#squad!tashi

Before you can even process it, your feet pivot and lead you towards Art, who’s looking at you with a dumbfounded expression. A tomato slides out from in between his sandwich and plops down onto the ground, and he scowls and shakes his head.

“Don’t try to give me pity,” he whispers between his teeth, nodding his head over to Ty’s group. “Network before they take the invitation back. They’re not gonna wanna invite you again if they see you talking to me.” He gave you a gentle shove, leaving you stumbling over to the group of girls, whose expressions had changed.

The matching pendants around their necks drew your attention as you sat down next to Ty, greeting her shyly and waving at the other two girls. Her arm slings around you, pulling you close to face the rest of the clique. “This is the new girl I was telling you about, Tash! Isn’t she so super cute?” Ty leans forward to knock your heads together, grinning at you. “You are so cute, you know that, right?”

The girl who Ty was talking to raised an eyebrow, popping her gum. She was gorgeous, in the most intimidating way– caramel brown hair that reached her waist, sleek and shiny like her perfect skin. She looked down at you, twirling the end of her ponytail with her finger. “Hey, new girl. Nice jacket.” You looked down to inspect the jacket, an old tasseled thing that had definitely seen better days. Even though she didn’t say it unkindly, something in her tone made you feel like it wasn’t a compliment.

“Were you talking to Art Donaldson?” Ty asks, stealing your attention back for a bit, and the two of you turn to where the blonde sits by his lonesome in the courtyard. You stammer a bit, unsure of what answer she’s looking for.

“Um, kind of. Yes. We have AP Lit together,” you mutter, toying with the fringe on your tasseled jacket. Was it too cheugy?

“Aww, that’s so sweet of you,” Ty pouted, sighing dramatically. “I could never be caught dead even looking at him. You’re so much of a better person than me.”

You laugh a bit (though you aren’t quite sure if it’s a joke) and turn your attention to the other girl, scowling down at a wayward buckle on her heel. She looks up to greet you, lips curled up in a slight sneer.

“Amelia,” she introduces, her gaze dropping again. Ty reaches over to swat her knee gently, winking at you. “We all call her Melly,” she whispers conspiratorially, which Amelia hears. She scowls and looks back up, shaking her head.

“I prefer Amelia-” her words are cut off as Ty redirects your attention again, back to the girl who seems to be the leader of the group. “And this is Tashi!” Your eyes lock on the fine sheen of sweat that seems to make her dark skin shimmer under the sunlight, her sharp eyes digging into yours as if she’s taking you apart, bit by bit.

You barely have time to take a bite of your sandwich before they all start asking questions, each with varying interest and amounts of enthusiasm– some easy to answer, and some easier to avoid.

“Do you get good grades?” “Were you popular at your old school?” “Ever wax your upper lip?” “Is that white bread on that sandwich?” 

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Tashi asks, abruptly stopping Amelia and Ty from their flow of questions as they turn to you for an answer, Ty’s eyes wide and excited, while Amelia’s eyes are narrowed, waiting for you to answer.

“Um, no. No boyfriend.” You take another bite of your sandwich, shrinking under the trio’s imposing gazes. “My last school was all girls? So…”

“Oh my God!” Ty squeals, her curls flouncing around her shoulders. “Are you a lesbian?” she asks eagerly, wincing when Amelia sharply smacks her knee. “What? Those schools are always filled with lesbians.”

You laugh weakly at that, tearing your eyes away from Tashi’s legs peeking out from underneath her skirt, long and gorgeous. “Yeah, well… no boyfriend, anyway.”

“Ignore Ty.” Tashi’s commanding voice pipes up, and she shoots Ty a withering glare before turning back to you, letting her ponytail swing to the other shoulder. “She can be a little… narrow-minded, hm?” she raises her eyebrows at Ty, who frowns but stays quiet.

“Nothing wrong with acknowledging the sapphic history of all-girls schools,” you mutter quietly under your breath, surprised when it draws a laugh out of Tashi. She meets your gaze, eyes glimmering as she regards you with a new sense.

“You’re smart,” she says, her voice low and sultry as she leans closer, observing you appreciatively. Her attentiveness makes you shiver, and you have to look away before she can look closer.

“Tashi’s, like, hella smart,” Ty pipes up, happy to finally get a word in the conversation. “So if she says you’re smart, then you’re smart.”

“Um… thank you?” you feel like it’s only right to make eye contact with Tashi as you thank her, but her gaze hasn’t wavered at all, still hungry and wanting, daring you to look away. She smiles when she notices your nervousness, picking at her nails and changing the subject.

“Ty, Melly, and I all have a tennis team meeting after school today, but you’ll come along with us after school tomorrow,” she says, completely focused on her nails as she gives orders. She isn’t requesting your presence, she’s scheduling it like you’ve already said yes– and unconsciously, you have, given that you’ve already scooted closer to her. “Unless you play tennis?” Tashi raises an eyebrow at you, prompting you to scramble for an answer.

“Uh, no. Sorry,” you say meekly, looking away and scratching your neck. “I run cross-country…?”

“Love,” she says simply, looking up from her nails to smile at you. “Gotta stay fit. I get it.”

Your conversation is interrupted by a rowdy brunette in a blue and gold letterman jacket, pulling Tashi to her feet and smacking a fat kiss on her lips, one hand shamelessly grabbing at her ass. Ty makes a cringed smile at the sight, like she’s trying to be supportive, while Amelia can’t help but look away in disgust. 

“God, Patrick, you’re so gross,” Tashi mutters, but she smiles into the kiss nonetheless, smacking his arm when he grins and says, “You love it.”

“That’s Patrick,” Ty says helpfully, and you can’t help but scoff a bit.

“Yeah, I figured,” you mumble, eyes glued to where Patrick’s hand seems to slot comfortably on the small of Tashi’s back, and how Tashi looks up at him with a twisted sense of adoration in her eyes.

“He’s going to Stanford to play tennis,” she says, frowning when you only hum distractedly in return. “Um, that’s D1?” she waits until you turn around to face her, her lips pursed and pouty. “That’s. A. Big. Deal.”

“Nice jacket, new girl!” It feels like your attention is being tugged from every which direction, and you turn to face Patrick and his smug grin as he looks over your outfit, lingering for a little too long on your chest.

“God, don’t be a dick, Patrick,” Tashi smirks, giving you a look that said to ignore him, but also saying that she agreed. You look down at your jacket again, frowning as you look it over– seriously, was it the tassels or something? You shrug it off anyway, laying it beside you as you look awkwardly at it.

“Tash and Patrick have been together forever. They’re so cute,” Ty muses, tugging at one of her curls, while Amelia echoes “so cute,” in a bored tone. “They’re like one of those cancer kids in movies, but like, prettier.”

You snort at that, the unwelcome insecurity about your jacket dissipating for a moment. “Oh, totally. And also, no cancer, so that's awesome.” That gets a big laugh out of Ty (which isn’t saying much) and a small smile out of Amelia (which is).

The bell rings abruptly, jarring you back into reality, and you look down at the sandwich in your hands. It was still intact, with only a few bites taken out, and you frown. “Shoot.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Tashi says, and you meet her gaze as you stand up. She holds her palm out for the rest of the sandwich, and you hesitantly give it to her, watching in slight dismay as she tosses it without a second thought.

“We don’t eat lunch,” Ty chirped happily, while Amelia nodded with a small scowl on her face. You rejoin the trio, walking off to class when a call from behind makes you stop.

“Yo, new girl, you left your jacket!” It’s one of Patrick’s friends, holding up your poor jacket, now looking frumpy and outdated after all the judgement passed by Tashi. You look back at the group, who regard you expectantly, before turning away, heading to class with the rest of the girls. 

“That’s not mine,” you say, and you swear you see a smile on Tashi’s lips.

Getting used to the squad wasn’t easy at all. You weren’t used to being looked at, and definitely not ogled at. But that’s how things went with this new group– wherever you went, it was infinite pairs of eyes glued to the four of you, watching each step carefully. Just a trip to the mall the next day made you feel like a celebrity overwhelmed by paparazzi. Everywhere you went, people watched you. Or at least, watched them.

“Are you a two or a zero?” Tashi asks while she rifles through stacks of dresses. You’re still in awe of the WASP-y paradise you’ve just been welcomed into, a store you would have never stepped foot in if you’d never met these girls.

“Um… a four?” you answer tentatively, and there’s resounding disappointment on all the girls' faces. Pity on Ty’s, slight disgust on Amelia’s, and despair on Tashi’s face.

“I don’t understand why we’re even trying,” Amelia says, throwing her hands up and running a slim finger down your side, settling on your waist and giving you a pinch. Ty gently smacks her hand away, pouting and shaking her head.

“She’s a small four,” she insists, pinching her fingers together to emphasize her point, and Amelia scoffs in response, looking you up and down reproachfully.

“Well, she’s gonna have to keep that small four under control if she wants to share clothes with us,” Amelia says, lip curled up in a mean-looking sneer. You’re not focused on her expression, though, only her words.

“Share? With you guys?” you seem almost in awe at the idea, looking down at yourself before looking at the girls in front of you– sleek and shiny, like plastic instead of living flesh. Tashi dumps a stack of clothes into your arms, making you stagger under the weight of the fabric as she struts ahead of you to the dressing room. “Christ–! This is so fucking heavy, how did you carry–?” Ty hurries to bear some of the weight as Amelia prods you towards the dressing rooms.

“You’re way too pretty to be dressing like a Santa Monica basic,” Tashi says, unceremoniously pushing you down a hallway to the dressing rooms. You aren’t sure what to say to that, so you begin hanging up the outfits she wants you to try, and Ty moves to your side to help.

“Don’t take it personal,” Ty whispers quietly, a comforting hand on your shoulder. “She doesn’t mean it like that. There’s just, you know, a certain way we dress here.” You don’t know what kind of ‘we’ she’s talking about, seeing the difference between your baggy sweater and jeans to Ty’s babydoll pink dress.

“We?” you echo, and Ty grins, squeezing your shoulder gently and winking.

“You know. The squad.” Just her smile and those last two words alone are enough to send your heart fluttering. You’re in. You still have a few more rules to learn (like how to do what Tashi says, but not as Tashi does), and maybe a few more pounds to lose, but even Amelia’s small nod confirmed it.

You scroll through your phone later that night, pausing on a post from Tashi’s account of photos from the time at the mall. You, amidst a cluster of dresses and laughing. Amelia, making an exaggerated duckface while Ty sported a pink feathered boa. And the final photo… you and Tashi shoulder to shoulder, her arms wrapped around you as she beamed at the camera, her cheek pressed against yours while you smiled nervously for the picture. You smiled big and wide at the photo, double-tapping to like it and setting your phone down. You can’t force the smile off your face, too giddy to even try. You’re in.

Getting used to the new life was exhausting, but exhilarating. It was party planning and dealing with Patrick’s frequent interruptions to make out with Tashi, so much gossip and a huge pantry with foods that were never touched. It was a completely new area for you to deal with, and sometimes, you still weren’t quite sure what the rules were.

The girls had been talking about a party all week, so you had assumed you were invited, so it surprised you when the three of you had cornered you after school let out, Tashi taking the charge.

“So, there’s a party happening in lower Piedmont,” she begins, and you blink, nodding slowly.

“Yeah, I know,” you respond, waiting for her to continue. She purses her lips, tossing her pony over her shoulder before sighing.

“We want you to come with us. Make your… squad debut, you know?” she pauses, a smirk curling her glossed lips. “Are you down?”

Are you?

You look between the three girls' faces, seeing varying expressions of excitement, and you nod eagerly, head bobbing up and down. “Yes!” you exclaim, one hand flying to your chest– you can’t help but notice that your neck still lays barren compared to their matching necklaces, but you brush the lonely feeling off. It’s only been a week, after all.

Ty breaks out into a huge grin and squeals, hugging you tight, and Amelia gently grazes your shoulder. Even Tashi looks proud, a confident smile on her face as she looks down at you. “Good,” she says, kissing her fingers and pressing the hand gently to your cheek. The tackiness of her lipgloss sticks to your skin, and you want it to stay forever. “Come to my house at 4. We’ll pre-game.” She turns on her heel and walks away, Ty and Amelia following in her wake. You manage to withhold your giddy laughter, fist pumping to yourself as you turn away. You had friends, you were going to a motherfucking party– what was next? You had a winning lottery ticket?

You’ve learned a lot about the girls in the short amount of time you’ve been part of the squad, like how both Ty and Amelia hated Tashi’s relationship with Patrick. They’d watch with disdain as the two of them snuggled up to each other, letting you in on their conspiratorial whispers.

“I fucking hate Patrick,” Amelia mutters under her breath, and while Ty looks skeptical, it’s clear in her body language that she agrees as well. “He’s a dick. Lying, cheating asshole.”

You look over to the couple, Tashi yelling at Patrick– something about a girl named Heidi?– while Patrick just smirks and leans back, lazy like the world owes him something.

“Don’t be like that, babe,” Patrick murmurs lowly, scooping Tashi’s chin into his palm and kissing her, long and hard. Something in your stomach twists at the sight, and you look away.

“You’re an idiot,” Tashi says in response, but the small smile on her face says enough. She’s forgiven him, like she does every time.

“All girls love having a boyfriend whose dick they have to police,” Amelia says, smiling innocently and batting her lashes when Patrick turns to scowl at her.

“Yo, what the f–” he’s cut off by Tashi’s hand on his knee, deep red nails contrasting against the denim of his jeans. She looks between him and Amelia, a sharp look in her eyes as she glares at Amelia.

“Ignore Melly. She’s just PMS-ing,” she smiles up at her boyfriend, ignoring the loud scoff from Amelia, who stands up, tossing her curls over her shoulder.

“I told you I fucking prefer Amelia,” she snarls, glaring at Tashi and tossing an apologetic look to Ty before storming away. You’re left to process the scene that had just occurred, glancing between the two groups as you fight back the urge to sink your teeth into your lunch.

That’s why it only surprises you more that Patrick isn’t at Tashi’s house when you show up later. It’s Tashi who opens the door and greets you with a kiss on the cheek, her flowery perfume making you dizzy. “Come on. Melly and Ty are upstairs already,” she says in that sultry-soft tone of hers, taking you by the hand and leading you up the huge spiral staircase.

It’s a flurry of makeup brushes and hair straighteners when you enter her room, Ty in the middle of straightening her hair with powder still caked onto her cheeks, and Amelia rifling through Tashi’s huge closet. Wordlessly, Tashi pushes past Amelia to grab a hanger and offer it to you.

“Change. You can’t wear that to the party,” she orders, her tone firm with no room for argument. You look down at your outfit in confusion– a cute plaid skirt with one of Tashi’s soft beige sweaters. It’s nothing extraordinary, but it wasn’t that bad…

“You bought this outfit for me,” you say, cocking your head in confusion, and Tashi rolls her eyes, thrusting the hanger at you.

“Yeah, for school. This is a fucking party. How fucking thick are you?” she snaps, and you gingerly take the hanger from her, muttering a quiet ‘sorry.’ Tashi turns away, exhaling deeply as you examine the dress she’s given you. “Don’t apologize. I’m just hangry. So just change into the goddamn dress, okay?”

You shrug and head into the attached bathroom, leaving your discarded clothes on the counter as you try to wriggle into the dress. You don’t look at your reflection, insecure thoughts already bubbling up as you leave the bathroom for the rest of the girls to see.

Ty’s lips part and she sets the straightener down, beaming at you. “Holy shit,” she whispers, and Amelia guides you to face a mirror. The dress is… awful. It hugs your hips too tight, and you can count your back rolls when you turn around. It presses your thighs together and shows off a distasteful amount of underboob. But you catch Tashi’s gaze in the reflection, and she’s smiling proudly, watching you with a glint in her eyes.

“Total bait,” she announces confidently, and you furrow your brow, unsure if you’d misheard.

“Total… babe?” you correct, and she laughs– full and loud, her ponytail brushing against your shoulder as she squeezes your waist.

“Sure.”

The bonfire roars in your face, ensuring that you’re sweating off all of Amelia’s careful makeup that’s been applied to your eyes, and you’re squinting to make out your friends in the dark. You only know they’re still with you by the gentle touches they give– Amelia’s hand on your hip as she stands close to you, Ty playing with your hair as she yammers on about the hair products she uses, and Tashi cupping your cheek to fix your lipstick.

“That guy’s been looking at you all night,” Ty whispers in your ear, giggling when your face flushes pink. “He’s kinda cute, right?”

You hum, following her gaze to see the guy in question– tall and brunette, with hair that reached just past his ears and a wolfish grin. You internally cringe, smiling to appease Ty. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Go talk to him,” Tashi murmurs softly to you, letting go of your face. Her expression is unreadable, but there’s a fiery determination in her eyes that flares up when you hesitate. “Come on, don’t be a prude. What’s the point of coming to a party if you’re not gonna go talk to a guy?” When you hesitate further, her nails dig into her skin, just barely there, but enough to pinch. “Go. Say. Hi.”

You swallow thickly and nod, pulling away from your friends to go approach the guy. He looks you up and down, nodding when you come in closer and smiling at you. His teeth are crooked, and he stinks of marijuana. “Hey,” he greets, low and gravelly, “not really into parties, are you?” His eyes seem to be stuck on your tits, and you self-consciously tug the dress up a bit.

“No, not really,” you laugh, avoiding his gaze as you look back at the squad helplessly. “Is it obvious?”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Nah, I get it. It smells like burning plastic.” He clocks your slight shivering, nudging you with his shoulder. “You cold?”

“Hm?” you tear your eyes away from your friends and shrug, shaking your head. “No– I mean, kind of, but it’s not that bad- oh.” His jacket is slung over your shoulders, enveloping you in the scent of cigarettes and dirt. “Thanks.”

You two stand like that for a moment, watching the flames of the bonfire lick at the sky, before he ducks down to whisper in your ear. “You wanna see something cool?”

You tense up, feeling Tashi’s predatory gaze on you from across the fire and you laugh softly, already being pulled along by the guy. “It’s not a dead body, is it?”

“Ha! No, I promise. It’s way better than this lame-ass party,” he insists, ignoring the hoots and hollers from his friends. You cast one final look at the squad before following him. The sounds of the party fade to the back of your mind as the two of you trudge further away, surrounded by underbrush and unknown critters, until you’re finally far enough to be surrounded by silence except for the lapping of the waves. The full moon glows above you, casting the guy in a pale light as he leers over you.

“You’re hella pretty,” he mutters, leaning in with his lips puckered as if about to kiss you. You dodge quickly, leaving him to stumble forward slightly. “Ah, come on, babe. Don’t make it weird.”

“Don’t make it rapey,” you counter, struck with a newfound confidence in this situation. “I thought you were gonna show me something cool.”

“Yeah, my dick!” the guy groans, and you step away from him, looking over your shoulder to see if anyone’s there to help you– but you’re only met with smoke in the distance and the stars blinking down like they’re watching this happen.

“Let’s go back to the party,” you urge gently, but his hand claps onto your shoulder, pulling you close until his sour breath fans across your lips.

“I can tell you want it, dressed like that,” he growls, eyes dark and shrouded by his hair. He grabs your waist and you flinch– your hand slaps across his face like instinct, and he stumbles back, clutching his cheek and glaring up at you like you’d just killed his family. 

“Don’t be such a bitch,” he snaps, and one hand is suddenly groping at your breast, the other one snaking up the bottom of your dress to graze your underwear, and you don’t even realize tears are streaming down your face, you need to get out–

There’s a rustling behind you, and your teary eyes manage to find your friends, all huddled together. Long legs and flowing hair, grinning at the guy still gripping onto you. Tashi leads the pack, a sneer on her face. “You know, you should be careful around bitches,” she says, and the guy pulls away from you in surprise, as if ready to defend himself. The moon makes Tashi look like she’s glowing, and she hunches over. The sound of bones cracking can be heard, and you wince– but you can’t look away. Right in front of you, Tashi’s body is shifting and changing, Ty and Amelia watching with the same hungry expression. Fur sprouts along Tashi’s legs, and the dress she’s wearing tears at the seams. Her eyes glow a wicked yellow, and a tail swishes between her legs. Her face elongates into wolfish snout, and when she opens her mouth to speak, a gnarly howl tears from her throat instead. Amelia smirks, finishing her statement. 

“We roll in packs.”

Tashi, now fully in her wolf form, lunges at the guy, who only manages to make it a few frenzied steps before he’s pinned to the ground, screaming as Tashi tears into his chest. Gore splatters her dark black fur, and the sounds she’s making are of pure ecstasy. Amelia and Ty reach your side, smiling at the sight. Amelia reaches up to gently wipe a tear from your cheek, lowering her voice. “You don’t have to watch,” she says gently.

“But it’s more fun if you do,” Ty adds with a surprising amount of malice in her voice, watching Tashi’s every move as she snaps the guy’s arm in half. He’s already dead, but she’s toying with his broken body– just like what he was doing with you. Her clawed hands– paws?– tear into the crevice in his chest, ripping out his heart, and her gnashing teeth bite into it like it’s the first thing she’s eaten in years.

You’re hypnotized by the sight, unable to tear your eyes away from the bloodshed. It proves impossible, especially once Tashi shifts back. Her hair pools around her shoulders and her skin shimmers under the moonlight. Her bare breasts move with every step she makes, and you avert your eyes– out of respect, or maybe fear. Amelia hands Tashi her hair tie back, and she swoops her hair back into her signature ponytail, nodding at Amelia and Ty. As if granted permission, the two immediately shift into their wolf form, lunging toward the body and scavenging for the remaining bits of flesh that Tashi had left for them. Humming softly, Tashi unzips her bag and pulls out a fresh set of clothes, changing into them while you stare, dumbfounded. 

“Ugh, finally! I get the liver this time!” Ty says as she shifts, her perky voice now distorted and growly, and you turn to face Tashi, jaw slack with shock as she dresses.

“What the fuck.” She doesn’t turn to face you, wiping some blood off her cheek and wiping it across the front of her jeans. 

“We were hungry. And now we’re not,” she says simply, fastening her bra and pulling a sweater over her head. “It’s simple.”

“I–I don’t understand–” you stammer dumbly, brain caught between fear and awe. Tashi finally looks down at you, her lips stained blood red. It only makes her look better, more powerful than she already is.

“Look. We were all given a choice. We could be normal, or we could be powerful. Like ourselves, but better.” While she speaks, she looks out at Amelia and Ty’s wolf forms, tearing into the body, and she smiles like a proud mother. “But there’s a cost.” Tashi laughs at your shocked expression, but it doesn’t feel like she’s mocking you– for once. “Every full moon, we have to eat. If we don’t, the hunger takes over. And a rat won’t cut it, not even a deer. It has to be human.” Her voice grows solemn, and her gaze burns into your skin, reading your every reaction.

“I’m gonna be sick,” you whimper, voice wobbling, and she just laughs again, tossing her hair back, 

“Please, we can’t help that we’re hungry. But we can control who we eat. Where we eat them, and what we leave behind.” She gestures at Amelia and Ty, disposing of the body and churning the remains down their gullet. “One of us isn’t enough to polish off a body. Three? It… eh. Almost enough. But four?” she faces you, lips pressed together. “There’d be nothing left. No evidence, no bones, no nothing.”

“That’s why you wanted me to dress like that,” you realize, one finger pointing accusingly at her. When Tashi doesn’t deny it, anger heats up inside of you. Total bait. “How could you use me like that?! What if he’d– I mean, you saw what he was trying to do–”

“Shut up,” she says sharply, rolling her eyes like the topic was boring her. “We were watching the whole time. We would have never let him hurt you.” Her expression grows serious, and the moon casts shadows across the planes of her face. “We don’t let boys hurt us. We hurt boys. Only boys, and only the worst ones.” She looks back over at what remains of the body, just fleshy sinew and chewed up bones. “People call idiots like him all kinds of names. Creeps, jerks, whatever. But the right word is predator. Sick, perverted, rapists. And that’s who we hunt.”

The anger dissipates inside you and forms into hatred– hatred towards that guy, who acted like you owed him something. And look at where he had ended up. “He is a piece of shit. Or… was, I guess.” You pause, watching Amelia and Ty shift back, complaining about the pieces of meat they’d gotten. “Fuck him.”

“Exactly. Fuck him,” Tashi agrees, facing you. “And every single guy like him.” She holds eye contact with you, and a spark appears– something deeper, something connecting you two– before you hesitate, looking away.

“So… what are you?” you ask, and Tashi laughs, back to her mocking self. “Come on. Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a fucking movie before,” she sneers, and you shrink back, mentally punching yourself for the stupid question.

“Are you going to kill me?” your voice comes out small and scared, and you can see Tashi’s eyes soften, even if it’s only slightly.

“If I was going to kill you, I wouldn’t have just monologued to you for, like, an hour. Jesus, use your head,” she scoffs, digging around in her bag again and pulling out a necklace. A thin silver chain with a circular pendant of iridescent white stone. Like the one that all the girls wore, like the one looped around Tashi’s neck right now. “This is an invitation. We want you to be one of us.”

Ty and Amelia rejoin, changed back into their clothes and smiling at you, fingers dancing around their own necklaces. For the past week, you’d been wondering when you would get a necklace too– and now that it was being offered to you, you were terrified.

“Why me?” you ask, shrinking back under their gazes. But they aren’t looking at you like you’re their pet, a plaything to them. Their gazes meet yours, seeing as an equal. As a teammate. As a friend. “Everyone at school wants in with you guys. Why… would you choose me?”

“We have high standards,” Tashi answers coolly, and Ty nods in agreement. “You have to be pretty,” Ty says, winking at you. “And smart,” Amelia adds on.

“But most of all,” Tashi’s hand traces your cheek, and you find yourself questioning if her dark red nails are really nail polish. “You have to be hungry. You need to want to be more than yourself, be more than who everyone else thinks you are.” Her hands drag down your neck, and Amelia and Ty cage you in as well, soft hands on your body. “To be part of something bigger. Something better,” Tashi continues, her voice soft and slow.

“I know you. I see myself in you.” Tashi’s voice grows tight, and her nails dig into your skin. “Ever thought about how guys never have to work for anything? They just get away with whatever they want, and we’re left to fight for the leftovers?”

You think back to all the jobs you lost because of a male candidate, the jeers and points after a guy lied about you hooking up with him, every day you’d cried after being catcalled on the streets. A fiery rage bubbles up inside you, and you nod, meeting Tashi’s gaze. “Every fucking day,” you answer, and she grins at you. 

“Of course you have.” Her hand pulls away from you, dangling the necklace that could be yours out of reach. “You’ve seen what we are now. So either you walk away from here as one of us, or you stay here. Forever.” Amelia stands smug beside her, and you furrow your brows. Ty jumps in to explain, one gentle hand on your forearm as she explains.

“She means we would have to kill you,” Ty sighs dramatically, rolling her eyes like she’s just talking about petty gossip, not a life-or-death situation. “Which, obvi, none of us want to do.”

“We want you to want to join us, but, like, we can’t exactly float this offer, you know?” Amelia smirks, her gaze on you almost daring you to say no.

Tashi’s hand extends towards you, the thin pendant dangling from her fingers. “It’s fucking rad. We want you to join us.” You’re torn between running away screaming and snatching the necklace right from her. “I know you want this more than anything. And that’s why I chose you to watch our backs, just like we watch yours. You’d be part of the squad.”

“So, what do you say?”

It’s hard to believe that all of this started with a tampon. Something so small and miniscule, something you passed off without a second thought. However, that godforsaken tampon was what started all of this. That tampon killed Patrick Zweig, that tampon made you fall in love with Tashi Duncan, but worst of all, that tampon gave you something you’d wished for your whole life: friends.

“Ugh, fuck!” The shrill swear word echoes off the bathroom tile, and you flinch at the sudden sound. There’s a sharp rapping from the inside of the locked bathroom stall, and you can see sparkly pink heels from under the gap.

“Hey girl,” the voice starts, bright and cheerful, “any chance you have a tampon I could use?”

“Ye-yeah,” you stammer, rummaging around in your bag and pulling out a small purse of menstruation supplies. You pull out a tampon and hold it underneath the stall, and a manicured hand quickly snatches it from you.

“Ugh, ohmigod, thank you! You’re a lifesaver, honest to god. It’s like fucking Scream in here,” the girl chitters, the sound of rustling plastic being heard with her words. “You’re the fucking best.”

You laugh a bit, putting the purse back into your backpack. “No worries.” You watch as the door creaks open, and a pretty Black girl exits, all legs and bouncy curls that frame her heart-shaped face. Her eyes are a warm brown, lashes fluttering as she looks you up and down.

“Ooh, who are you?” she asks, not giving you a chance to answer before she approaches you, playing with the sleeves of your jacket and flicking your earrings. “You’re cute. You new here? Where are you from? What grade are you in?”

You try to wait for a good time to answer her, stammering as she toys with the ends of your hair. “Um– yeah. Yeah, I’m new.”

“Your hair is so gorg, oh my God!” she coos, twirling the locks around her fingers. She’s taller than you by a few inches, so you have to look up to see the sense of genuine awe in her eyes. “You’re like a mermaid. Have you ever considered highlights? You’d be like, bam! Ariel could never!” She lets go of your hair and fidgets with her own necklace instead. It’s a small pendant on a gold chain, an eye-catching iridescent blueish-purpleish set right in the center.

“Um, I-” You can’t even manage to get a single word out before she’s talking again, finally moving away from you and over to the sink to rinse her hands.

“Are you a freshman?” she prompts, finally pausing to give you the time to answer. You shake your head, eyes glued to her every movement.

“Senior,” you answer, and her face breaks out into a huge smile.

“Me too!” Her enthusiasm is unbelievably contagious, and you can’t hold back the grin her reaction causes. Could you already be making a friend on the first day?

The bell rings before you can formulate any further thoughts, and she squeals, wrapping you in a tight hug and pecking you on the cheek. Strawberry-scented lip gloss sticks onto your skin, and she wiggles her fingers in a goodbye.

“I’m Ty. Come find me at lunch, okay? You’ll sit with us,” she says, her eyes sparkling as she pulls away.

“Wha– who’s us?” you ask, and she just blows you a kiss before leaving, her absence creating a gap in the room that was filled by the scent of her sugary sweet perfume.

“...Thanks?” you sigh and hike your backpack over your shoulders, pushing out of the bathroom and heading to your first class.

Piedmont wasn’t populated by only rich businessmen and trust fund babies– you were proof of that– but Piedmont High School liked to pretend it housed only the most pretentious wealthy students, despite how easy it was to see through the facade. Still, as you walk through the halls, you couldn’t help but still feel out of place among the pairs and trios that traipse past you together. You brush off the lingering feelings of loneliness and turn the corner to enter your first-period class, sitting down in the third row beside a blonde boy, who waves at you.

“You’re from LA, right?” he asks you, and you blink in surprise as you set your stuff down. 

“Uh, yeah. I am. How did you–?” he laughs before you can finish the question, flashing you a grin.

“Piedmont is, like, so small,” he says, shrugging and pulling your seat out for you. “Also, my mom met yours at orientation last night. I’m Art,” he smiles as you sit down, “your mom told mine that you’re really smart. Have you made any friends?”

You laugh at that, pulling your notebook and pens out of your bag as you settle yourself next to him. “It’s only first period, so, uh. Not really,” you answer, chewing on the cap of the pen as you think over his question. “But this girl Ty invited me to sit with her at lunch, so.”

Art’s eyes seem to bug out comically, and you try hard to not laugh at him. “Ty Michaels?” he asks incredulously, and he seems downright offended when you shrug in response.

“I mean, she didn’t tell me that much…” you frown at the expression on his face, the way he’s gawking at you makes you feel like you’ve done something wrong.

“There’s only one Ty here! Good for you!” he cheers, leaning forward to lower his voice as more students trickle in. “She’s one of the most popular girls here. Some of these other girls would kill to be in your place.”

You look around the two of you warily, and indeed, some girls are already eyeing you warily and whispering among themselves, like just the sight of you walking out of the bathroom after Ty was enough to send them spiraling. “...Huh,” is all you have to say in response, turning back to face Art. “You should come sit with us. Ty and I, and… whoever else.”

His face pales at your question, and he shakes his head fervently. “You’re kidding, right? She didn’t invite me,” Art says, his voice hushed as the teacher upfront began her lesson. He seems so shocked that you would even ask him that, turning to the front to begin taking notes. You furrow your brow, but don’t think any more of it. Cliques would always exist wherever you went, you were just happy that you might have the chance to be part of one now.

It wasn’t difficult to find Ty and her friends at lunch– partially because she was waving at you, but mostly because of the wide berth other students gave their group. You’d never been part of a group before, and definitely not a “cool” one, but you definitely wanted to be. Your eyes rake over their similar posture, matching necklaces, and perfectly pursed lips. It was terrifying, but so magnetic. You couldn’t help but feel drawn towards them.

“Hey girl, over here!” Ty’s peppy voice calls out from across the courtyard, and she’s waving at you, ignoring the pointed glares from the two other girls who sit with her, both dark-skinned and absolutely gorgeous.

To your left, Art sits by himself, looking up at you from his lunch and smiling warily, nodding towards the clique in the center of the courtyard, a silent push. Go!

You look between the two of them, not missing the way Ty and her friends look at you strangely when you wave back at Art. You worry your bottom lip between your teeth, mind aflurry with conflicting thoughts.

Maybe you should just have lunch in the bathroom…?