gretchen muttered back.
Regina thought this was an awfully lame response, but Gretchen was too busy fiddling with Karen’s necklace to notice her eye roll.
“No, sweetie, that’s not how you attach the… is that… what… ugh. I give up. We’ll call it a statement.”
“Didn’t your dad forge a load of those last year?” remarked Karen absentmindedly.
Gretchen kicked her.
Bored with their folly, Regina instead turned her attention to a gaggle of her fellow juniors, whispering frantically at the entrance to the bathroom and glancing into the hallway every so often.
“Hey girlssss,” she cooed as she walked over. “What’s all the fuss?”
Kensie Mckinnon, a semi-cute brunette whom Regina kept at arm’s length (just in case) burst into slightly nervous giggles.
“Oh, it’s this new guyyy- stop it, Katie, I’m trying to tell Regina! It’s this new guy. He just moved here from Massachusetts. I think his name’s… Rodrick? Rodrick Heffley?”
“Rodrick? Imagine looking at a baby and naming it Rodrick,” scoffed Gretchen.
“oooh Massachusetts? Lucky us, I just love the southern accent,” sighed Karen, rubbing her leg.
Regina didn’t bother correcting her, she just stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to who everyone was gawking at, Karen and Gretchen close in tow.
She tapped the figure on the shoulder, vaguely noting how tall he was.
Then he turned around, and Regina’s brain short circuited.
Rodrick was… different, with shaggy dark hair and probably too much eyeliner. He was wearing the logo of some band she’d never heard of and ripped black jeans, headphones dangling out of one ear, staring at her with an expression she couldn’t quite place- somewhere between irritation and fascination. And, regrettably, he had a very nice face.
She tried to say something, literally anything, but her mind and mouth were totally severed. She was, quite plainly, staring. At. Him.
“Can I help you?” he shot.
Still nothing. Gretchen seemed to detect Regina’s paralysis and jumped in before she died of embarrassment.
“Hi! We heard you just moved here. Massachusetts, right?”
“Right…” he said, suspiciously.
“Well we, uh, just wanted to give you a warm welcome to North Shore High! I’m sure you’ll love it.”
“…Thanks.” He shoved the loose headphone back in his ear and walked off.
“Regina what the hell was that.”
“ME? You, you sounded like a goddamn prefect!” Regina deflected.
“Well I had to say SOMETHING,” moaned Karen. “Ugh, whatever, he looked like a raccoon, anyway. Someone needs to tell him eyeliner is meant for the eyes. Slipknot, too? Poser.”
Regina glared at her.
“Not that I know what that is anyway,” she rushed.
Regina pulled out her pocket mirror and applied another coat of gloss. Whatever.