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Kylie fixed her hair in the small little compact mirror that she always carried in her purse. There was still time before the bell rang for homeroom, and Mr. Edwards was busy on his computer. Sonia had joked that he was probably looking up porn, and Kylie wouldn't disagree with that.

Kylie ruffled her hair one last time before shutting the mirror with a little clicking noise.

"Are you going to Harrison's party tonight?" Sonia whispered loudly enough so that Mr. Edwards wouldn't hear them. Not like he would anyway. They strategically placed themselves at the back of the classroom, empty except for them.

"I'm not sure yet. I mean, Harrison isn't exactly what you'd call a party animal. Chances are there'd be no booze or anything fun there," Kylie complained to her friend.

Sonia rolled her eyes in agreement as she said, "Tell me about it. Harrison's such a goody-goody. I doubt anyone will show up, especially when they all find out you're not going."

Kylie waved the statement off like it was nothing, but it was exactly what she wanted to hear. Nobody went to a party that Kylie Tosca thought was going to be a dump. It just wasn't heard of.

At that moment the door opened and a tall, dark-haired boy strolled in, shouldering his black messenger bag and rifling through his homework planner to see if he missed anything.

Not like Kylie knew this kid's name.

She wrinkled her nose as he walked over to a seat smack in the middle of the classroom and sat down. She hadn't even noticed that this boy was in her class. Who the hell was he?

She and Sonia watched with disgusting interest as the boy shoved his planner into the messenger bag and sat with his arms folded on the desktop. He sat with his back erect for a moment before he seemed to realize something. He turned around with his mouth open, ready to speak to the two girls, when he realized who they were and his mouth snapped shut.

Poor kid, Kylie mused. He's so nervous he can't even talk to me.

Deciding to play a little game, Kylie folded both of her slender hands under her chin and said in a chirrupy voice, "Did you want something?"

She batted her eyelashes a couple of times, feigning innocence.

The boy flushed pink for a moment before he began to stutter: "I-I was just w-wondering if either of you h-have a pencil."

He turned even pinker at the lame request. Kylie sympathized with the kid and tilted her head slightly to the side so he could see the creamy flesh of her neck. Sonia bit back a snicker, realizing what her friend was doing.

Dizzy up the boy and then let him fall.

That was their motto, and they lived by it daily.

Kylie made a little clicking noise with her tongue. "I think I just might have one for you."

"G-Great," the boy stammered, running a hand through his brown hair.

As Kylie unclasped her purse, she spoke: "I've never seen you here before. Are you new?"

"N-No. I'm just very quiet."

"I can tell."

She produced a pencil from somewhere in the depths of her backpack. The boy slowly got up from his seat and walked a few steps towards her, arm outstretched to take it. Kylie feigned handing it over, before she pulled her arm back quickly out of his reach.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Dominic G-Giovanni," the boy answered confusedly. What was Kylie playing at?

"So tell me, Dominic Giovanni," Kylie spoke his name slowly, as if she were really interested in how to pronounce it. "What makes you think you can just waltz in here and ask me, of all people, for a pencil?"

Dominic was thunderstruck. He hadn't understood, at first, why Kylie Tosca was willingly lending him a pencil, but now he understood. She was just playing with him, like she always did with students who weren't on the same social level as her. He should've known better, but at the same time he was hoping that a nice weekend had done some good for Kylie Tosca's personality. Guess he was wrong.

"N-Never mind," he mumbled, and turned to go back to his seat.

Sonia, on the other hand, had another idea. As Dominic began to walk, she stuck her high-heeled foot out into the aisle and caught him around the ankle. Dominic went forward and hit the floor with a loud crash.

Kylie laughed extra loudly, making sure the humiliation set in. A few football players had walked into the classroom just as Sonia made her move, and they pointed and laughed as well.

Mr. Edwards looked up from his computer to see what the ruckus was about, but the monitor blocked him from seeing Dominic on the floor. He just shrugged, thinking that a private joke had been shared, and went back to his computer.

Dominic remained on the floor, stomach pressed against the painfully hard tiles. He ignored the heat that threatened to burn through his face and took a deep breath. He wouldn't let these girls bother him. Not in the least.

He picked himself up slowly, making sure to stand straight up to show that he hadn't lost an ounce of his dignity. Even with Kylie, Sonia, and the other kids laughing at his expense, he refused to show any slack in his posture.

On the inside, he wanted more than anything to curl up into a ball and scream.