it girl

“I told you. Have I ever steered you wrong? Actually don’t answer that. Honestly nothing if you ask me.” 

Her eyes playfully narrowed at Maya. “Yeah, I wouldn’t go there. Anyways, what’s been going on in the world of Maya Matlin? I haven’t seen you around much.”

Arlene bites down on her lower lip as Zoe answers that questions. “It’s family stuff going on at home. I don’t like talking about it.” Arlene said as she pulls her sleeves down and lets her hand rest on her arm.

Zoe nodded. When it came to family problems, she understood. A change of subject would probably be best for now, she didn’t want to force Arlene to talk about something she didn’t want to. “So, have you given any thought to doing makeup for the drama club since we last talked?”

Esme smirked as she placed three white pills in Zoe’s hand, letting her decide whether or not she wanted to take all of them or just one. Popping a few in her own mouth, she took a swig from her water bottle to wash them down. “It won’t be too long now before you start to feel the effects,” she told her, leaning back in her seat and waiting, assuming it would hit Zoe first.

Zoe stared down at the three white pills in thought. She knew this probably wasn’t going to end well and what would happen if she’d gotten caught? Maybe she shouldn’t? Esme already taking a few of the pills pulled Zoe out of her thoughts.  Zoe forced a confident onto her face.  “Perfect.” She put her palm to her lips to pop the pills into her mouth before reaching over and taking a small sip of Esme’s water. She sighed and mirrored Esme’s movements, leaning back in the car seat as well. “And where do you get these by the way?” She always seemed to be stocked up and Zoe was curious.

Things definitely hadn’t started out how Reggie would have liked, not that it was terrible or anything but it was far more awkward than she’d normally have liked. Most times when things got that way she just bailed but she didn’t, wanting to make this date work and she was so glad she had. Things were going so well now that at this point she barely remembered how they’d started, she just paid attention to the girl beside of her, her whole body practically thrumming with excitement. “Sure.” she said with a grin as she looked down at the other, reaching out to pluck one out and popping it into her mouth. “You don’t have to thank me! What kind of date would I be if I didn’t buy some candy for you?” she said giving a small shrug. “Thanks for actually coming with me, I’ve had fun.” Reggie’s dad luckily didn’t live too far from the theater and she’d called ahead to ask if she could come by with a friend, so that’s where they were headed. “To be a plastic you’re pretty cool.” she said giving the other a slight playful nudge. “Not that I totally didn’t already know that, this just definitely reinforced it.” 

“Me too...Maybe we could do it again sometime.” Zoe smiled and looked over at Reggie when she bumped her shoulder. The contact caused the girl to chuckle. “I guess you’re alright too..For a burnout.” It was almost strange to think about how the two used to interact compared to now. Zoe was so used to the facade that she put up in front of Reggie in the past, she hadn’t confronted or acknowledged her actual feelings for her. It had been a long time since the last time that Zoe hadn’t suppressed her feelings for another girl and it felt nice. “We were talking about shopping after all, maybe next time we could go to the mall?”  Not the most romantic idea but it was something that her and Reggie were discussing before they’d seen the movie. “Oh, and are you sure your dad’s cool with me coming over by the way?” Zoe wasn’t sure if Reggie was out to her parents or not and didn’t want to risk saying the wrong thing. 

“Consider yourself lucky then. Ouch, well it’s alright, they don’t look that bad. My older sister wears glasses all the time, you just need better frames.”

“Duh. This will be the last time I let my mother shop for me, ever. I’m sure whatever frames your sister has are ten times better than these.”

“are you kidding, zo? you look hot as always! i love the glasses – tres chic.”

“You’re right, what was I thinking? Thank Goodness I have you here to knock some sense into me, Franchesca. But between you and me, I do wish you were the one to pick out my glasses instead of my mother and her horridious fashion sense.”

well, nessa’s planning to overthrow hj with a vote. and by the looks of things it’s pretty unanimous. but not just that, her and katie are gonna pull rank and get her kicked out the plastics completely.

Shut up! Do I even want to know what she did to piss off Nessa and Katie so bad? Wait, yes I do. Tell me. 

“Yeah. I’ve been wanting to for awhile now. Even before the first time we like kind of met.” Arlene admits. Arlene can’t help but giggle when Zoe mentioned the game that she plays. She at least almost had the name right. “Don’t worry just because you have glasses on doesn’t mean I automatically think you’re one of of the nerds. With or without glasses you’re still a plastic to me.”

She hummed in response. Zoe was still a bit suspicious as to why and thought about asking, but she decided against it. There was another question on the brunette’s mind. “Good. What was up with you that day anyways though? You seemed out of it.” 

So is it too early to start campaigning for Prom Queen?

Even if it is you know you’ve got my vote, V.

“Yeah, I get that. Sometimes you’ve just got to do what you can with what you’ve got.” Gloria replied, letting out a small sigh. “I am assuming you are out of contacts or something? You don’t seem like the glasses type.”

“I’m not. Not unless they’re aviator. I dropped the left lens down the drain, lucky me. The good news is they’ve already sent out my lenses for this month so I won’t have to walk around like this for too long.” 

“I think the spell is Expelliarmus, but OK I’ll chill. What’s with the wizard glasses anyway? No contacts?”

“Good. I was just about to find a spell that makes ignoramuses disappear. And no. I dropped one of them in the sink. They were my last pack so I’m stuck with these for now.”

Zoe smiled as she popped one of the sweet tarts in her mouth. Her date with Reggie was off to a bit of an awkward start but was now going better than expected. Zoe began to feel less and less nervous as time gone on which made it easier for her to talk to the other girl. The nerves weren’t completely gone but was starting to feel more like she could be herself. “Want one?” She asked offering the small box to Reggie. The movie had ended and she’d still had a few left over. "Thanks for buying these for me by the way, you really didn’t have to.” As stupid as she thought it was the fact that Reggie had paid for the candy made her feel a bit giddy inside. 

“You have good taste, Rivas. I’m impressed. Oh, just the natural drama that is Degrassi students.”

“Anything worth talking about? Last I heard something went down at the last party that was thrown. I’ve been bored lately, maybe I should go to the next one.”

“Do what? Handle the petty, unoriginal bullying? I’ve been doing it since gradeschool.”

“I meant dealing with people who have the IQ of a box of crayons. But I suppose the two equate each other. My patience with other people has grown a lot thinner since I’ve been at this school.”

note to zo: moms are great for a home-cooked meal, maybe some self-esteem issues, but not fashion cues. but look at it this way, at least you get some super sexy 20/20 vision out of it. and you’re gonna want it to witness this plastic power struggle that’s about to go down between nessa and hj.

"Woah, woah, wait. Vanessa and Holly J? Well it’s no secret who I’m rooting for but I need all the details. Spill.”

“They’re probably just jealous of the fact that you can pull of the Harry Potter look and they can’t.” 

“You’re right, Matlin. They're just jealous they don't have the range. What else is new?"