It was a sunny Monday morning. Carly and Emily were practically running to school so as not to be late. "Come on, sis. We're going to be late!" called Carly. Her sister, Emily was running right behind her. "I'm coming!" she called back. "But can you at least slow down a bit?" "Sorry, Ems. I'm just excited about today because we're having a new student!" Carly squealed. Emily let out an exhausted sigh. "You're a ball of dandelion fluff, my sister."
"I know. How about we walk the rest of the way?" Carly said. Emily nodded in agreement. The two sisters walked the rest of the way to school. Once they arrived, Gem and Jasmine were already there waiting for them. "Well, it took you two long enough." Gem greeted. "Hey, girls. Did you hear about the new student coming today?" Carly exclaimed. Jasmine gave her a confused look. "We have a new student?" she asked.
"Jasmine, she's been talking about it since last week." Gem reminded her. "Anyway, rumor has it she's one of the biggest young fashion models in the world. We're going to be friends with a celebrity!" Carly screamed. "Now, Carly, I understand you're overjoyed to meet our new classmate, but we still need to be considerate. She might have speech issues and can't communicate properly. We mustn't be too thrilled without getting to know her first." Explained Emily.
They all knew Emily was right. Suddenly, they saw a limousine pull up in front of the school. Someone who looked like a butler got out of the car first and opened the side door. Stepping out was the new girl. "Have a wonderful first day, Miss Margret." said the butler as he shut the door. Margret nodded calmly and said "Thank you. Please arrive back here at 3:30 sharp." The butler nodded and got back in the car.
As he drove away, Margret turned around and commenced walking towards the girls. Gem's eyes instantly lit up when she saw her. Margret was wearing a beautiful sparkly green knee-high dress, black tights and bright green flats. "Whoa! She's so beautiful." Gem thought to herself. Carly was the first to speak. "Hi there. Welcome to Liberty High. I'm Carly, and this is Gem, Jasmine and my twin sister, Emily. Nice to meet you." she said excitedly, holding out her hand. Margret was hesitant at first, but after a few seconds she shook Carly's hand and said "It's nice to meet you too. I'm Margret Malone." she shook the girls' hands one by one. Gem felt her face getting more flustered. "And she seems like a nice girl. I can already feel a connection between us." she thought. Margret turned to her, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Um...are you okay?" she asked, making Gem snap back into reality. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm okay."
Just then, the school bell rang, and the girls all walked inside. "Hmm, I think I'm going to like it here." Margret said to herself, as she walked inside the school. "You know, Margret? I can already tell we're going to be great friends." Gem said. Margret just smiled.
***
Inside, Margret was amazed by everything around her. "It's like a palace in here! I didn't realize it was this big." That's when Jasmine said, "Yeah. plus, all the teachers and students are really nice. Well...almost all the students." She then pointed at a group of popular girls. Margret was a little confused. "Who are they?" she asked.
"They are the STYLE Squad. Stacie, Tamrina, Yasmine and Lana. They're basically the bullies of the school, so you'd want to stay away from them at all times." said Carly. "Hold on. You said they're the STYLE Squad because their names start with a letter from the word 'Style'. But who's the E?" Margret asked. Gem filled her in. "You mean Evangeline? She's the hard-headed one. But sometimes, she can be nice to others. But still, just ignore her."
When they got to class, their Algebra teacher, Ms. Willows, was surprised and delighted to see Margret. "Ah. Margret Malone. It's great to finally meet you, dear. I'm Ms. Willows, your Algebra teacher." She said, shaking Margret's hand. Margret nodded and said "It's nice to meet you too." Then Ms. Willows said "Alright, class. Our new student is here. Go ahead and introduce yourself, dear."
The second Margret heard that, she got a bit nervous. Still, she went up to the front of the class and spoke up. "Good morning, everyone. My name is Margret, and I've been a round the clock fashion model for the past two years. I decided to take a break when school started because it was a lot of work and stress and I just needed to take a breather." Everyone looked impressed. Ms. Willows cleared her throat. "Wonderful, dear. You can have a seat now."
Margret thanked her and went to her seat. "Take your seats, girls." Ms. Willows instructed. The other girls took their seats, and Ms. Willows started class.
Fifteen minutes into the lesson, Ms. Willows gave everyone an Algebra sheet with at least twenty problems. She then wrote two of the same problems on the board. "Alright, class. Who would like to solve problem one?" she asked.
Ms. Willows turned to Margret and said "Margret, how about you give it a try?" Margret suddenly got really nervous. However, Gem tapped her shoulder and whispered, " Don't be nervous Margret. You can do this." Those words made Margret feel much better. She got up to the front and tried to solve the equation.
There was one little problem, though. She didn't know it because she never studied them while she was home schooled. But she felt so confident, she didn't realize. Once she finished solving the equation, Ms. Willows took one look and gasped in shock. The students at the front had the same reaction while the students in the back didn't know what was going on. Ms. Willows cleared her throat and said "Margret, how did you learn to solve this equation?! You are a miracle child! Not just by looks but by knowledge!" Margret was confused. But when she turned back to the board, she realized that she got the equation right. The whole class started to applaud and congratulate her. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all." Margret thought to herself.
During lunch hour, Margret was looking for a place to sit, her bento box clutched in her hands, when she suddenly bumped into another girl and they both fell on the floor. "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I didn't..." Margret started. But the other girl interrupted her. "Watch where you're going, loser!" Margret gasped in horror when she realized it was Stacie. "I know you're the new girl. And just because you got one equation right, Ms. Willows said you were a miracle child, didn't she?" Stacie asked.
Margret looked down blushing. "Um. y-yes." she stuttered. "Well, I'm sorry, honey, but that title belongs to me! In case you don't know me, I'm Stacie Elizabeth Rose and I'm the queen here. No one can take that role from me. But you already tried today so you will regret it!"
Margret covered her face ready for Stacie to hurt her. But suddenly, Stacie started glowing a blue hue and began to float. "That's enough!" Margret and Stacie both turned around to see Gem standing behind them furiously. Her hand was glowing the same blue glow as Stacie. It took Margret a few seconds to realize that Gem was the one making Stacie levitate. "How dare you threaten my new friend like that! You brother her again and you'll be the one regretting it!" Gem said angrily. She put Stacie roughly and grabbed Margret's hand. "Come on. You can sit with me and the girls." she said, leading Margret to her table.
"Okay. Thanks, Gem. You know, for saving me back there." said Margret, taking a relieved breath. "It was nothing. That's what I'm here for. But remember, stay away from the STYLE Squad, okay?" Margret nodded instantly.
They joined Jasmine and the twins at their usual table. Margret looked down, her face etched with worry. "Now I understand what you meant when you said they were bullies. But can you tell me more about them?"
"Certainly." Emily exclaimed.
"Stacie is the leader of the STYLE Squad and one of the richest girls in school. Not only is she spoiled, but she's also a very famous actress who starred in many movies. She bullies people for the fun of it." Gem said, crossing her arms. "Tamrina is a spoiled brat as well. Only even more spoiled than Stacie. She's a popular singer like her mother so everyone calls her Tammy. She can control any illuminated objects. She can't control the Sun though." Said Jasmine, shyly.
"Yasmine isn't spoiled luckily, but she is a cheater. She always cheats on her boyfriends, tests, homework and projects. But no one dares to stand up to her because her father is a rich and powerful politician. If anyone even tried to hurt her, she'd tell her father and he would get his men to hunt down their families." Carly said. "And Lana, she's another one of the richest kids in school. She loves spending her money on designer clothes, shoes, jewelry, Make-up and hand bags. However, she also has Kleptomania or ISD. It's short for Impulsive Stealing Disorder. Whenever Lana doesn't get what she wants, she steals it and no one's caught her...yet." said Emily.
"Now hold up just a darn moment." Margret interrupted. "You girls mentioned that Evangeline was the nice one in the pack. But what does she do?"
"Well, not much is known about her because she doesn't talk much. Some students think she is either deaf or just doesn't want to talk." said Jasmine. And Emily added, "Despite that, she loves being in an audience. She even has a YouTube channel that she named Evangelical Bliss and a blog named Enchanted Evan. You could say she loves social media and attention."
"Whoa! This is a lot to take in." "We can't say Evangeline is one of them. But we still stay away from the STYLE Squad just to be safe. It's not a school rule, but it's our rule." said Gem. Margret thought she was right. She did not want to get on Stacie's bad side again.
***
Two hours later, it was PE class. They were playing Soccer and Margret was the one on the net. The other students in the gym were kicking the ball to and fro as they laughed and screamed with joy. "Okay, Margret! Here it comes!" Carly called out. She was the one with the ball. However, Stacie stole it from her and kicked it toward the net.
Margret tried to catch it but it was going too fast and it hit her right in the head and she fell on her back. "Margret! Are you okay?" Emily asked, helping her up.
Stacie walked up to her and said, "I told you I'd make you regret it, loser. Oh! Almost forgot to mention that you're on video. This is going on Evangeline's blog and all over social media." Then everyone in the gym started laughing. Except Gem, Jasmine and the twins of course.
Margret just stood there completely humiliated. After a few seconds, she burst into tears and ran out of the gym. Gem called after her "Margret! Wait!" But Margret didn't hear her. She just kept running.
Gem turned to Stacie angrily. "Are you happy now?! You made her cry!” She shouted. “I told you if you bothered her again…” But Jasmine put grabbed her arm to stop her from talking “Gem, not now. We have to go find Margret.”
Before Gem left with the others, she turned to Stacie one more time and said “Stay away from her! You can’t just bully people because you think it’s fun. It’s not okay and it’s not cool!” Then she turned around and walked away.
The girls searched all over school. Checking classrooms, restrooms, even the janitor's closet. They finally found Margret sitting on the bleachers, tears of embarrassment in her eyes. "Hey, Margret. Are you okay?" Jasmine asked gently. Margret lifted her head but was too embarrassed to look at the four girls. "No. I don't understand. I just wanted to have a good first day but now thanks to Stacie, it's ruined." She cried.
Gem, Jasmine and the twins felt really bad for Margret. Emily then snapped her fingers, making a handkerchief appear in her hand. "Here." she said, giving it to Margret. Margret accepted the handkerchief and wiped her tears. "Thank you. But I just wish I had friends that accept me for who I am. Not just for my fame and wealth." She said, sniffling.
To the others, it sounded like when Margret was home schooled, her former friends turn on her. So it seemed didn't have any friends at all. Gem put a comforting hand on Margret's shoulder. "I think you forgot something, Margret. You've made friends." she said. Margret looked around as Gem, Jasmine and the twins sat down around her. It made her realize that for once, she had friends the whole time and now they were showing her love and support.
Margret started crying once more. Only this time, they were tears of joy. Gem squeezed her in a tight hug. "We're here for you, Margret." she said. "And we always will be from now on. No matter what."
Jasmine and the twins joined the hug. "Thank you, girls. I've never felt this happy in the past two years." said Margret, calming herself down. Then Carly got an idea. "Hey, maybe we should all be a team. Just to five of us." "Us? A team? Is that a requirement?" Margret asked.
"No. Not really. But everyone needs a group of three to twelve." "And I know what we can call our team," Jasmine said. "The Mighty Five." Everyone agreed. "And, Margret, you should be our leader." Gem exclaimed.
"Wait. Me?" Margret asked in surprise.
"Yes. I mean, you're smart and kind, and your name starts with an M." That day, Margret had the biggest smile she ever had. She finally found her place.